New Albion Brewing Co. New Albion Ale

I've seen this quite often in stores and have been rather intrigued by it, purely for the name. I went to Albion College (MI), so seeing this in stores provoked some kind of vague fond reminiscence of my college days. It's funny how my college life has followed me to Columbus... a couple of former roommates moved here (although each of our lives have diverged), my child's pediatrician was in my graduating class (Dr. Shari Burns; she's awesome if you have little ones), and one of my dear friends here in town has been doing the brand identity for my alma mater. And now I find this in my local Kroger. I've always said that Columbus is the biggest small town anywhere, as it is 1 1/2 degrees of separation, at most. Will this be the beer to prove my theory?

New Albion Brewing is regarded as the first American craft brewery of the modern era, founded in 1976 and dissolved in 1982. Somewhere since then, Boston Beer Company (you probably know them better as Sam Adams) bought the rights and started brewing and widely distributing New Albion Ale in January 2013. I'm excited to see how it tastes.

It pours a very light orange color with an off-white head, semi-cloudy in the glass with some chill haze. The nose yields some citrusy, pineapple-y hop aromas and mild malt presence. Those are barely noticeable when you actually taste it. It's a very mild beer, highly carbonated, with an extraordinarily clean finish. I don't find it to be remotely offensive. It's a solid American pale ale, fairly safe for Sam Adams to produce, yet it does evoke the recent revival in American craft beer. This may quickly become a staple in my fridge.

And your trivia for the night: Albion means "England" in Old English. The language, not that crap malt liquor that still makes me retch a little in my mouth when I just think about it.

4.2/5 caps. Bonus points for the name.

-Jennie

I get more piney out of the hops in the nose. The taste is mild, as Jennie stated, but yet drinkable. The finish is clean and smooth, almost finishing like a lager. Not a bad selection and seriously makes me rethink what I previously thought of Boston Beer's selections.

4.1/5 caps

-Nathan-

Elevator Dark Horse

Ah... Dark Horse. Another fantastic selection from Elevator.

Now, let me give you a little history about myself. This was one of 2 beers that turned me into the craft beer drinker that I am today. I was a younger version of the maniacal tool I am now, and was fed up with drinking crap. I tasted this and Flying Dog's Doggie Style (review yet to come) and it made me realize that not all beer has to be crap. And because of that, we decided to make this our 60th beer review.

This beer changed my view on lagers forever. It opened my eyes that there are lagers that can be fantastic. This doesn't pour light yellow. No, my fellow freak, this pours a dark coppery color (when held up to light, in a dimly lit room, it's black) that light barely passes through. But, yet, the head is a very light color that doesn't stick around. The aroma has tones of hazelnut, chocolate and malty goodness. The taste. Oh, Sweet Jesus, the taste. Take a nut brown ale, add some cocoa notes,  and some roasted notes. All of a sudden, it's gone, it's down your throat with a perfectly clean finish. There is a reason this took Bronze in 2007 at the Great American Beer Festival.

The 5.3 % ABV does not get noticed. What does get noticed is the AMAZING flavor from this. This got a 3-nod and eye-brow lift from Phil. That's very good for a Phil review.

As always, we have to show our appreciation to Dick and Vic at Elevator, and this beer is a great example of their exemplary contributions to the brewing world. Go, pick up a six pack. If you're not in the Columbus, Ohio area, travel here. It's worth it for this brew.

5/5 caps

-Nathan-

Hehehehe he said "maniacal tool."

I don't have much to add. When it warms a bit, I get more of a citrusy aroma in the nose. It's like a porter that has been blended with the lightness and clean finish of a lager. Eminently drinkable, it, too, has spoiled me in my opinion of lagers. Well played, Dick and Vic. Well played.

Seriously, if you don't live here, get a ticket to Columbus and taste this fantastic beverage.

4.5/5 caps

-Jennie

Burger Classic

Ahhh, Burger Classic (sorry, I have no idea how to do the umlauts to make it proper). After a day of chasing a bored 14-year-old and an overly lively 5-year-old because he got a bunch of quality time with said 14-year-old, you occasionally need to just get your beer buzz on early in the day. Clearly, this was one of those days. It was barely noon when I cracked one open.

Burger Classic is made by Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Co. out of Cincinnati. It's an American pale lager. Don't judge. Those boys wore me out today, with mine waking the entire household up at 6:00 a.m. Let's just say I'm already plotting revenge for when he's a teen and dying to sleep in on a Saturday morning. Like I said, sometimes you just need to get your beer buzz on early, and you don't want to waste it on a high-cost beer. This is your perfect solution.

It pours a clear, medium golden color with a white head. It dissipates quickly and leaves little lacing on the glass. The nose is a bit malty, and the first sip contains some sweet grain flavor. There really isn't much more to it. I think it's the lack of anything else that impresses me with this beer. There's no offensive aftertaste, unlike I get with most mass-produced American adjunct lagers. This is a very clean-tasting brew, and one I can down quickly and numerously. There are some noticeable light hop additions to it, but nothing overwhelming.

For the category and for the price, at $5.99 a 12-pack, it's a frequent inhabitant of our refrigerator when we can find it. The Kroger we shop at most often stopped carrying it, but we've picked it up at many other Krogers, as well as the Meijer around the corner from us. It's one of our favorite beers to take to Wargoland, which I also fondly refer to as my summer cottage (our friends' house with an awesome pool and great back yard).

3.25/5 caps

-Jennie

The first time I had this was a friend's bachelor party back in 2011. We stopped by Whitey's Discount Liquor (trustworthy name, eh?) and decided to get some cheap beer for some pre-gambling drinking. We picked up this $6 12-pack, thinking it would be cheap swill to play drinking games with. Well, low cost, yes. Cheap, no. Around my circle of friends, Burger is known as the best 'broke beer'.  And what makes it so good?
-Well for one, it has flavor for being a cheap beer. There are tones of light hops and malt. It finishes clean and doesn't leave you wondering what bet you lost with Karma for you to be stupid enough to purchase, let alone, drink whatever swill (Natty Ice).
-The cost is cheaper than most American piss lagers. It won't break your bank to get some taste.
-This is the only beer where you can say you're drinking your sandwich.

I can't really think of anything else to say about this aside from, check it out when you see a 12-pack.

3.3/5 caps

-Nathan-

Elevator Brewing Co. Mogabi

Ahhh, Elevator Brewing. We're a little partial to them since we filmed our pilot (yes, still in production) with them. I have to admit, I fell a little in love with Dick, the owner -- he's warm, charming, and loves his beer. And he puts out good stuff. This is their hoppy wheat, which has become something of a trend over the last year or so, and I credit Dick (and Vic, the head brewer) with setting this trend, as I've been familiar with it for several years. The bad news is, if you're not around the Columbus, Ohio, area, you probably don't know Elevator, as they self-distribute. If you get a chance, trade for some or ship some illegally. Wait, don't do that.... I can't, in good Juris Doctorly conscience suggest that you do that. Instead, book a flight here and check them out.

Mogabi quickly became one of my favorite brews from Elevator as soon as I puts its liquid goldiness to my lips. It pours a semi-hazy medium orange with a lovely off-white head that leaves a lovely lacing on the glass. The nose is pure floral, citrusy hops. The taste is the perfect combination of wheat and hoppiness. The wheat really smooths out the feel on the tongue as the carbonation dances down my throat. There are some earthy tones on the back side that I really don't mind.

This is probably my quintessential brew from Elevator. We'll get to Nathan's in a bit, we've mentioned that our friend Jimmy's favorite IPA is theirs, and this weekend we'll be torturing our tongues with their Ghost Scorpion Lager -- the hottest beer in the world -- at Fiery Foods Fest at North Market. Last year it left my mouth on fire for a full hour. I'm pretty sure the CIA is begging Dick for the recipe to use against American foes. But for me, Mogabi is what I would love to have in my hand if I were stranded in the eponymous desert.

4.6/5 caps

-Jennie

Wow. I have really don't have much to add to this. Fiery Fest is also going to feature a Chipotle Nut Brown ale and 3 Hot Frogs (Three Frogs done with Jalepeno, Cayenne and Habanero peppers), both from Elevator.  Dick has admitted to us that he's a closet chili head, so I can't wait to try these Sunday. And actually, shipping beer or wine across state lines is completely legal as long as it's an individual to another individual, with no intent of sale, and using a private carrier (post service is out, UPS and FedEx count as private carriers).  But back to this beer.

Hoppy awesomeness. I was weary of trying this for the longest time, as I hadn't acquired a taste for many wheat beers. When I finally tried this, I couldn't stop drinking this. Yet another Fanfuckingtastic product from Dick and Vic.  Go, stop reading, and purchase some. If you're not in the Central Ohio region, we could possibly set up a trade for other good regional beers that we can't get in Ohio. Message us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BehindTheTap

4.6/5 caps

-Nathan

Smuttynose IPA

Smuttynose is out of New Hampshire. This is a 6.9% ABV, 75 IBU IPA that is heavy with the Simcoe, Santiams and Amarillo hops. Let's hope it lives up to the description.

The pour is a hazy golden color, with a light white head. The aroma is very faint however. I pick up some citrusy notes and some lighter malt tones, while trying my best to pick up tones. The taste is disappointing. It's a light flavor of nothingness (the occasional hint of citrus about the 4th sip in) on the front with tons of bitter on the back that lingers. Being a hophead, this is a huge letdown.

Let's choke through this and get to something else to wash this taste out of my mouth.

1.5/5 caps (after it warmed up a bit)

-Nathan-

Um, I think that was a little harsh.... but not completely off-target. I've had a couple of other Smuttynose beers, including Big A IPA (their Imperial IPA), and I've yet to be blown away or even more than mildly impressed. There are some very faint citrusy notes in the nose and perhaps a bit of caramel. The first sip yields the same mild citrus notes, little to no malt presence, and not as much hop presence as I would like for an allegedly 75 IBU brew. I have to agree it's a letdown, but I won't lambast it quite as badly as Nathan did.

Seriously, there's Simcoe in here? I almost get Cascade, as there's a more earthy presence on the back end.

But because one of my besties JUST got engaged to another of my besties (literally, got the pic of the ring while we were writing the review), I'm probably going to be a little generously biased:

2.8/5 caps

-Jennie

Lost Coast Tangerine

Another fruit beer. Don't judge: I'm a girl, after all. This is another offering from Lost Coast, out of California. (If you'll recall, we reviewed their Indica previously.) Tangerine is proclaimed to be a, you guessed it, tangerine wheat beer.

This pours a hazy medium orange with a very light, white head. The nose is almost like peeling a Cutie at Christmas.... you know what I'm talking about, the little Clementine oranges. The label says that it's made with natural flavors, and the nose doesn't betray that claim. Yet the tangerine aromas don't overwhelm the beer... they're very noticeable, but not what I would call overwhelming. The first sip is pretty balanced between fruit and malt, with not much hop presence noticed. Although it's not cloyingly sweet, by any means, it is well carbonated and almost resinous feeling in the mouth.

 At 5.0% ABV, this would be a great refresher on a hot summer day. Or if you like your beer (and some orange juice) for breakfast. This is a fairly solid offering from Indica, although I'd say if you don't like citrus, avoid it.

3.8/5 caps

-Jennie

I really have nothing to add to this aside from the flavor, to me, is like a orange creamsicle. Nice, light bodided beer, that's tasty and refreshing on a hot day.

3.6/5 caps

-Nathan-

Magic Hat Ticket To Rye IPA

Another selection from Magic Hat. Available in their spring sampler (and in six packs as part of their 'IPA on Tour' series).  Love Magic Hat. Again, we some of the first to review this- 15 reviews on Ratebeer and 22 reviews on BeerAdvocate.

The pour is a beautiful amber color, medium lighter, off white head. The nose is hops, citrusy and some floral tones, with some spice and light malt. The first sip is interesting, and not a bad 'that's interesting' sort of way. The rye and hops blend perfectly in a awesome muddle of happiness. There are sweeter tones, toward the middle, with a slightly sticky, resiny finish with some lingering bitterness. The 7.1% ABV is not really noticed in the flavor, but it leaves an amazing lace on the glass. As this warms up a bit, the rye comes out more, and there are tones almost like candied sugar or brown sugar. Very tasty and out of the normal realm of IPAs I enjoy.

Overall, another solid selection from one of my favorite go-to breweries.


4.1/5 caps

-Nathan-

I picked up some caramel and toffee tones in the nose, with some bready malts. I love the spiciness that rye brings to the beeriodic table. I'm just grateful they don't add caraway (not a fan of rye bread, but love some rye beer). Other than that, Nathan pretty much nailed it on the head. It's a solid offering from a typically solid brewery. Perhaps not my favorite of the style, but it's very well-done for being a little bit bigger brewery.

4/5 caps

-Jennie