Aroma of sticky hop sweetness with hints of caramel malt. Clean palate taste of mild malt, goes down quite smoothly with mostly malt and a bit of yeast flavor. Way in the background is a minor hop bitterness. Very tasty.
4.5 out of 5 stars.
Their normal bourbon barrel aged Stout, with peanut butter, cocoa nibs, & “natural flavors”. Bottled 1/27/2021, drank on 4/6/2021.
Bourbon smell masked behind blocking wall of peanut butter and cocoa. Very smooth taste of cocoa, slight peanut butter, and then bourbon barrel Stout on the back end.
4 out of 5 stars.
Fresh, bright hop aroma. Thick mouthfeel, almost like drinking juice. Not overly bitter, but full flavor of pineapple-like hops fills the palate with mild residual sweetness lingering.
4 out of 5 stars.
This is one of my favorites. Born from an ethereal experience after a 5k run up in Traverse City, where they had beer during and after the race. I had this phenomennal beer with Galaxy hops. It was so delicious post-run, but was my inspiration for this beer. I’ve made it several times. This was the other beer entry in National Homebrew Competition.
Beautiful color of orange with a white frothy head. The beer is opaque and hazy from the flaked wheat. Nice perky hop aroma. Flavorful punch of hop zest on first drink that fills the mouth with exciting hop flavors, and full sweetness of the yeast. Finishes fairly crisp, with lingering hop bitterness trailing off into the distance.
Brewed: 2/13/2021. Distributed: 3/13/2021.
ABV: 5.4%, IBU: 83
Malts: Maris Otter, Flaked Wheat, White Wheat, Caramel 20L.
Hops: Hallertauer, Galaxy.
Yeast: White Labs WLP008 East Coast Ale
Guinness was my gateway beer to craft beer. We went on our honeymoon to Ireland and spent 2 weeks driving around the island. Every night involved Guinness, and by the end of my 2 weeks, I was hooked, and started exploring other beers when we came back to the US. Years later, after visiting the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, I enjoyed Guinness in their brewery pub and it was phenomenal. This homebrew recipe I got from a guy’s YouTube channel where he pretty much relayed the same Guinness experience and thought this recipe was pretty close.
Mild aroma of dark malt, with hints of hops in the background. Taste is crisp and gives the tastebuds a minor kick as it hits the tongue. Mellows almost immediately and then the malt & yeast fade out slowly. Flavorful and refreshing.
Brewed: 2/26/2021. Distributed: 3/13/2021.
ABV: 4.1%, IBU: 36
Malts: Maris Otter, Flaked Barley, Roasted Barley.
Hops: Fuggles.
Yeast: Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale
I made this recipe once before and enjoyed it, then recently had a hankering to work it in to my brew rotation. That hit my rotation at the same time as I got an email about the National Homebrew Competition, so I decided I’d send it in as an entry.
Smell of dark malts with a dark sweetness. Crisp taste is sweet and coats the mouth. Full-flavored malt backed by distinct sweetness of the Scottish yeast. Full-on flavor assault on the taste buds and fades slowly.
Brewed: 2/12/2021. Distributed: 3/24/2021.
ABV: 7.4%, IBU: 32
Malts: Golden Promise, Munich Malt, White Wheat, Black Malt, Smoked Wheat.
Hops: Hallertau Mittelfrueh, Saaz.
Yeast: Wyeast 1728 Scottish Ale
This is pretty much the same recipe as a previous brew (Celebration or Sadness Stout), but that recipe didn’t turn out as planned. It had much lower mash conversion efficiency than expected and the beer turned out much lower in ABV than expected. This time, with more care in the mash process, I hit my numbers. This was brewed shortly before the Presidential Inauguration, and hence the name.
Sweet aroma of dark malt. Crisp bite of dark malt and hops. Then leaves palate fairly clear, before a mild lingering of malt taste comes in. Kind of like a new president coming in with a flurry of action and excitement, but then doesn’t leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth!
Brewed: 1/18/2021. Distributed: 2/18/2021.
ABV: 5.1%, IBU: 54
Malts: Maris Otter, Flaked Oats, Black Patent Malt, Melanoidin Malt, Roasted Barley.
Hops: Magnum, Chinook, Hallertau.
Yeast: White Labs WLP007 Dry English Ale
Nice solid hop aroma. Taste has a slight twinge of sweetness to it, slightly puckering the taste buds. Good flavor of dark malts in the background- recognizable but not overpowering. Finish is mix of nice hop flavor combined with yeast taste. Very refreshing and flavorful overall.
5 out of 5 stars.
Tart cherry aroma, like cough syrup. Taste is very sweet, but no bite from dark malt. Super sweet. Need to let this warm up to see if the character changes…
Warmer is mellower on the raspberry. But still super sweet and cloying.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Crisp, bright aroma, with a mild malt sweetness. Clean taste, without much detectable hop flavors. Smooths out into nice broad light malt taste with a bit of crispness. Pleasant, but something I would fight someone over if it was the last one in the cooler.
4 out of 5 stars.