Category Archives: Spring

Arrowhead Pale Ale

Brewery:

Marshall Brewing Company

Aroma:

Big nose for a pale ale. I have had several batches and the aroma is starting to fade as the beer ages. When this beer is fresh it has a nice piney nose that resembles a good IPA.

Appearance:

Hazy orange amber with nice white rim. Good head retention.

Flavor:

This is the pale ale of 2012 for me. I would love to taste this next to Deschutes and Firestone. The beer starts with a pleasant big aroma. A near perfect malt base seems to provide just a hint of sweetness to the hoppy pale ale. It is bitter, but extremely drinkable with wonderful aroma’s. The beer finishes with a bit of hop bitterness and softness (chalky like a Deschutes ale).The tangy fruity hop melody lingers on the tongue as you enjoy each drop.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied

Overall Impression:

Wonderful pale ale. My favorite of 2012 so far.

Comments:

Tasted At:

Oklahoma Beer Festival and purchased a six pack from the local liquor store.

History:

Seasonal release

Ingredients:

Stats:

OG (ORIGINAL GRAVITY):

FG (FINAL GRAVITY):

IBU (INTERNATIONAL BITTERNESS UNITS):

SRM:

ABV (ALCOHOL BY VOLUME):

Other Commercial Examples:

Choc Spring IPA

Leave a reply

Brewery:

Choc Beer Company

Aroma:

Piney and Citrusy. Pretty big hop nose. Smells like chinook, but probably Cascade or Centennial

Appearance:

Bright, light amber brown. Pours with big frothy white head. Good head retention.

Flavor:

This is a good IPA. At first I didn’t like it and it isn’t on par with some of my favorites like Double Jack, however it has wonderful qualities. It starts with the nice hop aroma’s. First sip is bitter and dry. The beer finishes with a good malt, citrus flavor that makes this a pleasant drinkable IPA.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied, dry

Overall Impression:

★★★★★

Choc is making great strides in their quality. This is a nice spring ale.

Comments:

History:

Ingredients:

Stats:

OG (Original Gravity):

FG (Final Gravity):

IBU (International Bitterness Units):

SRM:

ABV (Alcohol By Volume):

Other Commercial Examples:

Maharaja

Leave a reply

Brewery:

Avery Brewing Company

Aroma:

Very sweet and malty aroma. No major hop nose is present.

Appearance:

bright cloudy orange, big foamy white head. Nice head retention

Flavor:

Huge malty semi sweetness is the first flavor experienced. As you drink the beer you start to notice the big bitter hop presence. You can start to taste some citrus notes when the bitterness hits. This beer is BIG. Lots of hops, lots of malts, and loads of flavor.

Mouthfeel:

Medium/Heavy. Sweet and smooth with a bitter tart bite.

Overall Impression:

I like a bit more drinkable IPA, but have always wanted to taste this beer.My bottle was brewed in June 2011, which is a bit older than I would have liked, but it still tastes fresh.

Comments:

History:

Ingredients:

Hops: Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial and Chinook
Malts: Two-row barley, caramel 120L, victory

Stats:

OG (Original Gravity): 1.090

FG (Final Gravity):

IBU (International Bitterness Units): 102

SRM:

ABV (Alcohol By Volume):

Other Commercial Examples:

Undercover Investigation Shut Down

Leave a reply

Brewery:

Lagunitas

Aroma:

Pours with a medium spicy slightly piney citrus hop aroma, but not huge.

Appearance:

Crystal Clear Amber

Flavor:

This is a malty bitter beer. It is loaded with body from the malts. Making this highly alcoholic beer a smooth drinking ale. The alcohol is noticeable, how could you miss it at over 9% . . . The large amount of bittering hops and high alcohol both contribute to the beers tart crisp bite. I don’t think it finishes as dry as the Wilco Tango Foxtrot.

Mouthfeel:

Big, malty, and full bodied.

Overall Impression:

This is a good beer, but seems out of place for a March release. I would welcome this beer in November as a winter warmer. Either way the beer is good. I think they are playing more off the events where they got slapped for a Marijuana deal that went down at the brewery on a Thursday tasting in 2005. Don’t skip this beer. It is a fantastic well balanced ale, but be ready because it packs a punch.

Comments:

History:

Ingredients:

Stats:

OG (Original Gravity): 1.092

FG (Final Gravity):

IBU (International Bitterness Units): 72.41

SRM:

ABV (Alcohol By Volume): 9.87%

Other Commercial Examples:

Wilco Tango Foxtrot

1 Reply

Brewery:

Lagunitas Brewing Company

Aroma:

First open of this beer is loaded with a nice piney nose. I think it comes from a Cascade Dry hop.

Appearance:

The beer has perfect clarity. It is a very dark ruby amber that you can see through clearly when held to a light, but otherwise is almost too dark to see through.

Flavor:

Has a big malty body, but nicely balanced with good bitter flavor from the hops. The beer taste full bodied and smooth when drinking. I love how that combines with the carbonation and bittering hops to leave a crisp semi dry finish. The malt flavors are complex and subtle.

Mouthfeel:

I love the body of this beer. It’s carbonation and bittering hops leave a crisp dry taste. The beer itself is smooth and full bodied making this a very enjoyable beer.

Overall Impression:

This beer is everything you could ask for. It is bitter, well balanced and loaded with aroma. The carbonation is perfect and it comes in a healthy 22 oz bottle.

Comments:

Lagunitas is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries. I love their attention to detail. I haven’t tasted a bad beer they have made. They do a great job of making their labels look rustic and established but they always have a very fresh new look. This brewery seems to do a great job of having a lot of seasonals, that are fairly consistent but are only available at certain times in the year. I think this really increases demand for their product and allows the brewery to meet this growing demand with limited equipment. I will rarely pass up buying a Lagunitas six pack or seasonal bottle, because I know that I might not see it for a while. I look forward to enjoying many more great beers from this brewery.

History:

Ingredients:

Stats:

OG (Original Gravity): 1.072

FG (Final Gravity):

IBU (International Bitterness Units): 64.2

SRM:

ABV (Alcohol By Volume): 7.8%

Other Commercial Examples:

Boss Tom’s Golden Bock

5 Replies

Boulevard’s most recent seasonal is Boss Tom’s Golden Bock. A Maibock lager to celebrate the spring. This beer is a light semi malty lager that doesn’t have a strong hop flavor. It has a distinct German feel. Boulevard does a good job of describing it as “A golden colored, light to medium bodied beer with a prominent bready malt flavor and a low to moderate hop bitterness.” I like the traditional Goat on the front label and the tie in to a historical KC figure (although I have done no fact checking). Overall there is much to be celebrated about this beer and it provides a great transition from some of my darker winter favorites to a warmer season.

6 Pack Price: $5.99

★★★★★

http://www.blvdbeer.com/bosstoms.htm

Other 5 Star Beers:

Ranger I.P.A.

Leave a reply

Brewery:

New Belgium Brewing Company

Aroma:

Light aroma hop flavor

Appearance:

Golden clear yellow

Flavor:

The beer has a good bitter flavor, but comes at the end of each drink. There is a nice bitter character to this beer, coupled with a light hop aroma when sipping.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied, smooth, lots of carbonation

Overall Impression:

I was excited to taste the beer. Mostly because the high hopped I.P.A. has gotten so much attention. The beers clarity and color were almost perfect. The taste was also good, but left me wanting something a bit more. It is tough to compare, because I drank a Dogfish Head 90 minute I.P.A. earlier in the week. The Ranger had good flavor, but nothing that made it unique. The bittering hops were there, but not huge. It seemed a little shy on the aroma hops and most of the taste comes at the end of the drink. I don’t want to knock this beer, because it is better than most company’s IPA’s, but there are IPA’s that I would prefer.

Comments:

1st tasting at Tanners in Kansas City, MO.

Many subsequent tastings from the bottle.

History:

Ingredients:

Malts: Pale, Crystal 120

Hops: Chinook, Simcoe, Cascade

Stats:

OG (Original Gravity): 14.6

FG (Final Gravity): 2

IBU (International Bitterness Units): 70

SRM: Unknown

ABV (Alcohol By Volume): 6.5%

Other Commercial Examples:

Cost: $4.25 at Tanners Bar and Grill – 64118

★★★★★

http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/ranger-ipa

Sam Adams Noble Pils

Leave a reply

Sam Adams Noble Pilsner replaces their previous Spring Seasonal. This is another exceptional Lager from the Boston based brewery. I love everything about this beer. It is a crisp over hopped flavorful beer that is perfect for the end of a long day. I think it goes exceptionally well with barbecue. I am not posting a link to their website, because it is awful. But at least they have good beer! Let me know what you guys think of this Seasonal update.

★★★★★

Other 4 Star Beers:

Saint Arnold Spring Bock, Brewery Tour, and more . . .

Leave a reply

Saint Arnold Spring Bock

This spring seasonal is a sweet full malt flavored Bock. I am unsure if they truly started the brewing process in the fall and let it ferment through the winter. It is a good beer. The beer is tart, fruity, and has a full sweet body. The fruit flavor is sweet and compliments the malt nicely; it reminds me of a sweet cherry jam. The smell is a light hint of alcohol.

I drank quite a few of the different beers at the Saint Arnold Brewery’s weekly saturday tasting tour. It is a great idea. The brewery opens every Saturday from 1:00 – 3:00 for the public to come experience the beers directly from the brewery and interact with the staff. All sorts of people show up: weekly regulars, beer enthusiast, college students, and everyone in between. You pay $5 and receive 4 large wooden tokens + a sample glass. Additional glasses are available for purchase. These are larger glass purchases are rewarded with a much more generous helping per token. Luckily, my brother had a couple of the larger mugs. I wish I would have bought one, but we arrived after 2:00 and didn’t have time. The brewery is quite large for a craft brewery. They probably make around 23,000 barrels of beer per year. Not bad . . . although Budweiser makes that much in 2 hours.

I tried the following Beers:

Elissa - This was a wonderful dry hopped I.P.A.

The Brown Ale - This was my favorite beer of the day. Not traditionally a summer beer this well balanced malty ale was a perfect afternoon treat on a rainy day.

Summer Pils - A light Pilsner for the appropriate occasion.

http://www.saintarnold.com/

[geotagger map_name="Saint Arnold"]

Mighty Arrow

Leave a reply

Mighty Arrow - Spring Seasonal

This New Belgium Brewing Company seasonal is one of my favorites. A naturally well balanced Pale Ale that is a perfect transition from the Winter Snow to Summer Heat. Snow skiiing or mowing this is beer is always welcome. It has a standard copper amber color with a light foamy head. The beer has a strong aroma of citrus hops when taking the first drink from a glass. The taste is full of smooth malt flavor combined with a pleasant burst of Amarillo and Cascade hops – two of my favorites. Well balanced seems to make this brewery a consistent winner and Mighty Arrow is no exception.

http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/mighty-arrow