strong

Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre

Style: 
Abbey Ale
Rating: 
3

Dogfish Head is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries. Luckily, we keep a stock of beers in the fridge at work for Friday afternoons and this afternoon a six-pack of Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre was in there. The color on this beer is pretty awesome - a deep mahogony / copper color, its neither orange or red. A strong beer, its chock full of belgian malts and looks great. The aroma is sweet and estery, with a touch of candy and raison - its brewed with green raisons, afterall. The flavor is thick and malty - its a strong ale and then some at 8% ABV.

Guldenberg Belgian Abbey Beer

Style: 
Abbey Ale
Rating: 
4

Talk about packaging. Guldenberg comes first wrapped in paper, then a bottlecap hides a cork that needs removed with a corkscrew. If only the corkscrew had come out with that pleasing effervescent pop. (There was plenty of fizz nonetheless.) Ah - ignore that. Let's get to the beer.

Guldenberg bills itself as a Belgian Abbey Ale. Google tells me that it's a craft beer - brewed in small batches on weekends only by passionate enthusiasts (not by monks, it appears). It looks like medium-colored blonde ale - not really clear, yet not overtly cloudy.

Harpoon Leviathan Series Imperial IPA

Style: 
Imperial / Double India Pale Ale
Rating: 
3

When I see an Imperial IPA on the shelves of a package store, its as if the store owner has already put it in my shopping cart. The purchase is a done deal, I just can't resist and Harpoon's Imperial IPA - with its Halloween-esque label - was no different.

This imperial IPA has a medium hop aroma, with pine needles and earthy notes. It does not have the floral or citrus-y notes one expects from an American IPA. Harpoon's website claims it has 122 IBU's and massive aroma, but this beer is all about the alcohol.

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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