NAME: Kiuchi Brewery Hitachino Nest White Ale
STYLE: Witbier
ORIGIN: Kounosu Naka-Shi Ibaraki, Japan
ABV: 5.5%
REVIEW: Light brown, opaque, orange zest smell, orange-y herby taste, a little thyme, clove, and banana. Smooth sweet finish. Really subtly complex beer that’s still very smooth and refreshing. One of the first craft beers I ever tried and still a winner.
goodwilltasting grade: B+
NAME: Brew Dog Libertine Black Ale
TYPE: Black Ale
ORIGIN: Scotland
ABV: 7.2%
REVIEW: Pours like black coffee, light bubbly head. Nice pine-y hop aromas, with a little smokiness at the end. The taste has nice roasted maltiness up front, then a bittersweet grapefruit finish. Really interesting beer! It’s kind of a best of both worlds if you like both stouts and IPAs. I highly recommend trying this one.
goodwilltasting grade: B+
NAME: Shipyard Prelude Ale
TYPE: English Strong Ale
ORIGIN: Portland, ME
ABV: 6.8%
REVIEW: Clear, dark brown color, fresh, crisp smell with with a little coffee and brown sugar on the nose. Unfortunately it smelled a lot better than it tasted. Unpleasantly bitter from the get go, a little funky at the end with a stale, dry, sticky finish. Had on draught so can’t really say if it was the beer’s fault or the bar’s fault. In any case, it was not great.
goodwilltasting grade: D.
NAME: Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier
TYPE: Seasonal Winter Doppelbock
ORIGIN: Austria
ABV: A big ol’14%
REVIEW: Pours medium brown, sweet smelling with a honey and a little maple, strong malt backbone. Sweet taste and a little boozy at the end. Full, creamy mouthfeel. Nice, warm beer for a bitterly cold night in Portland Maine. BTDubs, if you ever find yourself in Portland, do yourself a favor and check out Novare Res. Probably the best beer bar I’ve been to in New England.
goodwilltasting grade: B+.
NAME: Dogfish Head Old School Barleywine
TYPE: Barleywine
ORIGIN: Rehoboth Beach, DE
ABV: A whopping 15% ABV you maniacs
REVIEW: Dark amber color, minimal head, very sweet, fruity taste with a thick syrupy mouthfeel, minimal carbonation and lingering figgy aftertaste. I kinda wanna pour this on pancakes and see how that goes. As you can see, this review is from days of yore, before the blog existed. Almost got all my old IG reviews up on here!
goodwilltasting grade: Trying to be impartial since I’m not a huge Barleywine guy. B+.
NAME: Rising Tide Ishmael American Copper Ale
TYPE: Altbier (German-style Brown Ale)
ORIGIN: Portland, ME
ABV: 5.1%
REVIEW: Dark copper color, foamy head. Bready smell, subtle hops aroma, nice biscuity mouthfeel with strong malty backbone, bittersweet caramel flavor, smooth finish with little aftertaste. Solid subtly hoppy brown ale that would go well with fried seafood and chowdah that Portland does so well.
goodwilltasting grade: B
NAME: He’Brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A.
TYPE: Rye Double IPA
ORIGIN: Clifton Park, NY
ABV: 10%
REVIEW: Pours translucent copper color. Smells of pine, fresh cut grass, a little apricot. Nice and bitter up front, a little peppery with kind of a sticky, bittersweet finish, like eating a white grapefruit. A little fuller and stickier mouthfeel than your typical west coast IPA. I really like this beer. Nice, spicy, flavorful IPA for the cold winter months. Been trying a lot of winners recently!
goodwilltasting grade: A-
Also, Go Niners! Seattle we comin’ for you!
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