theisti (5540) reviewed Java Porter from Blind Tiger Brewery 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5
4 oz taster at the brewpub. Pour is black with ruby highlights, thin ring of an off white head. Aroma of pretty much office coffee. Taste is porter, coffee and synthetic creamer. This really tasted like java, not fresh coffee, but coffee that’s been sitting around for awhile. Palate is medium and a bit slick. This one really didn’t do it for me. Greg mentioned this was much better last time he had it; I certainly hope so.
theisti (5540) reviewed Smokey the Beer from Blind Tiger Brewery 18 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Growler, shared by csbosox at his tasting on 3/7/08. Pour is mahogany with a whispy off white head. Aroma of bacon, hickory smoked. Smoke is pretty dominant in the nose. Taste is smoke, layered on top of a pretty inoffensive straight forward ale. Good and tasty, though quite one dimensional. Thanks for sharing Chris.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7.5
Growler. Really missing something. The PNW hops are used well here, but there was hardly any malt! The aroma began with plenty of resiny citrus hop, a tad floral. Flavor much the same, with an extremely light, almost watery body, leading to a firm bitterness in the finish, with a lingering grapefruit. Nice amber color with a fluffy head.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
Growler (1 day old). Poured essentially black. There was a touch of brown during the pour but in the glass its as black as night with a thin layer of brown foam. Aroma begins surprisingly faint, with a touch of molasses and pruney fruit. On the first sip - whoa, big time smooth. Awesome soft and light mouthfeel without being thin in the least. Towards the finish, a acrid style burnt malt and chocolatey raisins soaked in rum and soy sauce blend into a rich semi-sweet finish. Despite this complexity, the flavors are nearly as faint as the aromas, and its pretty weird! The lingering aftertaste features an acrid bitterness that seems to combine the bitterness of a lingering hop (maybe Chinook but thats just a wild guess) with that of heavily roasted malts. The further in, the beer seems drier, featuring more of the roast and less of the fruity molasses character. I think this combination of complexity and fullness of palate while being subtle, understated and easy-drinking makes this a thoroughly world-class imperial stout!
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 3.5
A beer like this can really piss me off. Its not that its a bad beer and for the nth time its not that I really want to rate by style, but when I see a beer with the word strawberry in the title, I might expect some strawberry flavors, and when I see a beer with the word saison in the title, I might expect the fizzy spicy herbal funkiness of a saison. When I see those 2 words together I might expect the spicy herbal funkiness of a saison complemented with some strawberry flavors, which kinda sounds really good if done rightly. And then there’s this beer, passable as a bright clear golden lager, clean and blandish, getting overly sweet as it warms, and just the barest hint of strawberry flavors to keep it from being completely one dimensional. If they’d just called it something else, I could give it the same rating and spare the rant.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 2 | Texture - 2 | Overall - 3.5
Cripes, what happened here?! This was a mess. Hazy amber color. Mild malty aroma, with no esters or hops of note. The flavor is nothing but bitter, an overwhelming palate coating bitterness with little malt and no esters at all. Fairly unpleasant!
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
I’ve yet to be won over by the pumpkin beer trend, despite my love of pumpkin pie. That said, this is easily one of the best pumpkin beers I’ve had. Crystal clear light amber color. Candyish aroma dominated by cinnamon. The flavor is more integrated: pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, all the pumpkin pie spices blending together: it tastes just like the pie! Long finish. One of their more characterful offerings.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 3 | Flavor - 3 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4
Another American Wheat from Blind Tiger, but distinct from their Raw Wheat. This one is more of a dull golden color. Somewhat like many brewpub’s "blond ale". Little to no malt character, very clean. Bitterness rises some near the end, lending to an impression of imbalance.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5
I sure would like to get all Christopher Walken on this one, loving it so much I’d have to proclaim "I need more cow bell!!", but its not to be. Its not bad by any means, just a slightly above average offering from Bling Tiger. Dark black, dense head. Light roast, some coffee in the nose. Caramel and milk chocolate flavors meld in the mouth. Smooth, a nice one.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5
Resiny aroma, some grapefruit. Again, like many of their beers, lacking malt backbone, this one is hop juice. Full resiny flavor, but lacking bitter hop finish. Like the pale ale, the finish is short.