Some Faves

We took a bit of a break this summer as finding a mutually beneficial time for all of us to meet proved to be impossible. A lot of traveling along with various family commitments got in the way of the important work of reviewing beers. What is this world coming to? My wife and I took a rather extended trip ourselves to the West Coast where we visited the craft beer Meccas of Portland and Seattle. From there we cruised up to Alaska. More about that next time. 

We began the fall season with a trip to Copper City Brewing in Rome, NY. While the mega-breweries like Budweiser like to paint craft beer drinkers as sissified urban hipsters, small neighborhood breweries like this one expose that perception as the bullshit that it is. Situated in the heart of a rust belt blue-collar city, Copper City Brewing hearkens back to a time before the mega-brews hijacked the beer industry and made American beer into a bland one-size-fits-all tasteless McBeer.

Copper City is  a fairly young brewery, having opened in 2016, but it is the first neighborhood brewery in Rome, NY since the 1930's, when Prohibition effectively destroyed American beer. It's one of those perfect little neighborhood breweries that have been springing up all across the country since the advent of the Craft Beer Revolution. Like many of these breweries, it does not serve food, but often has food trucks in the parking lot, or you can order out if you like. They stick to what they know - beer. 

In a cozy tasting room, they have a rotating selection of beers on tap, featuring a wide range of styles - Belgians, Porters, Stouts, Blondes, Ambers, Saisons and, of course, IPAs, as well as seasonal brews. Between the seven of us we tried both their New England style IPA and their Imperial IPA, as well as a terrific coffee Porter, a Stout, and a nicely hopped Amber. They were all terrific beers, hitting all the right notes for each particular style. 

   
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Our last beer club was quite simply some of our favorite beers that had not yet been reviewed. So, here they are.

AVERY BREWING IPA

AVERY BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWERY: Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO; STYLE: IPA; ABV: 6.5%; IBUs: 65; MALTS: Munich, C-120, 2-row; HOPS: Centennial, Cascade, Columbus, Chinook - dry hop with Simcoe and Idaho 7,

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "A Colorado IPA with crisp, juicy, and resinous hops and a rich, malty finish."

COLOR: Unfiltered clover honey

POUR: Less than Decent Head quickly dissipates

AROMA: Sweet, butterscotch, English-style ale aroma

BODY: Bit beyond Medium

TASTE: Nice balance of bitter and malt with hints of caramel, butterscotch and floral

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Just shy of Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "I felt it was kind of malt forward; Floral hops; Nice beer; Good change-up to American East or West Coast IPAs; The butterscotch/caramel tastes reminds me of English IPAs; Nice little buttercup honey."

RANSACK THE UNIVERSE

COLLECTIVE ARTS BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWERY: Collective Arts, Ontario, Canada; STYLE: Hemisphere IPA; ABV: 6.8%; IBUs: 85; MALT: 2 Row Pale Ale, Flaked Wheat, Crystal, Carafoam; HOPS: Galaxy, Mosaic - dry hops: Citra, Centennial, Chinook, Simcoe

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Galaxy hops from Myrtleford, Victoria in Australia and Mosaic hops from Yakima, Washington, USA, deliver aromas and flavours of tropical furuits, mango and citrus. Light malt body lets the hops shine through, and finishes crisp but not bitter. A hemispheric hop mashup."


COLOR: Unfiltered straw

POUR: Between Decent and Guinness Class

AROMA: Big hoppy, pine grass aroma

BODY: Between Medium and Full

TASTE: Nice hop bitterness with minimum malt sweetness but enough to balance things a bit, pine, citrus, tropical fruit

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "Classic IPA - right color, taste, aroma; Pleasing aftertaste; Big enough; Has rekindled my love of our Northern neighbor; Nice juiciness to this; Nice bit of balance makes this really drinkable; Canada is definitely getting on board with the craft beer revolution."

JAI ALAI

CIGAR CITY BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWERY: Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL; STYLE: American IPA; ABV: 7.5%; IBUs: 70; HOPS: six different hop varietals

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "An intense bouquet of tangerine and candied orange peel entice the nose while flavors of clementines, Valencia orange and subtle caramel provide counterpoint to an assertive bitterness and rich malt character. Bold hop flavor and aroma from six different hop varietals is front and center in this flavorful American IPA."

COLOR: Crisp, clean golden

POUR: Between Decent and Guinness and lasts nicely

AROMA: Pine, floral, citrus

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Nice pine, citrus bitterness with a bit of caramel malt

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "This is the style of IPA I first fell in love with; Really classic West Coast style; Wonderful bitterness with lots of citrus, pine; Really clean finish that lingers; Some grapefruit in there and a bit of caramel for balance; Discovered this on a trip to Florida a few years ago and it's finally available here; Nice beer!"

INTO THE UNIVERSE GALAXY IPA

COPPER CITY BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWERY: Copper City Brewing, Rome, NY; STYLE: American IPA; ABV: 7.5%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Imagine floating through the galaxy on a cloud of melon and citrus. Subtle fruit aroma, mild bitterness, a bit cloudy, with pleasing melon and berry flavor."


COLOR: Golden

POUR: Decent Head

AROMA: Piney, hoppy

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Fruit, a bit of anise with clove, banana, kiwi, mango all in there.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "This is a really unique taste for an IPA; Yeah, I like it though; Some anise in there, with a kind of tropical fruit thing going on; Really flavorful beer; I get a little clove like you get in British ales; Really different though, good beer."

DEEP CUT DOUBLE IPA

BIG DITCH BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Big Ditch Brewing, Buffalo, NY; STYLE: Double IPA; ABV: 8.2%: MALT: 2-Row, Munich; HOPS: Nugget, Citra, Calypso, Meridian; AWARDS: Best New York State Brewery - 2016 - TAP NY. Deep Cut won gold in Strong IPA category TAP NY 2017.

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "The final obstacle in constructing the Erie Canal was leveling a 7 mile section of the canal 40 feet deep - by hand -between Lockport and Lake Erie. Our Deep Cut Double IPA is our most ambitious beer to date. It's layered with citrus, tropical punch, and wild berry flavor, with moderate bitterness and a dry finish."

COLOR: Cloudy, unfiltered wheat

POUR: Big, long lasting Guinness-class head

AROMA: Grassy

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Balanced with hints of toffee, malt, citrus and tropical fruit

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "Freakin' delicious!; Deep Cut taste; Excellent double IPA, with a nice balance of malt and hops; Really tasty."

PAVEMENT DIPA

FOAM BREWERS

THE BEER FACTS: BREWERY: Foam Brewers, Burlington, VT; STYLE: New England Double IPA; ABV: 8.2%


COLOR: Unfiltered pale yellow

POUR: Decent Head

AROMA: Lemongrass

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Lemon, pineapple, citrus and tropical fruit with some malt for balance.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "Tastes light, refreshing and juicy for a beer over 8%; I get just a bit of sour on the end but it works; This is a big ol' juice bomb, I wouldn't have thought it was as big a beer from the taste, it is very drinkable."

FEARLESS

MIDDLE AGES BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWERY: Middle Ages Brewing, Syracuse, NY; STYLE: Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Coffee Stout; ABV: 12%; MALTS: Specialty malts, oats

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Fearless is a Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Coffee Stout. This beer uses massive amounts of specialty malts and a huge amount of oats. after aging in freshly dumped bourbon barrels for over a year, this beer is hit with a big dose of coffee beans from Recess Coffee and Roastery."


COLOR: Black

POUR: Not a huge head but some lingering caramel colored lacing

AROMA: Dark chocolate

BODY: Full

TASTE: Chocolate, coffee, bourbon.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "Looks like blood from a vampire; A dessert beer; I don't get the alcohol until the very last thing; Cold coffee with too much sugar; Nice dark chocolate taste in there; This is a real rich, full flavored sipping beer. A nice change-up from the IPAs tonight."

Slante,
The BOTB Guys

American Stouts

LEGENDARY BREWS

Along with the growth of craft beers has come a phenomenon I call Legendary Brews. These are beers that, either regionally or nationally, gain a near mythical status. For any number of reasons - limited production creating demand, unique taste profile, word of mouth, a particular hype upon release, or a combination of any and all - these beers become the stuff of legends. Usually they are brewed only certain times of the year, sometimes only once a year, and their release becomes a kind of beer geek celebration. Heady Topper from The Alchemist Brewing was one of the early Legendary Brews. Heady Topper started the New England Style IPA movement with a hazy, citrusy, hop-forward beer for which people wait in line for hours upon release in order to purchase a limited number of 4-packs.

Nearly every part of the country seems to have a Legendary Brew: Kentucky Stout from Toppling Goliath Brewing in Iowa, Sip of Sunshine from Lawson's Finest Liquids out of Vermont, Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout from Foothills Brewing in North Carolina, Hunahpu's Imperial Stout from Cigar City in Florida, Dark Lord Imperial Stout from 3 Floyds in Indiana, Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA, or Dave, a barleywine from Hair of the Dog Brewing in Portland Oregon. Most of these are available regionally, which seems to add to their mystique. While Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA is more of a national brew, selling for over $40 per 4-pack. For many of these brews people will camp out at the brewery overnight prior to the release of the beer. Dark Lord, Hunahpu, Sexual Chocolate are all released once a year with big release parties. Dave is aged 20 years and its last release was in 2013 with only 12 bottles selling at $2,000 per. They sold out within hours.

A Central New York beer that has reached Legendary Brew status is Mass Riot IPA from Prison City Brewing in Auburn, NY. It is a New England style IPA that recently gained national attention (which pushed it into the realm of Legendary) when it was named Best IPA by Paste Magazine. We at BOTB were lucky enough to get into the brewpub on a Mass Riot release date for a member's birthday celebration. Like so many craft beer brewpubs, Prison City, located in The Armory building in
Auburn, has that nice, laid-back, hip industrial vibe. Our waitress was a lot of fun and knowledgeable. The food was terrific. And Mass Riot lives up to the hype. It's a wonderful beer. But it was by no means the only good beer available. Like many brewpubs, Prison City rotates beers in and out and experiments with different styles. Much to our delight they had a number of IPAs on tap besides Mass Riot including a Red and a Black and a New England.  Along with the myriad IPAs there were Sours, Lagers, Porters, Blondes, Belgians and hybrids of various ilk. It'll be interesting to see if their success equals wider availability.

AMERICAN STOUTS

Why "American" Stouts? After all the birthplace of stout is Ireland with Guinness Stout (ergo our nod to Guinness with our "Pour" section rating - Guinness Class Head). As American craft beer has grown, however, nearly every brewery has its own stout or several variations of Stouts. As has happened with the craft beer industry, American brewers took the basic essence of a style and tweaked it in various ways. In the case of Stouts, the basics amounted to a dark, malty beer with subtle hints of coffee and chocolate. American craft brewers have been toying with that formula to create stouts that tend to be a bit bigger and bolder and often hoppier than their cousins across the ocean. This month we decided to check out stouts produced exclusively by American brewers. 

OATMEAL STOUT

BRECKENRIDGE BREWERY

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Breckenridge Brewery, Littleton, CO; STYLE: Oatmeal Stout; ABV: 5%; IBU: 36

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "A well balanced easy drinking stout is timeless. Deeply roasted malts lend hints of coffee and dark chocolate. There's a softness that comes from the oatmeal, which when combined with the malts, adds a touch of sweetness at the onset. This transitions to an unexpected dry finish."

COLOR: Deep Mahogany

POUR: Decent tan head

AROMA: Malty, molasses dominates

BODY: Bit less than medium

TASTE: Toward the sweet side of balance with overtones of chocolate and coffee.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Creamy on the tongue; A little thinner body than you might expect from a stout; Nice and mild; Not over the top, but easy-drinking beer; Nice, solid beer."

OLD MOUNTAIN MILK STOUT

BLUE LINE BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Blue Line Brewery, Saranac Lake, NY; STYLE: Milk Stout; ABV; 5.1%; IBUs: 25; MALTS: Roast, Chocolate, Crystal, Victory.

COLOR: Black

POUR: Slight head with some lacing

AROMA: Brown sugar

BODY: Between Medium and Full

TASTE: Sweet with notes of coffee, vanilla, brown sugar

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "More malty; A bit creamier even than Breckenridge; Roasty; On the sweet side - I like it; Kind of like a nice latte; Yeah, coffee and vanilla; Good beer."

NITRO BREAKFAST WITH CHURCHILL OATMEAL COFFEE STOUT

WAR HORSE BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWERY: War Horse Brewing, Geneva, NY; STYLE: Oatmeal Stout; ABV: 7.2%; MALTS: 2-Row, Oats, Roasted barley, Chocolate Malt, Crystal 55; HOPS: Bravo, East Kent Golding; OTHER: Colombian Coffee

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Breakfast With Churchill is full of roasty smooth dark chocolate notes and balanced bitterness. With the addition of freshly roasted Colombian Coffee from our good friends at Glenn Edith in Rochester, it's a perfect start, or finish, to your day."

COLOR: Near Black with a red tint

POUR: Between Decent and Guinness Class with long-lasting lacing

AROMA: Brown sugar and coffee

BODY: Between Medium and Full

TASTE: Nice sweetness on the front with a pleasing bitterness at the end with a strong coffee taste throughout

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Darn near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Creamy; More roasted taste than some of the others; Fills the mouth; Like a nice mug of coffee; Real nice mouth feel; They really hit the coffee stout sweet spot - a little sweet a little bitter with a nice big flavor; Coffee, yes, but still beer; Little bit of dark chocolate in there too; I like it."

DRAGONSLAYER

MIDDLE AGES BREWING CO.

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Middle Ages Brewing, Syracuse, NY; STYLE: Imperial Stout; ABV: 9.5%; HOPS: English hops

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Brewed in the style of a Russian Imperial Stout. Strong, chocolatety and aggressively hopped with finest English hops

COLOR: Near pitch black

POUR: Near Guinness Class head - big, rich and long-lasting

AROMA: Roasty malt, candy

BODY: Near full

TASTE: Somewhat sweet, with coffee and dark chocolate dominant

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "A bit more carbonated than many; Roasted coffee bitterness; Iced coffee; Not a dessert beer yet, but a meal ender; Bit of licorice taste in there; Big malty taste; Got a nice dark chocolate taste to it; The British vibe comes through with the English hops; Another good beer from one of our favorite breweries."

THICK MINT STOUT

SOUTHERN TIER

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Southern Tier Brewing, Lakewood, NY; STYLE: Imperial Stout Dessert Beer; ABV: 10%; IBU: 60

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Inspired by the legendary cookie, Thick Mint joins our world-class rated Blackwater Series of dessert beers alongside Creme Brulee, Choklat Oranj, Salted Caramel and Choklat in 2017. This Imperial Stout is a mouthful of perfectly balanced mint and chocolate. Roasty malts coalesce with notes of Belgian dark chocolate, sweet mint and just a touch of sweet caramel. So decadently delicious, you'll wish you'd bouth another box...er, bottle."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Between Decent and Guinness Class

AROMA: Mint and chocolate

BODY: Full

TASTE: Sweet with dark chocolate and mint, bit of caramel and roasty malt

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Tastes like a Girl Scout cookie; Dessert; Creamy; Great mouthfeel; Deceptively alcoholic; I'm the one dissenting voice here - I'm just not a fan of mint in anything other than a candy of gum, just don't care for it. Having said that, I like this better than I thought I would - the mint is subtle enough to not overpower."

HYPNOPOMPA IMPERIAL STOUT

OMNIPOLLO BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Omnipollo Brewing, Boston MA; STYLE: Imperial Stout; ABV: 11%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Hypnopompa is our Imperial Stout brewed with almost 100 kilos of marshmallows and Tahitian vanilla beans ( the size of cigars). Low carbonation and boiled a bit extra for good measure, this is a beer strictly for the stout inclined."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Decent chocolate brown head

AROMA: Chocolate, sea-salt, caramel/sweet

BODY: Full

TASTE: Sweet dark chocolate

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Could chew this; Dessert beer; Tastes like a liquid S'more; Lady Godiva; After-dinner drink; Almost like chocolate syrup; Could put it on French Vanilla ice cream; Good - and different."

KBS (KENTUCKY BREAKFAST STOUT)

FOUNDERS BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich., STYLE: Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout; ABV: 12.3%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "What we've got herre is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Decent Head

AROMA: Chocolate, coffee

BODY: Full

TASTE: Big chocolate and coffee with smooth bourbon undertones

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Coffee grounds; Green pepper? I think; Sweet smelling - maybe horehound; Bourbon taste comes through nicely - sort of blends in nicely almost like a nice Irish Coffee made with bourbon; A real tasty sipper."

BOURBON BARREL DRAGONSLAYER

MIDDLE AGES BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Middle Ages Brewing, Syracuse, NY; STYLE: Imperial Stout; ABV: 12.5%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "This version of our imperial stout Dragonslayer has been aged in Bourbon Barrels for over 6 months."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Guinness-class  with nice lacing

AROMA: spicy, alcohol, subtle

BODY: Full

TASTE: Coffee, bourbon, alcohol, bit of toffee with fruity hops

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Alcohol up front; Booze; Serious stuff; A 'get-me-in-trouble' beer; I taste a little coconut in there; Dangerously delicious; One of the hoppier stouts we've had today.

Sláinte,

The BOTB Guys

New New York Brews

RIDING ON THE CRAFT BEER COATTAILS

While engaged in one of my favorite pastimes - namely checking out the craft beer section of a nearby grocery store - I noticed a big blue beer with the word "STONE" prominently displayed on its side. I was, at first, taken aback since I was unaware of a new Stone beer on the market. But, being the savvy craft beer geek that I am I noticed two things that told me this was not a Stone beer. The first thing was the word "light" printed below the word "STONE." Anyone who knows Stone Brewing knows that Light or Lite are totally anathema to all that Stone stands for. This is the brewery whose flagship beer is Arrogant Bastard, upon whose bottles is printed a diatribe decrying "Wussy yellow beers." A light beer by Stone would be like a sweet romantic comedy directed by Quentin Tarantino. Stone makes big in-your-face beers. "Light" is not in their vocabulary. And then I saw the word "KEY" printed discretely above the word "STONE" and realized this was Keystone Light a beer produced by MillerCoors. And they had changed their can design. The old can looked like this:

Notice that the word "KEYSTONE" is all one word. No mistaking what it is. Now, the new can isn't likely to fool an experienced craft beer aficionado, but perhaps one less knowledgeable who is first dipping one's toes into the craft beer pool might think they are buying a Stone beer. It's enough of an issue that Stone has brought a suit against MillerCoors. Whether anything comes of the suit or not is not as significant as the fact that a megabrew feels the need to get a free ride from a respected craft brewer. 

SOME NEW NEW YORK BREWS

716 IPA

FLYING BISON

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Flying Bison Brewing Company, Buffalo, NY; STYLE: India Pale Ale; ABV: 6.4%; IBUs: 50; MALTS: UK Pale, NY Craft Malt Erie Canal Pale; HOPS: Centennial, Cascade, Galaxy, Amarillo

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Medium bodied American India Pale Ale using the best UK Pale malt and citrusy, aromatic US hops. The bold hop aromas, flavors, and bitterness are supported/balanced by a solid malt backbone."

COLOR: Golden

POUR: Better than Decent pure white head with good lacing

AROMA: Earthy

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Nice hop bitterness with solid malt balance. Lots of pine and citrus.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!


COMMENTS: "Malt comes through nicely; Balanced; Hits the side of my tongue; Piney after-taste; Fine beer - apparently not available in Central New York; Lingering after-taste; Good Bills tailgate beer."

THE ELEVEN IPA

CRITZ FARMS

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Critz Farms Brewing and Cider Co., Cazenovia, NY; STYLE: India Pale Ale; ABV: 6.6%; IBU

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "A citrusy, piney India Pale Ale with the complexity of eleven constituent parts and the singular deliciousness of local, homegrown ingredients."

COLOR: Unfiltered golden

POUR: Better than Decent head

AROMA: Piney, toffee and malty

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Malty and Bready with a bit of citus in there

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "Nice maltiness; Nice beer; A little piney and some nice citrus notes; Flavors mesh nicely, nothing overpowers; Really good beer."

IPA'EH'

BIG TUPPER BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Big Tupper Brewing, Tupper Lake, NY; ABV: 7%; IBUs: 65

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "IPA 'Eh' is our flagship beer - Say it like a Frenchman, drink it like an Adirondacker! And, just like our French Canadian influence, our IPA 'Eh' has lots of positive attitude and unique accents. It has a crisp flavor with a slight citrus finish that leaves you wanting more. Our IPA 'Eh' pairs well with beef and food with a little spice.

COLOR: Between Wheat and Golden

POUR: Near Guinness Class Head

AROMA: Clean

BODY: Bit more than Medium

TASTE: Citrus and lemon dominate

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Between "I Could Drink This" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Smooth; Fills the mouth nicely; Too citrusy and lemony for me; Dry, clean finish; Too sour for me."

HOPPY HOUR HERO MOE.SAIC IPA

SARANAC BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Saranac Brewing Company, Utica, NY; STYLE: Double India Pale Ale; ABV: 7.8%; IBUs: 75; MALTS: Pale, 2-Row, Honey Malt; HOPS: Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Combining the intensely piney, citrusy, and tropical fruit aroma and flavor of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops, this Double IPA is a liquid jam-session of big hop flavor. Packed with pineapple, mango, and passionfruit hop character, this is a big beer with a full body and firm bitterness."

COLOR: Golden

POUR: Decent Head

AROMA: Soapy

BODY: Bit beyond Medium

TASTE: Nicely bitter with tropical fruit and butterscotch

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "Delicious!; I've got to get this; Superb; Nice malt on the end with a decent hop kick; Nice clean finish; One of their best beers; Hopefully they'll continue to make this; Will actively seek this out; Bravo, Saranac!"

SPACE KITTY

ROHRBACH BREWING COMPANY

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Rohrbach Brewing Company, Rochester, NY; ABV: 8.4%; IBUs: 92

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "This American Double IPA features a trio of rare hops, high in alpha acids and juicy oils, that mimic the West Coast style we love so dearly. Do not age Space Kitty and please drink fresh."

COLOR: Hazy honey with much flotsam and jetsam.

POUR: Decent head

AROMA: Big hoppy, piney nose

BODY: Between Medium and Full

TASTE: Nicely bitter with strong citrus zest

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "Some bitterness to it; The nice thing about this is that you get your daily fiber along with a good beer; Hop forward; Thus far the best of the day; I like it a lot; Reminds me of the IPAs I first grew to love."

DEBACLE DOUBLE IPA

COPPER CITY BREWING COMPANY

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Copper City Brewing Company, Rome, NY; STYLE: Double IPA; ABV: 8.3%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Extraordinary double. Sticking with a west coast style theme this IIPA has a malty body, pleasant aroma and a nip of bitterness. 8.3%, make your choice wisely."

COLOR: Cloudy honey

POUR: Near Guiness class head

AROMA: Grassy

BODY: Between Medium and Full

TASTE: Bitter with nutty, malty notes

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Sweet on the end; Smooth - could sneak up on you; A good beer; Really nice beer - another sort of old school West Coast IPA, with a good solid malt backbone."

DOUBLE MIDDLE FINGER LAKES IPA

REINVENTION BREWING 

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Reinvention Brewing Co., Manchester, NY; STYLE: Double IPA; ABV: 9.7%; IBUs: 92

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "You asked for it. Our brewer delivered. This is a deceptively drinkable beer, with tons of hop flavor. Watch out or you'll be seeing double!"

COLOR: Amber

POUR: Decent head that quickly dissipates

AROMA: Fairly neutral, not a strong aroma, a little fruit.

BODY: Leaning toward Full

TASTE: Strong malt presence with lots of pine and grapefruit hoppiness, bit of citrus

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!

COMMENTS: "Nice beer!; It's big, but still very smooth tasting; Yeah, but a bit alcohol forward; I don't really taste the alcohol - very smooth to me; Deceptive, could keep drinking this but better not operate any machinery; I've got to get out to Manchester and see what elFse they've got there."

OUR RATING

In another month where there really wasn't a bad beer (everyone came in better than "I Could Drink This"), we went with our old tried and true method: everyone listed the beers 1-7. Like golf, the low score wins. Our results:

7. IPA 'Eh' - Though we all liked this beer and rated it near our top "Can't Get Enough!" there were a few dissenters, feeling it was a bit too lemony, thus it came in last. Still a good beer.

6. The Eleven - Another excellent beer - received a #2 and #3 rating by a couple of us - and receive our version of a 4 star rating. Just ended up in 6th place.

5. Copper City Debacle - Another tasty IPA - no complaints. Nice West Coast IPA vibe.

4. 716 IPA - A nicely balanced IPA  that we loved and couldn't get enough of.

3. Hoppy Hour Hero - The great offering from Saranac. We considered it one of their best IPAs. Our hope is that this becomes a regular.

2. Space Kitty - A hazy IPA  with a big taste and a big kick. We loved it.
1. Double Middle Finger Lakes IPA - First of all, you gotta' love the name! This cozy little neighborhood brewery just off the thruway in Manchester, New York has a number of unique and interesting beers along with this one, which packs a punch at 9.7%, yet is deceptively smooth.

Next Month: Stouts

Slante,
The BOTB Guys