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