Snarling Badger Berliner-Weisse

Grand Teton Brewing Company
Victor, Idaho

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3: White, foamy, rocky head (1" thick!) that rings the glass nicely. Lots of bubbles. Hazy, pure gold, pretty! if a bit dark for a wheat.

AROMA: 3/4: Orange-citrus aroma. Clean, high-toned. Subtle alcohol, sugary. Not terribly aromatic.

TASTE: 9/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.5/4: Sour/tart, big citrus up front, banana at close. Crisp and clean.
Aftertaste: 2.75/3: Big, sour. Lemony-citrus up front, lactic acid. Banana-clove finish, alcohol.
Mouth-Feel: 2.75/3: Alcohol warming, bubbly explosion that expands to fill the mouth. Yes, I said explosion. Just try it.

OVERALL: 2.75/3: Lactobacillus tartness is a great addition to this fruity, fizzy, spicy treat. Clean and refreshing, a great summer beer. Home run.

TOTAL: 17.25/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: Fizzy, flavorful and refreshing. I'm a cheapskate, so I often balk at spending $10 for a bomber; the exception is when it's a Grand Teton bomber. Buy this beer.
Ben: A great summer beer. Sour, but finishes crisp and clean. A really good sipper, it would be interesting to let it age a while and see how it comes out.

Epic Barrel-Aged IPA

Epic Brewing Company
Auckland, New Zealand

APPEARANCE: 2.25/3: Gold color, foamy head, slight haze.

AROMA: 3/4: Hoppy nose. Citrus, pine, some pineapple. Slight oaky nose, maybe.

TASTE: 7/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3/4: Lots of pineapple, some apricot, nice subtle lemony hints at the end.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Whiskey-oak sour up-front, big bitter middle.
Mouth-Feel: 2/3: A bit thin, could use more body. Woodiness overwhelms.

OVERALL: 2/3: Tastes like a booze-infused beer. They should have blended this. Not bad, but the barrel-aging is overwhelming.

TOTAL: 14.25/20–I'll Try A Pint

NOTES:
Matt: I appreciate the effort, but it's a bit much. Add body, blend it to tamp down the oak, and we're in business.
Ben: Grows on me the more I drink it. It's okay—good, but falls short of great. Almost too much oak flavor, like it's an extreme barrel beer; should be more subtle.

Cerise Cherry Fermented Ale

Founders Brewing Company
Grand Rapids, Michigan

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3: Ruby red, crystal clear. White head rings the glass nicely.

AROMA: 2.5/4: Subtle maraschino cherry nose, sugary. Not terribly aromatic.

TASTE: 6.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 2.75/4: Tart, very grainy. Cane sugar. Sour lasts to close, falls out quickly.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Cherry finish, bitter aftertaste lingers. Slight metallic tang.
Mouth-Feel: 2/3: Fizzy, a bit thin. Puckery.

OVERALL: 1.75/3: A bit watery, needs more cherry. Not bad, but could be better. (When you've had New Glarus Belgian Red, anything else is going to compare unfavorably.)

TOTAL: 13.5/20–I'll Try A Pint

NOTES:
Matt: Okay for what it is, but it's no Belgian Red. A high bar, I know, but tough.
Ben: Unfortunately for Founders, we've had the pinnacle of cherry fruit beer. This one falls short—needs much more cherry!

Midas Touch Handcrafted Ancient Ale

Dogfish Head Brewing Company
Milton, Delaware

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3: Deep gold, foamy head. Slight yeast haze.

AROMA: 3/4: Grape nose, very clean. Smells like wine, or white grape juice. Grain/cereal aroma.

TASTE: 7.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.25/4: Sweet up-front, spicy and grainy middle. Lots of white grape flavor.
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Big alcohol sour. Dry, bitter finish, white wine aftertaste.
Mouth-Feel: 2.25/3: Alcohol warming, booze rises up into the sinuses. Dry, fizzy and full.

OVERALL: 2.25/3: The new fad, seemingly—wine-beer. Or beer-wine. Straddles the line, but definitely a beer. Dry, grapey, interesting.

TOTAL: 15.25/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: I'm just okay with it—an interesting wine/beer hybrid. At 9%, though, alcohol is overwhelming!
Ben: I don't really taste the mead (as described on the label), but there is a sweet floral or blossom flavor there. Very dry and sweet, an interesting offering. Worth a try.

Dogfish Head Aprihop IPA

Dogfish Head Brewing Company
Milton, Delaware

APPEARANCE: 2.25/3: Dark copper to light brown. Clear, crisp, clean. Thin, off-white head that fades. Steady stream of bubbles.

AROMA: 3/4: Clean, sugary, subtle citrus. Subtle apricot, subdued hop aroma.

TASTE: 7.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.25/4: Apricot up-front and through the middle, hop bitterness at finish. Sugary sweet, apricot present. Some citrus hop.
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Sweet finish. Hop bitterness lingers. Nice high flavors.
Mouth-Feel: 2/3: Chewy, full-bodied. Weakly carbonated.

OVERALL: 2.25/3: Pleasant. Sweet and fruity, peaches (apricot) and cream-like, with a bitter finish.

TOTAL: 15/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: A nice beer. The apricot is understated, a nice accent flavor. Is it an IPA? Doubtful. Still, a nice ale, well done (as usual, by DFH).
Ben: Apricot accents the citrus hop nicely. Bitter finish is nice, though it's a little thin. Overall, not bad—another good offering from a great brewer.

The Stoic Belgian-Styled Quad

Deschutes Brewery
Bend, OR

APPEARANCE: 2.5/3: Pretty orange-gold. White, thin head, rings the glass. Hazy.

AROMA: 3.25/4: Spicy, tropical, citrus. Passion fruit, orange blossom, sweet raisin, richly aromatic. Alcohol.

TASTE: 7.25/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.25/4: Big, sour, tropical. White raisin, pineapple, orange, passion fruit, chamomile notes.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Whiskey aftertaste, bitter back of the throat. Whiskey sour is there, but the rest is lost.
Mouth-Feel: 2/3: Chewy, big-bodied. Alcohol tingle.

OVERALL: 2/3: The big body overwhelms the whiskey, relegates it to an aftertaste. If we knew what pomegranate tasted like, we'd have to say it's in there. Good, but BIG.

TOTAL: 14.5/20–I'll Try A Pint

NOTES:
Matt: Complex, like any good Belgian. I feel like there are almost too many factors at play to evaluate it fairly, but I do like the sour. Worth a shot.
Ben: Maybe they tried to do too much with this. Would be better left with the Belgian yeast profile alone; the whiskey gets lost in the tropical flavors. Big and boozy, almost too much.

Kilt Lifter Scottish-Style Ale

Four Peaks Brewing Company
Tempe, Arizona

APPEARANCE: 2/3
Very little head, thin. Brown, clear.

AROMA: 2.25/4
Clean, sweet—apple notes? All malt, no hop.

TASTE: 6.5/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 2.25/4: Very malty, lots of caramel. Some grassy hop.
Aftertaste: 2/3: Very subtle smoke, subtle bitter, drops out fast.
Mouth-Feel: 2.25/3: Finishes clean, okay body, appropriately carbonated. Maybe a tad thin.


OVERALL: 1.75/3: Tastes like an amber, really. Scottish Ale for the masses—sweet caramel, crystal malt, not the Scottish Ale we'd hoped for.


TOTAL: 12.5/20–I'll Try A Pint


NOTES:
Matt: Not an awful beer, but more like an amber than a Scottish—I'd take a 90 Shilling over this in a heartbeat.
Ben: Crystal malt makes it really caramelly-sweet. A bunch of peat-smoked malt would make it more true to style.