When I poured this beer it had some nice head retention.  Man, was this beer extremely pale and somewhat hazy.  It was very active in the bottle…downright spritzy. 

As far as aroma is concerned, it was slightly vinegary/lactic on the nose.  It had some nice fruity qualities intermingled with a touch of grain. 

The beer had a nice sour tart quality to it along with a slight grain taste.  The sour/tart qualities are very likely linked to the process of open fermentation that is used in the brewing process (i.e., wild yeasts find their way into the beer).   I found it to be very woody in taste and dryness.  There was also a sweet maltiness.  Have you ever had naan?  I think this beer had the quality of naan cooked in ghee.  And as odd as it is to say so, the aftertaste smacked of corn chips.  The beer was undeniably unique, and I genuinely enjoyed it.  Pick one up if and when you come across it.  Enjoy!

First, it’s been a while since I had this beer and this particular one has matured for about a year and a half.  In fact, it was bottled in April of ’07.  Jefferson’s Reserve is a quite a good bourbon on its own (especially the small batch stuff), so I was excited to drink this Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout beer.  It is made by Bluegrass Brewing.  Upon the pour, it looked nice and blackwith hints of brown coming through when held up to the light.  There was very little head retention after the beer sat for a second. 

A slightly metallic aroma was noticeable on the nose, while Bourbon vanilla, caramel, and nuts were evident.  There were also grain-driven chocolate, sweet malts, and coffee to be noticed.  A charred wood aroma also came through.

The charred wood was also slightly smoky in the taste of the beer.  All the above mentioned grain and bourbon qualities were also present in the brew.  One thing that was lacking was the sweetness that the malt presented in the nose.  I found the beer to be a little thin for a stout but still having some good taste qualities.  There was a slight dryness throughout the stout, which was especially pleasant with the dry woodiness of the beer.  There were no notable hop qualities to the beer.  I’ve had much better bourbon stouts than this, but it was still not bad at all. 

Drinking this beer with a Kristoff cigar was another matter altogether.  Let me say that the cigar picked up some wonderful bourbon qualities, which were imparted by the George T. Stagg that I flavored it with.  The cigar seemed to add a slight sweetness that intermingled wonderfully with the beer.  Of course, the cigar also made the beer seem much less dry that it was.  By way of contrast, I really enjoyed what the dryness of the cigar did for the perception of the beer.  The toastiness of the grains really pushed through the beer.  The sweet smokiness of the cigar made some nice additions to the beer, while pushing the alcohol and fruits to the front of the palate.  Wonderful experience…I bet even more with a really good beer.  I’ll let you know.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Bourbon Barreled Stouts: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Stouts ★★★☆☆ 

Appearing like liquid gold, this Ale looked delicious.  It had very very little head retention, which brewers often do with fairly strong beers.  This one weighed in at 9.5% ABV.

Seriously Bad Elf was very floral.  I was immediately taken by the aroma of hops.  Even more significantly, the beer was reminiscent of an Asti or Riesling wine.  It had touches of crisp green apples on the nose, which gave it a nice fruity aroma.  It almost smacked of perfume aromas. 

This was thick and full-bodied (almost barley winish in some respects), giving a very full mouth-feel and coating.  The green apples came through in the Ale, which was very nice with the sweetness of the brew.  Alcohol was also noticeable in the beer, which I thought added very strong hints of Gin.  There was maybe a touch of sulphur taste in the brew.  This was a lingering Ale that finished in a dry hoppy bitterness, which went well with this assertive brew.  I actually had some smoked ham (any strong smoked meat would be nice with this beer) with this Ale…delicious.

Three Floyd’s brewery

When I poured this beast, it looked very dark for a Porter; it actually looked more like a Stout.  However, this American version of an English Ale is still true to the style.  It had a deep dark body and a creamy brown head, which was very stable. 

The beer smelled hoppier than I’m used to for Porter but was still pleasant.  The hops had a slight citrusy grapefruit quality.  It smelled very roasty with a slight biscuity quality.  It had some serious dark chocolate aromas to round the smells out. 

Now for the sip.  The beer was fairly carbonated and dense, which gave it a very nice mouth-feel.  It was very roasty (think coffee) and chocolatey.  Alcohol warmth was present in the brew.  Hop-wise, the grapefruit quality came through and added a nice bitterness.  Touches of caramel were also present.  There was a long, dry, and slightly chocolate-caramel end to the brew.  I though it was very good, especially if it was left in the glass to warm up and breath for a bit.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¼ 

Among other Porters: ★★★★¼ 

Among other Ales: ★★★★☆ 

In appearance, the beer was blond with touches of orange hue.  There was a small but stable head at the beginning of the brew.  In addition, there was not a lot of activity in the glass, which means that the beer was fairly subdued. 

When I sniffed the beer, I immediately noticed touches of hay, a hop spiciness, and hints of wine fruitiness.  There were also faint hints of toffee along with sulphur in the the nose.  I found the hop aroma to be particularly nice.  A bit of sweetness was also discernible. 

Fresh green hops were immediately evident in the palate of the beer.  The hops went all the way through to the end of the brew.  Intermingled with the hops was a slight sweetness and very faint cola quality.  The beer ended in a dry grain and hops finish.

I found the hops in this Ale to be very refreshing and thoroughly enjoyed Bad Elf Winter’s Ale.  If you like British Ales with good balance, this is one for you.

Let me start this review by saying that this Ale was not my style.  Some of you may love it…you can still tell it is well-made, but I don’t like some of the flavors.  Additionally, Schlafly does make some very good Ales (like their Bourbon Barrelled beers), so don’t think that I’m being militant against the company (at least there is one company in St. Louis making good beers). 

The color was a good start on the beer, being that it was a lovely coppery-bronze.  It was very attractive and active in the bottle, which gave it a nice creamy head. 

Cloves and orange zest were very apparent in the beer, cloves more than anything else.  There really wasn’t too much going on beyond this in the beer.

Alcohol warmth was obvious upon drinking the beer.  Bitter orange zest started from the first sip to the very end; orange was certainly the most prominent quality in the beer.  The cloves were also present, which is very common in many wheat beers (despite the fact that they actually contain no cloves).  Near the end of the beer, there were notable grain notes with a finishing dryness.

Do you know when you eat that white part of the orange underneath the peel?–That was the thing that I tasted in the beer, which I didn’t like.  Like I said, some people like spiced beer…I’m not a fan if it’s too much, which I think is the case with this beer.

Looking at the color of the beer, it had a golden color with hints of Rudolph’s red nose.  The beer had a much longer, taller, and stable head than Santa’s Butt Winter Porter, which we reviewed last night.  There was a nice creamy looking head on it, which held in place very nicely. 

In the nose of the beer there was some fruitiness, which I pinpointed as apricot.  There was also a touch of alcohol aroma that co-mingled through its overt metallic notes. 

The metallic notes were also noticeable, but not overpowering, in the palate of the beer.  A medium hop level was present in the beer at a level slightly higher than the first Ridgeway beer that we tasted.  Having gotten past the wave of hops, the beer ended with a dry, grainy, and somewhat bitter finish.  There was maybe even a hint of dried nuts at the end.  

Perhaps the Porter was slightly better, but I’m often biased toward darker beers, so how good it is to you is for you to discover.  I will say that I enjoyed the beer, so you might like it, too.

The beer comes in at 6% ABV, which is perfectly fine for a Porter.  Of course there are stronger versions, notably Okocim’s version.  Santa’s Butt had very little head retention and a deep reddish-brown body.  It fit very nicely into a pint glass. 

On the nose, it had a slightly metallic, winish touch, plenty of toasted & burnt grain, and touches of chocolate.  There were also hints of honey, hops, and sweet malts. 

Along with the chocolate taste, the sweet malts translated into the palate.  Dry burnt grains  also gave off a very nice roastiness to the beer, as well as a imparting a slight dry saltine crackers-esk finish.  There was also a slight grape taste to the end of the beer. 

I enjoyed drinking this Porter.  It certainly wasn’t my favorite Porter of all time, but it was a solid display of what the style ought to be.  I don’t think that I will complain if Santa dug a little out of his butt and left it in my stocking.

Upon pouring the beer, it had a little head on it, which was sandy blond and looked fairly clean in the glass. 

It was pretty aromatic, as far as a Pilsner-style goes.  On Okocim’s website, this is called a Polish Pils Style.  It did have a light hop aroma, which is typical of many Pilsners these days (although not historically).  I noted a slight woodiness and grainy-ness in the nose, along with sweet honey overtones. 

Taste-wise, the beer had a slight alcohol taste and a nice grainy finish.  There was also a dry and slightly nutty finish to the brew.  I found the dryness particularly likable.  The honey in the nose came through in the palate of the beer, especially when it came to the yeasty aspects. 

There was nothing extremely distinctive about this beer…but something inexplicable made the beer immenently drinkable.  It is a delicious beer that you don’t have to overthink.

In the glass, there was a nice deep brownish-black, clear, and gorgeous beer.  When held up to the light, there were deep red hues.  Although there was little head retention, the head that was left was stable. 

I found the beer to be very aromatic.  There was a sweet (honey?), grainy, and slight yeast aroma to Alhambra.  Though is might sound odd to describe the beer this way, it had a somewhat coke (soda) quality to it, not only in smell but also in taste.  Not much in the way of alcohol smells.  It is only 5.4%. 

The beer drank very cleanly and had a nice roasted grain finish that was followed by a smokey dryness.  There was some perceptible yeast and caramel notes to the brew as well.  I found the beer to be extremely pleasurable and easy to drink.  Try it if you get a chance.