Horny Goat Exposed Review

Name: Horny Goat Exposed
Style: Cream Ale
ABV: 4.9%

I recently got a bottle of beer from a co-worker of mine to try out to see if I like it. It's from a company called Horny Goat Brewing but it's owned by a company called Rex Beverage Holdings. From what I have gathered, their primary beers are the Horny Goat Brand but I could be mistaken.

I recall seeing Horny Goat in a few stores while I was in college. A couple years ago when I was still in school, I remember it being on sale at Zipp's Liquor near the back of the store right next to the malt liquor cooler and thought nothing of it.

Now thanks to my Co-worker, I now have the opportunity to try out their Exposed Cream Ale. From what I understand, alot of beer made by Horny Goat rely heavily on double entandrés and if you need to look up what that means, you're probably not old enough to read this blog.

Exposed pours a hazy yellow color with a fizzy white head and high amount of visible carbonation. Since there's no lacing, it has a very clean finish.

The nose starts things off with some pale malts and grassy notes.In the back are barley and cereal grains with a cardboard like quality.

Flavor has a maltier grassy taste but is otherwise the same as the nose with a less pronounced cardboard flavor.

Body is light and moderately carbonationed, and it comes across as rather crisp and refreshing.

If you were to take Spotted Cow and mix it with a Budweiser, this would be pretty close to that. It's not as bad as it could've been, but I wouldn't buy this. The good thing about this? I got this for free.

Horny Goat Exposed - 5/10

Third Street Brewhouse Rise to the Top Review

Third Street Brewhouse was formed recently by the owners of Cold Spring Brewing in response to the negative reception their beers had gotten, thanks in part to the outdated equipment they had been using. Well $12 Million was invested to create a brand new brewery and they are now found throughout Minnesota.

Rise to the Top is a Cream Ale with 4.1% ABV. Due to the positive response that Third Street Brewhouse has gotten, many fans of this beer have drawn comparisons to New Glarus' Spotted Cow; Which also happens to be a Cream Ale. Tonight, I'm gonna see if it's actually true.

To start, it pours a hazy yellow color with a soapy white head. Not really much in terms of lacing so it finishes pretty clean.

The nose consists mainly of pale malts, flaked corn, yeasts and barley. Doesn't smell quite as sweet as Spotted Cow but you can see where there are similarities. The flavor is yeasts, pale malts, flaked corn, and barley. Not as sweet as Spotted Cow and a bit grassy in it's taste but it's still quite drinkable.

The body is light in weight and the carbonation is quite mild. Like Spotted Cow, this is very easy to drink.

Is it as good as Spotted Cow? Not Quite. Does it have some things in common with Spotted Cow? Yes

It's not quite as sweet and it's a bit grassy in it's overall flavor, but it's still very drinkable and quite good. I had a 6-pack of this on the 4th of July so it makes for a decent session beer and it's good for a hot day.

Third Street Brewhouse Rise to the Top - 7.5/10

Capital Hop Cream Review

Name: Capital Hop Cream
Style: Cream Ale
ABV: 5.3%

I love hoppy beers, especially when it's done in ways that I least expect it. Last month in my review of Sam Adams Double Agent IPL, I mentioned that IPL reminded me of Capital Hop Cream from Capitol Brewing and mentioned that I would be doing a review of it. Well, here it is.

The last time I had this was back in December at the 7 West Taphouse in Duluth, MN (Which is my personal favorite non-brewpub watering hole in Duluth, check it out if you are ever in the area!). I don't remember 100% what it tasted like aside from having a higher-than-normal hop volume. That's because me and my friends were doing our own holiday pub tour and I was too focused on what I was planning for New Years. The only thing I remember what it was a hoppy Blonde Ale. Well it's 5 months later, and I'm ready to give this an honest appraisal.

Hop Cream pours a hazy orange color with a soapy head with a good amount of carbonation activity present. The nose has some mild piney hop notes, yeasts and barley. The hoppiness is there and is more noticeable considering this is a Blonde/Cream Ale. The flavor is also fairly consistant with the nose with stronger-than-normal but still fairly mild piney hop notes, yeasts and barley; Leaving it with a bitter hop aftertaste. The body is pretty heavy and the carbonation is moderate so it's kind of hard to say this is refreshing.

For some reason, I remember this being a lot more hoppier and having a more robust flavor overall. The flavor is balanced but very mild; hop-wise it doesn't really cut it and the body could also use a bit of work as well. At the same there is also nothing really bad about Hop Cream, but those expecting a decent hop profile will be let down by this.

Capital Hop Cream - 7/10

New Glarus Spotted Cow Review

This past weekend, I was in Duluth visiting my dad for the weekend. For those of you who aren't familiar with the craft beer scene in Minnesota, Duluth has been exploding with business when it comes to breweries and craft beer. I even managed to pick up a growler this weekend from a local brewery which I will be reviewing later this week.

Duluth also happens to be right across the bridge from Superior, Wisconsin. I mentioned in a previous review that I love New Glarus Brewing, so this past weekend my dad saved me the hassle of going over to Superior and picked up some New Glarus Spotted Cow for me. When it comes to Wisconsin Craft Beer, this is probably the first thing that pops into the head of many beer lovers. You can pretty much find it in every nook-and-cranny in the State of Wisconsin. This shouldn't come as a surprise seeing as how it was ranked the 17th Largest Craft Brewery in America but they only distribute in Wisconsin which is even reflected in the company's motto: "Drink Indigenous."

Where to begin? Well for starters, It's more popular on-tap in Wisconsin than Miller Lite is. On the label is an image of a cow doing a bunny hop over the state of Wisconsin with a giant star marking the location of New Glarus. If Wisconsin were a country, it would have two national animals: The Badger and The Cow.

Spotted Cow is the beer that proudy screams "Wisconsin, Hell Yeah!" It's a Cream Ale with a 4.8% ABV; Though I've also seen it at 5.1% ABV. For this review I also poured into my Tyranena Brewing glass, another awesome Wisconsin brewing company.

It pours a mildly hazy moderately bright yellow color. The head starts out fluffy but becomes fizzy about a couple minutes after the pour and the carbonation activity is fairly mild.

The nose has some yeast and sweet malt notes. There's also a hint of corn in here, but unlike adjunct lagers which use it in place of other ingredients, this one is added in to the existing brew. The result is a pleasantly sweetened ale with a nice natural scent.

The flavor isn't too much different from the smell. It's got the yeasts, barley, malts, and corn present in the nose. Again the corn fits very well into the overall flavor, giving it a good sweet flavor because, again, it's added in to the flavor and not switched out.

It goes without saying that this is a pretty easy drinker. The body and carbonation are very light and it goes down very smooth. It's classified as a cream ale and it's very easy to see why.

In terms of Cream Ales, this one takes the cake. As a beer itself, the flavor isn't revolutionary by any means, but you really cannot go wrong with Spotted Cow at all; In fact the only expectations you should have before drinking this beer is that you'll enjoy it. It's a great way to get your friends into craft beer and it's a beer perfect for any occasion. Now if only they'd distribute to Minnesota.....

New Glarus Spotted Cow - 8/10