Celebrator

This is a Dopplebock from Ayinger brewing in Germany, so I was expecting a strong malty beer, and I wasn't disappointed.  The beer is 6.7% alcohol, so it isn't too strong, but it is pretty rich, so I don't think you will be having too many of these at one sitting.

The beer poured a dark malty brown and had aromas of coffee, chocolate and malt.  It really smelled great! The taste was very good and it lived up to the aroma.  I think it was a bit more drinkable than I had expected since I am not usually a big fan of dark beers.

I would have to say that I really enjoyed this beer and found it quite refreshing, which is pretty odd for me and dark beer.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 hops!

Allagash Curieux

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Curieux from Allagash brewing, which is a bourbon barrel aged Tripel.  It is pretty high in alcohol at 11%, so I figured it would be pretty strong.

The bottle was a high end cork type bottle, like champagne and it was pretty impressive.

The beer poured a nice light golden brown and he aroma was a bit like a Belgian Ale, but you could definitely smell the hint of bourbon.

The taste was, well, interesting.  I am not sure how else to put it.  It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.  I was sharing it with several other folks and none of us were really sure what to make of this beer.  Overall I would have to say it was a bit disappointing, but only because it was so hard to figure out.  You should try it just to understand what I mean.

I give it 2.5 out of 5 hops!

Trestles IPA

Trestles is brewed by Left Coast Brewing in San Clemente California.  I have had some of their beers in the past, but never Trestles.

Trestles is a lighter IPA with a 6.8% alcohol content.    The beer poured a light golden with a good head.  The aroma was a light citrus with a good hop scent.

This IPA was very good.  I really enjoyed the strong hop and lasting after taste.  It tasted like a much stronger IPA than I had expected.  It really didn't disappoint at all and lingered on the palate for a good long time.  If you like IPA, you should try this.

I give it 4.25 out of 5 hops!

Drake's Denogginizer

Drake's Denogginizer is brewed in California by Drake's Brewing Company.  It is a pretty high alcohol at 9.75%.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this at all.  It poured a nice dark golden with a slight head.  The aroma was quite hoppy with a hint of citrus.  The first taste was excellent with a strong hop and a good after taste.  The second sip was when the malty flavor came through, which was pleasant, but not typical for an IPA.

Overall I liked this beer.  It wasn't great, but definitely worth a try.

I give it 3.75 out of 5 hops.

Idiot IPA

I had some pretty high expectations for the Idiot IPA from Coronado Brewing Company in San Diego based on reviews from some friends that had this on tap.  I ended up pretty disappointed.  It is a double IPA with 8.5% Alcohol, so I was really expecting a good strong hop.

It poured a nice golden hue, but the head was pretty excessive.  It was even just coming out of the bottle just sitting on the counter, so maybe there was something spoiled.

Overall it was barely drinkable and I poured most of it down the drain.  I wonder if they call it idiot IPA because you would need to be an idiot to buy a second bottle.

I give it 1 out of 4 hops.

Ranger IPA

Ranger IPA from New Belgium Brewing Company in Colorado was a very enjoyable brew.  It had a good balance of hops and citrus flavors.  It was only a 6.5% alcohol IPA, so I was expecting it to be a little week, but I was pleasantly surprised by it hoppy bite and solid after taste.

This was a very nice smooth IPA.

I give it 4 out of 5 hops!

Pursuit of Hoppiness

I just finished having a Pursuit of Hoppiness from Grand Teton Brewing Company and it was great.  It isn't even an IPA, but is an American red ale.

Poured into the glass it was clearly a red ale, but the aroma and taste were akin to a double IPA.  This beer did have the reminiscent flavors of a red ale, but on top of that it had some great hops!  Alcohol content was at 9%, so I expected some hops, but not as much as I got.  This was an excellent beer and I highly recommend you try it.

It went down smooth and had a great after taste.  I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this beer.

4.5 out of 5 hops!