Zoe

Zoe, Maine Beer Company, Freeport, ME
(Amber Ale, Rated 99)

Is there anything from Maine Beer that isn't good?  This amber ale pours a clear, auburn, rust color with a thick, pillowy head. Aroma is piney, fruity, with bready malts. Taste is piney, citrus, bitter dominant, but not overwhelming. Sticky resin with an earthy, lemongrass maltiness. Creamy, smooth finish. Fantastic amber/red ale!

Ma

Ma, Tree House Brewing Company, Monson, MA
(Amber Ale, Rated 95)

Cloudy, brownish-red pour with a faint head. Aroma is spicy, piney citrus, light notes of caramel, and malts. Huge flavors here. Abundance of citrus, floral hops. Piney resin. Rich caramel malt backbone. Medium body with a clean, sweet finish.

Red Wheelbarrow

Red Wheelbarrow, Maine Beer Company, Freeport, ME
(Amber Ale, Rated 98)

Amber red pour with a huge, foamy, off-white head.  Hop forward aroma, zingy, with a bit of caramel. Tastes of mild citrus and grapefruit zest. Robust caramel malt character that lends to sweetness. Bitter, earthy finish. Smooth and flavorful. 7% abv. Maine Beer can do no wrong!

Mermaids Red Ale

Mermaids Red Ale, Coronado Brewing Company, Coronado, CA
(Amber Ale)

Amber ales, sometimes red ales (depending on the color mainly), focus more on malts, but the hop character varies. Some of my favorite amber/red ales have had higher hop profiles. No surprise considering my love of IPAs. This offering from Coronado Brewing has a reddish color with a nice off white head. Aromas of sweet caramel malts with hints of citrus and floral hops. Taste is toasted malt up front, with a smooth sweetness, and finishing with a hoppy tingle on the tongue. Very drinkable!

Wrath

Wrath, St. Francis Brewing Company, St. Francis, WI

Also known as Archbishop Amber Ale, this one pours amber. Mild aroma with roasted malts and some caramel. Not a lot of flavor, but you can make out the malts and caramel.

Rusty Red

Rusty Red, Oso Brewing Company, Plover, WI
(Amber Ale)

Red-orange pour with a foamy, off-white head. Aroma is mildly nutty with some faint caramel notes. Taste has a smooth roasted malt character with caramel sweetness. You wouldn't guess this was 6% abv. Smooth and drinkable.

12 Beers of Christmas (Redux)

The very first themed beer list I have ever done is being done again. In 2010, I presented to you the 12 Beers of Christmas. Friends had asked me this year if I was going to do a holiday themed list again. In my travels, I had found a few Christmas/Holiday beers that I had not tried the first go around. Soon, I had the requisite number of Christmas beers (at least 12) to bring this list back.

12 Beers of Christmas (Redux)

Christmas Ale

Christmas Ale, Abita Brewing Company, Abita Springs, LA
(Amber Ale)

Many breweries change the recipes for their Christmas/Winter seasonals each year. The 2012 version of Abita's Christmas Ale is definitely different. Pours a nice, dark, reddish, brown. Aroma is of roasted nuttiness, nutmeg, and what smells like juniper. Taste isn't far off the aroma. Roasted malt and nuts, a hint of sweet caramel, and juniper hops. Very reminiscent of Abita's Jockamo IPA, which I am not a fan of.

Shiner Holiday Cheer

Shiner Holiday Cheer, Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX
(Fruit Beer)

Pours a reddish, brown color, almost like wine and very clear. On first smell, I actually thought this was fruit juice. Huge sweet peach aroma. Taste was disappointing. Not nearly as much fruit coming through the flavor as in the aroma. Kind of bland. Too much fruit and not enough beer for me.

Ebenezer Ale

Ebenezer Ale, BridgePort Brewing, Portland, OR
(English Strong Ale)

Reddish amber pour. Not a lot to the aroma with some malt and spices. Taste is underwhelming. Some mild spices and caramel malt notes. Little bit of fruitiness. Hops come out in the finish. All in all, I felt this one Scrooged on the aroma and flavor.

Christmas Ale

Christmas Ale, Breckenridge Brewery, Denver, CO
(American Strong Ale)

Darker brown in color with a nice malty nose. Aroma has some caramel. Taste of sweet malts and caramel with a spicy bitter finish. So far I've been disappointed with my initial choices.

Winter Ale

Winter Ale, Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Easton, PA
(Brown Ale)

Dark brown pour with a quickly fading light brown head. Malty aroma with some brown sugar and floral notes. Taste is malty with a little caramel. Not a lot of flavor.

Our Special Ale 2012

Our Special Ale 2012, Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco, CA
(Spice/Herb/Vegetable, Rated 95)

Nice dark burgundy pour. Aroma of spice and dark fruitiness. Taste of roasted nut, spices, and dark fruit, raisins. Very smooth and creamy.

Santa's Private Reserve

Santa's Private Reserve, Rogue Ales, Newport, OR
(Amber Ale, Rated 93)

Pours a nice amber color with a reddish tint and a cakey head. Floral hop aroma with a touch of sweet caramel and an earthy quality. Flavor starts off with hops and spice. The bitterness fades to a smooth malty, caramel finish. Excellent! Thanks for sharing, Santa!

2XMAS

2XMAS, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY
(American Strong Ale, Rated 93)

Nice deep, reddish-amber pour. Spices are abundant in the aroma, with cinnamon, nutmeg, and others. Those same spices come through in the flavor along with a mild maltiness. The alcohol comes through in the finish, warming the throat. Excellent seasonal from Southern Tier!

Christmas Ale

Christmas Ale, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH
(Spice/Herb/Vegetable, Rated 93)

This offering from Great Lakes Brewing Company has become a seasonal favorite of mine. Nice light, copper pour. Great aroma of spices with cinnamon at the forefront. Taste of sweet roasted malts, cinnamon and spices. Very well-balanced.

Christmas Ale

Christmas Ale, Goose Island Brewing Company, Chicago, IL
(American Brown Ale, Rated 93)

Brown pour with a thin, frothy head. Nice nutty aroma with hints of spices and raisin. Taste is a nice balance of toasted malts, dark fruit, and a welcomed hop bitterness that warms your throat. Nice big flavor.

Krampus

Krampus, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY
(Strong Pale Lager/Imperial Pils, Rated 96)

Saving the big beers for last and Southern Tier does big beer well! This beauty pours a hazy copper color and has big aromas of citrus, pine, and caramel. Taste is much of the same...citrus hops, pine, caramel sweetness, bit of malt, and a nice bitterness to the finish. A definite Winter warmer at 9% abv. If this beer is what Krampus gives to those who are naughty, then I don't want to be nice.

Christmas Ale

Alpha Klaus, Three Floyds Brewing Company, Munster, IN
(Imperial/Strong Porter, Rated 100)

Only fitting that the 12th beer be a big imperial porter from Three Floyds. Extremely dark, black pour with a nice foamy, tan head. Aroma begins with sweet chocolate, coffee and roasted malts. The smell if very enticing. The taste contains flavors of sweet chocolate, dark espresso coffee, and roasted malts which all leave behind a slight hoppy bitterness normally found in an IPA. Very well balanced. Excellent hopped-up porter!

- - -

If you remembered the first 12 Beers of Christmas, as well as my other 12 Beers lists, you will remember that I never stopped at twelve. I have one more special holiday beer for you...

Frosted Frog Christmas Ale

Frosted Frog Christmas Ale, Hoppin Frog Brewery, Akron, OH
(Spice/Herb/Vegetable)

Nice dark, reddish-amber color. This one has the most amazing aroma of spices of the Christmas beers I've had this year...blends of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Reminds me of hot, apple cider. Strong gingerbread doughy flavor with cinnamon, nutmeg, and apples. Lots of spices in this one.

- - - 

The Christmas/Holiday beers, like pumpkin beers, are fun to try. Very interesting how each brewery has their own special take on the holiday beer. Some base their recipe on ambers, some brown ales, some use porter, many use fruits and spices. I've enjoyed trying them all and I do have a few favorites. Great Lakes Christmas Ale will definitely be an annual staple. Alpha Klaus is another because I love a good porter and Three Floyds is one of my favorite breweries. SO be adventurous and give some of these a try. Maybe you have holiday beer in your area that I can't get here. Regardless of where you are, I'm sure you'll find one you like. Cheers to you all!

Merry Christmas!

Sweet Mullets Brewing Company

Sweet Mullets Brewing Company, Oconomowoc, WI

I finally made it to Sweet Mullets Brewing Company and sampled their nine current beers on tap. I was optimistic going and left a little unsatisfied. I will say that all of their beer was different, using different ingredients and different brewing methods. I just found that many of the beers seemed flat and watered down. I didn't find any one beer that stood out above all the others, thought the 505 Export Stout might have been my top choice with Toil 'N Trouble being the most bizarre.

501 American Red Ale (Amber Ale)

Nice red amber pour. Mild floral and citrus hop and sweet malt aroma. Malty taste with a bit of caramel.

505 Export Stout (Foreign Stout)

Pours black with a tan head. Nice buttery, caramel aroma. Flavor is strong espresso with chocolate hints on the back end.

Autumn Leaf (Specialty Grain)

Hazy yellow pour. Very grainy and Earthy. Smelled like fresh cut, wet grass. Earthy taste. Strange.

Eleven (IPA)

Advertised as a Belgian IPA. Poured hazy golden color. Smelled of fruity hops and Belgian yeast. Had that expected citrus aroma. Taste is spicy with a sweet finish and mildly hoppy. 

M.E.C.O. (German Hefeweizen)

Clear yellow pour. Sweet grainy aroma with some fruit. Taste was mildly spicy with characteristic banana notes. 

Rye Bob (Specialty Grain)

Hazy amber pour. Grainy, rye aroma. Taste is sweet malts and mild hops with citrus undertones.

Steinbier (Vienna)

Brown-amber pour. Sweet, dried fruit aroma with some caramel. Sweet caramel and toasted malt flavor.

The Captain Pre-Pro American Pilsner (Pilsner)

Pale yellow in color. Sweet aroma. Bland and watery taste. Not a fan of pilsners.

Toil 'N Trouble (Sour Ale/Wild Ale)

This one was the most interesting of the nine. Pale yellow pour with a white head. The aroma was sweet, but different. One of those odd smells that isn't bad, but different enough that you want to keep smelling it. Taste was opposite of the aroma...sour up front with a residual fruity sweetness at the end. 

Louie's Resurrection

Louie's Resurrection, Milwaukee Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI

So how do you make my favorite beer from Milwaukee Brewing Company, Louie's Demise, better? You age it for 2 months in bourbon barrels! Even more excited that they decided to bottle this gem for the first time in 2012. Pours a nice reddish, amber color. Sweet aromas of fruit, vanilla, and malts. Excellent well-balanced tastes of sweet vanilla, caramel, and bourbon notes. Very smooth!

Weekend at Louie's Blueberry Flavored Amber Ale

Weekend at Louie's Blueberry Flavored Amber Ale, Milwaukee Brewing Company, 

Milwaukee, WI

You have to be a real fan of fruit-flavored beer to really get into this style. I am not...at least yet. Hats off to the breweries for attempting these beers. This beer is better than most fruit beers I have had. MKE definitely got the aroma right with strong, bold, blueberries through the nose. Taste falls just a little short, but the blueberries with the amber ale does work. Very smooth and not sweet at all. 

Twelve Breakfast Beers

Last December (2011) I did my first themed beer list, 12 Beers of Christmas. Since then, I've been wanting to do another themed list and had come up with a couple ideas. Deciding on a themed list can be both fun and frustrating, especially if you are concentrating on limited release seasonals. I was fortunate to be able to pull together twelve Christmas beers. This time around, my theme is 'breakfast beers'. What's my criteria? The beer had to either have the word 'breakfast' or some variation of 'coffee' in the name and/or be brewed with coffee. I could have included oatmeal beers, but decided there were enough coffee beers out there that I could put together a good list. I love coffee and I love beer, so it works.  I also wanted to make sure I had twelve. For this 'breakfast beers' list, I had more than enough options. Before I introduce my '12 Breakfast Beers' (in random order), please let me state that I am not saying that these beers are intended to be consumed at breakfast nor do I condone drinking beer at breakfast time on workdays. Please drink responsibly.

The Twelve Breakfast Beers

Fuel Cafe

Fuel Cafe, Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI

A sweet stout that combines roasted malts and Milwaukee's reknown FUEL CAFE coffee. Strong coffee aroma and smooth, sweet taste.

Milk Stout

Milk Stout, Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, CO

(Sweet Stout, Rated 96)

A really great sweet stout. Notes of chocolate, coffee, and toasted malts. The milk sugar adds a well rounded sweetness.

Fast fact: Milk Stout is Left Hand Brewing Company's best selling beer. The fact that a stout is a brewery's best selling beer is quite impressive!

2X Stout

2X Stout, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY

(Sweet Stout, Rated 95)

Sweet stouts are also called milk stouts or cream stouts because of the added lactose which adds sweetness and body to the beer. Not as much of the coffee aromas as in others. More like cold coffee with a bit of chocolate and cream. Very smooth drinker.

Polish Moon

Polish Moon, Milwaukee Brewing Company, Milwaukee, WI

Very dark sweet stout with roasted malts and coffee flavors.

Luna Coffee Stout

Luna Coffee Stout, Hinterland Brewery, Green Bay, WI

(Stout, Rated 93)

A stout as opposed to sweet stouts, this one lacks the added lactose. The nose detects dark coffee and malts. The taste is smooth with lots of coffee flavor. Ever have really strong black coffee? Take that and add malts and a bit of chocolate to it.

Oscura

Oscura, Furthermore Brewing, Black River Falls, WI

(American Dark Lager, Rated 93)

Seems most beers brewed with coffee are stouts, this one is an American Dark Lager. A pleasant surprise to find this one from Furthermore. The aroma is of freshly brewed coffee grounds that have cooled. Not as heavy on the palate as stouts can be. Light and airy with notes of toasted oats and sweet creamy coffee.

Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock

Perkulator Coffee Dopplebock, Dark Horse Brewing Company, Marshall, MI

(Doppelbock, Rated 91)

Caramel and coffee aromas waft the nose. A nice balance of hops and malts infused with coffee finish.

Java Stout

Java Stout, Bells Brewery, Kalamazoo, MI

(Stout, Rated 99)

Stout meets coffee. A very smooth stout with rich chocolate and roasted malt flavors. Nice coffee aroma. The chocolate adds a sweetness to the palate.

Breakfast Stout

Breakfast Stout, Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI

(Imperial Stout, Rated 100)

Founders makes some amazing beer and this imperial stout is one of their best. This coming from a guy who took a while to get into stouts. Imperial stouts normally have more alcohol content than stouts or sweet stouts, but you really can't tell with this beer. An intense fresh coffee aroma. The taste is a blend of roasted bitterness and sweet chocolate that is silky smooth. A great breakfast beer!

Peruvian Morning Imperial Stout

Peruvian Morning Imperial Stout, Central Waters Brewing Company, Amherst, WI

(Imperial Stout, Rated 99)

Another amazing beer! This imperial stout is infused with Peruvian coffee and aged in bourbon barrels. Aroma is of coffee, chocolate, and bourbon. Coffee and toasted malts are apparent in the flavor and your throat is warmed by the bourbon.

Espresso Amber Ale

Espresso Amber Ale, Peak Organic Brewing Company, Portland, ME

(Amber Ale, Rated 92)

A robust amber ale brewed with fair trade espresso. Sweet caramel, coffee aroma matches well with the sweet malty flavors. Very balanced with mild carbonation.

Mokah

Mokah, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY

(Imperial Stout, Rated 99)

I never expected each beer to be better than the last, but that's what it's turning out to be. Amazing imperial stout! Yeah, it's called Mokah and the theme is breakfast, but this incredibly smooth imperial stout is what the brewers got when they combined two of their signature Blackwater Series Imperial Stouts (Choklat and Jahva). Chocolate aroma is strong through the nose with hints of coffee. Flavor is amazing (I know I've said that a few times already) blend of creamy chocolate, malts, and roasted coffee. Reminds me of malted milk balls with an alcohol kicker (10.9% abv).



Well, that was twelve, but I said that there were plenty of options for this breakfast category. So here are four bonus beers...



Cappuccino Stout

Cappuccino Stout, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, CA

(Stout, Rated 96)

I love this brewery and everything they produce! No surprise that I'd love their stout too. Nice coffee and caramel malt aroma. Lots of coffee flavor in this one. Strong coffee malts and hints of chocolate. The coffee flavor lasts.

Mikkeller Koppi Tomahawk x Guji Natural Coffee IPA

Mikkeller Koppi Tomahawk x Guji Natural Coffee IPA, Mikkeller De Proef Brouwerij,
Lochtisti-Hijfte, Belgium

(IPA, Rated 96)

For breakfast beers so far, there have been amber ale, American dark lager, doppelbock, imperial stouts, stouts, and sweet stouts...why not an IPA?  As one who really enjoys a good hoppy IPA, the name alone gave this breakfast beer promise in this themed series. Alas I was disappointed. The hops were the best part of this beer. The aroma was all hops. The taste was of hops and more hops. Where's the coffee?! This is one very good IPA however.

Beer Geek Breakfast

Beer Geek Breakfast, Mikkeller De Proef Brouwerij, Lochtisti-Hijfte, Belgium

(Stout, Rated 100)

This amazing stout is more oatmeal with a touch of coffee. Light coffee and malts on the nose. A definite smoky roasted malt flavor with notes of oatmeal, chocolate, and coffee. The smokiness almost makes me think I taste a little bacon...but maybe I'm just wishing it really was breakfast time. 

Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout, Kiuchi Brewery, Ibaraki, Japan

(Stout, Rated 99)

I was quite surprised by this stout from Japan. Slightly bitter chocolate aroma. Caramel, chocolate, roasted malts and a pretty intense coffee flavor. Kampai!


Even before I decided to do this themed beer list, it had taken me a little while to really get into stouts and really enjoy them. All it really took was for me to have one of the finer, higher quality, stouts to get me going. (I kind of feel like Guinness is a poor man's stout) I did find the other coffee flavored styles to be very interesting though. If I was forced to pick a favorite from this list, I believe I'd have to go with Southern Tier's Mokah. This was fun. Now on to my next themed list. Considering it's nearly Summer out, perhaps a themed list around Summertime or fruit beer.  Stay tuned...

Swiss Amber

Swiss Amber, Minhas Brewing Company, Monroe, WI