I've been absent

Sorry, life got busy and I haven't had time to update. But fear not, I have many reviews and updates coming up soon!

Dogfish Head Fort

This was not fun to drink. I picked this up at Whole Foods Chelsea in NYC thinking I would be adventurous. What a nightmare, thank the Lord I had my boyfriend to kinda help me finish this one off. 

The appearance is actually beautiful. A nice lightly red tinted golden color is present, and boy is it clear. Nice clarity, and on top of that is a crisp half finger white head that leaves pretty quick. The alcoholic legs on this were not extreme, but fun to watch slide down the sides of my glass.

The smell is not very strong, but what is there is very straight forward. Sweet red raspberry sweetness paired with 120 Minute ABV sweetness. Thats it. 

The taste is very simple. The taste is of faint raspberries with vodka. I have some advice for you, if you are first drinking this beer, do NOT inhale. This beer actually harms you. The back of my throat and my mouth burned with alcohol. There are not many flavors in this. It reminded me of the worst parts of 120 Minute, burning ethanol and sugar from the malts and raspberries. 

The mouthfeel was terrible, like taking shots of 151. Terrible. 

I could not of finished the whole bottle, I would of died if I did not have my boyfriend helping me out. I do not understand why this HAD to be 18% ABV. Why!?! Just make it a sessionable 5% and take away all of the burn and make it at least a bit enjoyable. Sugar sweetness and burning sensations made this a very big disappointment. But because we couldn't finish our glasses we poured it into the fire we were sitting around because we were gonna head in for the night....Boy that was entertaining. 

The Fire Before Fort

The Fire While Pouring Fort into it

Dogfish Head Saison Du BUFF

Pours with a bllowing bright white cloudy textured head rises well above the rim of my chalice. Slightly hazed bright straw golden color, lacing left behind is fine and intricate. Nose is blasting with rosemary and thyme it smells like somebody just roasted some chicken. Sharp spicy acidity with hints of citric undertones and sweet grassy layers as well. Flavor this one is tasting nice a saison/gruit combo with aromatic/spiy herbal additions. Much more appealing than the Stone version I had, it was so spicy I had a hard time detecting the saison characteristics. This one actually accomplishes the balance that would go nice with a meal using these same aromatic herbs. Citrus combo of herbs/lemongrass/thyme bitterness very green and fresh tasting lively carbonation on the palate helps the flavos not fall flat. Eye opening appeal that brings out the point that what else could be used to spice a beer up instead of straight up hop additions, I like the creativity no boundary approach that went into play when formulating this saison style. Light effervescent carbonation that works nicely with the style body is moderate very killer mouthfeel. Drinkability was easy, no problems consuming this fantastic gruit/saison,

Bornem Dubble

 Pours a very dark brown, mostly opaque, with dark ruby red hues when held to light. 1 finger bubbly light brown head that fairly quickl ypops away. The smell reminds me of plums, Raisins, maybe a bit of tart apple/pear, a little brown sugar, little belgian yeast (slight funk). As for the taste, fairly heavy does of dark fruits, with a little prune in the background. There seems to be a bit of bitterness in the background, maybe slight floral hops, tastes like bitter prune. I'm not really getting the tart/funk that I got on the nose. Everything seems focused on very dark fruits, almost burnt, with bitter prune in the background, slightly burnt brown sugar (close to molasses), with just a bit of malt. Finish has almost a metallic quality, it's a light bitter finish. Seems to lack depth and complexity. Very high carbonation for the style, more so than even most BSDA, Triples, and Wits. Very light body, it is smooth I suppose, but it really lacks substance. Almost no viscosity and if there is any, the carbonation completely covers it up as it fizzy out all the way to the finish. Not that impressed here. I suppose this could be ranked fairly high due to the light body and high carbonation, but the flavor fall short of the nose/style and the mouthfeel isn't what I enjoy out of great Dubbels. I can't imagine buying this again.

Flying Dog Raging Bitch

The appearance is a clear gold-toned copper orange liquid with a finger's worth of sturdy white foam on top and plenty of active carbonation bubbles racing throughout the body. Head retained quite well and deposited lots of sticky lace around the glass. Bright citric hops and spicy Belgian yeast combine nicely here, giving the aroma a bold hop character but with a spicy flair suggesting notes of pepper and clove. Malt character is grainy, although the hops and yeast are really at the forefront here.I was anticipating this to have a taste more on the Belgian side of the spectrum, but you know what? Raging Bitch boasts a decisively hoppy flavor that is bursting with citrus fruit and, to a lesser degree, floral notes. The yeast adds a pleasant spicy bite to counter the assertive hop bill in the backend, then trails off a bit to finish with a grainy malt character. I enjoyed this way more than I'd hoped. Raging Bitch is easily one of the better Belgian IPAs I've had thus far. Great stuff!

McSorley's Irish Black Lager

I will try to be objective since it's from one of my least favorite places in the world: McSorley's Irish Pub. It's not actually brewed there but rather it has a label slapped on it in Latrobe, PA where all the finest beers in America are brewed. Latrobe, PA is 324 miles away from McSorley's. Too close for comfort in my opinion but enough of a buffer that the beer is able to escape the intense pull from the black hole of despair that is McSorley's Irish pub.

Poured into a pilsner glass.

Pours a near black. Has a very small of white head, that settles to a thin layer. Some patchy lace left behind. Average looks.

Brew smells of very faint maltiness, roasted notes. Not much of a nose of this one. Average.

Brew is smooth and creamy, light roasted malts; coffee, nut and some hints of chocolate. Brew is very mild and drinkable. A little thin in the flavor department. Finishes slightly dry. A very sessionable brew. Pretty good tastes.

Brew is very drinkable for sure. Not a ton of flavors, but enough to enjoy a few. Pretty ok stuff.

Steinlager Pure

The Appearance is golden color, 1 finger of bubbly head which almost completely disappeared. As for smell, Non-existent. Seriously, I couldn't smell a thing, and my nasal passages aren't the slightest bit blocked at the moment. And the taste is so unbelievably bland. I guess it deserves a 2 for being very pure and not having any off flavors, but I would appreciate SOME flavour. And the mouthfeel is smoother than your average macro lager, good carbonation level. But even if most of Earth's population disagrees with me, I say a beer with no flavour does not make a good session drink. I think I may have just found the blandest 5% ABV beer on Earth. I'm pretty sure that is close to what Steinlager wanted to achieve in brewing this beer, but that still does not mean it deserves a good review score.