From Great Lakes Brewing Co. of Cleveland, Eliot Ness is an Amber Lager. The nose is nice and bready, and the middle has caramel and a hint of orange and molasses. This hangs around in the finish along with notes that remind me of delicious honey wheat bread dough. The body is light and the alcohol is 6.2% ABV. A really nice lager.
I give it a 4.2 out of 5.
The nose is sweet with brown sugar, banana and prunes. The middle is malty and fruity with peach, a bit of apricot and some heavy bread that sticks with you through the finish. The finish also has a hint of pepper. An OK dubbel. Light to medium body. 7% ABV.
4.0 out of 5
Day of the Serranos. A double stout from Green Flash brewed with Serrano chiles. The nose is malty and sweet. The middle starts as a deliciously sweet imperial stout with chocolate and a bit of coffee, and the coffee remains as it fades to a finish where the spicy hot chile oils creep up on you. I don’t know that “delicately spiced” as the bottle label indicates is exactly accurate…The heat is not subtle at all. It is also not, however, overdone. It’s perfectly balanced between sweetness and spice. The body is medium and the alcohol is a biggish 8.8% ABV. Fantastic beer for those of us who love spicy food and drink.
I give it a 4.8 out of 5.
From New Belgium’s Lips of Faith series, Transatlantique Kriek is a wood-aged sour cherry ale. The result is a very bright, tart sour that is a deep ruby color in the glass. The nose is fairly mild with just a slight hint of cherry, and not much else. The middle explodes with tartness, and the cherries are subtle, or perhaps just overcome by the huge sour bite, but they are definitely there in the background, and come a bit forward in the finish. It’s fairly simple, without a lot of complexity, but a definitely a nice sour with a bit a fruit lambic flare. The body is medium and the alcohol is a moderate 7.0% ABV.
I give it a 4.3 out of 5.
Brewed by Bricks and Barley Brewing Company for Costco’s Kirkland Signature line, the Double Bock is a classic German dark beer style that makes up a quarter of the mixed case I recently bought. The nose is toasty and grassy with a bit of licorice. The middle has a good bit of caramel and a bit of nuttiness. The finish is herbal with some orange. The body is medium to heavy, and alcohol is 7.5% ABV. This is a malt-forward brew that I found very enjoyable.
I give it a 3.9 out of 5.
OpenCraftBeer 