A Tangle of Tastings

I've tried a number of beers in the past month or so, but couldn't find the time for a decent writeup. So before I forget my impressions, I'll briefly cover a group of them.

Whitetail Golden Ale Rock Art Brewery, Morrisville VT.

I drank a few jars of this at Jon's wedding. Wow. This is a medium-light spiced summer beer with a healthy dose of Pacific Northwest hops (Northern Brewer and Mt. Hood). It has that really nice combination of pungent hop nose and taste combined with an orange sweetness. There's also a peppery component to add to the complexity of the brew. I really liked it. Much like Bell's Oberon, I'm betting that this one is best on tap.

Newcastle Nut Brown Ale

I intended to do a full tasting writeup of this one, because I've long claimed it as my favorite beer. Revisiting it after trying so many microbrews led to the surprising finding that there's not much there. It has a lovely medium-light body with ample carbonation and enough protein lingering to produce largish bubbles, leading to a creamy head. There is a natural sweetness that is not immediately apparent, much like the sweetness that you get from pecans. The bitterness also is nutty, as opposed to a roasted or hoppy bitterness. And that's it. It's quite drinkable, but ultimately very uncomplicated, to the point that I was bored with it when doing the tasting. I'll try it again soon to see if I missed anything.



Dortmunder Gold Lager Great Lakes Brewery, Cleveland OH
Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
Burning River Pale Ale
Holy Moses White Ale

There was a sampler 12 pack in the store.

I liked all of these. The Dortmunder was a surprisingly full-bodied lager with nice sweetness and a touch of aromatic hops. Very pleasant, simple, and refreshing. I would love to find this on tap in the summertime. It's nice to have a lager without the sour aftertaste.


Eddie Fitz is one of those rare beers that does better in the bottle than on tap. It's a richly complicated porter that changes drastically as it warms. The predominant flavor for me is anise, but that changes once you sip it and let the other flavors blossom. Trouble is, I'd rather have an Imperial Stout.

Holy Moses is a perfectly acceptable White Ale. Goodness, but aren't there ENOUGH FREAKING WHITE ALES OUT THERE THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND THEY ALL TASTE JUST FINE.

Finally, Burning River is one of those American-style pale ales that would be considered an IPA in England. As such, it has enough balancing malt to be palatable (to me), but the tap/cooler selections would have to be pretty slim for me to actually order/grab one over many other beers.

Anyways, I enjoyed this sampler, and can safely say that Cleveland is in good hands.

Batch 8,000 Bell's, Kalamazoo, MI

Bell's 8,000th commemorative batch is (drumroll) a Belgian Wit! Otherwise known as a white ale, even though wit means wheat. So, it's essentially the same recipe as Jill's Breech Baby Beer, with the addition of grains of Paradise. The bottle instructions say that this beer is best fresh, and that it will never be made again. After tasting, I believe that they aged this in the warehouse until it was perfect, or they did a long secondary fermentation, because the orange, coriander, malt and hops have mingled beautifully. It is a spectacular specimen of a wit.