Most Fridays, my wife and I stop by the market after work and pick up some new beers to try. This has become a nice little highlight at the end of the work week. Unfortunately, I haven’t had enough time to write up a full review on everything we’ve tried. Looking through by backlog of pictures from previous weekends, I realized that this wasn’t going to change any time soon. Instead, I decided to start a new series called Weekend Haul; where I give a quick review and rating to any the new beers we tried over the weekend. For the rating, I will be using Jeff’s Beer Rating System. My wife has offered her services manning (or womanning) the camera since it is obviously a skill that I am not destined to attain. She will also be providing her rating when she feels inclined.
For this inaugural Weekend Haul post, we tried Oakshire’s Ill Tempered Gnome, Dogfish Head’s Indian Brown Ale, Lagunitas’ A Little Sumpin’ Extra, Dick’s Grand Cru and Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead Ale.
Oakshire – Ill Tempered Gnome – Brown Ale
First we tried the Ill Tempered Gnome. I am going to skip over this one; you can find my full review of the Gnome HERE.
Kevin: I am really feeling the Gnome…and he is appreciative. A-
Tiffany: A good winter ale for people who don’t like “winter ales”. A-
Dogfish Head – Indian Brown Ale – Brown Ale
Next up was DH’s Indian Brown Ale. My wife drank most of this one; it being one of her favorite beers. It is also high up on my list. The beer poured dark brown with some red highlights. It had a thin tan head that left chunky lacing on the glass.
The name is a little deceiving. It tasted a lot more like a hoppy Porter or Stout than a Brown Ale. It opened with sweet brown sugar and roasted coffee flavors. This was followed by a slight hop kick and a mild, bitter finish.
Kevin: A great beer, but not one I would session. A-
Tiffany: Probably my favorite beer, if I only want one. A
Lagunitas – A Little Sumpin’ Extra – Double IPA
This one threw me for a loop. I had assumed this was a Wheat Beer like A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’, but opened the bottle to find a pine bomb. The beer poured a honey color with an inch tall off-white head. It smelled strongly of pine with slighter hints of citrus. There was also a faint sugary sweet smell, but as soon as I got a hold of it, the pine was back.
Sumpin’ Extra tasted just like it smelled; huge piney hops. The slight sweetness cut the biting hops a bit, making the beer finish a lot less bitter than I would have imagined. It reminded me of a much more refined Hop Stoopid. I checked both the bottle and Lagunitas’ webstie to see if hop extracts were used like in Hop Stoopid, but didn’t find any information.
Kevin: a little too similar to Hop Stoopid to garner a higher score. B+
Tiffany: Hmmm – Piney. B
Dick’s Brewing – Grand Cru – Belgian Abbey Ale
This is the third beer I have tried from Dick’s Brewing; following Danger Ale and Working Man Brown. It poured a hazy rose color with a very thin head. It smelled very sweet and fruity; like grapes, prunes and candi sugar. There were also faint smell of Belgian yeast.
The ale tasted very fruity, although not as sweet as I would have thought from the aroma. There also a slightly sour taste and no real hop presence.
Kevin: I haven’t had a lot of experience with fruity Abbey Ales, so this one was harder to grade. B
Tiffany: Abstained – Agh – too sweet.
Shipyard – Pumpkinhead Ale – Pumpkin Ale
For me this one ended up being the loser of the night. It poured a light straw color with a thin head and lots of carbonation. It smelled like nutmeg and cinnamon. It tasted like a light industrial lager with some pumpkin spice thrown in. It went down easily, but just wasn’t doing it for me.
Kevin: A beer has to be pretty awful for me to give it a D or F, and this one wasn’t that bad. C-
Tiffany: Unusual, but I liked it. B
Well, I hope you enjoyed the first installment of the Weekend Haul. We’ll see you back here next week; same beer time, same beer channel.
Cheers!
Kevin