Sierra Nevada Beer Camp CANfusion Rye Bock collaboration with Oskar Blues. Rye beer 7.2% ABV.

This is the second of two canned beers in the beer camp set, as is the characteristic of Oskar Blues beers. As such, I consumed straight from the can (though poured a little to examine color).

Served chilled and consumed from a 12 oz can. It does pour a beautiful orange amber color with a thick, bubbly head. Smells from the can are yeasty, earthy and citrusy. The carbonation is medium with a medium-light body. Taste is bready, with hints of grapefruit, malt and peppercorn. Aftertaste is citrusy and earthy.

Overall, this is my favorite so far from the Beer Camp pack. I would absolutely buy this again. I am a big fan of Oskar Blues, and have tried several of their beers. Dale's Pale Ale is their flagship, though they have other good ones such as Deviant Dales and Old Chub. They are pretty reasonably priced, so check them out!

92/100

Jack's Abby Vanilla Framinghammer. Baltic Porter. Framingham, MA. 10% ABV.

This is the fourth Framinghammer variation I've tried (can't wait to find the PB&J one!) and each have been amazing. I was really excited when I saw this one and immediately bought it. As you will see, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Served chilled from a 16.9 oz bottle and poured into a pint glass. Pours a thick black color with a one finger tan foam head. Smells are of chocolate, coffee and heavily vanilla. Carbonation is medium-light with a full body. Mouthfeel is extremely creamy, and the vanilla is the dominant flavor. The bitterness is quite low, and the aftertaste is mainly vanilla and coffee.

Overall, this would be my 2nd favorite of the Framinghammers behind the coffee edition. Third would be the traditional Framinghammer and fourth (but still good) the barrel aged. For those who can't remember that far back the barrel aged was my very first review! Was a little too liberal on that rating so I'll be editing down later tonight.

96/100

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 8: Torpedo Pilsner collaboration with Firestone Walker. "Hoppy" Pilsner 5.2% ABV.

Served chilled in a 12 oz bottle and poured into a pint glass. Pours a golden yellow color with a one finger white foam head. Smells of malt and lemon. Carbonation is high with a crisp, light body. Taste is lightly roasted barley and cracker like. Very, very hoppy for a pilsner with some spices and lemon.

Overall a decent collaboration. I'll admit pilsners are not a style of beer I much care for, but this ranks pretty well among the ones I've had. Favorites are North Coast's Scrimshaw Pils, Stoudt's Pils, Sixpoint's The Crisp and Victory Prima Pils. Additionally, I love Firestone Walker. Such a great brewery that rarely misses.

80/100

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 7: Tater Ridge collaboration with Ashville Brewers Alliance. Scottish Ale. 7% ABV.

Served chilled from the bottle and poured into a pint glass. Pours a reddish brown color with a one finger tan foam head. Smells are of sweet potato, malt and cinnamon. Carbonation is moderate-light with medium body. Taste is of a brown ale. The sweet potato is somewhat evident, and the cinnamon, malt and citrus peel is also there. Not much of an aftertaste.

Overall, a drinkable but underwhelming beer. This was the one I was least excited about in the sampler pack. Still 5 to go buy this currently is at the bottom.

79/100

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp 6: There and Back. English Style Bitter collaboration with New Glarus Brewing. 5.6% ABV.

Served chilled in a 12 oz bottle and poured into a pint glass. Pours an orange-amber color with a two finger off-white head. Smells earthy, malty, and citrusy. The carbonation is medium with the same body. Taste is very malty, with hints of citrus peel. The aftertaste is somewhat bitter but does not linger. 

Overall, this is nothing special, but is a drinkable beer. Would I buy this again? No, but I would like to check out New Glarus (had never tried any of their stuff before Beer Camp). If you are looking for an ESB, there are a lot of good examples of the style. Goose Island Honkers and Fuller's ESB are two good (but very different!) examples. 

82/100

Beer Camp Double Latte collaboration with Ninkasi Brewing. Milk Stout 7.6% ABV.

Served chilled from a 12 oz bottle and poured in a snifter. Pours a thick black color with a one finger tan foam head. After one sip the head had completely receded to a thin tan lacing. Smells are of coffee and chocolate. Carbonation is light with a full body. The beer is actually quite thick, likely due to the lactose added. Taste is sweet and creamy, with strong coffee, cocoa, caramel and espresso flavors. Aftertaste is heavily coffee and bitter, with a bit of sweetness lingering. Overall a pretty solid milk stout, and my first beer from Ninkasi.

92/100

Jack's Abby Framinghammer. Baltic Porter. Framingham, MA 10% ABV.

Served chilled from a 16.9 oz bottle and poured in a snifter. Pours a thick black color with a one finger tan foam head. Smells are of coffee, chocolate and sweetness. Carbonation is light with a full body. Taste is of coffee, chocolate, vanilla and a roasty malt. Just a bit of a booziness, but the alcohol is surprisingly masked for a 10% ABV beer. Aftertaste is a combination of sweet and bitter, likely coming from the vanilla and chocolate.

Overall a phenomenal beer from Jack's Abby. I have reviewed a few variations of this beer before, including the Bourbon Barrel aged and Coffee Framinghammer. This was the first time I've ever had the original Framinghammer, and it definitely ranks up there with the best porters I've ever had. Once again, Jack's Abby hits a home run.

95/100

Sorry about no post this morning. Tomorrow I will have a good one!

Anyways, here is one of my recent mirror purchases. In terms of cheap beer, I actually like Labatt Blue. I usually keep a few bottles in the fridge at all times. For the price, it's pretty good tasting and light.

Will keep posting pictures of my beer memorabilia!

Cheers!

Scott

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Alt Route collaboration with Victory Brewing. Altbier 6.6% ABV.

Randomly selected from the beer camp pack. Served chilled from a 12 oz bottle and poured in a snifter. Pours a dark amber to light brown color with a one finger white foam head. Smells sweet and toasty. The carbonation and body are both on the medium side. Taste is of caramel malt, and is bready and earthy with hints of citrus at the end.

Overall a decent beer, but one I wouldn't buy on its own. I have always been a fan of Victory, and consistently buy their products. Some of my favorites of theirs are Dirtwolf, Prima Pils, and Hop Wollop (which has been discontinued) to name a few. It's tough to go wrong when buying them, as they are one of the most consistent breweries out there.

82/100

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock collaboration with Cigar City. Maibock style 7.7% ABV.

I decided for day three to go with another one of my favorite breweries: Cigar City from Tampa, FL. This beer was one of two from the Beer Camp pack that came in cans instead of bottles, which is consistent with Cigar City beers. I have reviewed one other CC beer on this blog, and many of my readers are big fans of Jai Alai.

As I do with most Cigar City beers, consumed straight from the can. I did pour a few oz out to see the color, which was a clear copper. Smells were very bready and malty with only hints of citrus. Medium carbonation with a full body. Taste is of bread and toast, with fruit hints of grapefruit, guava and mango. Aftertaste is nearly nonexistent.

Overall an excellent beer here. I love CC and the creative beers they make. Would buy this one on its own as well. 3/3 so far with the Beer Camp pack!

86/100