Baxter Bootleg Fireworks Review

Name: Baxter Bootleg Fireworks
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 9%
IBUs: 100 (per Eventbrite flyer)

Guess what everyone? It's beer mail time! You may recall last year that I reviewed a few beers from Connecticut that I got as part of a Beer Secret Santa gift exchange. Well I did the same thing this holiday season and I got some more beers from the east coast, but this time around, I got them from states other than Connecticut.

The first beer I will be looking at is from Baxter Brewing, based out of Lewiston, Maine. I got their Bootleg Fireworks, which is an Imperial IPA and it's brewed with 7 different hops. Why the name? Not quite sure but I do know fireworks (the fun kind like bottle rockets and such) are legal in Maine.

Appearance - Moderately hazy dark yellow color with a light amount of visible carbonation. The head is nice and foamy but there really isn't much in terms of lacing.

Aroma - Strong citrus hops upfront with some mango, apricot & tangerine notes. I'm also getting some light grapefruit sweetness along with some orange peel. There's some pale maltiness towards the middle & back along with some light clove notes in here as well.

Taste - Contrary to what I got in the nose, the flavor starts out pretty bitter. Strong bitter piney hops, followed by some tangerine, mango and orange sweetness towards the middle, along with some pale and toffee malts. Back end of the flavor opens up to some apricot notes, but this is also where those bitter hops start to reemerge from their proverbial slumber. Aftertaste is mainly bitter hops along with some very light orange peel sweetness.

There's quite a bit going on here, to say the least; Most of it being good. The hops are utilized properly & there's something for every IPA lover in this beer. It's a great Imperial IPA and worth checking out should you happen to stumble across it.

Baxter Bootleg Fireworks - 9/10

Oskar Blues Pinner Review

Name: Oskar Blues Pinner
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 4.9%
IBUs: 35

On to the other beer from Oskar Blues with their Pinner IPA, which is a session IPA. Aside from being called a Throwback IPA (which I'm not sure how the terminology applies to the beer), this is a beer that was released last year as the newest addition to their year-round line up and believe it or not, I've seen this beer more often in stores than their regular IPA. I'm not sure if it sells more than the regular IPA or I just haven't been paying attention.

Appearance - Clear bright yellow color with a moderate amount of visible carbonation. The head starts out foamy but takes on a very thin filmy appearance with some good retention. The lacing is very sparse and what's left is mostly soapy.

Aroma - Citrus hops and mango notes on the front of the nose with some apricot sweetness. I'm picking up on some light pale maltiness with a hint of toffee.

Taste - Mango and citrus hop sweetness followed by some light pale malts. Middle of the palate is where I'm starting to get some sweet apricot notes and more moderate pale maltiness, while the back end of the palate is pretty much dry save for some light bitter hops. Aftertaste is also very dry, with no flavors to speak of that linger around.

Like most session beers, this one starts out with a lot of flavor on the front of the palate, but it all vanishes once you get to the end. With that said, what flavor is in here is very vibrant and probably the best I've seen from a session IPA so far. Hell, I'd even go as far to prefer this over some "regular" IPAs that I've had in recent memory.

In short, if you've never been a fan of session beers, I'd recommend giving this one a try as I think you will be pleasently surprised. As for me, I can't say that I had very high expectations of this beer going into it, which I think made this beer for me all the more enjoyable.

Oskar Blues Pinner - 8.5/10

Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils Review

Name: Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils
Style: Pilsner
ABV: 5.3%
IBUs: 35

Yeah so..............I'm a little late to the party on this beer because it's been available in our market for quite a while. I decided that after having the Death by Coconut that I might as well start to get some other beers from Oskar Blues out of the way.

Thankfully as luck would have it, I was able to find a variety of their beers, but I realized that upon reviewing my blog that I about half of the beers I got I had already reviewed. Oh well, life goes on. For this review, I have their Mama's Little Yella Pils, which is described by the brewery as a Czech style Pilsner.

Appearance - Fairly clear bright yellow color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head is nice and foamy with some great retention, but the lacing, on the other hand, is rather soapy but still abundant nonetheless

Aroma - Pilsner & pale maltiness with some mild grassiness. I'm also picking up on some light floral hops and some flaked corn notes.

Taste - Pale and pilsner malts backed up by some mild floral hops. Towards the middle, I'm getting more of those pale malts with some light grassy notes, while on the back end of the palate is fairly light save for some light barley notes. The aftertaste is very dry, save for some mild pale maltiness.

Flavor is nothing really to mull over, given that Pilsners are supposed to be that way. With that said, it's nice, refreshing and easy to drink. It's one of those beers you'd drink if you're in the mood for something when you don't want to think about anything except having a good beer. In short, it's worth checking out and it's definitely one of the better pilsners available out there.

Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils - 8.5/10

Rush River Scenic Pale Ale Review

Name: Rush River Scenic Pale Ale
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5%
IBUs: 25

It's been a long while since I reviewed anything from Rush River, about two years according to my estimate with the last review being of their Minion IPA. Today's beer is, to my knowledge, the newest offering from Rush River with their Scenic Pale Ale.

I remember seeing this on draft at a few bars before I saw this available in the form of a bottle but I never felt tempted to try it out. On top of that, I saw listings for this beer in kegs at a couple liquor stores going for more than $100, which is a bit too much for me to shell out in order to try this beer. Luckily, it's now available in bottles so the need for seeking this out on draft again is now gone.

Appearance - Hazy amber color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head starts out foamy but settles for thin filmy look, while the lacing left behind is nice and abundant.

Aroma - Floral hops and yeasts, followed by some pale malt and toffee sweetness. Not much else but it smells pretty vibrant so far.

Taste - Floral and citrus hops start things out, while the middle opens up to some yeasts and light orange peel notes. The back end of the flavor is more yeastiness with a mix of floral and bitter hops, the latter of which lingers for a bit in the aftertaste.

Scenic is a standard run-of-the-mill pale ale that, while doing nothing new, still manages to be a decent beer. If you're a fan of pale ales, it's pretty safe to assume that you will enjoy this. Plus the asking price won't hurt your wallet too much. If you haven't had this yet, I'd say it's worth checking out.

Rush River Scenic Pale Ale - 8/10

Barley John's Wild Brunette Review

Name: Barley John's Wild Brunette
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 7%
IBUs: 50

This post marks the second time that Barley John's has graced their presence on this blog. The first time I had anything from them was back in 2014 (I can't say last year anymore) when I visited them during Minnesota Craft Beer Week. Since that time, they have opened up a brewery in New Richmond, WI as Minnesota State Law currently, at the time of writing, doesn't allow for brewpubs to distribute to stores.

Thankfully, the brewpub in which Barley John's is based out of in New Brighton, MN is still open so people are still able to have a beer where it all started. Which brings us to Wild Brunette, a recipe which, according to what I was told, was from the original brewpub that is made with wild rice. It's been a while since I've had a brown ale, so let's break that trend, shall we?

Appearance - Clear dark brown color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head itself takes on a light khaki color and the amount of lacing left behind is quite abundant.

Aroma - Chocolate malts with some roasted barley. I'm also getting some moderate floral hoppiness and a good amount of wild rice. I've had wild rice maybe a handful of times in my life but the aroma is unmistakeable if you're familiar with the food itself.

Taste - Chocolate malts and moderate floral hoppiness, followed by some light roastiness and a very pronounced wild rice flavor in the middle. Back end of the palate is made up of some cashew nut notes, chocolate sweetness and some more wild rice notes.

To say I was a bit skeptical about the inclusion of wild rice in this beer would've been an understatement, thanks in part to the lack of familiarity with Barley John's as opposed to say.....Fitger's. With that said, I enjoyed this beer a great deal enough to where I can say that this is one of the best brown ales I've had in a long time. For sure worth checking out if you so happen to see it.

Barley John's Wild Brunette - 9/10

Evil Twin Molotov Lite Review

Name: Evil Twin Molotov Light
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.5%
IBUs: N/A

Hey.....remember when I reviewed Molotov Cocktail from Evil Twin Brewing about a year and a half ago, which I thought (and still think) it's somewhat of a boozy mess? During that time, I found out that Evil Twin released two variations of this beer; One called Molotov Cocktail Heavy and, the beer which I have today, Molotov Light, which is still an Imperial IPA but a far cry from the original in terms of alcohol content.. Plus since I have one more Evil Twin beer in the fridge, I may as well get it out of the way for consistency sake.

What can be said about this beer? Well, aside from what I've written, the blue hued can and usage of the word "Lite" leads me to believe that this is more than likely a shot at Bud Light. Even the description of the beer is sort of a tongue-in-cheek shot at Bud Light:

Back in the days, only uncomplicated and tasteless beers existed and people started feeling bored before happy hour was up. Molotov Lite is a understated tour de force in rebellious hoppiness, it’s a subtle spark for action and yet by far one of the most anti-authoritative beers ever made by Evil Twin Brewing.

Speaking of Bud Light, remember last month when they announced a label redesign for all their cans? Yesterday I was browsing the internet when I came across a new design for Bud Light's 16 oz. cans and.................well just see for yourself.....

Photo Courtesy of MyBeerBuzz.com

Gee I wonder where Bud Light got the idea for that label from?

I wonder, I wonder.....

Appearance - Fairly hazy dark yellow color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. It possesses a nice and foamy head that is white in color and leaves a good amount of lacing behind to boot.

Aroma - Citrus & Piney hoppiness with some toffee maltiness, along with some very potent buttery biscuit notes and grapefruit rinds. For an Imperial IPA, the buttery aspect is very strong for what it is. I can easily say I wasn't expecting this at all.

Taste - Bitter hops and mild buttery biscuits on the front of the palate, with the middle opening up to some toffee and caramelized maltiness. The back end of the flavor finishes things off with some more buttery biscuits, mild citrus hoppiness with a very small amount of booziness.

I was expecting this to be a "smaller" version of the original Molotov Cocktail, but to my surprise, it's different enough in terms of flavor where I feel it's able to stand on its own two feet. In fact, I can safely say that this is the superior Molotov Cocktail and the fact it lacks the punch of the original actually helps it out rather than hurting it.

With that said, the buttery aspect of the flavor will be off putting to some people and the hops don't quite meld together like they could. As for me, I think this is a decent beer and the asking price for it is not terrible. Unlike the original Molotov Cocktail, I'm more likely to drink this again but only if it were offered to me for free

Evil Twin Molotov Lite - 7/10

Evil Twin Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room Review

Name: Evil Twin Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10%
IBUs: N/A

Happy New Year to all my readers out there. From Atlanta, GA to New Hartford, CT; From Dallas, TX to Tower, MN. I hope you all had a great time and that you all didn't do something you will probably regret later on in life. In any case, let's get around to a beer that I was going to originally review yesterday but due to time constraints on my end, I was unable to get near a computer yesterday.

I've reviewed quite a few beers from Evil Twin Brewing before, and they've ranged from being pretty good to being mediocre in terms of quality. They're one of those breweries that are all over the place when it comes to the quality of their beer yet I find myself drawn to them each time they release something new. Why this is I cannot say, but what I can say is that this one certainly grabbed my attention just with the name.

I give to you Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room. Yeah, how's that for a beer name? It's almost like the brewer was playing a Cards Against Humanity-esque game and this was one of the answers that was selected as a winner. Or maybe something went down in a Hotel Room in NYC and it's become somewhat of an inside joke. Or.....you know what, let's just get to the beer.

Appearance - Pitch black with a thin dark brown head and light visible carbonation. Nothing in terms of lacing though.

Aroma - Chocolate malts followed by some mild bitter hoppiness. I'm also getting some coffee grounds and roasted barley.

Taste - Chocolate malts and bitter hoppiness, once again. These are followed by some roasted barley and light booziness on the back end of the palate along with a mild encompassing smokiness.

It's an Imperial Stout that isn't unlike any others I've had before this and there's nothing I'd consider to be awe-inspiring about it. Also given the fact there are cheaper Imperial Stouts out there that are more vibrant and diverse in terms of flavor (and in 6-packs), it makes this beer a lot harder to recommend. My advice to you would be buy a single bottle of this instead of buying a full 4-pack of this, because while it's not a terrible beer, the flavor doesn't match up with the asking price.

Evil Twin Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room - 6.5/10