All You Need to Know
Brewery: 3 Floyds Brewing
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 9.5%
Cost: $13.50(24 oz)
Glassware: Tulip, Teku
Temp: 50°F
Availability: Year Round
Purchased@: West Lakeview Liquors
Quick Take: This is one of the more by-the-numbers beers I’ve had from 3 Floyds, but it also happens to be one of the most enjoyable. I’m not much of a malty IPA fan, but the big grapefruit body and soft, drinkable mouth feel make this an easy beer to recommend.
All You Need to Know
Brewery: Neshaminy Creek Brewing
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.5%
Cost: $4 (16oz)
Glassware: Tulip, Snifter, Teku
Temp: 50°F
Availability: July – Dec. (July 2015)
Purchased@: Sabatini’s Pizza
Released: Late (Mid-October)
Drank: Mid-December
Quick Take: I love the toasty grain, the sweet resin pine and dry, bitter finish that Shape offers, but find the very mild but present skunky cannabis aspect a turn off. Regardless, PA/NJ drinkers have every right to be excited for what Neshimany Creek brewed, which has the toasted grain and orange juice qualities of higher profile New England style IPAs that are woefully underrepresented in the Keystone State. While this beer wasn’t a punch in the face awakening, it did take a swing at me and make me take notice of Neshaminy Creek as a brewer. A solid DIPA and one I think most bitter-is-better IPA drinkers will dig.
All You Need to Know
Brewery: Tröegs Brewing
Style: Imperial Amber/Red
ABV: 7.5%
Cost: $4 (12oz)
Glassware: Pint
Temp: 45°F
Availability: January in PA
Purchased@: The Fridge
Quick Take: Nugget Nectar has always been a solid beer over the years and one that I’ve enjoyed whether from frequent growler fills or bottles. A great drinker that is a highlight of the Amber style, but not a hugely complex beer for featuring hops. Nugget Nectar is the beer to bridge the gap between a malty Amber ale and a citrusy IPA, making it an option for the IPA curious to start their journey to full hop head. Balanced and highly drinkable.
Ah 2014, a year of much stuff, many things, and plenty of beer. It is the year that I transitioned from a purely video beer blog to a Web site featuring beer and brewery reviews, taking on a major commitment to the beverage that I love. This commitment will continue into the new year with plans for more brewery and event reports/reviews, plenty of thoughts on brews both new and aged, and a few new features I hope to get off the ground.
But now is the time to reflect on the beers of drinking past, and to that end I’ve compiled the list of my favorite beers of 2014. These are beers that not only impressed me with their quality over all other beers I had last year, but are the ones that I will be looking forward to in 2015 as well.
Continue reading “DBR Beer Year in Review (Part 1 – The Beers)”
A weekend made of an early family Christmas in Wilkes-Barre, PA and a night game of Eagles football viewed at a local brewery didn’t yield a lot of high profile Untappd (DrewsBrewsReviews) check-ins, but I had a few good ones this week. I shuttled some recent favorites up with me, Big Lushious and Bourbon County Stout, and hit my favorite local beer place, Sabatini’s Pizza, for whatever treasures lurk in their two fully stock coolers. This time, Sabatini’s was beyond my expectations as I got a personal tour of their amazing beer storage area and I’ll be reviewing the fruits of this trip in the coming weeks. Huge thanks to Lindo for showing me around and selling me some extremely rare beers. But that’s for another week. Here’s last weeks best:
The Bruery – 7 Swans-A-Swimming
Location: Bar
Style: Quad
Score: 4/5
Original Comment: Peaty raisin, plum, astringent alcohol aroma, soft, dark, dark fruit, toffee,not quite candied sugar sweet, dry, plum finish, no heat at all
Additional Comment: This is a case where sticking to the traditional elements of a style, in this instance a Quad, yielded some pretty great results. There isn’t huge depth past the layered sweet of plum, raisin, dark fruits, and toffee malt, but it’s a tasty sweet that isn’t cloying. Not a lot beyond the traditional Quad flavors, but also not a lot of heat. As a matter of fact, this hid the 11% ABV completely. No hot coal in the stomach, no chest warming, and no real indication of alcohol beyond the heavier mouth feel. Smooth, straightforward Quad that tastes as if it already has a few years on it. Good stuff and reasonably priced ($14).
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