Tin Whiskers Ampere Amber Review

Name: Tin Whiskers Ampere Ale
Style: Amber Ale
ABV: 5.3%

It's always exciting to try out beers from a new brewery. Which is why I'm psyched to try out my first beer from Tin Whiskers Brewing Company. The beer I've decided to try out is their Ampere Amber, which you may have guessed, is an Amber Ale. Ampere is a unit to measure electric currents, which makes sense when you consider that the founders of Tin Whiskers are electrical engineers by trade.

Interestingly enough, they talk about how there is some mintiness in both the aroma and flavor, something which I have never seen in an Amber Ale before.

Ampere Amber pours a dark yet fairly clear amber color with mild carbonation. The head is quite foamy with some good lacing.

The aroma starts out some surprisingly strong chocolate malts followed by some floral hops, mild roastiness and, like the bottle says, a hint of mint.

As for the taste, it starts out with some floral and light citra-hoppiness & yeasts before giving away to a chocolate maltiness, roasted barley, and some light mintiness which shows up on the back end of the palate. There's also a mild encompassing bitterness in the overall flavor as well and shows up mostly in the aftertaste along with the mintiness

Another great Amber Ale in less than a week? I must be on a roll here! In all seriousness, Ampere is a very well put together Amber Ale with a fairly complex taste. Plus it's very reasonably priced as I paid just around $5 for this bomber. After having this, I can't wait to see what else this brewery can do!

Tin Whiskers Ampere Ale - 9/10

Summit Herkulean Woods Review

Name: Summit Herkulean Woods
Style: California Common
ABV: 8.2% 

Happy Birthday to me! Today I celebrate another year of being alive. To mark this momentous occasion, I've decided to have a beer!

That's right, it's time to look at one of newest releases in Summit Brewing's Unchained Series. This time around it's Herkulean Woods, an Imperial California Common Lager that is brewed with Maple Syrup and Spruce Tips. I have mixed emotions about trying this out; On one hand, I have never had a bad beer in the Unchained Series (let alone from Summit). On the flipside, the very first Imperial California Common I had did not exactly go over well with me so I'm mildly apprehensive as to how this will be.

Herkulean Woods pours a very clear copper color with a foamy khaki colored head. There's nothing here in terms of carbonation save for a couple of bubbles and the lacing retention is solid.

In the nose, I'm picking up on some lager yeasts with some mildly roasty malts. To go along with that is some mild maple sweetness, mild floral hoppiness and some very faint spruce notes.

The flavor is fairly lager yeast forward with the maple syrup playing a much more active role in the center of the palate. The spruce notes and roasted malts come into play on the back end of the flavor and helps finish it off appropriately. There's also a mild hoppiness that encompasses the flavor and gives it a nice dimension.

The palate possesses a moderately weighted body but light carbonation. Despite the presence of maple syrup, I'm surprised to see there is no thickness in here. Regardless, this is pretty easy to drink.

For a while, I didn't think that an Imperial California Common could work, but Summit managed to pull it off quite well. While I think the maple aspect was just right, I think it could've used a little more spruce in the taste but it's a minor gripe in the grand scheme of things. Be sure to grab this up before it's gone forever because a Fresh Hop IPA from them is coming!

Summit Herkulean Woods - 8.5/10

Minnesota Craft Beer Week 2014 - Day 2 (A personal account)

On the second day, it started out as a fairly uneventful day. In the morning I was at my fiance's house having some breakfast whilst her family catching up on the latest episode of India's Got Talent via online streaming on the living room TV. Let me tell you, if the American version was just as entertaining as the one I viewed that morning, I would probably be a regular viewer....maybe.

After me and my fiance left her house, we swung by Elevated Beer Wine & Spirits to take advantage of the discounted Minnesota Craft Beer promotion they were running in honor of Minnesota Craft Beer Week. When we were finished there, we deliberated as to where we would go first decided we would make our way to Great Waters Brewing Company located in downtown St. Paul. Like Dangerous Man the day before, this was my first time at the brewery.

For my beer of choice, I settled for the St. Walpurgis Night Maibock while my fiance had the Chipotle Pale which she found to be quite good.

Great Waters St. Walpurgis Night Maibock - Fairly light bodied with some light honey and pale malt flavors. The floral hop flavor is minor but it does help balance out the flavor profile a little bit.

Sadly that was the only beer I had there and in retrospect, I felt that I should've done a flight as they had quite a few selections on tap there. After finishing up there, my little brother messaged me to let me know that he was free to celebrate his 21st (belated) birthday in St. Louis Park. Since I was going to be in that area, our next stop was The Four Firkins to sample a pin of Surly Blakkr with Simcoe & Centennial hops.

Surly Blakkr w/ Simcoe & Centennial Hops - While I thought the original had a very prominent citrus hop & fruity characteristic even by Black IPA standards, they are only further enhanced by the Simcoe & Centennial Hops. Depending on how you like your beers, you'll either love it or hate it. Personally, I thought it was quite delicious.

While we were at the The Firkins, Jason Alvey, the store owner, was sampling a bottle of Or De Belgique Verte, the newest release from the Duluth-based Blacklist Brewing. The reception amongst the crowd was very positive and for good reason; It's a very flavorful Belgian-style ale and it's also local!

After finishing up at The Four Firkins, we met up with my little brother at Bunny's Bar & Restaurant a few blocks over to celebrate his 21st birthday. When I was looking over the tap selection, I noticed their beer of the month was an offering from Enki Brewing, whom I've had just a couple of beers from before. The beer on tap was Ceili, an Irish Red Ale. It had been a while since I've had an Irish Red Ale so I ordered up a pint for myself.

Enki Brewing Ceili - A light bodied beer with some light floral hops, toasty barley, pale & munich malts with a lightly hopped aftertaste.

Overall it was a good day but it felt a bit underwhelming to me because I felt I could've tried more. Still it was awesome to try out some new beers and I knew the next day would be even better. Stay tuned for my next post as I think you will be in for a treat!


Cheers!

Nick

Summit Frost Line Rye Review

Name: Summit Frost Line Rye
Style: Rye Beer
ABV: 5.8%

Even though the cold unforgiving months of winter are (mostly) behind us, I've been meaning to review the latest seasonal addition to the Summit Brewing lineup. Announced earlier this year, Frost Line Rye is Summit's newest winter seasonal beer, which is a rye beer; Not too surprising since it's given away in the name.

I do think, however, that it's an interesting style of beer to go along with since I consider rye beers as whole to be somewhat of a niché style of beer. However, let's take a look before I decide to pass judgement.

Frost Line Rye pours a dark red color with a thin khaki colored head. The visible carbonation is relatively mild and the lacing left behind is actually quite good

The aroma has a fairly solid spicy rye and roasted barley profile upfront. Backing that up are some yeasty notes and some surprisingly strong citrus hops which linger on in the nose throughout.

Initially the taste comes off as a bit too heavily focused on the rye profile. However, if you let it warm up just a bit, you're going to find that the citrus hops, yeasts, spiciness and roasted barley flavors really start to shine through and it really gives some much needed balance to the overall flavor; Particularly the citra-hop profile.

The palate is very light bodied and the carbonation comes off as fairly moderate. Depending on what temperature you have the beer, it can be a blessing or a curse.

At first, I found this to be a very imbalanced beer due to the colder temperature. However if you let it warm up for a little bit, you're going to find yourself with a surprisingly well-balanced and flavorful ale. Since this is a rye beer, not everyone is going to fall in love with this, but for what it is, I found this to be quite enjoyable.

Summit Frost Line Rye - 8.5/10

Summit True Brit IPA Review

Name: Summit True Brit IPA
Style: English IPA
ABV: 6.4%

Tonight I'm going to review what I consider to be a timeless classic from Summit Brewing's line-up: their True Brit IPA, an English Style IPA as you may have guessed from the name. Now it wasn't always called "True Brit"; In fact, prior to their image and label overhaul, it was simply called Summit India Pale Ale.

Then much like the rest of the beers in Summit's lineup, each one received a facelift, a couple got a name change, and one beer (Horizon Red) even received a different recipe change. However, True Brit just changed in it's name only.

True Brit pours a clear orange color with a foamy head that eventually becomes filmy while still maintaining retention. The visible carbonation is pretty mild carbonation and the lacing left behind is quite good.

In the nose, I'm picking up on some fairly strong caramel malts which are back up by citrus hops, grapefruit notes, and some light toffee notes.

Flavor-wise, it’s very caramel malt forward, which is to be expected out of an English IPA. Luckily the citrus & piney hops help bring balance to the overall flavor. The palate is pretty light overall and the carbonation is also very mild. It's a pretty easy easy-to-drink IPA overall.

True Brit is a good example as to how to do an English IPA correctly. It doesn't do anything exciting necessarily but it tastes great and it's easy to drink and honestly, that's what having a good beer is all about.

Summit True Brit IPA - 8.5/10

Summit Maibock Review

Name: Summit Maibock
Style: Maibock/Helles Bock
ABV: 6.7%

Even though we had about a foot of snowfall yesterday (which has miraculously melted away by now), Spring is very much here....for the most part. So in honor of spring technically here, I've got myself a Summit Brewing Spring Sampler pack for us to look at.

Since I've already reviewed Summit Extra Pale Ale, I've decided I'm going to first take a look at their Maibock beer. Now I'm just going to give you a heads up, I consider this to be my favorite seasonal offering from Summit. It goes without saying that this is my first time actually giving this beer a proper review.

Summit Maibock pours a bright hazy yellow color with a nice, white, soapy head. The lacing left behind on the sides of the glass is pretty good and the visible carbonation teeters between mild and moderate.

The aroma starts things off with some strong pale malts, yeasts, light honey, mild floral hop notes and just a hint of toffee. To me, it smells like spring in the form of a beer.

The flavor,  much like the nose, starts out with some strong sweet malt notes, followed up by some yeasts, light honey, floral hops and a very slight earthiness. The aftertaste is a light but pleasant honey and floral hoppiness.

The palate is quite light in terms of body weight body with mild carbonation. Combined with the flavor, this makes it a very easy-to-drink and refreshing beer.

Every spring, I look forward to having this beer time and time again and for good reason. It's got a great flavor, it smells awesome, and it's extremely refreshing and easy to drink. I wish Summit would make this a year round offering but as the old Rolling Stones song goes: You can't always get what you want. Seriously though, if you haven't had this yet, you owe it to yourself to try it out.

Summit Maibock - 9/10

Summit Rebellion Stout Review

Name: Summit Rebellion Stout
Style: Foreign Stout
ABV: 8.5%

Last year, Summit Brewing announced they were giving their brand and lineup a redesign overhaul. Amongst those changes aside from the label changes was the introduction of the Union Series, a new lineup of beers that features hops, malts and other ingredients that are new to the craft beer industry.

Their first effort in the Union Series was a Belgian Style Session Ale, which I thought was pretty good all things considered. For their newest entry, they have shifted their focus from light to dark and heavy with their Rebellion Stout, which is classified as a Foreign Stout. The most popular Foreign Stout I know of is Guinness Stout and pretty much every beer drinker knows of Guinness. Another thing to point out is that this is Summit's strongest beer to date in terms of ABV, which clocks in at 8.5%.

Rebellion Stout pours a pitch black color with a brown thin filmy head. There is a mild amount of carbonation visible on the edge of the glass and it leaves behind some decent lacing.

I'm getting a strong aroma of chocolate malts mixed in with some hops. On the back of the nose is also some roasted barley, hints of caramel and light coffee.

The flavor is pretty roasty upfront thanks in part to the chocolate barley but I'm also getting caramel notes and a rather strong resin-hoppy taste in here too. The aftertaste is mainly coffee and hints of dark chocolate, so it's a rather roasty stout.

As expected, the body has some considerable weight behind it and also some moderate carbonation as well. Normally this wouldn't be a big sticking point but I can't help but feel the carbonation should be more subdued than it is when you consider the flavor and style. Call me picky but I found this to be a lot smoother on tap than in a bottle.

Despite my criticisms, this is an excellent beer that you should try out especially if you can get it on draft. Even if you get it in a bottle, I would still highly recommend checking this out.

Summit Rebellion Stout - 8.5/10

Summit Biere de Garde Review

Name: Summit Biere de Garde
Style: Biére De Garde
ABV: 7.3%

In my previous Unchained Review for Another IPA, I mentioned that Summit Brewing would be releasing their next Unchained with a fancy new label as part of their redesign campaign which kicked off earlier this year. Well true to their word, they have indeed changed the design of their label to reflect

The latest release in Summit's Unchained Series is a Biere de Garde, a Farmhouse-Style Ale that originates from France; In case the name wasn't already a big enough giveaway as it is. I've only had a couple of Biere de Garde style ales, namely from Flying Dog & Schell's so it'll be interesting to see how this turns out.

Summit Biere de Garde pours an almost black color which becomes a dark crimson red when held up to a light. The head is rather fizzy and fades away fast and the carbonation, while harder to see, is moderate in appearance.

The aroma has some cloves & toffee notes with some Belgian yeasts, caramel and a mild but noticable sweet cherry tartness. Overall a very interesting mixture in the nose.

The flavor is starts out with a toffee and caramel sweetness. This is followed by some floral hops, cherries, Belgian yeasts and cloves. The aftertaste consists of roasted barley & mild cherry tartness. The body is thick and heavy. The mild carbonation is a welcome compliment to the overall flavor so extra points for that.

There's a chance I may be alone in saying this but I think this is the best Unchained offering yet. I really admire the taste, particularly with the cherries and how well it blends in with the Farmhouse-style flavor. There's still a couple of months left until the next Unchained beer comes out so grab this while you still can!

Summit Biere de Garde - 9/10

Summit Winter Ale Review

Name: Summit Winter Ale
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 5.9%

Winter has come to Minnesota and that could mean only one thing: Winter Seasonals! And since we had a terrible blizzard annihilate us this week, what better way to commemorate the arrival of winter than with a Summit Brewing's Winter Ale!

Summit Winter Ale pours a dark clear brown color with a semi-fluffy head, sparse lacing and some light visible carbonation.

The nose starts things off with some spice and caramel malts and in the back are toffee, vanilla and some mild hoppiness. Reminds me a bit of vanilla porter....almost!

The flavor has more of a chocolate taste along with roasted barley, toffee, yeasts and mild hoppiness. For a winter warmer, it's somewhat complex and quite vibrant for what it is.

The body is pretty lightweight and it's mildly carbonation so it's quite easy on the palate.

In terms of Winter Seasonals (that aren't of limited release), this is one is pretty good. Mind you I'm more inclined to their regular year-round line-up but this one is quite solid.

Summit Winter Ale - 8/10

Summit Another IPA Review

Name: Summit Another IPA
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 5.6%


I'm beginning to suspect that Summit Brewing has an IPA fetish and for a good reason. You see, they already have 3 IPAs in their lineup: Horizon Red, Sága, and their aptly named India Pale Ale. That was until one day earlier this year when this gem popped up in my Twitter feed. Due to Blogger's lackluster support for embedded videos which I need, I've had no choice but to link it.

For the lazy or those not interested in watching a movie, it's a video to promote the newest beer in the Unchained series: Another IPA. No, that's not a typo, that's the actual name; Very Ironic/Tongue-In-Cheek/etc. name. This'll be the last Unchained release that uses the the label you see above as they are changing the design to reflect Summit's new design.

Well, let's give Summit's usual label a good old fashioned Irish Wake and take a look at this, shall we?

Another IPA pours a hazy yellow color with a foamy/filmy/chunky looking head. You know when the head on the beer starts to go away and what you are left with is a filmy head with some chunky balls of foam on the surface? It's like that. The lacing it leaves behind is decent.

For an IPA, it's rather fruity smelling with some citrus hops, tangerines, caramel, light mango, piney hops and some pale malts.

The taste is alot more piney hop forward with some mild citrus hops, pale malts, barley and some pils-grassiness. For an IPA, it's quite earthy.

It's very heavy both in terms of body weight and carbonation. Not really quite ideal considering the style of beer.

It's got a decent taste and the earthiness actually is quite nice but the body is mismatched compared to overall flavor. It's a good IPA but I'll stick with Summit's existing IPAs as I think they are much better.

Summit Another IPA - 7.5/10

Summit Extra Pale Ale Review

Name: Summit Extra Pale Ale
Style: English Pale Ale
ABV: 5.2%

When Summit Brewing Company first opened it's doors, no one would've imagined that they would've grown into one of the largest craft breweries in America (Ranked 23rd as of 2012) and 2nd largest brewery in Minnesota behind August Schell Brewing Company. In fact, when the local NBC affiliate KARE11 did a piece on the brewery's grand opening back in 1986, they featured a very familiar beer that Minnesota holds dear to it's heart as you will see in the video here.

The first beer that Summit ever released, Extra Pale Ale (EPA), has continuously been their best selling beer and like Spotted Cow in Wisconsin, you can find it literally anywhere in Minnesota, whether it's in a bottle or on tap. Like Sierra Nevada, it's also one of the first craft beers I ever took note of thanks to my Dad's company picnics when I was younger; It was the beer of choice amongst my dad's co-workers, beating out Budweiser & Miller Lite as they sat submerged in ice.

Since I've already reviewed quite a few of Summit's offerings, I figured now would be a good time to look at Minnesota's own flagship craft beer.

Summit EPA pours a mildly hazy dark orange color with a foamy head and good lacing along the sides of the glass. There's also some light carbonation visible as well.

The aroma gives off a strong baked bread & yeasty scent. In the back are some floral hop, pale malts & barley notes which add a nice touch to the aroma.

The flavor is a bit more well rounded with yeasts, floral & dry hops, pale malts and barley. Aftertaste is a mild floral hoppiness with just a teensy bit of resin.

As far as the body goes, it's fairly moderate in weight and while the carbonation starts out in the middle, it does mellow out the more you drink it.

It's a staple of the Minnesota beer scene and it isn't hard to see why that after 27 years, it still holds up nicely. You've got a nice flavor that aims to please and it's a beer that's perfect for any occasion. Sure, it's not going to knock your socks off with it's flavor but at the same time you definitely aren't making a mistake by drinking this either.

Summit Extra Pale Ale - 8.25/10

Flat Earth Element 115 Review

Name: Flat Earth Element 115
Style: California Common/Steam Beer
ABV: 5.5%

About a couple weeks ago, I was down in the Twin Cities for the Minnesota State Fair, where I indulged myself with mini-donuts, cheese curds and, or course, beer.  During my time there I even managed to get some of Lift Bridge's Mini-Donut Beer, with each glass being rimmed with cinnamon and sugar.

The Verdict: When mixed with the cinnamon and sugar, it tasted amazing. When drank without the sugar and cinnamon it tasted like a liquid donut and was quite filling; I'd give it a C+.

Now while I was down in the Cities, I grabbed some beer that is (currently) not available in the Twin Ports area. The first one I have is a summer seasonal from Flat Earth Brewing called Element 115, which is a Steam Beer.........or California Common if you want to avoid getting sued by Anchor Steam for trademark violation.

Element 115 pours a dark but clear copper color with a moderate amount of visible carbonation and a foamy head.

The aroma consists mainly of yeasts, pale malts, barley, light caramel and cider; Like Strongbow Cider. I'm not sure how else to describe it, except for Cider!

The flavor has a moderate yeast taste, along with cider sweetness, pale malts and barley. There is also a mild floral hop profile within the flavor that wasn't present in the nose.

The body is very light in weight and the carbonation is rather moderate, matching the visual appearance of the carbonation. It's quite crisp and rather fitting considering the flavor.

It's simple tasting, crisp, easy to drink and decently priced for what it is. Definitely check it out before all the fall seasonals kick it off the shelves!

Flat Earth Element 115 - 8/10

Summit Horizon Red Ale Review

Summit Brewing Company already has a couple IPAs on the market, their aptly named "India Pale Ale" and their "Sága IPA". So it should come as a surprise to no one that their next "Unchained" series beer called is called "Another IPA."

However, I'm not here to focus on those beers but rather their Horizon Red Ale, which is classified as an Amber Ale with an ABV of 5.7%. Though I would be pressed to call it an Amber Ale because while it is a Red Ale in appearance, the rest of the beer tells a completely different story.

The beer pours a dark hazy red color with a very foamy head with a bit of carbonation along the sides of the glass.. The lacing is spotty and it finishes rather clean.

The nose has an unusually strong piney hop and caramel malt scent upfront. Along with that are some grapefruit and citrus hop notes. The flavor is a bit more hop-forward with Piney and Citrusy Hops on the front of the palette with some caramel, malts and yeast notes in the back. It has a bittersweet caramel-hop aftertaste. The body is a bit of the hefty side with some mild carbonation so it's reasonably easy to drink.

I would characterize this more as an IPA then say.....an Amber Ale. This doesn't mean it's a bad beer, in fact, it's a very good beer! My expectations were set to more of a maltier beer but instead I got a nice hoppy surprise that comes off as smooth and well balanced. Try it out if you get the chance!

Summit Horizon Red Ale - 8.5/10

**UPDATE**

After I posted this review on Twitter, Summit posted their new redesigned labels on Twitter to coincide with their updated logo. Amongst them was their redesigned for Horizon Red Ale and....well see for yourselves!

Well played Summit, well played....

Summit Meridian Session Ale Review

Summit Brewing recently updated their label to give it more of a modern look, though their Summer Sampler and other beers still use the old label so I'm going to guess it's a more gradual process. To celebrate, they've launched their Union Series: Beers that will use new types of hops & yeast strains; They of course could also be combined with already existing ones. The first release in the Union Series is called Meridian Session Ale, a Belgian Ale with an ABV of 4.5%.

Meridian pours a hazy yellow color with a soapy head. Carbonation appears to be abundant in the glass and it finishes clean, leaving behind almost no lacing.

The nose mainly consists of lemon zest, peppers, yeast and pale malts. It has bit of a Pilsener and a slight Hefeweizen peppery aroma to it. The flavor is pretty much the same as the nose. It is surprisingly vibrant for what it is, but not what I would consider to be outstanding.

Body is fairly lightweight and the carbonation is mild but it feels very crisp upon drinking. Overall, it's an easy drinker.

Summit's aim was to make a sessionable, yet flavorful beer and they did a good job in succeeding in that mission. There's quite a bit of flavor packed into Meridian, impressive considering the lower end ABV. The only major drawback to Meridian is that it's fairly pricey for what it is, so it's a bit harder to recommend. Otherwise what you have here is a sessionable beer with a good flavor.

Summit Meridian Session Ale - 8/10

Flat Earth Winter Warlock Review

Finally, my last review of a winter seasonal until next winter, which will be in about 5 months if the weather here in Minnesota holds up the way it is. I decided after letting this age for 6 months, it was finally time to crack it open. I give you Winter Warlock from Flat Earth Brewing, which is an English Barleywine.

This is my first time aging a Barleywine and an English one at that. From what I gathered, English Barleywines tend to be maltier in character and sweeter, whereas American Barleywines tend to be more focused on the hops.

Winter Warlock pours a dark and mildly hazy orange color with a filmy head that has a surprisingly long lived retention rate. The carbonation activity inside the glass is also pretty high as well and I have never seen this in a Barleywine quite like this, whether it's due to the aging or not I do not know.

It has a rich & strong citrus hop, caramelized malt and grapefruit/fruity aroma, which reminds me of having a glass of Rosé wine.

The flavor is pretty consistant with the nose, with strong citrus hops, caramel, toffee, malts, barley and grapefruits. The aftertaste is fairly resiny and somewhat hoppy. Best of all, no booziness!

Despite the rather strong looking carbonation, in reality it's actually quite mild and smooth. The body is also moderate in weight and you're left with a surprisingly easy-to-drink Barleywine.

Winter Warlock is an excellent example as to how to do Barleywine correct and I can tell by the flavor it ages very well! The flavor is great and it's pretty smooth and easy on the palate. It also goes well with a good cheeseburger, not the McDonalds kind but a really good homemade one! Pick this up and age it for a few months, you won't be disappointed!

Flat Earth Winter Warlock - 9.25/10

Flat Earth Livid Planet Review

Name: Flat Earth Livid Planet
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6%

About a month and a half ago, I reviewed Flat Earth Brewing's Angry Planet Pale Ale, which is considered by some to be the brewery's own flagship beer though this is subject to debate amongst people I know. In the time since my review, Flat Earth just released a slightly hoppier, dry hopped version of Angry Planet called Livid Planet. From what I understand, it will be a year-round offering.

The label is fairly identical to Angry Planet, except it has an even more pissed off Earth getting messed up by hop-meteors and is retaliating by throwing hops back at the unfortunate soul who happens to be nearby. Planetary justice at it's absolute finest!

To start out, it pours a dark clear Amber color with a fairly frothy head and high amount of carbonation activity in the glass. It also leaves behind a good amount of lacing inside of the glass.

The nose had a pretty strong Citrus and Floral Hop notes upfront, with yeasts and toffee in the background. The flavor has some fairly strong floral and citrus hop notes upfront, supplemented by a malty-caramel sweetness. The finish is mainly a resin bitterness and barley-like. Aside from the higher hop levels, it tastes pretty much as the same as Angry Planet. In both the nose and the flavor, you can feel the dry hops at work.

Body wise, it's moderate in weight just like Angry Planet. The main difference here is that the carbonation is stronger here whereas it was more moderate in Angry Planet.

Although it's a good beer, Livid Planet suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. Angry Planet reminded me of an English IPA because of it's sweetness and balanced flavor, which is one of the reasons I enjoyed it. Livid Planet doesn't quite reach what some would consider to be an American IPA but I can't help but feel that the flavor is off-balance; It's like they took Angry Planet, threw more hops on top of it and didn't change anything else which I feels affects the overall quality of the flavor. It's a decent offering from Flat Earth Brewing, but if you want a better and more balanced beer, go with Angry Planet instead.

Flat Earth Livid Planet - 7.5/10

Flat Earth Belgian-Style Pale Ale Review

Name: Flat Earth Belgian-Style Pale Ale
Style: Belgian Pale Ale
ABV: 5.2%

Flat Earth Brewing has been growing steadily production-wise over the past couple of years and offer up a pretty solid rotating selection. They are based out of a small-ish office looking building located a mile down the road from Summit Brewing.

An interesting note is that based on the people I have talked to, I have differences in what people would consider to be their "Flagship" beer. The first one is their Angry Planet Pale Ale, which I reviewed last month. The next one is their Northwest Passage IPA, which is currently the hoppiest beer in the Midwest, measuring in at 115 IBUs (International Bitterness Units.) The last one, which I will be looking at, is their Belgian-Style Pale Ale; It is, of course, a Belgian Pale Ale.

It pours a slightly hazy copper color with a rather soapy head. You can see a small bit of carbonation going on throughout.

The nose has some very sweet bubblegum/cotton candy notes along with a hefeweissen-like clove & banana aroma. Supporting all this is a solid yeasty scent. Very sweet smelling for a pale ale. In terms of flavor, it has some strong caramel, clove and banana notes. Backing that up are light cracked peppers and yeasty flavors. Carbonation is pretty light along with the body, so this one is pretty easy and accessible to drink.

Flat Earth's Belgian Pale Ale is a unique creature in it's own right. It has the qualities of a Belgian Pale Ale, but there's also a Hefeweissen side to it as well. I also find myself strangely drawn to the sweetness of this beer, it's what many would consider to be out of place but I find to work in it's favor well. My opinion is that I think this a great beer, but try it out for yourself to see what you think of it.

Flat Earth Belgian-Style Pale Ale - 8.5/10

Summit 100% Organic Ale Review

I liken Summit Brewing here in Minnesota to New Glarus Brewing in Wisconsin. No matter where you go in Minnesota, you can find it in pretty much every nook-and-cranny here. The only difference is that Summit distributes out of state..... Oh and that whole "Unchained-Unplugged" controversy.  They have a pretty good year round selection and their "Unchained" Series usually comes up with something pretty cool and unique, like their Old 152, a Kentucky Common beer which uses Sour Mash in the fermentation process.

Today I will be turning my attention their latest Unchained beer, 100% Organic Ale, so organic that the USDA has slapped their sticker of approval on the label, which you can see on the bottom left corner. I can honestly say that I've never seen that before.

Organic pours a dark hazy copper color with a small but foamy head and excellent lacing. There's also a good amount of carbonation visible when held up to the light.

The smell offers up a sweet citrus scent with hints of caramel, yeasts and malts. The flavor however is more balanced & milder with orange, citrus hops, caramel, malts and yeasts. Aftertaste is a bitter citrus finish. The body is moderate in weight and the carbonation is a couple notches above mild.

I would label this beer as a "Light IPA." It has all the components necessary for an IPA but it comes off as somewhat muted, which accomplishes the goal of making a Session IPA as described in the beer's dossier. It's a good beer that's easy to drink and a great way to introduce someone to the IPA style but if you're used to your IPAs with tons of flavor, you'll be disappointed. On that note, if you want an organic IPA with a robust flavor, try out Flat Earth Angry Planet.

Summit 100% Organic Ale - 7.5/10