Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Tap @ brewery. Cloudy brown appearance with a small tan head with large bubbles. Spicy aroma- ginger, vanilla, allspice- with notes of toasted caramel malts. Creamy, dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel/toffee malty centric flavor with the spices subdued but a nice addition. Nice job!
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Tap at CK - hey, a winter ale that isn’t a booze bomb - what a novel concept - cloudy dark brown - thin ring of white lace - like chai in beer form - smells and tastes of cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg - there may even be a hint of white pepper in there, as there is a slight peppery bite on the tail end - there is some moderately sweet, roasty, nutty malt underneath to balance and the spices are not overdone, resulting in a nuanced, sessionable winter brew with plenty of character - a lot of vanilla as it warms - another nice one from Copper Kettle.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Tap at CK - hazy light amber - kind of a hybrid of Belgian and American pales - has a rather high hop profile for the style - a mix of peppery hops and fruity (possibly German?) hops - however, they work rather well with the mildly peppery phenols of the yeast - malts are a bit crisp and crackery up front, but get a bit sweet through the middle and finish - some tropical notes on the tail end, with lingering peppery character - a tad dusty/earthy - a little hefty and sweet for the style (for me, anyway; I like my Belgian pales light and crisp), but still a solid beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Tap at CK - turbid dark copper - aroma is of earthy, woody American hops, possibly cascade and simcoe, with a clean, moderately sweet malt profile - medium bodied, full carbonation - flavor is of medium dry, lightly Biscuity malts - hops in the flavor seem more like noble hops - peppery, grassy and lightly fruity (hallertauer?) - bitterness is pretty intense, perhaps a bit too much so in the finish, but still very tasty, with a fairly complex flavor profile for the style.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
This is a very hard style to pull off, but I would say they nailed it - turbid amber - well-retained head - reminds me very much of the Ommegang dubbel, so much so that I wonder if it is a clone recipe - medium bodied and slightly soft, cream carbonation - subtle but complex, with perfectly masked alcohol - very earthy, almost dusty, with a hint of oxidized character - light toffeeish sweetness, raisin and a hint of clove far in the back - very mild esters - a hint of spiciness - tasty and quite authentic.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Tap at CK - turbid brown pour - looks like an unfiltered brown ale - nose of vanilla, roasted nuts, light smoke and earthy wood - flavor is fairly yeasty (no surprise) - notes of chocolate, ligh dark malt bitterness, moderate earthy smoke with mild beechwood flavor - a slighty sharp acidity - an odd, sort of citric bitterness on the tail end - a bit muddled and I would like more smoke in the flavor - decent, but kind of a miss for me.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Tap at CK - lightly hazy copper beer, with a frothy, well-retained head - looks great - very smooth, with a medium toffee sweetness and moderate esters - some flavors of toasted bread and caramelized sugars - a touch of bitterness on the tail end to temper the sweetness - some buttery and floral notes in the finish - a solid, well-made marzen lager - this brewer is very consistent - nice.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Note to admins: this should probably be listed as a fruit beer - tap at Copper Kettle - hazy purplish red with a pillowy pink head - looks great - the use of whole fruit rather than extract or syrup really gave thm great results - the wheat beer base is vey simple - just lightly bready and lighty sweet - the base gives plenty of room for the fruit to shine - moderate tartness and acidity - whole fruit skin and meat earthiness - finish of bitter fruit skin and lingering wheat - very well-executed - reminds me of a better version of the MS blackberry wheat.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Growler filled at CK a few hours ago - hazy light gold - shouldn’t be haze in this style, but this has killer head retention, so it still looks pretty nice to me - nose of clean pale malt sweetness and strong grassy, herbal hops - flavor is lean, clean maltiness up front, followed quickly by a very light estery fruitiness - hops come on string through the middle - floral and grassy at first, but by the finish they are potent and peppery - finish has some lingering toasty grain, some unwelcome huskiness, but is mostly clean, leaving a lingering hop bite - a pretty solid session brew.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Tap @ brewery. Fairly cloudy, luminescent yellow appearance with a pearl white head. Straw, pale malty, mild grassy, earthy hoppy aroma. Straw/hay, slightly grainy, pale malty flavor with an earthy hoppiness. Straw, grassy aftertaste. Very clean flavor, just like their others. For a style that I usually don’t enjoy, this isn’t bad.