Category: Beer

Review: McSorley’s Irish Black Lager

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Maker: McSorley’s, Utica, New York (or not. Lots of conflicting info online)

Style: Black Lager

ABV: 5.5%

Appearance: Dark coffee brown. Nice frothy but not hyper-active head.

Nose: Black coffee with brown sugar. Sweet, slightly bitter. Toasty.

On the palate: Medium bodied, nice roasty, toasty bitterness. A little sweetness. A well-composed lager.

Finish: light but with a fine bitterness that lingers in the cheeks. Very pleasant.

Parting words: I have no idea where this was made, but it’s a very decent black lager, goes down easy and the price is right. It’s worth picking up.

Review: Wexford Original Irish Style Crème [sic] Ale

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Maker:  Greene King, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England

Style: Irish Cream Ale

ABV: 5%

Appearance: light auburn with a thick, sudsy head.

Nose: Fruity and sweet, with a bit of caramel.

On the palate: surprisingly thin body, but still exuberant even in the mouth. At first the fruitiness of the nose almost disappears, replaced by a slightly toasty malt flavor with a fair amount of pleasant bitterness. On subsequent sips the fruit comes back resulting in a much more balanced and satisfying beer.

Finish: The bitterness comes to the fore in the finish which lingers long in the cheeks and is barely tempered by a half-hearted return of the fruit in the nose.

Parting Words: I’m not sure what I expected from this beer, and I’m not sure I got it. It comes in a can with a  pressurized widget, so King has certainly taken every precaution to make sure Wexford makes  the trip across the pond in as good a condition as possible. It’s not unpleasant, but I was underwhelmed. The body was shockingly thin. I really expected much more from something called a cream ale. But overall, not a bad sip, especially after it settles down a bit in the glass. Not highly recommended, but it’s worth a try, especially if the price is right.

Review: Siren Amber Ale

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Maker: North Peak, Traverse City, Michigan

Style: Amber Ale

ABV: 5%

Color: Amber with a fairly decent head. Good body.

Nose: Sweet and a bit funky, maybe slightly skunky. Meh.

On the palate: Some fruity sweetness with a strong bitter note.

Finish: A strong, unpleasant bitter taste that won’t go away. Like old, low-grade Gorgonzola cheese.

Parting Words: Wow, what a disappointing beer. I found myself virtually chugging these just to get them out of my fridge to make room for better beer. It wasn’t any worse than any macro-brewed ale of the same style, but why pay micro prices for macro quality? If you see it and feel tempted, pass on it and pick up some of Bud’s American Ale. Or better yet, get a good Michigan Microbrew.

Review: Trader Joe’s 2010 Vintage Ale

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Maker: Unibroue, Chambly, Quebec

Style: Dark Belgian (?) ale with spices

ABV: 9%

Tasted: February 16, 2011

Color:  Dark Brown, like French roast coffee with a big pillowy head

Nose: Sweet, raisins, allspice, mace, ginger.

On the palate: Very sweet, lush, thick almost syrupy.  A tiny bit of bitterness comes through and is a welcome counterpoint to the fruitcake- sweet spice.

Finish: Surprisingly light, but still quite sweet and spicey.  The slightly soapy taste of the ginger lingers for a while before reatreating into the back of the throat to become the ghost of a mincemeat pie.

Parting Words: This year’s Vintage Ale from TJ’s is a departure from past years. Although the bottle says that it can be enjoyed for years to come, it also says “best before 9/10/2013”. I always buy three of them.  One to drink immediately, one to drink in the summer, and one to drink in December or January.  That said, in my experience, these TJ’s vintage ales peak around June or July of the year after the vintage year. This one is very different, more “desserty” than I remember past vintages being, so maybe this one could peak at a different time. At any rate, this is a tasty, if not terribly complex, after-dinner ale. Watch this space this summer for another review!

Review: Faoch Heather Ale

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Maker: Williams Bros. Brewing, Alloa, Scotland

ABV: 5%

Fun Fact: I was friends with a girl named Heather Beers in college.

Color
Cloudy gold

Nose
Faint, but some malt, and fresh floral (I’m assuming heather) notes

On the palate
Nice full body, silky sweet with a good bit of bitterness, maybe some floral notes.

Finish
The finish is where the heather comes to the fore. It’s long and vibrant but fades very quickly at the end.

Parting words
This ale is less than I expected, actually. I’m not sure if the tradition of heather ales really does go back 4,000+ years like the label says, but I hope it was more interesting back in the Bronze Age. It’s not bad really. But I found myself having to search for the heather flavors to the point where I am not actually certain that I tasted them. It does have some good bitterness and a lot of body. Not a bad pour if you’re curious, but not necessarily worth seeking out.

Review: Belhaven Scottish Ale

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(tasted with fried, leftover haggis.  No, seriously)

Maker: Belhaven, Dunbar, Scotland

ABV: 5.2%

Color: Auburn

Nose: Malty, a bit sour

On the palate: Nice, thick, heavy mouthfeel.  Rich, toasty malt, lightly sweet, with a bit of a sour note.

Finish: Lingering maltiness, the sour note migrates to the cheeks and hangs about for a long time.

Parting words

Pairs very nicely with haggis.  The toasted malt of the ale is a great counterpoint to the gamey, livery flavor of the offal.  The sour note is not quite to the level where I would call it a fault, but enough to make me wonder if it is not supposed to be there.  Perhaps it was a result of the long trip to Michigan.  Nevertheless, Belhaven is a fine, rich, enjoyable ale.

Review: Atwater Winter Bock

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Maker: Atwater Block Brewery (Detroit, Michigan)

Style: Bock

ABV: 7.5%

Color: dark chocolate brown

Nose: malty, sweet, barley

Palate: Malty, sweet, a hint of bitterness, lowfat milk, a bit of spice

Finish: long, slightly bitter, malty sweetness

Parting words: This one lives up to its billing.  It’s thick and rich and the sweetnes and ceareal notes were constantly taking me back to childhood breakfast tables.  For obvious reasons, it reminded me a bit of Founder’s Breakfast Stout.  A really excellent beer.  I think I’ll be getting me another six pack very soon.

Review: Short’s Autumn Ale

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Short’s Autumn Ale

Brewery: Short’s (Bellaire, Michigan)

Style: ESB

ABV: ???

Color:  hazy copper

Nose:  toasted grain with a bit of sourness, like onions past their sell-by date.

Body: Medium

Taste: Bitter, toasty, with a wee tiny bit of sourness.  Bitter, but not excessively hoppy.

Finish: long dry, bitter

Parting Words: Nothing particularly Autumnal about this to me, but it’s a decent ale.  The rotten onion note was a off-putting though.  Not a bad choice, but Short’s makes much better beers than this.

Good News!

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Good news for micro-brew lovers!  Milking It brewery in Royal Oak, MI now has its products in finer party and grocery stores in Southeastern Michigan, in pint CANS, no less.  I’m a big fan of the Axl Pale Ale.  Pick up a six pack.  Yes, now.

Now Drinking

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Keweenaw Brewing Company Pick Axe Blonde

Style: American Blonde

ABV: ???

I was completely unable to find any information of the alcohol content of Pick Axe Blonde.  For some reason, it’s not on the can.

At any rate, this beer delivers what it promises.  It’s a perfectly blonde beer, with a medium-full body that is heftier than I expected.  I do like my blondes with a lot of body .  As the side of the can says it has just a kiss of hops, which is refreshing in these days of hop hysteria.  It’s almost too full-bodied for back porch sipping, but it has a great balance of maltiness and sweetness.  That and the busty blonde babe on the can, and you can’t go wrong.  I think I’m developing a big crush on this blonde.