Troegs Pale Ale

I toured Troegs a while back, and this was the beer I had whilst touring. I didn't review it then, but I remember telling the tour guide that this was one of the best pales I'd ever had. I'm sure it was fresh and draft beers are always a notch better, but I figured I had to get a bottle of this to see if it was as amazing as I remembered.

Clear golden amber, nice carbonation, nice fluffy medium white head, nice retention, plus lace. 4.5
Bready malt backbone with a nice citrus hop, nice balance to each. 4.5
This is how you do pales! Enough bready malt character balanced out by a fresh citrus/gfruit hop presence. Enough of each without just making it an ipa. 4.5
Med, creamy and smooth 4.5
As drinkable as they come. 5

My favorite ever pale? 4.6

Sprague Farms Effin Dunkel Weizen

I realized there is a farm to the south of us that brews their own beers (for growler fills only at this point). I owe it to myself (and them, I suppose) to try what they have to offer.

From Sprague Farms Brew Works in Venango, PA, here is a Dunkel Weizen beer. It won't ever get fresher than this...

Dark cola brown, hazy with red edging, bubbly medium brown head, medium retention and lace. 4
Caramel malt and wheat, strong with an herbal/earthy hop touch. Nice. 4
Intersting and unique. Finishes with a yeast kick reminiscent of a Belgian (a la Stella). Caramel malt initially swallowed by a big wheat/straw and earthy finish. Me gusta. 4
Med, med carb, smooth finish. 3.5
Very drinkable, nothing too strong. 4
I like it. Different, tasty, and drinkable! 3.9

Southern Tier Mokah

When you combine an awesome chocolate stout with an awesome coffee stout, I'm pretty sure you create awesomeness. I wonder if the sum will be greater than the parts...

Cola/dark brown, light brown head, great lace. 4.5/5
Rich with chocolate and bitter coffee notes. Lovely 4.5/5
Finishes with just a touch of citric/rind hop. Nice balance of rich chocolate and bitterish coffee with a lasting java finish. Milder alcohol than Choc or Java, still slight. 5/5
Full and smooth 4.5/5
Nice, not overwhelming though strong. 4
Like it more as the sum of 2. Very nice. 4.6

Great Lakes York Street Bitter

If I paid attention to my son as I've been paying attention to this blog, Aksel would be in trouble. Fortunately, my priorities are in order and Aksel's built like a bulldog (a fully grown one at that). Also fortunately, I haven't stopped reviewing beers; I've just stopped posting the reviews. With the awesomeness that is the iPhone, I can snap a picture, write a shorter review, and send it to Flickr. From there, it's pretty easy to post it all here. Hopefully I stay on top of it after speaking of how easy that is...

Anyway, here's a beer only available at the brewpub of Great Lakes Brewing Company, York Street Bitter.
Clear golden, medium frothy head, nice retention and lacing. 4

Bread malt, fresh citric/orange hop. 4.5

Like it smells- fresh. Bready and caramel malts with a nice balance to citric/herbal hop. 4.5

Great creamy medium body, smooth. 4.5

Love it. 4.5

Overall impression: I wish this were bottled as this is one heck of a bitter. 4.4

Great Lakes Bailout Brew

I've driven within a mile of this brewery 7,509 times on my way through Cleveland, and I finally decided to stop. This won't be my last growler fill at Great Lakes Brewing Company. Here's a maibock that was only available in the brewpub.

A: Clear golden-orange with a creamy white head, good retention and lace. 4.5/5
S: Sweet bocky-ness (new word). Sugary caramel malt with smaller herbal/earthy hop presence. 4/5
T: Nice maibock sweetness and caramel malt. Sugary hint, then an herbal/earthy hop presence to bring balance. Sweetly dominated, but not too much (even for a hop head). 4/5
M: Medium/full body, smooth and creamy. 4/5
D: Light sweetness, all bock. Love it. 4.5/5

Overall impression: A nice spring beer, and I'm sure it's even better when it's fresh like this. 4.3

Southern Tier Iniquity

A horde of new ones are hitting the shelves from the local brewery, Southern Tier. This one doesn't quite fit a lot of descriptions- an imperial black ale. I'm sure it won't dissapoint.

A: Dark dark brown, some brown clarity when held to the light. Medium light brown head, great retention and lace. I'm not sure what this is supposed to look like, but it looks great to me. 4.5/5
S: Rich and strong! Big citric/cascade hop balanced with leather, smoke, and roasted/blackened malt. Unique! 4.5/5
T: Roast and pale malt, hints of leather (in a good way). Fades to a (black) swarm of citric/grapefruit hop flavor with hints of lemon. 4.5/5
M: Medium to full body, very very smooth. 4.5/5
D: Hides the alcohol well; unique yet interesting to taste. 4.5/5

Overall impression: Terrific and unique beer. Essentially an IPA with a darker malt composition and plenty of complexity. It really works in this very nice beer. 4.5

Southern Tier Cherry Saison

I somehow lost my image of Southern Tier's Cherry Saison (aged about 7 months), so I'm borrowing this one from Buttle's Very Fine Beer Blog so at least you know what to look for should you seek this one out. Nice glassware, Buttle!

A: Hazy golden/orange with a medium white head, mild retention and lace. 4/5
S: Malt, clove, cherry, some yeast and banana hints. Medium strength. 4/5
T: Slight caramel malt that fades to a fruitiness of clove and cherry. Some yeast and mild earth to the hop. A finishing of a touch of rind-y grapefruit. 4/5
M: Medium to full body, tightly wound carbonation, and pretty smooth. 4/5
D: Very drinkable especially for the style. 4/5

Overall impression: Better than the Southern Tier Tripel (the other attempt at a Belgian). The hops work better there as it tastes more "Belgian." 4.0