BEER #11: TROEGS NUGGET NECTAR

The eleventh beer I chose to film was Troegs Nugget Nectar. Everyone into craft beer has had this one. Probably the best taste for the value of any beer. The only problem with this one is it only comes out once a year around the beginning of February.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BEER: The hops are great. The aroma is outstanding with citrus, pine and grapefruit hop notes. There is some malt in the background of the nose that balances out one of the best smelling beers there is. The taste continues the great hop presence of this beer. Lots of fruit, citrus, pine and earthy notes. The beer itself is good looking with a nice creamy head and thick lacing left behind. The amber color suits the ale very well. The mouthfeel also suits the beer with medium carbonation and body.

Even after having a ton of IIPAs and hop-bombs, this beer is just a bit too bitter. If the bitterness was tuned down just a tiny bit, this beer would be more drinkable and taste almost perfect, IMO.


FINAL GRADE: 4.45 / 5 = A (for excellent smell, great smell and taste, good mouthfeel and drinkability)

BEER#10: DIEU DU CIEL APHRODISIAQUE

The tenth beer I chose to film was Dieu Du Ciel Aphrodisiaque. I did not get to try this one last year when I was in Montreal. It sounded so good, a stout brewed with vanilla and cocoa. About a year later, this beer started to be bottled and shipped to the USA. Aphrodite was the name in the USA and this beer started to get hyped up. I came across a few bottles as soon as I could and found out what I had missed up in Canada. This is truly the best beer I have made a video for, so far.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BEER: Everything. As you can see it pours out pitch black with a very big, creamy dark tan head. The head stays there like whipped cream and leaves very nice lacing on the way down. These characteristics are exactly what I look for in dark beers. This was the second or third time around for me on this beer. The smell and taste have certainly improved since last time, causing me to bump up my grade a bit. Both the smell and taste epitomize what vanilla and chocolate should be doing in a beer. Especially the vanilla. The roasted malts make for a nice background to the two but doesn't compete. The vanilla and cocoa play back and forth so well, it is almost like twist ice cream, but way better! This is one a few stouts (especially non-Imperial Stouts) that makes me think I am having dessert. Earthy hops help round out a flavor that is near perfection. The beer is expensive in the USA but not in Canada. If I could bring like 100 cases back from Canada, I would. It would be the best dark session beer of all time.

The one nitpick I have about this beer. The mouthfeel could use a bit more body and creaminess. If this beer had a creamy body, I would probably think it was some sort of dessert. It would truly be a perfect stout.

FINAL GRADE: 4.9 / 5 = A+ (for excellent look, smell, taste, drinkability and good mouthfeel)

BEER#9: TERRAPIN RYE SQUARED

The ninth beer I chose to film was Terrapin Rye Squared. I took a trip to Philadelphia a few weeks back and this was one of the many beers I brought back with me. The Philly are had so much good beer to choose from but it seems I got a few great examples from Bell's and Terrapin as well as Russian River and Hair of the Dog.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BEER: The smell and taste (most importantly) of this beer were great. I was expecting a hop bomb, didn't get one but was not disappointed in the least at what I did get. Smell has a huge caramel/buttery malt aspect to it with some earthy and citrus hops in the background. Grapefruit and citrus peels come to mind. Further into the aroma I get huge whiff of rye/breadiness that is nice. Some alcohol comes off this one in a nose of good strength and complexity. The taste is much of the same, a great balance of many flavors. The caramel/buttery malt is massive and rye/bread comes through with it. The rye is almost spicy to me and adds a nice element. Citrus peel and earthy hops are good, some grassy notes in there as well. The hops lend a very nice level of bitterness. A tiny bit of alcohol comes through and makes this one like a Barleywine/Old Ale. This beer also felt way more than 8.5%, which was pretty cool.

Not much to say here. The caramel flavor could have been toned down a bit and the beer would have been perfect. In the opposite direction, a bit more flavor hops would have gave the same effect. The looks could have improved with a head that had better size and retention but it seems like nitpicking at this point.

FINAL GRADE: 4.3 / 5 = A (for great taste and smell, and good mouthfeel, looks and drinkability)

BEER#8: GREAT DIVIDE HERCULES DOUBLE IPA

The eighth beer I chose to film was Great Divide Hercules Double IPA. I have seen this one around a bunch of times and decided to buy it when I found a very fresh bottle of it. Most Double IPAs are very hoppy now but this one was a surprise and had some barleywine-like characteristics. Not what I expected but a great beer either way.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BEER: A great looking beer. The amber-red beer has a head that has extreme retention and creamy/frothy texture. An insane amount of lace was left on the glass as the head dies down. The smell was good but the taste was great. Both had barleywine aspects and notes of high malts. The hops were citrus and earthy with good bitterness and even some tea and grassy hints to them. Not a hop-bomb but who cares with such a good malt backbone.

Alcohol is present in the nose and was somewhat undesirable. The taste could have used a tiny bit more hops but was great nonetheless. A thicker mouthfeel would have been perfect but the mouthfeel was nice and creamy and had a good level of carbonation. The price was decent for the quality of a pretty big beer that should probably be taken one glass at a time.

FINAL GRADE: 4.4 / 5 = A (for fantastic looks, great taste, and good mouthfeel, smell and drinkability)

BEER#7: PORTSMOUTH IMPERIAL PORTER

The seventh beer I chose to film was Portsmouth Imperial Porter. I picked up a growler of this on Kate the Great Day because I missed out on bottles of KtG. I didn't do a green screen effect on this one because I was homebrewing at the time of filming. I think it came out pretty nice this way and may do more like this in the future.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BEER: Overall it was a solid Baltic porter. The ABV was hidden very well and it had most of the nice aspects of a porter. The taste and smell both had good notes of nice roast malt, cocoa, earthy hops and fruit notes. I really liked the mouthfeel which was very creamy and also a bit warm and bitter. It certainly went down smoothly for a 9%ABV ale.

The appearance was nice but the head could use a bit more size and retention. The nose definitely was a bit weak (strength wise) and was hard to pick up after a while. The beer also seemed a tiny bit less than an Imperial Porter, it tasted and felt more like a regular porter to me (a bit too smooth maybe).

FINAL GRADE: 3.95 / 5 = B+ (for great mouthfeel, good taste, looks and drinkability)

BEER#6: FULLERS ESB

The sixth beer I chose to film was Fullers ESB. I have had this beer a few times and this last time I enjoyed it the most. You really gotta find the fresh ones to enjoy this one fully. I got a six pack that was about 10-11 months before the freshness date.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BEER: Taste and mouthfeel were great. The taste is a nice balance of very good, somewhat-caramelly malts with a nice laid-back fruity/earthy/citrus hop profile. The bitterness is low and helps create one of the better malt/hop balances I have experienced. The medium body and moderately high carbonation back up the flavor almost perfectly for a very smooth mouthfeel. It is highly drinkable due to the above aspects as the taste seems to stay the same throughout several of these.

I really wouldn't change much here. The price is great for an import. A bit of creaminess to the mouthfeel would make it outstanding but that is nitpicking. The looks could use better head retention and lacing but are still good. The smell was nice but could have used a bit more strength.

FINAL GRADE: 4.3 / 5 = A (for great taste, mouthfeel and drinkability, good aroma and looks)

BEER#5: FOUNDERS CENTENNIAL IPA

The fifth beer I chose to film was Founders Centennial IPA. I have really enjoyed the Founders beer line so far and ad high hopes going into this one. This one is made year-round and since it is a hoppy beer I tried to find the freshest possible bottles of it. The bottle I had was made on 12/14/09, still fresh.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BEER: Looks are the best part of the beer in this case. The extremely frothy head seemed to stand still in time but leave blankets of lacing behind. Smell and taste were good, both pretty much had a decent dose of earthy, floral and fruity hops. Hop bitterness is pretty much spot on. The malt was surprisingly pronounced for a balancing backbone. Drinkability is good because of the good price and pretty good taste. Alcohol (7.20%) well hidden.

Some things I thought could use changing. The hops fade in the flavor and aroma to leave the beer with a heavy orange peel and caramel malt characteristic. In the end, the beer gets kind of bland. The carbonation is a bit low and the body itself feels sort of watery.

FINAL GRADE: 3.75 / 5 = B (for excellent looks, pretty good taste, aroma and drinkability)