I came across Sion Beer at a local festival in South Florida. The beer booth had the usual macros on tap plus one beer that I had never heard of. Sion by Brauhaus, from Cologne, Germany. Figuring that it couldn't be any worse than the other taps of yellow fizzy water, I gave it a shot. It was a gamble that paid off.
The cup I was handed had very little head. The beer had a golden color and didn't give off much of a smell.
I immediately noticed that this beer has a medium body with a crisp, slightly hoppy taste and a medium carbonation level.
My wife's initial comment was that she thought that it was "similar to Bud but with something extra, more body, more umpfh."
I tried to do a little research on this beer to see if there was some sort of an interesting story behind it but their website was completely in German. Since Hogan's Heroes is no longer in syndication like it used to be, my chances of learning enough German to pass something along to you are pretty slim so you're on your own.
I did learn that it packs 5% alcohol but this is an easy drinking beer so there is no discernable alcohol taste or feeling. This is definitely a sessionable beer that would be great for the beach, a party, a ball game or any other venue where a red Solo cup could be found. This is one I'd buy again if I came across it again.
This is beer is brewed by Swamp Head Brewery in Gainesville, Florida. As the name suggests, it's a cream ale with honey added to it. Swamp Head uses Florida Tupelo Honey from the swamps of Northwest Florida because of it's taste and purity.
This beer was very pale yellow in color and had very little head.The aroma had a little sweetness to it with a slight honey scent.
Wild Night is a very drinkable brew with a light taste. It's pretty mild and there is a bit of honey sweetness surround by a grass-like flavor. This is not a really hoppy beer and the carbonation is in the mild to medium range. While the alcohol level is a tad high at 5.9% it was not noticable at all.
Wild Night is a beer that you can sit and drink all afternoon on a hot day. I could imagine myself drinking this out by the pool on a July afternoon or while cutting the lawn.
I came across Lindemans’ Framboise Lambic while looking for something different to enjoy with dessert one evening. I've had other raspberry beers that have been really good so I figured this one was worth a shot. I got a 750ml wine-style bottle and after peeling off the foil wrapping, discovered that not only did it have a traditional beer bottle cap, it also had a cork. I had left it in the refrigerator over night so it was in the neighborhood of the suggested 38-41 degrees listed on the bottle.
I started to pour it into snifter glasses and immediately had to back-off due to the thick foamy head that was forming. The beer itself had a purplish-rose color while the head was more of a dark pink. There was no mistaking the raspberry scent given off while the head dissipated.
The pucker factor kicked in when I took the first sip but the tartness quickly went away to leave the sweetness of the berries. Lots of sweetness. We paired this drink up with some Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies and the chocolate from the cookies together with the raspberry flavor from the beer was a marriage made in heaven.
The alcohol comes in at a low 2.50%.
While this isn't a beer that I would drink regularly, I'd have no hesitation serving it with dessert again.
This beer comes from Boonville, California and the label identifies it as "a unique beverage created to add warmth to even the coldest and darkest of winter's days."
One thing that jumped out at me when i picked up this bottle was that the cap stated that the brewery is solar-powered. Seemed pretty cool. The label says that it is to be stored between 40 and 45 degrees because it is not heat pasteurized nor sterile filtered, I got it from the unrefrigerated aisle of my local store. Fortunately, I did not notice any ill-effects from this.
This beer pours a reddish-amber in color. The sweet smell is very noticeable. I noticed a little spicy scent too.
The malts give it a caramel taste that goes well with the added holiday spices. I sensed nutmeg and cinnamon with perhaps a little citrus along the way.
While it packs a slightly higher alcohol level at 6.9%, it isn't overpowering.
The label says that it is to be stored between 40 and 45 degrees because it is not heat pasteurized nor sterile filtered, I got it from the unrefrigerated aisle of my local store. Fortunately, I did not notice any ill-effects from this.
This is a very drinkable beer. I wish I had bought more than one.
When you see this beer on the shelf, it's classy and elegant label screams out that it is something special.
Brooklyn Brewery calls this their "award-winning rendition of the Imperial Stout style, once made exclusively for Catherine the Great."
From the minute you open up and pour Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, it lives up to it's name. It's jet black in color and has a strong but pleaseant chocolate smell.
This beer has a strong semi-sweet chocolate taste that gives way to a toffee flavor. It's very flavorful and Warms you right up. While this brew packs 10% alcohol, it's not overpowering.
I enjoyed my Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout with a bowl of ice cream, it would pair up well with chocolate cake or even some cheese cake.
BCS is a beer that is suitable for cellaring. It is also resonably priced, the four-pack set me back less than $10. If you missed out on it this year, you definetely should keep an eye out for it next year.
Even though this is Florida, I like the winter months because all the seasonal beers come out. Today’s selection is the Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale. This beer is quite the departure from Blue Moon’s regular or summer beer. The bottle says that it’s a copper-colored ale crafted with roasted malts, Belgian sugar and a touch of wheat for a rich caramel flavor and a smooth toffee finish. After taking a sip, I couldn’t agree more – their description is right on. While many winter beers can be pretty heavy (not a bad thing, particularly if its cold out), this beer is considerably lighter in taste, likely due to the use of wheat. The beer is pretty sweet – perhaps a bit more than I generally prefer, but I thought it was quite good. Not something one will likely drink a lot of but it is definitely worth giving a try.
Florida Beer Company’s entry in to the winter releases includes Conchtoberfest, their German-style Marzen beer. While its brewed in Melbourne, the packaging is 100% Key West – with a relaxing look to the label and a quirky, blue glass bottle. The label indicates that it is manufactured in a way to be nice to the environment, including being carbon neutral and using 100% post-consumer content. While I didn’t hear the oompah band when I held it up to my ear, as promised on the label, the beer was enjoyable. It is a heavily malted beer in keeping with the Marzen style, but the sweetness was nicely balanced by a touch of bitterness that I could feel on the sides of my tongue. Caramel and butterscotch flavors are distinctly present, and the taste lasts well after the sip has moved its way down. Conchtoberfest is easy to drink – not too heavy but certainly not a light beer in taste and body. I look forward to the last few left in the six.
I recently asked Kevin from Bootlegger if he was interested in doing a guest review. Not only did he agree to do it, he picked a beer that just became available in parts of Florida. Check out....
The oldest and largest craft beer brewery in Texas, Saint Arnold Brewing Company, has begun distributing to Florida. Today I thought I would give you a brief review of one of its flagship brews, Elissa IPA.
I grabbed an assortment of Evolution beers when I was traveling not too long ago. Based on what I've tried so far, I'm wishing I would have gotten more.
Their Primal Pale Ale is a traditional pale with an ABV of 5%. It pours a clear golden-orange. It might not have been my best pour but I ended up with a thick, white head that dissipated pretty quickly, leaving behind a little lacing.
The aroma was definitely pine but there seemed to be a hint of citrus in there too.
There is some hoppiness to the mild pine flavor initially but is sort of seems to fade after the first couple of sips and gives way to to a little more sweetness with what seemed to be a weak grapefruit taste at the end. The carbonation was there but wasn't dominate, almost weak (could've partially had something to so with my pour) and could've used an uptick.
Overall, I found this to be a nice, clean sessionable ale that I could see myself sitting down with a six pack of to watch a game.
Since everyone has different tastes and preferences, not everyone is going to like the same things as me. Yes, I know that's hard to believe but it's true. I don't like mushrooms yet the mushroom industry flourishes. Go figure. Now because of this, I like to include guest reviews on the site so as to allow the sharing of other opinions and points of view. Fortunately Matt Murdick, aka @EatthisinkcMatt, was willing to share hisin the following review of Smoked Rye Imperial Porter by Santa Fe Brewing....