Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Arcadia Ales - Cerial killer

Ok so I wanted to post my old cereal killer review a long time ago but I didnt think it was right not reveiwing a fresh brew at the same time. Being that the original review was 2 years aged, it just didn't seem right. So here its the fresh review.
Right out of the bottle out had very little head, and poured a raisin brown that was slightly less hazy than the 2 year vintage. It has a large honey and dark fruit noise to it.
Just like the 2 year vintage, this beer is big in body. Yet still doesn't match the huge ness of the aged variety. The fruit is much less subdued as you would expect,  much more up front. On the tongue it has a huge malt and prune/raisin flavor backbone, as through the finish out fades into more of a honey flavor. I find this odd, as I would figure the honey flavor would be not add strong. Having tasted the aged version first,  of course, skews this a bit though.
All in all, a fantastic beer, and excellent example of the barley wine category, but if you have the will power, it is worth the wait to age this. Far smother, far richer, far huger, and gets you far drunker...

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Southern Tier - Pumking

Ok so this is my first pumpkin ale, sacrelidge I know, but it was something I just never felt I would like... I figure if im gonna try a new genre of beer I might as well try one that every one thinks is good.
As it turns out I just dont like it. Dont get me wrong the flavor is great, it is just not my idea of what I like in a brew. It has a huge creamy body, for such a clear beer I found this to be very suprising.
The taste is nothing short of liquid pumpkin pie, but that is exactly why I dont like it. I dont like pumpkin pie... I like pumpkin flavor, but not a big fan of the horrible debacle that is the pumpkin pie.
Ok so next will be new belgium kick, which from what I understand is on the opposite side of the pumpkin spectrum... Only time shall tell on whether or not the turtle will find a pumpkin beer that changes his mind over whether or not pumpkin belongs in any of his brews.

New Belgium Brewery - Kick

Ok so my last experience with pumkin ale was not a great one, just wasnt my bag.
Thankfully this time it is my bag... Ok, so this time it is really my bag.
It pours a good pumpkin orange that is very clear, but has a slight haze to it. Maybe I am just a master pourer (not the case), but it pours with little to no head. Its got a slightly spicy and sour nose to it.
Ok so now to the important part taste! Ok so right off the bat it has a huge cranberry sour kick, bite and pucker. Cold it has a gigantic cranberry taste, but as it warms up the pumpkin really comes into its element.  It still has a harshly clean sour bite, but the pumpkin and cranberry start to balance each other out the warmer it gets. Finish on this beer is excelent, crisp clean and slightly sour.
All in all I like this beer alot, like could be a go to if it was available year round. All in all, this gets 4 out of 5 shells, er stars. I would give it a half more star if this wasnt seasonal...