Beer Review: 6e Soir

Reviewing the 6e Soir from Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel out of Montreal in Canada.
Score: 87

Bottled in August of 2012. Served in a Surly Darkness snifter and enjoyed on 10/16/12.

Appearance: Pours a translucent golden color with a finger of white head that quickly settles to a bubbly ring around the glass. Oily lacing with splotchy froth. Poor lacing and okay retention. 3/5

Smell: Biscuits, subdued tropical citrus, malted barley, and a hoppiness that directly reminds me of Samuel Adams' Noble Pils. There is also a light "mustiness" in the nose akin to what a glass of what you leave out overnight smells like the following morning. There is also a faint "Corn Pops cereal" smell too. 3/5

Taste: The nose gave me low exceptions, but the taste is actually pretty good! Corn Pops, mango, mellow tropical citrus and a very mild, clean hoppiness that layers and grows as the beer warms. The amount of tropical citrus flavor in the beer also grows as it warms up, with notes of orange, grapefruit and tangerine coming out. As the beer warms, the amount of Corn Pops flavor present drops off and this beer's flavor profile approaches that of an IPA. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, medium carbonation. Oily mouthfeel, lightly sticky. Bitter, but not IPA bitter. Lightly dry finish. 4/5

Overall: An IPA-esque pilsner that delivers where it counts -- the taste and mouthfeel.

Recommendation: Delicious and worth drinking, but not worth specifically hunting down. This would make a great gateway beer to IPA's for casual beer drinkers in my opinion.

Pairings: Horseradish crusted Djion chicken.

Cost: $5 for a 12 oz bottle.

Beer Review: Solstice D'hiver

Reviewing the Solstice D'hiver from Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel out of Montreal in Canada.
Score: 83

Unknown vintage bottle with the 1 and 0 ticked on the side of the label. Served in a Surly Darkness snifter and enjoyed on 10/16/12.

Appearance: Pours two fingers of beige foamy head that slowly recedes to a thick layer atop the glass. Crazy lacing and retention. The beer is a deep mahogany color with a blood-red halo around the glass. Not quite opaque. 4.5/5

Smell: Vanilla, toffee and malty caramel. Faint, musty hops. Light plum, raisin and pine. Yum! 4/5

Taste: Sadly, the taste does not live up to the inviting appeal of the nose. Malty caramel, faint dark fruit and ample stale hops. There is a hint of vanilla upfront, but it is very very faint. There is a slight nuttiness too. 3/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, medium-light carbonation. Super malty, slightly creamy. 3.5/5

Overall: Taste is a mediocre, unincorporated mess of flavors and stale hops, but the aroma was nice.  

Recommendation: Definitely not worth the price tag.

Pairings: Spicy Pad Thai.

Cost: $5 for a 12 oz bottle.

Beer Review: Aphrodite (aka Aphrodisiaque)

Reviewing the Aphrodite (aka Aphrodisiaque) from Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel out of Montreal in Canada. DDC is probably best known for their imperial coffee stout Peche Mortel.
Score: 91

Unknown vintage bottle with the 2 and 7 ticked on the side of the label. Served in a Surly Darkness snifter and enjoyed on 10/16/12.

Appearance: Pours a coffee color with a thin layer of tan head that settles to a ring around the glass. Average lacing, but good retention. 4/5

Smell: Roasted chocolate, faint coffee and toasted oatmeal. Mild amounts of non-sweet molasses too. Hint of fig and caramel. 4.25/5

Taste: Primarily oatmeal and bittersweet bakers chocolate. Mild coffee flavor and some creamy milk chocolate too. Somewhat simple and uncomplex, but tasty. 4/5

Mouthfeel: A little over-carbonated, but not enough so to kill the beer. Medium bodied, medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel. 3.5/5

Overall: A delicious oatmeal stout that had too much carbonation and is overpriced. That said, I'd absolutely drink this one again.


Recommendation: Worth drinking, but not worth specifically seeking out. Really drinkable and flavorful for 6.5% ABV.

Pairings: Flank steak.

Cost: $5 for a 12 oz bottle.

Beer Review: Jai Alai IPA

Reviewing the Jai Alai IPA from Cigar City Brewing out of Tampa, Florida. 

Score: 84



Bottle is from the 238th day of 2012 (08/26/12), won in a fantasy baseball BIF. Served in a Founders tulip glass and enjoyed on 10/15/12.

Appearance: Pours a dark copper color with a light flurry of finely ground floaties at the bottom. Three full fingers of foamy tan head at pour settles to a thick ring around the glass and big clumpy island of head in the middle surrounded by a moat of beer. Good lacing, retention and legs. 3.5/5

Smell: Tons of grapefruit and orange upfront. On the "back end" of the aroma is a slightly syrupy pineapple juice aroma -- you know, the cheap kind you make those store-bought frozen "just add juice" Jamba Juice smoothies with? That smell. Sweet caramel and pine too. The nose is surprisingly "syrupy sweet" for an IPA. 3.5/5

Taste: Tons of bitter caramel and pineapple flavor present here. The pineapple flavor tastes just like it smells and lingers after the swallow. There's a touch of orange too, but it's mostly caramel and pineapple flavor here -- though it's not what I would call a "malty" beer. There is a nice and smooth bittersweet balance that lends this beer a lot of drinkability. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied, low carbonation. Very oily and juicy. Bittersweet. 3.5/5

Overall: Solid, but nothing spectacular. I imagine this one is better fresher. Oh well.

Recommendation: I'd order it on tap, but I would not seek it out again. Would make a good starter IPA for more casual beer drinkers given it's balanced flavors, not in-your-face hoppiness and smooth drinkability.

Pairings: Pretzels and cheese dip.

Cost: $12 for a six pack.

Beer Review: Rye'da Tiger

Reviewing Rye'da Tiger from Three Floyds Brewing Company out of Munster, Indiana. HUGE thanks to Will "my name is fake" Wilberg for hooking me up with the bottle!
Score: 98

Bottle is from mid-September 2012. Served in a Founders snifter and enjoyed on 10/04/12.

Appearance: Pours a bright honey-orange color with a lot of color depth when held up to the light due its transparent quality. Can be a straight honey or orange color depending on the angle. Quite interesting! A finger of cream-colored seafoam head at pour settles to a ring around the glass. Excellent lacing and retention. I really dig the frothy head that clings to the side of the glass after every sip. What a beautiful IPA! On the second pour, there were some floaties in the glass that made this one a little less beautiful....still an excellent looking IPA though! 4.5/5

Smell: In-your-face doses of slightly candied peaches and tangerines upfront. Pineapple, orange peels, rye spice, pine, and lemon candy overlay a faint caramel malt backbone. This beer is just loaded with sweet tropical fruit juice aromas and a nice and clean, piney-hoppy counterbalance to the sweetness in the nose. Wow. Simply wow. I was not expecting something so balanced and robust! 4.75/5

Taste: Hoppy oranges, tangerines and peaches up front. This is pure tropical fruit IPA juice. There is also a nice and subtle spice kick on the front of the tongue that I presume is from the rye. The back end of the flavor of this beer is bitter, earthy hops, caramel malt and faint rye flavor. The finish is pretty bitter, but the tropical citrus sweetness really helps keep it from going to far over the edge. 4.75

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with carbonation on the heavier side of light. Super oily mouthfeel. The bitterness really layers on the tongue and makes for an interesting palate-experience when paired with the faint rye kick this beer packs. 5/5

Overall: What a world class, in-your-face IPA that is bold and unforgiving. Bitter, but dangerously smooth. The subtle rye complexity here is a real nice complement to the hoppiness. After my experience with Rye'd Da Lightning, I was not expecting something so great. Kudos to Three Floyds for creating yet another of the best hoppy beers out there!

Recommendation: Seek this out and and consume it fresh! Unless you hate IPA and hoppy beers, of course.

Pairings:Spicy, homemade beer chili (the kind that Chris Gierhart makes when you pony up to '86 the pork!).

Cost: $10 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.

Reviewing the Marble IPA from the Marble Brewery out of New Mexico.
Score: 91

Unknown vintage can. Served in a Founders tulip and enjoyed on 10/15/12.

Appearance: Pours a clean, slightly darker honey-orange color than the Surly Wet, and is also less transparent than Surly Wet, but not quite translucent. Two fingers of off-white head at pour settle to a thin film atop the glass. Excellent lacing and retention. This is a really beautiful looking IPA. 4.5/5

Smell: Hoppy tropical citrus! Piney grapefruit, oranges and peach. Hint of earthy caramel malt. 4.25/5

Taste: Piney grapefruit galore here with a nice lingering bitterness. Caramal malt backbone. There's some dirty/earthy citrus in the mix too. Not a whole lot of sweetness comes off of the citrus flavors, which is making this a bit of a bitter bomb. I personally dig it, but others may not. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied with a low amount of carbonation that lets the bitterness sit and layer on the tongue, though there is a little prickliness to the hoppiness here. Super oily mouthfeel. 4/5

Overall: A super solid IPA. What an excellent New Mexico year-round local. I think it is super cool that Marble's stuff, including this IPA, has appeared in the background of various Breaking Bad episodes.

Recommendation: Seek this one out if you are trading with someone local to this brew and like IPA. Might be a little bitter-intense for the casual beer drinker, however.

Pairings: Biscuits.

Cost: $9 for a six pack of 12 oz cans.

Beer Review: Surly Wet

Reviewing the Surly Wet from Surly Brewing Company out of Minnesota. According to the beer's description, "2,400 lbs of hops picked freshly in Oregon and shipped to Minnesota immediately. We brewed this beer three days later." Last year's batch (2011) was made entirely with Citra hops. This year's batch was made with Simcoe hops only. 
Score: 93

Can is from September 24, 2012. HUGE thanks to fan of the blog Mathew Schraufnagel for hooking me up with a few four packs of this wonderful nectar. Served in a Founders tulip and enjoyed on 10/15/12.

Appearance: Pours a very clean, bright and translucent honey-orange color that reminds me a lot of blind pig. Three-plus fingers of frothy cream colored head off the pour settles to a bubble ring around the glass and clump of head in the middle. Nice soapy lacing, but mediocre retention -- though what sticks around really sticks around. 4/5

Smell: Earthy, "dirty" tangerines, dank grass and pineapple. Faint caramel in the background. 4/5

Taste: Super fresh, earthy citrus and bitter, "dirty" and grassy hops! There's a nice hoppy bite upfront mellowed out by sweet tropical citrus on the back end. The hoppiness seems somewhat confined to the center of the tongue. Resinous pine sap, pineapple, and "earthy"-but-zesty orange. Sweet caramel malt backbone. The caramel mostly comes out towards the finish. Quite balanced and tasty. There's a faint "spiciness" towards the finish too. Surprisingly balanced in flavor. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Lighter side of medium bodied with light-medium carbonation. Super oily and slick on the palate. Towards the bitter end of bittersweet. 4.5/5

Overall: Delicious, but I have a suspicion that last year's all Citra batch was even better...I drank this side by side with Broo Doo last week and I preferred the Broo Doo.

Recommendation: Worth drinking, but not worth seeking out at its price point.

Pairings: Thai food.

Cost: $16 for a four pack of 16 oz cans.