Innis & Gunn Rum Cask

The smell of this one is interesting. A hint of smokiness, probably from whatever casks they aged it in. Smells a bit like a barleywine.

It has a strange hint of spices to it, none of which I can really pinpoint. I suspect that the flavor comes from a combination of just hops, barley, malt and flavors from the casks. This is the first time I've had a drink and really been able to tell that it was aged in oak. It's funny, I don't drink rum. But I love the flavor of it. Usually in desserts and breads. This beer has that kind of taste to it. If it weren't for that, it would just be a fairly light barleywine style beer. But the strange combination of flavors really adds something to it. Maybe not something I'd drink all the time, but an interesting flavor that's definitely worth trying, and possibly something I'd buy every now and then.

Anchor Porter

It comes in a short, stout bottle that looks like it might be difficult to fit into a six pack carton, but it does. Very nutty smell. It's much less bitter than most porters that I've had. In fact, there's almost a hint of sweetness to it. What little hops taste it has is mostly in the aftertaste.

The aftertaste is actually more interesting than the primary taste, I think. There's a hint of bitterness and hops in the aftertaste that you don't really get from the primary taste. It's almost as if the porter part of this beer is partly confined to the aftertaste.

Smuttynose Brewing Company's Old Brown Dog Ale

Very earthy smell. The taste is similarly earthy, much like the taste of the Conway Irish Red I reviewed a while back, but with a background of a brown ale rather than a red.

It has that weird combination of feeling a little watery, while still tasting like a good, solid, flavorful beer.

Redbridge Gluten-free sorghum beer

There comes a time when a man is looking at the 'make your own six pack' display and he says to himself, "Holy shit. I've never actually had a gluten-free sorghum beer. And I call myself a beer snob."

... so yeah. That's the whole story.

It doesn't have a particularly strong smell, but what little is there smells just like any other beer. It smells almost a little bit molasses-ish.

As far as taste goes, it's a little bland by my standards, there isn't much in the way of malt or hops flavor to it. But it's not watery or thin. Most of the subtlety is in the scent rather than the flavor.

Not a lot I can say about this one. I can't imagine I'd have any reason to try it more often, it was really just curiosity that drove me this time.

Apologies for my absence: again

My life has had a bit of an upset over the last few months. To the point of being pretty topsy-turvy. I don't want to get into too much detail for the reader, since the traditional bartender/therapist role is usually played by the person suggesting drinks, not the other way around.


But I am back. I have an internet connection at my fingertips, a beer in my hand, and a rather cheesy movie playing in the background that doesn't require my entire attention. So a review or two is to follow.

Tröegs Craft Brewery's "Troegenator Doublebock"

Yes, I do think the one I tried yesterday was skunked, hence the odd scent and flavor. Because this doublebock actually doesn't have the weird taste that many bocks have. It's a little plain, flavorwise. And it's a little rough around the edges. But it's a decent strong beer. Probably not one I'm going to buy again, but knowing that this company makes decent beer means that I'm probably going to buy another one of the Dream Weavers to try again.

This is a strong one, fairly dark tasting for a bock and it weighs in at 8.2% alcohol.

I have to say though, the face that I had trouble telling the difference between a beer with an odd flavor vs. a slightly skunked beer does say a lot about some of the beers I've had in the past before I started reviewing.

Tröegs Craft Brewery's "Dream Weaver unfiltered wheat beer"

Oddly enough, I bought this because it's getting hot outside and I figured this would be a nice cold wheat beer for a hot day, and I also bought their double bock.

When I first smelled and tasted this one, I had to double check to make sure I hadn't grabbed the wrong one. It smelled like a bock. It tasted like a bock. Now I'm really curious to know what their bock tastes like.

Now that I've drunk a little farther, I'm wondering if that smell/flavor is actually more like a bock, or maybe the bottle is just a little skunked. Huh. Not a good sign if I have to debate which one it is. It does have more than just a bit of a spicy/tingly taste to it, which normally would be very good. But with a slightly skunky taste to it, not so much.

I may have just gotten a bad bottle, so I might buy another next time I'm out just to check on that. But for now I'm not that impressed. The spices get a big thumbs up, the beer base itself not so much.