Hello, hello. Welcome back to Beer Porn & More. After nearly a month of out of town work keeping me away from the page, i'm back today writing my 197th craft beer review. Today we'll be keeping it local by taking a taste of the Sci-Fi themed Improbability IPA from Binghamton NY basedGalaxy Brewing Co.
Engage your Infinite Improbability Drive - lovers of beer and Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, and let this hop-fueled 7.2% ABV India Pale Ale appeal to your love of flowers. Ah yes, this orange-golden, slightly cloudy concoction is a floral IPA through and through.
It takes far longer than a mere nothingth of a second for those fluffy white suds to dissipate, but once you can get your nose up to the glass look for a primarily floral aroma - rose, lavender and yes...petunia.
The taste follows suit, but with the addition of a piney finish and a much appreciated honey sweetness lingering around the mid notes.
Be sure to check out my review video (below) for the full story, and always take a moment to subscribe to my youtube channel:
'Does not contain juice,' says the label on the can, and I for one and glad that the brewers took the time to make that distinction. Maybe big brother forced them to put it on the label, fearing that consumers would mistakenly think they were consuming a health food, or perhaps they're just smarter than the average brewery. These days the shelves are inundated with alcohol-containing sodas, teas and juices that don't really have anything to do with craft beer, and I don't care to drink any of them.
But this, this is a legit double IPA from a legit craft brewer, and it is a good one. Weighing in at 8.7%ABV and 82IBU's this beer pours golden-orange with slight cloudiness (look for fine particulates in the suspension) and a stubborn head of fluffy white suds that just won't quit.
The aroma screams fruit bomb - juice sweet scents of the tropics, as well as a fair helping of citrus and more traditional pine.
The taste is all about pine from front to back, with just a hint of the floral. The real surprise, and the thing that gives this beer the 'juice' in its name, is the boomerang of sweetness that comes into play as you get deeper into your first glass. This element of the beer only just began to reveal itself when I recorded the video review below:
Hello, hello! Welcome back to Beer Porn & More. With only five written reviews to go before reaching that coveted #200 I'm counting down the brews and hoping for an excellent one on which to celebrate the milestone. Today's beer falls a little short, but you should continue reading to find out why (or you can skip to the bottom and watch theyoutube video).
The promotional material bills this slightly hazy golden-orange beer as having practically everything you could ever want out of an IPA, but all in one place: fruity, bitter, piney, earthy, funky, tropical etc...
In the aroma department, this beer rocks it out of the gates. I cracked a 16oz can and the fruity smell wafted to my nostrils from across the room while I did a costume change mid video-recording. Mango seems to be the biggest player here, along with peach, tangy citrus and maybe just a whiff of pine.
Venerable stalwarts in the hop world - Mosaic, Citra and Simcoe are used here for aroma, flavor as well as dry hopping creating high expectations. Those expectations may have been met had I picked up this pack four or five months earlier, but alas I happened upon an old batch. Where the aroma of this beer is bright, fruity and fresh, the taste is muddled. Pine and floral flavors are still in play, but an invading presence of malt does its best to steal the show. I'll admit, however, post-video recording, this beer did grow on me a bit as other flavors emerged to titillate my numbing taste buds. But even so, I suspect that this beer is a different beast when consumed fresh. I'll reserve ultimate judgement until I've had a "freshy." As always, don't take my word for it. There is a beer for every drinker and an audience for every beer. Be your own judge.
Hello, hello. Welcome back toBeer Porn & More. It was a big weekend here in Beer Porn land. On Friday I reviewed the 2018 release of Founders KBS, Saturday was my 36th birthday. Sunday was Easter and the 3rd from last episode in season eight of The Walking Dead. Today its Monday April 2. I woke up to 2 unexpected inches of snow on the ground, and I'm doing my 194th written craft beer review. But I digress...
Today I'm drinking a beer I've never had from a brewer I've never heard of in the form of Crankensteinfrom Stony Creek Beer's experimental IPA series.
The promotional material bills this brew as a hybrid between the dry, super-pale, mega-hopped West Coast IPA, and the cloudy, juicy fruit bombs of the New England IPA style. The beer certainly looks the part - extra pale golden-straw, fluffy white foam, and a whole lot of cloudiness.
The aroma starts out as primarily fruity (tropical), with a fair helping of honey, but gradually becomes more "piney" as the beer warms.
In the taste department, the reported 50IBU's come on a bit stronger than advertised. This beer is plenty bitter, but its also slightly creaming - probably a result of wheat. Hints of citrus, especially lemon are also present. Look for a dry, lip smacking finish.
This week on Let's Talk, Fandom we discuss the future of DC Comics. Not just talking about comics but the future of their TV work, video games, films. What are our hopes for them and their digital service that is fast approaching?
Hello, hello. Welcome back to Beer Porn & More. What has been sitting in a barrel for the last twelve months and just arrived on shelves in Southern Tier NY? If you guessed KBS Bourbon Barrel-Aged Chocolate Coffee Stoutfrom Founders Brewing Co, you guessed right. I've had and reviewed this beer a number of times, along with its little brother Breakfast Stout, and their granddaddyCBS, but as it has been mere months since the release ofCBS I thought i'd take the opportunity to take another look.
As little beers grow up to become big bad rock stars its easy to be turned off to them. Many of us got into craft beer (and in my case also underground music and the still little know sport of ultra running) because it appeals to our sense of individualism, independence and the outright avoidance of corporate culture. So when our favorite beers grow up to be dependable best sellers, while other brewers continue to push the boundaries in obscurity, do we suddenly opt to poo-poo on what once moved us to tears? It would be easy to do so. But good is good, and Founders KBSremains good. Very good, in fact.
The beer looks exactly as you would expect. Pitch black pour. Thick, creamy deep brown foam that cakes the sides of the glass with legs that just won't quit.
Clocking in at 12.3% ABV this beer is a barrel aged bruiser flavored with coffee and chocolate to further enhance those coffee and chocolate notes already inherently present in the dark roasted malt. All of this comes across on the nose, as well as the pallet, with the added inflections of bourbon (vanilla, licorice, toffee), and is followed up by a comforting warm finish.
