2-4-T: Old Dominion Pale Ale & Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA

1. Old Dominion Pale Ale

The fortunate thing for beer drinkers (and perhaps unfortunate thing for brewers) is that in this world of extreme beer brewing and innovative craft brewing, sometimes basic beer styles are overlooked but when they ARE looked at, standards are expected. I reviewed Old Dominion's Oak Barrel Stout a couple weeks ago, obviously a somewhat unique style. Now comes their Pale Ale. When it comes to a pale ale these days, people want quality. And I'm people. I definitely appreciate sticking to a standard style, like a basic Pale Ale, IPA, porter or stout. A beer like a pale ale all depends on the hops used - in this case, Cascade and Colombus hops were used in addition to a type of hop that I don't think I've ever had: Nelson-Sauvin hops, from New Zealand. The combination brings mostly a pine-like hop taste, which is pretty darn pleasant. Between the stout and this, I would definitely give this brewery a shot for those brews or any others if I saw it on tap or at the store.

Overall Rating: B+

2. Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA

Speaking of hops...let's bring on some west coast hop mentality. Drinking out of a 22 oz bomber (but I poured it into a glass, don't worry), this IPA was delicious. This one has a 4 hop combo: Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial. So they could have called it the C⁴ IPA but whatever, I guess they have a racing theme going on with their brewery. Anyway, this beer is fantastic. When it comes to IPAs, I'm looking for some really bold hop flavor AND combination. Some beers that I've had do have strong hop flavor but the combination of hops falls short. These Cali brewers found a great combination and this IPA is really one of my favorites, though in the IPA category, I do have a lot of favorites. I would love to see some more Bear Republic brews make their way to the east coast. Even though they mostly stick to traditional styles, if anything follows suit of this IPA, I'm game.

Overall Rating: A-

3-4-Thurs: Flying Fish Exit 9, PBC Marzen & He'Brew Vertical Jewbelation

I had limited time for a post this past Tuesday, so I'm making up for it by posting 3 beer reviews this Thursday evening...

1. Flying Fish Exit 9

Lucky #7 in the exit series from NJ brewery, Flying Fish, is based on the exit off the turnpike that leads you to Rutgers University, thus the name: Hoppy Scarlet Ale. This is definitely one of the best red ales I've ever had. Red ales are an odd bunch though. Most breweries don't make one. Because they are more of a session beer and tend to balance between the malty and hoppy types of ales, the red ales out there are either mass-produced and lacking flavor or sway toward malty or hoppy (usually malty). There are exceptions from Lagunitas, Rogue and other breweries, just so we're clear. This one definitely had a lot of hoppy flavor to it but it had some nicely balanced malt backbone to it for a full-flavored beer, thanks in part to it being bottle-conditioned. I'd definitely drink this one again, and any other release from the exit series too. See you at the next exit...

Overall Rating: A-

2. Penn Brewing Co. Marzen

After living in the PA/NJ area for over 20 years, I find it odd that it wasn't until recently that I just tried a beer from Penn Brewing Co. Of course, it'd probably be even more odd if I HAD tried it 20 years ago, since I was only 5 years old (cue the groans from the older readers). Anyway, PBC has been around the block brewing German-style brews out of Pittsburgh. The Marzen style is intended for the spring, so even though we just got snow here in Allentown, I'll celebrate the style. The famous beer critic Michael Jackson (no relation, this guy was a bearded English beer fanatic/writer) named this beer one of his favorite 24 American beers. That's quite an honor. [Sidenote: The coincidental name can't help but remind me of Office Space/Michael Bolton] Anyway, Germans like to make flavorful session beers, so there's nothing extreme here. Just a full-bodied malty amber beer. Hard to say it's one of my top 24 American beers, but as far as session beers go, there's a good argument.

Overall Rating: B

3. He'Brew Vertical Jewbelation

I've seen beers from this brewery for years but only recently started buying them for some reason. The marketing and mission of He'Brew brewery is great, whether you're Jewish or not. They make Kosher beer and use that as a unique angle for their marketing and naming their beers: Genesis Ale, Messiah Ale, etc. Anyway, I recently tried one of their staple beers and loved it. So when I saw this beer, my hand was like one of those old school circa-80's slap wrist bands around this beer: Jewbelation uses a different recipe each year, so they blended the 7 different Jewbelations made and aged it in Sazerac 6 year Rye Whiskey barrels. Umm...yes please. I don't care if you've never had any of the 7 different styles, just seeing that a brewery goes through this process for a beer is enough for any beer/whiskey lover to give it a shot. I'll be honest - I had this after consuming a few others so my palate was not at its best. However, I do remember it being quite lovely. Though strong, at 10.5% ABV, this has everything you might expect: caramel, vanilla, dark raisiny taste, oakiness, some alcohol bite, some hoppiness, woody, rum brown sugar...I could go on and on. Just a very, very full-bodied flavorful beer. L'chaim!

Overall Rating: A-

2-4-T: Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout & The Bruery Coton

1. Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout

So apparently Dogfish Head isn't the only brewery in Delaware. I got this puppy, from Old Dominon Brewing Co. out of Dover, out of my Beer of the Month club package last week and was definitely excited to try it. I liked that these guys are definitely micro-scale because they use oak chips in the process rather than aging a stout in a big, fancy oak barrel. So technically this is an Oak Chip Stout, but that doesn't sound as sexy, now does it? They apparently add vanilla beans along with the oak chips, dry hopping the beer. I don't get a whole lot of vanilla and the oak is subtle but I taste it. Overall, however, this is an excellent stout. I was pleasantly surprised from a brewery I had never heard of before. I also have a few of their Pale Ales to try...I work hard for this site.

Overall Rating: B+

2. The Bruery Coton Old Ale

Hoooo doggy! Would you like some beer with your alcohol? This may be tame in the whole scheme of brewery ABV envy battles at a mere 14.5% ABV, but it certainly wasn't light. A beer like this, from The Bruery in the O.C., is great to age. It came out in May 2010 in the brewery's second year anniversary. They used the same beer they brewed for their one year anniversary, an English-style old ale, but took about 1/4 of it, aged it in oak barrels and blended it. They use their house strain of Belgian yeast (impressive). This beer smells like alcohol and dark fruit, like raisins and dark cherries. It tastes like that too but with some maple syrup qualities. I was hoping for a stronger bourbon taste to it, but there are some oakey bourbon qualities to it also. This is a Miller Lite drinker's nightmare. If you have a bottle of this, I'd suggest waiting longer to open it.

Overall Rating: B+

2-4-T: Left Hand Barrel-Aged Wake Up Dead & Dogfish Head Squall IPA

1. Left Hand Barrel-Aged Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout

Left Hand Brewing is one of the many breweries that I like to the point that I'll try anything they distribute. As a big stout fan, I was especially excited about this one. I bypassed the Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout and dove right into the barrel-aged version. I was even more interested in trying this beer after reading unusually subpar reviews on websites - how can you give a barrel-aged imperial stout from a great Colorado brewery a C+? Boggled my mind. I don't think this one deserves an A+ but it was definitely better than that. However, I'd be interested in trying the regular version of this beer because I didn't really pick up on the influence of this being aged in barrels. It has that dark, sugary taste with a noticeable presence of alcohol. Thinner than most imperial stouts but still heavy. I had no problem finishing a 22 oz. bomber though. I have to praise the label art too - great stuff.

Overall Rating: B

2. Dogfish Head Squall IPA

I've seen this beer listed for years but it wasn't until recently that I was actually able to try it. It was well worth the wait. This beer might be my new favorite Dogfish Head beer. This IPA is made similarly to the 90 min. IPA, however, it gets way more hops of different varieties in a dry-hopping process. The other perk of this beer is that it's unfiltered and bottle-conditioned so it's FULL of flavor. Exceptionally smooth for a 9% ABV beer. Great body, great carbonation, great aroma, great taste. Tony the tiger should advertise for this beer. Not as cloudy as expected for an unfiltered beer, but that's a good thing. People need to calm down a little about Bell's Hopslam (myself included) and try this beer out.

Overall Rating: A+

2-4-T: Ipswich Original Ale & Sly Fox Black Raspberry Reserve

1. Ipswich Original Ale

Though Ipswich Brewery out of Massachusetts has only been around since 1991 (which is actually impressive in the craft beer world), it's nice to taste the product that started them off, their Original Ale. The claim to fame with this beer is that Wine Spectator Magazine named it one of the World's Best 10 Beers. I find a lot wrong with that claim, one being that you can't create a list of the world's best beers unless you're a seasoned traveler that's tried beer virtually everywhere. Second, it's a wine magazine. That's like basing your fantasy football team off a list created by Better Homes & Gardens. Anyway, I'll leave that claim be and use my own judgment. Is this one of the top 10 beers I've ever had? Ish don't think so. Is it good? Sure. It's of the English Pale Ale variety and it has some really bold flavors for 5.4% ABV. It's nicely balanced in carbonation, hop flavor, maltiness and earthiness. A nice session beer.

Overall Rating: B+

2. Sly Fox Black Raspberry Reserve

I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters...I bought a fruity beer. In my defense, Sly Fox out of Phoenixville and Royersford, PA, created this beer as an argument that fruity beers don't have to be fruity beers. I'd say this was one of the better beers I've ever had with added fruit, along with a few of Dogfish Head's selections. Some fruit-based beers have wayyy too much sugary sweet flavor to them. This one has a subtle balance of red and black raspberries, so you don't have to extend your pinky when consuming it. The subtle fruit taste definitely masks the fact that this beer is 8% ABV, because I couldn't find any alcohol taste. Definitely a good choice for someone who has yet to find a fruit beer that they like, though I'm not quite sure I'd buy this again.

Overall Rating: B+