I've always enjoyed the brews from Half Full Brewery . It is a steady, dependable Connecticut brewery. Their beers may not stand out or be among my top ten, but they are always straightforward, honest, enjoyable beers. I have found them to be accessible, easy to drink, crisp, clean, and if not memorable, never disappointing.

Refresh, their rotational pale ale, is no exception. While the Pale Ale is among their core beers, it is described as rotational, I believe, because they never quite brew it the same way each time. The hop varieties, etc vary from time to time.

The first thing you notice is the clear straw color, signalling a light bodied brew. Next you catch the slight pine and hoppy scents. There is a whiff of citrus in the initial aroma, but it is very faint.

Denoting the color and subtle aromas, the flavor is also more on the mellow side. You notice a slight prickly sensation as you begin to drink. There is a noticeable but not strong taste of hops with a touch of bitterness. Overall the sensation is lightness. This is a beer that is light in both body and flavor. I was not surprised to learn this pale ale comes in at 5% abv.

So what to make of Refresh pale ale? It is what I've come to expect from Half Full. A refreshing, honest brew. Easy to drink. A good session beer. Just not one that will likely stay with you.

I give Refresh rotational pale ale from Half Full Brewery 6 mugs out of 10. 

First of all allow me to reintroduce myself. I have been a bad and absent blogger.
I can blame it on a heavy work load. I can blame it on my computer dying and taking my time to replace it. Sure I got the apps for my phone, but must be a sign of age that using the phone to create and post blogs seemed a bit too involved. But I have a new laptop and I'm back!

For my initial re-introductory post I've chosen a brew I discovered this summer, Island Hopper, from Thimble Island Brewing Company here in Connecticut. I have had some of the beers from this brewery before and have found them decent and above average.

Maybe it was the sign at the package store imploring customers to please limit themselves to one four-pack that caught my attention. Sure, it was probably a marketing gimmick, but it piqued my interest. And it must be a limited release. I checked the website this afternoon and it is not listed as one of their available beers.

The first thing you notice is the hazy appearance signaling an unfiltered brew. Then as you bring the glass closer you notice the strong scents of citrus and hops. Then you detect a hint of pine in the aroma.

The first swallow confirms the hoppiness offset by a touch of malty sweetness. A foamy sensation fills your mouth. Eventually you get the sensation that you could chew this beer. It is that substantial.

There is a slight bitterness in the swallow, but not as much as you might expect from the strength.
A look at the can afterwards confirmed it was 8% abv, which explained the strong body and "chewiness".

As the can proclaims, Island Hopper is "Money" and "not your average IPA". This is definitely truth in advertising. Island Hopper is a bold, flavorful IPA with body to spare.

I gave Island Hopper 8 mugs out of 10.

Don't know if Island Hopper is a seasonal brew, or a special offering that may or may not be repeated. But if you find some stray four packs hanging around yet, take advantage while you can.

Until next time, which hopefully is sooner than 9 months in the future, drink well!
 

Happy New Year and welcome to my first post of 2017. 

During the holiday season I had the opportunity to sample many fine brews from all over, though I kept an eye on my quest to discover and try as many local Connecticut brews as possible.

Toward that end one of the beers I tried was Huntress, a double India Pale Ale, from Relic Brewing in Plainville, CT.

First I have to point to the holiday glassware. I usually try to use clear glass to highlight the color of the brew. But it was the holiday season and we replace a lot of our glassware with special holiday glasses. And I was in the spirit and using those glasses even for beer drinking. This particular one is one of the few remaining glasses from a polar bear set we have had since the kids were little. And the kids have been out of college for years, just to indicate the age of this particular glass.

You will notice the cloudiness. It's not the age of the glass. This is definitely an unfiltered beer.

The first thing you notice is a strong hop aroma. You can sense the strength of the brew just from the scent. 

The first taste impression corroborates the aroma. This is no shrinking violet. You are met with a strong hoppy flavor. But surprisingly despite the overwhelming hop signature there is not much bitterness. This beer is not subtle, and it definitely fills the mouth, but enough balance has been achieved that even though the hops dominate, the bitterness is subtle and fleeting.

This brew is all about power, but just enough floral notes to offset the hops and lead to an enjoyable glass.

You are not surprised to learn that Huntress has 9% abv. This is definitely not a session beer.

Relic is a relatively small craft brewer, so some of its beers are contract brewed. That is the case with the Huntress Double IPA which is brewed for Relic by Hooker Brewing of Bloomfield, CT.

​I give Huntress 7 mugs out of 10. Until next time, have a good one!

At least for a little while anyway. 

First of all let me say I can't believe it has been so long since I posted anything about the brews I've been sampling. It's not as if I haven't been imbibing. I have been.
Sure I took a little time off while working on getting into summer and/or beach shape. Mission definitely NOT accomplished there. Good enough to be on the beach. Not good enough to turn any heads, expect maybe away in disgust.

But here we are past Labor Day already. The Octoberfest and pumpkin-flavored beers and ales have been on the shelves for over a month it seems. Count me as definitely in the camp of not wanting to see those brews this early. I do not touch the Octoberfests or pumpkin beers until October. Okay, maybe late September if it turns colder. But it's approaching 90 degrees here today so somehow the time doesn't seem quite right.

So there are plenty of tasting notes I have piled up over the spring and summer from breweries both local (Connecticut and Western Massachusetts I would count as local for me) and far from here, such as California. During the summer we spent a weekend in Burlington, VT which has a tremendous craft brewing scene going on. We sampled quite a few offerings there, both from store purchases and on site.

For my first returning post let's revisit one of the more interesting brewers operating in Connecticut currently, Shebeen brewing. You always need to approach their brews with an open mind as they offer up very unique examples of the brewers art. The beer we'll consider today is not as far off the beaten path as some of the other offerings from Shebeen, but it is still something you don't see all the time. Today we are looking at Shebeen's Signature Single Hop India Pale Lager.

Thought the glassware was apropos given this is an election year. The glass contains both a donkey and an elephant, symbolizing how the two parties actually came together to abolish prohibition back in the 1930s. Hooray!

The can is certainly striking in its own right. At this point I cannot recall if I noticed the word "LAGER" in larger letters on the can, or simply saw India Pale and mentally stopped there. Either way by the time I had opened the can and was ready to taste it I understood that this was a lager, not an ale.

First you will notice from the cloudy appearance that this is unfiltered. The head was pronounced at first, but did seem to fade quickly. 

I did find the characteristics of an IPA and a lager co-mingling in the brew. There was a hint of citrus in the aroma resembling an IPA. On the other hand reminding you this was a lager, the maltiness of the beer was more pronounced in the taste than you would expect to find in an IPA.

There was a foamy sensation in the mouth with each swallow and at times a slight prickliness on the tongue. The body was definitely lighter than an IPA, but it also had a silky smoothness to it when in the mouth. The taste was also lighter than you would get from an IPA, but it still delivered plenty of taste and "oomph". I was not surprised at all to find the IPL had 6.8% alcohol content. Definitely lighter than an IPA, but the flavor filled your mouth, and it was in no way shy or retiring.

I give Shebeen Signature Single Hop IPL 7 mugs out of 10.

As long as the warmer weather hangs in I'll continue sampling the "non-autumnal" brews and filling these pages with the notes from my summer catalog of notes. Until then, have a good one! 

  The holidays are over and it's time to get back to work for 2016. We had out of state visitors for a few weeks during the holidays so it was quite the busy time at our house. (Unlike at yours I'm sure). Anyway it sounds like as good an excuse as any to have taken a break from beer blogging.

But the final bottle of Old Fezziwigg Ale is gone, that traditional sign around my house that the holidays are officially over, so it's time to get back to the important stuff in life - finding and drinking new beers. And the less important stuff - blogging about it.

Last year I began searching out beers from local Connecticut breweries. And there is an increasing number to choose from. As New England states go, Connecticut was a little late to the game. But now it seems that not a week goes by where some new beer from some new Connecticut brewery is available in a store.

Today we look at one of the "core" offerings from a self-described nanobrewery called Top Shelf Brewery. It is located in Manchester, Connecticut, the Silk City. It was especially exciting for me to find a brewery in this area as I spent my middle school and high school years in the town of Vernon which is next door.

One of our friends still lives in Manchester and for a while was into home brewing before it really became a common phenomenon. He even tried to raise money to begin a microbrew. He was going to call it Silk City brewing I believe. Unfortunately all of the friends he was reaching out to for investing were starting young families. Coming up with the dough to sink into a speculative venture was out of the question, no matter how good his beer was. And don't forget - microbrews were not a big deal then. We were thirsty for them but who knew how long that craze would last? Samuel Adams was barely making a dent in the beer landscape at the time. Sigh.

But today there is a brewery in Manchester. The beer we look at today is called "Any Time". As stated previously it is considered one of Top Shelf's, core, or year-round, offerings.

It advertises itself as a traditional milk stout. As you can tell it is dark. Very opaque. There was a very subtle aroma, but nothing that stood out. The first impression from a taste standpoint was a roasted smoky taste, with a definite hint of sweetness. Counteracting the sweetness was a slight bitterness. I had in my tasting notes "a hint of chocolate" with a "?". And sure enough a chocolate malt is used in the brew.

Seeing the inky dark color one might expect a bolder, heavier body. So the lightness of the feel of the beer was a little surprising. Then again the can does say that Any Time is only 5.2% alcohol by volume.

Perhaps this was why the flavor of the beer, while pleasant, did not linger long while holding the beer in the mouth, nor after swallowing. The yin and yang of slight bitterness and sweetness kept playing out throughout the drinking of the glass. And I did notice a creamy silky feel in the mouth while the beer was there. And finally the sweetness began to linger more as you began to detect an almost stickiness gathering on your lips the more you drank.

This was not a heavy brew, but I would not call it a session beer. The sweetish stickiness would limit how many of these you might drink in one sitting. But it certainly is a nice beer, especially for holidays or cold, damp weather. A little sweetness can help warm you that's for sure.

I'm giving Any Time from Top Shelf 6 mugs out of 10.

​I am certainly going to look for more of their brews to give them a try. And if I'm back in my old stomping grounds any time soon I might just drop in. Their expanded taproom is open Fridays from 4 to 7 pm and Saturdays from noon to 4 pm. 

Today we look at an Imperial IPA from Wachusett Brewing. This craft brewery was founded by three friends who attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) together. It is housed in Westminster, Massachusetts, which is a little northwest of Worcester.

I have seen several offerings from Wachusett in my area of northwest Connecticut as well as in bars and stores in the Boston area when visiting there. However I had no notes or recollection of ever having tried any of their brews. Perhaps it's because one of their signature ales is the Green Monsta IPA, and well you know, Yankees fan...Who says beer lovers can't be petty?

But as the New England weather gets cooler as we rush headlong into winter, I'm always on the lookout for new brews to try, especially strong ones that seem they would be able to keep you warm and fend off the chill. So when I came upon the Larry Imperial IPA from Wachusett in the striking black can, I was in.

Not sure who Larry is, or why he rates having his name on the can (none of the three founders are named Larry), but he is definitely someone they must think highly of. But that drew my attention as well. Very intriguing to name a beer after someone who is not a famous figure. 

The other item on the can that caught my eye was the numbers. "8.5/85" is boldly emblazoned right under "Larry". It signifies the brew being 8.5% ABV and having an IBU of 85. How symmetric. With numbers like that this was a prime candidate for an ale to keep the cold of fall and winter at bay.

The first characteristic noted, as you can see above, is the deep golden color. As you can tell there is some cloudiness as this Imperial IPA is unfiltered. The next noticeable thing as the glass is raised is the aroma, as anticipated from the number ratings there is a very strong citrus scent as you would expect in such a hoppy brew. So far so good for an IPA fan looking to warm his cockles.

The first impression when tasting this beer matches the scent. There is a strong hop flavor. There is some bitterness of course (come on with 85 IBU what were you expecting?) The bitterness is not overpowering, but it does linger with the swallow and throughout the drinking of the glass.

Overall this tastes like a solid IPA, only more flavor and a touch more bitterness. The complex character and balance of the beer though does keep the bitterness in check. The final tasting note I made was simple and said it all for me: "Very tasty brew".

Larry Imperial IPA is not a session beer. You're not going to sit around and drink a six pack of cans at one sitting, even with a friend. At least not unless you're already at your final destination for the night. But if you want a strong, tasty, complex, hoppy IPA then open a bottle or pop open a can. You'll enjoy it.

​I give Larry Imperial IPA from Wachusett Brewing 7 mugs out of 10.

Today we look at another fall brew. And who better to know autumnal ales than people from Vermont such as Magic Hat?

This particular brew is called Miss Bliss and is advertised on the bottle as "ale with spices". Truth in advertising indeed.

This is neither a seasonal nor a regular offering from Magic Hat. Rather it is one of the brews they put in their "reclusive rarities" category. Basically these are brewed and offered for sale whenever the folks at Magic Hat feel like brewing them.

The aroma did remind me of pumpkin pie spices, though slightly different. I thought I detected clover upon first whiff and also the first taste. The overall impression though was one of spiciness, even if it was difficult to pinpoint an exact one.

The spice is the predominant feature both for aroma and taste. The ale part was definitely subdued and in the background. My first guess was wheat as the base for the ale. Close, it is rye. That explains why I detected no tingling on the tip of my tongue that I often experience with wheat brews.

Perhaps it is the lightness of the beer, a modest 4.5% ABV that allows the spices to dominate and at times overwhelm the brew. Everything about Miss Bliss struck me as subtle, except again for those spices.

It is definitely smooth and easy to drink. But with the spice it is too sweet and spiced for my taste to be able to enjoy all evening. One bottle will do you for a session. But it was especially good on a crisp, fall evening.

If you like the ales of autumn this beer is for you. I found it too spiced and too light for my taste.

I'm giving Magic Hat Miss Bliss 5 mugs out of 10.

First of all allow me to apologize for being negligent and absent for a few weeks.
First I had a bad cold that laid me up. Then we went away for a weekend and the next weekend was our anniversary. 
So there is quite a back log of beer tasting notes to get to.

Those who have read this blog might have guessed by now that I am a fan of Two Roads Brewing. I enjoy finding good craft brewers in the state of Connecticut. And I have yet to meet a beer from Two Roads that I did not like. The streak is unbroken with Roadsmary's Baby, though you have to be prepared for something a little out of the ordinary when you give it a shot.

Of course the clever name and inspired design on the can should be a tip off that you are in for something unusual. And that you are. 

Roadsmary's Baby advertises itself as pumpkin ale brewed with spices. But that is only the beginning of the story. It is aged in rum barrels and vanilla beans added. I guess they couldn't fit a kitchen sink in the tank. That is a lot going on in one little can.

There was a definite orange hue to the ale as it was poured from can to glass. That was followed with the aroma of pumpkin spices as the glass was brought closer. And by that I mean the spices one would associate with a pumpkin pie. 

The impression that hits with the first taste is the spices. There is also the hint of vanilla. With subsequent tastes you begin to detect the rum. There is also a slight bitterness from the hops. Overall though the ale was in fine balance.

I did find that the slight rum taste got more pronounced as the beer warmed. (Or maybe that was as the ale warmed me?!) There is definitely no doubt that rum and vanilla were involved in the brewing process of this pumpkin ale. 

This is likely not a beer you'll find yourself drinking all night. It's a little too heavy with the spices and other flavors for that, at least it is for me.

But it is more interesting and complex, and definitely unique compared to all the pumpkin and spiced brews that flood the market this time of year. Two Roads has yet to disappoint. 

I know spiced pumpkin ales aren't for everyone, and it's probably good they are only on shelves for a few months at most. But somehow they now go with autumn as much as apples, cider and cider doughnuts. And Roadsmary's Baby is a good rendering of the type. 

With that I'm giving Roadsmary's Baby from Two Roads Brewing 7 mugs out of 10.

Last week we discussed an ale from Magic Hat that was definitely a West Coast style ale. Today we are back home, in style anyway, as we explore the flagship ale from Back East Brewery. 

Back East is located in Bloomfield, CT just north of the capital city of Hartford. Bloomfield is also the home of the Thomas Hooker Brewery whose beers have been reviewed here in the past. So Bloomfield certainly can lay claim to being the center of Connecticut's craft brew industry. I'm sure other towns will debate that, but Bloomfield has an argument to make. 

I have enjoyed some of the brews from Back East at local establishments but believe this is the first time I've ever purchased one of their beers in a store for home consumption. As you can tell the Back East Ale has a copper tone. The copper color was evident immediately as the beer was poured from the can into the glass. 

When held to the nose subtle floral and citrus scents were noticed. Nothing overpowering, but present nonetheless.

The first impression when tasting the beer was of malt. There was a slight sweetness and an indication of what struck me as a solid malt backbone. This was followed by a slight bitterness which balanced the sweetness of the malt. 

If the ale was held in the mouth for any length of time there was a slight tingly sensation which bordered on fizziness.

The overall impression was very favorable. Nothing about Back East Ale is overpowering or overwhelming. The aroma, the taste, the bitterness were all subtle. This is a tasty, well-balanced ale with good body. Back East Ale, one of the breweries year round offerings, has 5% ABV, so while on the light side for IPA fans, it is very easy to enjoy and to pour another.

I give Back East Ale 7 mugs out of 10.

I'm sure when we meet again I will have succumbed to the pumpkin or Octoberfest brews that I refused to drink while it was still summer and the sun and air were still warm. But there is definitely a nip in the air now. So bring on the fall brews!

 

Today we take a deeper dive into the IPA variety pack from Magic Hat Brewing.

Specifically we consider their offering called Electric Peel. As you can tell from the label it is advertised as a "grapefruit IPA". This immediately got me thinking about the west coast and west coast-style IPAs such as you might get from Sierra Nevada, or the Rebel IPA from Sam Adams. To me those IPAs have a more pronounced citrusy smell and taste than "regular" IPAs. So rightly or wrongly that was the benchmark established in my mind as I approached Electric Peel.

As you may be able to tell as you peer through the glass to the countertop below, this IPA is lighter in color than many traditional IPAs. As expected there was a marked grapefruit aroma when the glass was brought close. The first taste also revealed a definite citrus component, though admittedly more subdued than anticipated given the strength of the grapefruit aroma. 

There was some maltiness in the flavors, but the grapefruit was definitely predominant, especially in the aftertaste. There was some bitterness at times while drinking this brew, but overall the balance was fine.

The lasting impression was that the Electric Peel was lighter than most IPAs, lighter in color, body and overall taste. But it compared well to the IPAs I would consider West Coast style. The grapefruit was a little more pronounced in the Electric Peel however than I recall in most of the other similar IPAs. I was not surprised to learn later on the web site that grapefruit peel is added during the brewing process.

At 6% alcohol, Electric Peel is not a weakling, but is certainly not overwhelming and can be a beer you can stay with all night. It was certainly easy to drink. I don't believe this is my favorite West Coast style IPA, that distinction probably goes to one of the brews from Sierra Nevada. But Electric Peel is a fine, tasty and refreshing addition to the offerings in that style.

I give Electric Peel from Magic Hat 6 mugs out of 10.