Beer #350 – Hopivore by New Holland Breweing Company

Hopivore by New Holland Breweing Company

I am feeling better today and the Dallas Cowboys are winning and winning big…good day indeed.

Beer #350 is Hopivore by New Holland Breweing Company.  This American Pale Ale is brewed in Holland, Michigan and has an ABV of 6%.  According to the label, this is brewed with Michigan grown hops and they are used wet-hopped…which means they are added fresh and not dried.  Interesting…

Appearance – Amber color with hints of red when held up to the light.  The head was tiny and white.

Nose – OK…I know I’m coming off of being sick but I couldn’t smell much of anything other than the faintest aroma of malts..caramel possibly?

Taste – Again…pretty much nothing.  There was maybe a bit of a bitter pine flavor but other than that there was nothing distinguishable here.

Mouthfeel – A bit north of light in the body with a low amount of carbonation.

Overall – Horrible…there was nothing here that would make me recommend this to anyone.  Skip this.

And then there were 15…

Rating: F

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Beer #277 – Wheatland by Michigan Brewing Company

Wheatland by Michigan Brewing Company

After a very long day at work, and an ungodly commute home…the King just wanted to relax.  It seems my mind has been thinking about one thing…and one thing alone.  I’m sure you have all guessed what that one thing is…no, not beer.  Why it is mountain biking of course.  With a nice rain free four day weekend ahead of me, I was thinking I could get lots of single track riding in but then I remembered that most of the trails around here are either too wet or so clogged with downed trees, riding would be difficult at best.  I think I need a road trip…the  spur of the moment kind of thing.  Oh…I just remembered…I have a beer to drink.

Beer #277 is Wheatland by Michigan Brewing Company from of all places…Michigan.  This Hefeweizen has an ABV of 5% and is another beer in my birthday gift of the beer of the month club.

This poured a cloudy pale yellow with a fizzy white head.  The nose was pretty weak and I couldn’t really pick out much of anything other than a bit of wheat.  It was disappointing taste wise…it had a wheat flavor with a bitter bite and a crisp finish.  The body was very thin with quite a ton of stinging carbonation.

While this wasn’t horrible…it was all that great either.

Rating: D

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Beer #276 – Nut Brown Ale by Michigan Brewing Company

Nut Brown Ale by Michigan Brewing Company

The next few beers I will be having were a birthday present from my mother and brother.  They know I like beer, so they got me a three month Beer of the month club.  The first month just arrived and with it are 12 beers.  Two selections from Michigan Brewing Company and two selections from Shipyard Brewing Company with 3 beers of each selection.

Tonight for beer #276 I will be trying Michigan Brewing Company’s Nut Brown Ale.  This English Brown Ale is brewed in Webberville, Michigan and has an ABV of 5%.

This beer had a dark brown color with red highlights.  The head was a decent size, about two finger width, with an off-white color.  The nose was on the light side but I was able to pick out some toasted caramel malts, a bit of chocolate, and a nutty earthy aroma.  It opened with those sweet toasted caramel flavors with maybe a bit of brown sugar.  Those flavors it opened with faded fairly quickly into a something very much like cold coffee.  It had a medium body, low carbonation, and was bordering on being creamy except for a slight harshness.

Overall this was better than I was expecting it to be.  It was pretty tasty and satisfying and made me want to drink the other two.  Now I’m looking forward to their other selection, their version of a Hefeweizen.

Oh yeah…a big thank you to my mom and brother just in case they are reading this!!!  I love the present!!!

Rating: B

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Beer #251 – Envious Vintage 2011 by New Holland Brewing Company

Envious Vintage 2011 by New Holland Brewing Company

As the summer quickly rolls on and beer after beer are consumed, I start to think of many things.  One of those thing being that ever so slightly I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, or beer #365 that is.  I wonder to myself what should be that beer, #365?  I think it should be something pretty special…I was thinking maybe Tequiza.  I kid of course.  Sad to say there was a time in my life where I actually liked that stuff and it is good to know it isn’t made anymore.  Beer #365 is still quite a few away, so instead of thinking about that, lets try another beer in the long line of beers I have had.

Beer #251 is Envious Vintage 2011 by New Holland Brewing Company.  Brewed and bottled in Holland, Michigan, this Fruit Beer has an ABV of 7.5%.  It is part of New Hollands Cellar Series although I’m not quite sure that exactly is other than maybe a special run they brew?  On the label it mentions this was brewed with pear juice and raspberries.  Sounds like something I will like.

Into my tulip glass it went with a very dark brown color and a tan colored head.  I picked up the glass to take a whiff with thought of pears and raspberries on my mind and sure enough there was a nice light raspberry aroma coming from the heavier caramel malts.  There was also a slight chocolaty smell here too.  I took a sip…dark fruits take over in that department.  When I say dark fruits, I usually get raisins or a plum like flavor.  Towards the middle of the sip, I picked up, very slightly, that raspberry I picked up in the nose.  It finishes kind of bland and nondescript.  The mouthfeel was decent, medium bodied with low carbonation.  It was very smooth and the alcohol was hidden really well.

Overall I was really disappointed.  I wanted to taste the pear, I didn’t (although my wife did).  I wanted the raspberries (which I love) to make a bigger appearance,  they also didn’t play that big of a part here.  I did finish the bottle though so it wasn’t all bad.  Onwards I roll…to beer #365.

Rating: C

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Beer #230 – Arcadia Ales Imperial Stout by Arcadia Brewing Company

Arcadia Ales Imperial Stout by Arcadia Brewing Company

Beer #230 is Arcadia Ales Imperial Stout by Arcadia Brewing Company.  This Russian Imperial Stout has an ABV of 8.4% and is brewed in Battle Creek, Michigan.

This poured nice and black with no head what so ever.  It kind of looked like a cola.  The nose was a bit on the sweet side.  I got some raisins or plums and a hint of roasted malts…think chocolate.  The taste was also a bit on the sweet side and to me it resembled a sweetened iced coffee with a bit of molasses thrown in.  It was a bit on the lighter side body wise with very little carbonation and was very smooth.  For a beer with an ABV of 8.4%, you couldn’t notice the alcohol at all.

To tell you the truth, I wasn’t really digging this.  Maybe it was the wrong style of beer on a 89 degree day.  On to beer #231…

Rating: D

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Beer #216 – Cerise by Founders Brewing Company

Cerise by Founders Brewing Company

“Ballgame over!  Yankees win!  Theeeeee Yankees win!”.  If you listen to the Yankees on the radio, you know the previous quote is from John Sterling, Yankees radio play-by-play announcer.  The Yanks beat those pesky Mets for the 2nd time in two days (going for the sweep tomorrow) which also means they have won the 2011 version of the Subway Series.  Yeah baby!

That being said, today was also a day for beer #216, Cerise by Founders Brewing Company from Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Cerise is a Fruit Beer with an ABV of 6.5% and that fruit it is brewed with is cherry.  What does Cerise mean you may ask…why it is the French word for cherry.

This brew had an amber color with a slight reddish tint to it and thin white head that disappeared very quickly.  The nose was very light but what did show up was of course cherry and a bit of a malty bread like aroma.  It had a nice pleasant tart cherry taste with that nice malty backbone running through it. What I liked was that this wasn’t that fake cherry flavor like Nyquil has…that is just plain nasty.  The more I thought about it when drinking this was that in an odd sort of way it kind of reminded me of cherry pie, a liquid cherry pie so to say, with the malts almost giving that crust like flavor and the cherries the filling. It finished very clean with no aftertaste whatsoever.  The body was just north of light and just south of medium with some lively carbonation.

I tend to be a sucker for these Fruit Beers so I was sort of digging this one as I found it refreshing and easy to drink.  If you like cherries or cherry pie…give it a go…you just may like it too!

Rating: B

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Beer #123 – Full Circle by New Holland Brewing Company

Full Circle by New Holland Brewing Company

Play ball!!!  The Yankees domination of the MLB started today with a victory!  One little victory (Rush reference there…) in which I hope springboards them into 95 or so wins.  Lets go Yankees!!!!

Beer #123 is Full Circle by New Holland Brewing Company from Michigan.  This is a Kolsch…I have no idea what a Kolsch actually is so to the web I went for an answer.  A Kolsch is a traditional German beer first brewed in Cologne, Germany.  This particular beer has an ABV of 4.9%.

Full Circle poured a gold color with a little white head.  The nose was very light, there was almost no smell whatsoever until I agitated the brew then I got a bit of grass and maybe some wheat.  The taste was a bit bready…and that was about it.  It finished very dry and flat, almost if there was no carbonation.  The mouthfeel was that of a light bodied brew with very little in the way of carbonation.  It was a very mild and easy drinking beer.

This really reminded me of a Pilsner but without the crispness.  It was OK, nothing to write home about.  Oddly enough, my wife liked it better than I did but she prefers lighter style beers…me…not so much.

Rating: C

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Beer #99 – Nemesis 2010 by Founders Brewing Company

Nemesis 2010 by Founders Brewing Company

Beer #99, Nemesis 2010, is my last beer from a fellow blogger from the midwest, Scot (http://blog.twobeerdudes.com/).  Nemesis is brewed by Founders Brewing Company (from the great state of Michigan) in the style of an American Barleywine with a whopping ABV of 12%.

I broke out the Starr Hill pint glass (I need more glasses…I know) and gave it a pour.  It was nearly black but when held up to the light it had some nice deep dark red hues to it.  It was capped off with a small tan head.  Up to the nose went the glass and there were aromas of molasses, dark roasted malts, chocolate, and a bit of booze.  I took a sip and there was a ton of dark roasted malts, caramel, and chocolate here but the sweetness of some sort of fruit, almost like fig newtons or raisins, also comes through loud and clear.  The mouthfeel was bordering on heavy with a smooth and creamy feeling.  The drinkability for me is rather low with the high alcohol content and a sweetness that is just a bit much.  That sweetness is almost sickening to me.  I took my time with this one, probably far longer than I should have.

I have said in the past that barleywines are not my favorite style and I think it has to do with the fruit sweetness I get in them that just doesn’t sit well with me.  That being said, it was the best barleywine I have had to date.

Rating: B

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Beer #95 – Founders KBS by Founders Brewing Company

Founders KBS by Founders Brewing Company

This is another beer from Scot at http://blog.twobeerdudes.com/ that I have been looking forward to.  Heres to hoping it lives up to the great things I have heard about it.

Beer #95 is Founders KBS by Founders Brewing Company.  KBS stands for Kentucky Breakfast Stout.  Stout for breakfast?  Sounds OK to me.  A Kentucky Breakfast Stout from Michigan?  Why not.  This American Double/Imperial Stout has a hefty ABV of 11.2% and is aged in oak bourbon barrels.

Would you be surprised if I told you this brew was a dark brown, probably black, with a very little brown head?  Well it was and that dark liquid smelled like chocolate, some vanilla, coffee, roasted malts, and a bit of alcohol.  It was a wonderful aroma indeed.  All of those aromas were distinctly found in the taste.  Add a bit of alcohol warming sensation and an aftertaste of chocolate with a creamy smooth slightly sticky mouthfeel and you have one fine drink.  Even with the high ABV, this is fairly easy to drink and I think should be enjoyed nice and slow.  ”So take me down slow and easy”…sorry, I started singing an old Whitesnake song there.  Good thing you can’t hear me sing but I think I sound wonderful but that just may be the KBS talking.

Not much more to say about this other than it was absolutely delicious!  I wish I had another right now.  Highly recommended…grab it if you can and enjoy!

Rating: A+

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