Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale poured a semi-clear, amber orangish color with a two fingered white head. The nose was really clean, with some pale mat and a lot of hops. The body is smooth and has a faint sweetness up front. There are a lot of clean, crisp hops throughout. The finish is hoppy with a lingering dryness. The beer left faint spotted lace on the glass.

Overall, this is a great beer. Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is incredibly well balanced and it is a very versatile beer that can be enjoyed during any month of the year and with plenty of different dishes. A true craft beer classic.

21st Amendment Watermelon Wheat

I have been waiting to taste 21st Amendement's Watermelon Wheat for a long time. Fruit beers are not my favorite style but I had heard nothing but raves about this beer and 21st's IPA is a great beer. Watermelon checks in at around 5% ABV and the can says "yeast inside, agitate before opening".

Watermelon Wheat poured a clear, golden yellow color with a frothy white head. The nose had plenty of wheat up front, with some hints of melon on the back end. The body is short, with low carbonation. The beer is yeasty up front with very light watermelon flavoring underneath. The finish had a lingering yeasty dryness and a light watermelony aftertaste.

Overall, this is a very interesting beer. The watermelon flavoring is there, but I might not have been able to identify the flavor if I was blind tasting the beer. The yeast is more prominent than the watermelon which seemed a bit syrupy. I thought this was a decent beer, but not nearly as good as their IPA.

Samuel Adams Octoberfest

Sam Adams' Octoberfest poured a reddish copper color with a thumb width, off white head. The aroma is malty. The body is smooth, and neither thick nor thin. There is a lot of malt with a decent amount of sweetness. The finish is lacking anything that significantly distinguishes itself from the body. The malts dry out a bit and leave a barely noticeable dryness while faint traces of hops fade in and out.

Overall, this is a decent tasting beer wit nothing standing out. It starts out nice up front but falls off quite a bit. There needs to be something to balance out the big sweetness and malt if Octoberfest wants to be anything more then a mindless sessional to be drank while focusing on a football game.

Sam Adams Boston Lager

Boston Lager poured a clear, amber color with a thumb width, off white head. The nose is yeasty with some malt and bright, clean hops underneath. The body is thick for a lager, bready with a faint sweetness and plenty of crisp hops in the middle. The finish has a yeasty dryness that is perfect for the body. There was some spooted lace left on the glass.

Boston Lager is an absolute classic for a very good reason. This big bodied lager has plenty of flavor and is extremely well balanced.

Smuttynose IPA

Smuttynose IPA poured a semi-hazy, light amber color with a finger width, white head. The aroma was clean and crisp, with plenty of hops and light fruit. The body has light malt up front with a fruity sweetness and a decent helping of hops. The finish is hoppy with a really, really long lingering dryness.

Overall, I think this is a very good IPA. I am not usually a fan of overly hoppy or dry beers but I loved this beer. The body is balanced and I really liked the bone-dry finish.

Sam Adams Irish Red

Irish Red poured a dark red color with a thumb width, off white head. The aroma is deep, with lots of malt and and lots of earthy notes. The body is clean, with a burst of sweetness up front followed by lots of rich malt and dry hops in the middle. The finish is fairly short with a lingering dryness.

Overall, this is one of the best beers in the Samuel Adams line of beers. I was surprised by the depth and complexity, as this is a really rich, full bodied beer. Irish Red doesn't have a big finish but is pretty well balanced for being such a bold beer.

Flying Dog Dogtoberfest

Flying Dog's Dogtoberfest is the 2009 Great American Beer Festival's gold medal winner for the German Style Märzen category, beating out 44 other entries.

The beer poured a clear, dark amber color with a thumb width, off white head. The aroma is yeasty, with notes of sweetness and pale malt. The body is smooth and bready, with hops underneath and a sweetness that stays throughtout the entire beer. The finish has a light dryness that works well with the rest of the body.

Overall, this is a pretty enjoyable beer. The marzen style can be a little one demensional with its bready sweetness but Flying Dog's verson is really well balanced.