Review: DuClaw Serum Double IPA

DuClaw Serum Double IPA
9.0% ABV
DuClaw Brewing Co., Abingdon, MD
12 oz btl

Served in Duvel tulip glass
No date on bottle

Reviewed on 3/5/13

This IPA pours a cloudy, moderately dark amber color with a thin off-white head that dissipates quickly.  Mild lacing.

Smell consists of hops, malt, citrus, slight honey, some grapefruit, sugariness. 

Taste consists of hops, citrus, grapefruit, malt, sugar, alcohol, floral, hint of spice, a slight whiskey note.

Mouthfeel is fairly smooth with some decent if understated hop bitterness.  A bit hot with alcohol but not unpleasant.

Overall, this is a fairly malt IPA with some decent hop bitterness (though it's not overwhelming).  Some decent citrusy grapefruit flavors come through, and there's a bit of an alcohol taste.  The bottle doesn't have a date on it so there's no telling how old this one was, but it's maltiness has characteristics of having some age.  It would be interesting to see if it's ever more hoppy.

My score: 86

Review: Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter

Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter
5.0% ABV
Samuel Smith Old Brewery, Yorkshire, England
18.7 oz btl
Served in Dogfish Head Signature Glass
Reviewed on 12/8/12

This porter pours a dark brown color with a thick, full beige-colored head.  Great lacing.

Smell consists of coffee, chocolate, malt, slight hops, slight licorice, some breadiness, some burnt aroma.

Taste has malt, chocolate, coffee, licorice, slight yeast, slight breadiness, mild hops, good pervasive burnt flavor throughout.

Mouthfeel is smooth, creamy, nice thickness on the palate.  Flavors have excellent balance, all held together by a nice creamy texture.

Overall, this is a super tasty, quite smooth classic porter.  Creamy, consistent profile of flavors that comes across as an almost sessionable mellowness.  Nice touches of coffee, chocolate, and malt, with a good porter-like burnt flavor moving from start to finish.  An all around excellent porter, and it can be had at a nice price.

My score: 94

Review: Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre
8.0% ABV
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
12 oz bottle
Served in St. Bernardus chalice
Date on bottle: Bottled on 11/9/12
Reviewed on 2/1/13

This strong ale pours a deep amber color with a thin white head that dissipates quickly.  Decent lacing.  Mild evident carbonation.

Smell consist of malt, biscuit, hops, sugar, slight caramel, mild chocolate, notes of dark fruits.

Taste has malt, biscuit, raisin, mild hops, sugar, caramel, some cherry, slight cough syrup.

Mouthfeel is earthy, somewhat syrupy, sugariness coating the tongue. 

Overall, this is a nice tasting ale with a unique profile of flavors.   Malty sugariness and dark fruits are prevalent here.  This one is a bit difficult to categorize, which is okay.  It's listed as a Belgian strong dark ale, but it's also reminiscent of a winter warmer type ale, as well as a brown ale.  Typical for Dogfish Head, it's a bit all over the map at times but in a good way.


My score: 90

Review: Sierra Nevada Stout

Sierra Nevada Stout
5.8% ABV
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
12 oz btl

Served in Dogfish Head signature glass
No date on bottle
Reviewed on 7/3/13

This stout pours a dark brown color with a thin beige head that dissipates quickly.  Moderate lacing.

Smell consists of roasted malt, coffee, some chocolate, hops, caramel, mild soy, touch of spice.

Taste consists of dry roasted malt, coffee, hops, bitter chocolate, touch of floral and herbs, some caramel.

Mouthfeel is dry and bitter on the palate.  Consistent body from front to back.

Overall, this is a nice dry and bitter stout has a nice profile of flavors.   Roasted malt, coffee, chocolate, and hops come together with some nice touches of floral, herbs, and even caramel.  The body on this is consistent from start to finish.  After the first few tastes, it's dry and bitter, but with a few more tastes, a creaminess emerges.  Another solid effort from reliable stalwart Sierra Nevada.


My score: 90

Review: Weyerbacher Insanity

Weyerbacher Insanity
11.1% ABV

Weyerbacher Brewing Co., Easton, PA

12 oz btl
Served in Burley Oak tulip glass
No date on bottle
Reviewed on 7/19/13

This English barleywine pours a cloudy amber color with some particles floating around and a thin bubbly beige colored head that quickly dissipates.  Moderate lacing.

Smell consists of malt, alcohol, bourbon, brown sugar, dark fruit, candy, wood.

Taste consists of sugary malt, oak, slight hops, brown sugar, cherry, raisin, dark fruit, wood alcohol, bourbon.

Mouthfeel is fairly smooth on the palate though some definite alcohol harshness comes through.  The sugariness is a touch cloying.

Overall, this is a decent enough tasting English barleywine that's quite sweet with some definite tastes of alcohol, bourbon, and dark fruit.  The sweetness can be just a touch too much at times, but overall it seems to fit with the character of this particular beer.  There's also a decent wood flavor component also, as the bottle says it's aged in oak barrels.


My score: 89

Review: Union Balt Altbier

Union Balt Altbier
5.6% ABV
Union Craft Brewing, Baltimore, MD
12 oz can

Served in Dogfish Head signature glass
No date on can

Reviewed on 7/12/13 

This altbier pours a dark brownish amber color with a good bubbly ivory-colored head with decent carbonation.

Smell consists of malt, caramel, hops, dark fruit, brown sugar, slight wheat, bread/biscuit, touch of floral. 

Taste consists of toasty malt, slight hops, burnt caramel, cherry, bread/biscuit, slight spice.

Mouthfeel is smooth mostly on the palate with a good touch of bitterness near the end.

Overall, this is a nice tasting, malty altbier with good flavors of bread/biscuit, dark fruit, and brown sugar. Somewhat reminiscent of Brewer's Art Resurrection, though with a bit more dark fruit and a touch more bitterness, and more of a lagery wheat feel (as to be expected).  Quite drinkable.  Nice version of a not often seen style.

My score: 90

Review: Stone Old Guardian Oak Smoked Barleywine

Stone Old Guardian Oak Smoked Barleywine (2013)
11.4% ABV
The Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, San Diego County, CA

22 oz btl

Served in Burley Oak tulip glass

Bottled on 2/7/13
Reviewed on 6/28/13

Appearance: Pours a solid amber color with a nice frothy ivory-colored head that has good retention.  Good lacing.

Smell: Malt, dark fruit, hops, sugar, alcohol, oak, mild citrus, slight bourbon.

Taste: Dry, smoky maltiness, alcohol, mild dark fruit, burnt sugar, some hops, touch of bourbon, pepperiness. 

Mouthfeel: Quite dry and somewhat harsh on the palate.  Slight bitterness.  Somewhat difficult to take big sips.

Overall: Nice looking, interestingly harsh barleywine that demands sipping.  Dryness and smokiness really come through on the palate, almost aggressively so at the forefront.  The smell and appearance are really nice, as it has a traditional barleywine type aroma and looks quite rich in the glass.  The taste gets good points for being distinctive, but it's fairly harsh in that regard.

My score: 88

Review: Stone RuinTen IPA

Stone RuinTen IPA (2013)
10.8% ABV

The Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, San Diego County, CA

22 oz btl

Served in Duvel tulip glass

No date on bottle
Reviewed on 7/5/13

This double IPA pours a bright amber, slightly gold color with a bubbly off-white head.

Smell has strong hops (even with the glass not quite near the nose), pine, citrus, slight grass, touch of malt, some spice, grapefruit.

Taste has dry and bitter hops, some malt, grapefruit, pine, floral/grassiness, citrus, spice, slight pepper.

Mouthfeel is quite dry and bitter on the palate yet some decent smoothness in the middle.  Lingers on the palate, as to be expected.

Overall, this a quite hopped double IPA that is fairly dry and bitter yet smooth in the middle, as some semblance of malt asserts itself. Citrusy with grapefruit and some orange and even lemon flavors coming through, and accented well with a good presence of pine and floral.  The bottle says it's "a stage dive into a mosh pit of hops," and yet again Stone rocks it with an IPA.  Each one is hoppy, tasty, and distinct.

My score: 95

Review: The Alchemist Heady Topper

The Alchemist Heady Topper
8.0% ABV
The Alchemist, Waterbury, VT
16 oz can

Served in Duvel tulip glass
No date on can

Reviewed on 7/7/13 

This double IPA pours a hazy gold color with a bubbly white head that has good retention. Great lacing.

Smell consists of strong resiny hops, grapefruitm floral, grassy, slight pepper, some malt, some salt.. 

Taste consists of strong hops that are moderately dry and bitter, grapefruit, floral, herbal, peppery, some malt, touch of salt, some wheat, touch of white wine.

Mouthfeel has the hops penetrating the mouth, giving a full, balanced feel on the palate.  Very fresh.

Overall, this is fresh, hoppy IPA that has a strong, definite taste that penetrates the mouth but yet is decently balanced and not overly done.  Even as it's hoppy with strong grapefruit/citrus flavors, other flavors such as floral/herbal notes, pepper, and malt come through.  Very drinkable.  This has become the Holy Grail for craft beer drinkers in the U.S. (ranked #1 on Beer Advocate).  It's easy to see why it's so highly sought after.

My score: 97

Review: Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout

Samuel Smith's Organic Chocolate Stout
5.0% ABV
Samuel Smith Old Brewery, Yorkshire, England
18.7 oz btl
Served in Samuel Smith nonic pint glass
No date on bottle
Reviewed on 3/3/13


This stout pours a fairly dark brown color with a frothy, bubbly beige head with great retention.  Very fizzy and active when poured.  Solid lacing.

Smell consists of chocolate, coffee, hot cocoa powder like flavor, malt, hint of vanilla, mild hops.

Taste consists of chocolate (like a chocolate candy bar), malt, coffee, mild vanilla, mild hops.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with some good chocolatey and cocoa like bitterness.  Nice balance of flavors.  Hint of dryness.

Overall, this is a quite tasty chocolate stout that has a strong chocolatey taste.  On the nose and palate, it's like having a liquid candy bar, or breaking open a packet of hot cocoa powder, or taking a tour through a chocolate factory.  Nice touches of coffee and vanilla as well.  It's a bit of a one trick pony, but it does it well.

My score: 92

Review: Stillwater Artisanal Existent

Stillwater Artisanal Existent
7.4% ABV
Stillwater Artisanal, Stratford, CT
12 oz btl

Served in Duvel tulip glass
Date on bottle: Bottled 4/4/13

Reviewed on 6/23/13 

This farmhouse ale pours a moderate brown color with a decent bubbly light beige head that has decent retention.

Smell consists of hops, wheat, caramel, malt, slight spice, slight licorice, some bread, slight honey. 

Taste consists of malt, wheat, caramel, hops, bread, some honey, mild dark fruit, touch of spice, earthy.

Mouthfeel has some bitterness and a touch of dryness on the palate.  A bit thin through the middle.  Farmy earthiness does come through.

Overall, this farmhouse ale comes across much better in the smell than the taste, which comes across a bit thin though there are a variety of flavors present.  It has an overall farmy earthiness going for it, and there are malt, wheat, caramel, and honey tastes coming through.  It's fairly interesting with some good flavor components happening, though it feels as if it could be more substantial.

My score: 86

Review: Union Duckpin Pale Ale

Union Duckpin Pale Ale
5.5% ABV
Union Craft Brewing, Baltimore, MD
12 oz can

Served in Duvel tulip glass
No date on can

Reviewed on 6/30/13 

This pale ale pours an amber-tinged golden color with a decent bubbly white head.  Good lacing.  Nice evident carbonation.

Smell consists of hops, citrus, grapefruit, malt, floral and herbal notes, some spice. 

Taste consists of hops that are decently dry and bitter, citrus, grapefruit, resin, floral/herbal, mild spice, some malt, some lingering pepperiness.

Mouthfeel is quite dry and bitter on the palate, packing an almost West Coast IPA feel.  Fairly smooth and consistent going down.

Overall, this is a quite good pale ale, made right around the corner from where I grew up.  This one comes close to mimicking an IPA, as it's decently hoppy with a strong citrus/grapefruit flavor, and its dryness and bitterness are reminiscent of a West Coast IPA.  Still, it's fairly smooth and easy to drink.  As it warms up, more maltiness comes through and balances it out.

My score: 92

Review: Victory Hop Wallop

Victory Hop Wallop
8.5% ABV
Victory Brewing Co., Downington, PA
12 oz btl

Served in Duvel tulip glass
Date on bottle: Enjoy by 2/7/2014

Reviewed on 6/2/13 

This IPA pours a bright golden amber color with a nice bubbly white head that has decent retention.  Somewhat hazy.  Moderate lacing.

Smell consists of hops, grapefruit, citrus, malt, some pepperiness, some floral/herbal notes, hint of wheat. 

Taste consists of bitter hops, grapefruit, citrus, dry wine, some malt, slight pepper, hint of floral.  Taste is much more pronounced than the smell.

Mouthfeel is dry and bitter on the palate yet quite smooth.  The intensity builds on the palate the more your drink.

Overall, dry, bitter, and hoppy IPA that has a fairly muted smell but a much stronger taste.  The hops are there, and there are some nice touches of citrus, spice, and floral.  If you like a dry, bitter, hoppy IPA, this fits the bill.  Fairly smooth for an IPA.

My score: 92