Here is another batch of beer reviews. More to come eventually.
Jolly Pumpkin La Roja
I found this one at Champane’s on my last trip to Michigan. They had many different brews from Jolly Pumpkin, and many of them were listed as spiced ales. I decided on this one due to the description. On the label it says that it’s a “deep amber with earthy caramel, spice and sour fruit notes developed through natural barrel aging.” I don’t know if I got a bad bottle, but this was a HUGE disappointment. All I got was sour. It literally tasted like really sour red wine. It had a great head and even gave off a lot of Brussels lace. But I couldn’t finish the bottle. Given the reviews on BeerAdvocate and my tastes, I am figuring I got a bad bottle.
Unibroue Terrible
For those of you that are beer snobs like me, you know that this beer’s name is an oxymoron. Some of the names of their beers have stories behind them. I couldn’t find anything about this one. But to more important things, it’s a Belgium strong dark ale with a nice amount of fruitiness, mostly mild, along with some maltiness. It reminded me a whole lot of Unibroue’s Trois Pistoles, though less spiced, which also happens to be one of my all-time favorite beers.
Okocim Porter
My Uncle Steve alerted me to this one at Champane’s. It’s from Poland, and the price was very cheap. It turned out to be a very nice porter. The smoky, roasted malt taste was really nice. It wasn’t too heavy, but quite prominent. And though a bit high on the alcohol content, it didn’t taste that way. As I said, it’s a really nice porter that I would certainly buy again.
Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale
The name honestly caught my eye. It appears they brew this one only once a year, and when the month, day, and year match numerically. This was a strange beer. It started out very, very complex. There were so many flavors assaulting me. Roasted malts with spice and fruits, and so many that it was hard to tell what was what. But as I got closer to the end of the bottle, the fruits and spices disappeared. Then it was mostly roasted malts, but some chocolate started to present itself. I would like to try this one again and see if I get the same results.
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