Thursday, October 30, 2014

Side Review - Kasey's Leftover IPA - My Apartment


description


Kelli
The color is a pleasant deep autumn straw with strong golden tones, and a wispy head collects along the edges. 

The smell is very mild, with only a hint of hops peeking through. 

The initial floral flavor is rather bitter, but the flavors melt together quickly into a very easy to drink and easy to enjoy beer. 

7/10
Tim
Crystal clear with a light appearance.  Looks like a macro lager from a distance. No head, but this is no doubt due to sitting around in my desk drawer all day.

Aroma is not overpowering, very balanced smell, with a slight leaning towards hops over malt.  It’s easy to tell this used a mixture of hops as many different characteristics are present without any specific hop overpowering, a pleasant change from the usual trend of a single hop overwhelming the rest.

Doesn’t taste like home-brew, very smooth and continues the balanced notes present in the nose, has a very pleasant finish that is not bitter despite hop character. It’s apparent that this beer has  lower ABV which would lend itself well to being a solid session IPA.  It gives you the hop flavor you want in an IPA without the massive ABV that will cut you off after a few.

7/10

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Final Score: 7

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Review #3 - Revolution Anti-Hero IPA - Novak's on High


Back to Novak's on High.  


Jahi
An amber-brown beer that has a relatively large head. It smells of pine and assorted citrus, mostly orange and lemon. The taste is distinctly of hops and pine, but then suddenly the hoppy taste disappears for a note of malty flavor. There is an aftertaste, but it isn't very vivid, as if the malty flavor alone is the aftertaste. Continuing to finish the beer allows the hoppy and malty flavors to combine to make it a strangely different experience from just having a sip. 

8/10

Jeff
The anti-hero is everything you want in a very drinkable IPA. The look is shows a copper/hazy brown look. The aroma is a light hoppy citrus and a hint of pine that you like in your IPA. You can taste a pine sensation along with a stronger sense of malts that most IPA's don't provide. This beer reminds me of the trend of "session" beers that represent a great tasting beer without the high ABV. What separates this beer from other IPA's is its clean finish after every sip. This IPA truly encourages you to consume multiple pints without the worries of a high ABV. Anti-Hero represents everything I enjoy in an American IPA - Hoppy Pine aroma, hints of citrus, and a clean finish that doesn't leave a bitter after taste. Truly one of the better session IPA's! 

9/10 

Kasey
Amber Color very malty looking for not being a DIPA. Nice 1 finger head and good retention. 

Sweet hop smell almost a fruit aroma

-Sweet Malty .
-Light hop profile.
-Malt/hop balance.
-Very crisp tasting.
 -Hop and Malt combination produces fruity profile
-Easy drinking 
-Crisp!!!
-Malt tones down hop profile. 

This is a very unique IPA. Very creative. A heavy malt profile balance hop profile to create a smooth non bitter easy drinking IPA. Crisp and refreshing. Might be the best summertime IPA. 

8.5/10

Tim
Looks like a caramel amber color, crystal clear, very filtered, medium sized head that sticks around forever.

Smells like a mixture of hops, malt, and toffee, very even keeled with a kick of sweetness.

Way up on the malts which results in a very balanced beer. Has slight notes of dark fruits like a Belgian. very sweet for an IPA, definitely complex with more layers. 

7.5/10

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Final Score: 8.25
Controversy Rating: 4

Review #2 - Columbus Brewing Company Bodhi - Park Street Tavern



Two reviews for this week.  First we went to Park Street Tavern with the hope that they'd either have the CBC Creeper or Fresh Hop Ale.  As it turned out, they didn't update their website or draft board, so we settled on the Bodhi, still a solid IPA.

Park Street was an interesting place. It smelled like pee, but was otherwise a pretty charming old school dive bar.  Not a bad place at all once you get past the odor.


Jahi
A very light colored beer, the glass is a clear yellow with little head. It smells distinctly of grapefruit and pine. The taste is also of grapefruit and pine, with a strong, dry aftertaste of pine and hops. The aftertaste lingers for quite a while. The alcohol content is deceptively high for how it tastes, so be careful around this one. Despite the strong aftertaste, it is still a clean tasting beer because of its selection of flavors and is a relatively smooth choice for a double IPA. 

7.5/10

Jeff
This beer had a very nice medium hazy brown look to it and had a good hoppy citrus and pine aroma. The first taste of this double IPA is a very jolting rush of hops to the palette. Bodhi represents all that is good with an American IPA, very hoppy and light on the malt. I enjoyed the clean finish with minimal lingering bitterness that you can get from many double IPA's. The hint of grapefruit can be noticed as well as a hint of pine. The crisp finish makes this DIPA very drinkable and drinks like a regular IPA. Just watch out for the 8.0 ABV, as the word Bodhi means in Sanskrit, it can take you to a world of enlightenment. 

8.5/10

Kasey
This beer looked like the bar smelled, Urine! The color was a straw yellow and resembled a light lager in appearance. The thin head dissipated quickly. No haze almost transparent 

Smell of very pungent fresh hops.

-vegetative taste (planty)
-Hops residue mouth coating 
-Grass tasting.
-All hops no malt showcased hops
-Grapefruit 
-Bitter finish

Possibly the best example of a west coast ipa. The hops are definitely the focal point of this beer. I really enjoyed this beer however this beer does not show much creativity is the definition of a west coast ipa

9/10

Tim
Mostly translucent and pale yellow, no head, very bright and almost florescent. Looks like the mountain dew of beers.

Smells like a freshly mowed lawn, big grapefruit smell, citrus and piney hops. Very simple and clean without a lot of depth.

Tastes very light, little to no malt character. Very refreshing, good for sitting out in hot weather. Definitely west coast in the same vein as the CBC IPA. Not balanced at all, but I don't think that was the goal.

Kind of a one trick pony, but that one trick is pretty tasty.

8/10

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Final Score: 8.25
Controversy Rating: 4
Review Spreadsheet Link

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Review #1 - Southern Tier Pumking - Novak's on High




This is the first review for the Nationwide Pint Review.  We picked Southern Tier Pumking since it's delicious and Kasey was losing his mind over it not being at 3 Legged Mare.  We had a pretty big turn out the first time which will hopefully continue.

Jahi

A copper-orange color, with a small head 

I was relieved to find out that it doesn't taste how it smells. The last thing I need is for every beer I drink in October to keep the reminder of pumpkin spice lattes in my head.  

The boozy taste slightly overrides the pumpkin and spice flavor you can smell. There is also a distinct note of hops. It's a pretty strong ale, and probably not one to have with food. It's good all on its own. 

8.5/10 

Jake 


This beer is very good but I feel like you have to be in the right mood for it.  Perfect for when you just want a beer or two.

9/10 


Kasey

I typically don't like pumpkin flavored foods or drinks. Pumpkin pie for example is disgusting. However the pumking is anything but disgusting. The beer pours a nice amber hue with a slight haze and had a good head retention. The smell is that of pumpkins what you would expect from any pumpkin beer. The taste is where this beer shines. The taste of actual pumpkin not an artificial flavor balanced with the spice of the high ABV and a spice that I can't pinpoint (nutmeg??). The beer is extremely malty which balances the beer wonderfully. This is the perfect example of a seasonal beer and has become synonymous with Halloween for me. In my top 3 favorite beers of all time.

10/10


Murray

It looks like beer, so I'll drink it (but the subtle Orange hue seems very appropriate for a serious pumpkin beer).

I usually don't like pumpkin or blueberry infused beers, but unlike most, this one is not too sweet and strikes a good balance.

Very fresh barley smell, like you would smell taking a tour of a brewery.  

9/10


Tim

Looks like cloudy honey, looks like an unfiltered wheat beer.  Small head, dissipates quickly.

Smells like an Autumn scented glade plug-in, super fragrant.


Tastes exactly like a slice of pumpkin pie, same pumpkin, same spices (cinnamon, nutmeg). Boozy, but in a good way, not overpowering.


9/10

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Final Score: 9.1
Controversy Rating: 3
Review Spreadsheet Link