Melton Brewing – Doppelbock

 B Notes  No Responses »
Mar 052011
 

Up to this point the B Notes were used as a way to record the notes that I take while having a beer outside the comfort of my home where the full evaluations take place.  Today I am going to change that up a bit.

Not wanting to bog myself down in a full review of the beers that Mr. Melton (as he is known here) gave me I thought a B Note format would be more appropriate.  I wanted to really enjoy the beer and not worry so much about taking a ton of notes.  Now in the future I should really ask him for an official brewery name that he would prefer to go by, but for today I simply filled in the blanks.  As said many times before, this is a site that really just consists of my beer journal after all.

So for the first time today there will be a B Note that is for a beer that I am pretty sure no one will get a chance to try (sorry) and also one that I did from my couch rather than a barstool.

Now for a unique B Note on this Saturday evening . . .

Brewery: Melton Brewing (Florida)

Name: Doppelbock

Style: Doppelbock

ABV: ??

Location: Home – Living Room (my own bar of sorts)

Tasting Notes:

  • Slight tannish light brown head that dissipates pretty quickly leaving a bit of a trail. Dark brown in color with maybe a bit of red to it.
  • A smooth, sweet aroma with a really nice dark caramelly quality.
  • Medium body and smooth on the palate with a relatively light level of carbonation.
  • Very nice sweet maltiness up front fading into a mild spiciness and some raisin-like fruit character from middle through to the finish.
  • I enjoyed this one a lot.  Tons of flavor with nice lingering fruit and spice notes at the finish.  Really nice beer that I wish I had a few more of.
  • Gives me some insight as to how far I have yet to go with my own brewing.
5497495652 12c88e5df8 Melton Brewing Doppelbock

Melton Brewing - Doppelbock

 

 Posted by Lucas at 8:00 pm  Tagged with:

Abita Brewing Company – Andygator

 Beer Reviews  No Responses »
Sep 102010
 

It is somewhat amusing to read my notes on this review and see that my thoughts were that I would definitely buy it again because I cannot ever remember doing so since that time.  I have sampled it at festivals and I am pretty sure I ended up with a few free bottles at some point, but it has yet to make it into my shopping cart again.  I have developed a habit of almost exclusively buying beers that I have not tried or seen before.  Maybe that is why I have such a difficult time when someone asks me what my favorite beer is.  I am not spending enough quality time with any one beer to favor it above all.

Enough rambling, onto the review . . .

Brewery: Abita Brewing Company (Abita Springs, LA)

Name: Andygator

Style: (Helles) Doppelbock

ABV: 8.00%

Tasting Notes: Stored in the wine fridge (50 degrees +/-) and served in a pilsner glass.  $4.79 for 22 ounces.

Aroma: Moderately malty with a slight sweetness that seems to have characteristics that are somewhere between grapes and corn.

Appearance: Deep/full golden color.  Two finger (plus), off-white head that is thick and creamy with good retention and leaving some trail.  Clear with tons of rising bubbles visible.

Flavor: Rich malty flavor with no toasted, roasted, caramel notes and no hoppy bitterness.  Very clean flavor through the finish that has a hint of dryness.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light body and a high level of carbonation (without lending any bite).  Very smooth with slight creaminess.

Overall Impressions: Really great flavor and a great value that I would definitely buy again for that reason.  A good entry point into craft beer for those who are used to only drinking domestic lagers.  Maybe more of a Helles Bock than a Doppelbock?

Grade: B+ to A-

4160668914 9d87be31c9 Abita Brewing Company Andygator

Abita Brewing Company - Andygator

4160669214 aa47be4929 Abita Brewing Company Andygator

A little closer.

 Posted by Lucas at 7:00 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Bell’s Brewery, Inc. – Consecrator

 Beer Reviews  No Responses »
Jul 302010
 

This was one of the Bell’s beers that I was fortunate to be able to pour at a little beer tasting event a little while back.  Actually, I ended up with some of this beer as a result of my efforts (i.e. I did not pay for this beer).  Even not having to buy this on my own, I still evaluate it as I would any other since it does me (or you) no good to have reviews that are at all not true.  Besides, they really don’t need me to tell others how good their beer is!

With that said I must also make mention of the exact location of Bell’s Brewery.  When asked, my immediate reply has always been Kalamazoo, Michigan perhaps because that is easy for me to remember.  Now the brewing facility is actually in Galesburg, Michigan.  Then you will see that the bottles of Consecrator are labeled with Comstock, Michigan.  I guess that means that I don’t know exactly what I should answer anymore, so I will probably just stick with the slightly general answer of Michigan going forward.

So for the review to close down the week . . .

Brewery: Bell’s Brewery, Inc. (Comstock, MI)

Name: Consecrator

Style: Doppelbock

ABV: 8.00%

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge and served in a pilsner glass.

Aroma: Sweet, brown sugary aroma with some notes of dark fruit (raisin or currant) and a hint of warmth.

Appearance: Copper to reddish brown color.  One finger cream/light tan color head with decent retention and leaving a slight trail.  Clear with lots of tiny rising bubbles visible.

Flavor: Rich, malty, slightly toasted flavor up front with some raisin/prune flavors middle to finish.  There is a hint of bitterness, but the overall flavor is very clean.  The sweetness dominates nicely and lingers slightly after the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body (slightly toward full) with a moderate level of carbonation that lends a light bite.  Smooth with some warmth toward the finish.

Overall Impressions: Drinks quite easily and clean with enjoyable layers of sugary sweet, dark fruit, etc. flavors.  The warmth is well balanced in to the whole.  A nice beer to sit and get comfortable with a few of, but is better colder rather than at all close to room temperature.

Grade: B to B+

4772193107 05006763f3 Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Consecrator

Bell's Brewery, Inc. - Consecrator

4772192835 9c099e0ddf Bell’s Brewery, Inc. Consecrator

A little closer look at the goats.

 

 Posted by Lucas at 7:00 pm  Tagged with: ,
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