Today, we have a very special guest blogger....Kate's husband Ross! This guest blog has been a month in the making - literally. Ross has been drinking, I mean working hard at this post. He's tried 31 different microbrews for 31 days in May. I'll let him tell you all about it....
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Hello All! First I would like to thank Katy and Kris for letting me partake in their Friday Guest Blogger Series here at ‘Girls Who Grub’. Although, as a heads up, this entry isn’t by a Girl or about Grub. I have been doing a full month's worth of research for this blog. For those of you who don’t know, the week of May 16th-22nd is American Craft Beer Week. And instead of celebrating only 7 days of microbrews around the country, I decided to celebrate the whole month and try 31 new microbrews for 31 days in May. So as an alternative to ‘Girls who Grub’, today you’ll be hearing from the ‘Dude who Drinks’ (possible spin-off opportunity?).
There are many different definitions of a microbrewery. The amount of production is usually the main condition of what defines a microbrewery. In January 2011, The Brewers Association defined a microbrewery to include a brewery that produces up to 6 million barrels a year. However, I have always thought of a microbrewery as a small, independently owned brewery. And for some more definitions, to be clear, a microbrew is a beer that comes from a microbrewery.
Before I get on to my 31 newly introduced beers, I setup a few guidelines for my tasting experience. I purchased all bottled beers from The Root Cellar in Kenwood, Ohio. They have a wide selection of beer and wine and are very friendly. I picked all the beers at complete random, except for the fact that I chose a different brewery each time. I tried to review each of these unique suds on 4 qualities (Aroma, Appearance, Taste and Mouthfeel) and then gave an overall impression based on a scale from 1 to 5, to be consistent with ‘Girls who Grub’. I tried to keep the review to as little as possible description but enough to get a feel for the beer.
So on to the Brews!
1) Amber Ale, Mt. Caramel Brewing Company, Cincinnati, OH (3/5)
woody, hoppy, smooth
2) Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Brewing Company, Denver, CO (3/5)
dark roasted, bitter, hoppy aftertaste
3) Finestkind India Pale Ale, Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth, NH (2/5)
hoppy, light, golden color
4) Lighter Pale Ale, Hook & Ladder Brewing Company, Rochester, NY (1/5)
very light pale ale, hint of cherry?
5) Summerbright Wheat Ale, Breckinridge Brewery, Denver, CO (2/5)
golden color wheat ale, slightly citrusy
6) Karma Belgian Pale Ale, Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, CO (3/5)
amber color, slight fruit aroma and taste
7) Good Juju Spice Ale, Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, CO (3/5)
ginger aroma and taste, golden color, malty body
8) Crooked Tree India Pale Ale, Dark Horse Brewing Company, Marshall, MI (2/5)
dark copper color, smooth, lots of sediments, hoppy aroma
9) Double Dog Double Pale Ale, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD (5/5)
plenty of hops, bit of bite, full of flavor, body and aroma
10) Major Tom Pomegranate Wheat Ale, Fort Collins Brewery, Fort Collins, CO (2/5)
blond color, smooth, watery, good aroma but no follow up to taste
11) Cabin Fever Brown Ale, New Holland Brewing Company, Holland, MI (2/5)
dark color, medium body, slight roasted coffed flavor, pretty light taste
12) Dog Days Dortmunder Lager, Two Brothers Brewing Company, Warrenville, IL (4/5)
golden color, nice light taste, no real aroma, slight malt flavor with lingering aftertaste
13) Otter Summer Ale, Otter Creek Brewing, Middlebury, VT (3/5)
light yellow color, small body, hint of lemon and wheat
14) Amber Ale, Bells Brewery, Comstock, MI (4/5)
dark amber color, medium body, malty aroma, yeast taste?
15) Latitude 48 India Pale Ale, Boston Beer Company, Comstock, MI (4/5)
slight citrus aroma, hoppy piney tatse, medium body, bitter
16) Fourteen Wheat Wine Ale, Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Easton, PA (3/5)
small aroma, big body, wheat taste with some grapes, sweet lemony aftertaste
17) Dubbel Cannon Belgian Pale Ale, Clipper City Brewing Company, Baltimore, MD (4/5)
copper color, citrusy aroma, tastes have cirtrus, hops and caramel, small to medium body
18) Hop Head Red Ale, Green Flash Brewing Company, Vista, CA (4/5)
dark red color, citrusy and pine smell, hoppy and slighty bitter, small/medium body
19) Liberty Pale Ale, Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco, CA (2/5)
Slight smell of hops, small body, malty flavor, irony
20) Summer Pale Ale, Shipyard Brewing Compnay, Portland, ME (4/5)
Yellow color, grainy malty smell, light body, slight citrus taste with a bitterness end
21) Apricot Wheat Ale, Ithaca Beer Company, Ithaca, NY (3/5)
Golden color, fruity aroma, apricot taste, light body
22) Nude Beach Wheat Ale, Stevens Point Brewery, Stevens Point, WI (4/5)
Hazy yellow, slight citrus smell, light body, hint of hops with wheat overpowering taste
23) Old Man Ale, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, NY (5/5)
dark color, hoppy smell, with a follow up of taste, big body, with a hint of spices
24) Sunshine Pilsner, Troegs Brewing Company, Harrisburg, PA (4/5)
yellow color, light smell, stong pungent taste, medium to big body, great bitterness finish
25) Purple Haze Fruit Beer, Abita Brewing Company, Abita Springs, LA (2/5)
Fruitful smell, sour taste of rasberries, grainy
26) Founders Pale Ale, Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI (4/5)
dark yellow color, hops smell, taste of hops and some citrus
27) St. Victourious Dopplebock, Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, PA (3/5)
roasted aroma with some citrus?, medium body, big aftertaste
28) Winter Ale, Stoudt's Brewing Company, Adamstown, PA (5/5)
amber color, hoppy smell and taste, medium body with some bitterness
29) Long Hammer India Pale Ale, Redhook Ale Brewery, Portsmouth, NH (2/5)
citrusy grapefruit and hoppy aroma, slight hops tatse, light body, bitter aftertaste
30) Sneaky Pete Imperial India Pale, Laughing Dog Brewing Company, Ponderay, ID (3/5)
dark amber color, citrusy hoppy aroma, malty taste, big body with slight bitter aftertaste
31) Wanderer Session India Pale Ale, North Peak Brewing Company, Traverse City, MI (2/5)
dark orange color, hoppy aroma with a follow up of slight hoppy taste, and medium body
So there are the beers I tried with my overall impression ranking. There are a lot of great brews here, and if you don't trust me, go out and try them yourself! This was a very fun 'research' project and I recommend to anyone to go try a small or local brew instead of defaulting to the megabreweries products; or go out and try to become a brewmaster yourself!
Cheers!
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