Jadyn and I went to Shelter Island, NY for memorial day weekend. We stayed at David's wife's family's house there. David (enabler) brought up several new beers for me to try.
1017. St-Ambroise Pale Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: McAuslan Brewing
Alcohol: 5.00%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: American Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 4.2
St-Ambroise Pale Ale pours a cloudy, amber-copper color. It's topped by a light, off-white head that quickly fades to a film. Lace clings to the side of the glass. The aroma is an interesting mix. There's a bright interplay of fruit, caramel, citric hops, and a mild, phenolic twang.
The beer itself is well-attenuated with only a mild residual sweetness upfront. The malts are predominantly toasty before moving into a very mild malty sweetness that's a mix of caramel and fruity esters. The finish has a moderately bitter, herbal hop quality. This pale ale is light-bodied and moderately carbonated with a pleasing dryness in the finish.
I liked this beer a lot. It's balanced, but only mildly sweet. The dryness is pleasing and helps make this a good session beer.
1018. Southampton Altbier
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Southampton Publick House
Alcohol: 5.00%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: Altbier, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.7
This Alt pours a clear brown with copper tints. It's topped by a fizzy, three-quarter inch, eggshell colored head that rises quickly on the pour, and just as quickly fades to a film. Pinprick dots of lace adorn the glass. The aroma is quite nice. There are notes of caramel malts, hints of roastiness and a mineral twang.
Caramel malts upfront move into a mild estery fruitiness in the center. The finish has a mineral twang and a mild bitterness. Overall this beer is very clean on the palate. Its flavors are there, but don't pop. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it works well here to showcase a nice mineral character that would have otherwise been overpowered. This Alt is moderately carbonated and medium-bodied, and has a very nice crispness.
This beer is a decent Alt. I think a bit more hoppiness would have been nice, provided the beer stayed crisp.
1019. Brooklyn Local 2
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Alcohol: 9.00%
Serving: Bottle, 750 mL
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.5
Overall: 4.25
I'd been looking forward to trying this beer, since Brooklyn Local 1 was so good. Local 2 pours a cloudy brown with reddish tints. It's topped by a sudsy beige head that fades to a continuous film. The aroma is incredibly bright for the style. There's a bright layer of citrus and honey, below which lie the rich malty aromas of a Belgian Strong Dark Ale: dark fruit and candi sugar. I think the addition of some more aromatic ingredients really did a lot for the aroma of this beer, making it seem more light and inviting than a typical Belgian Dark.
This beer's flavors tell the same story as the aroma: the honey and citrus upfront give a lighter, brighter impression before diving deeper into the darker, maltier depths. The dark malt flavors in the center are a nice mix of candi sugar, caramel, rasins, dates and other dark fruit. The finish has a nice mix of peppery and alcoholic spice, a brief reprise of citrus, and a mild bitterness. Local 2 has very prickly carbonation, is medium-bodied and is surprisingly smooth once some of the carbonation dissipates.
This is another winner for Brooklyn's Local series. It's strong, fizzy and has an interesting addition of honey and citrus that I think adds a lot to the mix.
1020. Batemans XXXB
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Batemans Brewery
Alcohol: 4.80%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB), BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.85
Based on the handwriting in my notebook, I dictated this review to Jadyn (you're the best, thanks for humoring me).
This ESB pours a crystal clear copper, and is topped by a sudsy, frothy, off-white head that fades to a film. Sustained bubbling seems to keep the film intact. The aromas are nicely malty: biscuity malts, toffee, and a little bit of an apricot aroma.
Upfront this beer is mildly sweet with a lot of maltiness. The sweetness is contributed by toffee flavors, but the bulk of the maltiness is buiscuity and toasty, which lasts through to the finish. The finish is moderately bitter with grassy and herbal hop flavors. This ESB is medium-bodied, moderately carbonated and has a mild dryness in the finish.
I thought that Batemans XXXB was a nice malt-forward beer that managed to keep the sweetness in check and that had a nice bitterness in the finish.
1021. Blue Point Summer Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Blue Point Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.40%
Serving: Bottle 12 oz.
Style: American Blonde Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 2.5 | Taste: 2.5 | Mouthfeel: 3.0 | Drinkability: 3.5
Overall: 2.85
Blue Point's Summer Ale pours a clear golden and is topped by a thick, bright white head, which fades fairly quickly to a film. The aroma is fairly light. There's a hint of citrus and a mild graininess.
There's a mild sweetness as he beer first hits the palate with some neutral graininess as well. Fruity esters make a brief appearance in the center, and are met by a mild peppery character and mild bitterness in the finish. This beer is light-bodied and moderately carbonated, but feels a tad watery.
I was pretty disappointed with this beer. I know summer beers tend to be lighter, but this one was bland and lacked the crispness that makes a beer like this refreshing.
1017. St-Ambroise Pale Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: McAuslan Brewing
Alcohol: 5.00%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: American Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 4.2
St-Ambroise Pale Ale pours a cloudy, amber-copper color. It's topped by a light, off-white head that quickly fades to a film. Lace clings to the side of the glass. The aroma is an interesting mix. There's a bright interplay of fruit, caramel, citric hops, and a mild, phenolic twang.
The beer itself is well-attenuated with only a mild residual sweetness upfront. The malts are predominantly toasty before moving into a very mild malty sweetness that's a mix of caramel and fruity esters. The finish has a moderately bitter, herbal hop quality. This pale ale is light-bodied and moderately carbonated with a pleasing dryness in the finish.
I liked this beer a lot. It's balanced, but only mildly sweet. The dryness is pleasing and helps make this a good session beer.
1018. Southampton Altbier
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Southampton Publick House
Alcohol: 5.00%
Serving: Bottle, 12 oz.
Style: Altbier, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.7
This Alt pours a clear brown with copper tints. It's topped by a fizzy, three-quarter inch, eggshell colored head that rises quickly on the pour, and just as quickly fades to a film. Pinprick dots of lace adorn the glass. The aroma is quite nice. There are notes of caramel malts, hints of roastiness and a mineral twang.
Caramel malts upfront move into a mild estery fruitiness in the center. The finish has a mineral twang and a mild bitterness. Overall this beer is very clean on the palate. Its flavors are there, but don't pop. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, it works well here to showcase a nice mineral character that would have otherwise been overpowered. This Alt is moderately carbonated and medium-bodied, and has a very nice crispness.
This beer is a decent Alt. I think a bit more hoppiness would have been nice, provided the beer stayed crisp.
1019. Brooklyn Local 2
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Alcohol: 9.00%
Serving: Bottle, 750 mL
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 3.5
Overall: 4.25
I'd been looking forward to trying this beer, since Brooklyn Local 1 was so good. Local 2 pours a cloudy brown with reddish tints. It's topped by a sudsy beige head that fades to a continuous film. The aroma is incredibly bright for the style. There's a bright layer of citrus and honey, below which lie the rich malty aromas of a Belgian Strong Dark Ale: dark fruit and candi sugar. I think the addition of some more aromatic ingredients really did a lot for the aroma of this beer, making it seem more light and inviting than a typical Belgian Dark.
This beer's flavors tell the same story as the aroma: the honey and citrus upfront give a lighter, brighter impression before diving deeper into the darker, maltier depths. The dark malt flavors in the center are a nice mix of candi sugar, caramel, rasins, dates and other dark fruit. The finish has a nice mix of peppery and alcoholic spice, a brief reprise of citrus, and a mild bitterness. Local 2 has very prickly carbonation, is medium-bodied and is surprisingly smooth once some of the carbonation dissipates.
This is another winner for Brooklyn's Local series. It's strong, fizzy and has an interesting addition of honey and citrus that I think adds a lot to the mix.
1020. Batemans XXXB
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Batemans Brewery
Alcohol: 4.80%
Serving: Bottle, 500 mL
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB), BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 3.5 | Drinkability: 4.0
Overall: 3.85
Based on the handwriting in my notebook, I dictated this review to Jadyn (you're the best, thanks for humoring me).
This ESB pours a crystal clear copper, and is topped by a sudsy, frothy, off-white head that fades to a film. Sustained bubbling seems to keep the film intact. The aromas are nicely malty: biscuity malts, toffee, and a little bit of an apricot aroma.
Upfront this beer is mildly sweet with a lot of maltiness. The sweetness is contributed by toffee flavors, but the bulk of the maltiness is buiscuity and toasty, which lasts through to the finish. The finish is moderately bitter with grassy and herbal hop flavors. This ESB is medium-bodied, moderately carbonated and has a mild dryness in the finish.
I thought that Batemans XXXB was a nice malt-forward beer that managed to keep the sweetness in check and that had a nice bitterness in the finish.
1021. Blue Point Summer Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Blue Point Brewing Company
Alcohol: 4.40%
Serving: Bottle 12 oz.
Style: American Blonde Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 3.5 | Smell: 2.5 | Taste: 2.5 | Mouthfeel: 3.0 | Drinkability: 3.5
Overall: 2.85
Blue Point's Summer Ale pours a clear golden and is topped by a thick, bright white head, which fades fairly quickly to a film. The aroma is fairly light. There's a hint of citrus and a mild graininess.
There's a mild sweetness as he beer first hits the palate with some neutral graininess as well. Fruity esters make a brief appearance in the center, and are met by a mild peppery character and mild bitterness in the finish. This beer is light-bodied and moderately carbonated, but feels a tad watery.
I was pretty disappointed with this beer. I know summer beers tend to be lighter, but this one was bland and lacked the crispness that makes a beer like this refreshing.
Labels: Altbier, American Blonde Ale, American Pale Ale, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB)
