Anderson Valley Brewing Company Poleeko Pale Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Anderson Valley Brewing Company Poleeko Pale Ale.

From the Anderson Valley Brewing Company website: “Poleeko Pale Ale is an exceptionally flavorful and well-balanced beer.  With a bright, citrus hop profile and mild malt flavors reminiscent of English biscuits, the aromas of pink grapefruit and lemon zest compliment the brisk, balanced finish to create a truly refined American Pale Ale.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy golden honey color with a nice white head and good lacing.

Aroma: Citrus, pine and grassy hops with biscuit and honey malts.

Taste: Citrus and pine bitterness, sweet bready and honey malts with a touch of caramel.

Overall: Fresh, clean and very drinkable, Anderson Valley Brewing Company Poleeko Pale Ale is enjoyable.  This 5% ABV offering is sessionable and well worth a try!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Prairie Artisan Ales Cherry Funk

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Prairie Artisan Ales Cherry Funk - Sour Ale Aged On Cherries.

From the Prairie Artisan Ales website: “Cherry Funk is a sour ale that has been aged on cherries, and has an ABV of 7.5%. The end results are dry and sour with tart cherry flavor and aroma. Unlike some fruit beers that are syrupy and sweet, Cherry Funk is complex and on point with Prairie’s farmhouse point of view.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours an orangish pink with a nice white head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Cherries – sour and sweet, funky brett and grassy.

Taste: Tangy, lightly funky, fruity, cherries – both sour and sweet, light malts and grassy.

Overall: Tasty and supremely drinkable, Prairie Artisan Ales Cherry Funk is a solid offering.  This 7.5% ABV Sour Ale isn’t overly sour or funky so it is perfect for those who want to get into Sours.  I completely dig this beer and plan to buy more if I can find it.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Bell's Brewery Java Stout

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Bell's Brewery Java Stout - Stout Brewed with Coffee.

From the Bell's Brewery website: “Java Stout uses a custom blend of coffee beans, roasted locally for us by Water Street Coffee Joint, to generate its intense flavor. Possessing an unmistakable aromatic punch, Java Stout has long been one of our most popular stouts.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours dark brown with a thin dark khaki head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Dark roasted malts, dark roasted coffee and dark chocolate.

Taste: Dark chocolate, dark roasted coffee, roasted malts and a slight caramel flavor.  Finishes with a lingering coffee bitterness.

Overall: Solid and creamy, Bell's Brewery Java Stout is delicious.  This 7.5% ABV offering is highly recommended for those who love coffee Stouts.  I’m a fan and I’m sure you’ll be too!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Merry Christmas!

Greetings friends,

Just needed to break the blogging silence to say "Merry Christmas"!

I'll get back to reviewing beers after the crush of the holidays.

All my best,

Mark Harvey

Founders Brewing Imperial Stout

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Founders Brewing Imperial Stout.

From the Founders Brewing website: “Brewed with ten varieties of malted barley, this stout is smooth as silk, yet complex and rich in body. Serve this guy at cellar temperature. Put another log on the fire, sit back and enjoy the friendship of this ultimate winter warmer.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours black with an incredibly thin mocha colored head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Roasted malts, dark chocolate, coffee, some molasses, smoke and dark fruits.

Taste: Dark chocolate, roasted malts, coffee, some caramel, vanilla and dark fruits.

Overall: Smooth and thick, Founders Brewing Imperial Stout is world class.  This massive 10.5% ABV offering is amazingly good and something I highly recommend seeking out.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Fifty Fifty Brewing Company Annularity

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Fifty Fifty Brewing Company Annularity - Ale Brewed With Honey Aged In Oak Barrels - Wood Aged Blond Barleywine-Style Ale. I picked this bottle up at The Wine Club in San Jose (here). They have a small craft beer section, but they have an incredible selection.  If you're anywhere near The Wine Club go visit them and tell 'em Mark from NorCal Beer Blog sent you!

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a golden orangish brown with a thin slightly off-white head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Dark fruits, honey, caramel, oak and slightly spicy.

Taste: Sweet caramel, dark fruits, honey, oak, vanilla, light touches of citrus, coconut and spice.

Overall: Rich and delicious, Fifty Fifty Brewing Company Annularity is yet another stellar offering from Fifty Fifty Brewing Company.  This 12.5% ABV offering is a must try for fans of the style.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Lakewood Brewing Company 2013 Bourbon Barrel Temptress

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Lakewood Brewing Company 2013 Bourbon Barrel Temptress - Imperial Milk Stout - Ale Brewed With Lactose And Vanilla Aged In Bourbon Barrels.  I picked up this bottle while in Texas at Hall’s Wine & Spirits (here) which is a must visit bottle shop if you find yourself in or around Dallas.

From the Lakewood Brewing Company website: “Everything you love about The Temptress, but boozier and nicely-aged. You could say it's the "cougar" of milk stouts. We take our signature silky imperial milk stout and age it in freshly emptied Bulleit Bourbon barrels for 5 months. This maturation process instills a depth of flavor and warming touch that grows with each sip. Hints of vanilla, oak, toffee, caramel, and roasted coffee intertwine for a boozy, dangerously smooth treat.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours very dark brown, nearly black with a medium mocha colored head and great lacing.

Aroma: Bourbon, chocolate – both dark and milk, vanilla, lactose sugar, roasted malts and slight oak scent.

Taste: Sweet dark and milk chocolate, caramel, bourbon, vanilla, oak, lactose, toffee, roasted malt and a slight coconut flavor.

Overall: I’m a fan of the base beer, Temptress (here) and am a HUGE fan of Lakewood Brewing Company 2013 Bourbon Barrel Temptress.  I was very fortunate to be able to purchase this bottle from the fine folks at Hall’s Wine & Spirits.  This 10.2% ABV offering is certainly worth seeking if you find yourself somewhere Lakewood Brewing Company’s beers are sold.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale - Ale Brewed With Pecans. I had this beer on tap years ago in New Orleans and was happy that I was able to secure some of this strictly for review purposes.

From the Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company website: “Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale is the first beer in the world, to our knowledge, made with whole roasted pecans. The pecans are used just like grain and provide a nutty characteristic and a delightful depth to the flavor profile. This beer is very lightly hopped to allow the malty, caramel, and nutty flavors shine through. The color is dark mahogany. Southern Pecan won a Bronze Medal in the 2006 World Beer Cup in the Specialty Beer category.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours clear dark amber with a thin slightly off-white head and very little lacing.

Aroma: Nutty, caramel, brown sugar, toffee and slightly earthy. Pecans are just slightly apparent in the nose.

Taste: Sweet caramel, roasted pecans, toffee, slightly toasted malts, brown sugar and slightly earthy.

Overall: My recollection of Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale was a little different then this – meaning – the flavors were more intense on tap and these a little more subdued – which makes complete sense. This 4.5% ABV offering is extremely drinkable and I completely enjoyed it.  It just drank a little lighter than what I remembered. I would certainly drink this again.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Bell's Brewery Black Note Stout

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Bell's Brewery Black Note Stout - Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels – 2014.

From the Bell's Brewery website: “One of the most sought-after stouts in Bell's history, Black Note Stout blends the complex aromatics of Expedition Stout with the velvety smooth texture of Double Cream Stout and ages the combination in freshly retired oak bourbon barrels for months. The resulting harmony of flavors captures the finest features of all three components: malty notes of dark chocolate, espresso & dried fruits, all buoyed by the warmth and fragrance of the bourbon barrel. Aimed squarely at the stout and bourbon aficionados, Black Note makes a grand statement about the art of the dark.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours jet black with a thin mocha colored head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Bourbon, chocolate, roasted malts, vanilla, oak, espresso, toffee and a hit of dark fruits.

Taste: Bourbon, vanilla, sweet chocolate, roasted malts, espresso and slight burnt caramel, oak and dark fruit flavor.

Overall: Balanced, smooth and incredibly delicious, Bell's Brewery Black Note Stout is fantastic! This 11.4% ABV offering isn’t overly boozy and is something I wish I had a lot more of.  I could drink this regularly if I could get it here in NorCal.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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