Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat

Lost Coast Brewery. Eureka, California:
http://www.lostcoast.com/

BA Score 75: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/256/31931

Description from the brewery: A refreshing citrus ale, Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat combines our Lost Coast Harvest Wheat with natural tangerine flavors. Brewed with a combination of wheat and crystal malts, and finished with Perle hops.

Side note: Fruit infused beer is nothing new. Raspberry lambic comes to my mind when we talk about these type of beer. Now brewers are expanding the flavor profile of these type of beer with other fruits like tangerine, orange, and grapefruit. I think brewers are definitely trying to get more females to join the beer lovers by making fruit infused beer which is usually a pale ale with light body and much sweeter flavor profile than your typical beer.

My take: You can smell the tangerine right from the start when you open the bottle and it pours in a hazy yellow straw color with a light head of foam. The initial sip is a carbonated rush of tangerine citrus sweetness with a mild spice tingling in the back end. The tangerine is front and center in this beer, Lost Coast definitely isn't being subtle here compared to the Dog Fish Head's Apricot IPA. It's a very drinkable beer as you taste very little hop and bitterness. I can see a lot of chicks digging this beer due to it's aroma and tangerine sweetness. Personally, I like my beer with a little more punch and the tangerine is a little too overpowering for my taste. Not a lot of depth either which might be what they are trying to go for with a clean simple fruit infused beer. Not something I would go out and buy a six pack any time soon...unless I am drinking with bunch of chicks I guess. Though I probably get the Triple Karmeliet which is super light and smooth for a beer with 8.4% ABV. Girls love it and wonder why they are tipsy drinking a light beer, LOL (j/p).

Chimay Tripel (White)

Chimay, Belgium: http://www.chimay.com/en/bieres-de-chimay.html?IDC=287

BA score 91: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/215/1346

Description from the brewery: The Chimay Triple, last-born of the Abbey, is labelled "Cinq Cents" on the 750 ml bottle. Of a golden colour, the Trappist beer combines sweet and bitter in a rare balance. The beer's aroma felt in the mouth comes from the hops' perfumes: above all, they are fruity touches of Muscat grapes and raisins, even ripe apples. This traditional Belgian beer is best savoured fresh at a temperature of from 6 to 8°C.

Breaking down the label: Chimay is famous in the state and stands out mainly for being a "Trappist" beer. For those of you who don't know, it simply means that it is brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery under the control and responsibility of the community of monks, and whose revenue is devoted to social service. There are only 6 active trappist brewery in Belgium so that's why we see so few beers with the "Trappist" label. Triple on the label means triple ale and is used by Belgian Trappist breweries to describe the strongest beer in their range. Typically 8 to 10% ABV.

My not so professional review: As you can see from the picture, Chimay Triple pours in a golden amber color with a nice size head of foam. As I bring the cup close to my nose, I can smell the Belgium yeast, sweet fruity notes and a hint of spice as well. Upon first sip, my immediate reaction is the heavy carbonation and crisp on the tongue then followed up with slightly citrus sweetness balanced with some spice in the middle. It rounds off with a not so subtle hop bitterness and is finished rather dry in the mouth. The fruity sweetness is balanced extremely well with the herbal spice, it doesn't overpower one another and since I like some hop in my beer, the hop bitterness in the end is a nice finish for me. It's light body though a little too much carbonation for my liking, but for a beer with an 8% ABV, it's a pretty refreshing beer and the spice and hop will definitely keep your attention.

Russian River Brewing, Pliny the Elder

 

Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA: http://russianriverbrewing.com/ 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/863/7971   BA score:  100!!!

Description: Pliny the Elder is brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops. It is well-balanced with malt, hops, and alcohol, slightly bitter with a fresh hop aroma of floral, citrus, and pine. Best enjoyed FRESH!

My take: Absolutely THE best IPA I ever had. Pour in a beautiful golden yellow color with a thick head of foam. You can smell the bright and fresh pine and the floral notes as you draw the glass in. First taste, hoppy beer but balanced perfectly with citrus sweetness which makes this such a drinkable IPA since the hop bitterness never overpowers the IPA while maintaining the hop and pine flavor throughout. It's just so smooth for an IPA with all the elements melting beautifully to enhance all the flavors in your taste buds. 

Hitachino Nest XH (Matured in Sake Casks)

 Kiuchi Brewery, Ibaraki, Japan: http://www.kodawari.cc/?en_home.html

Descriptions: Strong Belgian Brown Ale matured in distilled Sake barrels.the final Maturation takes place in Shochu casks {distilled sake} for 3 months.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/697/7728    BA Score: 85

My thoughts: Well, I saw this at Whole Food the other day and being a huge fan of Hitachino Nest Pale Ale, I figured I give this special looking bottle a try, particularly intrigued by the idea that it was matured in sake casks. As you can see from the picture it pours in a murky dark brownish color with a small head of foam. The smell is rather complex, fruits, coffee notes, toasty, but didn't pick up the sake. First sip, wow, sharp malty bitterness and seemed stronger

than the 7% alcohol on the bottle. Picked up a lot of oak and woody notes and then I picked up something very pronounced in the back end. I am not sure what it is exactly but my guess it has to do with the sake casks, it's sour and funky that lingers in your mouth after drinking. Not exactly my type of beer, it's very complex but the sourness and the bitterness make this a difficult beer for me to consume. It's definitely not a beer for general public.

Iron Fist Brewing, Hired Hand Saison

Iron Fist Brewing Company, Vista, California: http://ironfistbrewing.com/main.html

Description:
Traditionally, this Belgian style farmhouse ale was brewed in the winter to be enjoyed in the summer. Well, us revolutionaries pay little heed to such silly traditions. We brew our Saison year round because, frankly, we don’t want to wait so long for such a delicious beer. Hired Hand perfectly blends malty and sour notes, with a refreshing dry finish. Enjoyed by laborers and leaders alike.
Alc – 6.5%

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23641/63516   BA score: 89

My take: This is one of the 7 drafts we have on tap regularly at Plan Check Kitchen + Bar (I am part investor in). Saison isn't too well known but it's just another type of pale ale and traditionally brewed seasonally. It's a very refreshing ale and my top favorite saison right next with the Bruery Saison I reviewed not too long ago. It pours in a nice orange copper color with a good size foam head. First sip and you get a nice refreshing earthy note of malt, citrus and mild bread like sweetness. It's very easy to drink with a nice clean crisp finish. Didn't score too high on BA as I thought it would but for me, this is a great beer year round, definitely glad Iron Fist feels the same way.