Review 33: Dark Horse Crooked Tree

 

Review 33
4/30/12
Dark Horse Crooked Tree: 6% abv

Obviously this is obviously an IPA. Now for my rant: For the first time ever, there was no abv rating on the bottle. This makes me believe that Dark Horse wants me to have trouble reviewing it, but they were clearly stopped! Thanks to Matt Goerlich for donating to this review and also contributing to it. You'll find his commentary quite...insightf...ul. The nose on this beer, Matt has observed, is like a "crooked tree would smell like".

 

Besides that great observation, the nose is floral, with lemon, pine, grapefruit, honey, strawberry, and pineapple. It is a great nose from an IPA. The taste is complex and balanced, and very enjoyable. The taste has citrus, lemon, pine, hops, honey, juniper berry, wheat, vanilla, and grapefruit. The finish has lemon, is bitter, and tastes of hops, and is medium in length.

 

This IPA is very well balanced and complex, and is probably one of the best IPAs we've tasted to date. For that reason, it will be given a very good rating. Thanks again Matt.

Score: 9.0/10

Review 29: Lion Stout

Review 29

4/22/12

Lion Stout: 8.8% abv

With a long and complex name, Lion Stout goes to a new level of originality and creativity. After finishing my sarcasm, I'd like to mention that at 8.8%, this is a very high quality stout for a VERY reasonable price. On the nose, there is chocolate, vanilla, berries, redline, grapes, and strawberries. 

The taste is grainy, with wear malt and barley all present, as well as vanilla, cherry, strawberry, cinnamon, and melon. The finish, has strawberry, cinnamon,grain, coffee, grape and vanilla. The finish is medium, and leaves more to be desired. This is one of the cheaper beers we've tried, and the intrinsic quality of this beer is amazing for that very fact. For bang for the buck, this beer ranks a 10/10. Unfortunately, there's more to it. It is still highly recommended. 

Score: 9.0/10

Review 23: Founders Double Trouble

Review 23
4/19/12
Founders Double Trouble: 9.4% abv

This is an imperial IPA, also known as a double IPA. I've been told by sources that an IPA generally sits between 5-7% abv, while an imperial IPA is above that. That would explain this categorization. Generally speaking, higher alcohol content yields more flavor, and this IPA proves as no exception. On the nose, one can find pear, lemon, grapefruit, honey, pine, hops, and light floral notes. The nose is well balanced and light, having a pleasant aroma. The taste becomes bittersweet, but with much more balance of sweetness compared to a regular IPA. One can taste apple, grapefruit, honey and pineapple on the palate. The finish is long, with notes of apple, grapefruit, lemon and nutmeg. From the IPAs we've had in the past, this is a great step forward, for not too much more of a price. 
Score: 9.0/10

Review 24: Founders Dry-Hopped Pale Ale

Review 24
4/19/12
Founders Dry-Hopped Pale Ale: 5.4% abv

With a tradition of very exciting and original names, Founders brings us a dry-hopped pale ale. The nose on this beer is filled with traditional pale ale characters, having pineapple, grapefruit, honey, and cinnamon. It has to be said though that there is a slight off-putting scent in this beer, characterized as drying paint. It was not prominent and most would not notice it. The taste is hoppy, salty, with characters such as wood, malt, lemon, lime, pine and even some sprite. Although this is true, there is a watery character to the beer, which stands out like a hole in a bathroom stall. The finish is medium short, with malt, wood, and lemon-lime characters. The finish is pleasant, which makes it all the more disappointing when it's gone in two seconds. So for this one, the watery character, possibly intrinsic to the alcohol content, along with the shorter finish, really knocks this otherwise pleasant beer down. 

Score: 8.0/10

Review 25: Unibroue Ephemere

Review 25
4/19/12
Unibroue Ephemere: 5.5% abv

Once you get the name of this beer, IF you get past the name of this beer, then you can start to get past it. Don't be fooled by the foil top or fancy name; it isn't doing any favors for this beer. This is a flavored ale. I generally try to stay away from flavored beers, but I was too distracted by the fancy name and the foil top. On the nose, one cantake away champagne, white grapes, green apple, melon, and kiwi. The taste contains pineapple, apple, kiwi, grapes, and apple juice, with a slight tartness to it. The finish is extremely short with lemon, melon and grape in it, but you wouldn't know it because it's only there for a second. To summarize this beer, it is a flavored beer. It is slightly watery, not nearly complex enough, and lacks in a finish. If you like sweet, simple beers, it's still a recommended try. My mark will not reflect that. 
Score: 7.0/10

Review 22: Founders Centennial IPA

Review 22
4/17/12
Founders Centennial IPA: 7.2% abv

The first thing that stood out about this beer was the balance of the fragrances. It can be noted that in an IPA, generally a floral, bitter, grapefruit nose comes through, but the floral bit can be quite overpowering. In this one, it isn't. The nose contains lemon, pine, sugarcane, malt, pineapple and honey as well as the previously mentioned characters. It is a fresh nose and extremely well balanced and complex. As far as the taste goes, it is disappointingly less complex. The grapefruit, lemon, and honey stick through to the taste, but unfortunately the taste lacks depth. Other tasting notes include juniper berries, and cherry on the arrival. The finish is bitter as an IPA finish is, with primarily lemon and grapefruit concluding. 

Not bad, not my favorite. The complexity in the nose leads to a higher expectation of flavors in the taste, in my opinion. 

Score: 8.0/10

Review 18: Founders Red's Rye

Review 18: 
4/14/12
Founders Red's Rye P.A.: 6.6% abv

This is a pale ale brewed with rye. Needless to say, I was excited for this ale because rye whiskey is a fantastic deviation from bourbon. Unfortunately, this predisposition towards the taste left me slightly disappointed. On the nose, one gathers floral notes, apples, cherry, honey, pear, and ginger. The taste is hoppy, floral, earthy, with a mellow bite and slight ginger and the common grapefruit taste that's associated with pale ales. The finish is spicy and floral, with hops. The finish is medium long. This is not the most complex beer, not did it have the rye character I was looking for. It is still a good beer, but not my favorite as far as complexity goes. 

Score: 7.5/10

Review 15: Founders All Day IPA

Review 15
4/9/12
Founders All Day IPA Session Ale: 4.7% abv

This is an India Pale Ale, and there is a car on the bottle. I don't know why. Anyway. This has a nice floral nose, with peaches, apple, lemon, grapefruit, and slight ginger. The nose is extremely pleasant and easy. In the taste, there is hops, grapefruit, citrus, nutmeg and some herbal, floral notes. The finish is medium, but not complex, with a contrasting sweet and bitter combination, and with lemon jumping out. This is a nice beer that is easy to drink. Unfortunately, the complexity of this beer doesn't measure up to the Mad Hatter IPA from New Holland. 

Score: 8/10

Review 16: Founders Cerise Cherry Fermented Ale

Review 16
4/9/12
Founders Cerise Cherry Fermented Ale: 6.5% abv

Okay. To summarize this beer, it's not beer. I have a feeling any girl could drink this like a Mike's, so take that for what it is. There's not a lot to say. The nose contains vanilla, citrus, slight slight cinnamon, and ironically not much cherry. The nose is light and sweet. The taste....the taste....sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet. It is cherry, vanilla, citrus, and lemon in taste. The finish is mainly lemon, and sweet. It is medium-short and more sweet. To sum it up, this beer isn't complex but it is easy to drink. I can't give this a good rating, because I rate beers for complexity. If you would like a beer for ease of drink, this is a 10 out of 10. But for what it is, it isn't fantastic.

Score: 6.5/10

Review 8: New Holland Mad Hatter

Review 8
4/1/12
New Holland Mad Hatter: 5.25% abv

This is an India Pale Ale and it is evident on first smell. The nose is complex with strong floral notes, pear, grapes, lemon, sugar, and sweet spice. The taste is hoppy, has lemon, strong notes of grapefruit, mint, and cinnamon. The finish is medium long and is VERY bitter, with lemon, juniper berries, grapefruit and is slightly salty. The bitter characteristics of an IPA can turn some people off to them, but if you can get past that, the complexity is worth enjoying. 

Score: 8.5/10