Lubiere (24459) reviewed Nuggets from The Alchemist 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
A hazy orange dark amber ale with a thin lacing light moka head. A sweet maple,vanilla and hops in aroma. In mouth, a nice floral hops with sustained bitterness, crisp malt, grapefruits, rich bodied. On tap at brewery 13 Oct. 2008.
Lubiere (24459) reviewed Harvest Ale from The Alchemist 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
A reddish brown ale with a thin moka coffee lacing head. Aroma is pungeant, with nutty roastiness. In mouth, a fresh balanced light malt with sustained nutty bitterness. Spot to style. On tap at brewery 13 Oct. 2008.
Lubiere (24459) reviewed Honky from The Alchemist 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6
A lightly hazed golden ale with a thin creamy lacing white head. A light orange peels and cloves aroma. In mouth, a restrained malt with light cloves, light bodied. On tap at brewery 13 Oct. 2008.
notalush (7339) reviewed Beelzebub from The Alchemist 17 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Tap at Blind Tiger - whoa, this one is hoppy for a stout - the pour is nice and black, with a dark tan head - the aroma is of strong, pine-like hops, roasty character, some chocolate - the strong hops in the flavor enhance a powerful woodiness, some tobacco, coffee, and bittersweet chocolate flavors - I normally don’t like hoppy stouts, but this works.
notalush (7339) reviewed Bacchus from The Alchemist 17 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Tap at Blind Tiger - well dammit to hell, the one beer I was really looking forward to at this event and it wasn’t very good - reddish-purple, kool-aid looking beer - the aroma is heavy with grapes, some wheaty character, mild yogurt/tart qualities, a kind of berry/fruit juice thing going on - the flavor is a bit sweet and juice like, with very mild funky character way in the back - the flavor reminds me a bit of fruit-flavored yogurt - very mild acidity - maybe it the "wild" bacteria have more time to do their thing, this will be better, but for now it’s just meh.
notalush (7339) reviewed Rapture (2007-2011) from The Alchemist 18 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Tap at the brewpub - explosive, grassy, piney hop aroma, with a huge, dry, woody character - very crisp, herbal, earthy simcoe hop flavor, balanced with a perfect malt backbone, not getting sticky like most - hops remain center stage, and keep the finish very dry and woody - reminds me of Sixpoint Gemini - nice.
notalush (7339) reviewed Grote Bruin from The Alchemist 18 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Tap at the brewpub - beautiful burgundy/purple pour, with a lasting tan head - earthy, cellared aroma, with faint whiffs of wild yeast way in the back, underneath thick, dark fruits (plum, date) and light peppery notes - wonderfully complex flavor - dark fruit sweetness and some wine grape vinous character up front - the sweetness is tempered by a mild wild quality that will probably make this beer quite funky with age - the thyme really comes through in the finish, complimenting the earthiness really well - wonderful beer.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Broken Spoke (-2010) from The Alchemist 19 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
2 draught pints at the brewery on 1/28/07
My favorite color for an IPA - platinum-blonde with a light, lemon-yellow tint. Lots of chill-haze and a medium amount of creamy white head that is retained well and laces in rings.
Strong aroma is full of dry tangerine, white grapefruit, mandarin oranges and leafy, bitter hop acids. Definitely on the heavy/assertive side in respect to bittering, but there is definitely an enjoyable amount of late addition and dry-hopping. A touch of highly acidic bitterness on the finish, almost sour is noted, but it’s no doubt from the massive amounts of hops in here and seems almost inevitable. Strong lemon-cherry aromas remind me of magnum hops, while there is a bit of cattiness or extreme plant-like astringency. Malt is gentle in aroma, only leaving light grains, bits of honey and light whitebread. Clean yeast and fortunately, no aspirin-like notes. No alcohol noted. I have had more fresh and fruity/complex hop aromas (though not too many more), but I think this one just suffers from too much bittering. Tone that down and this would be every bit as good as any San Diego IPA.
Bitterness shows in the flavor, especially on the finish, where the bare, pale malts do little to cover the strong amount of acidity. But like the nose, there are plenty of tangerines, mandarin oranges and soft conifer-like notes to go around (and of course grapefruit). Dextrinous body is quite dry in flavor, but very supportive in texture, as the perfect IPA should be. Highly engaging, tight carbonation, as I’ve come to expect from this fine brewery. No alcohol in the flavor, no flaws. I’d really like to see this with about half or a third of the IBUs cut out.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed O Positive from The Alchemist 19 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Draught tulip at the brewpub on 1/28/07
Strawberry-blonde and red beer with a small amount of pinkish-tinged white head that dosent stay much above a covering, but provides plenty of lacing. Light carbonation in the liquid, which shows a medium clarity.
Very juicy, lightly acidic nose puts out a lot of dry, tart cherry/raspberry aroma with a moderate wheat-like backbone (cream of wheat, vanillin) that softens the blow of the fruit somewhat. Some light plant-like/vegetal notes suggest the berries were thrown in seed and all (which is cool), but at this point, things are very muted in the yeast department and this seems like more of an American fruit beer than a Belgian one. Pure fruit aroma is a bit muted, overall, I would say, though what is there is natural and well-done. A bit of piquancy from the pomegranate, though I would never note it if I didnt know it was there.
It just seems like the dryness and only moderate amounts of tartness are getting in the way of the full expressiveness this beer could show. A bit biscuity/nutty and bland and I also think raspberries ferment out too easily, leaving not as much aroma/flavor behind as other fruits (cherries, for example). Not a huge fan of sour mashes, as I think they come off rather mediocre in acidity. The lactic notes are too muted and just muddle the fruit notes and contribute to the already very dry nature of the beer. But you can’t fault the brewer, this seems like it came off perfectly for what he intended (berries, tartness, dryness, lactic acid). Carbonation is firm as always in their beers, leading to a very Belgian-like mouthfeel, which is a good accomplishment for a draught beer. Medium-light body, but plenty of texture. Just a shade of brett in the flavor. If this gets infected with pediococcus and/or lactobacillus, I bet it would be fantastic in a year or two as it really needs much stronger acidity/sourness/tartness.
notalush (7339) reviewed Darkness from The Alchemist 19 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
Tap at Boston’s Belgian Beer Fest - this was the hit of the fest for me - I went back for several samples - has a lot of black saison character - nearly opaque out of the tap, with foamy head - it’s young age keeps the brett from making it very sour - in fact, there is really more of a lacto-like dry quality than there is a sour brett character - a mild tartness combines with some unique flavors - first I sense a hint of cherries, then some dry, cocoa character, followed by some interesting herbal and floral flavors (heather mostly, along with some warming spiciness) - extraordinarily unique, and very difficult to describe in words.