Jolly Pumpkin - Calabaza Blanca

It's two days before "All Hallow's Eve" and what better brand of beer is there to review than Jolly Pumpkin out of Dexter, Michigan.  Not only does their name make them an obvious choice, but their often eerie bottle art and unusual flavors make them a brewer that stretches comfort zones and pushes the boundaries for many a burgeoning craft beer drinker.  Today's review will be for their "Calabaza Blanca" (translated:  "White Pumpkin"), an artisan white ale allegedly "brewed in Belgium's biere blanche tradition," according to the label.  Jolly Pumpkin tends to focus on open fermentation and barrel aging, so one comes to expect a bit of sour goodness when cracking any of their bottles.  This particular bottle is from batch 853 and was bottled on 7-28-2011.  Let's pour!

Aroma 11/12

My first whif from the bottle elicited a "Wow, that's funky!"  However, things settled much more pleasantly in the glass.  Overall, it is a very floral brew with a distinct sour note behind it.  The sour in the aroma evokes more sour green apples than it does the pungent orange peel used in its brewing, but that is not an unwelcome development.  A very earthy coriander complements things nicely... or is that a coriander that blends well with an earthy hop variety?  No matter, it all adds up to a classic gueuze type aroma.  Ooh, and the orange blossom floral qualities open up even more as the beer warms.  This is not a light aroma!  It's got some oomph behind it.

Appearance 3/3

Everything on the mark for the style.  A bright, high clarity, sunshine yellow gleams in the glass and is capped by a noisy white head that fizzes quickly to a ring around the surface.  OK, so normally one expects some haze in a witbier, but with how long this bottle has been again all that sediment on the bottom is going nowhere.  The clarity and color seem awfully summery for this time of year, but I won't hold that against it.

Flavor 17/20

Wow!  The sour invades your personal space like an exuberant uncle at a family reunion.  The blast of intense lemony lactic flavor dulls when held in the mouth, as does the angrily aggressive carbonation, and one is left with the earthy, slightly bitter fragments of the sour-splosion that just occurred.  Unfortunately, little else takes place.  The bitter could just as well be from lemon peel as it could orange and any coriander spiciness is wanting at best.  The finish, of course, tends to emphasize the bitter a tad more than in the backbone of the beer, but that's about the only change.  It is of course ridiculously dry, but that is aided gradually by the sour left in the mouth that inspires a helpful dose of saliva.  Very tasty and not light on flavor, but extremely simple aside from the sour and earthy bitter.

Mouthfeel 4/5

The body in this beer is nearly nonexistent.  I mean almost water, people.  That is fixed a bit once the zealous carbonation has quickly died, but even then the beer can be called very light at best.  Normally, a carbonation level this high would interfere tremendously with the texture of the beer, but with a beer this light it really can't do much damage.  Any further negative effects of such high carbonation, even for a bottle conditioned beer, are lessened by the simple fact that the bubbles are so damned tiny.  I have no idea how they did it, but they did.  A mouthfeel like this and the accompanying low ABV of 4.8% lead me to think of this beer as more of a simple gueuze or a musty berliner weisse than any sort of white ale or witbier.

Overall Impression 7/10

This is well made, robust in both aroma and flavor, and definitely something for someone getting into sour beers to try.  Its body, sour flavor, and high carbonation all keep it a refreshing beer, while the low ABV and light body mean you could probably drink quite a few if the flavor wasn't so intense.  In fact, this brew is probably meant to be drank in quantity or popped like champagne, but its simplicity doesn't quite fit the bill as something to sit down and savor.

Total 42/50

This is a tasty beer.  Or rather a tasty sour champagne that is barely less dry than real champagne - and with less alcohol.  This is a refreshing change of pace from big IPAs and some of the pumpkin/yam beers of the season, but probably not enough to keep me coming back.  Ultimately though, it IS something that I would buy to show to my friends how different and unusual beers can be.  It also may be something that a drinker heavily into lambics could branch out to try.  Good work Jolly Pumpkin.  You've made a refreshing beer that doesn't skimp on the intensity of its flavor, but now I'd like to request some complexity.

Founders - Breakfast Stout (2012)

Ahhh, the first blog of a New Year.  A clean slate on which to begin and a new archive point in the right hand column.  It didn't take long for me to decide how to begin the new year of Sud Savant.  Maybe it was the desire to start the year strong or maybe it was simply all the "New Year's Baby" images floating around, but I knew I had to start the new year with a bottle of "the baby."  I'm referring of course to Founders' Breakfast Stout.

For those that don't know, Founders' Breakfast Stout is one of the premier go-to stouts brewed in America today.  You should be able to find a 4-pack for around $10 and it is worth every penny.  Its label lists it as a "double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout," and if that doesn't get your tastebuds all hot and bothered then I don't know what will.  In case that doesn't sound amazballs enough, Founders also makes special varieties of Breakfast Stout called Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) and Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS).  CBS is another imperial stout, but it is aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels.  KBS is somewhat the more sought after of the two and it is cave aged in oak bourbon barrels for one year.  If you see either of those beers you should never hesitate to pick them up because their availability is extremely limited and they are without question some of the finest stouts available.

For those that do know, I hope that this review can accurately put into words the sensations when drinking this national favorite.  This beer was bottled on 08/02/2012.  Let's pour!

Who could say "no" to those eyes?

Aroma 11/12

When served at a temperature colder than what is ideal, the beer has rich aromas only of coffee and a roast so dark you'd swear it was charred.  Slowly but surely, the sweetness begins to creep out as the beer approaches a proper serving temperature.  Chocolate tones are first and are especially sneaky since they had blended so well with the abundant coffee.  Then the beer simply begins to open up; aromas become larger and richer, a bit of warmth can be detected, and a bit of that lactose-like sweetness from the oatmeal all come forward and waft zealously from the glass.  You can smell this thing from across the table.  It's not like a mocha, that would be too light for this beer.  It's more like someone poured melted dark chocolate into your double shot of espresso.  Not complex, but it is beautiful.

Appearance 3/3

It's black.  Plain and simple.  Sure you might get a glimmer of a cola brown if you hold it right next to a light bulb, but for the most part it is an opaque, black hole of a beer.  The head was disappointingly small, but makes up for it by being a tan color with earthy red tones - almost as if cinnamon were part of this beer.

Flavor 19/20

Strong roast flavors begin this beer and then quickly meld into the chocolate and coffee storm that is raging inside this beer.  All dark flavors, all the time.  Darkest chocolate battles black espresso for supremacy of your taste buds and it is brilliant.  Lots of roast is present as well and adds a lovely smokiness to the whole.  A bit of a salty note is present when holding the beer in the mouth which I'm assuming is from one of the coffee varieties.  The blend as a whole is remarkably rich, fudge-y, bitter, and harmoniously blended.  The finish is a splash of pure coffee and a vibrant, albeit lesser, chocolate as it makes its way down the throat.  The aftertaste lingers as much as real coffee would, remaining bitter and inducing fears of future bad "coffee breath."  Oh, and the 8.3% ABV?  Invisible, unless you slurp.

Mouthfeel 5/5

Wonderfully smooth, but without falling into the trap of most stouts of being almost non-carbonated.  Quite the contrary, this stout has a level of carbonation that makes it much more lively that most stouts, yet does not distract in the mouthfeel nor butt heads with the smoothness inherent when using a ton of malts.  Also, I can't get over how the alcohol in this beer is completely camouflaged.  Well done!

Overall Impression 9/10

Truly, a first rate stout: delicious, big, well made, well blended, and deserving of its national acclaim.  Thankfully, this brew is not as hard to get a hold of as its big brothers.  This is not the biggest, baddest stout attainable, but should certainly be viewed as a treat whenever it is consumed.  

Total 47/50

I know, I know... some of you may find this rating a bit low.  In fact, most of the folks at BeerAdvocate and RateBeer would certainly find this score low as that FBS currently rates a 99 and 100 on those sites, respectively.  However, if one gives a perfect score to this beer, what are you supposed to give its big brothers, the CBS and KBS, which are even more highly regarded (even if that may be partially tied to their rarity)?  This is an excellent score for an excellent beer, but it is also given with a strong consideration to other contenders in the style.  It's actually quite the accolade to be compared to other amazing beers that are brewed on a much smaller scale.  FBS is one of the best widely distributed stouts in America.  Period.

Founders - Backwoods Bastard

I remember trying Founders' Backwoods Bastard when it was fresh and being blown away at the intense bourbon flavors in this beer. It was almost too much!  For that reason, I aged a few of them to see how that booziness would mellow out after a year or two.  This bottle is part of that experiment and is a Backwoods Bastard brewed in 2011.  Shall we see how things have progressed?  Let's pour!

Aroma 10/12

Time does not seem to have settled this brew down one bit!  The bourbon aroma and strong warmth are immediately and intensely present and not far behind it is a rich, raw sugar that almost comes across "mapley"  at first.  The oak is easily detectable behind these two strong aromas and as the beer opens up a dark vanilla is added to the mix.  It's a great flavor and blends excellently with the earlier sugar/molasses note.  Eventually it all but surpasses the sugar notes, and soon the dark roast of the malt can be faintly discerned.

Appearance 3/3

This beer is much darker than I anticipated!  It looks black in color, but when held to light reveals lots of nut and coffee browns and even a magenta shade or two.  The head is tan in color and creamy in appearance.  Were it not for the smaller amount, it would not look out of place atop of a Guinness.

Flavor 16/20

The flavor on this has not mellowed either, at least not to my recollection.  It starts with a smooth, medium-bodied wave of molasses and vanilla, but transitions very quickly into the bourbon/whiskey flavors and loads of oak.  To be quite honest, it's difficult to find much beyond the bourbon, its warmth, and the sugary vanilla goodness.  The finish is still boozy and sweet, but does add a layer of bitter to things as the beer sticks to the back of the throat and leaves the mouth slick.  The aftertaste is a less intense of version of what one would find after drinking bourbon on the rocks.

Mouthfeel 4/5

Obviously the warmth is a major factor in the mouthfeel of this brew, yet surprisingly the alcohol does not achieve any sort of drying effect on the mouth.  The beer instead makes the mouth water and makes it slick or even sticky in the back of the throat (must... refraining from... "That's what she said").  It also begins by feeling fairly substantial in the mouth, but soon becomes thin despite all of the malts inevitably used to achieve the high levels of sweetness.  It's a 10.2% ABV, but the warmth is done well in this one.

Overall Impression 6/10

As mentioned eariler, the bourbon in this is simply too masking of other key attributes of the beer.  All that is detectable is bourbon, sugary vanilla, and wood.  The roasted malts that were detectable in the aroma are completely lost.  Thankfully, the warmth settled when compared to a fresh bottle.  It was never overbearing, but added just the right amount for the bourbon flavors to come across as truly authentic.

Overall Impression 40/50

This is not a bad beer by any means, but I've certainly had others in the style with much more to offer.  I've had Wee Heavy beers with dark fruits detectable and stronger secondary malt characteristics (ahem, the roasted malt).  I've also had them with more substantial bodies that truly carried the immense flavors within them.  I enjoyed the boozy/sugary balance in Backwoods Bastard, but ultimately it was a fairly simply beer.  It does what it does well, but minor tweaks could make this yet another beer from Founders that garners national attention.

B. Nektar - Evil Genius

You gotta have a lot of respect for a beverage style that survived the Middle Ages.  OK, so technically there is evidence for it stretching back to 7000 BC.  However, having been so popular with the vikings (and at every Rennaisance Festival ever), I tend to associate it with the Middle Ages.  It was an era of plagues, serfdom, Crusades, famines, Joan of Arc, a very angry church, knights, castles, endless jabs by Monty Python, and the aforementioned vikings, and none of them could send this style of brewing in to the forgotten annals of history.  Oddly, despite its longevity this style of fermented goodness is remarkably hard to find commercially today.  This brand of mead is no exception.  B. Nektar is only available in a select number of states (FL, IL, ME, MD, DC, MA, MI, NJ, NC, OH, WI, & SC) and I have @kellyrose82, and her seemingly frequent trips to Michigan, for this bottle.

In case you couldn't tell by the label, this style is going to be a little bit of an experiment for them.  B. Nektar Meadery has been pretty good about experimenting with different things that taste good: meads, ciders, cysers, cherries, vanilla, cinnamon, agave, lime, etc.  This brew is truly a blending of styles.  Hops... in a MEAD?  I've never heard of it before and have been curious about this brew ever since I first read about it.  B. Nektar uses Chinhook, Cluster, & Cascade hops to make its Evil Genius and that sounds fine to me!  Let's pour!

Aroma 10/12

This brew presents two very different aroma profiles depending on whether you see the forest or the trees.  The forest is an interesting "hop funk" that is not without its light sweetness.  If you begin to dissect that aroma to see the trees, you will find a lot of the quintessential characteristics that make a good IPA.  There is a nice spiciness, noticeable resin, and some lesser pine notes.  Granted, these are much more subdued than you would find them in an American IPA that craft beer folks are used to drinking, but they are undeniably present.  Blending with that is the delicate sweetness of the mead.  It smells of honey (duh) and fresh green apples.  As the mead warms the "evil" in the "Evil Genius" becomes steadily more menacing and the hop traits become more aggressive.  The spice and resin of the hops take a big step forward, leaving the pine scent in the lurch, but still allow that crisp apple sweetness to shine.  A fascinating blend, even if it lacks a robust quality.

Appearance 3/3

Meads are only lightly carbonated, so I won't be able to judge the head on this.  However, for a mead it looks spot on.  It pours and sits in the glass like a white wine, even though some of the carbonation initially fizzed to the top after pouring.  It has extremely high clarity and its color is off of the SRM/Lovibond scale, making it lighter in hue than even some of the palest lagers.

Flavor 17/20

Trying to put such a unique experience into words or down on paper seems a daunting task after just the first sip, but you shall all have my best effort.  The first sensation is the wash of honey that slides all too well over the tongue.  It turns sugary sweet and then begins allowing in other flavors, such as the dry fruits of a champagne, vanilla, and an interesting bitter.  The bitter is surrounded by such sweetness that it's reminiscent of when you bite too far into an apple and get part of the bitter core.  The sweetness fades slowly after the swallow into the champagne dryness, which in turn fades into a bitter aftertaste.  Not long after swallowing this very sweet mead, the mouth has the "apple core" bitter spread all over it and it leaves the mouth very dry.  Not an experience I was expecting from something this sweet, but definitely something I would expect from a hoppy IPA.  Overall, this is a very sweet drink that borrows very little from the IPA style.  I hope my inexpertise with meads doesn't effect this review too negatively.  I found it to be sweet for my taste, but maybe for a mead this is perfect.  I simply don't have the background to know.

Mouthfeel 5/5

There is so much that B. Nektar has done correctly I scarcely know where to begin.  Might as well start with the first impression?  This beer is criminally smooth.  It's "Eddie Haskell" smooth.  It knows exactly what it's doing and it's way too good at it.  If this level of smoothness came over to pick up my teenage daughter, I'd be sure to be cleaning a shotgun in a conspicuous area of the house.  It coats the tongue with its sweetness and then gives a surprise ending, by ending bitter and dry like an IPA.  It was a great twist considering there were no hops detectable in the flavor itself.  It's carbonation is infintesimal at best and not inappropriate for a mead.

Did I mention the kick-ass bottle art?

Overall Impression 9/10

This is pleasing and I love the creativity involved in its creation.  It features distinct traits of both the IPA and the mead.  IPA drinkers will be disappointed if they are expecting a large hop flavor, but mead drinkers should see this as a neat innovation that adds something different to a tasty beverage.  The IPA style was detectable mostly in the aroma and in the aftertaste and left the mead to its own devices the rest of the time.  My only negative about this beer is that the strong sweetness and the smooth body do not make this something that I could drink all night.  However, that's not much of a negative as there are many beers that I enjoy that I would not wish to drink head to tail all night long.

Total 4450

I dig it and as long as you're not expecting an American IPA because it says "IPA-Style" on the bottle than you should too.  This is first and foremost a mead.  It's going to be sweet.  It's going to be smooth.  It's carbonation is barely detectable at all.  However, the aroma and aftertaste really do capture of elements of the IPA that I never would have guessed that I would see in a mead.  Not only is this a unique experience because it's a mead, it's a unique mead on top of that!  If you love craft beer and trying new flavors and new breweries and new ingredients I don't know how that could not appeal to you.  Overall, it's sweetness was higher than my personal taste would've wished, but I'm such a n00b h4x0r in the world of mead that maybe this is exactly how it is supposed to be.  Looks like I'll just have to keep drinking them until they're more familiar to me.  At least, that's what I'll tell my wife.

Founders - Double Trouble

I have no idea how I've not reviewed this beer yet.  I like to review these big IPAs as soon as possible while they are fresh and closest to how the brewer intended them.  I got through some of the big boys, but this one has somehow eluded me.  It's another big DIPA from Michigan (Hopslam from Bell's being the other that I've reviewed) and it is often paired against its interstate "rival."  Heck, a local bar in the Quad Cities had an event for just such a purpose!  Check out the awesome graphic below.

Pretty sure this image is the property of RIBCO.

On a note entirely separate I FOUND MY DIGITAL CAMERA!  No longer will my shots be imbued with a pinkish hue.  I giggled like a school girl when I found it.  Not only will I be able to take higher quality shots for the blog again, but I found it just in time for beer fest season!  Now you can be inundated with all sorts of high quality digital images (I know you're excited)! Enough with the ramblin'.  Let's pour!

Aroma 11/12

You can easily smell this brew before ever pouring a drop!  It starts of sweet with mandarin oranges and pine, but quickly goes through many permutations.  The first being a bit more tropical with bits of mango, lemon zest, and a hint of warmth.  Next some faint caramel and toasty malts appear.  It settles into what at first seems like a lemony note, but the tropical theme hasn't had it final say yet!  It turns into a sugary pineapple with a classic grassy hop behind it.  Absolutely beautiful, even if it's not much balance.

Appearance 3/3
Extremely high clarity for an IIPA, but it still manages to show a moderate range of gold and honey tones.  A nice column of carbonation ever-ascends to the top and helps keep the aroma strong  The head is fair in size, a light orange pastel in color, and appears wet and creamy upon settling.  Oops, there was a splash left in the bottom of this bottle that managed to put a nice haze into it and remove some of that surprising clarity.

Flavor 17/20
Bitter, bitter, and more bitter.  First things first, this beer was bottled on 01/06/2012, so it's not even two months old.  I can't assume hop characteristics would fade a ton in that amount of time, but I am allowing for some flavor decay.  This beer begins with a dainty lemon zing before delving into the more brawling flavors.  The caramel comes next, which adds a nice, mellow roundness to the whole works and helps the bitterness seem slightly less aggressive than a mother wolverine with a kidney stone.  The bitterness in this in intense and dominates the flavor profile. Grapefruit is not hard to find behind this bitter (big surprise), but other flavors must nearly be sought out in order to be detected.  As mentioned, caramel, bitter and grapefruit come forward rather easily, but the notes of pineapple (or any of the other fruits for that matter) are all but imagined.  As I mentioned in the "Appearance" section, there was a splash left in this bottle when I began tasting it.  I cannot state how important it was to pour in that last splash of beer.  It completely changed the clarity and the flavor.  Before that splash, this beer tasted bitter with little else at all!  Adding that last splash, gave a somewhat balancing caramel and strengthened the citrus.  The finish on this is a continuation of the grapefruit and the bitter, which leads into a dry aftertaste.

Mouthfeel 5/5
I can't believe that this is 9.4% ABV!  I never would have guessed.  The body is medium-full and very pleasantly smooth from all the caramel malts.  The carbonation is ample, but nearly absent toward the end of the bottle and teeters on becoming non-existant save for a quick swish in the mouth.  The beer also posseses a light creaminess not typically found in IIPAs or DIPAs.

Overall Impression 8/10
Lots to love here if you love hops.  It's a well-crafted beer in many areas, including: body, appearance, head, and hidden warmth.  Its smell was more complex than the taste (far from a sin), but the flavor seemed a bit content to overpower its drinker with hop bitter instead of hop flavor.  If you love a bitter beer, this is a match made in heaven!  If you're looking for a bit more balance or to see what hops can TRULY offer a beer, then this beer will still be tasty, but perhaps not your ideal IIPA.  I enjoyed this beer, it is far from being bad or lacking in flavor.  However, to only focus on the bitter of the hop, sells that plant short as it is capable of so much more.


Total 44/50
This score places it at the tip top of the "Excellent" category and rightly so.  It's very well made, laden with flavor, and has not only camouflaged its alcohol warmth, but also apparently wrapped it in stealth technology.  This is a hop lover's DREAM.  If you love hops and you love bitter, then look no further.  However, as I mentioned earlier, I believe that hops are capable of so much more than simply landing vicious right hooks to my tongue.  They can be sweet, tropical, spicy, herbal, piney, woody, and floral (amongst others).  Why not utilize those capabilities?  I certainly know that Founders is capable!  I also know that while some of those characteristics would not have jived with the beer they were trying to make, some of them would have and we wouldn't have been any worse off for it.  I'll certainly buy this again next year when it comes around, but I'll be buying for the bitter and not for the balance.  In finishing, I'd like to give Founders props for making a behemoth beer and calling it an IIPA, when it seems all too easy to call a beer an "Imperial" and then try to get away with something less than.  Good work, Founders.  This certainly qualifies.

B. Nektar Meadery - Zombie Killer Cherry Cyser

Today's choice of review is appropriate for two reasons:  1.  Last night was the mid-season premier of "The Walking Dead" on AMC which the wife and I enjoy quite a bit.  2.  An article last week in the NY Times about the Renaissance of Meade.  (Click here for article)

For those not yet acquainted with mead, it is a wine made with honey in lieu of grapes.  Just as grapes can be early or late season (especially in Gewurztraminer varieties), so can flowers and thus even something as incalculable as the seasons can result in some major differences in mead.  Not to mention the different types of flowers (orange blossoms, wildflowers, etc).  Talk about the potential for nuance!  Also this is labeled as a "Cherry Cyser" which I found out is a mead (honey) with apple juice added.  Cysers are also a likely precursor to ciders/hard ciders.

The first time I tasted mead from B. Nektar was at 2011's Midwest Brew Fest in Plainfield.  They made a great showing and were one of the celebrities brewers of the day.  I bought a Zombie Killer t-shirt that day because of the great label art, even though B. Nektar did not have any Zombie Killer with them.  Today is my first taste of this mead and I've been more than patient.  Let's pour!

Big hand to Kelly for picking up this bottle in one of her not-so-recent forays into Michigan!!

Aroma 10/12
This is difficult for me to judge as it's mead and not my usual "comfort zone" of beer.  I have a feeling that will be a recurring theme here.  The bottle smelled of cherries upon opening, but with a 2-3 oz pour in my tulip the smell is mostly wine-like tannins.  They are slightly acidic and smell similar to a sweet white wine.  I am serving this chilled as I saw them doing at the Fest so I hope it is appropriate to do so for this particular style.  It has a lovely floral character that becomes more exposed as the bottle warms a bit.  The added cherry juice begins to show as well, but still lies well behind the "tannins" and the floral esters.  The more this glass warms, the better it smells.  I clearly didn't let this bottle sit out enough.  Make sure this is served LIGHTLY chilled if you have it.  Anything more will do this mead a disservice. (Even if the bottle does say to "Serve cold... zombies hate the cold...")

Upon finally achieving what I felt was an optimum temperature, the mead is an excellent combination of the sweet white wine, apples, and cherry juice with the floral note hanging way back.  Each sniff seems to allow the primary aromas to alternate in the spotlight!  The cherry note does smell like a juice and not that of cherries off the tree or cherry pie, etc, but it is fairly rich.  I'm not smelling any honey directly, but I assume that fermenting greatly alters honey's characteristics.

Here's a question for mead drinkers:  Is the aroma growing stronger because the mead it warming, because like wine it also needs to "breathe" and oxygenate, or a combination of the two?

Appearance 3/3
Since mead is not carbonated, there is no head to judge.  It is crystal clear and has a color a bit lighter than that of a blush wine.  The cherry juice and natural pigments of the honey create a light coral or salmon shade.  Not a lot of hue changes throughout the glass either, just one big cup of cyser-looking goodness.  I really wish I knew if this were good or not.  I can say that it also has some fair legs when given even a small swirl.

Flavor 18/20
This is phenomenal.  Immediately the tongue is bathed in a sugary honey sweetness and a tart cherry wave.  It's not sour the same way that Brett is, but in a sour we're more accustomed to in fruits.  Holding the mead in the mouth reveals a backbone that showcases all this mead's flavors in a wonderfully complex harmony.  The cherries are sweet, but ring sour on the sides of the tongue.  Its tart cherries are the star of the show and we find out now that they are quite understated in the aroma.  Honey lends its smooth, coating nature and blends its sweetness flawlessly with the cherry.  It's a delicious pairing that I'm surprised doesn't exist more in other flavored goods.  The finish shows the darker, more authentic, almost bitter cherry flavor that throws the salivary glands into overdrive.  The aftertaste isn't much, but is a faint haunting of the sour recently swallowed.

Mouthfeel 5/5
Smooth!  Smooth!  Smooth!  I can only assume that honey's naturally viscous quality help make this mead so wonderfully silky.  The body is light as expected, but I don't believe it to be any different than a wine.  Oddly, lightly swishing the mead in the mouth allows what feels like an extremely light carbonation to appear.  I know that most will think that its just from the swishing, but I'm not swishing this like mouthwash!  I don't believe what I'm doing is enough to cause bubbles in the mead.  Is carbonation possible?

Overall Impression 9/10
This is good stuff.  It's not in my wheelhouse of expertise, but I really enjoy this flavor.  It is, of course, very sweet like a cider, and has many characteristics of a wine with out all the acidity.  I would say it's more akin to drinking a juice, but I would not degrade this mead like that.  Juice is too simple and easy.  The blending of flavors in this mead took a lot of work and brewing prowess.  The body is one of the best attributes and if all meads exhibit a similar characteristic due to the honey in the brewing process, then you can expect me to incorporate many more meads into my regular imbibing.

Total 45/50
Why aren't more things flavored Cherry + Honey?  With what a great combination it is, I'm rather surprised that we don't see it in bubble gums, lollipops, sodas, and various other sweets.  Besides utilizing a great flavor combo, B. Nektar has really blended them superbly to allow the best of each ingredient to be recognized.  Can I again comment on the smooth mouthfeel!  Wow!  Even in oak barrels, I don't believe I've ever drank something so smooth.  They have a pretty good distribution in the eastern U.S., so if you find them, buy them. It's a great experiment into the world of mead.  I end with the quote from their bottle.

"Dedicated to the freaks and the geeks!  what started as a top-secret experiment with Michigan honey, cherries, and apple cider became a viral epidemic.  It won't be easy to survive, so grab your weapons and don't forget this bottle for backup!  Serve cold... zombies hate the cold...

B. Ware

GRrrHaarrhUrrgh"

Founders - Devil Dancer

I have been debating picking this up for a while now.  I even went as far as to ask around the blogosphere for opinions.  I finally decided I could resist no longer, although the $20.99 price tag on a four-pack did make me reconsider more than once.  I was also a little hesitant because it was bottled almost two months ago and I seem to have a nasty habit of sampling IPAs past their fresh, hoppy best.  I'm not sure if 2 months is too long, but I'm not going to let it get any worse.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission  for educational purposes only.

Aroma 12/12
I can't recall if I have ever smelled such a complex hop profile.  As soon as the bottle is opened the aroma rushes out.  Once poured, it starts very grassy and not without some musty/funky notes.  It slowly shows more fruit sweetness, but it is not the citrus we so often associate with hops.  This is more like white grapes or apples and very nice.  A spice note then joins the fray and combines with the grassy smell to make something that smells almost like marijuana.  Maybe even like wet, decomposing leaves in the fall.  Warmth becomes gradually more apparent without interfering and last to the party are the pine needles.  This is outstanding!

Appearance 3/3
While the generous head does not remain for a gratuitous amount of time, it does its job and then remains as a disc on the surface.  The color is phenomenal!  A radiating orange glow of pumpkin and rust and not without its redder highlights.  Blood orange anyone?  Gorgeous.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 20/20
A thick, creamy, caramel-laden malt is the first to greet you.  And it has an firm-ass handshake!  Wow!  The transitions into the backbone with brown sugar-like sweetness and a faint dark fruit.  How do they get this much malt into one bottle?  The IBU's are listed at 112, but with all this malt it almost seems balanced.  In the same way a symphony would if you played it through rock concert speakers.  The pine, fruit, and resin are strong and present at the sides of the tongue, but tend to fade a bit when it is held in the mouth.  Again... big, huge, truckloads of caramel and brown sugar.  Not in an overly sweet way, but in a MONSTER beer way.  The finish is instantly resinous and bitter, but once the beer has run over the back of the tongue it fades back into a balance with the malt but with bitter peppery lingerings.  The aftertaste is an ink-like bitter and lots of the pepper.  All sweetness has left, but the beer does not leave the mouth dry.  I just noticed that in that whole flavor profile that not once was the 12% ABV mentioned.  Talk about well camouflaged!

Mouthfeel 5/5
To say that this is a big beer, feels like an understatement.  It is insanely full-bodied, thick, and makes you want to scrape the extra flavor off of the sides of your tongue with your teeth.  The carbonation becomes very low toward the end of the bottle, but oddly enough, the peppery hops tend to give it that little extra prickly sensation even if it is in a false way.  Big flavors need big bodies and this beer delivers.  And amazingly, does so without becoming syrupy.

Overall Impression 10/10
Wow. Wow. and wow again.  This is a ginormous, gargantuan, goliathan, humongous, colossal beer.  Bitter beer lovers need look no further, though hop heads may be disappointed with the large amounts of balancing malts.  The ridiculously complex nose and intense, large flavors had me going and the technical prowess puts it over the top.  This is, without a doubt, a superior beer.

Total 50/50
This score makes this beer only the second ever that has received a perfect rating!  Boy, does it deserve it.  I may never hesitate to buy ridiculously expensive beer ever again!  The risk was definitely worth the reward in this case.  Craft beer lovers, I am speaking to you now.  Do whatever it takes to find this beer.  Lie, cheat, steal, swindle, barter, ransom, heckle, trespass, jaywalk, blackmail... it doesn't matter.  It will all be worth it in the end before you go to prison.  The flavor is immense (I'm not sure if I made that clear earlier), the aroma is probably a felony in 13 states, and I'm not sure, but I think my palate just got into a bar fight with Bas Rutten. 

The fact that I had gone 70+ reviews and never found a perfect score, but then find two within two weeks of each other is awesome to me.  It just goes to show that you never know where you're going to find you're next favorite beer and I'm SO glad I have 3 of these left.  Here's the best part: IPAs aren't even my favorite style of beer.  This beer is just that damn good.  I wish I could shout "Cheers!" loud enough so that the boys in Michigan could hear me.  Kudos Founders!  I'll definitely be looking for this one again.

Dark Horse - Raspberry Ale

I have had some brews that I really enjoy from Dark Horse Brewing Co in Michigan.  I have also had some amazing LMS (Lake Michigan Shore) wines from Michigan.  Some of those wines are fruit based as Michigan has a rather robust fruit trade during the summer months.  It lends itself well to tremendous cherry treats (wines, jams), fantastic farmers' markets, sweet strawberries, and boast-worthy blueberries.  OK, enough alliteration.  What I am getting at is that this beer from the midwest was brewed in a state particularly known for its fruit-bearing prowess.  That and the depiction of some rather aggressive looking bees on the front tell me there should also be some honey involved.  It should be a nice summer treat.  Let's pour!

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only.

Aroma 9/12
The initial sniffs from the 2-3oz sample are of a very acidic malt.  Once the head dies down a small plastic carton of raspberries greets the nose, but is made to seem false by the acidity.  In fact, the acidity allows the drinker to believe that there may be a larger amount of grapefruit flavored hops involved than this style would use or require.  There is also a floral ester that reminds one of trees blooming in springtime.  This aroma combined with the raspberry is a beautiful harmony that is unfortunately made less by the dissonant acidity. I can see including bees on the label for the floral esters, but there is no honey to be detected.  Halfway through the pint a smell not unlike a red malt is detectable.

Appearance 2/3
The beer pours lightly in a bright, light-ochre hue and in the right lighting, nearly a strawberry blonde.  However, that may be the wishful thinking of the drinker while having a "raspberry" ale in hand.  The head appears a moderately-sized sudsy ivory, but dissolves quickly away.  This is not a large surprise in a beer with such an acidic nose.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 12/20
Not a terrible beer, but where are the raspberries?  The taste is certainly acidic but the genuine fruit from the aroma has all but vanished.  This is especially true after attempts to raise the sediment from the bottom have been made.  Then the flavor grows even dimmer!  The backbone is diminished to a yeasty, sour combination of things.  In fact, this beer has a distinct bitter tinge even through the backbone of what is supposed to be a lighter, fruiter, refreshing summer brew.  Only in the finish does the authentic raspberry flavor start to poke through again.  It yields quickly to a cleaner aftertaste with a light-to-moderate hop bitter.  The bitter sticks out more and more as it goes.  It is appropriate for someone offering a more "gutsy" fruit beer, but without the fruit for balance, it seems a bit out of place.  Side note:  again no honey, despite the bees depicted on the label.

Mouthfeel 3/5
Really nothing wrong here.  In fact, Dark Horse has made this a bit more full bodied than most fruity summer ales that are offered.  Carbonation is bubbly and refreshing to the end of the pint.  There is no warmth or creaminess of which to speak.

Overall Impression 3/10
It is a raspberry ale that does not taste much at all like raspberries.  While the brewery has tried to give a brew that is more substantial in terms of body, color, malt profile, and bitterness it fell rather flat on the aspect of flavor.  This could be a very nice regular ale minus the fruit/acidity plus some minor tweaks, but as it stands this is an unfortunate offering from a brewery not accustomed to such things.

Total 30/50
This score places it at the very bottom of the "Very Good" category and that seems mildly generous.   I want a beer that is not some "fruited-up one trick pony" as much as the next guy, but when you say a beer is flavored a certain way, please ensure that it is.  Not much else to say.  I would not spend money on this again and would focus on other fine offerings from Dark Horse. The search for more non-lambic fruit-based beers continues.

Note:  I do know of a few non-lambic fruit-based beers, but if anyone has any knock out suggestions, I am more than willing to try them out.  Cheers!

Bell's - Oarsman Ale

I have mad respect for Bell's Brewery.  They make some delicious brews, they do it in the midwest, and their packaging is creative as well (in that order).  Today's review is for Bell's Oarsman Ale.  It looks to be one of their lighter beers, but that is hardly room for a strike against it.  Only one way to find out.  Let's pour!

Aroma 9/12
"Subtle aroma" does not mean "lacking aroma."  Grains are found almost immediately alongside a clean, acidic hop citrus.  The hops also commit a bit of a grassy aroma and a faint herbal bouquet.  These are all very subtle, but far from undetectable.  For a light refreshing beer, this is a good start, though the acidic smell tends to stand a bit taller than it should perhaps.

Picture is my own.  Bottle art image used without permission for educational uses only

Appearance 3/3
This looks exactly like a beer for the summer.  Everything sums up perfectly: light body, pale straw color, and a pure white head that starts thick, but settles into a soapy, fluffy cloud.  No lace (expected in a beer this light in body), but the head sticks around as a collar for the majority of the pint.  This is surprising considering the high acidity should make it difficult for ANY head to remain for very long.  The appearance compliments the aroma nicely in being clean, light, and refreshing looking.

Picture is my own.

Flavor 14/20
It is difficult to expand greatly on the flavor of this beer as everything is so light.  There is the flavor of authentic lemon juice and the acidity that accompanies it.  There is wheat to speak of, but no malt flavors unless my palate cannot place what is surely one of the palest of pale malts available.  The hops contribution is adding to the already noticeable citrus profile, a bit of a grassy finish, and of course lending themselves well to the appropriately clean finish of this beer.  It does leave the mouth water a bit and begs for another sip.  Well done.

Mouthfeel 4/5
Appropriate for a light summer brew.  There is an almost weightless body that still somehow achieves the lightest of creamy textures (meringue?).  The sour is obviously present with all the citrus action taking place, there is no warmth (duh), and the carbonation is light and wonderfully bubbly, but borders on prickly in the beginning of the pint.

Overall Impression 6/10
The back of this bottle reads, "Buoyant, tart and refreshing from using traditional sour mash methods.  Great for you and your crew."  While it certainly lives up to that promise, the beer seems to use the citrus as a crutch for weaker flavors instead of a compliment that aids a clean finish on a light beer.  A honey sweetness, even a bit more of the hop, or flowery notes could have made this beer noticeably more complex.  Actually, I'm sure there are many things that could, but I am far from an expert in knowing exactly what those should be.

Total 34/50
The high technical merit of this beer saved it from receiving a lower score.  It is remarkably accurate to the style and (according to marketing) exactly what Bell's intended when they brewed this beer.  However, I can't help but be disappointed because I know the capability of Bell's brewers.  I got what they said I would: a light, refreshing summer ale full of citrus and sessionability.  However, the citrus seems to take the forefront from other ingredients that may not even be there in the first place (malt? stronger hops?).  It is far from a bad beer, but it is also far from what craft beer drinkers come to expect from a premier brewer such as Bell's.

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing this marketed in cans as one of Bell's more "casual" summer drinking beers instead of the "brown bottle gravitas," that they give to the rest of their amazing beers (Kalamazoo Stout!).  I recommend buying this as a drinking beer, but not part of a "pick six" where one might be trying to discover rich, new favorites.