Moralité | Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! | American IPA | Quebec, Canada | 6.9% ABV

First off a big thank you to Chris for bringing this back from Canada!

I have reviewed a few Dieu du Ciel beers before, and am a huge fan of the brewery. It can be purchased at a few places in NYC, but is not an easy find. If I ever see it, I will buy it!  That being said, it was a great to try Moralité, and I can honestly say it was the best Canadian beer I've ever tried. It was an incredibly balanced, had juicy hops with a grapefruit, mango and pineapple flavor, and finished clean as could be. If the price were right, this would absolutely be my everyday IPA. 

It is amazing how the craft beer phenomenon has taken over not only America, but the world. Canada has been pumping out some tremendous beers, and Scotland, New Zealand and Australia have been doing similar work. Stone even opened up a brewery in Germany, a country with an extremely strict brewing code. 

Be on the lookout for more great international selections, and be adventurous!

96/100
93/100 BA

Splash | Grimm Artisanal Ales | Brooklyn, NY | American Double IPA | 8.00% ABV

After an extremely long hiatus I am finally back to beer blogging! Why did I stop? A number of reasons really. For a while I just wasn't excited about new beer releases. The IPAs all seemed to be all the same, as did the Goses and sour beers. Everything being taken from one extreme to another, and each beer I attempted to review sounded almost identical to the review before it. I know all of you don't want to read about random IPAs that you probably won't find, and hear that just like most of the other beers I've reviewed, it tastes like mango and grapefruit...

Why else did I stop? I felt like the "snobbery" was holding me back from truly enjoying the beer. I spent more time analyzing it than just sitting back and enjoying it. Did I drink craft beers over the last 7 months? Sure. But during the summer, I'll admit I had more Coors and Bud Lights than I did craft selections. Is this a bad thing? Absolutely not! Go take a look at my post from 2014 where I chart the evolution of a beer drinker. There is a time and a place for each type of beer, no matter where I claimed you may be on that "pyramid." And stepping away from craft beer for a time has allowed me to truly appreciate the beers now that I am sampling them again. I am happy to say my palate wasn't affected either!

So anyways, I figured an appropriate return to blogging could be for this awesome selection from Grimm. I picked up a selection of brews at the Beer Shop on the UWS, and was blown away by the amount of awesome breweries they had available. I will definitely be back!

This beer by Grimm (quickly climbing the ladder to my favorite breweries) is a juice and hop bomb. There are 4 varieties of hops: Galaxy, Motueka, Wapiti, and Falconer's Flight.  These combine to create a truly delicious IPA, and world class release from Grimm. There's a ton of melon on the nose and in the taste, as well as the usual suspects that I said 3 paragraphs ago that no one wants to hear about anymore...This one finishes so clean and is a very well balanced beer. 

Stay tuned for more reviews from myself and Kevin, and hopefully some new reviewers soon too!

95/100
90/100 BA

First and foremost I’d like to apologize to all the readers for the sporadic (or non-existent) postings as of late. What is my excuse? I could chalk it up to laziness, sure. The Weebly platform used to be very user friendly for writing posts. The app for my iPhone and iPad were tremendous. After the update it takes me significantly longer to write, as the app tends to kick me out mid post. But a poor carpenter blames his tools.

I also feel like my philosophy towards beer has continued its evolution. When I first moved to New York, I was lucky to live directly across from a store that carried over 500 bottles, all sold by the individual bottle. I made it my mission to try many of these beers without rebuying anything. I logged each beer in an Excel spreadsheet, (which I still keep) and developed unique tastes not swayed by other beer blogs, rankings websites or advertising. I quickly learned which brands I enjoyed, which I thought produced consistently excellent beers, as well as which to avoid.
 
My horizons were expanded at various craft beer watering holes around the city as well, and I was able to sample beers not bottled or impossible to find otherwise. I went to tap takeovers that featured rarities such as Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand series, as well as Hill Farmstead selections. I also went to craft beer events, like the quarterly NYC Craft Beer Festival (which I would highly recommend to any beer lover).
 
I even went to various bottle shop events, waiting in long lines for the chance to pick up one or two bottles of something rare. This is still a very fun thing to do, and every year that Bourbon County comes out I love the hunt to find the beer and its varieties.
 
So why am I bringing all this up? First of all no I am not stopping the blog. But I have come to a sort of epiphany. At this moment in time, I do not feel the need to try every new beer that comes along. Rather, I have begun going back and buying those beers that I truly love. Additionally, I am focusing on certain breweries that consistently get it right. In New York City, we get a tremendous selection of beers that has everything except some big time West Coast beers and the elusive Vermont small batch stuff. For local items, I always will try Other Half, Singlecut, Sixpoint and Grimm. At local grocery stores, I’ll usually buy Founders, Westbrook, Evil Twin, Stone, Dogfish, Lagunitas, Cigar City and Troegs. If I go to a specialty bottle shop (which is much rarer for me now), I’ll look for special release items, as well as harder to find breweries like Crooked Stave, Almanac, Prairie, or The Bruery.
 
Almost two years ago I wrote an article about the evolution of the beer drinker. At the top of the pyramid was the beer drinker who wanted to try everything, sought out every new release and went to breweries and other cities in search of rare items. So where do I fall? Have I regressed?
 
I’d rather say that I’ve matured. For example, a month ago I picked up a few four packs of Sixpoint Hi-Res. This beer has become one of my all time favorites, and I stock up when I find it, as it only comes out for a short window every year. I could have purchased many other items, but I much rather would have just Hi-Res over the course of a month than try many other, much expensive items that I don’t know whether or not I will like them. Other beers for me that fall into this category include Troegs Nugget Nectar, Ithaca Caskazilla, Anderson Valley Winter Solstice, or anything by Jack’s Abby. (Just to name a few)
 
Going forward I’d like to take the blog in a sort of new direction. I have a ton of different beers over the last several months for which I could retroactively write reviews. I will do a few of these, but many are out of season or the beers are so rare that they will be very difficult to find. But going forward the posts may be more sporadic, but I’d like them to be more meaningful. I’d like to discuss trends in the beer industry, profile different breweries, alert readers to when my favorite releases are coming out, and perhaps expand to various wines and spirits. But most importantly, I’d like to write about topics that my readers would like to read about. So please shoot me a message or comment about certain things that you would like to see.
 
Did I mention I gave up beer for Lent this year?
 
Cheers,
Scott 

A big thank you to Alex for bringing this beer back all the way from Japan!

Kamakura Moon | Kamakura Beer Brewing Company | Kamakura, Japan | Altbier | 5.50% ABV

Served chilled from a 330mL bottle and poured into a snifter. Pours a reddish-amber color with a think white laced head. Smell is of a biscuity malt and earthy hops. Carbonation is moderate to high with a medium body. Taste is sweet and crisp, with a very dry finish. This beer is very European tasting to me (like a much, much better tasting Amstel or Heineken) It still follows the Japanese beer trend of a dry finish (like Asahi) but still has a lingering sweetness and bitterness. It is difficult to detect any noticeable flavors other than the malt.

Overall a very nice beer. It is no surprise that this won the Gold Medal for the World's Best Altbier by the World Beer Awards in 2010. The brewery is a fascinating one, and their beers cannot be found in America at all. Currently, the brewery only produces 130 kiloliters per year, around 400,000 bottles in total. I feel lucky to have been able to try one of those!

91/100 (though I will say this is the top Altbier I have ever tried)
Not enough ratings Beer Advocate

This intro is becoming a bit of a trend, but wow been a while since my last post. Chalk it up to laziness? Perhaps. I have some exciting brews I could review but have become a bit more selective. The week leading up to Christmas I promise to write some solid reviews. I still owe everyone the 2015 Bourbon County Stout, the Grapefruit Sculpin home-brew clone, and one other solid Foley Brothers beer. 

Thanks to Kevin for bringing this back from Vermont for me. I made sure to drink it within the first few days given the freshness of the Double IPA. I was not disappointed!

Fair Maiden Double IPA | Foley Brothers Brewing | Brandon, Vermont | American Double IPA | 8.2% ABV

Served chilled from a 22 oz bomber and poured into an oversized snifter. Pours a reddish amber color with a two finger off white foam head. The aroma is of grapefruit, mango, pineapple, peach, pine and a hint of onion. Carbonation is moderate with a medium body. Taste is quite complex. There is an intense bitterness from the hop conglomeration, coupled with the sweetness of the biscuity malt. There are definitely fruity and citrusy flavors coming from the hops, with a lingering bitterness. 

One of the closest beers I have ever had to Heady Topper. This stuff was absolutely incredible and I am lucky to have sampled it. If you come across any of their beers in New England, pick me up a few!

99/100
95/100 Beer Advocate

This is long overdue, and two years in the making! On Halloween, we finally did our Southern Tier vertical tasting.

Four of us gathered to sample a flight of three different Southern Tier Beers: Pumking, Warlock, and Rum Barrel Aged Pumking. Several of us had been collecting these for years, as we have found Pumking to age quite well. However, the question always came up "what is the idea amount of time to age a 'King'?"

The list of beers:

2011 Pumking
2012 Pumking
2014 Pumking (2 bottles)
2015 Pumking

2013 Warlock
2015 Warlock

2014 Rum Barrel Aged Pumking

In order to maintain objectivity, we had the bottles placed  into brown paper bags and numbered 1-8. We had another person pour the beers and log which bottle was in which bag to ensure no cheating. Cups were also labeled 1-8, and denoted with a post it note to let us know whose glass was whose.  Below are pictures of the process, as well as the final bottles. 

My notes from the tasting:

GLASS ONE: Mellow and not too carbonated. More focus on the malt than hops. Slightly watery tasting and not as much pumpkin flavor then expected. The nose has a slight amount of pumping but is more subtle. 

GLASS TWO: Much more carbonated than the first glass. Brown sugar, tons of pumpkin, though not much on the nose.

GLASS THREE: Given the dark color this is obviously one of the two Warlocks, but which year? Chocolatey, malty, lightly carbonated, not too much pumpkin (especially when compared to GLASS EIGHT)

GLASS FOUR: Lightly carbonated but tons of pumpkin. Surprisingly not much on this nose as well. Initial guess is slightly older, but this may be edited.

GLASS FIVE: Pumpkin on nose, brown sugar, cinnamon. Carbonation is more than some

GLASS SIX: Well this one at least is obvious. Tons of rum on the nose and in the taste. A little bit of brown sugar and lots of booze. Aftertaste is pure alcohol

GLASS SEVEN: Pumpkin flavor, brown sugar, good carbonation

GLASS EIGHT: We have reached Warlock number 2. But again, which year? More pumpkin on the nose than GLASS THREE, with a higher carbonation. Some chocolate, lots of brown sugar and pumpkin in the taste.

After sampling all of these beers, and analyzing smell and color, it came time to make our guesses. Here were my guesses:

1. 2011 Pumking
2. 2015 Pumking
3. 2013 Warlock
4. 2012 Pumking 
5. 2014 Pumking (we threw a curveball and put 2 bottles of the 2014)
6. 2014 Rum Barrel Aged (this was too obvious)
7. 2014 Pumking
8. 2015 Warlock

After giving our lists to another for grading here were the results:

Mike P. 6/8
Grant F. 6/8
Mike D. 6/8
Scott H. 8/8

Happy to brag that I was able to identify all 8 beers! But it all comes back to my initial question. Which was the best?

Personally, I thought the 2012 Pumking was the best of the bunch. Three years, in my opinion, was the ideal time to drink Pumking. The Warlock from 2013 was my favorite of the two of those. I would be very curious to see how a 3 year old Warlock would hold up. Over time, these beers become slightly less carbonated and lose some of the hoppy flavors. Instead, they turn into more of a pumpkin liqueur than serves as a nice cordial. As for the Rum Barrel Aged, I wasn't thrilled at first, but as the beer warmed it became a much more enjoyable brew. 

We are planning to continue this tradition, and I will keep buying several bottles of both Pumking and Warlock each year. Though most of these are no longer available this year, be sure to stock up next year and for years to come. Next up on the vertical agenda will be a Goose Island Bourbon County tasting, hopefully before the New Year. 

Cheers!
Scott 

Second Fiddle | Fiddlehead Brewing Company | American Double IPA | Shelburne, VT | 8.2% ABV

A big thanks to Keaton to delivering this to NYC for me! 

Served chilled from a 16 oz can and consumed straight from the can. I poured a little out to see the coloring, however. Pours a deep orange/copper color with a frothy off white head. The beer is incredible hazy, and a piece of hop cone actually came out of the can. Smell is piney, grassy, earthy, and of citrus. Taste is sweet and malty, with an absolute hop bomb. Grapefruit, orange and mango are evident, along with passion fruit, and a dank, intense bitterness. Carbonation is moderate with a medium body. The beer has a slight creaminess to it as well. Aftertaste lingers with a ton of bitterness, and lasts longer than most beers I have had.

Overall a tremendous DIPA. I would buy a whole case of this if I could. I had this a few weeks ago when the beer had only been canned 8 days before. Ultra fresh, and incredibly good. Bravo Fiddlehead! 

99/100
97/100 Beer Advocate

 Conviction | Mystic Brewery | New England Imperial Stout aged in American Oak | Batch #001 | Imperial Stout | Chelsea, MA | 12.00% ABV

Bet you thought this blog didn't post anymore, right? Apologies for the delay since the last post. I have a number of potential posts, and went through my highlights from the last six weeks or so. What better type of brew for a crisp fall day (this morning felt like early winter) than an imperial stout? 

Thanks to my Uncle Jim for getting me this bottle. This one actually happens to be Batch #001 for this beer. I wrested with whether or not I should crack it open, but figured given the limited reviews out there, I could give some original thoughts for those looking as to whether it was time to drink this one. I am convinced after drinking (the beer was bottled in February) that whether you want it now or in 5 years, you will not be disappointed.

Served semi-chilled from a 750 mL bottle and poured into a snifter. Pours a deep black color with a hearty tan foam head. Smells are of coffee, chocolate, bourbon, oak and a hint of sweetness. Carbonation is moderate (higher than I anticipated) with a full body. However, it is not the body of a Bourbon County or Parabola, and is more like a Founders Breakfast Stout. The taste is extremely rich and full. Tons of flavors hit you all at once. The roasted malts and chocolate lead, with coffee, caramel, vanilla and roastiness follow. There is a hint of the oak aging, but the other flavors drown that out. The alcohol is hidden extremely well, almost too well. For a 12% beer this thing drinks more like a 6% stout. Wait 20 minutes or so and you'll remember that it's 12%. Finishes on the sweet and malty side, with chocolate and coffee lingering on the tongue.

One heck of a beer from Mystic. Up to this point I really had only had their Saisons, which you know from mine and Kevin's reviews are quite good. This was a whole different level. If I ever see another Mystic stout at the store I will buy them out.

97/100
Not enough Beer Advocate reviews (my review is listed first as of now)

Afterimage |  Grimm Artisanal Ales | American Double IPA | Brooklyn, NY | 8% ABV

Served chilled from a 16 oz can and consumed straight from the can (though I poured out a little). Pours a hazy golden orange color with a frothy white foam head. Smell is very fruity, with hints of melon, peach, mango and other citrus. Carbonation is light with a medium body. Taste is almost like drinking carbonated fruit juice, with an intense bitter hop blast that follows. There is definitely passionfruit in the one as well, and mango, orange and melon juice complement the hoppiness. Aftertaste is bitter and lingering. 

This beer was phenomenal. There was a crazy rush around the city the last week to try to get this. I am thrilled that I was able to get mine at Carmine Street Beers in the West Village. This week I will be doing another profile on them and their canned beers. If you can still find it buy it and buy a lot. 

97/100 
Not enough ratings Beer Advocate