Brooklyn Monster Ale Review

**Update they have since decided to discontinue making Monster**

I've gotten into the habit of aging certain beers which I have acquired. Call it an experiment if you want, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out.

Tonight I've decided to finally crack open a Barleywine that I've been saving for the past 3 months by letting it age. This of course is none other than the Brooklyn Monster Ale, a Seasonal Barleywine named after the cat which resided at the brewery until he died of kidney failure last year. Thankfully they've decided to keep making this beer in honor of Monster

Before I start, I will admit that I had a bottle of this last year and found it to be quite good, so I've decided to review this again; And it gives me an excuse to buy it all over again, not that I really needed one to begin with.

To start, it's got a nice hazy ruby color with just a couple of bubbles climbing up the sides. The head is fairly thin and disappears into a film immediately after the pour. It finishes clean so there's no real lacing along the sides.

Nose has a strong caramelized malt sweetness and potent citrus hop profile. It's also got a pretty strong yeasty scent too.

The flavor consists of sweet caramelized malts, strong citrus hops, and yeasts with just a hint of toffee. Each flavor is surprisingly robust and the alcohol is very well hidden.

The overall palate is creamy and light, making it very easy to drink.......almost too easy. But hey, I'd rather have it be easy to drink as opposed to impossible.

Monster Ale is a very accessible Barley-wine style ale, thanks to it's easy drinkability and awesome flavor. If you're not a fan of the style then this isn't going to change your mind. If you're a Barleywine fanatic, like myself, you'll love it!

Brooklyn Monster Ale - 9/10

Sam Adams Alpine Springs Review

Name: Sam Adams Alpine Spring
Style: Zwickelbier
ABV: 5.5%

I love Sampler Packs; It helps me, being the indecisive individual I am, make a choice as far as what to get whenever I make a visit to my local liquor store. This past weekend, I was grabbing a bomber when I noticed the Sam Adams Spring Sampler Pack was on-sale. Since Spring is trying to claw it's way into our great state, I took it upon myself to buy it. Most sampler packs have 4 different types of beer, but oh no, this one has six!

Yes, despite the size of Samuel Adams Brewery, I still believe they produce quality beers and I find their limited releases to be very good as well. So I will be reviewing each beer in the sampler pack this week. For my first choice, I'm going with Alpine Spring.

Alpine Spring is a Keller/Zwickel Bier style, which from my research is a fairly rare beer style. Believe it or not, one of the local beers around here used to be a Keller style, which was Surly Hell. Now the description of Surly Hell says it's a Zwickel Style Beer but it's listed as a Munich Helles Lager on the websites.

Alpine Spring pours a cloudy dark orange color. The head retention is decent and leaves behind some lacing. Looking in, you really don't see any activity in terms of carbonation

The smell is a fairly strong aroma of yeast and bread with a slight hop bitterness and a faint malty backbone. Smells like fresh bread; It's simple but pleasant.

The flavor, much like the smell, is primarily yeast, flour and bread. There's a hop bitterness on the back of the palate and the after taste is very yeasty in character. Tastes like....liquid bread.

The palate is light bodied and has a very mild level of carbonation. It's the type of body style that is meant for casual drinking on almost any occasion.

This is a beer that can be justifiable in almost any situation, from watching football to grilling out, from tailgating to picnicking. It's a simple yet tasty beer backed up by some easy drinkability; Definitely worth checking out if you get the chance to buy it.

Sam Adams Alpine Spring - 8/10