And then there were five...

9% abv. Batch 363 10/19/10. Cellared for over a year. This one exploded out of the bottle. I lost half of it on the countertop...and that is so disappointing. Pours dark brown with a white head. Cherry, clove, citrus and oak on the nose. First sip tells me Flemish sour ale meets Belgian dubbel on oak. Very interesting flavors. Medium bodied mouthfeel. Excessive carbonation but great drinkability. Dry at finish. Mild spicing quite noticeable at first but it gets stronger and stronger with each sip. Perhaps nutmeg, cinnamon, and cardamom. This would pair exceptional well with a Christmas or Thanksgiving holiday dinner. Rich malt bill hides beneath the spicing and funky Brettanomyces yeast. Apple and berry fruit flavors get stronger with each sip as well as a touch of citrusy hops. Sneaky alcohol content. Oak is not as pronounced as expected, but the sour cherry flavors combine with the oak to give it a good complexity. Not the best beer I have tried from this exceptional brewery, but it is a solid effort.

A little early holiday cheer...

Port Brewing Company, Santa's Little Helper

10% abv. I cellared this beer for almost 2 years. It pours pitch black with a dark tan head. Anise, chocolate, dark fruit , a touch coffee, and citrus on the nose. Nice carbonation, even after extended cellaring. Hop tingle all over the mouth, but hops are surely tamed a bit because of aging. Slight warming from abv, but alcohol esthers are well masked. You know in the first couple of sips that this beer is going to be real treat. Molasses, toffee, fig, raisin, chocolate, and touch of pine resin flavors in this pretty complex beer. Rumor has it they used brown sugar in this one. Alcohol is pretty sneaky. Wonderful mouthfeel. Sweet, but not cloying. Port Brewing Company is certainly one of the best breweries in the country and this Russian Imperial Stout is worth waiting for each holiday season.

Two for two...

Maine Beer Company - Lunch IPA

This is the second beer by the Maine Beer Company that I have tried in the last few days and they are knocking it out of the park. Here is a review:

7% abv. Had this on the eve of Hurricane Irene. Pours to a big head that dissipates quickly. Rich piney and sweet orange hops aromas right from the pour. Lots of delicious yeast and sediment all over the glass make it dirty water murky (but in a good way). Nice initial hop flavor. Hop profile seems similar to HopDevil IPA and maybe even Lagunitas Censored (two beers I absolutely love). Dry and astringent at finish, but slightly spicy hop flavors linger and continue to bite. Sneaky strong at 7% abv. Has a wonderful cask conditioned taste, smell and mouthfeel. I love nano breweries that can produce this kind of quality. Some slightly fruity and cracker-like malt sweetness, but pretty much all hops. This is another one that I could drink all night long.

I love garage beer...

Here is a review of Maine Beer Company's Seeper Ale
5.5% abv. These guys started by making beer in their garage and wanted to share. I am glad they did. They still only brew in one barrel batches and that is what makes it so fantastic. This is a bottle conditioned small batch beer...a true nano brewery. It pours to a huge cauliflower head. Excellent piney fresh hop aroma. Wow, this has a truly cask conditioned flavor in a bottle. Hops are mildly bitter, but very tasty. Sweet caramel, butterscotch, maybe honey, and graham cracker. Piney hop flavors collide with orange zest and sweet grapefruit. This is a complex and delicious beer. Superb head and lace. This has a truly craft brewed feel to it. Dry astringency toward finish. I could drink this beer all night and if I had more, I would. Fantastic.

Tis the saision...

I just love Saison or Farmhouse Ales. They taste fresh and natural and well, they are just plain delicious. Victory Helios Ale weighs in at 7.5% abv. It pours gold with a thick white head. Cloves, banana, and mild citrus aromas. Nice spice flavors from the first sip. Generous hoping gives it a decent citrus bite. Black pepper and cloves dominate the flavor profile, but don't overwhelm you. Needs a touch more carbonation and is a little bit one dimensional. Get's drier and drier with each sip yet it remains very drinkable with a lemon tartness that is perfect for summer. This would pair well with grilled fish or shrimp and certainly cheese. This is a nice American version of one of my favorite Belgian beer styles. I pretty much like everything coming out of Victory.

Pretty Things East India Porter...

6.% abv. Recipe first made on December 6th 1855 and revived by Ron Patterson. Pours a black-brown color with a huge whitish-tan head. Excellent fresh roasted coffee and leafy, earthy hops on the nose. First sip is all roasted malt initially, but floral hop flavors follow quickly. Incredible sticky lace even on the second pour. Awesome mouthfeel combines a heavy malt silkiness with an oily hop slickness. I could drink this beer all night long. Made with tons of malt, you can taste the astringency halfway through the bottle. I love how complex and balanced this beer is. Floral hops to roasted coffee notes to chocolate to a bit of citrus. Other flavors include anise, molasses, and caramel. Another fantastic beer from the folks at Pretty Things. Please keep the beers and the historical perspective coming.

Hops and malt and malt and hops and malt...

Here is a review of Anderson Valley Brewing Company Imperial IPA. This is a big beer. Not just big in your face hops, but a big balanced beer. That is a BBB in the world of TLA (three letter acronyms). Simply put, this beer is delicious. I would pair it up with some zesty cheese or spicy pulled pork or ribs. Anyway, here is the review:

8.7% abv. First made for the 20th anniversary of the brewery. Pours a deep and rich dark copper color with a big fluffy white head. Fresh cascade and centennial hop aroma with a fruity sweet smell to boot. Brewed with tons of malt to balance the hops that are added 20 times during the brewing process. This is all Imperial IPA, but it is very well balanced by all the malt. Sweet caramel backbone with flecks of honey and maybe even pineapple. Complex blending of flavors fade in and out. Spicy hop flavors build with each sip and add touches of pepper, pine, and herbs. More alcohol presence than expected, but this is a smooth and drinkable big beer. Bottle conditioning helps add to the complexity of this beer. Too bad this is a limited edition offering, I could get used to having this one around.