Review 128: John Henry West Indies Pale Ale

Review 128

1/6/13

John Henry West Indies Pale Ale: 9.4% abv

Here’s a look at a unique pale ale made by a brewery in Minnesota. To be honest, we can’t tell you a whole lot about them, but we can tell you they’re out there. We can also give you a guess on whether or not you should buy a bottle. I don’t believe to any degree that one should ever stop looking for a new, better craft brew or spirit or wine to try. The adventure on its own is an extremely rewarding experience. 

So why did we pick this one? There is a simple reason: this particular pale ale was aged in dark rum oak spirals. They also have a beer aged with bourbon, and one with brandy. There is debate about whether oak spirals or oak casks impart better flavor, but we don’t think that those anorak discussions are worth spending time on when exploring. There is not a large amount of experimentation done with rum-aged beers, and especially dark rum as far as we can tell. Bourbon tends to dominate in these parts. Innis and Gunn does it with great success, so can this company pull it off too? 

Let’s start with the nose and find out. The aroma is dark, but maybe not overly-potent. There is a unique mixture of flavors, but it starts with light roasted malt, oak, molasses, caramel, gentle hops, light coffee and chocolate in dark flavors. There is another aspect in fruit smells, including pear, black berries, strawberry, and pineapple. The nose is a very satisfactory start to the beer. From here, the taste becomes a little different. 

The arrival is empty in mouth-feel, but has some contributing flavors of spice, sweetness, slight tartiness and some citrus. One can experience aggressive molasses which can only be assumed to be from the dark rum, toffee, and orange peel. This isn’t a complex arrival, but does introduce the beer adequately. Now that the red carpet has been rolled forth, the taste comes out. The body is sugary, with the same molasses character as the arrival. There is the addition of caramel, orange-like citrus, toffee, and some raisons. The body does a good job of building off of the arrival without overdoing it. 

The finish is going to have the same effect though. Molasses. You might notice a common note here, and we’ll comment on that soon. The finish contains grainy notes including barley, wheat, and yeast, but is complemented by vanilla, toffee, raisons, hops, and even a distinct soda water taste. The finish is medium short, so it doesn’t stick around too much. 

The end of this tune is that there is a definite presence of dark rum, which is both good and bad. We think that it over-dominates the taste profile, and does not leave room for complexity. This shouldn’t be a surprise, but we’d like to see a little less rum balance. This company could learn from the whisky industry and mix this rum-casked beer with some 2nd or 3rd fill cask beer, or some fresh beer to balance the flavors. This is a decent beer, and we’d like to see more experimentation with these non-traditional aging spirits. 

Score: 7.75/10

Review 56: New Holland Rye Hatter

Review 56

6/8/12

New Holland Rye Hatter: 6.12% abv

We're still counting down. And tonight, we're counting down with some malted rye. This one represents a very different style in the hatter family. Besides the nice color, there is a lot to be had from this one, and so I'll just jump past the gumpy overalls guy and move onto the tasting notes. 

On the nose, we have caramel, malt, hops, lemon, honey, ginger, slight pine, anise, vanilla, and a rum-like sugarcane note, coupled with slight earthiness. The nose is one of the most complex noses in the Hatter family, and also pleasant and blended. The taste is creamy, with lemon, pine, hops, malt, rye, caramel, a spicy character, malt, apple, and sugarcane. This is again very complex and pleasant. The finish is spicy and bitter,with grapefruit, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon and lasts quite a while. 

It is definitely a long finish, although it does not provide nearly the complexity and quality as the taste and nose. Overall, this is great beer, with a slightly less complex finish and unbalanced taste, with a stronger tartness. Definitely worth trying.

Score: 9.0/10

Review 42: Olde Peninsula Tornado Pale Ale

Review 42
5/14/12
Olde Peninsula Tornado Pale Ale: 7.25% abv

As you can tell from the picture, this proves to be an exception to our general process of reviewing beers. It turns out, there is a place in Kalamazoo, a Brewpub, called Olde Peninsula. Upon arriving there, a few of my colleagues and myself enjoyed some good spirits, and tried this here seasonal pale ale. Our curiosities were peaked, bu...t they do not sell in bottles. So we picked up this here "growler" Here's what we thought when we gave it an official review.

On the nose, this pale ale will impress you with pineapple right off the bat, with other notes being hops, floral notes, grapefruit, lemon and peach. The nose is not actually very complex, but it is enjoyable with it's refreshing pineapple smell. From there things do get better though, with a taste containing hops, rye, wheat, grapefruit, lemon, peach, pineapple, and a sweet characteristic arrival. The finish turns bitter and dry, with hops, grapefruit and a slight nuttiness. The finish is medium-long in length.

Overall, this is a good expression of craft seasonal beers. Although not the most complex beer ever, and maybe too bitter for me personally, I had a good time trying it and going to Olde Peninsula.

Score: 8.5/10