Since my introductory experience with Green Flash Brewing was love at first taste of their amazing West Coast IPA, when I found a couple of new styles from them, I had to pick them up, and tonight I’m having a Double Stout Black Ale.  It’s what I would call a porter, dark and thick and pretty big at 8.8% ABV.  The head is fairly creamy, but it doesn’t hang around long.  The nose is smoky, with sweet notes of toffee, and a hint of coffee.  The middle has roasted malt and bittersweet chocolate that fades through a crisp finish.  Overall, this is a a really nice stout, but I wish it had a bit more character at the end.  Still, this beer is good enough to easily be a regular for me, no question.

The Imperial IPA from Rogue’s XS line is a pretty typical double IPA.  Big, (9.5% ABV) with heavy body that sits on the tongue, and all the delicious goodness that we expect from an IPA.  It’s got a citrusy nose with a hint of caramel.  The middle is piney with plenty more citrus, and the finish is pine resin and buttery.  This is a definitely a beer powerful enough to make you sit up and take notice, but quite complex and very well balanced flavors from beginning to end.  This is a very well done beer, and should definitely be on the “must try” list for IPA fans.

Another James Squire ale tonight.  This one has toasty, caramelly nose.   There’s chocolate in the middle, and a slight citrus hint in the finish.  The beer is predominately roasty malt, and slightly sweet.  Another decent beer, but not as good as their Stow Away IPA.

Several the best beers I’ve had on my current trip to Australia have been from James Squire.  Today I’m sampling their Stow Away IPA.   This classic IPA has a strong citrus scent, intensely bitter grapefruit rind in the middle, fading to pine and yet more grapefruit in the finish.  It’s a medium bodied, moderately carbonated, thoroughly refreshing ale, and for a bitter beer aficionado like myself, a truly delicious delight.  If I could find this in the U.S., it would definitely be a standard session beer for me.

Called an English Bitter in the English Small Beer tradition, this 3.3% ABV beer is made from the second running of Anchor’s Old Foghorn mash.  The head is big and foamy, and reminiscent of shaving cream.  The nose light and grainy.   The flavor is shockingly bitter, and a bit of a one-note song.  There’s an astringent bitterness all the way through, and there’s really not much else.  I have to say it isn’t what I was expecting from a either a small beer or an English Bitter, and in this case, I don’t know that this is a good thing.

Boston Brewing Company calls Samuel Adams Dark Depths a Baltic IPA.   It’s certainly dark!  There are heavy roasted grain notes in the nose.   There’s a burst of pine and lemon from the hops in the middle, sweet caramel and a bit of chocolate from the malt in the finish, and a piney bitterness right at the tail end.  This is a big flavor, heavy bodied beer and a nice treat for someone who enjoys a medium amount of bitterness in a strong porter or stout.

It’s been awhile since I’ve reviewed a local North Carolina beer, but today’s entry from Mother Earth Brewing right in in NC is Weeping Willow Wit, a Belgian style witbier.   It certainly smells of Belgian yeast, and there is lemon and coriander to spice up the flavor.  You wouldn’t expect a wheat beer to have an overpowering flavor, and this one doesn’t.   It’s spicy and sour, but fairly subdued.  The sour notes lingers a bit too long and are a bit odd to my taste, and it really isn’t one of my favorites.

I just can’t resist the Belgians. Grand Cru is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale from North Coast Brewing in California.  It’s been brewed with agave nectar and aged in bourbon barrels.  Strong is probably the correct word for this brew as it’s a huge beer at 12.9% ABV.  The head dissipates quickly and the nose is all Belgian with loads of fruit.  This is a full bodied beer, sticky sweet with apple and oak, with a hint of tartness at the end, and a strong presence of alcohol and oak throughout.  This is a very different beer, and one that I think is probably best matched with a strong cigar as an after dinner drink.   The flavors are odd together  but not in a way I find unpleasant.

Wyld is a USDA certified organic extra pale ale from Uinta Brewing Co. of Salt Lake City, Utah.   It’s got a nice creamy head and a very light watery body.  The scent is floral and grassy, and the flavor is light and of fairly bitter toasted grain.  Another nice super light summer beer for those who like some bitterness.