The Official INGO Beer Snob Thread

[Ben Nelson]

Kirk,

I gotta believe that you've tried Lafayette Brewing Company's oktoberfest-style beer. They always serve it up at Feast of the Hunter's Moon. Another couple months and it should be out again. . .Outstanding.

 

[Boba]

Hi all. So, my computer was in the shop for three months. No Joke. Hence my absence. The only thing sadder is that there have been a total of one and a half reviews since then. Bear with me as I have some catching up to do. Binge and purge time.

 

[Boba]

Anicca
American IPA
Half Acre & Three Floyds
7.3% abv



Pours a deeper copper, almost brown in color. Thick tan head. Good strong hop aroma. Straight off the vine-like, and it persists nicely. Initial taste... bitter hop bite, but backed up with smooth sweetness, just this side of "hop candy." Malt tends to come out more as the glass warms. Mosaic Hops. There seems to have been alternate labels for this limited edition brew. I found the trippy asian inspired version apparently. Good, but I'm not sold on the hype surrounding this limited edition.

 

[Boba]

Bells VS Greenbush !!!


VERSES!

[yes, yes I know it's July. I'm catching up here people. Regardless...] Who is the Winter Weather Winner?



In this corner... weighing in at 5% abv, a "seasonally nuanced wheat ale," Bells Winter White Ale! And the challenger... weighing in at 6.1% abv, an "ale brewed with spices," Greenbush Jadis!



The Bells has a light head and smells of a straight up ale with the slightest hint of spice. Bubbling light amber/yellow, with the slightest cloudiness. Mouthfeel starts light, bubbles up more dense and mid bodied but clean. The spice is likely allspice or clove maybe as the taste come out more... and a wisp of apricot but this could be the yeast. Very nice light winter white. Classic sweetness.

The Greenbush has a dense thick sustaining head with a cloudy light burnt sienna color. Very spicy on the nose... smells sweet. A more bodied mouthfeel but finishes lighter, more watery, and yeasty as some winter ales can be. A slight cinnamon with more coriander.

Bells is clean, light, with light spice, and good.
GB tastes like it'll warm you up on a winter holiday night, a quality spiced white.

The Bells is for when you're on the slopes.
The GB is for when you've retired to the cabin.

If you want light, refreshing... Bells.
If you want flavor... GB

I pick Jadis for the win.



Heresy round mix (last few sips are an equal mix of the two): yum!

 

[Boba]

Crabbie's
"Original" Alcoholic Ginger Beer
4.8% abv



After my positive experience with another Ginger Beer I feel obliged to sample every other kind I can get my hands on. Pours a crystal clear gold amber. Impressive. But that's as far as I'm impressed. After being spoiled with RJ #419, Crabbie's is sweet and light. A bit anti-climactic. Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't turn one down if offered. Its certainly pleasant enough... I like ginger, so why not? But I like my ginger beer intense with ginger and this just doesn't cut it. Certainly fine with your dinner and not likely to overpower anything. Just a little too light for me. More like a ginger ale rather than a ginger beer I suppose. Perfect for those that can't handle a RJ.

 

[Boba]

Ommegang VS Bison !!!



VERSES! Heavyweight Saison championship bout!

In this corner... the challenger from Cooperstown, NY; weighing in at 7.7% abv, "OMG it's Ommegang," Hennepin Farmhouse Saison! And in this corner... from Ukiah, CA; weighing in at 6% abv, "Go organic or go home," Bison Saison de Wench!



Ding Ding Ding! The Hennepin comes out swinging with a big head, enormous if you're not careful. Lighter yellow gold color and a subtle nose with a touch of fruity at the end. The hops helps it finish clean. Brewed with grains of paradise (which gives a hint of peppery), coriander, ginger, and sweet orange peel. Very good and drinkable. Not too sweet. Some tang on the end right after the sweet on the back three quarters. Real nice and memorable. Heavier hitter of the two but more complex as well. Gold standard traditional saison!

The Bison brewed with botanicals (see #395) pours a deep amber to light brown copper with a finer head. Aroma is predominantly floral, roses, pleasantly so, and all organic. It's brewed not only with roses but lemongrass and hibiscus as well. Light enough and not cloying. Malt is not too heavy. The taste floats away and you're left with the lemongrass and the bitter of hibiscus quite clean and light. If rose is a go, then this is top notch unique. The lighter of the two and more centric. A truly successful unique craft beer. Just lovely!

Heresy round: Gets very citrusy, but too much going on. Never the twain should meet.

Round after round, blow after blow, and sip after sip, both are winners. This could be a tie, judges?!



A draw.

 

[Boba]

Sprecher
Hard Ginger Beer
Sprecher Brewing Company, WI
4.7% abv



Meh.



(I prefer this #419 found at the Chalet Party Shop in Elkhart, IN for you interested INGOers.)

 

[Boba]

Rogue Farms Pumpkin Savior Ale
"Pumpkin" Ale
Rogue Ales, OR
5.6% abv



A few months ago we found this at our local LS selling for $1.29. For a bomber?!! Hell, I'll try that! Who cares if it's even mediocre, it's $1.29! And I'll be damned if it wasn't simply good. Not much pumpkin really, but a solid tasting ale period. And for $1.29 each! Of course we went back and bought them all. They lasted a good while. That's a savior of a deal.

 

[littletommy]

Went out earlier today looking for Sam Adams Octoberfest (yeah it's already out). Didn't find any, but did find another one of my favs Leinenkugel Octoberfest and a new one to me Sierra Nevada Octoberfest. I'm not a big fan of many of the other Leinenkugel offerings, aside from their snowdrift vanilla porter, which is fantastic, but I love their Octoberfest, one of top 10 favorite beers of all time! It's roasty malty and caramely, and gets even better as it warms, literally getting better with each drink.

The Sierra Nevada, on the other hand, was a disappointment, more bitter than anything, and not a hoppy bitter, just bad after taste bitter. I'm gonna let the remaining 5 sit in the fridge for a month or so and see if anything changes, thinking maybe it's due to the stuff being so early in the season. Maybe it'll mellow out, I don't know, but as of now it's one of the worst SN beers I've had, and I normally enjoy their other offerings.

 

[JettaKnight]

Thanks for the updates!

Sprecher
Hard Ginger Beer



Meh.



(I prefer this #419 found at the Chalet Party Shop in Elkhart, IN for you interested INGOers.)

Sprecher was one of the first to do hard root beer - which is just a dumb idea unless you goal is to get twenty-somethings drunk.

I haven't (and wouldn't) try this one, but I've had the too weak Crabbies and the strong enough RJ.

 

[Boba]

Thanks for the updates!



Sprecher was one of the first to do hard root beer - which is just a dumb idea unless you goal is to get twenty-somethings drunk.

I haven't (and wouldn't) try this one, but I've had the too weak Crabbies and the strong enough RJ.

I've tried the Sprecher Hard Root Beer... and it sucks. Sprecher is 0 for 2 in my playbook currently.

Now on the topic of alcoholic root beer I must respectfully disagree. I've always enjoyed rooty type drinks such as root beer, sassafras, sarsaparilla, ginger, etc; so the thought of an alcoholic root beer sounds good to me.
In fact, see reviews below!

 

[Boba]

Not Your Father's Root Beer
Ale with the taste of spices
Small Town Brewery
La Crosse, WI
5.9% abv




C'mon people, by now you've run across this! I was presented with one of these a handful of months ago just to try for a hoot. Since I like things like ginger beers, cream sodas, and root beers, why not? I'm here to say, believe the hype that has to have fomented around this drink because this stuff is good! What's it taste like? ...like root beer, with alcohol. No joke, it's so good. I question if it's an "ale brewed with spices," as the bottle states. It really tastes just like root beer and some alcohol, but done so very well. Upon further investigation, their original local draft recipe was a 10% abv! And they apparently offer limited edition bombers at 10.7% and also a whopping (liqueur class) 19.5% abv root beer. I haven't tried these monster offerings yet and I've no idea what they're thinking. This "session" root beer is good enough for me. In fact, it's great for those of us with a bit of a sweet tooth. Damn. I feel like it's just so good that it has to be completely horrible for you in some mysterious way. It's always selling out at my local LS as of late. I want to try it as a RB float but my six pack never survives long enough. Guess I should buy a case. I'm not sure how this could be done any better but I must now prove my postulate.

 

[Boba]

Coney Island Hard Root Beer
Coney Island Brewing Co.
Brooklyn, NY
5.8% abv



Now this take on Alcoholic RB makes no bones about what it is... "Ale made with natural flavors and caramel color added." You might be familiar with my opinion of "natural" flavors. It's just marketing BS! Anything can be marketed as "natural flavors." Bird poop is a natural flavor. But I digress. This is pretty much root beer with alcohol I'm guessing. Who knows, anyway... Lighter bodied than a NYF's but surprisingly sweeter over time, almost cloying. Maybe closer leaning toward a birch beer, it's fair-ly good, but I don't think I could do multiples of this. Leaves a bit of artificial-ness on the palate over time. Good as a novelty one time try, but not great. Good hustle Coney Island. Good hustle.

 

[Boba]

Row Hard Root Beer
Alcoholic Root Beer
Root Sellers
Memhpis, TN
6.7% abv



"Brewed with botanicals, molasses, and pure cane sugar." I like the sound of that. At first sip, this is lighter and the alcohol is masked quite well. And then another sip, and another sip, and then it's starts to develop... the taste, or aftertaste like a diet soda. It's not diet, and the can does not indicate any artificial sweeteners... but there is that slight taste. Unfortunately I do not like diet aftertaste. Bummer. Otherwise it's fair. Light enough to drink the whole can-four-pack IF you can get past the, the... saccharin-y flavor for lack of a better word. Let me be clear, they don't state they use artificial sweeteners. But I just get that taste for some reason... ick.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I think Coney Island did a great job with its root beer. Not as overpowering sweet as Small Town. I think your description is accurate, more of a birch beer taste.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I had Green Flash's Citra Session over the weekend. Recommended if you are looking for a lower ABV (4.5) with that citra taste (I tasted more lemon and grapefruit than orange).

Citra Session

 

[littletommy]

I bought a Goose Island sampler pack at Sams club last weekend because it had two of their beers I hadn't tried, Autumn Ale and Expiramental. The Expiramental was ok, I'd drink it again if offered, but wouldn't go out of my way for it, Autumn Ale, however, is amazing for a readily available commercial brew! Very nice roasty flavor, I have not seen it in 6 packs anywhere yet, but it alone made buying the sampler pack worthwhile.

 

[Boba]

[LoF] Pear Ginger Beer
New Belgium Brewing Company
Fort Collins, CO
7% abv



Limited edition. Ale brewed with pear juice, lemon, and ginger. Nose is pear, fruit, wheat, sour, hardly any ginger really. Now this is an ale, an actual beer brewed with pear and ginger. Carbonation is light light with a ginger ale in the middle, and subtle taste along with it... (think Canada Dry mixed with an Oberon) followed by notes of pear & citrus on the sides of the tongue, then notes of a wheat/white beer spice sensation. Almost like a white ale mixed with a ginger ale ...and a bit of a pear citrus punch, sour acidity with oranges and lemons. There's a little ginger heat left on the palate but not ginger taste. The heat lingers. This is not in the realm of an alcoholic ginger beer like previous reviews to be clear. I believe NB set out to create a mixer beer with this one. Wish I knew that ahead of time, I would have experimented with this experimental brew. Fair.

 

[Clay]

My question is has anyone been able to track down the 10% ABV or 19% ABV Not Your Fathers Root Beer?

 

[451_Detonics]

I've tried the Sprecher Hard Root Beer... and it sucks. Sprecher is 0 for 2 in my playbook currently.

Now on the topic of alcoholic root beer I must respectfully disagree. I've always enjoyed rooty type drinks such as root beer, sassafras, sarsaparilla, ginger, etc; so the thought of an alcoholic root beer sounds good to me.
In fact, see reviews below!

I prefer the Sprecher's...not nearly as sweet as the Not Your Father's and not as much alcohol "bite" either