Harriet West SIde IPA Review

Name: Harriet West Side IPA
Style: Belgian IPA
ABV: 6.5%
IBUs: 40

Harriet Brewing. I recall this being the first "local" brewery that popped up in South Minneapolis when I lived there a few years back. I remember Harriet having the "Coming Soon" signage out in front when I was driving from my (former) humble abode to my undergraduate classes on a daily basis.

Then a couple of months before I departed for Chicago, they had their taproom grand opening, which I was unable to attend that day due to the high amount of projects I had going on at that time. Plus with graduation looming a little over a month away, I had to prioritize. However I did manage to try out a couple of their beers prior to their taproom opening, which bring us to the beer at hand.

Today's beer, the West Side IPA holds a special place in my heart. It's the first beer I ever had from Harriet Brewing, on tap at the Rail Station in South Minneapolis, which was amongst the very first places to actually carry anything from Harriet Brewing. I didn't take any notes or anything of the sort while I was there so today marks the first time I've done a proper review of a Harriet Brewing beer. And no, my visit to the food truck rally last year at Harriet does not count.

Appearance - Mildly hazy golden color with a light amount of visible carbonation. The head is nice and foamy with a good amount of retention but the lacing is more on the sparse side.

Aroma - Belgian yeasts and clove notes. I am picking on some floral hop and grapefruit sweetness in here as well. Aside from that, it's pretty yeast forward for an IPA

Taste - Very Belgian yeast forward but the cloves aren't exactly what I would call prominent. I'm getting some bitter hoppiness and grapefruit notes, along with some light citrus and floral hop notes; All in that order. There's also a candied caramel malt backbone that has an almost cotton candy/bubblegum-like quality to it.

Having this beer again makes me feel nostalgic, but not for the reasons you may think. I'm not talking about wishing to be an undergraduate student working part-time again nor am I talking about how things were "simpler" back then (though that wouldn't hurt.) I'm talking about wanting to live in the neighborhood of Howe/Minnehaha once again. One day, perhaps.....

As for the beer itself, it feels more like a Belgian Pale Ale than a Belgian IPA, but it's a really good beer either way you look at it. Right now, the availability is very limited, which is mostly just the Minneapolis-area for the time being. I'm hoping that sooner or later the availability is much wider and in bottles in the near future. Right now, if you ever find yourself in the Minneapolis-area, it's worth seeking out amongst the other offerings from them.

Harriet West Side IPA Review - 8.5/10

Weyerbacher Merry Monks Review

Name: Weyerbacher Merry Monks
Style: Tripel
ABV: 9.3%
IBUs: 15

Ahhh Weyerbacher, a brewery that I haven't had since my days as an undergraduate. Based out of Pennsylvania, these guys are known for making some beers that are pretty strong. Today I've got their Merry Monks Tripel, though judging from the bottle artwork, I would think a more appropriate name would be Mischievous Monks. Look at him, he's acting like they just hid a dead body behind the casks in the background.

To date, I've had their Imperial Pumpkin Ale & their Blithering Idiot barrel-aged barleywine and it pretty much turns you into one after having a couple bottles of it. I'll do my best to bring them back for a review sometime in the near future.

Appearance - Hazy Dark Golden Color with a moderate amount of visible carbonation. The head is rather thin head with a light amount of retention and the same goes for the lacing.

Aroma - Belgian yeasts & cloves, followed by some figs and toffee sweetness. I'm also getting some light spices and light floral hop notes.

Taste - Belgian yeasts &  strong clove notes followed by toffee malts, strong figs & spices. Again, I'm getting those mild floral hops and a moderate boozy aftertaste with some yeasts and bitter hops.

A little too boozy for my liking in the aftertaste, but aside from that, this is actually a pretty solid Tripel. It doesn't deviate too much from the standard formula but then again it really doesn't need to. If you're looking for a pretty good Tripel, than this will do just fine.

Weyerbacher Merry Monks - 8/10

Indeed Let it Roll Review

Name: Indeed Let it Roll
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 6.2%
IBUs: 86

A new offering from Indeed Brewing? Don't mind if I do! Today I've got their Let it Roll IPA which, to my understanding, is their fall seasonal IPA. This past summer they had another IPA by the name of Let it Ride, so this leads me to believe that this is a fall seasonal. As to why it's called Let it Roll, I'm guessing it was simply a matter of convenience. Now all I'm waiting for is the inevitable release of Let it Relax Session IPA (That's a joke.)

Appearance - Very hazy dark amber color with no visible carbonation. The head is nice & foamy with some lacing that is on the spottier side.

Aroma - Rich citrus & mango notes upfront followed by some mildly pungent grapefruitness. I'm also getting some nice toffee & caramel maltiness with just a hint of yeastiness. Needless to say, I love the way this smells!

Taste - Pretty similar to the nose. You've got the rich citra hop and mango sweetness upfront and some grapefruit notes but there is a surprisingly strong bitter (not piney) hoppiness that jumps out of nowhere at the end of the palate along with some light yeastiness. There is also an encompassing toffee maltiness that shows up in the back of the palate and aftertaste, mainly to help balance out the bitter hoppiness.

At first, I wasn't a huge fan of the surprise bitter hoppiness at the end, but as I kept drinking this, it actually grew on me. As far as everything else is concerned, I love this beer. It's nice, rich and quite tasty. If this is truly a fall seasonal, than this could definitely be one of my favorites.

Indeed Let it Roll - 9/10

Ballast Point Calm Before The Storm Review

Name: Ballast Point Calm Before The Storm
Style: Cream Ale
ABV: 5.5%
IBUs: 15

There is a reason why mix-a-six selections exist. For some it means trying out a variety of different beers before deciding which one is worthy of a purchase of a regular pack. For others, like yours truly, it is a cost-effective means of trying out as many types of beers as possible and bragging about it to your friends. Of course, there is also the crowd that loves exploring and finding out brand new styles of themselves. In the case of this review, it means being able to try out a beer that, as a whole six-pack, would set you back way more than what it is worth.

That's right, I've got an offering from Ballast Point for this review and I have a lot to say about this beer. Before I do however, I'm going to go on a bit of a rant of sorts. There is no denying that Ballast Point makes great beers, and it's truly a great thing that they do. However, lately it seems that some of their offerings have become so high in price that you start to wonder if it's because of overall cost production or because they feel like it.

Case in point, Calm Before the Storm. I was terrified to buy this because the asking price is around $15 for a six-pack and it wasn't until last week when that I found this as a single bottle for a "reasonable" price of $2.89 that I finally decided to pick it up. I mean seriously, $15 for a cream ale? What gives? Is it made with the sweat of the last living unicorn on Earth or is it infused with golden flecks that we can barely see? I can find cream ales for literally half that cost and still get some great flavor. Well if they keep releasing new beers with this high of a price, it means that someone must be buying them.

Which brings me to my next question, what exactly does this beer have going for it? Well according to the label it's a cream ale that is made with coffee and vanilla. I'll admit that it is an interesting concept when you consider that those are flavor elements usually reserved for dark and/or heavier beer styles......but does it work?

Appearance - Mildly hazy amber color with some light visible carbonation. The head starts out rather foamy and about a finger in width before settling for a thin filmy appearance and some decent lacing along the sides of the glass

Aroma - Right away, I'm picking up on some coffee grounds and barley on the front of the nose. I'm also getting some light cereal grains, mild pale malts and just a touch of vanilla sweetness. If I close my eyes, it's like I'm smelling a porter or a stout of sorts

Taste - Mild vanilla & pale maltiness on the front of the palate, followed by some surprisingly mild coffee ground notes. The second half of the flavor is more lingering vanilla notes and light floral hops. The aftertaste is more of that lingering vanilla sweetness and light roastiness.

It is a good beer by itself, but it is definitely is not worth the $15 price tag that is attached to it and that seriously hurts the appealability of this beer. Which is too bad because the idea of adding coffee & vanilla to a beer style that seemingly only works in darker beer styles is actually an incredibly cool concept. If you're really curious to try this beer out, buy it as part of a mix-a-six before deciding if the $15 price tag is actually worth it.

Ballast Point Calm Before the Storm - 7.5/10

Lakefront Pumpkin Lager Review

Name: Lakefront Pumpkin Lager Review
Style: Pumpkin Beer
ABV: 5.8%
IBUs: N/A

Now here's a beer I haven't had in about 3 years, Lakefront Brewing's Pumpkin Lager. I recall having this at the Fat Cat Bar in Chicago and found it to be quite good for what it was. Of course I wasn't taking notes at the time an account of me being on a date with the future wife; Hey, priorities!

Well the other day I happened to come into possession of this and I'm quite excited to try this out again. Also, the last time Lakefront had graced the pages of this website, it was all the way back in May 2014. Normally I'd complain about that but you can never have too many breweries to choose from.

Appearance - A fairly hazy dark orange color with a mild amount of visible carbonation. The head itself is quite thin in appearance but has some good retention but the lacing is quite lacking for the most part.

Aroma - Cinnamon & cloves with some moderate pumpkin pie and crust notes. Also getting some light pale maltiness and a bit of nutmeg. Compared to Shipyard, this has way more pumpkin in it.

Taste - Pumpkin pie crusts and nutmeg upfront, followed by some bready biscuit yeasts, cinnamon & clove notes. In the aftertaste, I'm getting some light toffee and pale malts with just a slight hint of pumpkin spice.

The flavor remains virtually unchanged from 3 years ago.....and that's a good thing. It's not overwhelming by any means but delivers in terms of overall flavor. If you're new to pumpkin beers and want to get into them, I'd suggest giving this one a spin and see for yourself.

Lakefront Pumpkin Lager - 8/10

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Review

Name: Shipyard Pumpkinhead
Style: Pumpkin Beer
ABV: 4.5%
IBUs: 18

Fall is officially here and what better way to celebrate with some pumpkin beers? I'll be reviewing some pumpkin beers for the next couple of reviews, plus ones that I find throughout the fall season. We're starting it off with what is perhaps the most infamous pumpkin beer out there: Shipyard Brewing's Pumpkinhead.

Considered by many to be the worst pumpkin beer out there, this beer is almost always located near the bottom of the "Best of Pumpkin Beer" lists across the internet and is lambasted on internet forums like Beer Advocate, with some even calling it Bud Light with Cinnamon & even some calling it the worst beer that they've ever had.

...But is it really as bad people claim it is?

Despite all the hate this beer gets, it seems to keep selling year after year so there's obviously someone buying it out there. Plus there are a couple lists online that actually have this beer showcased closer to the top. I've been hearing about this beer for years so I've finally decided to try this beer out to see for myself how it really is.

Appearance - A clear wet straw yellow color with a very high amount of visible carbonation. The head starts out quite foamy but settles for a very thin white appearance. Also, there is no lacing to speak of.

Aroma - I'm picking up on some cinnamon & clove notes mixed with some allspice and nutmeg. I'm getting some very light toffee maltiness and a hint of pumpkin tucked away in the back of the nose.

Taste - Cinnamon & light nutmeg flavors upfront, followed by some cloves, light toffee sweetness and some light pumpkin notes. I'm also getting some light cereal graininess in here too on the back end of the palate. Aftertaste-wise, it's fairly dry save for some light nutmeg flavors and some very light floral hops.

So is Pumpkinhead really deserving of the hate it gets? Truthfully, I don't think so. Yes, it's mostly spices and the pumpkin element of the flavor is vastly overshadowed by the sheer spice aspects of the taste. However, as a spiced ale it's surprisingly not bad, even tolerable as a matter of fact. I do like the spiciness in here even though it's not as robust as it could possibly be. So while it's no New Glarus Spiced Ale, it's quite inoffensive for what it is and at its worst, it is simply just okay.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead - 6.5/10

F-Town Ipalicious Review

Name: F-Town Ipalicious
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 6.5%
IBUs: N/A

Earlier this year, a sleepy little town about an hour south of Minneapolis & St. Paul by the name of Faribault, Minnesota opened up a brewery called the F-Town Beer Company. I recall hearing a couple years ago about plans to open a brewery there but under the name of Patriot's Brewing Company but I'm guessing the name got changed along the way and now we have F-Town.

Since the brewery opened up in July, I wasn't expecting the beer to be distributed in stores until much later due to possible capacity and the window in which the brewery has been open; Not to mention location. So imagine my shock when I was at the store last week and saw this beer on the store shelves

Which brings us to Ipalicious, which is their IPA offering. Like many Minnesota breweries, they too are opting for cans instead of bottles. The personified hop with horns on the can artwork is trying to do its best Two-Face impression....while being engulfed by flames.

Appearance - A very dark and hazy amber color that is almost brown in color. The dark color and sheer haziness makes it hard to determine if there is any visible carbonation but I do see some bubbles clinging to the sides of the glass. The head is about a finger in width with a very foamy appearance and the lacing is also very abundant and sticky.

Aroma - Strong piney hops & potent caramel malts followed by some bitter citrus notes and light yeastiness. I'm also getting some light roastiness in here as well but it's very dank smelling otherwise.

Taste - Not much change here from the nose but with a couple of exceptions. You've still got those strong dank piney hops but there's also a big caramel malt backbone here that almost completely overshadows the hop profile. You've got those bitter citrus rind and yeasts in the back. The other difference here is that the roastiness is a notch stronger than in the aroma. The aftertaste is a mix of light roastiness and strong bitter hoppiness.

I can tell what the brewery was trying to go for with the flavor along the lines of Dark Horse's own Crooked Tree (At least I think so) and, to be fair, they're somewhat successful at capturing that essence. I'd say if this had a bit more sweet citrus & a little less pine dankness, that this would be a perfect textbook example of a malty IPA. As for me, I like it and I'll happily drink it.

F-Town Ipalicious - 8/10