Notes from March 2009 3.95/5 rDev -0.5% look: 3.5 - smell: 3.5 - taste: 4.5 - feel: 3 - overall: 4 On tap at the Yard's Smoke'em If You Got'em Beer & BBQ event on the last Friday during Philly Beer Week. Inconspicuously labeled as smoked imperial porter 8.2%. Black & brown average pour into my souvenir mug thrice over. Minimal tan head. Smells of burnt nuts, bitter coffee, & sweet bbq char(note: nothing at that event was particularly charred except for the selection of ribs, which weren't particularly good). A somewhat bitter licorice flavor gets noticed with a good amount of char. So does a minimal amount of coffee grounds. Malt & cola soak up any extremes. A good change of pace from everything else on tap that day. Smoke wasn't particularly overpowering or resonating with the added char sweetness. Feel was very carbonated. It thinned it out a bit too much, to the point where it didn't exactly feel like a porter. Alcohol wasn't exactly well hidden, but it was expected. I'd surely order up another if I could find it. A nice change of pace from always grabbing their rauchbier(which I love). Do it again, & bottle it this time. :)

Notes from March 2009 Ageless growler via New Beer. The IPA Project has been kind to me over the past couple of years. Odyssey as an end result wasn't that bad. Who the hell is getting exited about the new Pale Ale Project? I could care less now. They still make a ton of interesting beers I can better focus on now. /not a lush Poured into my Ommegang anniversary glass. A clear, ruby-laced amber with an inch of off-white paste. Frothy, white wash lace. Smell is softly baked, minimally toasted & caramelized, bread crumbs. Light mixed bouquet of flowers. Very little in here actually. Taste is delicately sweet. Simple bread crust, confectioner's sugar, & butter. The alcohol brings forth bitter green hops, with some grapefruit rindyness taking a backseat. The alcohol & resinous bitters stick around during the finish, haphazardly washing away the body's initial soft impression. Carbonation could be stronger. A little uninspiring, but a decent stab(as always) from the IPA Project.

Notes from April 2009 Growler from New Beer. Served in a 12oz festival souvenir glass mug. Silent crack of the cap. Straight pour down the middle gets me half an inch of airy oatmeal-colored head that comes & goes. The body is worn brown with tea-ish highlights. Clarity is just a few points off my prescription. Smell is a good bit of bananas, butter, & sugar going at it in a hot pan. A noticeable amount of the malt comes off comparable to what is found in Euro lagers. The residual sugars smell crusted & sticky. The back end is clove & cola. Feel is decent. Carbonation is a little overeager & the body a bit thinner then I would expect. Alcohol isn't well hidden. Taste is metallic & lightly ashed upfront. Toasted caramel, bread & margarine in the middle, with a big clove, plastic, & alcoholic finish. Sorry to anyone I sent a sample of this. Better in the bottle I think. Is the bottle version brewed in their other location? Probably slightly different in any format over there. /confused 32oz is easier then 64. 22oz in this case, which I think was a wise decision. So many good things come out of these brewpubs, so many mediocre & bad things too. Price is always nice, as is the accessibility to so many styles. I still think they should find some grounding & try to solidify some of their better beers before racing towards x/y/z in the style playbook.

Notes from June 2009 Counter pressure growler from Bierkraft, filled a couple weeks ago. $16 for the fill, along with $9 for a tasty ham, cheese, & horseradish hero that I'm still burping up. :D Into my Sly Fox paperweight/tumbler it goes. A thick, luxurious pour. A couple inches of coffee creamer head over a cloudy 4C iced tea body with two scoops too many. Smell is unexpectedly full of melon, pungent wood, & sweet florals. Something curiously odd like lychee fruit. A bit of macerated honey & toast towards the back, but loaded with unavoidable amounts of soft tropicals. Maybe a little plastic, maybe. Frothy, turning syrupy mouthfeel. Heavy pine resin starts it off, but is followed with a granola-ish sweetness & a bunch of other residuals. More weirded-out fruit, but loads of sticky, bitter resin. The finish goes with some gum & Honey Nut Cheerios, ending just a bit drier then it was. Alcohol is somewhat tolerable out the gate, but becomes solvent-like once the beer warms up. Feels hotter then it should. Carbonation is a touch prickly, but low overall. Really hefty. Thick. I like it, but even with big dinner in front of me, I still have some left for breakfast. Price was a bit of a shock too, considering what other Sly Fox beers usually go for.

12oz can picked up at Total Wine. Pours clear golden with a medium sized off-white head, light lacing. Fruity, dough, hay, citrus zest. Good WCIPA