Widmer Brothers Brewing Company - Hopside Down IPA !!!

Hey Everyone, 

Sorry it's been a while things have been crazy busy recently; but we're back. 

Today's beer review is a must try beer, one that you should go out and get ASAP as you really won't regret it. Today's beer is from Portland, Oregon, United States of America; hope you all enjoy :D

Beer Name:
Hopside Down IPA - Rotator IPA Series

Brewery:
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
929 N Russell Street,
Portland,
OR 97227,
United States
http://widmerbrothers.com/

Alcoholic Percentage:

6.7% Vol

Measure:

355ml

Taste:

Strong Hops, Slight Bitterness, Deep Full Flavour, Crisp, Smooth

Colour:

Light Orange

Odour:

Strong Hops, Slight Citrus

General Thoughts:

Widmer Brothers Brewing Company's Hopside Down IPA is a light, crisp beer with the characteristics that you would expect from a lager/pilsner style of beer, however it packs the deep, full flavours of a great IPA. Hopside Down IPA is light in colour with a deep, rich hops flavour that you would come to expect from a traditional IPA. There is a real hard hitting punch of hops that I love in a beer and is something that I would certainly be looking for in an IPA. There is a slight bitterness to this beer with a mild citrus note, this gives the beer a real moreish quality; making you want to go back for more and more. The overall feel of the beer is a smooth, light, well rounded beer; balanced with the strong hops flavour, giving the bitter notes, but with a slight sweet edge to give an overall well balanced beer. Hopside Down IPA also backs a punch when it comes to Alcohol Percentage, coming in at 6.7% ABV. This however isn't a problem for this beer as it doesn't feel like you are drinking a beer that is that strong in alcohol, which is a great attribute. Overall Hopside Down IPA is a really well balanced IPA with bitter notes and a strong, developed hops flavour. This beer will not leave you disappointed and I recommend going out and getting yourself a bottle as it is a truly fantastic beer. All in all I think that Hopside Down IPA is a must buy beer and one you can enjoy anytime.

Price:

€2.79 (Avg Price - from Super Quinn)

Shane

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Odell Brewing Company: IPA !!!

Hey Everyone, Hope you've all been enjoying some fantastic beers over the weekend in the sun, Today's beer comes in from the USA, I hope you all enjoy !!!

Beer Name:
IPA

Brewery:
Odell Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
800 East Lincoln Avenue,
Fort Collins,
Colorado,
CO 80524
USA

Alcoholic Percentage:

7.0% Vol

Measure:

355ml

Taste:

Strong Hops, Smooth, Slight Sweetness, Bitter After Taste

Colour:

Light Orange

Odour:

Strong Hops, Slight Citrus

General Thoughts:

IPA by the Odell Brewing Company is a fantastic, smooth beer with real full developed flavours. This beer is deep in flavour, strong in hops and also has a nice malt note to it. There is also a slight sweetness to this beer which helps to balance out the strong hops flavour that you get in this beer. This slight sweetness helps to mellow the bitterness from the hops giving an overall, smooth, developed flavour. IPA does have a slight bitter after taste, however I think this is a great attribute in a beer as it makes you want to go back and drink more and more of the beer. One of the surprising things about IPA from the Odell Brewing Company is the real balance in alcohol flavour. This beer comes in at 7% ABV, however this beer is so well balanced you would never think it was that strong. This beer really doesn't taste as strong as it is which is a real bonus. All in all IPA from the Odell Brewing Company is a great, all rounder that is well balanced in deep hops flavour and also allows for a slight sweetness to round the whole beer off. If your looking for a good example of an IPA then this is definitely a beer you should try. I would really recommend this to you all as it is a really nice, smooth drinking beer.  

Price:

€3.00 - €3.50 (Based on Average)

Shane

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Arrogant Bastard Ale !!!

Hey Everyone, hope your all having a great weekend so far, today's post is an exceptional beer, one that I wish I could get my hands on more of, Today's Beer is from the Stone Brewing Company. Hope you all enjoy :) !!!

Beer Name:
Arrogant Bastard Ale

Brewery:
Stone Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
1999 Citracado Parkway
Escondido,
California,
CA 92029

Alcoholic Percentage:

7.2% Vol

Measure:

650ml

Taste:

Deep, Rich, Smooth, Strong Hops, Slight Bitterness

Colour:

Light Brown / Slight Red Tint

Odour:

Slight Hops, Slight Malt, A Little Sweetness

General Thoughts:

Arrogant Bastard Ale is a fantastic beer, one of the best beers that I have ever had the pleasure of drinking. This beer is deep, full of flavour and really moreish. This beer has a strong hops flavour, mixed with a great level of malt flavour and a slight sweetness. There is a bitterness to this beer from the hop content of the beer, however this is a pleasant bitterness and one your glad is there to balance out the little sweetness to the beer. Arrogant Bastard Ale is a strong beer coming in at 7.2% ABV, you would expect a beer of this strength to not only taste really strong in alcohol but also to be overpowering. Due to some exceptional brewing this isn't the case at all with this beer, this beer doesn't seem overly alcoholic at all and is so well balanced and deep in flavour you won't find it overpowering either. This for me is a beer that I wish I could get more easily and would drink more often if I could, unfortunately it isn't easy to get which will make it all the better and more special when I can get my hands on it. The other plus point to this beer is that it comes in a big bottle so you get much more for your money, making this a win win situation. On the whole Arrogant Bastard Ale is one of the best beers I have ever tasted and really have to commend the Stone Brewing Company for making an exceptional beer. Deep, Rich, Full flavoured beer, perfectly balanced, with that moreish quality making you want to return time after time. All in All an exceptional beer, Thank you Stone Brewing Company !!!  

Price:

€3.00 - €4.00 (Based on Average)

Shane

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Las Vegas: Nic's Stag Do - A Trip of a Lifetime !!!!

Hey Everyone, We are back, its a been a hectic last couple of months, but within the time away I went on a trip, A trip that can be summed up in one word "EPIC". 

This was no ordinary trip away, this was a trip with  6 of my closest friends, to somewhere that needs no introduction as it just speaks for itself, LAS VEGAS. 
This was a trip to celebrate the future marriage of one of my best friends Nic, (subsequently the marriage has now happened). Nic decided that we should celebrate his upcoming wedding in real style and head over to the USA, to Viva Las Vegas to have a Stag Do (bachelor party) that he would never forget. This being a Stag Do mean't that there was plenty of beer drinking done which I will come to shortly. 

Las Vegas is such an overwhelming place, there is so much to do and so many places to go, also if you enjoy a drink and a little flutter in the casino, this place is like heaven.
I wanted to do this post to firstly talk about some of the great beer that we had while away in Las Vegas, but also as a thank you to Nic and the rest of the guys for a fantastic week and a week that I feel has brought us all a little closer together, and not only that but also brought about some real close friendships.

So here they all are, from left to right we have, Matt, Chris, Nic (the Groom), Phil, Dan and then Will at the back behind Nic.

It is safe to say that Las Vegas really didn't know what they were letting themselves in for when we arrived, we knew we were going to have a great time before we got there, but it exceeded my expectations on so many levels.


We did everything you can think of while in Vegas, I won't go into all the details as you know what they say, "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas", but i will talk about a couple of the many things we got up to while we were there. We took full advantage of the casinos and all the slots they had to offer, some of us winning big on these, others just about breaking even. 

We also went an visited the Grand Canyon, this is somewhere that if you haven't been to, you must go. There is only one way to really appreciate the awesome sight and that is by helicopter. This was a real highlight for us all and the first time that I had ever been in a helicopter, the views and sights that you get to see are just breath taking and something I am really glad to say that I have now seen.

But apart from all the gambling and sight seeing, there was plenty of drinking. We experienced a whole range of great American beers while we were in Las Vegas. For a lot of the boys this was the first time that they had experienced Samuel Adams, they all really enjoyed it and a few drank this for the majority of the holiday. We also got to experience the Stone Brewery's IPA, this was a fantastic beer and one that I would highly recommend. This beer has a strong hops flavour, giving it a bitter after taste. This bitterness makes you want to go back for more and more, let alone the smoothness that this beer brings. This beer has an overall full balanced flavour with a hint of sweetness to bring the whole thing together.

We also go to try a couple of beers that are made specifically for the bar, at Twin Peaks on the Las Vegas Strip. These were their Dirty Blonde beer and Naughty Brunette Beer. The dirty blonde was a wheat beer made with a slight lemon note to it, this beer was smooth and light, giving it a real refreshing quality. The Naughty Brunette (this was my favourite), is a Maple Nut Brown Ale, this was a dark brown beer with rich malty flavours, this beer had a slight bitterness coming from the hops but was well rounded from the slight sweetness. The best thing about Twin Peaks beer is that it is all chilled and served at around 0 degress, this means that it is extremely refreshing and also gives the glass a real frosted look. These were both fantastic beers that I would definitely recommend you trying, if you're ever in Las Vegas you must go down to twin peaks. There were many more beers tried while in Las Vegas but I will be doing reviews on these in the near future.

Las Vegas has so much to offer, but for me the best thing that Las Vegas did for us was show us a real good time. I had a really fantastic time with the best group of guys you could ask for. This trip reinforced some already great friendships, but also helped to start and create some other really great friendships. I hope that Nic had as much fun as I did, in fact I know he did, but on the whole I just want to thank all of the guys above for the best week ever, and not to mention thank you Las Vegas for giving it to us.

Here is a video that shows just some of the memories that we all shared on this trip. I would love to hear from all of you readers to share your experiences of Las Vegas, the times you had there, the beers you drank, but I would also like to hear from people that are now looking at going to Las Vegas. Please all leave your comments in the comments box below.

I hope you all enjoyed the post, a new beer review will be on its way very soon,

Shane

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Honker's Ale !!!

Hey Everyone, Its mid week and probably about now that were all wishing for the weekend, well why not have a midweek beer to help bring the weekend a little closer. Today's review is from the Goose Island Brewery, Hope you all enjoy !!!

Beer Name:
Honker's Ale

Brewery:
Goose Island 

Brewed and Bottled:
Goose Island Beer Company
Chicago, 
Illinois,
USA

Alcoholic Percentage:

4.3% Vol

Measure:

355ml

Taste:

Light, Refreshing, Slight Bitterness, Slight Hops

Colour:

Slight Cloudiness, Dark Orange

Odour:

Slight Hops

General Thoughts:

Honkers Ale is an interesting beer, light and refreshing with a slight hops flavour. This is a very easy drinking, palatable beer, one that you could enjoy many of. There is a slight bitterness to this beer coming from the hops, which also leaves a slight bitter after taste, this helps to give the beer that moreish quality, making you want to go back for more. Honkers' Ale is a subtle beer with subtle flavours, there are no out there flavours, that burst onto the scene, making this any different from other beers out there, however saying this it is still a very enjoyable beer. This beer is also mellow in character, therefore its not overly heavy in flavour or overly rich, you kind of know what you getting with this beer, a nice easy drinking beer with all round nice, slightly hop flavours. There is little to no carbonation to this beer, which helps make this beer so easy to drink. All in all Honker's Ale is a nice all round, mellow, refreshing beer, with slight hops flavours and a slight bitterness. This beer is easy to drink, however doesn't stand out from the crowd, therefore if your looking for a "Wow" factor beer, this wouldn't be it, but if your looking for an easy drinking beer that you could have mid week to take the edge off the week, then you would not be disappointed. Overall a nice beer, that you could find yourself drinking many of, but not a beer that really packs a punch.

Price:

€2.50 - €3.50 (Based on Average)

Shane

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Southern Tier 2 x IPA !!!

Hey Everyone, Today's beer review is from the Southern Tier Brewing Company. Hope you all enjoy !!! Also looking to read some other beer reviews why not check out The Beers page !!!

Beer Name:
2 x IPA

Brewery:
Southern Tier Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
Southern Tier Brewing
Company,
Lakewood,
New York,
USA

Alcoholic Percentage:

8.2% Vol

Measure:

330ml

Taste:

Strong Hops, Refreshing, Citrus, Bitter After Taste, Smooth

Colour:

Golden / Amber

Odour:

Strong Hops, Slight Citrus

General Thoughts:

2 x IPA is a great beer, light, refreshing and smooth, with a strong hops flavour. This beer has a high hops flavour giving it a slight bitterness, however this is well balanced with a slight sweetness, giving this beer an overall pleasant feel. One of the best things about this beer is that it doesn't taste overly alcoholic, which is a big surprise considering it comes in at 8.2% ABV. This may not be a beer that you could drink all night as it is very strong, however it is a beer that you can enjoy with your mates on a special occasion or as a final beer of the evening. 2 x IPA is also surprisingly light considering its strength, this again goes in its favour, in my eyes making it a great beer. There is little to no carbonation to this beer, giving it that moreish quality, which is helped along by the slight bitter after taste that you get from the hops flavour of the beer. This beer doesn't taste overly bitter either compared to other IPA's that are out there, so if you are an IPA fan but looking for something that is strong in hops flavour, with a slight sweetness, balancing the whole beer out then this is the beer for you. On the whole  2 x IPA is a brilliant beer, light, refreshing and bursting with full, deep flavours, making you want to go back for more and more. This is a beer that I would really recommend to anyone that is an IPA fan as it ticks every box in that beer style, if your new to craft beers, then this may be a good transition as it is not overly bitter, which you can get with other IPA's. All in all a fantastic beer that I would highly recommend.

If your interested in a little history of the IPA and some reviews and comparisons of great IPA's then check out this post Here.

Price:

€3.00 - €4.00 (Based on Average)

Shane

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IPA: The Origins and Beyond !!!!

Hey Everyone, it's Saturday and the long awaited weekend has arrived. Today I thought I would do something a little different and give a little bit of history behind my favourite beer style and then give a comparison between two beers in that style, one exceptional one and one that I didn't enjoy as much.

So the beer style that I have decided to look at today is:

IPA (India Pale Ale)

There are a huge variety of IPA's out there on the beer market, which is great for someone who loves IPA as much as me, this also means that there is a lot of competition amongst breweries and brewing companies to try and make the best IPA that they can. Today's post will only be looking at standard IPA's rather than Black IPA's which I will cover at a later date.

A Brief History:

http://frothnhops.com/images/IPA/hodgson.jpg

Pale Ale was a beer that was being made in England, United Kingdom for a long time, an early example of this was in the late 18th century by a brewer by the name of George Hodgson from the Bow Brewery. The term pale ale originates from the use of the pale malt that was used in the brewing process to make these beers, however this then changed over time and the term pale ale was more attributed to the pale colour of the beer that you would get from the malting process by the way that this was used.
    The pale ale that was being made was becoming such a hit that it was being shipped over to India where it was also well received and a high demand for the beer was achieved  This is where the term India Pale Ale comes from. Some companies over the years have got rid of the India aspect of the name and have just stuck to the Pale Ale name, however the process that they would use would be the same as what was used in the IPA's. IPA's took off everywhere and different countries started to make their own variations of the classic.

http://blog.newsok.com/thirstybeagle/files/2011/08/Hops.jpg

America, Australia and Canada are to name a few that have taken the IPA to a whole new level with innovation and experimentation to make some exceptional beers over the years. American IPA's tend to focus on a specific hop or mixture of hops that originate from America, for example Chinook, Simcoe and Amarillo, whereas an English IPA would focus more on their hop varieties, for example Fuggles and Golding.

For me some of my favourite and best IPA's come from America. I  feel that America has really perfected their IPA's and produce some amazing and innovative beers. The main thing for me is the strong hops flavour that you get in a American IPA, this is a fundamental quality in a great IPA for me.

Here are two IPA's that I have reviewed in the past, both from America, but both so different from each other. One of these IPA's is a really exceptional beer and one that I would drink all day long, the other is a nice beer but has a very unique flavour to it that didn't appeal to me as much, however it is still a great example of an American IPA.

Comparison:

Raging Bitch IPA: Flying Dog Brewery

 
This is a really exceptional IPA, with a slight citrus note to it. This IPA is deep, rich, full of flavour, with a fantastic refreshing quality to it. This beer is strong in hops flavour and has a brilliantly balanced feel. This beer comes in at 8.3% ABV, however it is so well balanced that it doesn't taste overpowering in alcohol at all.



Yellow Snow IPA: Rogue , Oregon Brewing Company

This is a really interesting IPA, again with a slight citrus note to it. This beer has a slight sweetness to it, which is then rounded off with a bitter after taste. Again this beer has a strong hops flavour to it, however this beer has a kind of metallic aftertaste that I didn't enjoy. This beer is also refreshing and smooth with an overall nice flavour to it. The ABV of this beer is 5.8%, which again is not something you pick up on from drinking the beer.


(For the full beer reviews, just click on the names above)

My Thoughts:
The reason that I enjoy IPA's so much is down to their strong hops flavour and bitterness that gives the beer a moreish quality, making you want to just go back for more and more. I really do recommend trying an IPA to anyone that may not have, they really are fantastic and you will never go back to lager after drinking one of these.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this and whether you like IPA's or maybe a different style of beer. Equally I would love to hear your suggestions for other IPA's that I should give a go. Leave you comments in the comments box below.

Hope you all enjoy the post, and most of all get out there and enjoy and IPA :) !!!

Shane

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The Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout !!!!

Hey Everyone, Hope your having a great week so far. Today's beer review is from the Brooklyn Brewing Company. Hope you all enjoy !!! Also looking to read some other beer reviews why not check out The Beers page !!!

Beer Name:
Black Chocolate Stout

Brewery:
The Brooklyn Brewing Company

Brewed and Bottled:
The Brooklyn Brewing
Company,
Brooklyn,
New York,
USA

Alcoholic Percentage:

10.0% Vol

Measure:

355ml

Taste:

Very Chocolaty, Rich, Smooth, Slight Bitterness

Colour:

Black

Odour:

Slight Chocolate, Slight Coffee, Really Malty

General Thoughts:

The Brooklyn Brewing Company Black Chocolate Stout is a really smooth, deep, full flavoured stout, with a strong, rich chocolate flavour to it. If you are a chocoholic then this may well just be the beer for you. There is a slight bitterness to this beer, but no where near as bitter as I was expecting, if anything this beer has a very slight sweetness, making the overall taste and feel of the beer very smooth and palatable. There is little to no carbonation to this beer, which helps with its smooth texture on the palate. Black Chocolate Stout also has a warming quality to it as it is rich and also has a high alcohol percentage, coming in at 10% ABV, however the really pleasurable and pleasant surprise to this beer is that it doesn't taste overly alcoholic at all. This beer also has a real moreish quality, I found myself not wanting to put it down or stop drinking it, just make sure you have a couple sitting in the fridge getting nice and cold. This is an extremely well made beer, a lot of time and effort has gone into making sure that this beer is really well balanced and not so strong that you feel like you can't drink a whole one, if anything this beer makes you want to have one after another. On the whole Black Chocolate Stout is a fantastic, well balanced, deep, rich, smooth, full flavoured stout that will tick every box. This is a perfect winter beer and unfortunately is seasonal, however it is well worth the wait and you should stock up while you have the chance. All in all this is a fantastic beer, one of the best beers I have reviewed this year and I would recommend this beer very highly indeed.

Price:

€2.50 - €3.50 (Based on Average)

Shane

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