Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout
Jabez: 4.5
This is a very dark black
beer and a nice brown head. I could taste the oatmeal with the other flavors
like the roasted malts. It did have some sort of twang to it that I couldn’t
put my finger on. It seemed a little creamy to me but was very easy to drink.
It had good carbonation and a nice dry finish.
Tom T: 4
Dark with a light brown head
that fades a little too quickly. Chocolate, vanilla, cream, and roasted black
coffee are all present in the nose and the flavor. Balanced with a moderately
dry finish. It lacks the heaviness of a typical stout. It’s not my favorite
oatmeal stout, but a satisfying beer nonetheless.
Tom F: 3.5
The nose is surprising with
tart ripe fruit of apricot and prune. I recommend to nose it in a
Glencairn tasting glass or other tasting glass which will allow the aroma to be
present because you deserve to smell this. The taste is a pure and clean
stout and feels velvety on the tongue. There is mot much of a finish, but it is
pleasant and crisp.
Dylan: 4
A stout FOR the
faint-of-heart, the guy has all the flavor and wonderful maltiness of quality
stout without the “I just ate a loaf of bread” feeling afterward. A terrific
American oatmeal stout.
Tsing Tao Pure Draft
Jabez: 3.5
This was a pale yellow beer.
It had a bunch of carbonation and seemed much like a soda. It seemed to have a rice smell to it. Once I
drank it, I could detect the rice and some pilsner hops. This was a very light
tasting beer that didn’t leave an aftertaste. This beer had a little too much
fizz for me and not much substance but still ok.
Tom T: 2
Dark straw yellow with some
initial bright white head. Aroma is sour with a mild skunkiness. It’s overly
thin and fizzy in the mouth. Flavor is better than expected, but that’s not
saying much. It might be acceptable with a spicy Chinese dish, but otherwise
pass on this one.
Tom F: 3
The nose is similar
Heineken. I get a young wine flavor from the front end, then it peaks
briefly with a little rush of flavor and levels off with light
juiciness. Disappears into a dry finish with a touch of hominy. Not
bad for a light beer.
Dylan: 2
I had high hopes for this
but found it somewhat dull and lackluster. There’s nothing particularly wrong
with this draft-in-a-bottle take this well-known import, but the flavor, aroma,
texture and missed the mark for me.
Goose Island Matilda Belgian Style Ale
Jabez: 4.5
This beer is a brown/orange
color, with decent carbonation. It had a sweet fruit odor to it. I really liked this beer because of the
complex flavors I detected. It was sweet but also a little spicy. It had a
sweet honey taste to start with but I could taste some coriander at the end. This beer had ample carbonation. This was a
very good beer made by Goose
Island.
Tom T: 4
Orange, amber under a creamy head. The nose is sweet,
spicy, and fruity with a definite hop presence. It tastes like it smells. A smooth,
creamy, and tasty beer. Goose
Island does it again.
Tom F: 4.5
The nose is between a lemon
and grapefruit. Fresh flavor, wow! The taste is floral, some subtle
spiciness, and that delicious bread flavor from the yeasts. All the
elements of an excellent Belgian beer and far lighter than some I've had.
Dylan: 4.5
A near-perfect Belgian-style
ale from the US.
Spicy but not overbearing, robust without dominating the palate, strangely
refreshing and loaded with flavor. A big win here.
Atwater Block Brewery Vanilla Java Porter
Jabez: 3
This was a dark black beer
with minimal head. I could smell the coffee and the sweet smell of vanilla when
I opened it. The vanilla was the prominent flavor but I could also taste the
coffee and malts. I felt like I was drinking a French vanilla cappuccino at the
gas station rather than a beer. It just didn’t seem like beer to me.
Tom T: 2.5
Deep black color with a
fading tannish head. Very weak nose of chocolate, vanilla, and coffee. No presence of that roasted barley porter
flavor. It tastes more like a watered down iced vanilla latte, which matches
its watery mouthfeel. This beer sounds good on paper, but it’s uninteresting
and a bit disappointing.
Tom F: 2
The nose is full of the
Vanilla, powdery, slight java. Taste is wet milky, light and not as much java
as I expected. I thought the flavor would be more powerful due to the
nose, but it wasn't. Not that impressive overall
Dylan: 1
The first sip was one of the
most fantastic taste experiences I’ve had in a while. The second was as if I’d
had the entire glass replaced by something else – something the same color that
had been strained through a Sumo wrestler’s uniform. The third was sickly,
skanky, and just plain foul. Couldn’t finish it.
Joining the brew-tasting panel this month is a
familiar face and name, Tom Fischer of BourbonBlog.com.
