Halloween Double Feature – Lamplighter Brewing Company – Werewolves of Cambridge

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Cambridge, Craft Beer, Fall, Halloween, Lamplighter Brewing Company, Massachusetts, New England

Good evening a welcome to part 2 of my Halloween double feature!  Having the best name out of my haul for the month, I saved this brew to drink “live” on Halloween night as the second half of my double feature.  I think we all know what song is playing while I write-up this review.

Beer Name: Werewolves of Cambridge

Brewery: Lamplighter Brewing Company (Cambridge, MA)

Style: Porter

ABV: 6.3%

Description: There wasn’t much about this on the company’s official website, so I had to turn to Instagram for some more information.  Calling it perfect for fall weather, the brewers promise notes of coffee, chocolate, and dark fruit.

Appearance: Black body, as expected.  A thin, light tan bubbly head formed with the pour but very quickly fizzled away.

Smell: Sweet, dark chocolate upfront followed by hints of roasted coffee.

Taste: Started out with sweet malts and then turned towards bitter dark chocolate as it approached the halfway mark.  From there it transitioned to lightly roasted coffee with undercurrents of sweetness tasting of malt and dark fruit.  The finishing taste was a combination of light sweetness and a mild roasty bitterness.  It was an interesting variety of flavors but they came together well into a smooth, subtle, and balanced whole.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, slightly creamy thin to medium body.  Very low carbonation.

Hype: I obviously had high hopes for this since I saved it specifically for my Halloween night review.  Other than that, I hadn’t really heard a lot about this.

Overall: I don’t always get excited about porters, but I found a lot to like here.  While this isn’t my typical go to flavor profile I did enjoy how all the different aspects came together.  I would love to find this on tap somewhere for pairing with a nice meal; could see this going great with some barbecue.  If you’re into porters (or maybe even if you’re not), give this one a go.

Happy Halloween to all, and to all a good night!  Awoooo!

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Halloween Double Feature – Book Review: The Terror, by Dan Simmons

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Book, Book Review, Dan Simmons, Fall, Halloween, Historical Fiction, HMS Terror, Reading

Happy Halloween!  This year I’m running a double feature in celebration, showcasing a beer and a book that (hopefully) live up to the big day.  Since it’s a bit early to start in on my beer, we’ll open things off with the book.  When it came time to select a second spooky story for the month, my thoughts immediately turned to Dan Simmons, a name longtime readers and friends of the blog may recall seeing here on a few occasions.  I had been meaning to read this for a while and figured I now had the perfect occasion to do so.

This story takes place in the years 1847-1848 and is a fictionalized account of the John Franklin Discovery Service Expedition, an ill-fated Arctic expedition launched from England in 1845 with the intention of mapping the Northwest Passage.  It consisted of two ships, the HMS Erebus under the command of Sir John Franklin and the HMS Terror captained by Francis Crozier, each boasting heavily reinforced hulls and specially equipped steam engines to help force their way through icy seas.  Despite these technological advantages, the ships proved no match for the Arctic ice and became hopelessly trapped in September 1846 somewhere around King William’s Island.  In this tale, however, the doomed crews of the Terror and Erebus have more than just the harsh elements and starvation to worry about.  Lurking out in the icy wasteland is monstrous creature stalking and attacking the men with ease.  While the crews debate whether it is simply a particularly massive and cunning polar bear or the Devil itself, one thing is indisputably clear – if the elements don’t kill them the creature most certainly will.

I enjoyed this book a lot and found myself getting caught up in the story and lives of the crew members.  Simmons did an excellent job immersing the reader into this world through vivid descriptions and a healthy dose of sailor talk.  It was a bit daunting at first, but I got used to it rather quickly and it didn’t take long for it to sound natural.  The cast of characters was equally well-written and really brought the story to life.  Even knowing their fates, I was on the edge of my seat as the crews of the two crippled ships struggled against all odds to survive the seemingly endless winter.  The two individuals given the most page time, Captain Francis Crozier of the Terror and Erebus surgeon Harry Goodsir, were both really interesting and had very engaging stories in their own rights.  Crozier in particular was a fascinating character to follow and we spend a lot of time in his head contemplating issues like depression, alcoholism, and how his Irish heritage often made him an outsider in the Navy despite his elevated rank.  

In light of this, the horror elements, while a good source of additional suspense, ultimately weren’t really needed.  While I thought they offered a nice twist, I was always far more interested in the more worldly struggles of the crew than what was going on with the creature.  Cut out the monster and the related supernatural elements and this would still be a gripping, harrowing story.  Indeed, that seems almost possible since it often felt these scenes were inserted into the historical fiction at a later time.  Besides, there was already plenty of blood and gore to be had in the normal course of ship’s duties, and that’s before the graphic accounts of scurvy recorded by Goodsir and the need for, um, “alternative” food sources comes into play.

One thing this story did inspire me to do is read up more on this topic and that era of exploration in general.  I’m not sure it’s something I’ll want to do during what’s supposed to be a rough winter in these parts, but I am updating my reading wish list accordingly.  Great book that I’m really happy I finally got around to reading.

Exhibit A Brewing Company – Hair Raiser

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Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Exhibit A Brewing Company, Framingham, Halloween, Massachusetts, New England

Only one more day until Halloween and a hair-raising good time!  Sorry, I couldn’t resist.  Coming at you with another brew from Exhibit A Brewing Company.

Beer Name: Hair Raiser

Brewery: Exhibit A Brewing Company (Framingham, MA)

Style: Double IPA

ABV: 8.0%

Description: Packed full of Galaxy, Mosaic, Azacca, and Cascade hops this double IPA seeks to raise your hairs (and perhaps even one or two hares as well).  Mine was canned on 10/5/2017.

Appearance: The body was super hazy and had an almost ghostly golden-yellow glow.  A thin layer of white foam floated across the top.

Smell: Pineapple juice upfront, followed by raw piney hop bitterness.

Taste: Lots of juice upfront, with pineapple, tangerine, and mango leading the way.  The fruits then blended into a warm, hoppy bitterness combining hops and pith.  The finish was an excellent balance of juicy fruit and bitterness that peaked a few steps before becoming overly aggressive.

Mouthfeel: On the higher end of medium with slightly less than moderate carbonation.

Hype: No hype, but I did have some high hopes after liking my last beer from this brewery.

Overall: Very big fan of this.  It reminded me a lot of Trillium’s Headroom coming out of the can with its glowing, thick hazy body and bitter juicy aromas.  Taste wise it was a bit more balanced, though, having less intense levels bitterness and heat, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  New England IPA fans need to check this one out.

Heretic Brewing Company – Evil Twin

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, California, Craft Beer, Halloween, Heretic Brewing Company

Halloween weekend is almost over and we’re now getting into some seriously creepy brews as the big day approaches!  This one was another surprise pickup by my wife.

Beer Name: Evil Twin

Brewery: Heretic Brewing Company (Fairfield, CA)

Style: Red IPA

ABV: 6.8%

Description: Touted as a blend of rich malts and huge hops, the brewers promise a bold, rich, and balanced taste from this red IPA.  On a side note, I wish I had come across more from this brewery.  Looking down that beer list in the link I see they really mean it when they say “don’t drink ordinary beer.”  Keeping an eye out for these guys next Halloween season for sure.

Appearance: Deep red body that had a haunting blood-red glow when held up to the light.  A thin layer of tan foam lingered across the top.

Smell: Sweet caramel malt joined with resinous pine sap.

Taste: Pretty much as advertised by the smell.  A smooth caramel sweetness at the start was soon followed by a dank, resinous pine sap bitterness that carried through to the end.  The finish was a nice combination of both flavors, leaving lingering tastes of piney hops and a caramel/brown sugar/candy sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium-plus body accompanied by a moderate amount of carbonation.

Hype: I love my hoppy red ales, but I can’t say that I’d ever heard of this beer or brewery before trying this out.

Overall: I really, really liked this.  With its aggressive (but not too aggressive) bitterness and equally balanced sweet caramel and malt backbone, this beer provided exactly what I was looking for in the style.  Really looking forward to working my way through the rest of the six-pack.

Exhibit A Brewing Company – The Cat’s Meow

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Black Cat, Craft Beer, Exhibit A Brewing Company, Fall, Framingham, Halloween, Massachusetts, New England

Having had one as a childhood pet, I have a special love of black cats.  She was named Eddie, after Edgar Allan Poe, and that cat and I had a real affinity for one another; sharing in common a healthy appetite and more than a few personality quirks.  She was never really comfortable around a majority of the people she encountered, though I rather quickly became one of her favorite humans.  Black cats also happen to be a popular Halloween image, so picking up a can of this beer was an easy choice.

Beer Name: The Cat’s Meow

Brewery: Exhibit A Brewing Company (Framingham, MA)

Style: IPA

ABV: 6.5%

Description: Labeled “catnip for humans,” this IPA was brewed with Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops.  You can check out the website for more about this beer and all matters related to the brewery.  Oddly enough, this was another brew canned on 09/18 – the day of my wedding anniversary.  Considering how much my wife and I love Halloween, this must be some kind of sign.

Appearance: It had a cloudy, just barely translucent golden-yellow/pale orange body topped by a thin layer of white foam.

Smell: Fruity, citrus sweetness with a piney bitterness on the backend.

Taste: Started out with a light, slightly sweet malt presence upfront.  That was followed by a mild blend of fruits featuring various tropicals, orange, tangerine, and grapefruit.  A subtle haze of hops came over the beer on the finish, bringing in a mix of resinous pine and floral bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a decidedly creamy feel to it.  Less than moderate level of carbonation.

Hype: I’ve been pretty eager to check out what this brewery has to offer for some time now, but for whatever reason haven’t done so until now.

Overall: I liked this a lot.  Subtle yet flavorful with a nice balance of tastes, this made for a very nice introduction to the brewery.

Pipeworks Brewing Company – Blood of the Unicorn

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Chicago, Craft Beer, Fall, Halloween, Pipeworks Brewing Company

Apparently the ninja won the battle, though it was the unicorn that won the war by getting featured in another brew.  This next beer caught my attention by being a style that I love and by having some pretty cool can art, featuring the most bad badass zombie/metal unicorn ever.  I have a steady supply of brews left to get through now that Halloween is approaching and this seemed like the perfect way to lead the charge!

Beer Name: Blood of the Unicorn

Brewery: Pipeworks Brewing Company (Chicago, IL)

Style: Hoppy Red Ale

ABV: 6.5%

Description: Not much official information to go by other than style description.  I’ll add that this particular can was born on the day of my anniversary (9/18), which was a nice coincidence.  I think the single can cost me $3-4, with a four pack going for $11.99 in my area.

Appearance: It had a deep reddish-brown body with thick, foamy light tan head.

Smell: Sweet, caramel malt and raw, piney hops.

Taste: A slightly more subdued version of the smell.  There was some malt sweetness upfront, but piney hops were clearly the stand out flavor on the front end of this beer.  The finish did see a return of sweetness in the form of caramel malt and a bit of brown sugar.

Mouthfeel: Slightly sticky medium body with a moderate amount of carbonation.

Hype: I don’t think this is particularly hyped in the beer community at large, but I was immensely excited to try this.  I love the style and really enjoyed that other unicorn themed beer from this brewery recently.

Overall: I thought this was pretty good, though as I am always quick to point out, in being such a big fan of this style I am fairly particular in what I want out of it.  This may sound blasphemous, but I wish the malts stood out a bit more.  The bitterness level was fine, I just would have liked the malt profile to have been on a similar level.  This might be a “me thing” though, so don’t let that stop you from checking this out.  I do wish I had bought more than just the one can I used for this review.

Merrimack Ales – Feed the Beast

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Beer, Beer Review, Craft Beer, Fall, Halloween, Lowell, Massachusetts, Merrimack Ales, New England

This one was a gift from my wife that I received pretty early in my hunt for October/Halloween themed brews.  She has a tendency to find things that I might otherwise miss which has lead me to some really interesting brews over the years.  Team work! 

Beer Name: Feed the Beast

Brewery: Merrimack Ales (Lowell, MA)

Style: Barrel Aged Porter

ABV: 10.0%

Description: Created in celebration of the brewery’s first anniversary, this porter was aged in bourbon barrels with roasted sweet potatoes, vanilla beans, and lactose.  My wife didn’t mention what the bomber cost.

Appearance: Dark black body topped by a thick, foamy tan head.

Smell: Sweet, with a charred roastiness in the background.

Taste: Fleeting moments of sweet, creamy malts and lactose at the very start before a moderate yet distinct smoky, roasted presence took over the beer.  The carried through to the finish where it was joined by vanilla bean and a bit of the barrel influence.  There was sweetness lingering on the edges of this beer that never quite stood out, nor any bourbon come through with the barrel notes.

Mouthfeel: More or less medium bodied, with minimal carbonation.  I swear the body got thinner the longer it sat in the glass though.

Hype: Nothing in the hype department.  I wasn’t familiar with this brewery before I got the beer, though I do tend to have higher than usual hopes for anniversary brews.

Overall: I found the taste a bit one-dimensional in that the roasted, smoked characteristics (my guess from the potatoes and vanilla) dominated pretty much right from the start.  Since I wasn’t really a fan of that flavor profile, this wasn’t the beer for me.  Looking at Untappd I see some pretty polarized opinions on this one; there are a number of 5 star reviews and also a bunch at 2.5 or lower so apparently opinions vary wildly on this one.  As for my own views, putting the taste preference aside I would have liked a bit more complexity out of this beer.  I had hoped that by letting it sit in the glass for a bit that might happen, but it was not to be as the beer thinned out a lot and lost a good amount of flavor.  Really curious what the 5 star reviewers thought of this one.

Ballast Point Brewing Company – Pumpkin Down

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Ballast Point Brewing Company, Beer, Beer Review, California, Craft Beer, Fall, Halloween, Pumpkin Beer, San Diego

I know I’ve made something of a big deal out of how I’m no longer interested picking up random pumpkin beers anymore, but I couldn’t help myself when I came across this one.  Scottish ales have a way of drawing me in and this one being a Scottish/pumpkin ale combination seemed too intriguing to pass up.

 

Beer Name: Pumpkin Down

Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company (San Diego, CA)

Style: Scottish Ale with Pumpkin

ABV: 5.8%

Description: Setting out to offer up a unique take on pumpkin beer, the brewery used their Scottish Ale as a base and the added a “boatload” of roasted pumpkin and some subtle spices to round it out.  You can read all about it here.

Appearance: Dark amber body topped off by a thin, fizzy off-white head that did not stick around long enough for the photo.

Smell: Faintly sweet caramel malts overtaken by that usual blend of pumpkin and fall spices.

Taste: Similar to the smell but not as spicy as I might have thought.  Nice blend of toffee sweetness and biscuity malts up-front.  This was followed by a pronounced vegetal pumpkin presence that started up around mid-sip and hung over the remainder of the beer.  The pumpkin taste peaked just at the finish of the sip where it was joined by a moderate hit of spices to close out the experience.

Mouthfeel: The body was on the thinner side and the carbonation level was slightly above moderate.

Hype: Just my personal hopes and dreams.  I like Scottish ales and I’ve like several other offerings from this brewery, so I was pretty interested in how this would taste.

Overall: I didn’t like this nearly as much as I had hoped I would.  The pumpkin taste came on just a bit too strong which in turn made the spices, which were otherwise subtle, a bit too pronounced for my liking.  This meant ending each sip on kind of a down note which was disappointing after such a promising start.  Could have used a bit more body as well.  Oh well, just another lesson to be learned about the dangers of pumpkin beer I guess.

Stone Brewing Company – Vengeful Spirit IPA

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, California, Craft Beer, Fall, Halloween, Stone Brewing Company, Virginia

Finally starting to make some real headway in my search for Halloween-themed brews.  This one came to me via my wife who has been helping me in my quest.

Beer Name: Vengeful Spirit IPA

Brewery: Stone Brewing Company (Escondido, CA/Richmond, VA)

Style: IPA

ABV: 7.3%

Description: A “tropically inspired” unfiltered IPA brewed with pineapple and Mandarin orange.  You can get the full spiel and some specs here on the brewery website.  My six-pack had a canned on date of 9/14/2017, and a recommend best by date of 1/12/2018.  Something tells me these won’t make it that long.

Appearance: It had a cloudy, golden-yellow body with a fluffy white head.

Smell: Juicy pineapple and tropical sweetness followed by sweet bitterness.

Taste: Loads of tropical fruit upfront, with pineapple and Mandarin orange clearly in the forefront.  About mid-sip a layer of earthy, grassy hop bitterness sets in, taking the beer to a bitter, somewhat raw finish mixing the aforementioned hops in with bitter orange and tangerine.

Mouthfeel: Par for the course, medium bodied with a fairly moderate amount of carbonation.

Hype: Not so much in the hype department.  Plenty of this one to go around.

Overall: A solid brew, I liked this a lot more than the tangerine IPAs that inspired it.  I did still find the finish a bit harsh, but that is starting to seem like the way I feel about fruited IPAs in general these days.

Great Divide Brewing Company – Yeti

Tags

Beer, Beer Review, Colorado, Craft Beer, Fall, Great Divide Brewing Company, Halloween, Stout

Perhaps a bit of a stretch to include on my list of Halloween inspired beers, but I’m arguing it at least fits in with the other paranormal stuff I’ve been posting lately.  For some reason, finding a steady supply of brews that tie into this theme isn’t so easy.  Step it up brewers!

Beer Name: Yeti

Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company (Denver, CO)

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.5%

Description: A well hopped imperial stout described by it creators as “an onslaught of the senses.” This is my first time drinking this in its canned format.

Appearance: Black body with a thick layer of tan foam on top.

Smell: Dark malt mixed with some really deep roasted coffee notes.

Taste: Started with a big hit of moderately roasted coffee upfront that remained fairly steady throughout the rest of the beer.  Dark malts in the background brought out some sweetness fairly early on and bring with them some dark chocolate notes as well.  The finish blended these malts with a rich, bitter roastiness and just a touch of heat at the very end.  I’d probably call it more bitter than roast, but both tastes are definitely there.

Mouthfeel: Thick, smooth body with a less than moderate level of carbonation.

Hype: I would call this well-regarded but not particularly hyped.

Overall: An old favorite that I haven’t had in quite a while.  Looking back, this combination of dark malt and bitterness used to be my go to flavor profile, so it was interesting to see how my tastes have changed over the years.  I still liked this a pretty good amount, but not quite as much as my old Untappd notes suggested that I used to.  Solid brew that shouldn’t be passed by.