pFriem Belgian-Style Blonde Ale

30 IBU 7.5% ABV
Beer Advocate score 3.89/5
Untappd score 4.03/5

BJCP Category - 125A. Belgian Blonde Ale


A moderate-strength golden ale that has a subtle fruity-spicy Belgian yeast complexity, slightly malty-sweet flavor, and dry finish.
   
Well, Whole Foods had such a good selection of beers, I decided to go back to pick out another beer from there. Actually, I already had my eye on this one from the last time. I have always wanted to try a pFriem beer, I just didn't know where to start, they all look sooooo good. It must be the packaging, I am a sucker for nice packaging. The entire line-up of brews they offer look like small bottles of champagne, making it seem like the contents of each one is really special. I needed to find out if they tasted as good as they look. Read on to find out what I though.

Aroma: Light spice with soft fruit aroma...possibly pear?  8.25

Appearance: Golden and clear. Nice head. Foams quite a bit; pour slowly.  8.5

Flavor: Sweet spiciness on the forefront. Gives away to a slight citrus bitterness. Quite pleasant.  8.5

Mouthfeel: High carbonation. Leaves the mouth dry and clean. A lot like champagne.  8

Overall: I am impressed with pFriem with the brew. The aroma was pleasant and appealing. Appearance wise, it was what a blonde ale is supposed to be. The carbonation is really high and foams a lot. A nice slow pour is required...unless you like really foamy beer. In that case, get a really large glass and go for it. The mouthfeel is a lot like champagne. The carbonation dances on your tongue and the clean dryness leaves you wanting more.  8.3

Matt's mark: 4.16/5

What a busy day I had. Today, I decided that I wanted to trim the hedge along the fence, pick blackberries and clean out the blackberry canes...all that the same time! Well, 6 hours later and 11 pounds of blackberries picked, I finished the job. But my day wasn't done. Nope. Last week, after picking 14 pounds of blackberries out at my in-laws house and adding them to the 9.5 pounds I had in the freezer, I started a blackberry wine. Why do I tell you this? Well, I needed to transition it to a secondary fermenter. This, of course, took another hour or so to sanitize everything and then another hour for the transitioning and cleanup. It's a damn good thing my lovely wife reminded me I needed to eat at some point in the day (which I fit in before the blackberry wine chore), otherwise I wouldn't have made it to my beer at the end. Boy am I glad I did. It was a tasty brew and amazingly, the packaging did make it feel all the more special. I am definitely going to try all the pFriem beers they offer and I will make sure I tell how they taste.

StormBreaker Brewing House Martell NE Style Pale Ale

50 IBU 6.0% ABV
Beer Advocate score 4.2/5
Untappd score 4/5

BJCP Category - 18B. American Pale Ale

A pale, refreshing and hoppy ale, yet with sufficient supporting malt to make the beer balanced and drinkable. The clean hop presence can reflect classic or modern American or New World hop varieties with a wide range of characteristics. An average-strength hop-forward pale American craft beer, generally balanced to be more accessible than modern American IPAs.
     
On my way home for the weekend, I decided to stop by Whole Foods Market, an Amazon grocery store (that sounds weird... and gross), and I picked up this bottle. There were a lot to choose from but when something is named after a House in the GAME OF THRONES, you have to go that route. I also have never had a New England Style beer before, so I thought I would give it a try. Also, it has my favorite hop variety listed as an ingredient, Citra hops! I love using this variety in my homebrews when it is available. So on to the tasting notes!

Aroma: Rich, intense tropical fruit. Hits you as soon as you pop the top. Mostly papaya. I could say something like a little grapefruit, like everybody does, but I would be lying.  8.7

Appearance: Golden and hazy, just what is says the style is supposed to be.  8.5

Flavor: Dense tropical fruit, again mostly papaya. Detect a spicy, resinous note on the backend; heavy dankness, more hops than I expected. The aftertaste lends itself to more citrus.    7

Mouthfeel: Somewhere in the medium bodied spectrum. Definitely a juicy brew. Not quite Refreshing, but getting close.   7

Overall: Never had a NE Style Brew before this so I didn't know what to expect. Heavy intensity of tropical fruits on the nose and the taste. The dankness made it hard for me to consider this a refreshing brew. It kind of got bogged down with citrus. Not a bad beer, just not my favorite. Looking for something a little more refreshing in the summer.   7

Matt's mark: 3.82/5

When bottling a homebrew, one must either drink a previous homebrew or try a new craft brew. I decided to go with a new craft brew. It was a nice brew to keep me occupied when bottling my braggot (ale brewed with copious amounts of honey) but it wasn't my favorite.  I believe this is the first beer I have scored that is below Beer Advocate and Untappd, making me in the minority I guess. This is supposedly a summer brew but I would consider it more of a sipping brew for the long autumn days. A little heavier than I like for summer. Also, after my first sip, I thought it was more of an IPA rather than an APA. That was my interpretation anyway. Yours might not be the same. All in all, I think this brew is worth the try if you come across it. I mean, the score is still fairly solid, so I definitely didn't hate it.

Caldera Brewing Toasted Coconut Chocolate Porter

24 IBU 6.2% ABV
Beer Advocate score 4.02/5
Untappd score 3.96/5

BJCP Category - 20A. American Porter (or possibly a specialty category)

A substantial, malty dark beer with a complex and flavorful dark malt character.
     

I had to travel all the way to Ashland, Oregon for this luscious bottle of beer. A mere 2.5 hour drive for me and the missus on our anniversary trip. Of course, Caldera Brewing was at the top (and only item) on my to do list for the long weekend. Other than, you know, hanging with my better half and having fun. Well, as much fun as you can have in a fumigated downtown Ashland. Forest and brush fires suck. The animals also think so. I couldn't keep track of how many deer we saw on our adventures. If you are ever traveling near the Oregon/California border, Caldera Brewing is right off of I-5. Real easy place to get to. They have phenomenal beer and good eats as well.

Okay, on to the scores:

Aroma: Mouth watering toasted coconut at the forefront with an underlying aroma of dark chocolate... smells like heaven in a bottle.   9.1

Appearance: Coloring of a dark roast coffee with a creamy, marshmallowy head.  8.8

Flavor: A smooth coconut infused chocolate. The flavors are blended together beautifully. Neither flavor is overpowering. Sweet all the way through but definitely not cloying.    9

Mouthfeel: Creamy and full bodied with a good level of carbonation. A nice sippin drink.   9

Overall: Caldera has done a nice job of melding the style of an American Porter with specialty ingredients, lending itself to be very drinkable. Most likely meant to be an after meal dessert. Yummy.   9

Matt's mark: 4.49/5

So, here is a disclaimer for these scores. I like dark beers. A lot. I also like dark chocolate. A lot. This means if you put the two together, I am in beer heaven. I would have been fine if Caldera had stopped there. But then the toasted coconut?!? Did I tell you that I like coconut? A lot. Hence the high marks. Which, I must add, is considerably higher than the already high marks given by Beer Advocate and Untappd. I know coconut is not for everyone. If you are in that category, what is wrong with you? Just kidding...mostly. Okay back to the coconut. If you don't like it, I don't recommend this beer...no matter how much you like chocolate. But for me, this brew was a wonderful way to end a wonderful time spent with my wife. I wish every weekend could be like this one...without the smoke.

Bridgeport Brewing Mosaic Hopped Cream Ale

18 IBU 4.8% ABV
Beer Advocate score 3.61/5
Untappd score 3.52/5

BJCP Category - 1C. Cream Ale

A clean, well-attenuated, flavorful American “lawnmower” beer. Easily drinkable and refreshing, with more character than typical American lagers.
       
I picked up this beautiful bottle of beer at my local Fred Meyer (under the Kroger Company umbrella). You wouldn't think it but the selection was actually pretty good. I guess it has to be in the PNW where you can buy a craft beer on every street corner
. I have had a few brewski's from Bridgeport, and they are always solid, so I decided to give this a try. I am going to be a little honest, I decided on this particular beer because of the color for the label. The light bluish-green label was just calling out, saying "pick me, pick me". Here are my tasting notes with my own personal scores:

Aroma: Slightly fruity, smells a little like crisp apple. Maybe a little citrus as well. Low level of a hop profile. Nicely done.   8.2

Appearance: A nice blonde straw color with a white foamy head. Slightly hazy.  7

Flavor: Clean, crisp flavor.  Sweet at the forefront and smooth sailing to a crisp, low-fruity flavor profile. I didn't detect any bitterness, which would have helped to tone the sweetness a tad. A nice, dry finish.   8.2

Mouthfeel: Crisp, clean with medium carbonation. Thirst quenching.   7

Overall: Bridgeport did a decent job on this one. Loved the light apple smell. The color was nice but a little hazy. The feel and flavor exhibited what a cream ale is supposed to; slightly sweet with a low fruity profile while being crisp and thirst quenching. The carbonation could have been higher to stay a little truer to the style.   7.8

Matt's mark: 3.82/5

While I found this beer to be quite refreshing after a 9 mile run (I did this willingly with nobody chasing me), the exertion may have skewed the numbers a little. I mean, after a 9 miler, Coors Light would be refreshing. Wait, no it wouldn't... it would still taste like a flavorless glass of nothing. That doesn't mean I am going to score the brew again. I will trust my tasters and go with it. Both Beer Advocate and Untapped were quite a bit lower than my score... maybe people scoring the beers were drinking on a full stomach instead of being desiccated at the end of a long run? No one will know for sure. I will definitely drink this one again. The low alcohol level lends it to being a decent choice for long summer party... or not being light headed after a 9 mile run.