Very nice smooth dark malt taste, with a hint of coffee flavor in the background.
5 out of 5 Stars.
Category Archives: Reviews
Chelsea Alehouse Roosevelt Rye IPA
Slightly tart and hoppy with a minor orange flavor.
4.5 out of 5 Stars.
Chelsea Alehouse Little Jaunty IPA
Mild hop taste, light and refreshing.
4.5 out of 5 Stars.
Chelsea Alehouse Cream Ale
Slightly tart with a moderate grain flavor.
3.5 out of 5 Stars.
Perrin 98 Problems IPA
Nice thick head, sweet aroma of clean fresh hops. Taste is just as great with full fresh hop flavor, but no hint of harshness. Smooth flavor with a bit of malt and a bit of hops hanging out, but finished very clean with no real aftertaste. Amazing fresh hop aroma and flavor with no bitterness.
5 out of 5 Stars.
Great Lakes Blackout Stout
Nice clean dark malt aroma, nothing overly sweet or “black licorice-esque” like a lot of these can be. Nice even grain flavor with no harshness, with a minor dark malt aftertaste that lingers slightly. Good hop crispness that cleans the palate but stays out of the way. This is from their 2015 seasonal, drank on 12/23/2015, well before the best by date of 05/06/16. Having had this on tap before at the bar, I know these go down really well and you don’t have any idea of the 9% ABV, until you feel your head buzzing a bit.
5 out of 5 Stars.
Witch’s Hat Under the Red Light
No real aroma. Slightly crisp hop bite at initial taste, fades slowly and blends with some malty sharpnesses. Taste lingers with a slight hop sharpnesses.
3 out of 5 Stars
.
New Holland Dragon’s Milk Reserve with Raspberries
Nice clean aroma with a hint of raspberries. Slight edge of bourbon flavor that gets replaced by dark malt, and then a nice raspberry flavor comes in. Overall very balanced 3-way tug-of-war going on between bourbon, dark malt, and raspberries. You can feel the alcohol heart in the aftertaste, slightly lingering in the back of the throat. I think I would like it more of there were less bourbon presence, and it was just the dark malt and raspberries commingling.
Bottled 10/06/15, drank 11/17/15.
4 out of 5 stars.
Beer Reviews
Beer reviews can be misleading or helpful. As long as you recognize that everyone has unique tastes, and yours might not be the same as mine, maybe my notes below of beers I’ve tried might be helpful to you.
You should keep in mind that beers I tried before July 2014 weren’t necessarily checked for freshness. While doing research for my story in MI Beer Guide on beer freshness (link here) I got a better appreciation of fresh beer and an understanding of how to check for date codes and the importance of storage temperature. So new beers purchased from the local beer store may have gotten a poor rating simply because they were old or not stored cold.
Since everyone’s interpretation of a rating can mean something different, here’s how my number ratings translate into words. Most of these beers I like, but I wanted to be able to differentiate them somehow.
5-Star (Absolutely Amazing)
4.5-Star (Excellent)
4-Star (Very Good)
3.5-Star (Pretty Good)
3-Star (OK)
2.5-Star (Not Very Good)
2-Star (Not Good)
1-Star (Gross)
5 Star Ratings
[catlist name=”Reviews” + tags=”5_stars”]
Filling Station Walla Walla IPA
No noticeable hop aroma. Sweet taste with a bit of bitterness on the back end. A hint of grapefruit-like palate cleansing effect, with a hint of bitterness. Smooth malt taste in the middle.
4 out of 5 Stars.