The Kick Box - On Hip!

Now drinking a beer that I just picked up this morning, this is one from the always awesome Singlecut Beersmiths out of Astoria, NY. This is 'Jim is Workin' Hard', a session IPA.

4.6% ABV / 83 IBUs.

Canned on 12/22/16.

Pours a deep golden-orange color with a foamy one and a half finger white head.

Aroma is very dank and resinous with lots of pine, coupled with a dank and pithy citrus, and notes reminiscent of candied orange or tangerine and stone fruit. Some earthy, almost tea-like aromas present also, as well as a good amount of sweet, bready malts.

Taste is also quite dank and resinous with, again, an upfront citrus flavor that is reminiscent of stone fruit. This citrus combines with a resinous pine flavor and some bready malts that bring along a restrained caramel sweetness.

Mouthfeel is on the heavy side for being a session IPA, with a fairly assertive but not overly aggressive carbonation level. Flavor is somewhat lingering.

This one is somewhat of a letdown for being a Singlecut beer, but still very good.

A-

 

This is a beer from Urban Family Brewing out of Seattle, Washington. It is their 'Crimson Fawn', which the bottle states is a "sour farmhouse ale with blood orange."

6.5% ABV.

Pours a straight-up clear orange color which might not be too far off from orange soda, but perhaps darker, with some amber tones.

Aroma is very heavy on the funk. I am getting lots of barnyard notes of horse blanket and wet hay. I am getting some peppery spice-like notes, most likely from the wild yeast, coupled with a good amount of earthiness as well. The orange is barely noticeable in the aroma, but it's there.

Flavor is more funky than sour. Flavor is very brett-forward (brett as in brettanomyces yeast), which gives the beer more of a slight tartness vs. an outright sour flavor. The "sourness" (which again is more tart than sour) comes in the form of a slight lemon and tart green apple apple flavor. The orange also adds somewhat to the tartness but is not overtly pronounced. I am also getting some vague pear-like flavors. The wild yeast provides a spicy, peppery bite, much like is present in the aroma.

Mouthfeel is medium and kind of slick, with a moderate but quite still quite soft level of carbonation.

Overall I am not that impressed with this beer. In fact, I have not been very impressed with most of the beers I have had from this brewery. All of the ones I have had so far have been decent, but not worth the price. This bottle, which is a little over a pint, cost me $10. There are much better farmhouse ales on the market, and for a much cheaper price. I will give this brewery props for their creative and captivating packaging/labeling, as well as the crafty names for their rather adventurous beers, but none of them live up to the aforementioned in terms of overall quality and flavor. Unless they bring the cost of their beers down drastically, this will probably be the last time I purchase a beer from Urban Family.

Overall rating: B

 

Beautiful color on that one. ^^^^^

 

Now drinking another beer from Singlecut, this is 'Does Anybody Remember Laughter?', an IPA.

7.2% ABV / 122 IBUs.

Pours a beautifully cloudy, pale yellow color with a small but very nice frothy head.

Aroma is of juicy citrus -- namely pineapple, orange, and peach, as well as some melon. There is also an earthy, resinous dankness that calls to mind pine needles, along with some floral notes. There are some herbal/grassy notes as well, but mostly this is a juicy citrus and floral hop IPA in terms of its aroma.

Flavor matches the nose very much. Lots of pithy citrus and floral notes, with some dank, resinous pine and some earthy, herbal characteristics. I am getting lots of pineapple, peach, apricot and mango. Some caramel sweetness and earthy, grassy flavors in the finish.

Overall a very smooth, creamy IPA which is medium-light in mouthfeel. Carbonation is soft and restrained.

Overall rating: A

 

If only the flavor lived up to the appearance.

 

I got a couple decent ones and a few swill. But this storm pretty much makes me forced to have whatever the local store has...if they even open up. I am guessing they plowed the county roads but my cruze ain't getting past the nearest corner right now.

 

That's why you stock up BEFORE the storm hits my nigga.

There is nothing better than being confined to your house because of a winter storm with an adequate supply of craft brews.

 

You are correct. I am that rare breed that dosnt watch the weather...I don't even get local news aside from there Facebook page. I had no idea it was gonna be this bad.

 

Drinking lost IPA foment burley oak.
Really good. Nice citrus and fruit flavors with a perfect blend of hops.
Reminds me of another one I had recently but can't remember which one.
If I do Remember I will mention it.

Edit. It reminds me of last year's tropical ipa from the beer camp pack. I know it was by Sierra Nevada but it might have been a collaborateion.

 

Drinking Snow Pants from.....ummmm...union brewing company I think it was.
It's an oatmeal stout.
Should have been called a coffee stout. Strong coffee smell and strong coffee taste. I would have gotten a 6 pack if I knew how good this was. I don't like coffee but I only had one bad coffee beer and that was because it tasted like folgers. 9/10.

 

Have Rye-baby from Union craft brewery.
A seasonal ipa.
It's actually very similar to that lost IPA but with less kick. I never checked the abv I just mean less Citra flavor less hop flavor and just less flavor overall.
Not watered down though it's more just like it's full flavored without the great tastes that the lost IPA had. Bad review I know because most haven't had either one but this one is hard to explain. It's like there is zero aftertaste. Once I swallow there is zero flavor.
I guess that is what they call dry. I never had a beer that dry besides green can from O'Conner's brewery.

 

Last decent one. Toaster pastry from 21 ammendment brewery.
Taste like a 5% Rye red ale.

Now I will read the can... 7.6% Indian style red ale.
74 ibu'so. I wish I thought of guessing that. Who knows what I would have said...75 is definitely possible.

 

Drinking ERIC More Cowbell! Chocolate Milk Stout from Singlecut; a milk stout brewed with cocoa. I have had this one before on nitro tap, but this is the first time having it from the bottle.

6.6% ABV.

Pours a pitch black leaving no light penetration. There is a small amount of tan colored head which lingers for a little while before leaving a fine layer of foam on the surface of the beer.

Aroma is of dark dry roasted malts, caramel, toffee, coffee and dark semisweet chocolate.

Flavor is of sweet dark malts and slight caramel with some roasted flavors upfront, with a somewhat bitter, semisweet chocolate bite towards the middle of the mouth. There are some lingering chocolate, coffee and roasted flavors in the finish.

Mouthfeel is medium with a smooth yet crisp mouthfeel and a very light carbonation.

Again, not one of the better beers I have had from Singlecut, though still quite good.

Overall rating: A-

 

Now drinking Rise Up Rye, a rye saison from Gun Hill Brewing Co. out of The Bronx, NY.

4.8% ABV.

Pours a slightly hazy but mostly transparent yellow with a fast dissipating head.

Aroma is of estery banana and bubblegum, along with clove and peppery spice. There are more hefeweizen qualities in the aroma than saison qualities.

The flavor is this beer is quite hoppy for a saison, with some peach and apricot flavors that combine with a spicy, somewhat dry, peppery bite. There are some lingering banana and clove flavors present in the finish.

Mouthfeel is light, crisp and effervescent.

This would make for a great Summer beer as it is light and refreshing, but overall is not my cup of tea as I am rather put off by beers that have an estery banana and clove-like aroma/flavor reminiscent of hefeweizens. It is still, however, a well-crafted beer from a well-respected brewery.

Overall rating: B+

 

Drinking another beer from Singlecut. I have had this beer before, but have not yet reviewed it. It is their Billy Half-Stack IPA.

6.6% ABV / 101 IBUs (quite high for a single IPA).

Bottling date: 12/29/16, making this beer extremely fresh.

Pours a slightly hazy gold color with a creamy white head that sticks around for a while.

Aroma is of juicy citrus, namely pineapple and grapefruit, as well as some peach, mango and passionfruit. There is a crackery malt presence, along with an earthy hop aroma. I am also getting a faint dank, resinous character, and even a little bit of honey.

Flavor is of sweet juicy citrus with lots of orange zest, lemon rind, grapefruit, papaya, pineapple and mango. There is also a fair amount of resinous, pine-like dankness. The malts further add a sweetness to this beer as well and compete for dominance with the hops.

Mouthfeel is medium, somewhat slick and sticky, and with a soft, restrained carbonation.

Overall a bit too sweet and malt-forward for my liking, but an excellent IPA nevertheless.

A-

 

This is a newly released beer from Allagash out of Portland, Maine. This is their Hoppy Table Beer, a dry hopped Belgian-style pale ale. Belgian table beers are known for their low ABV and drinkability, which make for excellent session beers.

4.8% ABV

Bottled on 12/14/16.

Pours a hazy straw color with a one-finger head.

Aroma is earthy, grassy hops with notes of lemongrass, lemon peel, grapefruit, coriander and peppery Belgian yeast.

Flavor is of lemon zest and stone fruit coupled with pale malts and spicy Belgian yeast. There are some earthy, grassy undertones as well.

Mouthfeel is light, clean and crisp, with a dry, sharp bite and finish.

Overall rating: A

 

My final beer of the night will be this one from Ballast Point. It is their Coconut Victory at Sea. It is basically their original Victory at Sea, an imperial vanilla coffee porter, but brewed with coconut.

10% ABV

Pours black, but with reddish-brown highlights when held up to the light, with a frothy, tan, two-finger head.

Coconut predominates in the aroma and pretty much overtakes the malts and coffee. However, both the aforementioned are there in the background, along with hints of vanilla, caramel and toffee.

Flavor is also dominated by coconut along with sweet caramel malts, vanilla, coffee, cocoa powder and cream, as well as some roasted flavors.

Mouthfeel is medium, somewhat slick and quite smooth, with a very light carbonation.

Overall the coconut plays too dominant of a role and more or less overshadows the rest of the beer's flavors which make the original Victory at Sea so much better. However, this is still very good, especially if you like coconut.

A-

 

Good to know about that Coconut Victory at Sea.
I saw it recently and thought to myself, "that's probably way too much coconut flavor for my liking".

Now I know... it totally would've been.

I don't think I've had the non-coconut version, but I think I should after reading this review!

 

What a nice frothy head

 

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uXReSkvtTGSeqCTwdOskRdMEPN_uwURYMa89VWtA-OQNVBP-MAX_vsR5NB29hZ21KORSHs_nhP1h6Q=w1366-h768-no
on the Flying Dog . Winter Warmer..
the cardamom flavor is all Im really getting out . little smoky .. drinking from the bottle.. 7%