Paper City Brewing's P.C. Blue Ale

New England and blueberry beers go hand in hand. I honestly don't claim to understand it, or New Englanders for that matter. Now, I'm a large fan of blueberries; blueberry jam, blueberry pancakes; handful of blueberries in my mouth, but the idea of blueberries and beer together has two results, typically. It is either a really good idea, or a really bad idea. Some things go good together, such as peanut butter and bacon hamburgers, or chicken nuggets and chocolate milkshakes. Other things, such as popsicles and scotch, do not. But...they possibly could...?

You might remember a little bit about Paper City Blue-ery from this re-blue. Every sampler seems have a fruity, or equally disgusting beer in their variety pack and Paper City is no different. I was actually going to leave these behind for the squadron of babes that visit on a regular basis but then I realized it would be more beneficial if I consumed this alcohol, in the name of science and the blog; so I did. I can see the feigning spirits of the babe army outside the door.

This beer is surprisingly not bad. It'd put it up there with the Wasschusett Blueberry Beer as far as quality goes. I don't particularly like blueberry beer but this one isn't too overbearing. Some flavored beers are fruit first, beer second, but this is not the case. The scent is clearly overrun with with blueberry fragrance and the taste also has a strong blueberry taste to it, but it's more of a strong, yet subtle aftertaste. You know this is a blueberry beer when you are drinking it, but if you have gotten over the acceptance that you are drinking a blueberry beer, it's actually quite enjoyable. It actually sits a little heavy on the stomach so it isn't like you can drink 1,000 of these in one sitting but as far as taste and smell go, its pretty enjoyable.

I find the label to be mild to extremely Busch league and you can't very well go around drinking this in front of a bunch of dudes and look macho. If you have a live in girl at your place, picking up this variety pack isn't a bad idea, because girls like to fit in and drink beer like they're as cool as guys, so they can drink three of these and be happy. Plus, I'm drinking them and I haven't died yet, ya know? So it isn't that bad, just not that good. I'm still macho as shit though.

Much like Marble Madness for Nintendo, every great idea needs "a bad one" and this is it, as far as Paper City is concerned. Not bad, just not great; but good for a blueberry ale.

Drinkability: 6/10

Taste: 6/10

Value: ???/10
Curb Appeal: 3/10

Overall: 5.0/10

Paper City Brewing's Cabot Street Wheat Ale

So Paper City. Paper City is the term given to Holyoke, Massachusetts where Paper City Brewing is located. From the mid-19th century and early 20th century Holyoke was the world's largest paper producer. Rumor has it that with the invention of the internet and the decline of the paper industry, Holyoke was planning on investing all their resources into IRC Chatrooms and AOL Instant Messenger, since both are sound investments. Man, remember when AOL used to send out those discs for free like 100 hours of internet dial-up? Man, those were the days.

This stuff is pretty good. It has a medium wheat scent to it with a hint of natural citrus and sweet fruit undertones from the Wheat malts. I mean you figure they make Wheat Thins sweet, why wouldn't wheat beer be sweet you goofball? It has a pretty tart, citrus-like taste already without adding any fruit to it, I will anyways of course, and a nice dry finish to it. It has a low bitterness to it and a pretty malty full bodied taste to it, which is uncommon for a hefeweissen; but it sits easy on the stomach. This is no doubt a triple-lindy beer that can be consumed at any stage of your meal. This unfiltered gem can easily stand on its own as a great, light tasting, magical wonder that appeals to a bunch of dames that like to go shopping all the way to the men who wander off for a few shots of Jack Daniels at the TGI Fridays in that same mall to escape the commercial calamity which is "shopping with women" disaster which is likely to ensue.

I picked up a 12-bottle variety pack at the local party store for $16 which is a pretty good deal when you wanna class it up a bit and get so drunk you look and act like a hobo. And they got a nice picture of the brewery on the label which is located on, you guessed it, Cabot Street.

Drinkability: 9/10

Taste: 9/10

Value: ???/10
Curb Appeal: 7/10

Overall: 8.3/10

Tröegs Brewing Company's Summer Pilsner

"In 1974 the great Charlie Rich won Country Musician of the Year. In 1975 he had to hand the award off to Mr. Sunshine-on-my-Goddamn-shoulders John Denver! John Fucking Denver! I'll be dammed if Mr. Rich didn't take his out his cigarette lighter and light the award on fire in front of everyone!"

That's what I think of when sipping on this beer. Applicable? Not in the slightest! This is another beer from Tröegs Brewery in Harrisburg, PA. You might remember Tröegs from my initial review here where I covered their brewery. This is obviously a pilsner that hits the ABV charts at 5.3% and an IBU of 45. I never thought pilsners had IBUs that high, but apparently that's pretty standard.

It has a pale smell; a little bitter with a hint of wheat. The taste is a little more bitter than I'd expect. It has a dry, bitter aftertaste that isn't exactly flattering. They use the traditional Crystal and Pilsner malts and use Saaz and Hallertau hops. It also has Mitt hops which I can only assume taste like Mitt Romney's Socks; which is where it's gets its silly aftertaste from.

I typically like Pilsners, as they are cool and refreshing, but this one tastes a little heavy on the mouth, though not heavy on your stomach. Usually Tröegs impress me with their beers, and though this one is not horrible, it's easily the worst in the 12-bottle variety pack, which I bought for $16.00. I'll say this about it, if you have a few of their other beers BEFORE having this, you might not notice anything bad about it. But if you just got off working at the Steel Mill all day, and you come home and your damn wife is bothering you to mow the lawn meanwhile her annoying lapdog is yipping at your feet, and she's got the damn television volume on maximum trying to hear Montell from all the way in the kitchen while she's tossing a Stouffer's lasagna in the oven, this beer is not going to help. I think they are just trying too hard on the Pilsner. Lower the hops and call it a day, in my opinion.

Drinkability: 4/10

Taste: 4/10

Value: 5/10
Curb Appeal: 5/10

Overall: 4.5/10

Other reviews from Troegs:

Dreamweaver Wheat

Hop Back Amber Ale

Pale Ale

Peak Organic Brewing Company Hop Noir

Hop Noir is a black IPA from Peak Organic Brewing Company. The name is a play on the cinema genre, film noir, meaning gritty, dark, and secretive. The name is appropriate for this beer, and for the brewery, as the former is gritty and dark, and the latter secretive.

I’ve talked about Peak before, but never the secretive nature of their business. I was passing through Portland, ME a few weeks back, and since Peak is brewed in Portland, I thought I’d pay a visit and see where the magic happens. They list an address on their website, so I went to said address, and what did I find? The Peak brewery? Surely I did not. I found a UPS store. I thought I had written down the wrong address, so I had my Dick Tracy of a friend do some sleuthing online, and I had the correct address. I went inside and asked the UPS employee (not dressed in brown by the way) if they had heard of Peak, and they said they probably had a PO box here. A ha! So the address was correct, if only for a mailing address.

I wasn’t going to give up that easy, so I called the 800 number for Peak and found myself listening to a long list of phone options, with no mention of a brewery. I was able to punch in a number to talk to someone, so I picked one at random and found myself talking to the Western Massachusetts sales rep. Not the ideal person, but it was a human being employed by Peak. I inquired about a brewery in Portland, and possible tours or at least a store that sold their beer and schwag, but I was out of luck – no such things existed. He wouldn’t disclose the location of the brewery, but was happy to hock their Pomegranate Wheat Ale.

So what does all this mean? Either Peak is super secretive about their business and they don’t want to say anything about their brewing process, or they are a bunch of ass-clowns who run a shabby enterprise and are embarrassed to have visitors. I totally think it is the former, as their beers are distinguished and classy and that makes me doubt that they are ass-clowns. I would love to see their brewery someday though, if it exists!

The Hop Noir IPA is a black IPA, similar to the one reviewed previously. It’s made with lots of hops, and black malt to give it a black color (a super duper black color, I don't think even light can escape its blackness). Even though it is labeled as an IPA, it sure as hell smells, tastes like, and sits in your belly like a stout. I would call it a hoppy stout instead of a black IPA. But who cares about semantics, this isn’t English class. With a 8.2% ABV and 98 IBUs, this baby has a potent as hell taste. Due to all of the alcohol, IBUs, and black black black malt, it sits like a rock in the belly and you aren’t gonna have more than one. I got a 22oz bottle for $5 in New Hampshire, and haven’t seen it before here in NC.

This is a neat beer to drink and will totally impress at a gathering. I wouldn’t recommend it to any die-hard IPA or stout fans, as it is too much in the middle and doesn’t commit either way. But if you want to try something different that tastes different, and will get you drunk fast, this is the way to go. Make sure to wear your fedora and brush up on your Cary Grant films first though.

  

Drinkability: 3/10

Taste: 6/10

Value: 6/10

Curb Appeal: 8/10

Overall: 5.75/10

Other Peak beers reviewed:

Peak IPA

Peak Pale Ale

Peak Pomegranate Wheat Ale

Paper City Brewing's Holyoke Dam Ale

As the prophet Sophie B. Hawkins once poetically said, "Dam. I wish I was your lover". Now why she's talking to a damn dam beats the heck outta me.

This stuff hails from Holyoke, Massachusetts which is the birthplace of volleyball, theorized to be invented by late descendants of Misty Mae, what a babe. I always thought it was an eastern European thing but apparently it was invented in 1895. Holyoke also hosts the second largest St. Patrick's Day parade, after New York City, which brings in close to half a million patrons. I was there. I've seen better, not bigger though. I mean, I dunno, how exciting are parades anyways, ya turkey?

The reference to the dam on this beer isn't just to appeal to water power enthusiasts; there is actually an impressive water power system in Holyoke. Back in 1827, the first water powered cotton looms, and probably a few Cotton Gins for you Eli Whitney fans out there, harnessed the water power of the Connecticut River and expanded and reconditioned to generate enough power to fuel 450 mills in the mid 1800s. Today the canal system is 4.5 miles long and generates power in the range of "a shit-ton" and "a whole hell of a lot"

The Holyoke Dam ale is a English style ale. I'm in the process of trying to find out more about them. They don't currently have any information on their ingredients or ABV's on their larger quantity brews. This beer has a sweet, mellow scent with a hint of caramel. The taste is medium to lower bodied, so you can knock a few of these back. This has a slightly sour, bitter aftertaste and the overall taste is a malty, semi-sweet, nutty flavor. They leave some sugar behind to increase it to maximum maltiness, which is evident in the thick foam lingering on the glass. Again, not sure about the ABV yet by my brain is telling me it's higher than Montel Williams at a Phish concert in the Netherlands.

This beer is really easy to drink and has a great nutty aftertaste that makes it seem like you were eating hazelnuts all day; even when you haven't. You can pick up a 6-er of this stuff for $9.00 but I picked up their 12-bottle variety pack for $16 bones. It's a little hard to come across if you are out of the Springfield, MA area, but if you are in the Boston area, they serve it at Bukowskis. The label is also pretty killer, showing the Holyoke Dam, and Paper City is a pretty unknown brew outside Hampden County, so you will definitely look like a booze snob if you roll deep to a party with some of this.

Drinkability: 8/10

Taste: 6/10

Value: ???/10
Curb Appeal: 7/10

Overall: 7.0/10

21st Amendment Brewery – Back In Black

Back in black
I hit the sack
I've been too long I'm glad to be back
Yes, I'm let loose
From the noose
That's kept me hanging about
I've been looking at the sky
'Cause it's gettin' me high
Forget the hearse 'cause I never die
I got nine lives
Cat's eyes
Abusin' every one of them and running wild

This beer is NOT inspired by AC/DC, so that’s a shame. Instead they chose to give credit to Paul Revere and his midnight ride, I guess that’s ok seeing that we live in America and all.

I reviewed 21^st Amendment Brewery’s Watermelon beer here, so click that for some info on them. This beer represents a rebellion against typical British style IPA’s, black IPA’s are a relatively new addition to the brewing scene. They brew it the same as a standard IPA but add pale, crystal, munich, and de-bittered black malts to change the character. The can clearly states IPA, but I’m still calling this one a porter cause the hop presence was very minimal.

The smell and taste was malty and the finish was very smooth for an IPA. The can drew me in again on this brew, and I noticed the 21^st slot at the beer store was picked over, so the can marketing is working for them.

They sell this stuff in 6 packs and solos year round. This stuff isn’t heavy one bit so I suggest the 6, you can really throw these bad boys back. It set me back under 3 bucks a can, so the value was spot on.

Alcohol Content: 6.8% ABV

Bitterness Units (IBUS): 65

Bittering Hops: Columbus

Flavor Hops: Columbus, Centennial

Dry Hops: Sentennial, Simcoe

Drinkability: 7/10

Taste: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Curb Appeal: 8/10

Overall: 7.5/10

SweetWater Brewing Company 420 Extra Pale Ale

Which one of the following was the band from Almost Famous? Stillwater or SweetWater? I bet half of you got it right and half of you got it wrong. Stillwater was the band. What is SweetWater then? Well it happens to be a brewery located in Atlanta, GA, the town that was recently stripped of its hockey team. They didn’t deserve the Thrashers anyways, Winnipeg needed a hockey team back o-so-badly. SweetWater Brewing Company was founded in 1997 by a former Colorado college student. They have a thing for fishing too, as you can download a SweetWater fishing calendar. It’s a pretty outrageous thing to do, because fishing and beer TOTALLY don’t go together. That’s just as absurd as drinking beer while camping? Weirdoes. Anyways, Sweetwater makes a ton of beers (well, like 14 to be exact), with only 5 of them available year round.

The 420 Extra Pale Ale is named “420” because the brewers like to smoke pot. Like A LOT of pot. That may or may not be true, but the label says that this beer was first conceived in their brewery on April 20 of some unknown year, so they gave it the really original name of “420 Extra Pale Ale.” I’m not knocking the name at all, it’s cute, and it probably gets some stoners pretty excited when they hear about it. It probably at least gets some laughs from some immature college kids. The 420 Extra Pale Ale tastes like a typical pale ale, it has a nice strong hoppy flavor at the front and the back of the palate, but it doesn’t linger too long. It’s unpasteurized too (there are little buggies floating around the bottom) and this gives it a slight hefeweizen taste, which is interesting and enjoyable. This beer isn’t too heavy, so drinking a six-pack during the course of a softball game is quite possible and is encouraged. At 5.4% ABV its pretty average, but does its job. I picked up a six-pack for $9 at the local Harris Teeter. I like the label too – it looks like Starsky and Hutch are fishing for a GIANT rainbow trout. Because nothing sells beer better than a 70s TV show (not the movie reboot) or enormous fish. Score!!!

Next time you are out fishing, or just sitting around with your thumb up your ass, give the Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale a try. The worst thing that happens is that you get a little drunk and don't catch any fish.

Drinkability: 6/10

Taste: 6/10

Value: 6/10

Curb Appeal: 7/10

Overall: 6.25/10

North Country Brewing - Breakfast Blend Mild

This review will be biased at best. The North Country Brewery (Slippery Rock Brewery) is one of my favorite places to be at any point in any time. I give full and absolute credit to this brewpub for teaching and striking my interest in beer. I remember the first beer I had there and the first meal I ate, it truly is the definition of craft beer.

The building is located on Main Street in booming Slippery Rock, PA., but don’t let the location fool you. Every Saturday night expect a 2 hour wait to be seated, I can’t imagine the traffic they would pull if located somewhere that was near, well, anything!

It dates back to the early 1800’s and was a coffin and furniture making store during the civil war. Hell, the old mortuary doors are on the entrance to the fermenters. In the late 1990’s Jodi and Bob McCafferty bought the old place and started renovating, a few years later the brewery was born. The place has a unique look inside and out. Everything is made from reclaimed material, and every time I step inside I find something new. Even the urinal is an old keg.

The staff is hippie and knowledgeable, and the food and drink are fantastic. I suggest the Leroy Brown, a bbq/bacon/cheese/onion straw burger. It will change your life expectancy.

I have been a mug club member for the past 3 years, see mug #71 above, REPRESENT! It took me 3 years to actually make the cut to join.

Ok, now down to brass tax. The Breakfast Blend Mild is a new one for North Country. I was intrigued by the name, the Keurig at work has a breakfast blend coffee that I drink daily. At first sip I realized why. An English style ale with a smell of malt and coffee, and the taste has a mild coffee flavor. It reminds me of a nut brown ale with no woody flavor, but still has the same flat character and smooth finish. It’s a good one to start or finish a day. My only complaint is the ABV was under 5, but I get 22oz for the same pour of a 16oz since I’m a mug club member, so kudos to me. At 3.50 a glass it’s a steal for an in-house microbrew.

North Country’s beer is currently only available in house and $8-$10 growlers for carry. They just bought the house next door and it is rumored that kegging will begin there to expand to local bars.

If you’re in the area and even if you’re not it’s a must stop for dinner and a hippie smile.
　
Drinkability: 8/10
Taste: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Ambiance: 9/10

Overall: 8.25/10

Spaten-Franziskaner Hefeweissen

"Nothing so liberates the heart as when a fool awakens from his folly."

In short, I found this beer in the back of my fridge and forgot about it and randomly came across it today. This beer is really gonna hit the spot.

Franziskaner is made in a brewery in Munich; which sucks because I was there and I didn't go there because apparently I'm stupid. It's brewed in the Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu brewery. Spaten means "spade", like a shovel, and Franziskaner is some sort of German monk, like a Franciscan. So if you see Spaten, yeah that stuff is owned by the same people, and unfortunately, was later acquired by InBev, the guys who stole that rot-gut Budweiser. I mean it's not like I like Budweiser, I'm just bitter that they took it from us.

So these guys fired up their brewery in 1397 and did a buncha crap until they settled in the factory where their booze is still brewed today in 1854. They started shipping their goods to North America, my favorite America, in 1909. Their site is actually really boring. They have a timeline of historical events that is even pale in comparison to the Sosa/McGwire homerun contest of 1998; which was actually pretty exciting. They should make a beer about that! I mean Kid Rock makes beer, why can't we have one about this exhibition of strength and steroids?

So this is a really common beer. I mean they brewed over a million ounces in 2003 for the first time and it's literally everywhere. That being said it's damn fine and pretty cheap. I picked this bottle up for $3.00 for 22oz. It's better than drinking Olde English. The ABV is only 5.0% but you shouldn't mess with a beer this tasty.

So I typically put a lemon in my hefeweissens but I'll discuss this before and after lemon insertion. It already has a slight citrus scent and a mild wheat overtone. As you can see from the picture, it produces some serious foam if you pour it all "willy-nilly" but eventually it goes down, like a prom date. It has a pretty subtle yet flavorful sweet, wheat taste and has a lasting sweet taste in your mouth after swallowing.

The lemon really highlights the light taste of this beer and accentuates the citrus undertones. It's so light and refreshing, that this is an ideal beer for sitting on the porch bullshitting with a few of your close buddies like a buncha washerwomen.

This beer is a great wheat concoction. And I also like the label. It's like the friar is looking into this stein thinking, "Where the hell'd all my damn beer run off to? It was here a second ago; what the hell?" It's a common beer to find but not a common beer to find others drinking. Also, if you're sailing on a catamaran Christopher Cross-style, it's also an awesome beer to sip on!

Drinkability: 7/10

Taste: 8/10

Value: 6/10
Curb Appeal: 7/10

Overall: 7.0/10

Baxter Brewing Company Stowaway IPA

Baxter Brewing Company's slogan/motto/creed is "We can what we do." I like it. And I like their Stowaway IPA too. It's a bass-add beer, as exemplified by the skull and crossbones on the can.

BBC is located in Lewiston, Maine. They only sell their beer in the state of Maine, which is sad. But it gives you a reason to visit Maine! As if you didn't already have a reason though. BBC chooses to can their beers instead of bottle their beers for thrice reasons: 1 - better for mother earth, 2 - better for the beer, and 3 - you can take canned beer places where you cannot take bottled beer, like the beach and at tailgates, etc. I agree with points 1 and 3, but am skeptical about point 2. The only beer that tastes better out of a can to me is the mythical PBR, but I've never had the Stowaway IPA out of a bottle (or draught), so I don't have anything to compare to. I'll take their word for it. BBC also makes a pale ale in addition to the IPA. They also are currently hiring, so if you want to move to Lewiston, ME, go for it!

The Stowaway IPA is a really good IPA. The taste is so super strong you'd swear that Superman brewed this puppy. You'll taste all of the hops and citrus you've come to expect from a rich IPA, and you'll experience this for a long time afterwards. Like for at least a week. Along with the strong taste comes a more than welcome 6.9% ABV. I enjoyed this beer as a nightcap to an evening of imbibing, and it sure as shit put me on my ass and down for the night. If only I could give this to my kid when I want him to go to sleep - I'd get the father of the year award for sure! This was one heavy heavy heavy beer, so I don't think you'll be able to drink many of these, unless you actually are Heavy D. I picked up a single can for $1.79, so a six-pack probably goes for $9-10. And again I have to mention the skull and crossbones on the can, because it makes you feel like a pirate or a biker when you're drinking it.

I highly recommend the Stowaway IPA if you ever find yourself in Maine. To conclude, allow me this opportunity to showcase my awesome skull and crossbones MS Paint artwork. Shock and Awe!

Drinkability: 4/10

Taste: 8/10

Value: 6/10

Curb Appeal: 8/10

Overall: 6.5/10

Tröegs Brewing Company's Pale Ale

This is another beer from my favorite country, the United States of America. Tröegs Brewing company pushes out a Pale Ale in their operations which is the focus, one of many, of this review. To learn more about Tröegs, click here when I reviewed their Dreamweaver Wheat Ale.

So Pale Ales are probably my second or third favorite types of ales. I like them because, just like John Stamos's hair, it's hard to mess up. It's sort of like going to a high school dance with a really loose girl; you may not brag about it but you're guaranteed to enjoy yourself and if you throw up afterwards, you know you had a blast. But then they keep calling you to hang out, and you can only use the "I gotta mow the yard" excuse so many times until you flat out gotta tell her that she's a skank. Then her new boyfriend Moose finds out about what you said and he wants to pound your face into custard! I mean, was it worth it to go through all that hassle? Yes; but not by much. It's like, "C'mon Moose, is she really worth it?"

Now, unlike skanky girls, this Pale Ale is dandy and wholesome fun for everybody. It's got an ABV of 5.4% and a swell taste. They use Munich and Pilsner (you know!) malts and Liberty and Cascade hops, with Full Leaf Cascade hops in their Hopback...of Notre Dame. Cascade hops are pretty much essential in the brewing of Pale Ales, as you might remember, and they certainly don't hold back of those. It's got a pretty malty consistency and a smooth taste. Bitter, as is the custom with Pale Ales but dry enough so it doesn't leave too strong of a bitter after taste in your mouth. It smells surprisingly mellow; no overbearing scents. A lot of Pale Ales will have a strong bitter or floral aroma, but Tröegs keeps it nice and subtle. It is actually pretty deceiving given the full bodied taste of the beer.

This is a great Pale Ale and compliments the variety pack nicely, which I picked up for $16. It's similar to their Amber Ale, but they use the Cascade Hops rather than the Nugget, along with a few other things. But it's great. It has an IBU of 45, which is pretty standard for a Pale Ale. When comparing it to the majority of Pale Ales out there, I wouldn't say it's outstanding, but it's as just as good as Sierra Nevada or you're run-of-the-mill local Pale Ale provider. The label is pretty "blah" but you are sure to make a bigger impact rolling with Tröegs than Sierra Nevada, especially if you are in Pennsylvania.

Drinkability: 6/10

Taste: 6/10

Value: 5/10
Curb Appeal: 6/10

Overall: 5.8/10

Other reviews from Troegs:

Dreamweaver Wheat

Hop Back Amber Ale

Summer Pilsner

Matt Brewing Company's Saranac Irish Stout

"I'm a little teapot that's what I'm all about, this is a review of Saranac's Stout."

That was supposed to rhyme. So I initially covered Matt Brewing Company here, who are the brewers of Saranac beers.

I was saving the Irish Stout for last on purpose when I picked up this variety pack for $14. Its not too shabby. I'm a fan of stouts and this is definitely not a beer you wanna down after eating a large turkey dinner, you turkey.

So this is a dark beer, as most stouts are, with an ABV of 5.5%. When smelling it, you get a very heightened sense of coffee and chocolate and the taste is no different. A lot of stouts taste similar, as these are not as vague as some ales and lagers. What I can say about this stout, in comparison of Guinness, who is the quintessential "holder of the flame" in the stout business, is that it is not as heavy or malty as a Guinness. It has a deep, rich flavor but not the full bodied taste that you would get out of a Guinness. Whether that is your steeze or not is your business.

When I get into a stout, nine times out of ten I don't wanna get off the couch after drinking three of them. This is a lighter stout, which in my case, is a bad thing. Now that I'm not gonna run the 110 meter hurdles after a sixer of these but I expect a little deeper, full bodied consistency when it comes to stouts. I also find the label on the bottle appropriate yet whack as shit. Really? Like a Celtic style clover? Stick with your forest and river labels! I find no reason to have American beer from New York trying to milk the Irish teet from across the Atlantic.

The use 2-row and Roasted Barley malts and Northdown and Golding hops. It has a slightly bitter aftertaste with a dry finish.

This is by no means a bad stout, but no means one that I would single out as "great". I've always found Saranac brews to be "decent" but nothing to write home about. As a whole, their variety packs are easily to slam and have a wide range of flavors that appeal to most palates. As far as a snobbery point of view, they aren't anything to get hung up on. They are great to have around when you're having a get together with people with a wide array of tastes. But don't expect them to rave about the brews the following morning and call you "Super King" or anything like that.

Drinkability: 6/10

Taste: 5/10

Value: 6/10
Curb Appeal: 4/10

Overall: 5.25/10

Other Saranac Brews:
Pale Ale
Brown Ale
Irish Red
Amber Ale
IPA

Tröegs Brewing Company's Hop Back Amber Ale

As the early Kevin Bacon said to the late Chris Penn in "Footloose", "HOP BACK!" Okay, he actually said "Jump Back" but you get the idea. The idea being that this is called "Hop Back Amber Ale". Clever name? Some may say. It's amber in color, so there's nothing clever about that. The "Hop Back" refers to the vessel used to transfer the wort to the fermentation containment unit that has the hops in which this flagship ale gets it's hopicity. I made that word up.

You might have remember I talked about Tröegs Brewing here when I reviewed their Wheat Ale. So if you're looking for any info on these hippies click up there. Other than that, Tröegs annually does a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which is a foundation focusing on the treatment and cure of scarring and cyst formations on the pancreas; duh. It hosts 35 breweries, one is probably the Appalachian Brewing Company, also based out of Harrisburg. Actually, Tröegs is planning on moving their operations to Hershey, Pennsylvania in the fall of 2011, at which time the Harrisburg brewery will be decommissioned.

This is their amber ale. They use Pilsner (PILSNERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!) and Munich malts, Cascade, Williamette and Nugget Hops and Whole Leaf Nugget and Mount Hood hops in their Hop Back. This 6.0% ABV baby has an IBU of 45...45? No, 55. So I mean they use like 4 different types of hops so if you're surprised at that you must be as smart as Clay Aiken's girlfriend.

The Munich malt gives us a tinge of taste of a bitter Pale Ale. The Cascade hops add a medium bitterness and a decent amount of floral taste, whereas the majority of those flavors and bitterness spawn from the Nugget hops and the Williamette gives it a touch of spicy aftertaste. This is a surprisingly floral Amber Ale, whereas I'm used to a more caramel and sweet flavor. This holds the 55 IBU to its title. The fact they add more Nugget in their Hop Back definitely adds to the floral taste and no doubt added the Mount Hood for even more spice. This IBU is more common around a strong Pale Ale or a single hopped IPA, so this should appeal to mild IPA aficionados and the 6.0% ABV should appeal to the inner boozehound in all of us. The smell is strong in the floral department with a hint of sweet caramel. In a blind taste test I could almost mistake this for an IPA, and by "almost" I mean "easily" and by "a blind taste test" I mean "all honesty".

In review this is a decent beer, nothing I'd expect out of a Amber Ale but tasty nonetheless. This is a great beer for someone looking for a sweet IPA or someone who is looking for a very floral tasting beer. I wouldn't slam many of these after dinner because they sit a little heavy and have a rich, malty full bodied flavor. I wouldn't get it again but again, I like my IBUs below 50; but if it was above 9.0% ABV like Hoptimus Prime I can see myself knocking these back on a regular basis. I think they should just market this as an IPA and call it a night. I picked up a variety pack of 12 for $16.

Drinkability: 5/10

Taste: 5/10

Value: 6/10
Curb Appeal: 5/10

Overall: 5.3/10

Other reviews from Troegs:

Dreamweaver Wheat

Pale Ale

Summer Pilsner

Matt Brewing Company's Saranac Pale Ale

Matt Brewing company puts out a decent amount of beers out each year and this is their Pale Ale. You might remember Matt Brewing Company was initially reviewed here when I covered their IPA, so if you wanna know more about them just click on that you big wise guy!

Pale Ales are obviously a pretty common beer for breweries to make. It's about as common as Crocs at trashy waterparks like Waldameer or as common as me eating too many fries at The Potato Patch...at Waldameer. The important thing to remember is that french fries are delicious, but like most things in life, must be taken in moderation. Also, In-And-Out make some great fries. I can literally put down about 4 orders. So for this one they use English Pale Ale malts and Cascade and East Kent hops which yields an ABV of 5.5%.

Now Cascade hops are pretty common in beer popular in the West Coast of the USA; such as the ever-famous Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. This obviously yields a moderately bitter and floral taste to the beer whereas the East Kent Goldings will add a touch of spice that the Sierra Nevada does not. There are also citrus undertone as in most pale ales, so that's pretty common. It has can uncommonly sweet scent to it, which is in contrast to the bitter taste. There is a slight aroma of the hops as you'd expect.

This baby has some nice head on it. As far as pale ales go, its right around the median. If you like a spicier pale ale, this might be right up your alley. Me? The bitterness is nice, but I'm not much of a spicier type of guy. If you are a guy caught in between IPAs and Pale Ales, this is for you. If you are a more citrus, smooth maltier Pale Ale guy, I'd steer clear. I would definitely drink this again, but I wouldn't be in any hurry. This beer is average, for me, from the top the the bottom. A nice addition to the 12 pack, which I bought for $13.99, but I don't think it could stand on its own and Matt Brewing might want to dig a little deeper to make an exceptional Pale Ale.

Drinkability: 5/10

Taste: 5/10

Value: 5/10
Curb Appeal: 5/10

Overall: 5.0/10

Other Saranac Brews:
Irish Stout
Brown Ale
Irish Red
Amber Ale
IPA

Tröegs Brewing Company's Dreamweaver Wheat Ale

Every so often there's a brewery that almost wants to make it hard to type their name, and Tröegs is certainly one of those. Now I'm ALL about the extended Latin alphabet as everyone who's ANYONE knows, but let's face it you turkeys; you brew beer in Pennsylvania, not Germany, Sweden, Iceland, or any other countries that use umlauts on their "O's". Just to bring this all full circle, for all the aspiring language majors out there, this particular umlauts is the trema whose primary objective is to piss me off. Put that in your thesis!

That aside, Tröegs have been gracing the world with their hooch since 1997. Apparently these two brothers, Chris and John Trogner (real original) were raised in Mechanicsburg, PA; which is around Harrisburg, the capital of the commonweath of Pennsylvania. They were separated, one living in Philly and the other in Boulder, but would talk often about brewing schemes, as they both got into this around the same time by chance. They decided to start a brewery after taking some management classes in Colorado and brewing class in the Keifer Sunderland School of Booze, or some shit, in England. Next thing you know, BAM, they started up a brewery in Harrisburg under the name Tröegs; which is like if the words Trogner and kroeg (Belgian-Dutch for pub) got drunk and made some mistakes under the high school bleachers.

These rascals have about 9 regular beers in rotation but are always concocting shit Willy Wonka style. You can try out some tastings of their small batch miracles at their brewery, tours start at 2:00 every Saturday and you can even talk to Slugworth about it afterward without John and Chris getting all pissed at you. They also maintain a blog that discourages people like myself from starting a brewery because it really seems like way more work than I'm capable of...though I am really lazy but their operation is impressive. They also do a shitload of beer tastings over the Mid-Atlantic, like Boston to DC, that area.

Their Dreamweaver Wheat is clearly named to the booze they drank when making their website, or so I tend to tell myself. Its got some Vienna and Pils malts and 35% Wheat, which I'm guessing, its a wheat malt...? Judges? The also use Saaz hops and German Wheat yeast. The Saaz hops give it a spicy flavor, as it will typically do. There is definitely a wheaty taste to this and a low bitterness, hitting 15 IBU's. There is a very dry finish to this beer, though not unappealing. It has a slight citrus taste and a strong citrus scent complimented by the robust smell of wheat. It doesn't suggest putting fruit in it but I will just for posterity:

So it has a very strong lemon scent now and a slight lemon taste. In conclusion, if you put lemons in it, it smells like lemons AND, wait for it, tastes like lemons. It;s not overbearing and I'd suggest it to anyone drinking this. It can stand alone but if you want to tone down the strong wheat taste, of any wheat beer that is, you can gamble a lemon slice.

Overall a great beer, bolder taste than the Abita so if wheat is up your alley, this is a great beer for you and a lemon in the bastard will appeal to women and children also. It only has 4.8% ABV which is a blow, though wheat beers tend to be on the lower side. I got this sucker in a variety pack of Tröegs for $16.00 for 12, so this is a better deal than going roshambo with someone or some Russian Roulette. I am slightly miffed by their label and merchandise; there seems to be a lot of hippy shit going down in Harrisburg. Your street cred will go up with this lesser known tasty brew but you might find yourself playing footbag in a drum circle! So watch out.

Drinkability: 8/10

Taste: 8/10

Value: 5/10
Curb Appeal: 6/10

Overall: 6.8/10

Other reviews from Troegs:

Hop Back Amber Ale

Pale Ale

Summer Pilsner

East African Breweries Tusker Lager

This is the first African beer to be reviewed on ILTS. We don't have anything against Africans or anything, it's just that there aren't many African beers out there. At least not that I know of, cuz I'm just an ignorant white American male.

East African Breweries Limited  is a huge consortium of many smaller breweries and distilleries, and they even own a glass company. Not crystal meth glass, but I think real glass like you'd have in your car windshield, if you have a car windshield that is. Somehow they are in bed with Smirnoff, and they even have a graduate programme (correct spelling). I'm pretty sure you would get a PhD in African beer-ology if you complete it, which is a helluva lot better than the one I have (#humblebrag).

Tusker has been made by EABL since 1923, when one of their founders, George Hurst, was killed by an elephant during a hunting accident. They then named the beer "Tusker" in honor of the murdering beast. I don't know about you, but I think this story sounds fishy. I bet old George was into some sort of elephant-bestiality-salad-tossing-thing, and when he wasn't doing a good job, the elephant got bored and sat on the poor bastard. Elephant-bestiality sounds innocent enough kids, but always make sure that you are in a safe position and can't get squished! Despite poor George's demise, Tusker has gone on represent 30% of Kenya's beer market. Again, this ignorant white American male does not know what the other 70% is, but there must be other African beers that people buy down there.

The Tusker Lager is a weird kind of beer, something of an enigma if you will. It is classified by the United States Library of Congress as a lager, but it is quite dark and tastes rather like a stout or a bock. You can really taste the malt in this brew, even though it is really light tasting and pretty easy to drink at only 4.2% ABV. I'd imagine an African Elephant could drink 75 of these no problem (but the Indian Elephant could only drink 52, what a pussssayyyy). I got one of these in 12oz bottle format for $1.79 at the co-op, which is a pretty nice deal for an African beer. Imagine the shipping costs! The curb appeal is sky high because there is an elephant on the label and its named after a killer elephant. Is there a Jaws beer out there?

Let's keep expanding our horizons, ILTS brethren, and try this and other African beers. It can only make you a better person.

Drinkability: 6/10

Taste: 5/10

Value: 6/10

Curb Appeal: 8/10

Overall: 6.25/10