Saranac Seasons Best

      Saranac Seasons Best is a nut brown lager,  which sounds like a damn good idea.  Seasons Best is light brown with herb, caramel and light mocha on the nose.  On the palate the herbal hop dominates at first and carries through to the finish.  It seems a bit much at first, but after a few sips it calms quite a bit.  Than the other flavors of mocha, caramels and sugar come out.  This becomes a really pleasant Winter Lager to enjoy by the fire.  A winner, although there are a number of others I would recommend a bit more.  Nice List.

Trader Joe's 2010 Vintage Ale

      There are several, usually high alcohol, Winter beers that you could cellar and drink for many years to come.    I have some Anchor X-mas Beer and TJ's Vintage from past years in a wine fridge.  Aging these a year really makes a difference, I recommend trying it.  TJ's Vintage is a good candidate for this.  TJ's pours out a very dark brown with a really persistent head.  If you don't pour very carefully all you get is head.  Lot's of spice, caramel and mocha on the nose.  The flavors are strong with this one.  There's lots of spice and mocha, with nice crisp hop and yummy caramel.  This is really good and packed with delicious alcohol, 9% ABV.  You really should buy some for now, some for next year and some for gifts.  The bottle is very fancy looking with a cork and everything.  Highly recommended.

Troegs The Mad Elf Ale

      Troegs, out of Harrisburg PA, makes high alcohol beers and for that I salute them.  Mad Elf is no exeption with it's staggering 11% ABV.  This is already a winner.  Elf is in a nice jolly bottle and pours out a red-orange color.  The nose is rich with spice, citrus, cherry and yeast.  It starts of with a medium tingly hop that lasts throughout.  Then you get the sour cherry flavor and a bit much of a yeasty flavor.  Also, there's the spice flavors of clove and cardamom.  The body is thick and heavy and the alcohol is joyous.  Now, so far, it sounds like I really like this beer, but it's not as good as it should be.  The strong yeasty flavor bugs me.  However, there is so much that is positive here it goes up in the top half of the nice list.  I would gladly down a few more of these, and will revisit this next holiday as well.  Nice.

Flying Fish Grand Cru Winter Reserve

      Boy, that's a pretentious title for a beer.  But, you have to one if you're going to charge a lot for your product.  The Cru pours out a pale straw with a strong coriander/ white spice nose.  Maybe some of you will like this, but I find it horrific and undrinkable.  Strong coriander and feet.  If you like a white ale mixed with pee, this is for you.  I will try to finish half, no,  I can't.  Down the sink with this swill.  By far the worst of the Winter beers and maybe the worst beverage I have ever had.  An angry mob should be assembled to deal with this menace to our taste buds.  Grab your pitch forks.

Heavy Seas Winter Storm

      Heavy Seas has produced really good beers, Prosit, and really bad beers, Letter of Marque.  I hope their Winter Storm is more of the former.  The Storm pours out a classic amber with hop, caramel, vanilla, spice and mocha.  And all that potential is completely fucking ruined.  The stupid jerks have masked it all with a truck load of painfully strong hop.  So no other taste is discernible.  I will endeavor to slog through this to see if it gets better.  I managed to finish it, but this is still a fail.  A hateful mess.

Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale

      Ah, Blue Moon, how boring are your bottles.  Whenever they put out a new beer, they just alter the color scheme of the label, how creative.  To be fair they do change the tiny picture under the moon,so they're better than Brooklyn.  Anyway, Abbey Ale pours out a very light brown with a spice, hop and strong sweet caramel nose.  The flavors are rich with mocha, caramel and spice.  The hop tingles in the mouth and balances the other flavors perfectly.  The body is firm and it's tough to find a flaw here.  I better keep drinking.  Hmmm, better go get a case to see if it's really good.  Amazingly as I destroy this beer it continues to impress.  Go purchase many of these beers for your Winter enjoyment.  Stellar.  I'm warming to the bottle, I find the colors soothing.

Magic Hat Howl Winter Lager

      Ah, the hippies at Magic Hat bring us their strange Winter offering, Howl.  Another odd label that sure makes it look like a Halloween Beer.  Of course, with the bales of pot they smoke up there, they probably don't know what time of year it is.  Howl, the shirtless werewolves favorite, pours out quite black and has a very nice mocha caramel nose.  Howl has crisp hop, strong mocha and coffee flavors.  It really hits on your coffee based flavors and that's about it, except for the nice hop flavors.  I like it quite a bit, but you have to like your coffee.  This is on the nice list.

Winter Beers So Far

      I still have more Winter Beers to try ,but we have a lot on the table already, so I thought I should stack em up.  First up the "Nice List", all the beers that didn't suck.

1. Joseph Brau Winterfest
2. Gorden Biersch Winterbock
3. Harpoon  Winter Warmer
4. Weyerbacher Winter Ale
5. Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
6. Old Dominion Baltic Porter
7. Avery Old Jubilation Ale
8. Smuttynose Winter Ale
9. Boulder Never Summer
10. Red Hook Winter Hook
11. Bell's Winter Ale
12. Flying Dog Kruizer Winter Ale
13. Sam Adam's Winter Lager

      Those at the bottom of this list aren't that great, but those on the naughty list are garbage.  Starting with the best of the worst, if it's at the end of this list it's terrible.

1. Abita Christmas Ale
2. Stoudt's Winter Ale
3. Brooklyn Winter Ale
4. Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale

So there you have it, the list so far adjust your drinking accordingly.

Sam Adam's Winter Lager

      Blah, blah, blah Sam Adam's, blah.  Well another Sam's seasonal coming off their very good Octoberfest entry.  Winter Lager pours light brown with a spice, mocha and caramel nose.  This very creamy lager has some decent caramels and a lot of spice.  The spices are complex, with orange, clove and cinnamon at least.  However, the spice flavor is a bit too strong, and builds on the finish.  If you keep pounding it, it's fine but when you stop the spice is way too strong.  Well, if you keep at it you get used to it, and it's pleasant enough.  It's alright.  Meh.

Old Dominion Baltic Porter

      Old Dominion was the closest brewery to my house before they were stolen from me. The day of retribution will come Delaware.  Baltic pours out black as pitch with a mocha caramel nose.  This creamy concoction has nice caramels and a strong vanilla flavor.  Much better than the fake taste of Remarkable Vanilla Porter.  This tastes good, but the body is surprisingly week. It could be better,but it's still a strong Winter Beer.  The last sip is delicious, a strong entry.  Yum.

Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale

      Southern Tier is from the distinctly not Southern town of Lakewood, New York.  Old Man Winter pours a very light brown with an herb and caramel nose.  The flavor is super duper painful hop heavy.  I struggle to find other flavors as each sip intensifies the horrific hop overload.  But, there is nothing here to balance out this hop terror.  This is terrible, wretched and putrid.  I hate you Southern Tier.

Joseph Brau Winterfest

      Joseph Brau seems to be a Trader Joe's label, so they have no website.  Winterfest is a Double Dark Bock Lager, which is as beautiful a phrase as ever written.  Winterfest pours out a medium brown with a creamy caramel and mocha spice nose.  This is dark and rich, like Denzel, with coffee, mocha, and caramel.  There's medium hop throughout and the alcohol makes itself  known in a pleasant way.  This is one full bodied beer.  Creamy, smooth and absolutely delicious, this is a great winter beer.  DO NOT go to Trader Joe's and purchase this awesome beer.  It is mine, mine all mine.  This will be on the summit of the Winter beer list.

Stoudt's Winter Ale

      Stoudt's Winter ale pours out a very light brown and has an herbal hop and faint mocha nose.  This is very hoppy.  After one sip you can enjoy the massive bitter for a long time.  This is a terrible Winter Ale, no flavor except painful amounts of hop.  I can drink it,but I don't want to.  Total Winter Ale Fail.

Winter Hook

      Of course, this is a Red Hook product.  Winter Hook pours out a very orange amber and has a strong herbal hop, caramel and citrus nose.  Heavy on the herbal, citrus hop, but there are nice caramels as well.  This would have done well in the Summer Beer category.  It's a crisp amber ale, not warm and wintery at all.  I can't slam this beer cause I like it, it's just not a Winter Beer.  And as I get to the bottom of the glass I don't like it that much.  Meeeh.

Gordon Biersch Winter Bock

      Last time we visited Gordon Biersch, their very good Mai Bock lost in a stunning upset to Garde Dog in the Spring Beer Tourney. This was a classic, check it out here.  Winter Bock is light to medium brown and the nose is heavy on the caramel.  The taste is lush with strong caramels, light mocha and medium crisp hop.  Strong balance shines here and makes this an excellent Winter Beer.  Go and get this strong, flavorful, warming Winter Bock while it's still out.  GB is sure to be near the top of the nice list.

Weyerbacher Winter Ale

      Weyerbacher, out of Easton PA, has a nice snowman based bottle which I appreciate.  Very seasonal.  Let's see if their dark brown beer with creamy mocha and heavy caramel nose is any good.  Well it tastes like it smells, crisp mocha and nice round caramels.  No fruit or spice or other such stuff, and that is A-O.K.  Just a straight up well crafted, dark Winter Beer.  Delicious.  This will be high on the nice list.

Flying Dog K9 Kruizer Winter Ale

      Well that's a long title.  Flying Dog is a local D.C. area brewery and I really need to try more of their stuff.  Unfortunately, they have a big black mark, see Gonzo Imperial Porter.  Although Their Spring beer did well in the Spring Tourney.  Well let's see how this tips the scales.  Kruizer, I hate this name, pours out a dark amber with caramel and a suspiciously high amount of herbal hop.  And there is a ton of hop, but you can taste the caramel and mocha, so it isn't a total disaster.  I actually think this is drinkable.  But, it does require quite a high hop  tolerance.  It also does not give me that Winter Beer vibe.   Kruizer might not make it on the nice list.

Anderson Valley Winter Solstice

       I totally doomed Brooklyn by saying how great their Octoberfest was.  Now I'll jinx Anderson Valley by mentioning that their Summer Solstice was the best of the Summer Beers this year.  Only the sublime beet beer, Wacko was even close.  Solstice pours out a dark amber with a creamy caramel and sweet tart nose.  The flavor is very sweet with lots of caramel, classic malted and mocha flavor. The hops are steady throughout adding a nice crisp mouth feel.  I think it's quite good, although it seems very similar to their Summer Beer.  Maybe just a different label.  This would be a first class Winter Beer if it just had a touch of spice and more alcohol, of course.  I still think it's pretty good though.

Brooklyn Winter Ale

      Brooklyn did one of my favorite Octoberfests this year, I hope they do equally as good with their Winter Beer.  Man, their bottles are mind numbingly dull, the bottle cap is plain silver for god's sake.  Anyway, what matters is the beer.  Which is light brown with a caramel and mocha nose.  It's got nice crisp hop and a tootsie roll flavor, but dry not sweet.  This flavor does not work at all for me.  It tastes like a stale watery chocolate soda, but much worse.  This is a dog. A wet dog. Avoid this awful failure.

Smuttynose Winter Ale

      I hope they know more about Winter Beers up north in Smuttynose country than Abita did.  It pours a medium brown with a malty mocha and spice nose.  It has a malty, mocha spice flavor with a medium hop bite.  This would be real good,but it really lacks body and alcohol.  The flavors are strong, but not that exciting.  The aftertaste is also so-so.  Let me drink more.  Yea, this is pretty decent, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it.  I would have another though.

Abita Christmas Ale

      Abita of course is out of New Orleans which is a lovely town that smells like pee.  I question their ability to make a Christmas beer, but we shall see.  Light brown with herbal hop, caramel, spice and yeast.  Holy Christ, here is our first massively over hopped mess.  There are some malts and hints of spice, but they are tragically overwhelmed.  Abita you have proved me tragically right.  This beer sucks, I don't like it, don't buy it.  Boo.  Oh, the bottle sucks.

Boulder Never Summer

      Boulder Beer claims to be Colorado's oldest Micro Brewery.  And that's great, but how's the beer.  It pours out a light orange-brown and has a hop, caramel, yeast and spice nose.  This does show hop up front and throughout.  There's also nice caramel, mocha, and spice, lot's of cardamom.  Nice mix of flavors make it interesting drinking experience.  It is a little hop heavy especially for a winter beer and the aftertaste is a bit odd.  As the glass gets very low I'm somewhat less enchanted,but it's a decent Winter beer.  So far drinking Winter Beers is good.

Bell,s Christmas Ale

      Bell's has been a hit or miss brewery for me.  Some very good beers, some not so good.  I hope this is a winner.  The Bell's pours out a very orange amber has a rich caramel, mocha and orange spice nose.  Strangely, very little of this shows.  It tastes like a pedestrian amber ale with caramel and spice and strong hop.  The aftertaste is not the best, but it's a nice beer to sip.  It's just not a very Wintery beer. As I keep downing it, I feel quite unimpressed.  Not a good Winter Beer, Blah.

Avery Old Jubilation Ale

      Avery is a brewery out of Boulder Colorado.  There sure is a lot of beer coming out of Colorado, and amazing we get so much of it on the East Coast.  Old Jubilation, a nice festive name, pours out a lovely medium brown.  The nose is a deep caramel and strong mocha with clear spice notes.  Lots of mocha and coffee flavors with spice, heavy on the clove. Jubilation is big on the flavor and the body which is nice and heavy.  This is a nice winter beer, but the flavor is very strong and the aftertaste prodigious.  Not for everyone.  I could see myself enjoying this on a cold winter night.  Recommended with reservations.

Winter Beers: Harpoon Winter Warmer

      I love me some Winter beers.  They are usually big on the flavors and the alcohol.  There also seem to be a hell of a lot of them.  Not everyone does a Spring or Fall beer, but everyone does a Winter\ Christmas beer.  First up is Harpoon Winter Warmer.  It pours out a light brown with a spicy mocha nose.  This is why I like Winter beers.  It's all mocha, caramel, cinnamon, clove and a touch of yeast.  It's also got a nice full body.  At first I found the aftertaste a bit off-putting, but I'm warming up to it.  A great start to the Winter beers, Harpoon has a winner here.  Good character, flavor and body, Winter Warmer is an apt description.

Pumpkin Beers

      Holy hell.  I went to the store a few days ago to get a bunch of Winter beers and all the pumpkin beers were gone.  There was plenty of Octoberfest and I even picked up  some Wacko, a Summer beer, at a discount.  But, no pumpkin to be found at any price.  F you guys.  Anyway, I'm just going to dive right into the stunning array of Winter beers I've found.  The Punk in the picture was good, but too damn expensive.

Harvest moon Pumpkin Ale

      First off, Blue Moon's bottles are all the same, they suck.  But, does their Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale suck? It Pours a light amber and has a caramel, spice and fruity nose.  No pumpkin.  Well I can't taste any pumpkin either.  There's a bit of the pumpkin spice, but otherwise it's got the normal caramels of other beers.  Really a decent medium ale with a bit of spice in it.  Not any pumpkin?  You suck.  It's got a poor aftertaste as well.  It's an alright beer, but a total failure as a pumpkin beer.  Screw you guys, avoid this beer.

Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale

      Pumpkin Ales have become a staple of the Fall, and this is a very good thing.  The first time I had a pumpkin beer I knew it was a legitimate style not just some novelty beer.  Now almost everyone makes a pumpkin beer these days.  I'm gonna try a bunch and see which one's are good.  First up is Pumpkinhead Ale from the Shipyard Brewing Company out of Portland, Oregon,Maine.  It pours out a light gold with a very spicy nose.  Classic pumpkin pie spice, heavy on the cinnamon.  The flavor is big on the spice, especially the cinnamon and clove, but there's good pumpkin flavor here.  That's what I like in pumpkin beers.  I have a fever, and the only prescription, is more pumpkin.  This I like,  the spice and pumpkin get along nicely, we call that balance.  This beer has it.  A good first entry and a nice way to enjoy your fall.  Makes me want to try their other beers. A winner.

Octoberfest wrap-up: Saranac Octoberfest

      Saranac is the last of the Octoberfests, for now, to decide the best of the season.  Saranac is made somewhere, blah, blah, blah.  It pours out a light amber with a dry caramel and light mocha nose.  The hops hit a little with this one but in a very good way.  There's strong, but not sweet, caramel here as well as strong mocha.  This is quite good I like the higher hop, which is still fairly mild by some standards.  I would rate this a touch higher than the Sam Adam's.  So just pop a Saranac then a Sam's, lather, rinse, repeat. Alright, here's the list.

1. Saranac
2. Sam Adam's
3. Brooklyn
4. Magic Hat
5. Coney Island
6. Leinenkugel's
7. Otter Creek

Sam Adam's Octoberfest

      Now for one of the big boys, Sam Adam's.  It pours out a nice amber with sweet caramel and light mocha on the nose.  The flavor syncs up perfectly with the nose.  Very sweet caramel hits you then the light mocha, as the hops swirl all around.  This is good, much better than greed.  Sam's has lots of flavor, nice body and excellent balance.  Definitely  better than the others I've had so far, a clear winner. I'm getting in the car to buy more right now.  One more Octoberfest before the Pumpkin Ales.

Coney Island Freaktoberfest

      Coney Island is made by the Shmaltz Brewing Company. Weird. Interesting name, freaky bottle.  Buts that's only the beginning. This beer pours out a nice blood red.  Yes, it is blood red.  The nose has caramel and berry. The flavor is alright, with decent caramels, but you can really taste the dye.  Now this is not the best Octoberfest, it's decent.  But the coolness factor is off the charts.  It's blood red, in a cool bottle, and the ABV is 6.66 %.  For a Halloween Party this beer is a must have.  Next year everyone should buy a six on Halloween just on principal.  I know I will.

Magic Hat Hex: Ourtoberfest

      First, let me say Hex is a very good name for an Octoberfest, Seasonal and cool.  But, calling it " Ourtoberfest " is so hack and annoying it destroys all my goodwill.  One again the bails of pot they smoke at Magic Hat has addled their brains.  O.K. then.  Hex is a light amber with caramel and mocha on the nose.  It opens up with some up front hop and more on the finish , with the middle revealing its sweet caramel and light mocha flavors.  This is  pretty decent I would put it a notch lower than the Brooklyn but well worth drinking.  I could enjoy this fine, still hoping for better.  Worth a try.

Dominion Octoberfest

      Old Dominion Brewery brings us their Octoberfest, but this one is with a C.  This is a medium amber with a nice sweet caramel nose.  It's got some good caramel flavors too as well as fizzy sweet banana, weird.  This is O.K., but pounding more might help me get a better feel for it.  There just is no pop here, the malts are alright, but the hops don't do much.  I could drink a bunch more if nothing else was at hand.  However, I,m looking for better and so far Brooklyn Oktoberfest is it.  It's just O.K.

Otter Creek Oktoberfest

      This is the last of the Ok not Oc toberfests.  Otter Creek is out of Middlebury Vermont.  I don't know where that is but they are probably hippies.  Anyway, it's a nice medium amber with lovely caramels and a hint of mocha and citrus.  I hope it tastes like it smells.  Well there's a bit more hop than I expected, but that's fine. What's not fine is right after the caramels hit you there's a weird off flavor I don't like.  Sort off a burnt herb flavor.  It's drinkable, but this is the worst of the lot so far.  I will not get this again. Avoid.

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest

      Another Oktoberfest with a K,  Leinenkugel's is out of Chippawa Falls Wisconsin, which is in the cold part of the world.  It pours out a nice amber and has bit of caramel, mocha and a hint of spice on the nose.  The nose is kind of weak and so are the flavors.  It's got a nice flavor profile, bot it tastes like a light Octoberfest.  This sis the Fest for you if you like Miller Light.  I think we can safely avoid this mass produced schlock.  It is sort of appropriate for Halloween because it's the ghost of a real Fest. Avoid.

Octoberfest: Brooklyn

      Ah, October,  beautiful time of year, at least around these parts.  One of the finer things of fall is delicious Octoberfest, one of the best beers of the year.  I already mentioned the very good Prosit, Imperial Octoberfest, but now it's time to hit the rest.  First up, is Brooklyn Oktoberfest, with a K, from the Brooklyn Brewery in ahhh Brooklyn.  Boy the label is boring, kind of retro, still sucks. It pours a nice dark amber and has a really nice rich sweet caramel and light mocha nose.  The first sip is good with a nice hop that energizes the mouth.  The caramel and mocha are nice.  This has nice balance, but the flavors aren't as good as the intoxicating nose.  This is a good Octoberfest with the classic flavor profile.  I could of course drink a ton of these, but I'm hoping for better.

Rare Vos Amber Ale

      Rare Vos is from the Ommegang Brewery which specializes in Belgian Style beers.  Ommegang is also out of Cooperstown NY home of the baseball hall of fame.  Rare pours out a cloudy amber and has a very complex nose of citrus, spice, yeast, melon and herb.  Unfortunately complex, and expensive, does not mean good  It tastes like a Belgian white with a bit of mead in it.  But there is an overwhelming coriander flavor that's just too much.  I can see how this is interesting because you can detect some of the flavors you get on the nose.  But, this does not work for me at all, and I won't be having another.

Tusker Lager

      Another beer in my International beers series,  Tusker is a Kenyan Lager in a Stylish retro bottle.  It's like you found a beer in a time capsule.  Tusker pours out a clear gold and has a strong sweet caramel nose.  The first sip strikes me as pretty fizzy.  There's basic caramels here and some uninspiring hop.  The body seems kind of weak as well.  It does go down very easy and I can see how nice this would be cold on a hot day.  But,  I'm not that impressed.  The more I get into it I start to find a bit more flavor and enjoyment.  Still, this is a nice little lager if you like them weak, but I don't, so keep it.  Go get some Full Sail Session Lager instead.

Heavy Seas Mutiny Fleet: Letter of Marque

      Letter of Marque is part of Heavy Seas strong Mutiny Fleet line of beers.  By strong they mean high alcohol and high flavor.  I loved their Imperial Octoberfest, which was fest on steroids. But, this is a rye porter so let's taste it shall we.  This is a nice dark brown and has a strong hop nose, with mocha, caramel and spice.  Up front their is a massive flood of bitter hop.  Maybe there are some other flavors a bit of cara...wait.  Nope, this hop is totally ruining this beer.  It's so strong it's burning my mouth.  I can't believe anyone would ruin all this alcohol this way. They should be ashamed.  Heavy Seas has really let me down.  Now I'm going to have to choke down this garbage to extract the precious alcohol.  Do not buy this beer.

Viru

      Viru is an Estonian beer that comes in a very cool bottle.  I mean a really cool bottle.  But, we are mainly concerned by how it tastes.  It pours out a light gold with a very citrus nose with a hint of hop.  Viru is very clean and crisp with light hops, caramel and citrus notes.  This is a really nice beer that I could drink any time.  Refreshing, but with enough flavor and character to really enjoy.  Combined with the sexy, sexy bottle, Estonia could take over the world.  Seriously, you need to give this stuff a try.

Negra Modelo

      After the Landshark fail I thought I would try some real Mexican beer.  Negra Modelo is a Mexican dark beer which usually means a lighter refreshing dark, not very heavy.  Negra pours out a medium brown and has a honey, light mocha and fresh mild hop nose.  Nice flavor as well. There's a consistent hop all the way through with light mocha, and toffee flavors.  there's some body to this beer, but it's refreshing and easy drinking.  this is a nice summer beach beer.  The perfect dark companion to Sol, my favorite beach beer.  A couple of cases should get you through the rest of the summer  Cheers, drink up my friends.

Landshark Lager

      Landshark Lager is a Mexican style lager like Sol or corona.  But should we ditch these traditional favorites for this newcomer?  We shall see.  Landshark is light gold with a mild hop and moldy caramel nose.  Well that's a bad sign.  The taste is better than I thought it would be, with nice caramels and some perky hop.  There's a touch off that moldy taste on the finish.  Next we shall try it with the lime.  It's decent with lime, which eliminates the funky nose.  Still there is no way I would pick this over a Sol or Corona.  Not impressed.

Heavy Seas Prosit! Imperial Octoberfest

      A pirate themed beer will kick off my series of posts from the Outer Banks.  I like Heavy Seas because they make beer with much yummy alcohol and don't overcharge for it.  Imperial Octoberfest is such a stunning concept.  Take one of my favorite styles and kick it up a notch.  Up to 8% ABV.  But have they succeeded or failed?  This beer pours out a dark amber and you can see the body in it.  Prosit is sweet and thick.  Heavy on the smoky toffee, rich caramels and yummy strong.  There's strong hop in here, but is well balanced by the other powerful flavors.  After a few of these I would gladly clamp a cutlass in my teeth and swing aboard enemy vessels.  Can't wait to have my next Prosit, it.s fantastic.

Lagunitas Lucky 13

      For my 100th post I was looking for something interesting to try.  Lucky 13 seemed to fit the bill.  My first child was born on the 13th and I've always seen it as a lucky number.  It also has 8.3% ABV which I also consider lucky.  Lucky pours out a very orange clear amber and has a pleasant strong herbal hop nose.  There's some caramel and citrus under there as well.  There be some monster hop here.  There's a strong hop presence forward, getting stronger, than opening up a bit to reveal the malts, herb and citrus.  The hop on the finish builds as well, and gets really strong.  Wow, that dumps a lot of bitter in the back of the mouth.  However, the high alcohol really comes through giving it a nice mouth feel.  I like this despite it's massive hops and it does tone down a bit as you drink it.  This one is rescued by the big alcohol and nice body which offset the hops.  Leaving you with a good overall drinking experience.                                                                                      

Jumping Cow Amber Ale

      Jumping Cow is from the Steinhaus Brewery which has no web site.  However, this stuff is available at Trader Joe's and they appear to have a connection.  The Cow pours a classic amber and has an herbal nose with some background caramels.It comes off as O.K. with decent balance, but something is a little off here.  The body is alright.  Maybe the hop is a bit off putting.  Not the amount, but a strange herbal note that I find unpleasant.  As I continue to quaff it I find it quite drinkable.  But this is way down my list of the amber's I've had.  There is just way better out there, no need to go here again.

Trader Jose Dark

      This is Trader Joe's version of a Mexican dark like Negra Modelo.  TJ's usually has good stuff, so here it goes.  It's a medium brown with rich caramel, mocha and a hint of crisp hop on the nose.  In this case the nose is correct as there is a rich caramel mocha flavor. The hops are with you throughout with a strong tingle on the tongue.  This is very similar to Negra Modelo, which is a good thing.  This is a nice lighter dark beer that goes well with the warm weather.  It' nice and refreshing, balanced and flavorful but drinkable.  I would get this again, it's very nice, I like it.

Sam Adam's Pale Ale

      Another Pale Ale to look at while I'm on the subject.  It pours out a nice medium gold, very different from the Kirkland's.  There is a lot of lovely caramel here with a whiff of hop.  This is actually pretty crisp with a fair amount of hop up front.  However that quickly subsides and the nice caramels come out.  Again, on the finish you get a bit more  hop.  This is a bit hop heavy, but I like it, you can at least discern the other flavors.  This is a decent Pale Ale that I might drink again, but I would not seek it out.

Kirkland Pale Ale

      Kirkland is the house brand for Costco, and their stuff tends to be pretty decent.  There's strong caramels and crisp hop on the nose and it pours a surprisingly dark amber.  This has a lot of hop up front.  There are some caramels and herbal flavors but the hop overwhelms a bit.  It's crisp and somewhat drinkable, however I wish there was some more sweetness to balance out the bitter.  This is not a winner in my book.  If you forced me at gun point to drink ten I could probably do it. But I'm not going out to buy any.

The Raven

      I just went to Otakon so I thought I,d look at one of the beers I found up there in Baltimore.  The Raven is a  Special Lager made by the Baltimore-Washington Beer Works.  To me associating Washington and Baltimore is like associating gold bars and cow pies.  Actually, Baltimore is a nice city to visit.  And if you stick to the Inner Harbor you might not get robbed or murdered.  Anyway, It pours out a light amber and has some crisp fragrant hop and rich caramels on the nose.  The flavor is lush with caramel, as well as a touch of herb and citrus.  The hop is very strong throughout in a very good way.  There's a very refreshing crispness and overall balance of flavors.  This is a very good beer for any occasion,  I would try and track some down Quickly.  Next time I'm in B-more I will get some of this on tap.  That would be even better.  A nice beer.

Super Bock

      Super Bock is from Portugal, and I could not resist the name.  Things that are SUPER must be better.  Super Bock pours out golden with a very white head.  It's got a peppery hop, and caramel thing going on with nose.  Wow this has a lot of hop up front but it fades to very little on the finish. This is the definition of crisp. The caramels really come out and shine after the initial rush.  This is similar to San Miguel, but better, a good summer beer.  Crisp, refreshing and very drinkable, I could have many more.  Don't mind if I do.  Portugal wins.