Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang

Beer Name: Gnomegang

Beer Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Abv.: 9.5%

Serving Glassware: Snifter, Tulip

Serving Temp.: 50-55 deg. F. (BeerAdvocate.com)

Local Availability: Table and Vine

Pairings: Meat (Steak)

www.thebarleyblog.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A-/4.1

Appearance:4

Aroma: 4.5

Taste: 4

Mouthfeel: 4

Drinkability: 4

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A-/4.14

Mike's Description

Appearance - Opaque golden color with some sediment residual. A half inch of white head with poor retention. Lots of carbonation as depicted by the multitude of bubbles rising to the surface.

Aroma - Floral natural aromas typical of a good belgian pale ale. Some woody hints as well from the belgian yeast.

Taste - The natural and earthy taste that is so prevalent in this style is complemented by a malty and yeasty background with slight hop notes. The yeast strain is typical of Belgium thanks to Brasserie D'Achouffe who designed this beer in collaboration with Ommegang.

Mouthfeel - A citrusy hop aftertaste is aided by the dominant yeasty character. No alcohol detected. Medium-bodied brew.

Drinkability - Remarkable representation of a Belgian Pale Ale as is typical of Ommegang! Great brew that is worth trying if you are in to those yeasty and spicy Belgians.

Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Sierra Nevada

Beer Name: Bigfoot

Beer Style: Barleywine

Abv.: 9.6%

Serving Glassware: Pint, Snifter, Tulip

Serving Temp.: 50-55 deg. F. (BeerAdvocate.com)

Local Availability: Most places (good ole T&V)

Pairings: Dessert (Brownies, Ice Cream, Cake)

lh5.googleusercontent.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A/4.5

Appearance:4.5

Aroma: 4.5

Taste: 4.5

Mouthfeel: 4.5

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A-/4.14

Mike's Description

2011 Poured into a snifter

Appearance - Dark red/mahogany-colored with a half inch of beige head. Retention that lasts throughout the session and a good amount of lacing.

Aroma - Raisins and grapes dominate the fruity aspect of this beer. Bitter hops are prevalent as well and it possesses a strong malt backbone. Some alcohol is present here.

Taste - This beer is on the sweeter side and the raisins really come through here. The hop bitterness is present in the aftertaste, but it lets the alcohol filter through. Some spicy notes as well such as cinnamon and brown sugar.

Mouthfeel - Definitely a full-bodied brew that does not hide the alcohol well. The hoppy character lingers on the aftertaste as is with most SN beers.

Drinkability - Definitely a dessert beer. Overall a fantastic beer and representation of the style...my favorite barleywine at the time of purchase and to age as well. I had it at a SN beer dinner at the Willamantic Brewing Company paired with Bigfoot infused ice cream!

Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Dogfish Head Brewing Company

Beer Name: World Wide Stout

Beer Style: Imperial Stout

Abv.: 18%

Serving Glassware: Pint, Snifter

Serving Temp.: 50-55 deg. F. (BeerAdvocate.com)

Local Availability: Most places (good ole T&V)

Pairings: BBQ! Burgers or steak (something manly!)

www.mattsander.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A+/4.65

Appearance:4.5

Aroma: 5

Taste: 4.5

Mouthfeel: 5

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A-/4.09

Mike's Description

Had this on-tap at the American Craft Brewfest (reviewed from notes). Poured into 2 oz. sampling cup.

Appearance - Dark brown stout that resembles a coffee-like porter. Tan head with little retention (due to sampling cup size).

Aroma - Due to the fact that it was pumped through coffee beans, it smells like...coffee!...And alcohol...lots of alcohol...Damn. Good. Stuff.

Taste - Again, lots and lots of coffee and some stouty chocolate flavors come through. The alcohol is, again, dominant, but the coffee attempts to cover it up...somewhat successfully. Extremely tasty as a desert beer.

Mouthfeel - Very viscous just like syrup. Extremely full-bodied brew that kicks your mouth's ass... lets hope that your mouth doesn't have an ass to kick.

Drinkability - This is a fantastic and extremely over-the-top heavy beer and I love it. The thickness, strong coffee character, and INSANELY high alcohol content will whoop your ass! I am pretty sure it's not possible to have (or buy) more than one of these at a time because it will burn a hole in both your stomach and wallet...it's like 9 bucks for a 12 oz bottle.

Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Maine Brewing Company

Beer Name: Lunch

Beer Style: American IPA

Abv.: 7%

Serving Glassware: Pint, Tulip Glass

Serving Temp.: 45-50 deg. F. (BeerAdvocate.com)

Local Availability: Light House Liquors

Pairings: Cuisine (I had Shrimp Dianne)

www.farm4.static.flickr.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A-/4.08

Appearance:4.5

Aroma: 4.5

Taste: 4

Mouthfeel: 3.5

Drinkability: 4

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A/4.38

Mike's Description

Thanks to Steve Becker for this awesome and hard-to-get beer!

Appearance - Golden to light brown in color with a plethora of frothy off-white head. Plenty of lacing surrounding the pint glass.

Aroma - Thank goodness for the healthy head-retention to adequately preserve the strong hop esters! The aroma screams hops, hops, hops...very sweet with strong piney bitterness. Some alcohol is detectable here as well.

Taste - The hops are definitely dominant here as well, but the malt background is lacking...I was expecting a more syrupy/sugary backbone to support and play-up the hop bitterness. The alcohol is present...although the hops intend to hide it, the weak malt profile provides a gap for infiltration. I was expecting more here, but still very good.

Mouthfeel - A lighter-bodied IPA with a heavy hop aftertaste. No syrupy malt to comfort the tongue, just hops served to the palate.

Drinkability - This is a good IPA, but I was expecting better because I hold the Maine Beer Company in very high regard with Zoe and Peeper in their arsenal. There are better IPAs out there, but this one definitely deserves respect. I believe that this beer is going for a "refreshing" IPA like all of Maine's other refreshing beers, and it definitely achieves this characteristic. Prosit!