Loooong Overdue: Saranac White IPA & Clown Shoes Clementine White Ale Double Feature Review

Greetings.

I finally got some free time so I'm updating my beer/poker blog.  

It's become more of a beer blog than anything.  There's no urgency/craving to play poker since Uncle Sam dropped the hammer on internet poker in the USA.  With no real clear indicator that there are any moves being made to remedy the issue, I may have to stick to beer blogging until this issue is settled.

Now then, back to the beer.  Back at the end of January I had two more beers to review:  Saranac White IPA and Clown Shoes Clementine White Ale.  So, without further delay, here we go:

We start with Saranac White IPA:  Twelve ounce single bottle from Total Wine in Huntersville, North Carolina.  Bottle is marked "3411 06:58", whatever that means.  

Beer pours a cloudy gold color with a tall white head.  Aroma is hoppy with subtle spice notes of coriander.  Taste is IPA hoppiness with trace notes of the coriander and orange peel.  Aftertaste is also all hops as well.  Needs more spice to be a complete beer, but a a good beer nonetheless.  I have rated this beer a 3.2 out of a possible 5 stars.

Next review on our double feature:  Clown Shoes Clementine White Ale:  Twelve ounce single bottle from Total Wine in Huntersville, NC.  

Beer pours a cloudy gold color with a fluffy white head.  Aroma is lightly fruity with hints of coriander and orange peel.  Taste is virtually identical to the aroma with lightly fruit taste with the spice of the coriander coming thru.  Aftertaste is light with the hop bitterness a bit of the lingering spice.  Nice beer, but nothing too special about it.  I have rated this beer a 3.2 out of a possible 5 stars.

Okay, that's it for now, I need to hit Total Wine to pick up some more beers to review.  I'll do that this week and will return with some new reviews.

Thanks for reading.

Beer Review Double Feature: Boulder Beer's Flashback & Great Divide's Nomad

Greetings.

Time to do an update since I have been dragging my feet, so here is a double feature review!  I will be reviewing Boulder Beer's Flashback and Great Divide's Nomad.

Let's begin, shall we?

I will start with Boulder Beer's Flashback Brown-IPA Ale.  Previously this was known as their "anniversary ale", but I guess they have decided to do something new for their anniversary and they are re-branding this beer as a brown ale/IPA.  

This was a 12 ounce bottle that I acquired from Total Wine & More in Huntersville, NC.  The brown beer bottle is marked in yellow ink "best by 24 Nov 2011".  Oops.  I hope this doesn't affect the beer taste.


The beer pours a cloudy brown color with a super thin head.  Aroma is hops with light malt and nutty aroma.  The taste is all IPA hops with no trace of the brown ale and the aftertaste is all hops as well.  


Very easy to drink but it seems to me that this beer is better when fresher.  I cannot give this high marks until I get a fresh beer.  I rate this beer a 3.4 out of 5.

Okay, beer two:  Great Divide's Nomad Pilsner.

This was a 12 ounce bottle that I acquired from Total Wine & More in Huntersville, NC. The beer label is marked "bottled on 12/12/11", so I know this beer is fresh.


This beer pours a golden color with virtually no head.  Aroma is corn and wheat, a little grassy.  Taste is all corn and hops with a mild hops aftertaste and a small amount of bitterness.


This was a typical pilsner that had been given a little bit of extra care.  I rate this beer a 2.7 out of 5.


And just like that, my double feature is complete.  I will return with a rating of Saranac's White IPA and maybe one more, if I'm feeling 'frisky'.


Thanks for reading.





 

At Long Last: Anderson Valley Winter Solstice

Greetings.

At long last, I am finally posting my review of Anderson Valley's Winter Solstice.  I've been 'sitting' on this review for over a week now, really no excuses to be made.

So, let's start with the review and then I will move along to the NEXT six beers I will be reviewing.

"12 ounce single bottle from Total Wine in Huntersville, NC. 

This beer pours a cloudy copper color with a thin tan head. Aroma is light with malt, spices and some sweet notes are present. 

Taste is honey, malt, spices and a lingering sweetness. Lingering malt aftertaste is present. A very refreshing beer.  I rated this beer a 3.9 out of a possible 5 mugs.  Disagree?  Say so in the comments area.  I know you're out there reading (at least when I make posts on time you are).

Now then, on to my next SIX beers to review and rate.  They are (in no particular order to rate):

Magic Hat Circus Boy (a re-rating for me)

Boulder Beer Flashback

Great Divide Nomad

Magic Hat Howl

Saranac White IPA (brand new!)

and Clown Shoes Clementine White Ale.

I'll be back tomorrow with a new beer review.  Thanks for being patient and see you then!!