Review #5 - Great Lakes Christmas Ale - Novak's on High

We had a team happy hour today, so the turnout was pretty high.

Aaron

Typical Christmas beer smell, strong essence of nutmeg and cinnamon. Very pleasant to smell, not too over powering.

A smooth beer with a strong bite of spices. The beer's first essence when being drank is initially very easy on the tongue. You don't get a strong burst of the spice right away, it comes about a second after you've brought the glass to your mouth. The spice burst will remind you of a typical holiday season, you'll think of holiday pies, and drinking eggnog while chestnuts roast over an open fire. As you drink your last sip, the beer will end with a soothing warmth that will make you want another.

  

The beer is great, and is a must try for any beer lover during this holiday season. However, don't disregard other Holiday brews as this is only one of the many great options out there.  

 

8/10

Jahi

Has a malty scent to let you know from the start that this is not a typical ale. It tastes of hops balanced evenly with malt, with a pine undertone. There is a dry and malty aftertaste. It doesn't really have the spiced taste that the beer was explained to have, making me suspect that this batch wasn't really consistent with what's normal. It ended up tasting much like a normal ale to me, except with a much stronger malty flavor than the usual. I think it would've gone better if there was a hint of spices.
7.5/10 

Jake

Beer was good, The smell brought peace to my mind and comfort after a long day of work. It tasted just as it smelled and left a good after taste

8.5/10

Kasey

Everything a Christmas beer should be and more 

9/10 

Tim

A Christmas Ale Haiku

An ode to christmas

toasty, spicy, delicious

12 Dogs is better

8/10

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Final Score: 8.2
Controversy Rating: 3.25

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Review #4 - Hoof Hearted South of Eleven - Growl!

Today, we have a special Halloween beer review.  After a long day of costume contests and candy eating, we decided to duck out early to try a very rare IPA from a local brewery, Hoof Hearted (Yes, it's a pun of "Who farted?").  Kasey had been looking for the beer for sometime and saw that someone had checked in on Untappd at a growler shop in Clintonville called Growl.  The venue was very rustic looking with brick walls and barnwood paneling and iron seats, and had an excellent tap list.

Jahi

An amber-copper color. Very slightly cloudy.

Features a scent reminiscent of grapefruit and mandarin oranges gently rolling down a meadow of hops on a crisp autumn evening.

Bears a strong hoppy taste like a flower blooming on a dewy morning to greet the sun while pumping out some bicep curls. Thankfully, the hops are not overpowering as it is balanced well with malt. The citrus taste is strangely muted. There is an aftertaste of hops that is typical of an IPA.

8.5/10

Kasey

Smell:
citrus 
very pungent hop/malt smell

Appearance:
Amber Straw color
Thin Head

Taste:
Hop and Malt heavy
Smokey
Smooth

This is everything a DIPA should be. In my top 3 beers. Not much to say about it the beer,  It speaks for itself. Very complex. Be careful. High ABV and I believe it might be unpasteurized which can lead to headaches. just an FYI

10/10

Murray

Smell: Honestly, not the best IPA aroma of all time. Not bad, but not great. (UPDATE) Actully, it's smelling better the more I drink, usually it goes the other way.

Taste: IPA is my favorite, so I'm biased, but this is pretty damn good.  Not my favorite of all time, but damn good.

Color:  Appropriate.

9/10

Tim

Dark golden amber color, mostly filtered, small enough head that I can't even tell how long it sticks around. No bubbles or carbonation rising up from the center of the pint.

Extremely vegetative and floral, like I'm eating daisies with my nose. No bitterness detected on the nose

Incredibly hoppy, but not bitter in the least. Tastes of citrus and peppercorn. A decent malt backbone prevents the hops from overwhelming. Like a Musk of The Minotaur on steroids. The finish is surprisingly sweet with an emphasis on malt, the vegetative floral hops continue on into the very pleasant finish .

Overall, an excellent top notch IPA

9/10

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Final Score: 9.125
Controversy Rating: 3

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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

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 Spreadsheet Link

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

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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