Mole: 6.0 – The chocolate and chipotle add a good aspect to this otherwise basic, but well-done bourbon barrel aged beer. It does taste a bit like Mexican hot cocoa so if you’re into that – kudos.
Price Average: $11
Website: http://jacksabbybrewing.com/
Vertumnus: 7.5 – It’s an interesting ale outright but the Brett adds a component that kills some of the flavor. It tastes nice though and thankfully isn’t super overpowering by the Brett or dry-hopping.
Price Average: $8
Website: https://www.bandedhorn.com/
Well folks this week is Cinco de Mayo, and if like you us you make a social statement about mixing up 2 holidays that seem to be effectively reasons to get drunk – well here’s the Irish Whiskey to do that job. Not that it really does anything else beyond cause inebriation, because this is not the redemption story we were all hoping for.
Yodeler: 4.0 – This is a clusterfuck of a beer. It’s a barleywine style, it’s aged in Laphroiag casks, and is bottled with that Brettanomyces. But what is it like to drink? It is just as much if not somehow more of a clusterfuck. Let me put this in the oddest, and yet truest way we can – we detect notes of beef jerky. No seriously at certain times this beer tastes like beef jerky. There’s a tartness aspect going on from the brett, that jerky likely from the cask lingers melding with the fruitier tastes, and above all it’s just a high octane noise factory. Let this be a test case, and referral for when we call beers out as not being complex and that’s bad – this is the other side of that curve. This is too complex and it ruins what could be the ‘beer’.
Price Average: $11
Website: http://www.strangerootsbeer.com/
Dark Star Dunkel: 6.0 – It doesn’t really have a ‘dark lager’ feel like you’d want with something akin to a schwarzbier, but it’s tasty. It has a sort of light cherry sweetness that works well with the rest of the beer (and isn’t tart)
Price Average: $11 for 4-Pack
Website: https://www.bigelmbeer.com/
Cinco de Mayo approaches, but fear not we’ll have a proper Irish Whiskey review in time as is usual for our policy. (Although we did miss a Tequila review on St Patrick’s). This was tried initially as part of a Whiskey Weekend at the incomparable Julio’s. We felt it necessary based on some of the wording and awards they had claimed and take them down a peg.
Larry: 4.0 – The nature of the imperial giving more taste to the alcholic content is at least something to stymie the IPA bitter & hops. Sadly much like the one yesterday (and 2 more in the coming weeks) this will end up where it belongs – mixed with lemonade into a much nicer shandy.
Price Average: $13 for 12-Pack Sampler
Website: http://www.wachusettbrew.com
Green Monsta: 3.0 – No your eyes do not decieve, that is an IPA, and tomorrow there will be another. This review is starting badly, because as you know HBR buys things seemingly at random – however this ‘Pale Ale Sampler’ was actually code for IPA’S BITCHES. We’re sad now. Anyway the beer. Green Monster is another name for weed, which is what this tastes like – ugh.
Price Average: $13 for 12-Pack Sampler
Website: http://www.wachusettbrew.com
