Nogne O - Brown Ale

Nogne O Brown Ale- Gamle Rygene Kraftstasjon - Grimstd, Norway - 4.5% abv
1 PT .9oz dark brown bottle. No freshness date.

Pours an overly dark, almost Porter-like dark black coffee color with a thin, but creamy beige color, along with some patchy and trailing lacing.
A mild damp woody aroma fades fast. With some concentration, a whiff of dried chocolate malt escapes.

Tastes of strong coffee, toffee and scorched malt are upfront. Minor flavors of sweet grapefruit and a metallic bite lie beneath.

Oddly, for such a low abv brew, a light alcoholic fuminess is noticed.

A nice brew, just somehow floating about as a Brown Ale. Too dark for a brown, too mild for a Porter, perhaps it's a Dark Brown Ale?

Michelob-Amber Bock

I chose a pseudo-craft beer as my 100th review on BeerAdvocate in 2003. One of our duties as reviewers is to enlighten or warn the unsuspecting, so here goes. I sampled this horrible brew at The Tiki Bar, an outdoor grill on the beach on Marco Island. Michelob was test-marketing Amber Bock in several states and it was my misfortune for having vacationed in Florida at this time. It was a sunny and balmy afternoon. Bikini clad beauties were bouncing around, showing off what they had developed over the winter (quite a distraction from my relaxed reading and quite the chore of appearing disinterested with my girlfriend's harsh glare beating down upon the back of my neck). The smell of grilled shrimp and burgers wafted over me, exciting my remaining senses. I wandered over to the Tiki and noticed, with curious interest, Michelob Amber Bock on tap. Hmmm! How bad could it be? Well, despite my most excellent surroundings and laissez-faire attitude, the answer, to be kind is Disgusting!! Flat dark tan in color and rapidly vanishing off-white head. Sweet sugary malt and soaked corncob aroma. The pasty-mealy malt is difficult to swallow. This bland, sweet tasting, lightly hopped beer is in keeping with the A-B tradition of marketing over quality brewing techniques. Again A-B had the opportunity to enter the craft brew market by brewing a really fine bock beer. They chose instead, the road of mass-produced-type swill and major advertising campaigns. Argh! In case you’re still interested, the rest of my vacation went very well despite A-B’s attempt to ruin it.

Michelob-Porter

12oz dark brown bottle. No freshness date.
Pours a deep red-tinted root beer-like color with a fast-fading light tan head, along with some wispy trails of lacing.
Smells of coffee and dark chocolate are present throughout. Light whiffs of barnyard hay and hints of citrusy hops come and go.
Fairly strong tastes of sweetened coffee with rich chocolate are upfront. Mild citrusy hop bitterness lends a little balance. As it warms, a light taste of prunes peeks through
A flavor of toasted rye bread is noticed. A light rummy alcohol fuminess adds a bit of interest.
Smooth...almost oily (in a good way) Nice easy-to-gulp Porter.
Well done!

Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project - 1832 Mild Ale

A recreation of a beer originally brewed on Brick Lane, London of February 27th, 1832
22oz brown bottle. No freshness date.
The color is a leathery, hazy copper with a thin beige head and loads of web lacing.
A strong aroma of caramelized sugar and barley malt are dominant. A sharp breath of citrusy and floral hops spring forth. A mild rummy fuminess fades in and out.
Tastes are simply, yet wide-ranging. This is an amazingly balanced brew. The sweet buttery malt, edgy citrus and metallic hop and floral flavors blend very well with a strong Grand Marnier/Triple Sec alcoholic kick. Subtle flavors of tart orange zest and doughy bread come to mind.
We love to see and taste the results of Dann Paquette's projects. Quite the brewer!
This is a nice strong ale to warm by the fire with. Sharp aged cheese or dark chocolates will pair nicely.

Stout Beer Cake

Lucky me! My wife created a birthday cake for me made with Stone's Bitter Chocolate Stout (9.2% alcohol by volume). It's really quite good. Lots of chocolate flavors with stout flavors in the background. Lovely!

Sierra Nevada - Tumbler Autumn Ale

Sierra Nevada - Tumbler - Chico, CA 5.5% abv
12 oz dark brown bottle. No freshness date.
I enjoy this dark auburn, brown leathery color with a medium-sized beige head on top. Loads of sticky lacing cling to the glass throughout.
The aroma is mostly malt-driven, with dry grain, caramel malt and farina wheat smells. There is a bit of fruit and citrus peel to the hop aroma.
The flavors are under-whelming. I expected a strong, sweet malty taste with a solid hop blend for support, but was a little disappointed. It sort of reminds me of a New Castle Ale, except with a bit more of a hop and alcohol kick.
The body has an unexpected spritzy effervescence. I would like a little more solid, rich malty body in an autumn ale. Something to stand up to creamy, thick autumn stews, perhaps.

Sierra Nevada - Big Foot Barleywine

Sierra Nevada Big Foot Barleywine - Chico, CA - 9.6% abv
It pours a lovely sun burnt orange amber with a smallish but fairly long-lasting beige head.
Potent floral hop aromas burst out of the glass while pouring. A smell of spruce, malt and alcohol blend in.
Caramel and candy sugar sweetness are easily noticed. Doughy bread, rum-soaked raisins and a light taste of herbs begin to emerge, though settled in the background.
Sharp grapefruit, lemon zest and a bit of a metallic bite provide quite a bite. The piney esters of whole fresh hops and the big alcohol kick remain quite separate from the other tastes, which begin to mingle halfway through the glass. Bigfoot is an original Northwest American-style Barleywine. I hope that just because something else more extreme flavor-wise, or more potent in the ABV department comes along, doesn't relegate this wonderful brew to the back shelf. Long live the legend of Bigfoot