Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Sixpoint Brewing Company

Beer Name: Resin

Beer Style: Imperial IPA

Abv.: 9.1%

Serving Glassware: Tulip, Pint

Serving Temp.: 50-55 deg. F.

Packaging: 4-pk 12oz Cans

Price: ~$10

Availability: 1st Release

Pairings: None

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade: C-

Appearance: 3.5

Aroma: 2.5

Taste: 3.0

Mouthfeel: 3.0

Drinkability: 2.0

BeerAdvocate Avg.: B+

Mike's Description

Appearance - Dark amber, almost red, color that isn't at all representative of the style.  About 2 fingers of off-white head that sticks around for the review.

Aroma - Not too much here, which is very surprising for an imperial ipa. Very faint floral esters and some hints of citrusy hop bitterness, not exactly intimidating despite being 103 IBUs (International Bitterness Units with anything over 90 being pretty damn hoppy)...really?

Taste - A decently balanced beer with a slightly stronger hop presence than malt contribution.  This tastes nothing like an imperial IPA and something like an amber ale (not even an imperial one).  Concerning the hops that are present, there doesn't seem to be a wide variety.  In terms of profile, there is almost no hop flavor (grapefruit, orange...etc), but only bitterness (maybe some lemon).  There seem to be more characteristics to note about the malts than the hops.  No other notable flavors.

Mouthfeel - The hop bitterness lingers for a little while, but nothing beyond this. Medium bodied beer.

Overall - If you're looking for a good imperial IPA to try, look elsewhere.  This beer is decent, but it tastes nothing like a DIPA (more along the lines of an amber as I mentioned).  I have no idea who determined the IBUs, but I highly doubt that 103 is correct.  The appearance, aroma, and taste all seem to point away from the IPA realm.  Lastly, this beer is insanely UNdrinkable at 9.1% abv...you can have one or two of these and call it a night or have a 6-pk of an actual amber ale at 5-6% abv.

Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang

Beer Name: Hennepin

Beer Style: Saison

Abv.: 7.7%

Serving Glassware: Chalice, Tulip, Pint

Serving Temp.: 45-50 deg. F.

Packaging: 22oz bottles, 4-pk 12oz bottles

Price: ~$8

Availability: Year-round

Pairings: Seafood (Shrimp, Lobster), Meat (Steak, Burgers)

www.urbanhonking.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade: A-

Appearance: 4

Aroma: 4.5

Taste: 4

Mouthfeel: 4

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg.: A

Mike's Description

Thanks to my cousin Matt for getting me this beer for xmas!


Appearance - Darker golden brew with a slight opacity and an inch of frothy white head leaving plenty of lace on the chalice.

Aroma - Not as funky as many Belgian saisons out there.  This beer has a very clean floral smell with hints of spice that you might encounter in a hefeweizen along with some butter in the background.  

Taste - The floral character noted in the aroma isn't as prevalent in the taste and more of the farmhouse floor funk that saisons are known for has entered the realm.  The Belgian yeast and spiciness are much more dominant here and miniscule amounts of lemon and orange-peel fill in any gaps.

Mouthfeel - As is the case with most Belgian beers, the yeast is carried into the aftertaste along with the spices in this medium-bodied ale.  Some of the previously mentioned butter has survived to this stage as well.

Overall - Not the greatest saison in the world, but definitely one of my favorites (as is the case with all Ommegang beers).  This beer was fantastic, but it was a little too clean for a saison.  Probably one of the best American-made saisons though.