Triumphant return?

Let's see just how rusty my beer reviewing skills have become...

Tonight I chose two six-packs, one Sierra Nevada 2008 Anniversary Ale and the other Bridgeport Haymaker Extra Pale Ale.

When I was making my decision, I did not know exactly what style the Anniversary Ale was and it does not list it on the bottle, but I assumed it was a pale ale judging from the time of year (as early to late fall is the season for pale ales) and it turns out that I assumed correctly: according to the website it is an "American-style India Pale Ale". So I guess I can take that as a safe bet that my skills have not waned too awfully much.

Sierra Nevada 2008 Anniversary Ale

Pours easily into a mostly clear, deep amber color with yeast visible in perfect suspension, not a lot of work to keep the frothy white head to a minimum. I poured quickly to get a small head and shook the last half inch of liquid in the bottle to give the head a nice finish. A majority of the froth dissipates after a good 5 minutes, so it is pretty long lasting, but the foam which does remain on the top leaves a beautiful lacing on the glass. Fine bubbles, indicative of natural carbonation from the bottle conditioning process, rise from the bottom of the glass in perpetuity. Maybe my reviewing skills haven't eroded at all.....

Very light mouthfeel with an aroma reminiscent of pine terpenes mixed with flowers. Flavor is at first sweet and fruity which quickly fades to flowers which eventually gives way to a distinct bitter earth and pine flavor. Aftertaste is bitter, citrusy, and very long lasting. Sorry I couldn't get much more descriptive in this section, but pale ales are not exactly known for high complexity.

Bridgeport Haymaker Extra Pale Ale

Pours a bright golden yellow color and is a little more heady than the Sierra Nevada, but still an easy one. I again shook the last half inch of the liquid to finish the pour. Majority of the head does not last as long as in the Sierra Nevada but more remains on the top of the liquid and yet somehow fails to leave the same impressive lacing. Depressing. More yeast is visible suspended in the beer in here, and it does not clump together quite as much, leading to a more cloudy beer. Fewer bubbles rise from the bottom of this beer, but it is definitely bottle conditioned.

The aroma is strong with earth and, oddly, with the scent of a hefeweizen and lacks real complexity. It was complex in that I could not decide exactly how to describe the aroma at first, in fact it took me 20 minutes or more to come up with the words because the hefeweizen scent completely threw me off. Flavor is much the same as the aroma, but with the addition of yeast. The distinct flavor of hefeweizen plus pale ale leads me to believe that wheat is definitely one of the "four malts" they proclaim on the label. The flavor was actually what unlocked the mystery to the aroma for me. Only after drinking about a third of the beer did I find the words to describe this one; obviously it has been a long time since I've had a hefeweizen.... Aftertaste is relatively shortlived, on the order of a few minutes, and barely bitter (at least for my tastes). Mostly a yeasty aftertaste.


Overall

My overall impression of these two brews is strong. I think the Bridgeport would be better suited as a late summer beer, but would suffice as a mid-afternoon beer for the warm, early Oklahoma autumn.

The Sierra Nevada is definitely my favorite of the two, and is the perfect beer for the cool evenings of the entire Oklahoma fall. It also has a more impressive aroma and visual appeal, but the Brideport earns more marks for complexity of flavor.

UPDATE

I have decided to delve into the world of homebrewing of late. I plan on getting the equipment and supplies over the next monthish and (hopefully) have my first batch completed by the time I turn 21 in late April.

I may have also decided to study at a brewing academy to ultimately establish my own microbrewery. We shall see how this pans out.

Sam Adams Cream Stout

It pours a clear black with an incredibly large, brown head that consists of very fine bubbles and lasts for several minutes leaving great lacing on the glass. The malt smells thick of coffee grounds and little else.

The starting flavor is very bitter with a creamy mouthfeel (hence the cream in the name, I suppose) and has a very distinct finish of slow dripped brewed coffee.

This is a fairly short review since this is a fairly uncomplex beer. Basically coffee, cream, and hops. Heh.

Maybe I'll write a better review at some point in the future when it isn't so late....

Shiner Hefeweizen

This is a bottle conditioned, wheat beer (all hefeweizens are) so it is required that you either shake the last half inch of beer to stir up the yeast off the bottom of the bottle, or swirl about half of the beer well enough to do the same. I find the former method to be the most effective for this and for producing sufficient head.

Anyway, it pours a golden yellow color with decent sized white head (the shaking makes the perfect amount) that is very cloudy with yeast. There is enough of it that you should wait a few minutes after you pour for all of it to mix evenly and after this there will still be some hovering at the top so you should swirl it to coax the rest to mix. ANYWAY. It smells strong of floral accents which primes you to expect a pretty strong hop flavor. It is initially bitter with a very light clover honey flavor, but as you swish it in the mouth, the honey and wheat flavors start to build and culminate in the finish to mask the bitterness of the strong hops and leave a sweet aftertaste.

Does not mix very well with jambalaya and tabasco.... But is effective in quenching the heat from the tabasco.

Sam Adams Honey Porter

This is part of the Sam Adams Brew Master's Collection seasonal brews.

It pours a very dark, but very clear red-amber color with a small, light brown head with little lacing, if any. Aroma is very heavy with malt, but slightly floral scented. Maybe even a slight hint of chocolate?
The malt flavor hits the senses immediately, but the sweetness and flavor of honey hits them in short succession. On the rear of the tongue (before you swallow) you detect some of the floral accents from the hops. The finish is not bitter, but is instead mildly sweet.

Certainly not at all an everyday beer because of its gravity and flavor, but if you're looking to enjoy a beer for the sake of enjoying a beer I highly recommend picking up a case of this.

Next time: Shiner Hefeweizen!

Okay, so my hiatus was shorter than expected

Between last night and the night before last, I purchased $196 worth of alcohol between beer and liquor, $70 of which was on beer. The rest of that was on some Long Island Iced Tea stuff and top shelf liquor.

Needless to say, I will continue my reviews beginning tomorrow evening. Thank you all for understanding the importance of midterms to my continued reviewing skills. As well as my education and future job opportunities.

Brief hiatus

Well, I was overdue for a new review this week, but I regret to inform my readers that I am going on a brief hiatus due to a couple of midterms I have to study for this week.

But fret not, the good news is that the money I would have spent on my selection will be saved and when I next make a visit to the liquor store, it will be a very large purchase and it follows that there will be very many more reviews.

Hope you all understand, school still comes first.