Avery India Pale Ale

Avery Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado

APPEARANCE: 2/3
Pale gold, really clear. Light in appearance–less substantial than I'm accustomed to. Big-bubble head.

AROMA: 3/4
Hoppy nose. Grassy, citrusy, grapefruit. Some sweetness there.

TASTE: 8.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.5/4: Hop! Hop flavor up-front. Grapefruit, pine. Light malt, subtle malt sweetness, but hop is dominant.
Aftertaste: 2.5/3: Sweet to open, fades to bitterness at end–lingers, but pleasantly so.
Mouth-Feel: 2.5/3: Light-bodied, effervescent. Bouncy, fruity, nice.

OVERALL: 2.5/3: A really good, hoppy beer. True to style–if you like hops this is definitely one to try (it's awesome with pizza, trust us).

TOTAL: 16/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: I love the session-style drinkability of this! Light-bodied, I could have several. Everything I love in an IPA, and not heavy.
Ben: Avery is becoming a preferred brewer for us; good on a hot summer day, a crisp autumn day, a blustery winter day, a rainy spring da–oh, you get the picture. Always a good choice.

Schlafly Dry Hopped APA

The Saint Louis Brewery
St. Louis, MO

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3
Orange-honey color. Clear. BIG head, tons of bubbles. Creamy, rocky head.

AROMA: 3/4
Hoppy, pine, grapefruit. Pleasant.

TASTE: 6.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3/4: Lots of hop flavor. Malty, too. Nutty, caramel notes and grapefruit-citrus.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Bitterness at close–lasts, but is pretty mellow. Slight astringence.
Mouth-Feel: 1.75/3: Full mouth feel. Effervescent, maybe a touch too fizzy.

OVERALL: 2/3: Not bad, a decent offering–a nice, unassuming, hoppy APA.

TOTAL: 14.25/20–I'll Try A Pint

NOTES:
Matt: Not overwhelmingly hoppy, but probably a good gateway beer for craft beer newbies. I remember just loving this when I first started drink craft beers.
Ben: A decent brewery, better than its big brother. Better on tap, but not at all bad out of the bottle.

Left Hand Fade to Black, Vol. 2—Smoked Baltic Porter

*Note: Fade to Black is a series; each year the bottle is the same, but the contents change. Each year's beer is noted in relatively small type on the neck label.

Left Hand Brewing Company
Longmont, Colorado

APPEARANCE: 2/3
Deep mahogany color. Opaque. Nice espresso head that faded fast, tiny bubbles.

AROMA: 3/4
Roasty–subtle smoky nose, burnt coffee, dark chocolate. No discernible hop aroma.

TASTE: 7.25/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 2.75/4: Hop bitterness at front. Malty. Chocolate, subtle prune. Could use more hop bitterness.
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Sourness that fades to a roasted, nutty finish. Smoky.
Mouth-Feel: 2.25/3: Full mouth. Noticeable sour tones, but not puckering.

OVERALL: 2.25/3: A mostly standard dark porter, though the sourness gives it a twist. One quibble with the branding–it's not well expressed that this is part of a series, something that changes from year to year. If you miss the type on the neck label, you might overlook that this isn't last year's beer.

TOTAL: 14.5/20–I'll Try A Pint

NOTES:
Matt: I like it as much as any porter I've had recently, but it's not mind-blowing (admission: I'm not a huge fan of the style).
Ben: A good porter, could use more smoky flavor. This was a disappointment after last year's excellent stout.

Avery "The Kaiser" Imperial Oktoberfest Lager

Avery Brewing Company
Boulder, Colorado

APPEARANCE: 2.75/3
Orange-red-copper. White head that rings the glass. Crisp and clear (as an Oktoberfest should be).

AROMA: 3.25/4
Clean–sweet cream, candy corn. Very little hop aroma.

TASTE: 8.25/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3/4: Very little hop. Caramel apple, apple juice notes.
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Very malty–sweet but not cloyingly so. Subtle bitterness at finish.
Mouth-Feel: 2.5/3: There's some alcohol here–big, smooth, a full-mouth beer.

OVERALL: 2.25/3: Nice. A big, sweet beer. Dances on the edge of cloying, but pulls it back. I don't know why we overlook Avery, because they make good beer.

TOTAL: 16/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: The best Oktoberfest I had this year; a bit sweet for my taste (most Avery products we've tried tend to be), but very nice for the style.
Ben: Very clean, very sweet, very big. As Oktoberfests go, it's definitely worth a try (and get it while you can, there can't be too many more out there).

Green Flash Grand Cru

Green Flash Brewing Company
San Diego, CA

APPEARANCE: 2.25/3
Thick espresso-colored head. Deep brown color, almost purple. Opaque.

AROMA: 3.25/4
Roasty. Chocolate, vanilla, coffee, brown sugar, licorice. Wow. Unique, very little hop aroma.

TASTE: 7.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.25/4: Prune/plum, raisin. Burnt coffee. Sour cherry at front, hop bitterness at close.
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Lasting roasty bitterness. Sour to bitter.
Mouth-Feel: 2.25/3: Really big, but very smooth. Alcohol is well-masked. Weakly carbonated, which was appropriate.

OVERALL: 2.25/3: A unique, complex beer. Roasty, sour, sweet, wow–a lot going on here.

TOTAL: 15.5/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: Really nicely balanced, so much so that it doesn't seem as big as I know it is. Complex and weird, but I really enjoyed it (more than Ben, I think) .
Ben: Complex–it almost defies description. Roasty yet pruny yet coffee yet chocolatey, big and warming. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either.

Choc Basement Batch Pale Ale

Choc Beer Company
Krebs, OK

APPEARANCE: 2.25/3
Clear, copper colored. Thin white head. Effervescent.
AROMA: 3.25/4
Citrus, Cascade hop. Malty, subtly nutty.

TASTE: 7.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.25/4: Lots of hop flavor up-front, bitter at the finish. Malty, nicely-balanced. Probably too hoppy for the style, but you know us–we're not complaining.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Fades to a slightly astringent bitter finish–a tad too bitter.
Mouth-Feel: 2.25/3: Starts sweet, quickly shifts to lasting bitter. Refreshing.

OVERALL: 2.25/3: The packaging of this uknown-to-us beer struck us as cheesy; the beer itself defied our expectations. A good, hoppy session pale.

TOTAL: 15.25/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: Probably benefited from low expectations–it's the "My Cousin Vinny"of beers. Still, an extremely drinkable, hoppy pale.
Ben: I was pleasantly surprised–a good session beer. Oklahoma officially can make good beer.

Boulevard Double-Wide IPA

Boulevard Brewing Company
Kansas City, MO

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3
Thick, foamy, rocky head–big bubbles. Deep copper/mahogany color. Hazy, could be less so.

AROMA: 3.5/4
Hop! Citrus–orange-grapefruit. Piney, meadowy, very sweet.

TASTE: 7.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.25/4: Malt balances hops well. Strong orange, grapefruit flavors. Hop aroma and flavor hit you up-front, last through the bitter finish.
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Citrus lingers, slowly moves to a bitter finish that doesn't last. Finishes smooth.
Mouth-Feel: 2.5/3: Big. The alcohol is masked well by hops, but it's there. Very clean.

OVERALL: 2.5/3: A big, very hoppy beer. Lots of citrus throughout. Another nice Boulevard Smokestack offering!

TOTAL: 16.5/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: Big, hoppy, bouncy, clean–what's not to like? Bravo, Boulevard!
Ben: When I first tried this years ago I was unimpressed. I'm glad I gave it a second try–once again, a solid offering from our hometown brewery.