Southern Tier Warlock

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I am trying to refrain from hopping (ha! See what I did there???) on a soapbox about the term Warlock. Male witches are simply that: male witches, unless we get into a discussion of ceremonial magicians, and that is a whole different category. But we are here to discuss beer, and to keep any religious/lifestyle nomenclature out of it, so I won't go full rant on you. In case you were wondering, I identify as a witch. Not Wiccan, some Pagan, definitely kitchen witch. No, I don't have any warts. No, my skin isn't green (unless I'm wearing green makeup as part of my Halloween costume. Or unless I am bruised and going through the inevitable cycle of rainbow colors). No, I do not worship the devil, if you mistook today for 1692. Yes, the snozzberries taste like snozzberries, just in case you were wondering. This is, quite simply, one of my favorite weeks of the year, hence the pumpkin beers.

This is an imperial pumpkin stout, the darker version of Pumking. I love so many of Southern Tier beers, although Pumking isn't one of my favorites. Not just of theirs, of pumpkin beers. It's too sweet for my taste, but since we haven't properly reviewed it, perhaps I should leave a little mystery? Something to whet your thirst for more? Should we just get to this 8.6% ABV pumpkin stout already? Yes??? Well, then, shall we?

This is supposed to be poured into a goblet. I have goblets, but I did not consider using them until after pouring this. It is an opaque, brownish-black color with a modicum of khaki-colored head that quickly dissipated. The aroma is pleasant: when I first poured it, it was heavier on the pumpkin spice, to the point where I thought "instant palate wrecker". It has had a few minutes to warm, as I moved on and off my soapbox, and now the aroma is more creamy vanilla with pumpkin spices and dark chocolate. Ooooh, I am so making a beer float out of this, and I have the perfect ice cream for it. But we will get to that once I am done dissecting this beer. This goes down dark and smooth. It hits your mouth with a punch of vanilla and toasted walnuts, fading into chocolate mocha, then a left hook of clove and ginger and cinnamon, then a big bite of alcohol booziness, then more with the pumpkin spices, this time around with a little more nutmeg. You can tell there is pumpkin used in the brewing process, but it does not dominate in the taste. The mouthfeel on this is smooth and round, yet it is moderately carbonated.

OK, time for the ice cream... For this particular beer, I have chosen a scoop of black walnut ice cream.

The black walnuts kind of tame down the spiciness of this beer and totally mellow out the end of this. It would also be good with a high-quality vanilla ice cream, but I like how the black walnuts play with the early nuttiness in this. My overall opinion of the beer is that it's good, but a little heavy on the spice.

P.S. I am lowering my rating because it has now been an hour since I last drank this and my taste buds seem singed. Even palate cleansers have not helped remotely. You know the Hot Pocket Effect? Yeah, that is happening in my mouth. After an hour. Not cool (no pun intended). It's enjoyable going down, but a little bit goes a very long way.

3.7/5 caps

-Jennie

Earlier today, I sent a text to Jennie about needing high alcohol beer to assist me in the shitty day that has bestowed itself upon me. I had no idea that I'd be doing 2 beer reviews tonight. It works. It helps wash away the agony of factory work. It makes me wish I was working full time at the brewery I've been volunteering for.

I'm kind of glad this is our last pumpkin beer to review. No offense to any brewery at all, I'm just over the market flood of everything pumpkin; coffee, ice cream, donuts, cake, candies, beer, so on. Side note, yesterday we saw a Christmas display at the local big chain grocery. Today, Great Lakes Christmas Ale released, Thirsty Dog's 12 Dogs of Christmas is out already... for fuck's sake people, it's not even Halloween yet. Fuck it, I'm just going to start buying Easter candy now.

This is dark, nay, black as the night sky. Any head that was once on there is now just a distant memory, much like proper timing of holiday decor in the sales world. The aroma on this is big. Boozy tones blend themselves with your spices and pumpkin, distant notes of dark malts, almost chocolate. The flavor on this is strong. It's your liquid pumpkin pie style beer, with darker roasted malts giving roasted and chocolate flavors to this. There's a slight charred-like bitterness toward the back end to give a reminder that this is actually a beer and not a dessert. There are some boozy notes on that start taking hold from time to time, leaving a numbing feeling in the mouth, like smoking a clove cigarette/cigar. This is definitely a sipping beer, not your College Football Season Beer Pong League sort of beer. This is a heavy, filling beer, like a meal in a bottle. Palate is still wrecked, sigh. I'm glad we saved this for the 2nd review of the night.

Had I not been burned out on the market flood of everything pumpkin, I would be willing to buy a second bottle, but at this point, I'm done. It's time for the over flooding of winter/Christmas/Yule ales. Sigh. I'm glad we have about 3 cases of things to review so we can sit this season out and not get into the epic debate of which Christmas ale is the best (btw, it's Flying Monkeys Smashbomb Atomic IPA).

3.9/5 caps

-Nathan-

Food pairing: Black walnut ice cream
Cheese pairing: Habanero cheddar, because one's taste buds have never been singed enough to bring them back to normal
Music pairing: Omnia, "The Raven"

North Peak Hooligan

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After a rough day at work, I'm reminded why I do it. Beer, basically. This beer however is better today than ever. The Columbus Crew clinched the playoffs for MLS. Glory to Columbus! The reason I say this beer is better today is because of the super fan/supporters section at Crew Stadium, The Hudson Street Hooligans. If you ever get a chance to sit near them, you'll enjoy the game more. The endless songs and chants that go the entire match, getting louder with each beverage consumed.

Yes, this is brewed in that state up north, but North Peak makes good brews. This intrigued us the first time we saw it, sadly it was at a large grocery chain, so we can't give a shout out to a local bottle shop. Hoppy Pumpkin Ale. Yes. This might be our favorite idea of the pumpkin beers (and gives us an idea for the harvest beer homebrew competition next year).

This pours a golden orange color with a bit of white head that sticks around, still hazy even though it's been open for about 15 minutes while I gathered info (links and verifying the news about The Crew). The aroma on this has so many layers. Citrus, caramel, and earthy hop tones dominate; cinnamon and nutmeg in the background playing second fiddle to the glory of the hops. The initial sip throws your mind for a loop. There is so much happening here. There's a quick blast of pine that fades quickly as the pumpkin/spices come forward. The pumpkin/spices then dissipate quickly to give way to grapefruit/citrus zest and bitterness. The bitterness fades and the pumpkin/spices come back to blend with the bitterness and ride together to the end of the road. Nice lighter body with smooth drinkability. This finishes bitter like a hopped up Pale Ale or a lighter IPA, some hop resin sticking to the gums and cheeks, reminding you this isn't your typical pumpkin beer.

Yeah, in my book, this is how the perpetually overdone pumpkin beer should be done. Take one style of beer and give it light pumpkin/spice flavor, not trying to create a pumpkin pie in beer form. That's just my own personal preference, don't start searching for where I live to remove my head and replace it with a jack-o-lantern, Jennie wouldn't like that.

4.7/5 caps

-Nathan-

We are! Massive! It's a Crew thing, you probably wouldn't understand. But it was started by Frankie (pictured above, he has also brewed beer with a few different local breweries), and it's a good thing. Anyway, Glory to Columbus, and we are looking forward to the playoffs and dominating all of our opponents and bringing home the Cup. If you get a chance, go to a Crew game and not only sit near the Hooligans, but also tailgate beforehand. I will suggest that Crew games are a more fun tailgate than Ohio State football games, and that's not merely because I'm not an OSU fan (I actually used to work the OSU tailgates). Crew tailgates are more fun and often more elaborate than football tailgates, and the vibe is open and friendly.

A hoppy pumpkin ale, right up my alley. My glass is half full (with the impending soccer playoffs, I'm optimistic) of a pale golden liquid with a bit of white foam sitting atop it. The aroma is wonderful: pumpkin, piney hops, and very light pumpkin spice with hints of caramel popping in and out. The flavor on this is amazing. A delicate pumpkin note comes in first, followed by some piney and earthy notes, followed by faint pumpkin spice (nutmeg, ginger, and clove predominate over cinnamon), then fading out again into grassy hoppy deliciousness. The finish on this is clean and bright, although as it warms, there can be an almost  metallic, astringent note toward the end. This is so unexpected and completely defies most of the pumpkin beers available. As Nathan said, it's not liquefied pumpkin pie, and that's refreshing. Also, the spices do not overwhelm the palate, as with most pumpkin beers. As North Peak's website says, if you are trying to choose between an IPA and a pumpkin beer, this is what you seek. The mouthfeel on this is light, delicate, and well-carbonated.

I'm now trying to picture Nathan with a pumpkin for a head... I am not opposed to this, as I am internally laughing really hard at this mental image. Nathan says I'm a meanie for this, but I'm still laughing. On the inside, at least. Never mind the insidious smirk on my face.

4.6/5 caps

-Jennie

Food Pairing: Pierogies and kielbasa
Cheese Pairing: a nice baby Swiss
Music Pairing: Go to a Crew soccer game and listen to the Hooligans, or check out this Youtube video

Revolution Unsessionable

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This little beauty made an appearance on the Columbus beer scene this week, and it flew off the shelves. It was originally released in September, apparently, and has been a very popular beer from Revolution Brewing, who claims it is the biggest beer they have ever brewed, and their first specialty beer to be canned. If you will recall, we love what Revolution is doing. Anti-Hero is one of our favorite go-to IPAs. We recently fell in love with the movie Drinking Buddies, which is set at Revolution Brewing. I was raised not far from Chicago, and I love the city. I am thrilled that Revolution is doing so well, although next time, would it be too much to ask for a Giordano's pizza delivered with my six-pack? Goodthanks.

This 10% ABV, 100IBU behemoth pours a medium golden color. There was a pretty good amount of white head as I poured it, but it quickly dissipated. The aroma on this just made me sigh with pleasure... notes of grapefruit, pine, lychee, passionfruit, and light crackery notes floated past my nose. Taking a sip, the taste is not quite as bold as I expected from the aroma. This beer does not punch you in the taste buds, but instead, quietly invades them. The same flavors are in the taste as the aroma, but it is really sweet, and there is also a grassy note that I am getting in the flavor that I did not notice in the aroma. Fortunately, it is not excessively cloying in sweetness; I have really come to dislike IIPA's that are too sweet and clash malts with hops. In this beer, the sweetness just underlies the beer, complementing the hop flavors and aromas so nicely instead of overpowering them. It is well-carbonated and leaves sticky hop residue in the mouth.

This is Anti-Hero's fantastic big brother. Apparently, it was only brewed once, but let's hope that vigorous sales and demand turn this into a seasonal offering from Revolution. Now, about that pizza...

4.8/5 caps

-Jennie

Blah blah blah my random banter that I'm sure no one really reads. Fuck this, let's just get straight to the beer. I needed to get this, as it's the talk of Columbus right now.

I, unlike Jennie, am enjoying mine straight from can. As soon as I crack open the can, my olfactory senses are overwhelmed with pine and grass, with initial hints of grapefruit and lychee that come out more with each sniff. The aroma is worthy of noting the old "they should make a candle that smells like this".... Now, exactly who 'they' are has never been determined, so instead of trying to figure out who 'they' are, I will let this 10%, 100 IBU behemoth slither past my lips, hoping the bliss obtained in the aroma is equally as gratifying in the taste. Well fuck... it is. Big hop flavors that onslaught the taste buds, wrecking them with grapefruit, lychee, pine and some earthy notes. Eventually, there is some light malt flavor, but it fades quickly as the hops continue marching their way across your tongue, changing the flavor profile once again to bitter with grapefruit and orange zest. Shock of shocks, it's a nice bitter finish, but this drinks smoother than any other 10% beer I've had. It's abusive on the taste buds, but has the body and carbonation of a 6% IPA. This is fantastic.

We have 4 more cans of this, one of which will be spoken for. What to do with 3 more of these? Hmmm...

4.85/5 caps

-Nathan-

Food pairing: A spinach and cheese pie from Giordano's. Seriously. Please send one.
Cheese pairing: Provel
Music pairing: Rise Against, "Savior"

Rivertown Pumpkin Ale

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We continue on our trek of enjoying pumpkin beers during the appropriate time to enjoy pumpkin beers. Fuck me. I realized this is the 2nd Rivertown beer we've reviewed (the other being Blueberry, which we panned). Rivertown puts out fantastic beer. I could have sworn we reviewed the Roebling, but apparently not, we'll have to make that happen soon. They recently posted on Facebook about going in a different direction in 2015, more sours and Belgian style beers, along with keeping the favorites.

Rivertown is out of Cinci, they, in my mind, are the only Rivertown. There has been another company named Rivertowne that has been distributing here since summer. I have yet to have any Rivertowne beer, although they have a pineapple beer that people tout about, but we're here to review this beer.

We mentioned this beer during the Blueberry review. We've had it before, and enjoyed it over the last 2 years (seasonally, of course), I don't know why it took us so long to review it.  This pours a deep amber color with some off-white head. The aroma on this is pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg mostly, faint clove), sweetness (they brew this with molasses), and faint pumpkin. The flavor on this is what I want in a pumpkin beer. It's perfectly balanced between the sweetness and the pumpkin flavors without letting the spices take over. It's smooth drinking with a slightly malt sticky back end. The 5% ABV will allow you to drink more than one without doing damage and the balanced flavor won't wreck your palate to anything else you may be enjoying. You can still tell you're drinking beer without tricking your mind into believing you're enjoying a dessert.

4.6/5 caps

-Nathan-

Actually, I had Rivertowne (with an E) Pumpkin at a recent homebrew competition. One of the judges brought some, and his lovely wife shared it with me. Without doing a full review on that, as I'm here to enjoy another pumpkin beer by a similarly-named brewery, it was decent. I prefer this one. But apparently it was decent enough for me not to flag down Nathan or my other pumpkin beer-loving friends to share it.

This one is my go-to pumpkin beer. It's readily available in Columbus, and it's delicious. I always try to save some for Halloween night; it has become a personal tradition. Perhaps next year we will make our own pumpkin beer, but until we do that, I'll happily support the semi-local beer scene, or at the very least, the burgeoning Ohio beer scene.

This is a medium amber color with a little bit of barely-beige head remaining atop the beer. The nose on this is mostly nutmeg, with some pie crust (yes, you can actually smell some pie crust in this!), complementing cinnamon and just a hint of clove and even fainter pumpkin wafting past my olfactory nerve. The flavor is a bit more pumpkin-forward than the aroma, with the cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove all coming in and out of play as I drink it down. It's not overly sweet, unlike many pumpkin beers, and it is well-balanced as far as the pumpkin and spices go. The molasses lend a nice, dark flavor to the beer. It is nicely carbonated. The aftertaste is all cinnamon, once again.

In a horizontal tasting, I am not sure which pumpkin beer I prefer. The Schlafly was good, but a little "hotter" on the back end. This is more well-rounded to me. This one might have a lighter body, but not by much, and if you are drinking more than one, that's quite fine. After all those spices, however, my palate is pretty wrecked.

4.6/5 caps

-Jennie

Food Pairing: New York-style cheesecake
Cheese Pairing: A sage Derby
Music Pairing: "I Like It" by Foxy Shazam (also from Cinci)

Schlafly Pumpkin

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It's official: we are smack dab in the heart of pumpkin season. Pumpkin everything is upon us, if you happen to be living under a rock. Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin scones, pumpkin spice lattes, and, of course, pumpkin beers. I don't know about where you live, but Ohio released pumpkin beers in early August. August! It reminds me of shops that decorate for Christmas before Halloween. It drives me bonkers.... namely because, by the time I get around to wanting one, as the weather turns to those crisp fall days, pumpkin beers are gone. Never fear, we have been stocking up for the last two months, and have a few to bring you. This one, however, was a nice surprise in a recent trade, as it is not distributed to Ohio, and it is a fantastic pumpkin beer. We enjoyed it when we were in Illinois a couple years ago to move my dad out here.

Pouring a deep amber, almost garnet color, the chill haze has now lifted and a bit of off-white head still remains atop my beer. The aroma is liquid pumpkin pie, with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, brown sugar, and pumpkin wafting into my nose. Oh, but wait, this is so much better than the aroma! This a beer in which the pumpkin shines. You can tell Schlafly does not skimp on the pumpkin in this, as it hits you first and stands ahead of the spices in the beer. The pumpkin hits you first, then the cinnamon, and the clove and nutmeg wait until the pumpkin is done playing on your tongue before making their appearance. There is a decent bite from the alcohol (8%) at the very end. The aftertaste is almost like one of those cinnamon disk candies. This is fairly well carbonated, and soft enough to make me wonder whether there is some lactose in here, and there is almost a creamy flavor to it.

This is a wonderful example of a pumpkin beer. I tend to enjoy them, but I know several connoisseurs who do not. I would challenge them to try this, widely regarded as one of the better pumpkin beers on the market, to see if this could be a game-changer.

4.6/5 caps

-Jennie

After a rough day at work, my initial game plan was just to get stupid drunk off massive amounts of high ABV, cheap swill (read: FUCK MY LIVER! IT'S FORTIES NIGHT!). I decided against this preliminary thought, as there was the opportunity to enjoy good beer and review. Well, so here we are, after a rough day, opening the Frank Turner cd I ordered off Amazon, plugging it in and listening to it while, once again, staring at a computer screen. As if I didn't get enough of the staring at a screen for 8 gruesome hours today. It's funny to think that the thing that makes you feel shackled can also be a form of release and freedom.

I gave Jennie the opportunity to review this first while still getting my bearings about my day. Since then, this has had time to warm up. This has zero chill haze now, with a rich amber, light garnet color. This has a small amount of the off-white head still lingering around, much like the work day lingers, only the off-white head is welcome in my world. The nose on this at this point is your pumpkin pie spices, but you can actually smell pumpkin in this (unlike most that just seem to be the spices). There's something almost creamy about the aroma, as weird as that may sound. Also, welcome hints of booze. Whoa... The flavor on this... It's like eating a good homemade pumpkin pie. Pumpkin still predominant at this point with a nice blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove; none of which over power the other flavors. Faint hints of brown sugar and cream make themselves known at first, but only for a short amount of time, much like a limited run of your favorite sandwich at a fast-food restaurant, gone too soon. Nice full mouthfeel like you just took a bite of pumpkin pie, to boot. I get where Jennie said the back end is like the cinnamon hard candies. I also see where she said the ABV is noticed. Neither are deterrents from this beer  for me despite my 'eh' feeling toward cinnamon flavored things; gum, liquor, graham crackers, candy.

If were were scoring this through a BJCP score sheet, this would have the check mark of "I would pay money for this beer" in the Drinkability section.

4.6/5 caps

-Nathan-

Food Pairing: Pumpkin Ravioli in a sage cream sauce
Cheese Pairing: Butterkasse
Music Pairing:  "This is Halloween" (from The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack)

Toppling Goliath PseudoSue

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Tonight we delve into a beer sent to us from Iowa, not available outside of Iowa and a few locations in Wisconsin. Lucky bastards. This is a highly touted beer from a brewery that just medaled at GABF a week and a half ago. Reading the comments on Toppling Goliath's website, as well as the high praise that our beer trade partner has continuously lavished, I'm definitely excited. I also noted that it received a perfect score of 100 on BeerAdvocate. I typically ignore BA as I find that so many contributors and "The Bros" tend to be condescending beer snobs who borderline on the intolerable. For them to give a beer a 100, though, I know I'm in for a world-class treat that is deserving of its cult following.

We intended to review this the other night in a horizontal tasting with Seventh Son's Humulus Nimbus. Shit happened, our awesome neighbor showed up and hung out for the evening, and writing just doesn't happen as much as it should then. When this arrived in the mail and was dug from the bottom of the very well-insulated box, I actually squealed. I explained to my seven-year-old that beer mail is the equivalent of Christmas morning for adults. This beauty is an American pale ale that is single-hopped with Citra, which, if you've been paying attention, is one of our favorite hops. The expectation and anticipation are both extraordinarily high for this beer. I realized this evening that I would be so very disappointed if I were to contract ebola before I got to taste this (too soon?). So, without further ado, let's get to it already!

This pours a medium golden straw color that is moderately hazy with a smallish white head. We need to presently discuss this aroma. I wonder if it's possible to swim in a smell, because that is exactly what I want to do. My nose is seduced in the most pleasant manner imaginable with grapefruit, mango, an almost lemony citrus, and light cracker. The aroma is straight-up sensual, like an understated vixen on a sultry summer night. You feel yourself being pulled into this beer. Even if you wanted to (and why, oh, why would you??? If that thought even crossed your mind, you are not someone with whom I want to commingle). Taking a sip, I realize that this is the quintessential showcase of Citra hops I have ever encountered (take note, Zombie Dust). It's like I just bit into a giant, juicy lychee fruit at first, then my palate is overcome with freshly zested grapefruit, a hint of spruce tips, and a finishing punch of grapefruit. Yet it is exemplary for the style, with none of the flavors overwhelming, and it shows itself to be a perfectly balanced beer. You know there is a solid malt backbone, but it's so mild that the hops shine. The mouthfeel on this is soft yet well-carbonated, not overly sticky but with just enough to leave you wanting more.

Quick, while Nathan isn't looking, I'm going to sneak his portion.

We received another beer from Toppling Goliath in the trade, and I'm very much looking forward to it. This beer is a game-changer. Well made, I look forward to drinking every last one of their beers. Suddenly, a trip to my home state of Iowa is in short order.

5/5 caps

-Jennie

After wrestling Jennie away from my portion of this (joking, or am I), I jettisoned back to the computer in a stealthy haste in order to enjoy my portion. Jennie has a glimmer in her eye for this beer. It's a glimmer I once saw for me, but now, nearly 5 years later, I don't get the same glimmer from her, no. Sadly the sparks died years ago and the only shining that emanates from her eyes now is for fantastic beers. I wish I was a beer.

So, as she-who-will-most-likely-leave-me-for-this-beer stated, this pours a gorgeous color, medium straw. Mine has had time to warm up while she pined and tried to woo this brew, but there is still about a finger of white head floating on top, taunting me, reminding me "I got your girl, fool!" The aroma on this 50 IBU, 5.8% ABV, girlfriend stealing beer is amazing. Lemon, mango, lychee, and light biscuit. I'm starting to understand Jennie's lust over this as I take my first sip. Juicy lychee, like biting straight into a lychee. If you're unfamiliar with lychee fruits, go to the Asian section of any good store (or even an Asian grocery store) and pick up a can. After the fantastic lychee flavor starts to mellow out, my old friend grapefruit makes an appearance, riding off with me into the sunset. Fuck. I think I might leave Jennie for this beer. I get it now. This is smooth drinking with a nice finish. Fuck. Yeah.... I'm going to go pack a bag right now and move to the brewery. I'll live among the grain bags; undetected in the day, sneaking fresh bottles of this at night. Eventually, I'll grow and beard and walk among the brewers unbeknownst to them that I am a stow away.

5/5 caps

-Nathan-

Music pairing: The Lemonheads' cover of "Mrs. Robinson"
Food pairing: Sticky Burger (bacon cheese burger with grilled onion and peanut butter)
Cheese pairing: A non-smoked gouda

Seventh Son Humulus Nimbus

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So to start off, yes, we've quasi-previously reviewed this at the Fiery Foods Fest back in February. With the palate shot then after a still-memorable inferno pizza, I don't believe we did justice to the 6% ABV, 53 IBU fantastic brew. It's still shocking to me that we haven't done as many local breweries as we should, as we have a fantastic brewing community that gets along all while producing fantastic brew. We've met a good portion of the professional brewing community here in town and I cannot speak ill of any of them. They're all good people and there's no animosity between any of them. To quote Frank Turner, "Colleges and friends condensed with a smile, yeah, but this is my culture, man, this is my home." The community is another reason I want to quit my factory life and get into the brewing scene. Even helping out different breweries with festivals or canning/bottling days, they treat their customers like they are part of their family.

So tonight, we thoroughly review a highly touted local beer; soon, we get into a highly touted brew that we obtained in a beer trade (Matt, we had every intention of getting to it tonight, I swear!). Seventh Son's website has this:
"A pale golden ale that is both super crisp and super hop forward with a refreshing mouthfeel and a summer friendly 6% abv. Mosaic & simcoe hops lend tart blueberry and fragrant pine to a pleasingly bitter dandelion finish. We wanted the hops to be the star in this seasonal offering taking its name from both the hop plant, Humulus Lupulus, and its light color and cloud-like feel, nimbus."

The color is, well, a perfect golden color. Good carbonation, leaving a nice white, foamy head that sticks around. The aroma on this.... yeah. Their website nailed most of it with blueberry and pine. I'm also picking up notes of almost mango-like notes. Amazing aroma.  The flavor on this is a wild trip of what you got in the nose, plus a whole lot more. It starts off with the blueberry, mango combo, and kicks in with some orange, all with a juicy blast that quenches your thirst. Midway through, there's some bitterness that starts to appear, with some faint earthy notes giving way to the pine notes that take hold at this moment, faint tea notes come through for a second. The hop stickiness is definitely making itself noticed by the time you get to the finish, which I will argue with their website's description. You get the dandelion in the finish, but there's so much more. The tropical fruits make a reappearance along with some faint grapefruit and orange notes. This finishes sticky from the hops. I don't really get much malt flavor from this throughout the entire thing. It's a great showcasing of the hops without overdoing it. Colin and Max rock.

4.8/5 caps

-Nathan-

Mmmmm. Mosaic hops, currently at the top of my hops list (no worries, Simcoe is on that list, too). They lend such a lovely, complex note to each beer to which they are lovingly added. At the North Market Microbrew Festival, I recall immediately identifying them in the flavor profile of a couple of IPAs (Truth from Rhinegeist and Musk of the Minotaur from Hoof Hearted come to mind, as well as a fantastic offering from Wolf's Ridge). Funny, as often as I have had this extra(ordinary!) pale ale, I have never picked up on Mosaic in here. It's most definitely time to remedy that.

Also, let me just mention how much I love Seventh Son's Seventh Son American Strong Ale. It's hoppy, yet lovely and just enough boozy. It was their flagship, and how I fell in love with Seventh Son.

As Nathan so well described, this pours a perfect golden color, with just a slight haze (and this has been sitting awhile). In the aroma, I pick up more grapefruit, but yet it's also blueberry and piney, with just a hint of mango and cracker. I am completely in love with this aroma. I want to swan dive into it. Alas, as my human form will not fit into a pint glass, let's reverse engineer this and force it into my body, instead of the other way around. Taking a sip, I would swear there were fresh grapefruit peel in here (proper subjunctive, bitches). Eh, fuck it, Nathan's description of it perfectly describes the roller coaster in your mouth, so go re-read his portion (if you have even made it thus far). Plus grapefruit zest. And just a hint of crackery malts hanging around in the back end. This is also perfectly carbonated, and leaves such a happy feeling in my mouth that I can't help but smile with each sip.

Do you remember the image of Snoopy doing his happy dance? That is what this beer evokes from me. Every happy moment I have had in my life flashes before my eyes as I drink this.

4.999999/5 caps

-Jennie

Food Pairing: Barbecued chicken, Wargoland style.
Cheese Pairing: Irish cheddar -- and this part is important -- on a Dill Triscuit
Music Pairing: "I Am Disappeared" Frank Turner (yeah. I know, I talk a lot about Frank Turner, but seriously, go listen to his music!)