Summit Winter Ale

Why I tried this: Once again, this is another beer that Jackie gave me. I was pretty happy to see it since typically I am a fan of winter ales, especially the Sam Adams one. When the bottle opened I could not wait to try Summit's version.

Smell: Caramel and a slight roasted malt scent. A pleasant smell.

Taste: Floral and earthy hop flavor as I would typically expect. The hops are not at all overpowering and make this beer very pleasant to drink. There is a slight roasted caramel malt flavor that blends together nicely with the hops. There is a slight spice flavor but this beer is a very smooth easy drinker. I wouldn't mind one of these at all right now.




This beer receives a quarter filled pint rating. I did enjoy this beer very much and it was very smooth however this beer is not something that I would go out of my way to look for. If I saw it on a menu I would possibly order it depending on what else was on the menu. At a place like World of Beer I probably wouldn't get this again but somewhere with only 10-15 beers I'm sure I absolutely would. Its smooth delicious flavor is what earns it a quarter pint left. A great winter ale for sure.




--Jon

Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale

Why I tried this: It was a Tuesday, and a fine day out. I was perusing the bottles section while discussing Cigar City brewery with my buddy Dave. I was telling him I had had the Jose Marti Porter and didn't much care for it. He asked if I had tried their Maduro Brown Ale. I had not, and he insisted it was pretty good, so I ordered it.

Smell: Just like a brown ale should, earthen and malty. Nothing too exciting.

Taste: Wow. Not what I was expecting at all. This is not your average brown ale. It starts with a malty flavor that is roasted, tasting more like a porter than a brown. A sweetness of chocolate then hits. The entire sip is insanely smooth. I literally felt like I was drinking velvet.

This beer gets an empty glass from me, no questions asked. Cigar City, a local Florida brewery, has hit a home run. I never expected a brown ale to taste so dark and sweet. The balance was just simply incredible. And the smoothness...that really tops it off. Get this ale.

--Jeff

Dunedin N2 Stout

Why I tried this: While Browsing the menu at World of Beer I came across I new stout that I hadn't tried yet so I decided to give it a shot. In addition to looking like a tasty stout it was also from Florida.

Smell: Taking a sniff of this beer was as expected for the most part. Dark malt scent with a very strong coffee malt scent. The coffee smell was much stronger then expected.

Taste: This beer tastes almost exactly as it smells. You get the flavor of dark malts and then the coffee flavor comes in, takes over, and pretty much keeps punching you in the face. I like coffee so this was pretty enjoyable however I do look for more than that in a beer. If you are a coffee junky you will probably enjoy this beer.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this beer a 7.5. This beer was pretty good and drinkable but I do look for a little more depth in my beer then just a strong coffee flavor. Would I get this again? Probably not. If I went to a bar and there were only one or two other stouts on tap I may end up getting this but there are plenty of stouts Id rather drink instead of this.

--Jon

I had a few sips of this and found it to be very similar to a Guinness, but with a more pronounced coffee tone to it. Didn't quite like that, since I'm not a fan of coffee. I'd rate it a 6.5/10.

--Jeff

Tripel Karmeliet

Why I tried this: By now some of the bartenders are getting to know us pretty well. One of the bartenders we get pretty often is named Logan. I asked him to recommend a beer to me and after a short discussion about Belgian beer Tripel Karmeliet is what he came back with. He told me it was one of his favorites so I decided to go for it.

Smell: grainy yeasty earthy scent, not too strong, balanced and fresh

Taste: WOW! By far the best Tripel I have had to date. This beer was extremely well balanced and an extremely tasty smooth flavor all the way down. A refreshing flavor balance between a grainy flavor, slight citrusy flavor, sweetness, hops, malts and yeast. The carbonation of this beer was interesting as well and really completed the package.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this beer a 9. This beer was incredible from my first sip to the last. The depth of how well the flavors worked together was awesome. This was a great beer suggestion on Logan's part and I will absolutely be enjoying more of these in the future. Next time I run into Logan we will for sure have more discussions about more Belgian beers to try.

--Jon

Shipyard Brewer's Brown Ale

Why I tried this: I was sitting at the bar at World of Beer UCF and I had noticed they rotated this brown ale onto the draft menu. I'm a pretty big fan of brown ales, so it was a natural decision for me.

Smell: Lots of malts. Kind of hard to discern, but not overly strong notes, so that didn't help much. Was rather neutral about it, so I went on to the tasting.

Taste: This beer was rather light going down, starting off with a slightly bitter, very malty flavor. At the very end, you catch a little maple syrup. The malts didn't feel like a solid mix, and tasted overall of oak or something similar. I didn't really enjoy the taste that much.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this beer a 5. It was overly malty with little pleasing flavor, marginally balanced out by a bit of bitterness and then a very slightly sweet ending thanks to the maple. The beer was lighter in mouth feel than your typical brown ale, making it feel a bit watery. Definitely no where near a Tilburg's. Overall, fairly sub par and a bit disappointing, although not awful. I wouldn't get it again, and don't recommend bothering with it.

--Jeff

Red Brick #'s Ale

Why I tried this: No idea. Was going for random that day! An ESB wasn't exactly on the top of my lists, but what the hell, right?

Smell: It had a very light smell of various hops. There was a definite bitterness to it, but nothing overpowering. Pretty typical for an ESB.

Taste: The flavor was actually better than I expected. You get a moderate mouth full of hops, with a slight malt and bitter to balance things out. The beer is light, smooth, and fairly easy to drink. Combined with the balance of flavor, it was fairly enjoyable.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this beer a 7. I don't think I'd personally get it again, but it was a quality ESB from Red Brick. The smell was ordinary, but the taste was above average, making this beer a solid choice if you're an ESB fan. I'd recommend it if you'd like to try something different, but otherwise probably wouldn't bother with it unless someone bought you one.

--Jeff