Beer: New Belgium - Hoppy Bock Lager

NEW BELGIUM - HOPPY BOCK LAGER (Fort Collins, CO) - 4.0 (excellent)

So, Fort Collins' premier craft brewery, New Belgium, has started a seasonal series of experimental hop-forward beers, delivered every few months in 22 oz. bombers for an enticingly low price. Under the aegis of "Hop Kitchen", this is the first in the series. I picked this gem up for only $4.19 at a local specialty shop, and I'm glad I did.

Pours a pale, clean golden with a rich and thick head of white carbonation.  Beautiful, detailed lace. Nose is toasty grains and grass, with a touch of floral hops somewhere in there. Promising start! Taste is sweet lager malts up front, with a bitter citrus hops finish. Drinks very lightly and easily, despite the 6.9% ABV. 

I really liked this one. Well-done, and I managed to pick up another before they were gone.

Beer: Dixie and Breckenridge

Here are a few more craft beer reviews, just a smattering from the hundreds Goatsden has been responsible for. Shame on us for enjoying so much beer and keeping notes on it. 

Anyway, scores are, as ever, from 1 (awful) to 5 (awesome). Anything over a 3.5 or so should be considered worthy. With that in mind, check these out and judge for yourself. Keep beer independent and local, and down with the corporate monoliths and monopolies!

DIXIE BEER (New Orleans, LA) - 2.5

Dixie Brewing has a long history and is a beloved institution in New Orleans. However, the brewery has been closed since it was severely damaged in Hurricane Katrina. Now, Dixie is contract-brewed by Minhas in Wisconsin, and the results are not good.

Clear golden, with a fizzy white head. Lace is thin and weak. Aroma is malty, grainy, and lager-like. Very average. Tastes sweet -- very much like a thin adjunct character. As with other beers brewed by Minhas (as this apparently was contracted brewed by), this one's an unbalanced mess that lacks complexity and wallops the taste buds with heavy, syrupy sweet malts. Ugh.

As near to a drainpour as I've had in some time.

DIXIE (New Orleans, LA) - BLACKENED VOODOO LAGER - 3.0

Clean ruby/brown appearance, with a rich head of off-white foam. Definite lace, but seems spotty and erratic. Nose is like other Minhas brews -- adjunct and sweetly malty. Taste is weak and watery, like the regular Dixie Beer, but with a definite roasty malt tone.

I have to wonder if Dixie's beers were better once upon a time, as this one is really disappointing.

BRECKENRIDGE (Breckenridge, CO) - AVALANCHE AMBER ALE - 3.75

Opened in 1990 in beautiful Breckenridge, CO, Breckenridge Brewing has been a Colorado craft beer staple since the beginning. These are a couple of their regular year-round brews. Clean amber in color, with a nice off-white (almost tan) head. Decent lace. Aroma is biscuits and yeast. Like freshly baked bread maybe. Tastes much the same - bread. A hint of roastiness and a minimal hop snap at the finish. 

Straight-forward and sturdy, and a solid session amber ale.

BRECKENRIDGE (Breckenridge, CO) - VANILLA PORTER - 4.0

Deep, dark brown and opaque. Almost black in appearance. Good suds, a little lace. Aroma is definitely, unmistakably vanilla. And good! Flavor goes straight to the vanilla. Creamy body, feels almost like a vanilla coke. The roastiness takes a back seat here, and likewise, I get no coffee tones. Still, this is a good-tasting porter, and a superb change of taste from the usual. Nice work!

Beer: Winter In Colorado (Odell, Boulder, and New Belgium)

Ah, Winter in Colorado. Here's a series of themed beers, all from the wonderful state of Colorado, and all worthy of your taste buds. 

ODELL BREWING - 5 BARREL PALE ALE (Fort Collins, CO, USA) - 3.5

I've been reading and hearing about Odell Brewing for some time, but it's not available in backward Indiana. So I managed to snag a some bottles during a recent trip to St. Louis' impeccable Wine & Cheese Place. And I'm glad I did.

This beautifully-designed bottle (as all of Odell's beers are lovingy housed in) pours a clean, rusty amber, with thick, foamy off-white head. Exquisite and fine lacing. Aroma is malty up front, followed by some pine hoppiness. Good. Taste is pine hops, with plenty of body and a heavy malt presence to balance it all out. Overall, this is a remarkably well-balanced session pale ale, with a superlative taste and nice body. Better than many breweries' IPAs!

ODELL BREWING - ISOLATION ALE (Fort Collins, CO, USA) - 4.0

This is Odell's seasonal Winter ale, and as with all of Odell's other beers, it's a beautifully-designed bottle, and perfectly palatable contents inside, too. 

Pours a murky ruby-amber, with a large head of tan bubbles. Extensive and detailed spider-web lace. Nice. Nose is a malty caramel-toffee in character. Pleasing enough. Taste is similar -- heavily malted, with tones of toffee and caramel, and a light hoppy finish. This one drinks like a heavier amber ale, and holds up well as a heavy-bodied night-time session brew for the colder months.

BOULDER BEER - NEVER SUMMER ALE (Boulder, CO, USA) - 3.0

Boulder, Colorado is a wonderful place, but I've not been a huge fan of legendary Boulder Beer's products. This seasonal Winter ale is quite nice, though.

Deep amber, with a thick head of off-white foam. Beautiful lace! Nose is sweet and malty, with definite caramel and toffee tones. Taste is heavy on the toasty malts, with more caramel and sweet toffee. Seems heavy on the body, almost thick & sticky in mouthfeel. Finishes with a slight dryness. Overall, a decent Winter Warmer, but not one I'd return to.

NEW BELGIUM - SNOW DAY WINTER ALE (Fort Collins, CO, USA) - 4.5

I fell in love with this seasonal last year. This is the second year for Snow Day, and I'm saddened to learn that New Belgium will be replacing it next year, with something called "Accumulation". I'm hoping it's a hopped-up version of Snow Day. But I will miss this one.

Dark caramel/amber, with a fearsome 3-finger head. Lace just about as extensive and impressive. Wow. Spectacular presentation. Aroma is fresh pine, floral, and citrus. Hoppy happiness. Taste is complex, beginning with a mild roasty malt, followed by a subtle citrus/pine bite in the middle. The finish brought a slightly bitter hops character, though by no means a hop bomb. Balanced well, this enjoyable ale really impressed me.