The Kick Box - On Hip!

Yup, they carry several Caldera beers at Beers of the World in Rochester. I was almost going to pick up their Vanilla Wheat Ale when I was there today.

 

I am drinking Evil Twin's Yin & Yang, an absolutely incredible beer. This may just be my new favorite beer. It's a very unique take on a black and tan, except this one is made with 33% stout and 67% IPA. It drinks like an IPA, with a very smooth, medium body, but with the flavors of both a stout and IPA. Really unique flavor. The interaction between malts and hops is stellar. Amazing drinkability for 10% ABV. I would definitely drink this over and over.

 

Moving on to yet another one from Evil Twin Brewing, this is their Citra Sunshine Slacker, a 4.5% ABV session IPA that highlights the use of citra hops, which provides this beer with a subdued citrus hop profile. Lots of grapefruit, orange and lemon notes dominate the aroma and flavor. Very easy drinking session IPA. The beer pours with a beautiful, hazy orange-peach appearance.

 

i had that yin and yang separately i remember one i liked and one was pretty bad. it was a while ago though cant remember which was which.

 

The three beers I've had today are from Singlecut, Jack's Abby and Stillwater.

Singlecut Kim Hibiscus Sour Lagrrr- A sour lager brewed with hibiscus from New York's Singlecut Beersmiths, which is fast becoming one of the best breweries in the US. This is a crisp, refreshing sour that pours with a pinkish hue. Very earthy aroma with notes of raspberry and cranberry. Very clean mouthfeel with vibrant effervescence. Moderate sourness with some floral notes coming from the hibiscus. Low ABV at only 4.2% makes this a great beer for warm weather drinking.


Jack's Abby Cranberry Berliner Sour Wheat Lager - Another sour lager, this time a Berliner weissbier with cranberry. Crisp body with sour notes upfront, some coming from the cranberry, which adds to the sourness of an already sour beer in a very nice and complementing way. Also a low ABV beer at only 3.5% ABV.


Stillwater Vacuum Readymade - A black IPA from the Stillwater Brewing Company. Lots of pine and citrus hops combined with smoky malts, medium mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. 8% ABV.

 

Now drinking a beer from the Maine Beer Company out of Freeport, Maine, called 'A Tiny Beautiful Something'. Maine Beer Company is known for their mild and exquisite pale ales and IPAs. This happens to be one of their several pale ales. The hops in their beers are used in a very subdued way that makes them more balanced than some other breweries whose goal is merely to make a hop bomb. With the Maine Beer Company's beers you taste the more subtle aspects of the hops. The aroma is one of the first things I noticed about this beer. This is a very fresh smelling beer with lots orange, grapefruit and lemon notes. Some grassy notes are present as well. Flavor is very nice with a session-like drinkability. Very delicate flavors in this beer to match the aroma, with some herbal overtones that blind with very mild, citrus hops.

 

I have a few cans of Epic Tart and Juicy .. aroma says IPA , but when you drink it. its very fruity. The bitter vanishes instantly.
Bout to take a walk and get something else tho. Dont really have that much to pick from tho..

 

Moving on the my second beer of this evening, it's another outstanding IPA from Singlecut Beersmiths out of Queens, NY. This is their Mo Shuggie Soulbender IPA. Very topical nose to this beer with lots of mango, papaya and pineapple in the aroma. Lots of citrus upfront with a pine-like bitterness in the finish. Light to medium mouthfeel and light carbonation.

Scores a 95 on BA:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30452/148304/

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIXNGlsyRJw

 

Drinking yet another awesome dry-hopped farmhouse ale from what is fast becoming my favorite brewery in the country, this is Americana from Prairie. Lots of funk in the aroma of this beer, with some orange, lemon and pepper notes. Lots of sour funk noticed immediately upon first sip, with some hop bitterness in the dry finish. Body is relatively light with medium to high carbonation. Overall an awesome dry-hopped saison.

 

This is Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse (cherry) by Mikkeller out of Denmark. Very tart beer brewed with cherries giving it an added tartness along with its reddish color. Lots of tart aromas, some coming from the cherries. Lots of sour cherry, apple and tart lemon in the flavor. Very crisp beer with assertive carbonation, dry finish and low ABV makes this a great beer for hot weather consumption.

 

This beer from Ballast Point called Orange Vanilla Fathom is somewhat of a letdown compared to their flagship IPAs. It's their take on an IPL (India Pale Lager) brewed with orange and vanilla. While the body of this beer is exceptional, with a medium, creamy mouthfeel and nice lacing, the flavors come across as artificial and slighly cloying. The flavors I am tasting remind me more of a creamsicle or orange sucker than they do actual oranges.

 

This is Ryan and the Beaster Bunny By Evil Twin Brewing. It is a farmhouse ale clocking in at 7% ABV. After drinking several dry-hopped saisons from Prairie over the past few days, this falls somewhat short by comparison, but it is still good for its style. This finish on this one is more sweet than dry with lots of funky, spicy undertones.

 

Moving on to my final beer of the night, this is Andromeda IPA by Galaxy Brewing Company out of Binghamton, NY. Very citrus IPA with lots of pineapple, passionfruit and mango both in the aroma as well as the flavor. Medium body and mouthfeel with low carbonation. Highly recommended if you like the juicier, fruitier side of IPAs.

 

I am rather drunk at the moment. I have been on vacation this past week and have been enjoying lots of quality brewskis and bud.

 

I haven't read this page yet, but I wanted to post this before moving on to beer #2...

My first beer tonight was tasty, some lovely spices going on for sure.
But the motherfucker just exploded every-fucking-where when I opened it... at my computer desk.
Apparently, that's normal for this brew, judging by most of the reviews I've seen of it.

But, anyway... this is what I had half a bottle of (since the rest was on the floor, in my keyboard, on my desk, on my chair..):


(Alc. 9%)


Smell: Smells like a dark ale with spices and shit, smells good.

Taste: Both bright and dark notes are hanging out together. The coriander stands out in this brew with a pleasant amount of spice in the palate.


***
Ok, I'mma get my next beer, then get back to reading this page.

 

So, now that I'm done with that Balthazar (which could've been SO much better if it hadn't exploded like that).
I'm also almost done with the first of my second brew of the night.

I don't have any others, so it's either this or something a bit harder (moonshine or tequila).

I'll probably just stick with this:


(Alc. 5.5%)

Smell: Wow... off the foamy head, it smells like fresh brewed coffee or freshly ground coffee beans, with a hint of citrus hops. It smells smooth and I believe I can smell the vanilla rounding out the entire affair.

Taste: That is a unique tasting beer. Smooth, with vanilla like a silent letter... it's there, even if you don't "hear" it. The coffee flavor is closer to wet coffee grinds, not in a bad way really though, but I swear it tastes a little like tobacco as well.

Overall, not bad... not great. i'll drink what I have, but probably won't bother buying it again. (Granted, most beers I try are one-offs... but you get what I mean.)

 

Drinking burley oak coffee and cream
Light in color for a coffee beer.
By far the most drinkable coffee beer I ever had.
Still a solid coffee taste though.
Smell is like any other coffee beer I have had.
Mouthfeel is as close to water as I ever had in a beer.

 

Tonight I went out to dinner with the girlfriend to a place which has an awesome draft selection. I got three beers. Since it was earlier, it's hard to remember the nuances of each beer, but I will try to go from memory as best as I can.

I started the evening off right with a Trappist ale, this one coming from the Netherlands -- not Belgium. This is La Trappe Tripel. I've had this one before, but it's been many years. While it is very good, it doesn't come close to my favorite Belgian tripel, which is St. Bernardus. This beer has lots pepper and clove like aromas. Lots of banana, clove and spicy notes in the flavor. Mouthfeel is effervescent and champagne-like. The downside is that this beer was a bit sweeter than I like my tripels to be.



Second beer is Geyser Gose. This is a collaboration beer by Two Roads Brewing Company out of Connecticut. With this beer they collaborated with Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø of Evil Twin Brewing. Very nice gose with lots of lemongrass and coriander notes in the aroma. Lots of sour lemon and green apples in the flavor with the characteristic saltiness of of a gose. Overall, one of the better brews of this increasingly popular style of beer I have had so far, which is a very refreshing summertime beer.



Lastly, I had a beer from the epic Singlecut Beersmiths out of Queens, called Neil Into the Void IPA -- a black IPA. Very nice balance of dark malts and earthy hops. I haven't been let down by a single Singlecut beer yet.