Milwaukee Brewing Louie's Resurrection Review

Name: Milwaukee Brewing Louie's Resurrection
Style: Amber Ale
ABV: 10.2%

So I've decided to take a break from reviewing my Connecticut beers because I recently came across a beer that I have been meaning to get my hands on for a while. Last month I reviewed Louie's Demise from Milwaukee Brewing Company. In that review, I talked about Louie's Resurrection and my desire to one day give it a proper review. Well that opportunity came this weekend when I was making one of my visits to Keyport's Growler Station and Louie's Resurrection just so happened to be on that list.

Now a tidbit about Resurrection. For starters, it's a stronger version of Louie's Demise, which is their flagship Amber Ale. On top of that, it's aged for a couple months in bourbon barrels. When I had it in late 2013, it was the first "Imperial" Amber Ale that I had. To this day, it's the only one I've had. Needless to say, I'm quite excited to finally give this beer a proper review.

Clear dark red color with some very light visible carbonation. The head takes on a fairly foamy khaki colored appearance but with some sparse and soapy lacing.

Aroma starts out with some fairly prominent oak and vanilla notes. I'm also picking up on some roasted barley, a bit of chocolate maltiness, and even some mild bitter hops.

Flavor I'm getting some vanilla sweetness mixed with some oak, along with some chocolate and toffee malts, more bitter hoppiness and even a hint of cinnamon. Aftertaste is mildly dry with just a hint of vanilla.

This is, hands down, the best beer I've had from Milwaukee Brewing yet. The flavor is vibrant & robust and you will want to come back for more. Just be sure that if you do go back for more, that you don't plan on going anywhere because this is a deceptively strong beer.

Milwaukee Brewing Louie's Resurrection - 9.5/10

Broad Brook Hopstillo Review

Name: Broad Brook Hopstillo
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 6.8%

Next up on my Connecticut Beer package is Hopstillo from Broad Brook Brewing. According to the brewery's website, it is a West-Coast inspired IPA. As for the name "Hopstillo", I haven't found what kind of a play on words it is, so it's probably just a made up word. I also failed to get a photo of the beer for this review so I'll just have make due with the image above.

Hopstillo pours a mildly hazy orange color with some sparse carbonation. The head take on a foamy appearance and some soapy lacing.

In the nose, it starts off with some strong citrus hops & mango sweetness. Backing that up is an equally strong caramel malt base. I'm also getting some buttery biscuit notes and just a hint of yeastiness.

The flavor, much like the aroma, is fairly citra hop forward with some grapefruit notes. The caramel malts base is just as strong on the back end of the palate. The aftertaste is mainly some bitter hops and some light yeastiness.

Hopstillo is definitely one of the better West Coast-inspired IPAs that I've had. Sure it's not as vibrant or robust in the flavor department as other actual West Coast IPAs I've had before but this is still an excellent beer that is worth checking out.

Broad Brook Hopstillo - 8.75/10

New England Elm City Lager Review

Name: New England Elm City Lager
Style: Pilsner
ABV: 5%

Next up in my Connecticut beer mail package is from New England Brewing Company called Elm City Lager. Oddly enough, the can looks like it's called Elm City Pilsner but the website calls the it "Elm City Lager", which makes sense since a pilsner is technically a lager.

Elm City pours a clear yellow color with some moderate visible carbonation. The head is white and foamy and the lacing is sparse but visible nonetheless

The aroma starts out with some pale & pilsner malts and mild citrus hops in the front. This is followed by a bit of floral hoppiness and some pilsner-grassiness.

The taste is fairly Citrus and floral hops forward by some pale & pils malts and ends with a slightly bitter hop aftertaste.

It's hoppier than usual for a Pilsner but it works out quite well! It's flavorful, crisp, easy to drink and I could see myself drinking this on a regular basis. I would highly recommend that anyone on the East Coast check this if it's available in their area.

New England Elm City Lager - 8.5/10

Two Roads Road 2 Ruin Review

Name: Two Roads Road 2 Ruin
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8%

I recently received a beer mail for a beer Secret Santa, which in this case, was someone from Connecticut. So the next few reviews, I'll be looking at some beers from various from the said state. I'm not too familiar with the craft brewing scene in Connecticut, which by that, I mean not at all.

The first beer I'm taking a look at is from a brewery called Two Roads Brewing Co. based out of Stratford, CT. This is an Imperial IPA that is aptly named Road 2 Ruin. With an ABV 8.0%, I consider it to be on the lower end of the Imperial IPA Spectrum.

Road 2 Ruin hazy orange color with some mild visible carbonation. The head takes on a thin white foamy appearance and the lacing is more on the sparse side.

In the nose, I'm getting some strong mango and tangerine sweetness, followed by some apricot and grapefruit notes with some piney hops and toffee maltiness in the back. I can tell by the nose there is already a lot going on in here

Flavor-wise it's almost the other way around. I'm getting some strong grapefruit & piney hop notes, followed by some apricot & mango sweetness before finishing with a solid caramel maltiness. The aftertaste, however, catches you off-guard with a rather strong bitter hoppiness.

To all seasoned Imperial IPA fans out there: don't let the ABV fool you, this is a very complex and robust tasting beer. Seeing as how this is my first beer from Two Roads, I would eagerly try out their other offerings should I be given the opportunity. For the time being, I am content with the fact knowing that I had an absolutely wonderful Imperial IPA.

Two Roads Road 2 Ruin - 9.5/10

Fargo Brewing Stone's Throw Review

Name: Fargo Brewing Stone's Throw
Style: Scottish Ale
ABV: 4.5%

It's been a few months since I've reviewed anything from Fargo Brewing, a brewery that opened its doors recently in Fargo, ND. For this review, I have their Stone's Throw Scottish Ale. With an ABV of 4.5%, this puts this smack dab in the middle of Session Ale territory.

Stone's Throw pours a clear dark brown color with no visible carbonation. The head is takes on a thin khaki colored appearance and some mild lacing.

The nose starts out with a fairly strong buttery biscuit scent, caramel & toffee maltiness,  light yeasts and some light roastiness. For a Scottish Ale, it has a bright sweet characteristic.

The flavor has a pronounced roasty flavor along with some chocolate maltiness, and a bit of mild bitter hoppiness at the end. The aftertaste consists of some mild bitter hoppiness and light chocolate maltiness.

For what it is, this is actually pretty good. The flavor profile is very robust and is a textbook example of how to do a session ale right. If you so happen to stumble upon this, be sure to check this out!

Fargo Brewing Stone's Throw - 8.5/10

Old Milwaukee Review

Name: Old Milwaukee
Style: American Adjunct Lager
ABV: 4.6%

Old Milwaukee is one of the first beer brands that I ever remember seeing. Growing up we would visit Northwest Minnesota, which is where my family is originally from. During the many times we visited from Minneapolis, we would often go to the bars and VFWs in the area. It was the beer of choice for the patrons of the people who were there, which consisted mainly of old war veterans and the farmers. In fact, I recall seeing a couple of the bar patrons wearing an Old Milwaukee Racing Jacket.

Nowadays, Old Milwaukee is now contract brewed by Pabst Brewing. Will Ferrell also made some pretty funny commercials, which you can view here. Now I know nothing about the target market of Old Milwaukee, but based on the can design, it looks like a beer that my grandpa would've had back in the day. In fact, even the can design hasn't changed too much. For comparison, here's an old can of Old Milwaukee...

Photo courtesy of Bill's Beer Cans

Old Milwaukee pours a pale yellow color with a surprisingly low amount of visible carbonation. The head starts out foamy before retaining a thin foamy appearance and there is no lacing at all.

The nose has starts out with some pale malts, cereal grains, very faint hops and some very light booziness.

The flavor is very light. What I am picking up on is some cereal grains, a bit of pale malts, and some booziness. With all of that said, the flavors mentioned above are a bit stronger when you drink it directly from the can.....and I think it's meant to be done as such.

When you consider the low price (I paid $5 for a 6-pack,) this stuff is surprisingly drinkable. Make no mistake, this is by no means a great beer and if there's something better available, it would be in your best interest to go with the latter choice. However, if you're on a budget and need some beer to tide you over, then this wouldn't be a terrible choice.

Old Milwaukee - 4/10

Zip Line New Zealand IPA Review

Name: Zipline New Zealand IPA
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 6.8%

Happy New Year to all of my readers, I hope you all had fun and stayed safe etc, etc. Let's kick off 2015 with a review! A couple weeks ago when I was visiting family, I was given a bottle of beer from my stepdad who, at the insistence of his friend whose son goes to college in Nebraska, suggested I give this a review.

So tonight I have a New Zealand IPA from Zipline Brewing based out of Lincoln, NE. Many of you already know that a recent trend in craft brewing is breweries taking hops from New Zealand and using them in their beers. Usually these said beers have some name like Southern Hemisphere or Down Under. Zipline is a bit more direct with the name by just calling it New Zealand IPA.

I also want to apologize for the lack of photo, I swore I took a photo of it but after search for nearly an hour, my efforts have turned up nothing

New Zealand IPA pours a hazy orange color with some mild visible carbonation. The head is on thinner side but foamy nonetheless and the lacing is actually pretty good.

Aroma has some citrus hops with a bit of kiwi sweetness. I'm also getting some caramel maltiness with some floral hoppiness as well.

Taste takes on some moderate citrus hoppiness with some pronounced kiwi sweetness, much like the nose. The caramel maltiness is also pretty solid and I'm also picking on some hop bitterness in the back of the palate.

NZ IPA is a very nicely done IPA. It's got a great taste and easy drinkability. Here's hoping that I can get my hands from more stuff from Zipline in the near future!

New Zealand NZ IPA - 8.5/10