Beer Review Thread

[pmk]

[Waldo]

Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

A product of NYC, Brooklyn's Pennant Ale is made as a tribute to the '55 Brooklyn Dodgers. It is billed as an American Pale Ale by Brooklyn Brewing, but I think that it has more in common with an English Pale Ale. American Pale Ales tend to be hoppier than their British counterparts. Typically APA's use flavoring hops, EPA's do not. This is a medium bodied, highly carbonated beer that is very easy to drink. It has some aroma hops added, there is definitely some American Cascade hops added as aroma, though only a small amount. They are proud of the Scottish malts they use, and the carmelized malts are sweet and toasted. A mixture of the yeast used, the carbonation, and the bittering hops gives the beer a tartness, the flavor balancing the malt is more tart than bitter. There is a very small amount of flavoring hops used, much less than the typical APA.

What I like most is the balance. Nothing is overdone, the malt has a very nice taste and is well balanced by the hops. The beer has some nuances that might take a few rounds to fully appreciate.

What I like least is the lightness. They could go a tad stronger on the flavor without sacrificing drinkability or making it too heavy. It is definitely on the lighter end of flavor for a pale ale.

Boy, I could sit a bar and drink this stuff all night. It is very drinkable and has a nice flavor. The high carbonation makes it almost refreshing. This might get added to my football game day list. There is no wow factor however, preventing it from being counted among the elites.

Grade: 7.0
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[RyanFuller003]

[bigbluefan87]

[Waldo]

Broughton Black Douglas

Brewed in Scotland, Black Douglas is a dark, medium strength Scottish Ale. It is about as dark as a beer can be without being a dark beer. This is a very distinct British beer, I've never had a beer made in America that tasted like this, but a few from Great Britan that had the same distinct flavor. If the Samuel Smith brewery made a Scottish Ale, this is what it would taste like. This beer is loaded with carmelized malts, crystal malt in particular. There is a little bittering hops, but the rest of the flavor is from the yeast and malt. This beer has a complex flavor profile and very pleasant finish that lingers. It has the slight smokyness of a Scotch ale, but it is very light. The aroma compliments the flavor well, but is fairly different actually.

What I like about it, IDK, there is something that this beer achieves that it seems American brewers are utterly incapable of doing, the way the flavors blend as a whole is really on a different level when it comes to ale making. There is a fruitiness from the yeast that just isn't seen on these shores from an ale.

What I don't like about it, I wish the initial flavor would linger longer and be a little stronger, the aftertaste comes much too soon.

This is one of the best all around Scottish Ales that I've had. When I pay big bucks for a bottle ($5) I want to be wowed. I was partially wowed, enough so that I feel I got my money's worth, but not so much that I will always get it. If I were to do a blind taste test and had to identify the brewer, I would say Samuel Smith. But I still like Sammie's Oatie better.

Grade: 8.0
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[twslhs20]

Sam Adams Summer Ale

[RyanFuller003]

[theboat]

[Waldo]

I agree with your Summer Ale review. Good job on that. 6.5 is a good grade for it. I like the fact that a lot of us agree on grades.

It is similar to a Wit (a la Blue Moon), but leaning a little more towards normal beer, it uses a clean yeast that doesn't have the esters that a typical Wit or Wheat yeast would have.

I don't believe in that man law crap, good beer is good beer. I like Lambic's, which is beer brewed with a portion of the sugar replaced by fruit. Some beer is better with a lemon or lime (though it goes against all my instincts as a beer snob, I don't mind a good Corona and lime).
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[Waldo]

Weihenstephaner Korbinian

Weihenstephaner is a brewery steeped in history. It started as a Benedictine Monk brewery in 1040, then became the Royal State brewery of Bavaria (it was legal for them to "break the law" and brew wheat beer), now is owned by the state, but run like a typical private brewery. It is the oldest continually operated brewery in the world. This is a Dopplebock, a strong malty lager with low hops and high power. It comes in a whopping 7.4% ABV. It is a beer blended into a whole very nicely. The flavor of malt kicks you in the behind, yet it has a pleasant fig-like flavor. This is basically a low hopped barley wine that has been lagered. The yeast has added a definite flavor to it.

What I like best, the flavors all integrate into a whole very well. There is very little in the way of discernible components, they have seemingly merged into a single flavor. It hides it's power very well, there is not nearly the alcohol flavor that you would expect.

What I like least, I'm not the biggest fan of the yeast they used, it added a tint to the beer, tough to avoid when you brew such a powerful beer, I've had better tasting yeasts.

All in all, this is a very good example of a real Bavarian Dopplebock, a style that isn't as appreciated as it should be. The flavor profile fits perfectly with the typical craft brewery, for some reason though, you don't see much on the Dopplebock front, not nearly as much as you see Porters and IPA's. I guess though, most don't have the refrigeration equipment to make lagers.

Grade: 7.5
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[ugLymayNe]

This is the best place to ask this..

When I was in Mexico on spring break, I came across this one beer called Superior. Anyone see it in the States at all? Maybe I was a stupid senior in high school, but it was amazing. Then again, I was walking around playa del carmen with my two best friends, eating tacos, drinking a lot, and messing around on the beach...So everything would have tasted good to me.
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@PJHotel_

[Waldo]

[ugLymayNe]

[packerbacker87]

Well, since I was just turned on to this wonderful thread, I would like to share my favorite beers.


Kristall Weizen.


Leinie's Sunset wheat

I like many beers, but the above are quite a treat for me.

On normal days I drink. Labbat Blue, Molson, moosehead. Hefe Weizen, and Rolling rock.
I love to go to old Chicago's and drink Old Style on tap as well. Takes me back to the good old days. Nice thread Waldo!
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[twslhs20]