Review 49: Hammer & Sickle

Review 49
5/29/12
Hammer & Sickle Vodka: 40% abv

Alright, so this is my first vodka review. This might catch the attention of a few people, since vodka is the spirit of the college student. Why don't we throw it under scrupulous analysis and see if it comes out to be worth all the attention. To start, there is one huge misconception with vodka that you can hear if you talk to any regular mixed drink "connoisseurs": vodka doesn't have a taste. Last time I checked, this isn't true. So I put it under the test to see. Let's start on the nose. There's a large burn on this vodka on the nose, but still, subtle hints of vanilla, agave, spiciness, caramel, and a more prominent wet paint smell come through. In the taste, one can gather very little, as most of the flavor comes in the finish, but there is vanilla, wheat, caramel, and cream with a notable pasty mouth feel to it. When water is added to the vodka, (admittedly too much) the taste balances out and provides a much better buttery cream taste to it, with a sort of flour dough taste that might scream baking soda to it. On the finish, there is much more flavor, presenting wheat, vanilla, cinnamon, orange malt, slight slight SLIGHT hint of egg, coconut and presents a hot burn with a medium long finish. The addition of water kills the finish completely. So believe it or not, there is something to be noted in vodka. This one isn't exceptional, but it beats your standard cheap Burnetts or Smirnoff. 

Score: 8.0/10

Review 47: Jose Cuervo Tradicional Reposado

Review 47
5/29/12
Jose Cuervo Tradicional Reposado: 40% abv

In this review, we cover the second of the Jose Cuervo Tradicional line. These means it's still 100% pure agave, which is again a good thing. To clarify the "reposado" designation accompanied with this tequila, reposado implies that the tequila is "rested", or aged in oak barrels for at least 2 months and no longer than a year. So what has oak done to this tequila for it's resting period? Well on the nose, one can smell honey, agave, a floral note, pineapple, cantaloupe, and pepper, with slight earthy undertones. Looking at the taste, there is a more prominent maltiness than with the silver, along with hints of barley, honey, honeydew melon, agave, cayenne pepper, vanilla, apple, molasses, butterscotch and that same earthy character detected in the nose. The finish is hot like a cinnamon burn, with jalapeño, anise, agave and cinnamon sticking though, although disappointingly still medium short. Overall, this is a vast improvement over the Silver. This isn't a shock, as most reposado tequilas are going to have more quality and run for more dough as well. Here's the conclusion:

Score: 8.0/10

Review 46: Jose Cuervo Tradicional Silver

Review 46
5/29/12
Jose Cuervo Tradicional Silver: 40% abv

Alright. Here's tequila. This is a silver tequila, which means it is not aged. So look past the stupid bottle. This is the nicer version of the regular Jose Cuervo. In essence, this tequila is 100% pure agave, which is a good thing. Not much to say beyond this, so on to the tasting notes. On the nose, one can gather slight smells of jalapeño, honey, lemon, cantaloupe, sea weed, and the obvious agave. It should be noted that the subtleties in tequila are much different than any other spirit, so these might not be apparent in first tasting. On the taste, one can smell honey, agave, malt, sweet tea, citrus, nut, and pineapple. There aren't huge flavors in this tequila, but this at least shows a great balance. On the finish, one can take away cinnamon, honey, the slight taste of cigar, and malt. The finish is medium short as well. Overall, this tequila is basic, but nice for the price. Worth getting over the regular Jose Cuervo line. 

Score: 7.0/10

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

Review 39: Unibroue Trois Pistoles

Review 39
5/13/12
Unibroue Trois Pistoles: 9% abv

We tried one of Unibroue's beers before, if you didn't recall. Unfortunately, it struck us as a little too sweet and lacking complexity. We decided to give them another chance to see how they measured up a second time. And at 9%, I expect to see more flavor involved. The nose is complex and enjoyable enough. There is raison, grape, vermouth, apple butter (I have no idea what this is, but the "panel" swears to me it exists), nutmeg, pumpkin and pear on the nose. The taste yields more pumpkin, starting to reveal what this beer is about. Besides pumpkin, the taste contains lemon, nutmeg, pear, champagne, and "october spices" and the panel described it. They're doing so good with the stuff I can't personally identify. The finish has pumpkin, pear, and is medium long. I originally gave this beer an 8.0 out of 10. But I think I'm overusing that number. I believe this beer is too interesting and unique to be underscored. If you like pumpkins, try it? I have no idea who to recommend this to, frankly. 

Score: 8.5/10

Review 34: Konig Ludwig Weissbier

Review 34
5/13/12
König Ludwig Weissbier: 5.5% abv

Alright, so I'm going to try and stay positive, but this was really a demoralizing way to start with a restart to the beer reviews. It was interesting enough looking, but definitely not what I would call "the best" of all beers. Some of our panel of beer testers were not happy with the results. Here's the notes. On the nose, there's champagne, grapes, honey, apple, wheat, strawberry and extra fruitiness. It was a light nose, and seemed a little sweet for our taste. On the tasting notes, there aren't many. Probably because the best note there was was water. Although there were hints of caramel, wheat, apple, molasses and slight ginger, water overtook everything. For this price, nobody is paying to drink water. The finish is short, with apple and molasses, along with an unpleasant metallic character to it. Not worth the money, not a good beer, and not worth my time. Don't bother with it. 

Score: 2.5/10

Review 40: Sasquatch Stout

Review 40

5/13/12

Sasquatch Stout: 7.0% abv

Admittedly, we were way too excited about this beer, just because the cover was just too funny. We definitely just bought this beer because it was called Sasquatch Stout. But we did it so you didn't have to. Straight to it then. 

The nose has coffee, cinnamon, chocolate, molasses, maple syrup, vanilla, and spicy and smokey hints to it. The taste has chocolate and coffee, with lemon right on the arrival, and a bitterness to boot. The finish is medium with bitterness and coffee too it. I know stouts are supposed to be coffee-ish, but please please please, too much coffee without other characters too it makes it coffee, not beer. That's what this is. 

Coffee dominates the taste and finish, and moreso than I believe a stout really should. Founders Breakfast Stout really depicts how it doesn't have to be this way. For this reason, not the best score, but not the worst beer either. It does have a Sasquatch on it!

Score: 7.0/10

Review 38: Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree

Review 38
5/13/12
Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree: 13.6% abv

Whoa...this is practically a liqueur. Setting the record for the highest percent alcohol beer we've tried here, this one was definitely of interest to us. Matt still noted crooked tree on the nose, but interestingly, he smelled two of them this time around.

On the nose, there is pine, lemon, grapefruit, honey, pineapple, red wine, and a f...loral note. The nose is actually very pleasant. The taste though, is a bit different. With a great hoppy bitterness at the base of this beer, there are a few notes like molasses, honey, grapefruit, juniper berry, pine and melon and cut through, but overall the bitterness overpowers this beer. Unfortunately, this takes away from the complexity and enjoyability of the beer in my opinion.

The finish is medium-long, with grapefruit and hops carrying over mostly, and also some honey and lemon along with it. Although I was really looking forward to this beer after having had the "not double" Crooked Tree and enjoying it so much, there is a lack of balance in this beer, that knocks it down a peg from the original.

Score: 8.0/10

Review 36: Hazed & Infused Dry-hopped Ale

Review 36
5/13/12
Hazed & Infused Dry-hopped Ale: 4.9% abv

If you are looking at the picture and wondering why there is a massive head on this beer, I can't really explain it without sounding stupid. Why the picture was blurry: I was laughing too hard. Anyway, this is a dry-hopped ale, which is generally a milder version of a comparable IPA. This one doesn't have a lot to be said about it.

On the ...nose, one can smell strong apple cider, complimented with grapefruit, strawberry, lemon, pear, and hops, with a settling earthiness to the smell as well. The floral aspect is mild in this beer, unlike an IPA which generally has a stronger presence. The taste is earthy and floral, with lemon, sprite and possibly cinnamon as tasting notes. There is a spiciness and sweetness to this one. The finish is medium-short and earthy, with strong lemon in it.

In conclusion, this is a kind of bland dry-hopped ale, lacking in thick flavor. It is an alright introduction into the world of PAs. I can say this is a foamy beer!

Score: 6.5/10