Rogue Brewing Company's Yellow Snow IPA

I'm guessing that the TABC doesn't like the Yellow Snow part of this label, which is why we don't have it in Texas. Bastards. I showed them though, I flew all the way to California and found it. It's part of my beer haul that includes 52 beers that I've never had, or haven't had in Texas.

This one pours a hazy amber with a huge pillowy off white head.

Grassy smell. Somewhat malty, but the hops get you more than anything.

Big grassy bitterness that finishes clean and doesn't get off or cardboard-ish in the aftertaste. Malt in the feel, but not really in the taste. Not a whole lot to write about here. Reminds me a lot of Dead Guy Ale in that I love the brewery, and it's within the style guidelines, but it's just not terribly exciting.

Ballast Point Brewing Company's Wahoo Wheat Beer

Damn. Every time I see a beer I haven't had I buy it. I have to learn to read first. I saw 'wheat' and jumped on this one, then got it home and saw that it's a Belgian style wit. Damn.

Pours like an American wheat. Clear golden yellow with a fizzy white head that disappears quickly. Pours fast, looks zippy.

Smells zippier than most Belgians too. Less yeasty, plastic-y, chemical-y. So far so good. I'm hoping the folks at Ballast Point just don't know what a Belgian wit tastes like, and the label is wrong. It also says a wit is characterized by its cloudy appearance due to the yeast and unmalted oats, and this one is clear as a bell. So even if they know what a wit is, it's not one so far.

Huh. Tastes like apple juice. There's a hit of Belgian, but it's very subdued. The body feels like apple juice--like heavy water. Very low carbonation lends to that feel. It hazes up slightly as it warms, and the carbonation picks up in the feel. But that just makes it feel zippy, like an American wheat.

Eh. Okay beer, I guess. This one may not be too fresh, but that probably played to my particular taste. A newer one may be more Belgian-y.

Ceylon Brewery's Lion Stout

I took down my list of countries from which I've had beers because it seemed kind of whorish. I'm not trying to tick off a list, I just want to try a bunch of different beer from different places. But if I had the list up, I'd love to check off this beer from Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka? What the hell do they know about beer, you ask?

Well, they make a damn good stout.

Pours deep brown with reddish highlights. Dark. Closer to an RIS than a straight up stout, by appearance. Has a great brown head that gets rocky and develops large cells. Looks great, all around.

Subtle roasted smell, with equal parts but also subtle chocolate. Interesting.

Wow. Substantially heavier in body than I expected. Complex roasted grain and stronger chocolate. Slight alcohol bite, but it doesn't get in the way. Almost a lactose taste and feel, but primarily chocolate with moderate bitterness.

This is probably one of the most pleasant surprises I've ever had in a beer. I fully expected it to be just another crap beer from a crap country (don't tell the Tamil Tigers I said that), but this is one of the best stouts I've ever had. I kid you not. I will buy it every time I see it, and may well include it in my internet orders from now on.

Yard's Brewing Company's Philadelphia Pale Ale

Pours a clear yellow, with a great light tan head and strong carbonation.

Throws off a great smell. Equal parts malt, yeast, and slightly sharp hops, combine for a nice floral bread smell.

The hops aren't as clean in the taste as the smell, and they're nice and mild like a pale should be. Strong grainy malt that isn't bready, but more raw grain--like a strong Coors. In a good way. Finishes with a touch of grassy hops that fades quickly to a cardboardish (again, in a good way) bitterness.

Good beer. Highly drinkable and light, with good flavor in a light body. It would be good to have these folks available in Texas.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's 2009 Estate Brewer's Harvest Ale

Sweet, a new round of seasonals from Sierra Nevada. Always a must-buy.

This one pours amber with a copper tint, and as always a great tan head that sticks forever. Decent carbonation.

Malty. You can also smell the hops, but the malt is the most apparent.

Solid, bitter punch to it. The body is a little lighter than I expected, but it's still fairly big. It's an IPA, after all, not a barleywine. A little twangy to go with the bitterness, and fairly sweet malt. The hops are somewhere between grassy and piney. Bitterness lasts, and gets less sweet quickly.

I like it, but it's not their best seasonal. It's within the style but I wish it had more body.

Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout

Another stout? Sold. Always glad to see more pop up here and there, and of all the styles out there this one is one that I will buy no matter who makes it. It just so happens that Brooklyn puts out some pretty good beer, so this is a low risk one for me.

Pours a completely opaque black with brown highlights and a great, almost cascading, brown head that very slowly recedes.

Solid roasted, raw grain smell. Not bready, just grainy. No chocolate so far, which is good to me because if I want to drink a chocolate cake I'll go for a Young's Double Chocolate. And I don't want to drink a chocolate cake, so subtlety is key to me in a chocolate stout. I also prefer the ones that get the chocolate from the grain as opposed to actual chocolate. I don't know which type this is, but so far it's leaning toward the former.

Yep, strong roasted flavor and a surprising level of bitterness. Very little malt is apparent in anything but the feel. The chocolate definitely comes from the grain, or seems to, anyway, but there seems to be a milk stout feel, but not taste. It just has a bit of a silky feel to it that lactose can give. There's also a bit of an alcohol bite, which is surprising given how strong the other flavors are.

You know, I like this and would choose it if I was out and there was a fairly limited selection of beers, but I much prefer a straight up stout or a non-chocolate variety. Well, I don't know about 'much,' but I do prefer them. The roasted flavor is just a tad twangy and too roasted for the type, to me. But, it is better than Young's, which I will forsake forever.

Very good beer. Any criticism above is just relative to my favorites, not other beer as a whole and shouldn't really be taken as a criticism, just a comparison with my favorites. Think of it like a hot soccer mom next door. You want her, but not as much as the hot coworker who wears the tight skirts and has big ol' fake boobs.

Indian Wells Brewing Company's Blackout Stout

Sweet. I have loved everything by Indian Wells so far. A Bock with over 10% ABV that's so smooth you can barely taste the alcohol? Who wouldn't love that? Every other beer of their that I've had since the first bock has been almost as good, so I'm looking forward to this one.

Pours inky black with a smallish dark tan head that fades pretty quickly. Admittedly, I wanted to try this one as soon as possible so I quick-chilled it by sticking it in the ice maker, so I bet the head would normally be bigger.

Moves slower than a standard stout, and is darker. not as substantial as an RIS, but more than the usual. Smells deep and smooth, a tad grainy and roasted. Not strong like an RIS, just steady.

Excellent taste. Straight stouts aren't too sexy, but this one is more substantial in every category without getting overly roasted like Ted Fidy, or overly hoppy like Storm King. Solid and even roasted malt, with decent bitterness without going overboard. The bitterness is indistinct--it's not grassy or piney or floral, it just is.

One of my favorite stouts. Substantial, without all the crazy that others try to introduce in an attempt to stand out. Like every Indian Wells beer so far, it's one of the best in the style. Although their IPA didn't age too well, their bock did and I bet this one will too. If they last that long, anyway.

Cape Ann Brewing Company's Kolsch Style Ale

This one should be interesting. I love this style, but remember not being too excited about this one. I remember it being a bit oily, too hoppy, and maybe a little heavy for the style. Let's see how the months have treated it.

Pours a deeper yellow than most kolschs, with decent carbonation that rises slowly. Good off white head that fades fast.

Smells sweet. Too malty for a kolsch, if you ask me. The time has attenuated the bitterness, but it's still a bit heavy and oily for me. Almost like a German pilsner that is too warm. Not really hoppy as much as it is twangy, it just seems a bit weird. Combined with the sweetness, it seems a bit like the sweet side of a citrus sweet tart.

Meh. Glad it's gone.

Florida Beer Company's Hurricane Reef Pale Ale

I hate cleaning out the cellar and seeing a beer that I just know I don't want to drink.

Pours a very clear light amber, with a nice tan head and decent, if slow, carbonation. Maybe the slowness means it has a decent body to it. We'll see.

Smells sweet and light, with a hint of yeast. Tastes light as well, and sweet, until the bitterness turns a bit cardboard-ish. Very mildly bitter, for a pale. After a couple of larger sips (to try to get rid of it), it tastes a bit like a stronger Budweiser, but sweeter.

I remember setting this one aside and not remembering of it was one that I should give away. I have several friends that I give mixed sixers made of beers that I wasn't terribly impressed by, and this should have been one of them.

Lancaster Brewing Company's Milk Stout

Milk stout is one of the weirdest beer categories out there, if you ask me. I can almost understand how smoked beers came about, in an accident while roasting the grain. I can see fruit beers, since people have been shoving fruit in things for centuries (no Richard Geere jokes please). And other styles like IPA or RIS, or old ales, were all borne of necessity or traditions--some intentionally, some not. But who in the hell puts milk in beer? and nowadays it's lactose, not straight up milk, but still. And because this is one that has been cellared (kitchen cabineted just doesn't sound right) for about a year that I'm cleaning out, it should be that much more interesting.

Pours inky and black. Not as slow as an RIS, but every bit as dark. Great dark tan head as well, that fades but not too quickly.

Smells grainier than it used to. Still has that residual sweetness from the lactose, but not as strong.

Tastes just like it smells. Still grainier than it used to be, although you can still taste the lactose. I actually like this one better now. It never was as sweet as a Young's Double Chocolate, thank God, but over time the sweetness has subsided a bit and the other stout flavors have stayed. Because the lactose adds to the body, it actually feels like a heavy stout, leaning closer to an RIS than some plain stouts. It doesn't have near the grain bill, but it is bigger than most stouts.

It's not intended to cellar, but it handles it very well.

Indian Wells Brewing Company's Amnesia IPA

I'm cleaning out the beer cellar from all of the random leftovers from Spring and Summer, and ran across this one way in the back. It's been sitting for almost a year, and while not a barleywine or otherwise intended for cellaring, I remember this one as big enough to take it.

Pours an orangish amber with a neon-like glow. Huge tan head that gets pillowy, then rocky, and never really goes away.

You can smell this one without getting near the glass. I hope the head isn't throwing off all the taste, but from what I know of this beer it isn't. It is, however, throwing off a huge crisp, hoppy smell that has a hint of orange citrus to it in addition to the sweet malt and bitter hops.

It has certainly mellowed a bit over the last year, but it still packs a great bitter punch. It's not as crisp as I remember it being, but it's still well within the type for an IPA. It finishes fairly dull, probably because it's a bit older than it's supposed to be.

It's one of my all-time favorite IPA's, and I'll get it again, I just won't leave any soldiers behind like this one.

Shipyard Brewing Company's Tremont Mr. Oktoberfest Seasonal Ale

Pours a nice, coppery amber with a great light tan head and decent carbonation. Nice malty, slightly spicy and zippy smell.

It has a decent, sharp bitterness that is on the more bitter end of Oktoberfests, but still very good. Medium to light body that is very smooth and keeps it very drinkable.

Not a bad beer, but in general just kind of there. It's more because the style is kind of mediocre in general, I guess. It's on type, and nice, but unremarkable.

Ridgeway Brewing's IPA

My first Ridgeway beer that I know of. We'll see. I generally like British beers, so I'm hoping for the best.

Pours a clear yellowish amber with a neon-like glow that is usually indicative of a hollow taste. In a hoppy beer like an IPA, it can be more twangy than bitter.

Smells more yeasty than an IPA should. Plenty of sweet malt and a very floral hops smell, but it has a yeasty smell that a bottle conditioned beer can have when it doesn't have enough of its own flavor to stand up to the yeast.

Yeah, kind of hollow. Smooth body but kind of a soft drink feel and taste to it, like a bitter coke. It has the right amount of bitterness for an IPA, but finishes fast and disappears.

I'll probably try one or two more Ridgeway beers, but I'm guessing they're going to fall far short of Sam Smith.

Otter Creek Brewing Company's Stovepipe Porter

Well, it pours more like a starkbier than a porter. It's fairly brown, and you can see all the way through the glass, although not too easily. Nice light tan head, but it just looks kind of weak.

Surprisingly substantial smell though. Not very vinous, but instead more like a raw, grainy stout.

Much more of a stout than a porter, although it gets a bit more vinous and a touch peppery in the taste. Very smooth feel to it, almost soft. Moderate bitterness as well, and despite the tannins it seems as much like a stout because the raw grain taste persists.

Good beer. I love stouts, which I guess is why porters always fall short. I try to avoid the direct comparisons, but this one just seems closer to a stout, as opposed to Sierra Nevada's porter, which to me is dead center in the porter category.

Shipyard Brewing Company's Tremont Freedom Trail India Pale Ale

My first Shipyard beer. Heard a bit about the brewery, but just never ran across them.

Pours a clear, coppery amber with a very nice light tan head that gets pillowy before thinning. You can smell the hops from a couple of feet away. That may signal a loss of taste if it throws off everything it has, but we'll see. Good, grassy hops smell, but not really enough malt for an IPA.

Well, this one is hard to nail down. Big alcohol bite for some reason. Fair amount of bitterness, but again the malt seems lower than it should be. It's there in the body, but not the taste, for some reason. It should be a little sweeter, but instead it's more like a bitter. Not bitter as in hops, but bitter as in the style. The finish is hollow and a bit harsh.

Not a great start for my Shipyard experience. Not a bad beer, but a tad off type.

Otter Creek Brewing Company's Pale Ale

Alright, I'm evenly split on Otter Creek beers, so I'm equal parts looking forward to this and meh about it.

Pours a light amber, very clear, with an orange tint. Excellent light tan head. Pours very nicely and then gets pillowy before receding. Smells nice and grassy, with a strong floral scent as well. Fair amount of malt to it as well, not really bready but sweet in a way that can only be explained by a decent grain bill.

Nice. Solid bitterness gets you up front. Not heavy enough for an IPA, but definitely there. It's still grassy, but fades to just plain bitter (in a good way) as it warms. Malt is present, but weaker than the smell would indicate, but that's also a good thing. Any maltier and it would approach an IPA. Clean break in the aftertaste, and fairly light in body. Very good beer. I won't be giving the rest of these away.