Pizza Boy Brewing

Pizza Boy Brewing

Bean Dream - Milk Porter aged on Vanilla Beans

The color of this beer is a deep, rich brown.  The head of this beer came up about a half inch and was very fizzy.  The look of this beer reminds me of chocolate syrup, but it is not nearly as heavy.  

The aroma of this brew is pretty simple and straight forward.  It has some sweetness, a nice roasted malt, and a little cocoa.  It is not an overpowering smell, it is very subtle and pleasant.  

On the palate Bean Dream gives you a nicely balanced flavor.  The mild, and slightly fizzy carbonation leads way to a nice roasted malt, that gives way to the sweetness of the milk stout and slight flavor of the vanilla.  The beer finishes with a milk essence.  

Overall this is a pretty good beer.  It isn't amazing and boasting with flavor, but it does have a nice balanced flavor.  The sweetness of the milk Porter and flavor of the vanilla is nice.  It is definitely a beer to try.  I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

River Horse - Belgian Freeze

River Horse Brewing Co.

Belgian Freeze - Belgian Dark Ale

The color of this brew is a perfectly clear chestnut brown.  The beer pours with a medium head that is a little foamy, made up of tiny packed bubbles.  The head leaves a small ring on the edge of the glass that fades to the center of the beer.  

The aroma gives off a bready maltiness that also has a sweet molasses scent.  The notes given off are subtle, but sweet.  There is no bitterness in the aroma.  There is a mild alcohol scent to this brew as well.

The mild carbonation little tickles the tongue as you drink this beer.  The flavors come off sweet at first, giving you candied sugar, raisin, and a little breadiness.  On the backend there is a slight bite, to help cut off all the sweetness and leave to finish fairly clean.  It is not overally complex or a beer with a ton of layers.  There is a nice warming of the throat in between sips.  

Overall this is a pretty decent brew.  I think it is a good beer to drink while watching a football game, and hanging out with friends.  It is fairly strong at 8% ABV, so don't throws these back too quickly.  The aroma is pleasant, the flavors are straight forward and while it isn't an amazing beer, it is very good.  I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Iron Hill - The Great Imperial Pumpkin Ale

Iron Hill Brewery

The Great Imperial Pumpkin Ale

I am not doing a full review on this beer.  I am just letting you all know that this in probably my favorite pumpkin beer.  It has a wonderful chestnut color, it has a nice fall aroma that gives off a hint of spice and let's you know that this will be a good beer.  The flavor is balanced and amazing.  Iron hill is my go to local brewery.  If you can find one near you get some of this beer next year.  It gets a 4.95 out of 5!!!!

Baladin - Isaac

Baladin Birra - Italy

Isaac - Biere Blanche

The color of this brew is a wonderful apricot color.  The hazy beer pours with a light fizzy head the comes and goes very quickly, leaving the smallest little ring along the glass. Light passes through the beer, you can also barely make out images through it, it is kind of like a foggy window.  The color looks very enticing.

The aroma of this beer gives off powerful scents of orange and citrus.  There is barely there spice hidden in the aroma of this beer.  There is also a sugary sweetness I the aroma, no bitterness to speak of.  It smells like one of those hard orange candies I used to get growing up as a kid, and I really liked those candies.

On the palate this beer isn't as sweet as the aroma leads you to believe, but it is a sweet beer.  The carbonation is sharp and prickly.  It doesn't bother me because I think it helps to balance off the sweetness of the beer.  The flavors are definitely citrus, with a little bit of coriander.  The citrus flavors are candy like, without being overly sweet.  I notice orange, lemon and tangerine when I drink this beer.    The beer finished dry and crisp with a little lemony bite on the swallow to help manage the sweetness of the citrus.

This is a different kind of beer for me.  The carbonation is almost like that of a cheap champagne.  The color is pretty enticing, the aroma is sweet and very candy like, ion the palate this beer is sweet, crisp and just a little bit different.  Overall I like this beer.  It is more of a summer beer, but my wife got it for me a couple weeks ago, and I don't think it is a good beer to age, so I am drinking it now.  I will give this beer a 3.5 out of 5.  Definitely something different to try.  I enjoyed it.

Tries - Masters of Pimpkin

The color of this beer is a nice fall orange-brown.  It is more brown at the core, and then fades out to a nice deep coppery orange.  The beer is deep in color and hazy.  It is transparent but only barely.  The head pours out beautifully, with light, foamy bubbles that puff up, and then dissipate to leave a nice light ring around the top of the brew.

The aroma from this beer is all fall.  You get a nice light smell of pumpkin, and several spices.  There are hints of clove, cinnamon and nutmeg.  The aroma isn't overpowering. But pleasant to the nose, and draws you in to the beer.  The aroma is like a little hint of what is to come, it leaves you really wanting to taste this beer.

On the palate the mildly prickly carbonation leads you to a nice meaty pumpkin flavor on the front end of this beer.  The beer delivers a balance of spice and sweetness.  You will notice clove, cinnamon and nutmeg for the spice.  For the sweet you will get some vanilla and honey flavors.  For me the best part about this beer is there is actual pumpkin flavor.  The beer leaves a little bit of spice in the tongue as you finish the swallow.  There is not an evident maltiness or bitterness found in this beer, it just all blends together very nicely.

This might be my favorite pumpkin beer of this year.  Of course I have had some of my staple favorites, but for a beer I never had before I really like it.  The spice is nicely done on the the aroma and the palate.  I love the pumpkin and spice of this beer.  I give this beer a 4 out of 5!  A very good beer!

Liquid Hero - What The Floc

Liquid Hero Brewery

What The Floc - Double IPA

The color of this brew is a clear and rich Amber.  The transparent beer has a nice depth, even though it is a clear beer.  The head pours white and nice and foamy.  It's a light head that takes its time to go down.  

The aroma smells like sweet Christmas.  This beer gives off a nice piney smell.  The smell is like being in a Christmas tree farm.  There is a slight sweetness hiding in the background of this beer's aroma.  It's kind of a caramel smell, but not very strong.  Overall this is a pleasant smelling brew.

On the palate the smooth, mild carbonation leads the way to a beer that is more mild in flavor than it is in smell.  The piney flavor is mild on the tongue.  The caramel flavor is balanced nicely with the pine and hops.  There might be too much malt in this beer for true IPA lovers, but I feel like most double IPAs are like that. There is however a nice bitter bite left on the tongue by this beer, so you do still get a nice IPA feeling.

Overall this is a decent beer.  It's not amazing but it is drinkable.  There is not an overwhelming alcohol flavor even though it's 9.5% Abv.  The beer has decent flavor, a nice aroma, and a nice IPA finish.  I give is 3.5 out of 5.

Spring House - Big Gruesome Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout

Spring House Brewing Company

Big Gruesome Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout

The color of this beer is a deep, rich brown, that is very similar to coffee.  The head puffed up, light and fluffy.  It was a light brown in color, it was very similar to the head of an ice cream float.  The goes down slowly, and sticks around on the top of the brew for a little while.

The aroma that comes off of this beer is pretty straight forward.  I get roasted malts, slightly bitter chocolate, and peanut butter.  It's nice and well balance.  It is very enticing, it is definitely a beer with an aroma that makes you want to drink it.

On the palate the light and mildly prickly carbonation leads way to a beer that is actually fairly smooth.  The flavors of the brew don't hit you on the initial taste, but the flavors do come out.  The roasted malts are the first thing you do notice, and then the chocolate and peanut butter come out to play.  The flavors are nicely balanced, but a little bit of bitterness jumps out as you swallow.  The finish is nice and has a nice combination of flavors.

Overall this is a pretty good beer.  This aroma is nice and enticing.  On the palate is has nice flavor, but I wish it had just a little bit more.  I don't mind that the flavors kind of wait to pop, but I don't think they pop enough.  Still, it is a nice beer and worth a try.  I give it a 3.5 out of 5.