Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

Malt beverage brown ale 12% aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. Wood is Palo Santo wood giving it a special flavor.

Super dark like a cola. No light gets through. Very caramely with hints of vanilla. A slightly off aftertaste but a smooth flavor and texture.

Like a stout but different. Good to try and I recommend it.

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

Pure heaven. This beer is perfect. Its nicely settled between the hoppiness of the 60 and the rich sweet maltiness of the 120. Its heavy and rich and complex yet the hop bitterness and flavor aren't lost in a sea of caramely malts. Absolutely delicious.

Label says it's got a ridiculous amount of 2 row English barley and a single continuous 90 minute hop addition. Then dry hopped. Well whatever they do I hope they keep doing it. Just wish it came in 6 packs and wasn't so expensive.

Love it!

Maredsous dubbel

A Belgian abbey ale from a well-known brewery. At 8% it's a nice medium alcohol content which keeps it smooth. Its quite dark in color, a rich brown. Its touch of sweetness makes it go down easy and it has a refined texture.

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Krušovice Lager

I needed a beer, so I went to Riverside Market and perused the selection. I was delighted to see Krušovice there, a beer that I have enjoyed many times both in the US and in Prague. The reason I chose it was because of hockey. Last night at MSG, we witnessed an amazing performance by Czech-born Jaromir Jagr. All season long I've been on his case from the stands for seemingly not giving enough to the team. Well I guess he had been saving it up for the playoffs, and he has more than made up for it. He gave the NY Rangers some pride last night to avoid the sweep and give them a shot at making history. At any rate, I don't know what Jaromir thinks of Krušovice, but I picked up the Czech beer in salute to him. Last night he played for his team, his fans, his season, and maybe his career with the Rangers and the NHL. Cheers Jags!

As far as the beer, I love this one. It's always great to see a Czech beer besides Pilsner or Budvar (although I love both of those as well). Krušovice is fiercely carbonated which makes if very refreshing. It's a simple, but refined lager with a great color and a smooth taste. I've put down maybe half liters of this brew at Radegast in Williamsburg and the Bohemian Beer Garden in Astoria. I can drink it all day long on a warm summers day. It's simplicity is it's strong point here. These Czech beers are old and are pushing the limits of flavor and aroma with massive amounts of exotic hops. They're just doing what they've been doing for centuries: making damn good lagers.

Bell's Oberon Summer Ale

An American wheat described as having "the color and scent of a summer afternoon". This entry from Bell's of Comstock, MI is interesting. A gorgeous color, unfiltered, and cloudy. Its a wheat but has a bite to it almost like a pilsner. Its not sweet or fruity and doesn't have any hint of banana or anything. If you gave this to me blind, I'd never guess it was a wheat beer.

Its pretty doesn't and drinkable, but its not what I expect from a summer wheat beer. In this category I'll stick with hefeweizens from Germany. There are other summer seasonals that are better. Bell's IPA is pretty tasty so I'll stick with that one.

Barley Creek Lager

Had this beer at a wedding in the Poconos. I have been to the brew pub that makes this which is on the way to Camelback ski mountain in PA. This beer was reminiscent of your basic Buds, Heinekens, etc. But it's made by a small brewer so that automatically made it my choice for the night instead of the other massies.

In reality it's not bad. Easy drinking and flavorful, but really nothing special. It's in the same category as Amstel, Heineken, Stella, etc. But if you see it pick it up and give it a try to support the little guy.

Scherlenka Smoke Beer - Braurei Heller

I read an article with the guy who makes this stuff. It's been in his family for forever and it's, uh, different to say the least. The thing about it is its historic value. In the old days the only way to dry the grains for beer-making was over an open fire. As a result, the grains were essentially smoked. This smoke comes through LOUD AND CLEAR in this beer. The owner of the brewery called it "liquid ham" and that's about right and about as disgusting as it sounds. It was somewhat worse than what I'd expect from liquid ham.

Now don't get my wrong I appreciate the historic value of this beer. It makes me understand a little bit more about beer's history and the way that it has evolved. But, it also makes me very happy that we have developed technology that allows us to have beer that doesn't taste like this anymore.

Give it a shot if you dare, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew

Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale

Hitachino from the Kiuchi brewery in Ibaraki, Japan is a fantastic brand. They make a lot of very interesting beers that push the limits of tastes, flavors, and styles. They're always worth a shot, but they can be rather expensive.

This one, the Red Rice Ale, has a coppery color and a firm alcohol bite on the tongue. It is citrusy, yet has an element I can only describe as a distinct fermentation presence. It feels strong. Oddly it has a faint aroma that is very unique...maybe it's that I know it's Japanese but it smells like that very cloudy unfiltered sake. Makes sense though given that sake is fermented from rice and this is a rice beer.

This beer warms you up going down. It's extremely unique, but I'm not sure I could have more than 2. Certainly the star of this show is the rice (take that, Budweiser!) not hops or malted barley. I could see drinking this on a nice summer day, but it's not exceedingly smooth.

All in all pretty decent.

Magic Hat HI.P.A

This is a seasonal beer from VT-based Magic Hat. I haven't been too wowed by Magic Hat but I had to try this one after reading about it in a magazine. Wow its very hoppy. Extremely bitter and flavorful. Its great if you love hops but I found the aftertaste to be a bit rough if you don't keep drinking. A few other people tried it and weren't big fans, but admitted it grew on them. I liked it and its definitely for people who like big hops. I've had others that were more balanced but this is a good one to test your taste buds with.

Bitter xx

Belgian golden ale. The hopiest beer of Belgium. De ranke brewery at 124 old rabbit club.

Riverside Marketplace

The beer shelf at my local bodega. They have a surprising assortment of fantastic beers, but then they dilute it with 40's and Smirnoff Ice. Too bad...

But, it's great to have a decent selection right around the corner. This is why I love Manhattan.

Pinkus Unfiltered Organic Hefeweizen

I've drank many, many German wheat beers. But, most of them are the same 3 or 4 brands. It's nice to try a different offering every once in a while. This one is organic, which I think is interesting. Organic is not a huge trend in beer for some reason.

At first glance this beer was very clear and yellowish, much like an American Pilsner. But after stirring up the sediment and pouring it in, it obviously clouded up and got a little closer to what I expect from a hefeweizen. This beer has a nice fizziness to it and smells fruit. It's a little lighter than some wheat beers I've had, which could be great on a summer day. The flavor is nice and hits you at first, but then rapidly fades away.

This is a pretty good beer, but a little to light and undeveloped in my humble opinion.

Stella Artois

Oh Stella, I remember when you were a new rare novelty. Once a delightful Belgian surprise, now this beer is everywhere and unfortunately availability has not been good for my opinion of it. Perhaps it's because the more I've seen it and the more I've consumed it I've realized its not that great. I put it in the same category now as bud, coors, and heineken. Although I'd much rather drink it than that other piss. But let's face it, this is piss...Belgian piss. Ok I'll stop bashing it. It's a luxury brand for people who drink coors light. At this very moment I cringed as the backwards cap-wearing frat boy orders bud over stella. (I mean come on...in this day and age must we stoop so low? That shit is made with rice and corn!) At any rate, I think Stella is indicative of the US popularization of Belgian beers. That is a great thing. Its just unfortunate that most people's Belgian experience doesn't get past this brew. Its not bad in a pinch, but my next order is back to Sam. It just has more flavor. But when I get back to NYC I'll revert back to this popularly unknowns asap.

Brooklyn Brewery IPA

Flight is delayed so I was very happy to find a place with this Brooklyn IPA. I drink a lot of Brooklyn but I don't think I be had this one, which is weird given my love of IPAs. At any rate its a pretty good offering. Nice light color, smells good, and easy to drink. Its got that edge to it that is representative of IPAs. I get a hop aroma and a bit of bitter, but not too much of that fresh green hop flavor I've com to love from the hop crazy micros. Make no mistake this is a good beer from a brewery that continues to impress and grow. But if you're like me and love that big bitter hop flavor then this will not knock your socks off. But I'd go for it over most brews typically on tap.

Samuel Adams lager

So this is an airport beer. I'm sitting at LGA and they actually have an ok selection for an airport. I asked for Spaten but the menu was old and they don't have it anymore. So I went with the Sam Adams draft instead. This is my go to for commercial beers for some reason. I like its color and its taste. Its just got character where so many massies don't. I mean its not great and its a last resort but really it's pretty solid. I mean good color and I swear I actually get a bit of good hops. So while many people might disagree I think that in a pinch it's a good one to go for. Of course I try to avoid being put in such a pinch, so I still just rate this one as "Not Bad".

Arcadia IPA

Arcadia Ales is from Michigan and they put together some tasty brews. This IPA I had at The Half Pint near Washington square park. It was really great. Nice color, nice flavor, good hops. Not much else to say but that it's just pretty good. It was nicely balanced, not overly aggressive with the hops, and just tasted nice and refreshing.

Give it a try if you see it.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

This Imperial IPA from Dogfish Head says it ages well, but I'll never know because I drank it. On the label, they clearly state this is "The Holy Grail for Hopheads". Well, I'm not so certain of that. It's interesting and you can tell it's painstakingly crafter, but it's just not my style I don't think. My favorite is the 60 minute and when I feel like less bitter the 90 minute is worth every penny. The 120 minute is just a bit over the top.

Dogfish Head says this is continually hopped for 120 minutes then dry-hopped every day for a month. Wow, that's a lot and it sounds beautiful. But my problem is it's just to sweet, malty, and syrupy. It has a beautiful reddish tint, like a regal robe or something. But it's very sweet and the malt is evident in the earthy, musty smell. I'm not sure what the abv is, but I'm betting it's rather high.

For being hopped so long, I don't sense what I normally sense. Perhaps this is due to an amateur palette, but everything is overpowered by the malt in this one.

Now don't get me wrong, this is one everyone should try. But I'd put it as a special occasion beer for drinkers who really know what they're doing.

Long Trail IPA

I love Long Trail, their standard beer is fantastic. In some weird way it's one that I remember as really getting me excited about beer. I remember having it for the first time on a trip to Killington, VT. It was delicious and I still buy it.

But this isn't that beer. This is their IPA. I was really excited because I love Long Trail and I love IPAs. But sadly it left me a little flat. I mean, it's good and I'd drink it again. But with so many great IPAs out there it didn't really stand out from the pack. So get it if it's on the beer list and there aren't many other options. But there's other IPAs that I prefer out there.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Had it last night at Blue Smoke on 27th St. This is one of my favorite IPAs. It has a strong hop bitterness, flavor, and aroma. But it's nicely balanced so it doesn't hit you over the head and leave you reeling. I don't have detailed tasting notes, but I can tell you it went great with the Kansas City dry-rub!

Update 3/15/08:
Man, this is a great beer! My local bodega started stocking it, which is awesome (although it's super expensive there). This is probably my favorite Dogfish Head. It just has so many things going for it. Beautiful color...not too light and not too dark. The hops is clearly evident, but it's there to make this beer good...not to make sure you know they used a ton of hops. It's supremely balanced. The bitterness sets off the malt beautifully.

I can't stress enough that this is one of my favorites. I could drink it all night long over and over again.

Arcadia Hop Rocket

The label of this beer says it's made with English 2-row barley and Pacific NW hops. It's a nice, slightly cloud beer with a deep amber color. It has a vigorous carbonation, and reminds me a lot of Harpoon IPA, but is slightly sweeter. It has a very floral aroma that is matched by a subtle hops bitterness; the gf says it stings the nose a little. It's not overpoweringly bitter thanks to a healthy heaping of malt, which I assume is where the amber color comes from.

Overall this is a great IPA and I would definitely buy it again. The only thing is I detect a slightly off aftertaste. My advice is to just keep drinking it and that will probably go away.

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

Whoa. Let me start by saying I'm not really a stout drinker. I bought this beer because I read an article about it proclaiming it's virtues and it's high alcohol content (supposedly, something like 18 or 22%). This beer is super dark, it's a black hole from which light does not return. My bottle had a very low level of carbonation and not the nitrogen-type you get with Guiness. Unlike most stouts I've had, this beer is super sweet. It's like a Belgian Trippel. The aroma reminds me of a red dessert wine. Phew, you can tell it's really alcoholic, but this sweetness pretty much covers it.

When I look at this it kind of reminds me of a cola, and the alcohol hits you in the corners of my neck a little bit. I get the sense this would give me a nasty hangover. Fortunately I'm only going to drink this one. I recommend people give this a try for the novelty, but I probably won't go for it again.

Urthel Hopit

The label says this is a "superior hoppy blonde ale", and I have to agree. It's a 9.5% abv from the Netherlands and I have to say it's really good. I expected it to be a bit more like the Belgian beers, but this has a great hoppy flavor. You don't see too many big hop flavors from that region.

Hopit has a cloudy, golden color, and a delicate sweetness. There's a bit of aftertaste, but nothing to really detract. I appreciate the hops in the aroma and taste. In the end, I conclude that this is remarkably like all those Belgian beers I've had with a lot of extra hops. It's quite good!

Goose Island Matilda

Gorgeous. Even a visiting Chicago native was singing praises about this beer after I very regretfully let him take a sip.

Goose Island is a great brewery and I've been finding some small batch brews, which lets me know that they keep experimenting. I bought this one at New Beer Distributor, but I also found it on tap at Schoolbred's in the East Village. It's a Belgian-style that has a beautiful brown-amber color. It has a nice light flavor with a hint of fruit. It has a fresh smell and you can sense the presence of good hops, although they don't have a starring roles. There's a slight alcohol bite at 7%, but this might be one of the best Belgian-style beers I've had from a US brewery.

Oerbier by DeDolle Brouwers

This brew is dark and chocolatey. It has a slightly pungent aroma and tastes strong but not astringent. Interestingly, the bottle had a ton of sediment. This Belgian is 9% and has a thick, heavy taste.

Oerbier is good if you like rich, brown beers. But don't order this if you're expecting something like Duvel.

Souther Tier Unearthly IPA

(image from TimeOut)

This image is from a timeout article and I used it because I had this beer for the first time at Spitzer's Corner in the LES. This gastropub is great, and this beer is F***KING incredible.

It's a brilliant beer from a brewery that someone recently turned me on to. Southern Tier claims it's a double IPA, and it's got a thick, deep flavor with a hint of citrus. It feels very heavy as you drink it, yet somehow doesn't fill you up and overpower you somehow. It's a miracle. It has a sweet, deep flavor of malt but is balanced by the strong, aromatic, and flavorful hops. It's awesome. At 11%, it's a barn-burner but there's something about this beer that will make me order it anytime I see it.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton

This is quite an interesting beer from Dogfish Head, a company that continually surprises me every time I try a new beer of theirs. This beer is an oak-aged Imperial IPA that is quite delicious. It has a tight bubbled carbonation, a nice reddish amber hue, and is relatively clear (although dark enough to not see all the way through). This brew is sweet, but not overly malty, which is what I like. At 10%, this is a strong beer but it's flavor is great so that makes it dangerous in terms of getting happy very fast. The alcohol does not overwhelm the flavor though.

Overall, this wouldn't be a beer I'd drink all night due to the moderate sweetness. But, it is refreshing and a nice brew.

Victory Golden Monkey

This brew from Victory is pretty solid. It's a triple, very sweet & fruity, and has a light clear golden color. At 8% it's fairly alcoholic, but the sweetness compensates for the bite to create a good balance. It's reminiscent of a wheat beer, but it has a bit more bite and nice fruit flavors.

I'd give it another shot, so would the girlfriend.

St. Bernardus 12 Quadrupel

Wow! A very complex beer. Super malty, extremely dark, 10.5%, and rather sweet. Kind of tastes like a really ripe stone fruit of some kind. A bit of old cherry and peach. This beer is fairly intense in its flavor profile. It's very thick and a beer for sipping, not for gulping.

This beer is very interesting for those who like Belgian beers that have been given a lot of extra love in the secondary fermenters. I'd recommend trying it if you're adventurous. But it's one of those "one and done" beers that are good to try, but not one you'll seek out again unless it's your thing.

Cooper's Lager

See review of James Boag's below. This is the same deal. Not bad, not great. It's an export lager. Enough said.

James Boag's Premium Lager

An Australian Lager (well, actually a Tasmania lager). I don't have much to say about this. It's an export lager and it's not bad but it's not great. It's an average beer with decent flavor that everyone who drinks beer has had some variation of at some point whether it's from the US, Belgium, Holland, New Zealand, whatever.

Drinkable, but nothing to write home about.

Witkap-Pater Abbey Triple Ale

The Wikap-Pater is a Belgian beer with a deep, golden color. In fact, it's almost rather when it's not in direct light. It's fairly high in alcohol at 7.5% and seemed to have fairly low carbonation as it was poured from the bottle. The beer is rather cloudy and had a thick layer of sediment that I didn't stir up and pour into the glass. Usually I always include the sediment but since it was already pretty cloudy I opted not to this time.

On tasting, this beer has a mild sweetness in the presence of a bit of alcohol bite that hits your tongue. The girlfriend suggests that it has a minerally taste, and I agree but it's not really a negative. This beer has a nice flavor and good body. It'd definitely pick it up again.

Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA

We went to Brother Jimmy's BBQ on 8th Avenue before a Rangers game (kicked the crap out of Florida!) and I had a couple of the Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA's. I don't see Flying Dog around too much for some reason.

This beer is very hoppy, which I like. It's also rather bitter and just oozes hops. It's really awesome if you're into strong hop everything. It's definitely not for the faint of heart and amateurs might think it's nasty.

I also found it had a clean finish for being so intensely hoppy.

ABITA Andygator

I got this beer from New Beer Distributor on the LES in a 32 oz. flip top. They have some beer on tap and charge about $6 to fill a 32 oz. bottle. The best part is if you bring the bottle back you can fill it up again with whatever they have on tap for $2 cheaper, which is just like how you'd get beer before mass production.

ABITA Andygator is an interesting beer. It's good, but there's something a little funny about it that keeps it from being a favorite. It's golden and clear with a floral, sweet flavor. It didn't really have a strong aroma or a lot of carbonation, which is likely due to the keg to 32 oz. transfer it went through the day before I finally drank it.

At 8% abv it's strong, but you wouldn't really know it from the taste. It almost tastes like a light wheat or Belgian, in fact in kind of looks like one. There's something in the taste that I can't quite place, and the aftertaste is a bit funky. But, it's a smooth drink and a good alternative for times when I don't want to hit myself over the head with an IPA.

Wittekerke Belgian Wheat

I actually shared this one, but it was really good so I wanted to record it. It's a Belgian wheat that is rather floral and fruity. It had a fizzy mouth feel, and the flavors were unique compared to the other wheat beers I usually drink. It's a lighter color and 5%, so it's closer to a Blue Moon or a Franziskaner than a Weihenstephaner or Schneiderweiss.

This is really a great alternative and a good one to try after getting spoiled by the prevalence of the major German Weiss beers.

Inis & Gunn Oak-Aged

This beer was surprising in a number of ways. It's aged 77 days using oak barrels (although I think it's not in the barrels the whole time), which gives it a very unique flavor. Interestingly, there are hints of vanilla in the taste and nose. The nose has something mildly funky about it, but not in a discouraging way. The oak definitely works some magic and you can sense the similarities to scotch. It even looks a bit like scotch. The taste is a bit sweet too, but not overly malty.

This beer from Scotland is one of the more interesting beers I've ever had. For that reason, I'd recommend it to people. Although I don't think it'll be my first choice any time soon.

Also had this at 10 Degrees.

Goldstar Lager

Every country has one of these. It's Israel's version. A plain old lager like is mass produced for export everywhere. Budweiser, Heineken, Steinlager, etc, etc.

Also had this at 10 Degrees in NYC.

Avery IPA

We went to 10 Degrees on St. Marks and I saw the Avery IPA on the menu. I was excited because I'd read somewhere that Avery is a great brewery.

This beer is a very smooth, rather gentle IPA. It's not overly hoppy and is probably a great way for people to get into IPAs. It's really very good and balanced and doesn't try to blow your taste buds away with crazy hops.

I like this beer and would definitely turn to it if I didn't want to go for the huge flavors one night.

Goose Island Demolition 2007

A great beer from the great Chicago brewery, Goose Island. I fell in love with Goose Island Honker's Ale when I used to live in Chicago. This brew has Saaz and Styrian hops which yield a fresh, grassy, citrus aroma and taste. Makes me feel like I'm in a hop field, but not in an overbearing way. It tastes really fresh on the tongue with a great floral aroma. It's very smooth and mild with a delicate, yet well-developed hops profile. It's golden in color, darker than most Belgians, and a bit cloudy.

With it's great flavor, aroma, and clean finish this is a top beer. Love it. You can taste the fresh hops, with the smoothness of a Belgian, and the subtle bitterness of a Pilsner.

$2.75 at New Beer Distributors.

Achel Trappist Biere Blonde

This Belgian has a nice golden color, is a bit cloudy, and has quite a fizzy head. The bubbles are actually quite large, which is a bit surprising, and creates a bit of effervescence. It's closest to Duvel or a Chimay, but not quite as refined. Although it's not as sweet as some Belgians.

The only problem I have is that there seems to be a bit of a metallic taste. Perhaps, this one has been in the store for a while and picked up some bottlecap.

Overall, it's a good Belgian blonde with a nice fizz, but the metallic aftertatse is a bit off-putting. It's not overly sweet, which is good, but not overly smooth either.

$5 at New Beer Distributor.