J.K.'s Solstice Hard Cider Farmhouse Organic

"Give me Yesterday's Bread, this Day's Flesh, and last Year's Cyder." -Benjamin Franklin

Our first Winter ale is J.K.'s Solstice Hard Cider Farmhouse Organic purchased at Vintage Estates.

The ingredients are fresh apple juice, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and yeast - no sulfites are added. It is USDA organic and gluten free. It is 6.9% ABV.

Overall average rating: 8.9/10

It pours a straw yellow, like apple juice. It is slightly cloudy and traslucent with no carbonation. We smell apple, cinnamon, and honey. The taste is crisp and smooth, and we don't taste alcohol at all. The other flavors are very complimentary to the apple flavor. This reminds Shawn and I of the cider at White House Fruit Farm.

Shawn- This reminds me of winter even though apples are more of a fall flavor. I really didn't think I'd like ciders, but this brewery is great, 9/10.
Angela- The slight vanilla flavor gives the cider a creaminess that's very yummy, 8.5/10.
Chris- I taste at least three kinds of apples, but I expected more carbonation. Honestly though, I have to nitpick to truly find flaws with this cider, 9.25/10.

Epic Brewing Co. - Smoked & Oaked Belgian-Style Ale

We now travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, to the Epic Brewing Company to have their Smoked & Oaked Belgian-Style Ale, purchased at Vintage Estates.

"You are holding something special - one of only 1800 bottles released and numbered." Our bottle says Release #5. "Smoked cherry wood malt brings a smoky sweetness to the caramel malts and a bit of peat flavor with a Belgian-style yeast. The entire batch aging in the whiskey barrels nicely dries out the perceived sweetness of the caramel malt leaving an almost scotch like taste." This is part of Epic's Exponential Series and is 9.9% ABV.

Overall average rating: 8.0/10

This beer is opaque and dirty (lots of sediment floating around). It is a red amber color with an off-white, moderately diminishing head with lacing on the glass. We smell yeast, malt, a touch of citrusy hops, and nutmeg/allspice. We also get stone fruit and a dark, earthy floral - presumably the smoked cherry wood. The taste is rich, Chris compares it to a Belgian dubbel. The taste lingers on the center of the tongue and is very unique. We discussed anisette or fennel mixed with the oak with the yeast adding sweetness.

Shawn- I love how many different flavors you get. It is crisp but not completely clean, in part because it is bottle-conditioned. I enjoyed it, but I expected more smoke in the flavor, 8.25/10.
Angela- This is thick and sweet, and a very good beer for what it is, it's just not my kind of beer, 7.25/10.
Chris- I really like this, though I think it would be better aged. It was made in March and bottled in May, but I think it would be excellent after aging, 8.5/10.

Merry Christmas! Tallgrass - Halcyon Wheat Beer

We celebrate this Christmas by beginning our trek through the Central United States! We start off in Manhattan, Kansas, at the Tallgrass Brewing Company, drinking their Halcyon Wheat Beer purchased at Vintage Estates. Their beers are all canned, and you can read their "Canifesto" here.

"Our thank to Bill Mai, the wheat farmer from Wallace County, Kansas that grows our wheat!" (At last year's Big Tap In, Shawn and I met a really nice guy from this brewery. Hopefully he'll be back this year!)

Overall average rating: 8.0/10

The appearance is an opaque, cloudy blonde, with a slow to diminish, thick white head. The aroma is of sweet wheat, citrusy hops, and a hint of sea salt. The taste is clean and refreshing, with wheat and hops (citrus with a little bitter) and a side tongue bite.

Shawn- This is well-balanced with a great flavor and aroma. I'd love to drink this again, 8/10.

Angela- This is a really good, crisp beer - like a light beer with flavor. I'm not normally a wheat beer fan, but I love this. It's a great summer beer, 8/10.

Chris- I could drink a case of this over the summer. It is so refreshing, definitely something I'd recommend to someone just getting into craft beer, 8/10.

Happy Thanksgiving with The Bruery Trade Winds

Ironically, we celebrate this Thanksgiving with The Bruery Trade Winds, their summer seasonal, purchased at Vintage Estates.

This Belgian-style Ale is brewed with rice and Thai basil. Thie Belgian and Southeast Asian inspired Tripel brings spice from the East and yeast from the West. "Since there is fresh Thai basil in this Tripel, it is best enjoyed fresh. The ideal serving temperature is 45° F, and it will taste best served in a tulip/wine glass." It has 25 IBUs and is 8.1% ABV.

Overall average rating: 7.0/10

It pours a beautiful Belgian color - a cloudy, straw color - with a thick white head and a lot of lacing. We think we smell oats, as well as basil, rice, wheat, and citrusy hops. The taste has a lemony bite and is more hoppy than other Belgian tripels, although it is a fairly good attempt at an American version of this style. There is a slight dryness, most likely the rice, and it is sharp and refreshing.

Shawn- They made the basil flavor relevant and it has a super clean flavor enjoyable any time of the year, 7.5/10.
Angela- I like it, but I think I would personally enjoy it much more with food (Rex suggests a ribeye/steak dinner with sweet onions), 6.5/10.
Chris- I like this because of its delicate flavors, although I think it can use a little less lemon, 7/10.


*You may remember our previous beer from this brewery, and I said I thought it would be better with Thanksgiving dinner. Well, I bought a bottle and drank it with my meal. I think it helped the flavors somewhat, but not as much as I'd hoped. I still think these beers are better with a meal than by themselves. -Angela

Lost Coast - Great White Beer

Our next beer is from Eureka, California, and is Lost Coast Great White Beer purchased at Vintage Estates.

The labels from this brewery are always very colorful and fun. It has "light, unfiltered two-row malted barley, unmalted wheat, crystal clear mountain water, and ale yeast. It is spiced with coriander and a secret blend of Humboldt herbs that give it a delicate citrusy flavor." It si 5.0% ABV.

Overall average rating: 5.9/10

The beer pours a cloudy, straw yellow color with a white head. The aroma gives off essences of wheat, barley, a sweet hop citrus, lemon (a little Summer Shandy-ish), and some coriander. The taste is light with wheat and a slight hop linger. It has a mainly front tongue bite with a little side tongue linger. It also has a slight tart/sour lemon finish.

Shawn- You can taste a slight trace of coriander in the finish, and it is refreshing with unmuddled flavors, 6/10.
Angela- It is a sessionable summer beer; good for a hot day, 5.5/10.
Chris- It is something I would suggest to someone starting out on craft beer. I enjoy the style of it being more tart than sweet, 6.25/10.

Wolaver's Pumpkin Ale

"Better Beer - Better World"

In honor of the season, we're devoting the next week and a half to Pumpkin ales. So far we have been trying to stick with seven beers for seven days. However, there are so many pumpkin ales, we are trying to do as many as we can, and I think we have done a good job! We are kicking off the week with Vermont's own Wolaver's Pumpkin Ale purchased at Vintage Estates. (Their official website is currently under construction, so they direct you to their Facebook page for now. Here is the official site: http://www.wolavers.com/.)

"Since 1997, Wolaver's has combined a passion for exceptional ales along with a strong belief on the benefits of organic farming." Otter Creek Brewing actually produces the Wolaver's Fine Organic beers. It is brewed with organically grown Vermont pumpkins and four fresh organic spices, and it is unfiltered and unpasteurized. The label shows a farmer holding a pitchfork and a growler (awesome!) along with a picture of wheat and pumpkins.

Overall average rating: 5.5/10

It pours as a translucent orange color with a thick, off-white head that moderately diminishes. The aroma is strongly pumpkin, as well as wheat and spices, primarily nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon. The taste is strongly clove with a metallic finish. The pumpkin flavor almost seems to be an afterthought.

Shawn- My previous experience with organic beers is that they have a lot thought put into them. This was well done, but not up to par with other organic beers. It almost seems like it was more of a concern to make an organic beer than to make a good pumpkin beer, 5.5/10.

Angela- This is a very sessionable pumpkin beer because it is not overly spicy. It is very light and refreshing, but not something I would drink if I was in the mood for a flavorful pumpkin ale, 5.5/10.

Chris- It is not a bad beer; I just expected more flavor from it, 5.5/10.

Les Trois Mousquetaires Rauchbier

"Inspired by Europe - Brewed in Quebec - One for all!"

To round out the Canada category, we drank Les Trois Mousquetaires Rauchbier purchased at Vintage Estates.

This beer label proudly displays the musketeers (Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan - thanks, Shawn & Chris!). This is a Bamberg-style smoked beer ("Rauchbier") which, from my understanding, means the malt has been dried over open flames. It is a dark beer made partly from smoked malt that is aged slowly with a fine yeast sediment. It is 6% ABV.

Occasionally we will be having guests that taste our beers with us, and for this it was our friend Rex. He also works in the culinary field and has an amazing palate - he was picking out flavors none of us could identify.

Overall average rating: 7.7/10

This opaque, black beer has a long-lasting caramel head with definite lacing. Rex smelled the beer first and immediately said it smelled like soy sauce. I agree completely. Shawn & Chris smell it too, but find there is a sweet finish that Chris believes is a dark fruit of some kind. It tastes lighter than we expected considering how dark it is. It has definite coffee and chocolate flavors, as well as a woody flavor with a dark fruit finish. After some investigation into the indigenous trees of Canada, Rex pinpointed the flavor combination - black cherry and dogwood. (To truly get the flavor, after you swallow the beer, lick the roof of your mouth. It seems odd, but it works.)

Shawn- I think the beer has a good taste and a fantastic aroma. It is thinner than I expected. It reminds me of an Edmund Fitzgerald made with better water, 8/10.
Angela- It tastes soooo much better than the smell - I really couldn't get past the soy sauce aroma. Despite the slightly thick mouthfeel, it is thinner than I'd wished it was, 7.5/10.
Chris- To me, it looks like a rootbeer float. This is a beer I would enjoy while sitting by the fireplace, 7.5/10.

J. K.'s Scrumpy Hard Cider - Farmhouse Organic

We're halfway through Cider Week! Tonight's drink of choice is J. K.'s Scrumpy Hard Cider - Farmhouse Organic, purchased at Vintage Estates.

This hand-bottled, unfiltered, and organic cider is gluten free with no sulfites added. The apples used are grown at the Koan Family Orchards in Michigan. "We have produced hard ciders since the 1860s. This is the same traditional recipe that helped save our farm during the great depression." Scrumpy is an English-style farmhouse cider, and while this is not an English-style cider, it is definitely farmhouse. The ingredients are listed (fresh apple juice, yeast), as well as this quote: "He that drinks his Cyder alone, let him catch his Horse alone" -Benjamin Franklin. It is 6% ABV.

Overall average rating: 9.0/10

This cider is golden and opaque with no head; it is not very carbonated. The aroma is a delicious apple juice scent, much sweeter smelling than the previous ciders. The taste is very cidery - very sweet, lightly tart, cinnamon, nutmeg. Yum.

Shawn- This is exactly what I expect from apple cider - cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, honey. I love that it's unfiltered with pieces of apple skin inside. I don't think I'll have a better cider this year. It really reminds me of White House Fruit Farm, 9/10.
Angela- I smell apple juice, but I definitely get more of an apple cider taste like Shawn described, especially the cinnamon and honey. Again, I was proven wrong when I said I liked tart ciders better. It is very drinkable and sooooo delicious, 9/10.
Chris- This reminds me of cinnamon applesauce. It is another cider I would recommend to anyone. It tastes like the apple cider from my youth that would sit in the fridge just a little too long and begin to ferment itself, 9/10.