Sittin' back with Stout in hand.

So for my second beer I decided to go with something a lot darker and in my eyes a lot tastier. The second beer that I am going to be reviewing is the Chocolate Stout from Harpoon Brewery, and where should I start with this nice in my eyes ale/stout hybrid. I guess I will start with the to me the label is nothing catchy and to be honest, had it not been for my wife I possibly would have overlooked this beer. This is my first chocolate stout and although it is my first and certainly wont be my last I have to admit I fell in love, with what is the start of a beautiful friendship between chocolate stout and myself. So onto the review.

I will start with the pour into the glass: It was about medium thickness nowhere near the thickness of a Guinness or a Murphy's but still had that great black tar look (which I love). Also with the head of the beer I was expecting it to have a thick white head like a normal stout, and although there was a nice head the thickness didn't stick around too long. The color of what I like to call the halo, as the head isn't completely gone but it also isn't foamy like a normal stout has a nice warm chocolate look to it and it hangs around for the entire beer.

Now moving onto smell: I have to admit knowing it was a chocolate stout I really wanted to smell this and I was hoping that it wouldn't have that bitter alkaline smell that most stouts have and I have to say that I was extremely happy with what I found. With the first smell I got cocoa wrapped in dark chocolate and you may be thinking (that doesn't sound that great) but believe me it is equal to going to see the philharmonic, it is just very pleasing to the nose. I could have actually sat with my nose in the beer all night it was that rich and made me want it all the more.

 

My favorite part of trying and drinking craft beer the taste portion: I have to start this off with WOW!! This as of right now IMHO is the best stout that I have had in awhile and I think it has to do with a few things mainly the thickness or lack there off and the smell of normal stouts that for the meek is not too kind. But anyway I digress, the taste of this stout had a nice espresso taste with a heaping tablespoon of Hershey chocolate syrup, with a nice hoppy finish but didn't have a big bite which I was surprised with and have to admit I really like in this beer. It was definitely a welcomed overload to the tongue made me wishing I had this on tap in my house right not, the end of the taste was just as great I found myself thinking I had just had a nice cup of coffee or a big glass of chocolate milk, which in my book is win/win.

To sum it all up The Chocolate Stout from Harpoon was fantastic, I definitely want to try more chocolate stouts before i grade this one completely but for my first adventure in this realm it was a great ride and look forward to more than the norm stouts in my future and also I love Guinness but I would take a Harpoon over it any day. So pick one up and try it out.

Jon The Beer Guy

Good Ol' Sawtooth Ale

Well how to start this first post into the blogging world about craft beer, well my first beer to drink that I wanted to review is Sawtooth Ale from Left Hand Brewing company out of Longmont,Colorado. This was the first time I actually drank a beer in a nice glass that allowed it to show off it skills, I actually took time to look at this brew from head to toe and surprisingly also sipped instead of gulped which happens all too often with great beer. Well what I should start with is the packaging and bottle presentation, because on the wall of craft beer this one really caught my eye with it's blazing sun in the middle of saws that made a diamond it just makes an all around interesting graphic. Bright colors are always catchy to me but doesn't always mean a great beer. Well after pouring this nice ale into a glass I took note of the color which was a nice medium amber color and instantly I was happy the color was really warming like the sun on the label of the bottle, the head on this beer which there really wasn't one was very light and dissipated quickly but had a light caramel color too it something else I was pleased with. Now I will have to admit at this point, it was really hard to not down this beer right on the spot but I knew if I did I would ruin this review and would pretty much have no use for a blog and sharing the great and possibly not so great beers I run into. So after the eye candy portion was over I went to the ol' sniffer and shoved my nose right into the glass and closed my eyes, what I found was very nice and instantly had me salivating. The smell was a nice floral smell with hints of citrus and spice notes (kind of tingled the nose) like ginger beer or something like that would do but I very much liked the smell, not too sweet and not too bitter either. Now came the real test and what my mouth had been begging for since I had popped the top of the bottle was the taste test, I took in just enough to fill the mouth but not too much as to where I had chipmunk cheeks. Again I closed my eyes and I have to say felt really weird about having a religious experience with my beer, but to be honest that is what should be done with a nice craft beer that a small company took the time to really develop. Anyway back to the taste, what I came away with was a nice fruity and spice mixture with a nice bite at the end of the tasting and what I was left with for an aftertaste was a nice floral note with a nice bitter end slightly similar with an IPA (India Pale Ale) and to be honest this beer finished very smooth and dry which I really thought worked very well with this beer. I would have to say someone just starting to drink craft beer may not want to start with this, but I would say it is definitely a middle of the pack contender for sure. All in all this is definitely a beer that I would pick up again and would be great for those spring/summer cookouts and gatherings. I hope you enjoyed my post as much as I enjoyed drinking this beer.

Until next time,

Jon The Beer Guy