Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Pizza Boy Brewing Orangatang

Another beer I ordered at Al’s of Hampden right after he tapped Pappy was Pizza Boy Brewing Orangatang. The beer pours a golden-amber color with a bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of orange, vinegar, barnyard funk, grass, and horse blanket. The taste is dry and grassy on the front end with a slight orange sweetness before funk settles in and it is potent leaving behind a horse blanket flavor to linger for quite some time. The alcohol content is 5.2% ABV. I’ll be honest in saying I expected this beer to be more sour than funky, but it was quite delicious. I’d mostly compare it to an orange saison rather than a sour beer.

Pizza Boy Brewing Pappy

I went to Al’s of Hampden when he tapped his own Pizza Boy Brewing Pappy, a Pappy Van Winkle aged imperial stout. The beer pours a black color with a thin filmy tan colored head. The aroma consists of strong bourbon, oak, chocolate, vanilla, and cherry. The taste is very bold and strong with bourbon on the front end that attacks the tongue. The flavor profile is laced with alcohol and gives off oak hints built upon a dark chocolate background. Caramel, coffee, vanilla, and cherry also make some intermediate appearances. The alcohol content is 10.5% ABV. If you love bourbon barrel aged beers, this one is for you. While the bourbon doesn’t overpower the hefty stout, it certainly makes its presence known and yield cherry and vanilla accents into the beer.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Elk Creek Happy Dog ESB

While in state college for a meeting, my boss and I went out to lunch at Kelly's Steak and Seafood Restaurant and I ordered a glass of Elk Creek Happy Dog ESB. The beer pours a brown color with a bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, fresh hops, grass, and mildew. The taste is smooth and creamy with a large caramel profile. There is a lightly bitter hop finish with grassy accents. The alcohol content is not available online, but I would estimate it to be about 5.0% ABV. This was a tasty overall ESB with the perfect amount of spiciness to balance the sweet caramel base.

Brasserie Dupont Moinette Brune

Another beer I ordered while at Cafe Bruges for my birthday was Brasserie Dupont Moinette Brune. The beer pours an amber color with a bubbly cream colored head. The aroma consists of fig, caramel, cherry, grass, and spices. The taste had a solid caramel and yeast background with a light cherry accent. A spice arrives with a yeasty accompaniment. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. This was a rather tasty beer that was extremely bubbly on the tongue. I liked the entire flavor profile, especially the cherry accents.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Brasserie Dupont Saison Dupont

While at Cafe Bruges in Carlisle for my birthday, I finally ordered a bottle of Brasserie Dupont Saison Dupont. I can’t believe it took me so long to finally try it, but it was one of those beers that I always see and never order. The beer pours a golden color with quickly rising bubbles and a frothy white colored head. The aroma is spicy and fruity with lemon, grass, and yeast. The taste is spicy just like the aroma with great citrus accents. Orange and lemon pop out before a grassy finish that dries the mouth with an earthiness about it. The alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. This was a phenomenal saison and I will make sure never to pass this beer up again. It was so clean and fresh with great citrus flavors and a nice spiciness.