Tröegs Nugget Nectar

Where can you get a blast of aromatic, flavorful hops that are richly draped with caramel malty goodness? If you’ve read the title of this post, then I’ll give you one guess.

Nugget Nectar from Tröegs has been recommended to me almost constantly since I began this one-a-day challenge. Because I had trouble finding a bottle of Nugget Nectar, I found myself drinking HopBack Amber and the Tröegs Pale Ale. If those two beers made me fans of the Tröegs brothers, then Nugget Nectar has elevated my affection to the point of idolatry.

Somber but fragrant, the Nugget Nectar poured from its 22 oz bottle and filled the lower half of my tulip glass with a surprisingly clear, pale amber elixer. It produced a foamy white head that left a lace sweater down the side of the glass as I drank.

Hoppy aromas pushed up from the glass — rich, herbal and viney hops overlaying a sweet caramel base. Hops strike the tongue on the first sip, quickly mellowing into a sweet, caramel malt and lingering for a warm finish. Overall mouthfeel is wet and not-quite-oily. Quite satisfying!

(more…)

Newport Storm Cyclone Series: Henry

Coastal Extreme Brewing Company made an appearance on this site earlier this year, with its Newport Storm Hurricane Amber Ale.

I enjoyed the Hurricane Amber and promptly bought two more Newport Storm brews, one of which I opened up to drink tonight. Unfortunately, I’m not nearly as impressed with their Munich Dark.

The brewery describes Newport Storm Cyclone Series: Henry as:

. . . an 8% abv Munich Dark Ale. With over 75% of the malted barley in this beer being of the Munich Malt variety, the body and flavor of this beer are unmistakable. The full bodied and malty seet backbone is married to plentiful amounts of roasted malt to give this pitch black ale balance. A variety of German hops are used to add further balance to this unique version of the style.

(more…)

Geary’s Wee Heavy Scottish Ale

Yesterday, I enjoyed Colorado’s first microbrewery. Today, I sampled beer from the first microbrewery in New England.

The D.L. Geary Brewing Company was founded in 1986 in Portland, ME, building a brewery around its flagship Pale Ale and influences from Scotland and England.

Geary’s Wee Heavy Scottish Ale is described on the brewery’s website as simply:

A Scottish ale with a rich roasted maltiness blended with mellow hoppiness, and an alcohol by volume of 8%.

Succinct and to the point. I’ll try to take a cue from their copywriter and keep tonight’s article brief.

(more…)

MoJo India Pale Ale

A “trippy” IPA seemed required on an IPA Monday like today, and the colorful label on Boulder Beer Company’s Mojo IPA fit the bill.

Boulder Beer Company boasts the 43rd brewing license in the country (receiving it in 1979) and was the first microbrewery licensed in Colorado. They originally focused on English-style ales, but branched into bigger, bolder styles starting with a beer called “Hazed & Infused”. Hazed is intense, aromatic, and hoppy — or so the Boulder Beer website claims, as I haven’t had the pleasure of trying it. They designed bold, colorful packaging for Hazed to make it stand out from their other beers, and the Boulder Beer “Looking Glass Series” was born.

Mojo IPA is the fourth beer released in the Looking Glass Series. The label contains the following definition:

Mo-Jo: 1: A magic spell or charm; magical power; 2. Herbaceous ale that summons hop attacks.

(more…)

Samuel Adams Imperial White

Imperial! Imperial White! Samuel Adams Imperial Series!

“Enough with the shouting,” I thought, “Let’s see what this beer actually tastes like.”

I’ve heard great things about the Imperial White from Sam Adams. But after having the seasonal Samuel Adams White Ale yesterday, I wasn’t expecting much from this new year-round Imperial version.

But it delivered. And how!

The beer poured much darker than the regular White Ale — the Imperial White was a coppery amber, while the regular White Ale was a straw-like gold color. And while both beers were quite hazy, the Imperial White was much more visually appealing, lacking the tiny, scattered suspensions that were so present in its little brother.

What an aroma! The Imperial White’s smell is full of juicy, sweet fruit with just a hint of coriander. There’s a profile of fruity, Belgian-style yeast combined with lots of alcohol. If the color was my first indication that something new was afoot, the aroma removed all doubt.

Sweet grapes, sugar, and raisins exploded like a muscat wine on my tongue with the first sip. There’s that hint of spice again, but the sweet malt is dominant. This has a full and honeyed mouthfeel, moving thickly through the mouth and leaving a brown sugar and warm alcohol aftertaste.

(more…)

Last Consumed:

My wife and I usually select a Christmas Tree during the weekend after Thanksgiving, and we were thrilled to discover the farm down the road from us is selling trees this year. She and I stopped by the farm while walking our Boston Terrier, Caesar, who helped us sniff out a good one. After my wife and I dithered over the best tree for several minutes, Caesar weighed in with his selection by lifting his leg on a plump Fraser Fir.

I hope that means he liked it.

The tree went up on my shoulder, I carried it home (drawing chuckles from several people driving by), and our Christmas season officially began. We’ve been listening to Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate, and generally sickening all humbugs spying through our windows.

So it should come as no surprise that I’ve selected the “Hoppy Christmas Ale” from Belgium’s Brewery De Ranke. The beer — Père Noël (imported by Shelton Brothers) — intimates the reason for Father Christmas’ jolly cheeks and rosy nose; the label depicts Santa embracing the frothy, 7% ABV Strong Pale Ale.

(more…)