Heady Topper

Heady Topper
Double IPA
16 oz can poured into a snifter. Thanks cavedave!

    Although the can warns it will be hazy, it is way beyond that: murky and dirty looking with plenty of floaties and barely any head in spite of a very vigorous pour, Heady Topper does look BAD.

    Fortunately appearance is the only unimpressive aspect of this beer. Smells dank and piney, with a freshness I have not encountered in any other DIPA. Some citrus-y fruitiness comes along later but this beer is seriously green, in the manner I like. Ok, finally some onion makes me reluctantly take half a point off.

    And the taste is something to die for, and kill: an IPA can only get so much bitter without getting unpleasant, and Heady manages to stay very very pleasant. Fruity without the sweetness (!), and almost like chewing on pine needles and rind with a bone dry finish and long lingering bitterness. This is the perfect Double IPA. I don't like to make "Pliny killer" statements but I can safely say that this can is better than the bottle of Pliny I reviewed, and I gave that one a 5 on taste... so is this a 5.5 or what?!

    Ah, Heady Topper is just what I need in my IPAs --- low alcohol (for a DIPA), clean and crisp character, mind blowing hoppiness, and palate killing bitterness. Looks aside, Heady is the perfect DIPA and the perfect beer.

    So glad to have tried it, and I will trade for it again and again and again. In past I have been let down by IPAs I have traded for but this?! A-W-E-S-O-M-E. Thanks Dave!

1, 4.5, 5, 5, 5

Laughing Fox

Laughing Fox
New Glarus Brewing
Kristalweizen (= filtered Hefeweizen)
4.5% ABV

    12 oz poured into a weizen glass. Pours with a nice and creamy head. Darker than what I expected, bordering the amber ale color. The head is also much darker than it should be. Brilliant clarity as expected. Good head retention and lacing.

    Spicy clove and some malty sweetness in the aroma. Perfumy wheat malt. Taste is slightly fruity sweet and overall subtle. Aftertaste has richer notes of perfume and spice. Light bodied with a refreshing crispness. Just a tiny bit of bitterness at the back. Dry finish.

Overall refreshing and easy drinking but it's thoroughly forgettable.

3.5, 3, 3, 4, 3

Cuvée René

Cuvée René
Gueuze

75 cl bottle poured into Lindeman's flute. Purchased at Surdyk's for 8.99 (a couple dollars below the usual)

    Bright hay colored and very effervescent, Cuvée René pours with a fluffy white head that departs rather soon and leaves no lacing. Certainly young but not as young as it claims on the bottle (bottled 18 August 2012!) --- I can detect the malty sweetness so there is a lot of room for development. Of course there is some funk but it's dominated by a lot of spicy, phenolic notes. The funk is musty, and storage like as opposed to Sarah Jessica Parker-ish.

    I like the taste much better: slightly tart, hints of malt in sweetness and in the body, with a bitter and slightly tannic finish akin to fruit peel. Phenolic. Funky notes here and there but very subtle. Prickly carbonation and dry finish. Very bubbly and refreshing. I will buy it again when I am feeling sour, but I wish it were more intense.

3, 3, 4, 4, 4

Founders Harvest Ale

Founders Harvest Ale
Fresh hop ale (APA - AIPA in my opinion)
6.5% ABV, 70 IBUs

    Must have been bottled a couple weeks ago but the date in unintelligible like most date stamps on Founders beers. Fail. Poured into a generic pint glass.

    Much lighter colored than other pale ales, the color of Harvest is somewhere between a pilsner and the usual pale: true amber color with a rather small but dense and creamy head. The head retention is fine; minimal lacing.

    Tropical fruit and mowed lawn in aroma, this one is late hopped and dry hopped. I suppose this hop profile is getting too pedestrian though and I really don't see the appeal of "wet" hopping. Fairly similar to your typical west coast pale/IPA I say.

    Taste is nice... restrained malts with plenty of hop flavor and bitterness. Drinks way thinner than an average pale ale but I am content. Reaffirms by belief in Upper Midwestern pale ales. Daisy Cutter, Zombie Dust, and now this. The bitterness, although not over the top, is certainly assertive and lingering and the finish is dry. A fine beer but too bad it cannot be sessioned. My yardstick might be biased but this is my opinion... if Town Hall can cram a boatload of hops in a 4-5% ABV beer, why not others?

3.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 3.5

Three Philosophers

Three Philosophers
98% Quadrupel, 2% Kriek?
9.8% ABV

    2011 bottle poured into a Duvel glass. Pours rust brown with a dark tan colored big, creamy head. Medium retention, medium lacing.

    The aroma is dominated by Kriek than anything else in my opinion. Some malty/caramel-y/candi sugar goodness dances in the background. Nowhere as massive as the best examples in its malts or spices though.

    I loathed the taste initially but it seems to be growing on me. I am still having a hard time deciding whether the addition of Kriek works or not and I am leaning more towards the idea that it does. Still not sure if I would want Kriek in my Rochefort. Sweet caramel, slightly tart, definitely too bitter and appropriately tannic. A bit boozy at times.

    The mouthfeel is certainly good with low carbonation and good presence on the palate, as one would expect from a bigger beer. All in all it's a pretty mediocre Quadrupel but then it's priced right. I doubt if I will drink it again.

4, 3, 3, 4.5, 3

Founders Centennial IPA

Founders Centennial IPA
7.2% ABV, 65 IBUs
An all centennial hop American IPA

    12 oz, bottled about 10 days ago, poured into a generic beer glass. Amber-copper hued, fairly clear, with a good and fluffy alabaster colored head. Good head retention and decent lacing.

    Aroma is initially all bready and malty but slowly transitions through candied fruit to intense citrus with notes of tropical fruit. I bet it had to do with the head and the head space in the glass.

    The taste is strong on citrus, specifically orange zest and grapefruit. Some alcohol here and there but never interfering. Not the driest IPA but fairly dry, with firm bitterness. Certainly not as big on tropical notes of mango-papaya-pineapple like Two Hearted, but definitely more earthy and perhaps marginally more bitter.

    Good body, great feel, and more alcohol by volume than I like. Underrated in my opinion because it'll always be compared to Two Hearted; the latter is more "flamboyant and outgoing" but both are equally good in my opinion.

4, 4, 4.5, 5, 4

Gale's Conquest Ale

Gale's Conquest Ale
English Barleywine
9% ABV

2001 "vintage" poured into an NB globe in Fall 2011.

    More than a review, this is a lesson. Many beers can withstand years, yeah; but! (a) Not all can withstand aging and (b) even among those that can, not all can withstand equal amount of time!

    Gale's pours cloudy amber with hardly any head at all. And in spite of the cork to prevent oxidation (I suppose), laid on top of wonderful notes of sherry, there's a dirty, ugly layer of wet cardboard, yeah.

    You know that something's very very wrong when an English Barleywine tastes sour and I will tell you what it is: it has turned sour. Way past it's prime, and yet reminiscent of its sweet spot, Conquest has notes of dried figs and raisins and some fruit peel tannins but a fuckin' boatload of yucky tartness to go with it.

    Thin, watery, and most of all, un-beerly, this beer that could have been borderline awesome 4 years ago has turned into an abomination. Disappointed in my purchase, I brand this one a failure!

Avoid!