OBX Happy hour - Oak Aged Un*Earthly

It's a little early to call this happy hour, but I pulled out a bomber of Southern Tier's Oak Aged Un*Earthly Imperial IPA to have after lunch, and it definitely warranted a post. I've been looking forward to this beer more than any other that I brought along on this trip. This is the first brew I've had from Southern Tier, but it comes highly recommended and has a 98 on RateBeer.

Orange and copper in color, and appearing slightly cloudy after the pour, this beer looks rich and full of flavor. There is not much head, just a thin layer of bubbles, quickly disappearing into just a dusting. What is there leaves just a tiny bit of lacing.

The aroma reminds me of some barleywines Adam and I tried this past winter. It is rich and malty with heavy notes of caramel as well as a citrus aroma. There is less hop aroma than I have come to expect from imperial IPAs. As expected there is an oaky smell, not a heavy one, but it is there.

This beer is full of flavor. It starts malty and full of oak, moving slowly towards a piny citrus hop flavor. Still dominated by oak the hops turn to a very bitter after taste. This is a very long finish. As I type it has been over a minute since I have taken a sip and still there is oak and hop on my tongue. The caramel flavor from the malt combined with the balance of hops is what is reminding me of a barleywine. this is extremely well balanced for any kind of IPA. I was definitely expecting more hop flavor.

This is surprisingly light on the tongue, with small sharp carbonation that doesn't stick around for long. Even with the big flavors present here, this is one of the most drinkable imperial IPAs I've had, even more so than the DFH 90 minute, one of my personal favorites. The drinkability is best represented by the fact that in the amount of time it has taken me to do this post, I've nearly finished the bomber.

Overall this beer was not what I expected. Not in aroma, taste or body, but it is, nonetheless, one great beer. What else that I've brought, if anything, will be able to top this?

OBX Happy Hour - West Coast IPA

Hello from Avon, NC! I am down here on vacation this week, and brought with me a pile of beers to try while I bask in the sun on the beach. I've decided to do a few posts while I am down here, to write exactly what I am thinking as I drink these beers. I have a slection of mostly IPAs and Imperial/Double IPAs along with a few miscellaneous other beers.

Adam and I have each spoken about the obsession with hops in American craft brewing. And, while I do still tend to prefer a more balanced beer, it's safe to say that I love hops far more now than when I started drinking beer, and hoppy IPAs and the like are increasingly the beers I turn to as daily drinkers.

So lets jump right in to it. West Coast IPA from Green Flash Brewing is described as being "extravagantly hopped" It weighs in at 7.3% abv, I'm guessing due to adding extra malt to balance out the heavy multi-tiered hopping that this beer underwent. It boasts Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial and Cascade, each added with a certain purpose, each flavoring or adding aroma in a specific way.

This beer pours a hazy copper-brown. There wasn't much head, but what was there left good lacing as it disappeared. I'll tack a picture of the next one, since I've already worked my way through half of the glass while writing this.

Needless to say, the aroma is delightfully hoppy. There is a definite malt characteristic, just a bit of sweet behind a fruity citrus bitter smell. I've been working my way through a lot of popular IPAs lately. Even this is my 4th IPA since arriving in the Outer Banks last night. With that said, this is one of the most appealing.

The flavor is dominated by the citric and pine flavors of the Centennial hops. Eat a grapefruit with pine needles sprinked on it instead of sugar. That is this beer. There's a fuity component to it early on that starts to disappear is it warms up. There is just a hint of the maltiness from the smell, just enough to even things out.

I'm being called away to the hot tub, so I'm gonna wrap this up, The mouthfeel is light, and carbonation tingly and sharp, making it very refreshing, and highly drinkable, in fact, i'm gonna crack open another one as soon as I finish this one. A great overall brew, and quickly becoming on of my top IPAs.

Clipper City Red Sky At Night

When I was in high school Solomon and I always used to joke along with our friend Ben about the Clipper City brand. This was when none of us knew anything about beer, and Solomon's parents would occasionally get stuff from them to drink. Since none of us had ever heard of Clipper City before, I guess we kind of just assumed it was crap. So when I saw Clipper City beer at State Line, I really wasn't all that interested in trying it out. However, when I was reading an article about saisons online, Clipper City's Red Sky At Night came up. It perked my interest up, so I decided to buy it next time I was there.

The beer poured a deep golden color, very clear despite the yeast the bottle is conditioned with. I didn't get any head out of a normal pour. There's just a little dusting of bubbles on the top.

The smell of the beer is a mixture of slightly sweet hay and horse blanket. It's a smell that's both sweet and sour, with some hints of the alcohol as well. I think I smelled a little bit of apple juice in there too. The smell of a saison is generally one of my favorite parts, since there's a exhilarating sort of wildness to it. This is supposed to come from the wild yeast used in making the beer. This is one style that I'm very interested in trying to make at some point.

The taste at first is of grain, a bit sour. It's got somewhat of a biscuit quality to it. I thought I got a touch of white grape as well, but barely noticeable. There's a touch of bitterness on the back of the tongue, but this tastes more like it's from yeast than from hops. I noticed a slight bit of alcohol in the flavor, and possibly some apricot. It also seemed to be a little bit watery.

The beer has a good medium body and a decently strong level of carbonation. There's a nice smooth coating left over the teeth. It's a bit warming in the throat, not surprising since it's a bit on the strong side. It weights in at 7.5%.

Overall it's a good offering for my first beer from Clipper City. It's a decent flavor, but not the strongest, and although it's not the best saison I've ever had it's still very good. It's very easy to drink since it's not overwhelming, but at the same time it would be hard to drink too many because of the alcohol content. If it had a bit less alcohol in it, I could drink them all night. I could definitely stand to go back to this one a few times in the future.

- Adam