Day 64: 5 Barrel Pale Ale

Name: 5 Barrel Pale Ale

Brewer: Odell's Brewery

Style: Pale Ale

Alcohol Content: 5.3%


Review: I was back to staring at the wall, and my night was coming to a close. I decided to try another local beer. I was only mildly impressed by an otherwise stellar brewery. The 5 Barrel introduces it's reddish-orange tint to you without much of an aroma. Remember, my sinuses were a bit clogged. There was a mildly carbonated mouth feel. An amount appropriate for a pale ale. The flavor had a good malt/hop balance with some interesting orange and banana flavors mixed in. It's not a bad pale ale, and has won some awards, but I wasn't really wowed.

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommend? NO. Try it if you like, but I think there are better pale ales out there.

Day 63: Dales Pale Ale

Name: Dales Pale Ale

Brewer: Oskar Blues

Style: Pale Ale

Alcohol Content: 6.5%


Review: So, I was chilling at the bar at Falling Rock. Being alone in Denver was becoming lame, and some chick was sitting next to me for about 10 minutes. Being a douchebag, I minded my own business for a while and stared at the wall. Eventually I started chatting her up, and learned that she was from Cleveland Ohio. Small world. We made small talk, the usual Ohio stuff: Cedar Point, Ohio State Football, and then awkward silence. During the awkward silence I ordered the Dales Pale Ale. The Dales is a decent pale ale. Red color, medium carbonation, and not much of an aroma that I could detect. I was feeling kind of stuffy though. I'm starting to think I might be developing the allergy to alcohol that my dad has. Lucky me. The feel of this beer was thin with a bitter taste, even though the flavor wasn't that hoppy. It was more of a bitter cherry flavor. The flavor eventually dissipates and leaves a very IPA-ish bitter finish. So-so

Rating: 2.5/5

Recommend? Naw, there are other good Pale Ales

Day 62: Fat Tire Ale

Name: Fat Tire Amber Ale

Brewer: New Belgium Brewery - Fort Collins, CO

Style: Amber Ale

Alcohol Content: 


Review: Tuesday's snow was completely gone by late afternoon. Gotta love radiative heat transfer and those sunny Denver skies. I heard a tip that there was some amazing brewery up near market street, so I strolled up there to find Falling Rock Tap House. Mecca. Over 70 beers on TAP. And they only serve micro brews - double score! I wish I didn't have any place to be the next morning. I attempted to order an Abbey Ale or a Pizza Port brew. They were either a. Sold out or b. $29 per bottle. My next choice was the Fat Tire - New Belgium's flagship beer. The story goes that the owner of New Belgium and his wife did a bike tour of Belgium in order to try some new beers and gain some inspiration. They come up with two brews. They expected Fat Tire to be everyone's second favorite, but it quickly gained notoriety for it's unique flavor. For a Belgian ale, Fat Tire has a foamy head and strong yeasty doughy aroma. This is odd. The flavor is super mild with a strong biscuity flavor. It's not something I would expect from a Belgian ale, but I found myself really enjoying it. The mouthfeel is smooth and mild, and it finishes very cleanly. It's everything I might want in a lighter ale. I don't think Fat Tire really hits the mark on what I would describe as a Belgian Ale, but they really dialed in a drinkable beer with a quality flavor. This is a beer drinker's everyday beer - They just need to relabel this as a specialty ale.

Rating: 3/5 for missing the mark on traditional Belgian flavor, though it probably meets the Brewer's association guideline's for "Other" Belgian Style Ales.

Recommend? YES. Definitely try this beer. It's unique, drinkable, and worth a taste.

Day 61: 90 Shilling Ale

Name: 90 Shilling Ale

Brewer: Odell's Brewing Co - Fort Collins, CO

Style: Ale

Alcohol Content: 5.3%


Review: Tuesday brought snow in Denver, so I used that as another excuse to go out and drink after the conference. I was also feeling kind of bummed because the keynote speaker of the conference was voicing his opinions on a topic which basically called into question the methods used in my own study. More on that another time. More importantly, I did some more dining in downtown Denver and tried the 90 Shilling Ale - Odell's flagship beer. Overall, I was pleased, but not extremely impressed. Of course, had I gone to Colorado State instead of Delaware for grad school I could be drinking Odell's every week instead of our merely-average Iron Hill beer. The 90 shilling is an amber colored beer with a good hop/malt aroma. Overall it maintains a good balance between maltiness and hopiness with a few citrus and butterscotch notes thrown in. Again, like the Odell IPA, this beer is a bit low on the hop count. That seems to be Odell's style, and I imagine it makes for a good general appeal. I usually like a lot of hops, but i can live odell's version of ale. The finish of this beer is a bit on the sweet side, and some more hopping might help curb that. Still, this is a solid selection.

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommend? YES. Very drinkable.

Day 60: Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale

Name: Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale

Brewer: Corsendonk Brewery - Belgium

Style: Belgian Ale

Alcohol Content: 6.7%


Review: Stop #2 for the night was the Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe on Colfax Ave. Colfax makes up the edgier part of town. This is where my first 'hotel' was located, and where I would also be offered a prostitute later that night. No thanks. The Cheeky Monk is a worthy stop if you don't mind the local Vagrants. They're pretty harmless in my opinion, considering the other cities I've visited.  Being a Monday night, I had the place to myself. I chatted up the bartender and settled on ordering the Abbey Brown Ale. I was only mildly impressed with the beer. It's a smooth ale with a mildy alcoholic and slightly oaky aroma. There are some liquorish and chocolate notes to the flavor which help make this otherwise-pedestrian belgian ale shine. The finish is smooth, but watery. Overall, this beer is forgettable. 

Rating: 3/5

Recommend? NO

Day 59: Odell's IPA

Name: Odell's IPA

Brewer: Odell's Brewing Co - Fort Collins, CO

Style: India Pale Ale

Alcohol Content: 7%


Review: And so begins the Colorado portion of my beer adventure. I had a nerdy conference to attend in Denver, and was super pumped to try some new beers. I mean 3-cans-of-red-bull-I-got-a-new-blowout-haircut-and-am-on-a-new-cycle-of-steroids-Statin-Island-Guido pumped. That's a lot of pumped. Sadly, my trip did not start out as planned. First, the cab driver who dropped me off at my $60/night Ramada had two bags of sand in his trunk adorned with drawings of ejaculating penises. And at the front desk of the 'hotel' were a couple of cops accosting some drugged-out dude. The cops recommended that I move to another hotel. I obliged. 

After a rough start, I settled in to my new hotel room and hit the town. Stop #1 was dinner at a restaurant on 16th whos name escapes me. What I do recall is the Odell's IPA that I drank. Oh man did that hit the spot. It's a golden-to-orange IPA with just enough head and some attractive lacing. What I love about a good IPA is the powerful aroma. The Odell had strong sweet malt and hop aroma with obvious caramel and citrus notes. The mouth feel was quite smooth for an IPA, and a little less bite than I expected. I was not let down by the flavor. It had a very well developed malt with great hop balance. It does seem a bit low on the hop side of things, but this doesn't cause any problems to me. The flavor is complex and developed and makes this a beer that I could drink all night long.

Rating: 4.5/5

Recommend? YES

Day 58: La Chouffe

Name: La Chouffe

Brewer:  Brasserie d'Achouffe - Belgium

Style: Belgian Golden Ale

Alcohol Content: 8%


Review: This ends the Philly portion of our beer reviews. The last one I tried was the La Chouffe. As expected, this beer has a golden color with a spicy lemony aroma. It's brewed with coriander and other spices, and it shows. The mouthfeel is somewhat yeasty and medium-bodied with a light lemony banana flavor. That same fruity flavor lasts through the finish, but fades fast. I'm not a Golden Ale fan, but the La Chouffe was quite pleasant, with a bit of an alcoholic kick to boot! Pun intended.

Rating: 4/5

Recommend? YES

Day 56: Dunkel Lager

Name: Dunkel Lager

Brewer: Sly Fox Brewery - Phoenixville, PA

Style: Lager

Alcohol Content: 5.3%


Review: I bought hockey tickets for the woman for Valentine's day only to lose them hours after they arrived to my door. Being a bit stubborn and very frustrated, I purchased two more tickets. We met up with a good friend in Philly to grab a few beers before the game. This proved to be a good decision. The first beer from our visit was the Dunkel Lager. A simple brown lager with some fruit and caramel notes in the aroma. A medium mouthfeel along with some good rich flavors and chocolatey malts. It's still not large in body. The finish is malty but also dry enough. A respectable lager.

P.S. When we got back home from Philly I found the original tickets under some papers on my desk. FAIL!

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommend? YES. Put your Yuengling down and pick up a dunkel.

Day 57: Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale

Name: Thomas Jefferson Tavern Ale

Brewer: Yards Brewing Company - Philadelphia, PA

Style: Ale

Alcohol Content: 8%


Review: Expectations were running high. I had just polished off the respectable Dunkel Lager. I'm not a lager fan, but I found it to be a solid choice. On top of that, I had gravitated to the Tavern Ale because the bottle contained the visage of one of my idols: Thomas Jefferson. I had attended TJ's University, visited his home, and understood his impact on history. Sadly, TJ can't be around to emancipate himself from the Tavern Ale. If he were here today he might pen Yards Brewering Company a written smackdown, chock full of "Thouest"s and pre-victorian "Eff You"isms. The Tavern ale, is merely a pedestrian ale marketed towards the modern-day renassaince man. The tavern ale is a dark orange ale with a mild aroma and slightly fruity malt notes. A thin to medium mouthfeel is present along with a good - albeit weak - flavor. Not what I would expect from a strong golden ale. It could use some brighter flavors and a little more strength and character to be a great ale. All in all, good, but in light of TJ's reputation it's just not up to par.

Rating: 2.5/5

Recommend? NO

Day 55: Troegs Pale Ale

Name: Troegs Pale Ale

Brewer: Troegs Brewery

Style: Pale Ale

Alcohol Content: 5.4%


Review: Pale Orange beer with low carbonation and a mildly sweet and slightly hoppy aroma. The mouthfeel is somewhat thin, although the taste matches the aroma, which is good. It's a mildly hoppy beer with simple sweetness. Mild and tasty, but nothing memorable. 

Rating: 2.5/5

Recommend? MAYBE.  Only if  none of the more highly ranked beers aren't available. 

Day 54: Spring Moon

Name: Spring Moon

Brewer: Blue Moon - Golden, CO

Style: Ale

Alcohol Content:


Review: So, I'm going to go out of order by reviewing this beer right now. Let this be a little foreshadowing for some upcoming reviews. I sampled the spring moon at the Coors Brewery in Golden Colorado during my GCMAS conference trip. I think I was a couple weeks behind in my beer drinking before leaving for Colorado, and now that the trip is coming to a close, I think I'm a week ahead. You can do the math. Anyway, Spring moon is nothing special beyond the typical blue moon offerings. It's a very mild belgian-style wheat ale that will most likely please the masses, but impress very few. The aroma was very weak, and the flavor, while citrusy and slightly yeasty, just feels too watered down. I will say though, that after sampling some of Coors' beers on site, they do a very good job at ensuring quality. Their beers, whether tasted at a brewery or out of a bottle, taste identical. This kind of makes for a letdown though. I like visiting a brewery just so i can try something completely unique, or just a normal beer right out of the kettle. I think microbrews struggle with quality and consistency, so sometimes you try a beer out of the bottle and think "why the hell do they even bother to sell this stuff", and then you visit the brewery, try it fresh, and completely shift your paradigm. For this reason, I try to cut microbreweries some slack when the beer doesn't taste as amazing as I would expect. However, since Coors has really nailed the consistency of their brewing, I'm even less impressed with their offerings. Spring Moon will make a decent beer to drink if you come across it, but otherwise it's simply an average fish in a big pond.

Rating: 2.5/5

Recommend? MAYBE. If you're only a casual beer drinker, you'll probably really enjoy it. For the belgian whit faithful, don't waste your money.

Day 53: Juniper Pale Ale

Name: Juniper Pale Ale

Brewer: Rogue Brewery - Portland, OR

Style: Pale Ale

Alcohol Content: ?


Review: I believe that this ale comes as another recommendation. The juniper pale ale presents with a deep yellow or light orange color and low to medium carbonation with a thin foamy head. The aroma contains a floral bouquet with a hint of juniper berries. Upon taste, the thin mouth feel is evident. The flavor though is fairly simple. It tastes like a thin pale ale with the addition of juniper berry flavor. Juniper berries kind of taste like hibiscus flowers, or more simply, strawberry fruit roll ups. The finish is slightly hoppy with a dry finish. It's very slightly bitter.

Rating: 3/5

Recommend? MAYBE. It's good if you want a fruiter pale ale. 

Day 52: Leinenkugel Classic Amber Ale

Name: Leinenkugel Classic Amber Ale

Brewer: Leinenkugel - Chippewa Falls, WI

Style: Amber Ale

Alcohol Content:


Review: I'll make this quick. Light brown color, medium to high amount of carbonation. The flavor is weak and lager-ish. It has that typical American Lager aroma. The flavor is weak and think but too malty and tastes kind of cheap. Very Average.

Rating: 1.5/5

Recommend? NO

Day 51: Great Lakes Oktoberfest

Name: Great Lakes Oktoberfest

Brewer: Great Lakes Brewery - Cleveland, OH

Style: Oktoberfest

Alcohol Content: 5.2%


Review: A light copper color with medium carbonation and a mildly hoppy but otherwise odorless aroma. I'll warn you in advance that this beer was probably a bit past it's preferred drinking date. The mouthfeel of this beer is slightly thin with a sweet malty flavor and hope balance. There are strong woodsy notes in the flavor as well. The finish is fairly dry with some residual sweetness. Overall a decent but forgettable beer. 

Rating: 3/5

Recommend? NO

Day 50: Columbus Pale Ale

Name: Columbus Pale Ale

Brewer: Columbus Brewing Company - Columbus, OH

Style: Pale Ale

Alcohol Content: ?


Review: As the last review might suggest, I am indeed in Ohio. The Columbus Pale ale was mildly disappointing. Copper color with medium carbonation,  and a slightly hoppy herbal aroma. The mouth feel is thin-to-medium, and the flavor is a bit out of balance - too hoppy for a pale ale, but the quality of the hops is also not that great. The flavor could also be described as a bit 'watery'. The finish is dry and bitter as to be expected. All in all it needs work.

Rating: 2/5

Recommend? NO

Day 49: Burning River Ale

Name: Burning River Ale

Brewer: Great Lakes Brewery - Cleveland, Ohio

Style: Ale

Alcohol Content: 6%


Review: There's really nothing that great in Ohio, except for Cedar Point and Ohio State football. I'm also starting to like Great Lakes Brewery. The burning river ale is named after the cuyahoga river in Ohio, which at one point, was so polluted that it actually caught on fire... multiple times. Supposedly, the river oozes more than flows. I hope Great Lakes doesn't brew their beer with this water. If they do, then kudos. It's a light copper color (most likely from actual copper in the water), with a sweet herbal aroma and some caramel notes. The mouth feel is both clean and bitter, if that can accurately describe a mouth feel. There's a good penetrating malt flavor with hops that only kick in until around the finish. The finish is very hoppy and dry. Good all-around ale. 

Rating: 4.25/5

Recommend? YES

Day 48: Dirty Hoe

Name: Dirty Hoe

Brewer: Hoegaarden and Lindeman's

Style: Blend

Alcohol Content: ?


Review: Ok, so today's review is in regards to a somewhat-anomalous beer - the Dirty Hoe. I think there are two varieties of this blend: (1) One part Hoegaarden and one part Guiness or (2) two parts Hoegaarden and one part Linedeman's Framboise. I sampled the latter at Kildare's Irish Pub. Why Kildare's doesn't serve the guiness style Dirty Hoe is confusing. Of course this is also an "Irish Pub" that plays techno music during dinner and serves less-than-impressive gastro pub fare. It's only mid February and I'm already stretching the limits to find new beers to drink when I'm out at the bar. I figure I can get clever and start mixing alcohols and claim them as unique brews. I promise I won't do it too often. The Dirty Hoe could be a worthy review, but it's all too-often blended with an improper balance between the two ingredients. My most recent tasting of the Dirty Hoe revealed too much Framboise and too little Hoegaarden. It was very very sweet and kind of killed what's special about Framboise and what's special about Hoegaarden. I'm sure it's a big sell among the college kids. It's tasty, but only in small quantities. It's comparable to drinking a glass of red velvet cake with raspberry icing. That's not a bad thing perse, just not my m.o.

Rating: 1/5

Recommend? NO

Day 47: Chicory Stout

Name: Chicory Stout

Brewer: Dogfish Head Brewery - Milton, DE

Style: Stout

Alcohol Content: 5.2%


Review: Another Dogfish offering. This is a thin, dark beer. There's a strong chocolate and coffee aroma, with a flavor that resembles fresh coffee beans. A few years ago I would have thought this was disgusting, but now I find it satisfying. The finish is a bit hoppy with  still some chocolate notes. 

Rating: 3.75/5

Recommend? YES

Day 46: World Wide Stout

Name: World Wide Stout

Brewer: Dogfish Head Brewery - Milton, DE

Style: Imperial Stout

Alcohol Content: 18%


Review: Are you new to drinking beer and want to catch up to your peers? Want to get hammered fast and pack on a sexy beer gut? The World Wide Stout is an efficient vector. The Last Call app on my iphone says that in about 30-45 minutes I will be legally drunk (BAC>.08). One beer. ONE beer and I'll be drunk. I'm not a scrawny guy either. I'm about 195 lbs and pretty solid.  Brilliant! Forget secretly pounding NyQuil in the woods; teenagers today should be trying to get a hold of a World Wide Stout. This beer has 'Imperial' written all over it. The color is as black as tar, only slightly thinner... probably along the lines of 5W10. At 372 calories per bottle, it's also not diet friendly. I guess the best way to describe this beer is, delicious and extreme. Extreme maltiness balanced by extreme hoppiness, and an extreme amount of barley to distinguish it's flavor from every other imperial stout (although I've never had any other Imperial Stouts to compare to). The mouth feel is thick and smooth with a good bitter bite along with a sweet dark robust character. I've had the 120 minute IPA and the Raison D'Extra which are both pushing 20% ABV, but the World Wide Stout is the most palatable prior to aging. This beer goes down smooth, yet it takes about a year of bottle aging to make the 120 min and the Raison D'Extra not taste like gasoline. 

Rating: 4.25/5

Recommend? YES

Day 44: Stone Ruination IPA

Name: Ruination IPA

Brewer: Stone Brewery - San Diego, CA

Style: India Pale Ale

Alcohol Content: 7.7%


Review: Happy Hallmark Holiday, bitches. The girlfriend's parents took us out to Home Grown for dinner. I'm a fan of their food and beers, but not their patrons. I always feel out of place if I don't have a bull ring in my nose, dress in all black, cut myself, or anything like that. Again, I'll praise their beers. Not a huge selection, but a good revolving selection for downtown Newark, DE. At 100+ IBUs, the ruination IPA is a badass beer. Cloudy orange color, thin carbonated head, about one finger or so. There's a citrusy aroma. The mouth feel is a bit thin, but it's still smooth, with a good malt/hop balance. The alcohol is well-masked and with a good malt balance this is a very drinkable beer. I quite liked it.

Rating: 4/5

Recommend? YES