I’m using the 12 ounce canned variety for this review, from which the Face Plant pours a nice golden amber color. The head is just off-white sitting about one finger high on the beer with decent lacing and retention. The aroma is lighter for an IPA, but citrus elements come through with a hint of malty sweetness.

This is a nicely balanced IPA on the palate. Citrus, pine and grassy hop elements with a touch of bitterness are up-front. The malt from the aroma comes through again, keeping this on the less bitter side of the IPA spectrum. It has lighter flavors and a bit more malt than I normally look for in an IPA but it’s still pleasant. The carbonation is average along with a medium body for the style.

A big IPA this is not, nor is it an overly hoppy IPA. The IPA elements it does posses are subdued. While I enjoy the balance and malt mixed with the citrus hop elements, I tend to lean towards a bit more punch in my IPAs. The Face Plant is a good beer if you want a maltier, smoother, less “in your face” IPA, or one that is easy to just sit down and drink a few. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that.

Rating

84
out of 100

Bottles of Splinter Gold were available at the Troegs tasting room for about a week or so, and I was lucky enough to be able to consume a bottle to myself. Served from the corked and caged 750 ml bottle, Splinter Gold pours out a hazy golden copper color, certainly along the lines of what you’d expect for a barrel-aged Tripel base beer. There’s a moderate head which settled out nicely considering the loud pop from the cork. Bits of minor lacing and a decent retention ring around the outside are left behind.

Aromas of funk, sweet pale malt, vanilla, bread, lemon, oak and huge chardonnay characteristics come through big. Lots of the white wine notes definitely stuck with the beer throughout the barrel treatment. On the palate, the brett has done some nice things to this beer. Classic Tripel-like alcohol notes are here along with some tartness and funk. Mid-palate has sweet bready malts along with hints of citrus and vanilla. It’s well balanced, very crisp, dry and drinks like a nice oaky white wine.

It’s true, there is highly active carbonation but it’s good for what I like in the style. Dry, woody and bubbly on the palate – certainly a nice mouth feel. To be honest, this was awesome. The brett worked wonders on this along with perhaps the Westmalle strain they used for fermenting. I’m eager to see how this one develops over time, so I’ll be holding onto my only bottle in the cellar. Well worth your effort to taste!

Rating

97
out of 100

Episode 57: Blue Mountain Sour Devil from Passion Beer on Vimeo.

Ratings
Shane: 86/100
Nick: 86/100

From the standard Lips of Faith 22 ounce bottle the Cascara has a deep copper color with hints of red and an off-white head around one finger in height. Some spotted lacing is left on the glass, and the head sticks around for a bit then dissipates down to swirls on top of the beer. There are great hints of cherry on the aroma with plenty of sweet caramel malt and dark fruit notes. A hint of alcohol comes through as well which works great with the sweeter aromas, reminding you that this is a 10% ABV beer.

The malt hits first on the palate, sweet caramel and toffee with a bit of a bready character. This is followed up by the cherries and dark fruit with an odd spiciness. The alcohol kicks back in again here as well. The date flavors intermingle with the cherries and a touch of earthiness. The flavors seem a bit all over the place, and there are a lot of them. As the beer warms others emerge and it gets a little overwhelming. It’s medium-bodied with a bit of stickiness but it’s cut by the alcohol.

Overall this is an interesting beer, not the worst and not the best of the Lips of Faith series. It was a little all over the place for me. There are some great flavors here but it is hard to locate one and stick with it. I applaud New Belgium for trying some new stuff, maybe the lessons learned from this beer will find their way into something a little more mainstream, with a bit more direction.

Rating

82
out of 100

One of those saved was the Maxwell’s Scottish Ale, a 5.10% ABV Scottish ale brewed with five different varieties of malt. Out of the 12 oz can, the beer pours out a really dark amber color with nice brown highlights and no cloudiness. Atop the beer sits a one finger, just off-white head that rapidly dissipates and leaves some minor lacing on the glass. Good sweet malt aromas with a touch of roast come through first. For boasting five varieties of malt, there isn’t that much complexity on the nose as the aromas morph into one malt note.

In standard Scottish ale fashion there is plenty of malt on the palate with no hops to be found. The malt is sweet but not overly so, with hints of toffee and caramel. Some cinnamon like spices help to break things up. There’s a thicker mouth feel that is almost creamy on the finish, and manages to not be sticky given the overall sweetness of this beer.

Overall, this is a good example of a Scottish ale – plenty of good malt aromas and flavors with a smooth mouth feel. The beer manages to be on the sweeter end of the spectrum without overdoing it and is extremely drinkable. I was left wanting some more complexity both in the aroma and flavors, but it is difficult to argue with something that stays true to style.

Rating

82
out of 100

Poured from the 12 ounce bottle, the Sugar House Maple Porter has the standard deep black color expected of a Porter with about one finger of light caramel colored head. Even when put up to a light the color is still deep black, no hints of red or brown are immediately apparent. Roasted malt is upfront on the nose backed by sweetness from the maple. Notes of caramel and chocolate are also present.

The roasted malt provides a good backbone for the rest of the flavors in this beer. Maple and molasses flavors come through nicely and work well against the roasted malt, coffee, and hazelnut elements. The finish has a lingering bitterness which is welcome in a beer featuring a sweeter element. The mouth feel is smooth, and not sticky, with a medium body and light carbonation.

The Sugar House Maple Porter strikes a good balance between sweet and roast. It is a good play on some classic flavors and is an overall solid beer. While this wasn’t a stand out one in a million porter, I enjoyed the flavors and wish that I would have grabbed more than the one bottle. If you are ever in the Finger Lakes region, or somewhere where Wagner Valley is sold, it is certainly worth a go.

Rating

84
out of 100

Pouring this into my Victory tulip glass, a foamy white one-finger head developed on top of the golden pale hues in the body. There is a pleasant sweet and floral-like aroma that is balanced with the malty backbone of the regular Golden Monkey. It has complex fruity notes including white grapes that are picked up from the chardonnay barrels.

The first few sips were nice and pleasant. There are complex buttery oak elements along with some subtle bitterness from the hops. The taste took a much different approach than what one would expect from Golden Monkey. I was expecting a much more malt centric beer, but it was filled with oak and white wine characteristics. The body has mild carbonation and there is a slight alcohol burn on the back end.

This turned out to be a solid beer from Victory. Walking into it, I had extremely high expectations taking the Golden Monkey and throwing it into chardonnay barrels, but this was a nice change of pace. It didn’t measure up to the smooth malt profile that Golden Monkey is known for but stands on its own.

Rating

91
out of 100

During the summer of 2012, Firestone Walker decided to sell the brand to Total Beverage Solution of South Carolina. Nonetheless, the bourbon/oak/wine barrel blend should serve as a testament to the fine craftsmanship Firestone Walker has been pouring into it since 2005. Even though the weather is changing, there’s always time for a well done stout.

Episode 56: Nectar Ales Black Xantus from Passion Beer on Vimeo.

Ratings
Shane: 94/100
Nick: 96/100

I can’t recall a beer that I have had that incorporated walnuts, so this will be a new experience for me. From the 750 ml bottle, The Black Walnut pours a dark brown with some red highlights when held up to the light. The head is very active after pouring but soon settles into a half finger off-white cap on the beer. The aromas are fairly malt forward with toffee and caramel notes. A bit of nuttiness from the walnuts incorporates with the yeast and a hint of banana to bring some interesting complexity to the nose.

Malt sweetness is upfront on the taste with the same caramel and toffee elements from the nose. The walnuts are more prevalent as well, while the malts are a bit more roasted than I was expecting. There is a bit of that Hefe-yeast on the back end with a touch of bitter hops for balance. It’s a really well put together flavor profile. The mouth feel has a light to medium body with good carbonation to keep things drinkable.

I did not know what to expect from the riff on the standard Dunkeweizen. I think that the addition of the black walnuts works very well to bring a bit of complexity to the beer. The sweetness could be toned back just a bit, but overall it’s a quality brew and certainly worth checking out.

Rating

86
out of 100

Episode 55: Allagash Interlude 2012 from Passion Beer on Vimeo.

Ratings
Shane: 93/100
Nick: 94/100