ale

Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA

Style: 
India Pale Ale
Rating: 
3

Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA is a twist on a traditional IPA. On the label, it says its made with German, English and American hops all grown at the same latitude around the globe. The result is a combination of Hallertau, East Kent Goldings for spicy and earthy flavors, combined with American varyeties Zeus, Simcoe®, and Ahtanum hops to give it some citrus punch.

This IPA has a deep copper color, much closer to amber than one would expect from a traditional IPA. It pours with a thick, brownish head - lots of carbonation.

Boston Beer Works Fenway Pale Ale

Style: 
American Pale Ale
Rating: 
3

This is a beer close to my heart - I played a role in the original design of Fenway Pale Ale and brewed it for many years while I was a brewer at Beer Works. It is still one of my go to beers, alongside Back Bay IPA, when I visit Beer Works for Red Sox games.

Beer Works started bottling the beer in the past few years. I visited their Lowell brewery and bottling line about two years ago - when Acquia was based in Andover - and they were still experimenting with their process for filling, bottle conditioning and more.

Sam Adams Pale Ale

Style: 
English-Style Pale Ale
Rating: 
3

Sam Adams is a brewer who confounds me at times. They do some things exceedingly well - their Oktoberfest is one of the best in the US, Boston Lager is rock solid - but their catalog of seasonals & brewmaster's collection is too large to be consistently good across the board. And for reasons I can't fathom, they still brew too many fruit beers.

Sam Adams Pale Ale falls somewhere in the middle - its a quality beer, but not good enough to reflect well on the brand. It pours deep yellow in color, but very hazy.

Harpoon Rauchfetzen

Style: 
Smoke-Flavored Beer
Rating: 
4

I stumbled upon this beer at Pete's Waterfront Ale House in Brooklyn and ordered it mostly because I had no idea what a Rauchfetzen was. The bar tender described it as a smoky ale so I hesitated - assuming it might destroy my palate before dinner - but decided to give it a go. I must have liked it because I ordered several more. In fact, I did like it quite a bit. I would describe it as very respectable ale with a hint of smoke in the background. It turns out to be part of a limited batch series Harpoon is offering: "Harpoon Rauchfetzen is the 25th offering from our 100 Barrel Series. We used

Anchor Summer Beer

Style: 
Wheat Beer
Rating: 
4

Despite the disappearance of the sun and constant rain over the past few weeks, I've been drinking wheat and weizen beers to celebrate the coming of summer (any day now). And lately, my beer of choice has been Anchor Summer Beer.

While its been brewed since 1984, I do not remember ever buying this beer until 3 or 4 weeks ago. Now I'm wondering what I was waiting for.

The first thing you notice when you pour an Anchor Summer is the thick, creamy foam - described quite accurately on Anchor's website as "...a consistently similar to whipped egg whites." that persists throughout the entire glass.

White Hawk Select IPA

Style: 
American Pale Ale
Rating: 
4

Visiting my brother Brett and trying some new IPAs. Its the first warm day of the summer (its only July 11th) and the fruity, citrusy cascade hop flavor makes a refreshing counterpart to the afternoon.

My first is the Mendocino White Hawk Select IPA. Mendocino Brewing Co has been around forever- I've been drinking Red Tail Ale as long as I've been drinking craft beers, but I can't remember trying White Hawk - memory can be a funny thing when it comes to beer.

Its got a nice orange color, a pretty good head with amberish foam.

Uerige Alt

Style: 
Altbier
Rating: 
3

My hopes are high for the Uerige Alt, but the swing top bottle has me nervous - its never made a Grolsch taste better. It pours brownish amber, with a caramel color to the foam. The aroma is clean, a good sign, slightly sweet with a touch of caramel and a little bready. The foam is pretty thick, though it didn't pour with a lot of carbonation - a result of the swing top.

The flavor is a little thin, slightly acidic with a dry finish. The body is disappointing, I was hoping for more complex sugars from caramel or roasted malts to give it a little depth.

Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale

Style: 
Amber/Red Ale
Rating: 
4

Anderson Valley Brewing Company is one of my favorite small California microbreweries - their beers are consistently outstanding across the board. Finding a fresh six-pack on the East Coast is always a treat. With that, I couldn't pass up a chance to try their Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale.

One of their award winning beers, this one has a deepreddish color with a light tan head. It pours hazy, likely both unfiltered and some protein haze. The nose is noticeably spicy - with cinnamon and nutmeg, along with hints of nutmeg, ginger and almond.

Upon tasting, its sweet up front, with a big body and

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