Kev's Beer of the Week - MO Pale Ale

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 7/6/12

 

Maine Beer Company Mo (Madeline & Oliver) Pale Ale

Kev Rating: A-
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6.00%
IBUs: ?

Availability: Rotating in small batches
Had: Most recently purchased at Gordon's in Watertown
Region: Portland, ME

If you've been following along, and I know you have, you'll know that I have enjoyed the small batches of beer being produced by the Maine Beer Company (Lunch IPA, Zoe, Mean Old Tom, Peeper, and MO).  MO is an American Pale Ale named after head brewer Daniel's twins (Madeline & Oliver). 

After I opened it up, it was a beautiful orange/red hazy color with a full white head.  The nose was full of citrusy goodness.  The first sip was way more hoppy than I had anticipated...but still balanced.  Most Pale Ales are more balanced with the malt & hops, but this one definitely leans in the hops favor.  The malt is there and provides balance, but the citrus is strong with pineapple and fruit.  The finish was incredibly dry & crisp - a great way to end this fantastic beer.

If you have a chance to pick up a MO, I highly recommend doing so.  I've sent one out to California to my friend Morgan (MO) and brought one recently to a BBQ.  They're still hard to come by, but hopefully the more we all support the Maine Beer Co, the more batches they'll be able to make!

 

Kev's Beer of the Week - White Oak

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 6/29/12

 

The Bruery White Oak

Kev Rating: B+
Style: Wheatwine (50% bourbon barrel aged)
ABV: 11.5%
IBUs: 20

Availability: Limited
Had: Purchased at Gordon's in Watertown
Region: Placentia, CA

Notes from The Bruery: "White Oak is a blended beer-- 50% wheatwine aged in Bourbon barrels (we call it "White Oak Sap"), and 50% Mischief (our Golden Strong Ale). Vivid caramel, coconut and vanilla flavors blanketed in a crisp yet robust wheat ale, White Oak is an exercise of balance."

 

I've been looking forward to bringing this beer to share with some friends and finally had an opportunity this past weekend.  Nick & I popped it open and poured it out.  It had a beautiful hazy orange color with a thick white head.  The nose was definitely bourbon with some gentle wheat coming through.  First sip was more wheat and malt than bourbon for me.  It then opened up nicely with the caramel and vanilla notes.  

 

While I've had many Barleywines, this is only my second Wheatwine (Boogoop being my first).  I definitely think this one is worth a purchase, especially when sharing with a group.  It goes down nice and easy, but has those really nice bourbon notes to keep it really interesting!  

 

Cheers & Happy 4th of July to all of you out there on the Interwebs!

Kev's Beer of the Week - Perpetual IPA

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 6/22/12

 

Troegs Brewing Perpetual IPA

Kev Rating: A
Style: Imperial Pale Ale
ABV: 7.5%
IBUs: 85

Availability:  Now part of their year round lineup - moved from 22oz to 6packs!
Had: Purchased 6pack at Gordon's in Watertown
Region: Hershey, PA

I've been a fan of Troegs beers for a few years now.  They have some good offerings and some spectacular offerings.  Perpetual and Nugget Nectar are their two most sought after brews.  While I love both, Perpetual is the beer of the week this week. 

I first had Perpetual as a 22oz bomber and loved it.  While it flew off the shelves I was lucky enough to have it a few times.  Well, it seems everyone loved it because Troegs added Perpetual IPA to their year-round lineup!  This is great news for IPA fans.  

Perpetual starts off nice and earthy and opens up into really smooth grapefruit and citrus notes.  This IPA is crisp, clean, and goes down super smooth (careful it's almost 8%).  It finishes with a bit of caramel malt and a touch of bitterness.  

I struggle to only have one of these at a time as they're just so damn tasty.  A perfect example of an IPA that leans to the grapefruit/citrus side vs. the piney, resiny side.  I highly recommend Perpetual and am so excited it's now in 6 packs!!!

Kev's Beer of the Week - Uncle Jacob's Stout

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 6/15/12

Avery Brewing Uncle Jacob's Stout

Kev Rating: A+
Style: Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels
ABV: 17.42%
IBUs: ?

Availability:  Limited, 2nd in their Annual Barrel Series (the 1st was Rumpkin)
Had: Nick found me a bottle @ Marty's in West Newton
Region: Boulder, CO

I'll take the description from the Avery website to give you an idea of why they brewed this one.  "Jacob Spears, our 6th Great Grand Uncle, is credited as the first distiller to label his whiskey “Bourbon.” He built his distillery in Bourbon County Kentucky in 1790 – 203 years before we began brewing.  While obviously a bit too late to produce Uncle Jacob’s wash, we’ve instead created something far more complex.  In his honor, we present this robust, silky smooth, full-bodied and altogether extremely American rendition of an Imperial Stout aged for 6 months in the very finest Bourbon barrels.  This explains a lot about our penchant for big brews!  It’s in our blood!"

This barrel aged stout is not for the weak of heart.  If you don't like stouts and specifically, barrel aged stouts, then you will probably not appreciate this one as much as you should.  I love barrel aged stouts, especially when they're done this well.  I would put this stout in the top of my barrel aged stouts, along with KBS, Black Tuesday, BCBS series, Black Xantus, Parabola, & Black Ops.

Big whiff of bourbon on the nose, beautiful dark thick pour with a small caramel colored thin head.  I let it open up a bit before taking my first sip (about 10 minutes) and then was greeted with a decadent, robust malt with chocolate and coffee.  It was sweet enough from the bourbon to bring the typical vanilla notes, but wasn't overrun by the barrel aging (at least for me).  

I hope to someday find this again, as I'd like to have two more - one to drink/share and one to age!  My buddy Nick found this for me and I really hope to find it again.  I highly recommend this one for anyone that can get their hands on it.  I'm already sad it's gone & that I don't have any more.

Kev's Beer of the Week - The Crisp

Kev's Beer of the Week ending 6/9/12

 

Sixpoint The Crisp

Kev Rating: A-
Style: German Pilsener
ABV: 5.40%
IBUs: 42

Availability:  Year round offering
Had: part of a mix 4-pack of Sixpoint Cans purchased at Crossroads Beer & Wine in Burlington, MA
Region: Brooklyn, NY

I've been trying a bunch of the Sixpoint Brewery beers over the last month or so.  It all started with Resin and has continued from there.  Resin, a Double IPA, had been my favorite from their lineup until I had The Crisp.  I don't typically love Pilseners, but this one...was really good.

 

First sip was creamy and smooth.  I went, huh, this isn't "The Crisp", it's "The Cream", but then it jumped into a floral, hoppy, bready, and CRISP finish -- I was sold.  I will definitely be purchasing this one again, and at 5.40% I see myself bringing a 4 pack to a BBQ here and there this summer!

 

Even if you're like me and don't typically love Pilseners, this one is a must try for all beer lovers!  Cheers