Beer Review: Flora Satsuma Mandarin

Reviewing the Flora Satsuma Mandarin, a barrel aged saison aged on Satsuma mandarins from the Hill Farmstead Brewery out of Greensboro, Vermont. 

Score: 94

2013 vintage bottle served in a stemmed Hill Farmstead bulb glass and enjoyed on 02/22/14.

Appearance: Pours a transparent/clean golden mead color. Not effervescent in appearance at all. Pours a ring around the glass of white head off the pour. 4/5

Smell: Mandarin oranges, mineral water, white wine, and a touch of spice. Wheat and citrus too. Smells a lot like a slightly funky/earthy white wine mixed with sweet oranges and peppercorn. The wine character grows in prominences as the beer warms and breathes. 4.5/5

Taste: Sweet citrus and orange with a little wheat grain. There is a very mild, crisp tartness upfront. Tannic, white wine towards the finish with a kiss of oak and grape. Nice, tasty mix. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Light-plus bodied, and surprisingly spritzy carbonation that is appropriate for the flavor profile. Very dry finish, with a nice sweetness. 4.5/5

Overall: Superior to Blueberry Flora, and a nice orange-forward, not too funky saison.

Cost: $15 for a 375 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Port Damon

Reviewing the Port Damon from the Hill Farmstead Brewery out of Greensboro, Vermont.

Score: 86

2013 vintage bottle served in a stemmed "blackjack" tulip and enjoyed on 02/11/2014.

Appearance: Pours a black color with less than a finger of dark khaki head, which slowly settles to a thin layer. Good lacing and retention. 4.5/5

Smell: Chocolate, grape/port, and oak. Simple, but nice. 4/5

Taste: Tannic oak and lots of port flavor with a little tartness/berry flavor. Chocolate underlies. A little fruit on the finish too. Average integration. Simplistic, without shining in any of it limited dimensions. 3.25/5

Mouthfeel: Medium body, low (but appropriately so) carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel. 4.25/5

Overall: A bit to astringent and oak-forward for my taste. Definitely a step back from bourbon barrel Damon in my opinion.

Cost: $15 for a 375 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Double Barrel Damon

Reviewing the Double Barrel Damon from the Hill Farmstead Brewery out of Greensboro, Vermont. This Russian Imperial Stout is Damon aged one year in port barrels, and then one year in van winkle whiskey barrels.

Score: 99

2013 vintage bottle served in a stemmed Hill Farmstead bulb glass and enjoyed on 02/22/14.

Appearance: Pours a dark, rich syrup color that is almost black in color with some bubbles that quickly and completely dissipate. No head really, nor any lacing. There is a nice browning to the sides of the glass from swirling with solid legs too. 4.5/5

Smell: Hot fudge, dark chocolate, bourbon, and light vanilla, with the port character beginning to come through as it begins to breath. A kiss of a generic hop aroma too. So much chocolate/fudge, which only amplifies as it warms. I could smell this beer all day! 5/5

Taste: Port and sweetness upfront following by a fudgey bourbon finish and a mild bitterness that cuts through the upfront sweetness. The fudgey finish is long lasting, and intensifies as it warms up. Caramel, molasses, vanilla and a hint of fruit too. Near-perfect mix of bourbon and port and chocolate here. 5/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, minimal carbonation. Full/full-medium bodied; amply thick, but not the most viscous stout that I have encountered. Dry finish. Great balance of sweet and bitter characters here. 4.5/5

Overall: Masterfully blended! I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this, considering that I was not a big fan of Port Damon. The bourbon and port characteristics mingle nicely, with chocolate notes for days. The bitterness on the finish imparted a nice balance, and made it all too drinkable. All-in-all, this beer took a personal favorite (bourbon Damon) to a whole new level of excellence. This one is absolutely worth seeking out!

Cost: $35 for a 375 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Cosmic Dust (Blend #10)

Reviewing Cosmic Dust, a sour golden ale aged on oak with hibiscus from The Rare Barrel out of Berkeley, California.

Score: 84

Blend #10 (2014 vintage bottle) served in a Kate the Great snifter and enjoyed on 12/23/14. Thank you Tim for sending me this bottle!

Appearance: Pours a clean and transparent honey color with a thin layer of fizzy head that quickly settles. Minimal, spotty residual lacing from swirling.  Not an "alive"-looking or "active" sour beer in appearance. 3/5

Smell: Sour grain, oak, lemon, light vinegar, a hint of something floral and a kiss of butteriness too. Some fruity bubblegum-like aroma comes through too as it warms up and breathes, which makes the aroma quite interesting and somewhat distinct from an otherwise cookie-cutter American wild ale (AWA) nose. 4/5

Taste: The taste is a lot more generic AWA than the nose, particularly because there is no fruity bubblegum-like character underlying it all. Sour grain, a hint of corn, oak, and lemon zest. Finishes with a lactic acid flavor. With some sips, I feel like subtle berry notes (raspberry?) come through on the finish as well, but I easily could be overthinking this one. Mostly crisp, but there is a little lingering young funk (and butteriness) too. Solid (but no hibiscus). 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, appropriate carbonation. Dry and tannic on the finish. Has a nice sourness that is not too intense. Mild acidity. 3.5/5

Overall: A solid, but indistinguishable sour golden ale from a new, but promising brewery (their head brewer used to work at The Bruery). I liked the mild acidity and sourness, but the butteriness knocked this one down a few pegs for me. I could see this being better with age. Also, where was the hibiscus?

Cost: $30 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Sapping Mammoth

Reviewing Sapping Mammoth, an IPA collaboration between Maine Beer Company, out of Freeport, Maine, and Half Acre Brewing Company, out of Chicago, Illinois.

Score: 96

November 2014 bottling served in a Half Acre tulip and enjoyed on 11/23/14. Although this was available locally, I snoozed on picking one up, so a shout out is in order to my good buddy Derek for sending me a bottle all the way from Maine!

Appearance: Pours a largely opaque, but clean-in-appearance marigold color with two-plus fingers of soapy head that settle to a thick layer atop the glass. Unreal lacing and retention/cling that sticks to the sides of the glass in what appears to be perpetuity. Lovely, fresh looking IPA. 5/5

Smell: The nose is bouquet of juicy citrus and tropical fruits mixed with dank pine - pineapple, mango, grapefruit, orange, and tangerine! A hint of black pepper too. A little resinous malt lurks in the background. This is my kind of aroma; reminds me of something particularly Vermont-y... 4.75/5

Taste: A bitter and juicy pineapple grapefruit explosion hit the tongue and linger past the finish! Mango, a little spice and a nice resinous malty splash on the finish. The grapefruit flavor lingers nicely past the swallow. This sort of tastes like a citra hopped Stigel Radler IPA. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, nicely carbonated. Nice, light malty sweetness to balance out a mild bitterness. Very juicy on the palate. Although I wish it had a little more viscosity, the lighter body of this beer makes it dangerously crushable. 4.25/5

Overall: Better than Dinner, almost as good as this year's batch of Beer Hates Astronauts. If you can find this while it is still fresh, I highly recommend picking up a bottle.

Cost: $7.99 for a 500 ml bottle.

Beer Review: CAUTION! CONTAINS REAL PUMPKIN!!!

Reviewing the CAUTION! CONTAINS REAL PUMPKIN!!! from Voodoo Brewing Company out of Meadville, Pennsylvania.

Score: 82

Bottled 09/29/14 vintage bottle served in a stemmed Doom teku-like glass and enjoyed on 10/30/14.

Appearance: Pours a clean and transparent brownish-ruby color with a thin layer of head that quickly settles to a ring around the glass. Poor lacing, below average retention of what little lacing there is. 3.5/5

Smell: This beer has a very rich, bold pumpkin and cinnamon-vanilla cupcake nose. Notes of brown sugar, caramel, oak, raisin and syrup. The nose has a lot of nice bourbon characteristics present without coming across as being "bourbon-y" (or boozy, for that matter). 4.25/5.

Taste: My first impression is that this beer tastes like sipping pumpkin-spiked barleywine, with a mild alcohol bite, bourbon undertones, and a stale hop and dark fruit character on the finish. There's cinnamon and nutmeg on the mid-palate and some vanilla flavor on the finish. Haphazardly mixed throughout are notes of dark fruit, syrup, old hops (especially towards the back half) and ample sweet malt. The flavors are not as well integrated as they were in the nose. I'm sure barleywine fans will appreciate this one much more than myself. 3.25/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied, minimal carbonation (perhaps a touch under-carbonated). Sweet and malty. A little alcohol warmth comes through as this one warms up, but it does not have an alcohol singe/bite. 3.25/5

Overall: The nose led promise of something delectably complex and balanced, but the flavors came across as a bit of a jumbled, malty mess that was much more average overall than hoped for.

Cost: $19 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.

Beer Review: Tequila Barrel Aged Mexican Cake (2014 Vintage, Fresh)

Reviewing the Tequila Barrel Aged Mexican Cake from Westbrook Brewing Company out of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Score: 95

September 2014 vintage bottle (green label) served in a Toppling Goliath chalice and enjoyed on 10/15/14. Thank you Paul for sharing this treat!

Appearance: Inky black in color, with a thin layer of khaki head that settles to a ring around the glass. Poor lacing, okay retention of what little lacing there is. Nice oily legs. 4/5

Smell: Milk chocolate, cinnamon, and dessert-y sweet vanilla (like cupcake frosting), with a twist of agave. I do not like tequila, but it mixes in quite well with the adjuncts in the aroma. A kiss of pepper, but substantial muted relative to the non-barrel 2014 release of Mexican Cake. A dash of sea salt too. Really loving this nose, which it easily my favorite of the three variants -- it smells like a tequila chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. 4.75/5

Taste: Tastes just like it smells, with a touch of pepper heat on the finish. Lovely, bold mix of vanilla, cinnamon and chocolate. Lasting chocolatiness on the finish. Very well integrated. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-full bodied, appropriately carbonated. Nice balanced flavor -- not too sweet and just a touch spicy on the finish, with a light, balancing bitterness coming across in the mix as well. 4.25/5

Overall: This is the variant that comes closest in quality to the 2013 Mexican Cake variants. Of all three of the 2014 variants, the tequila barrel aged Mexican Cake is the one with the boldest adjunct characteristics, and the least "bland" (i.e., similar to all too many other barrel aged stouts) of the group.

Cost: $30 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.

Beer Review: Four Roses Bourbon Barrel Aged Mexican Cake (2014 Vintage, Fresh)

Reviewing the Four Roses Bourbon Barrel Aged Mexican Cake from Westbrook Brewing Company out of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Score: 93

September 2014 vintage bottle (pink/red label) served in a stemmed Mikkeller & Friends glass and enjoyed on 10/15/14. Thank you Paul for sharing this treat!

Appearance: Ink black color with a thin layer of khaki head that settles to a ring around the glass. Poor lacing (even less residual head than the tequila version), okay retention of what little lacing there is. Nice oily legs. 4/5

Smell: Oak, campfire roasted vanilla, caramel, and pepper. No chocolate in the nose for this variant. A dash of cinnamon too, but it was more prominent in the tequila variant in my opinion. 4.5/5

Taste: Milk chocolate and sweet bourbon flavors, with a little alcohol bite on the finish. Virtually no pepper flavor/heat here, unless I am mistaking the alcohol heat for spiciness. There's a crisp accent upfront, but it quickly dissipates. As it warms up and layers, a kiss of tropical fruity pepper character comes through on the finish (but maybe I am just seeking it out?) along with a bit of spiciness -- though less than the tequila version. Nicely complex mix of flavor. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, a bit more carbonation than tequila, but still appropriate for the style (low, but not under-carbonated). Dry on the finish. Drier and a touch sweeter than the tequila version, but still very balanced. 4/5

Overall: Delicious, but not a cannot miss beer in the vein of Jack Daniels Barrel Aged Mexican Cake, which had more depth and punch to it, and was better integrated to boot.

Cost: $30 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle (2 per person limit).

Beer Review: Double Barrel (Bourbon and Rye) Aged Mexican Cake (2014 Vintage, Fresh)

Reviewing the Double Barrel (Bourbon and Rye) Aged Mexican Cake from Westbrook Brewing Company out of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Score: 85

September 2014 vintage bottle (yellow label) served in a stemmed Mikkeller "the Original" glass and enjoyed on 10/15/14. Thank you Paul for sharing this treat!

Appearance: Same appearance as the other two variants of the 2014 Mexican Cake. Inky black color with a thin layer of head that settles to a thin ring around the glass. No lacing or retention, but nice oily legs. 4/5

Smell: Heavy oak, "green" rye spice, licorice and dark chocolate. Hotter/boozier on the nose than the other two 2014 variants. The nose is largely muted and predominately oak and licorice. Notably "harsher" than the other two variants. No cinnamon/vanilla or spice/pepper. 3.5/5

Taste: Dark chocolate, cinnamon, oak, and licorice. Finishes with the chocolate and cinnamon. No pepper character other than a touch of layering heat on the finish, and no vanilla either. A bit boozy too. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: The viscosity level on this brew falls somewhere between the tequila variant and the bourbon variant. Appropriate carbonation. Nice faint spiciness, but nothing remarkable. Good balance overall. 4/5

Overall: A solid, average/above average barrel aged stout in a sea of indistinguishably whose adjuncts are muted to the point that they might as well have never been added to the brew. This brew was boozy and easily the harshest of the Mexican Cake variants.

Cost: $30 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle (4 per person limit).