Review: 8 Ball Stout

8 Ball Stout from Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe
Rating: B+

Pours an opaque black. Huge head that's brown-tinged in color. Nice lacing.

Strong roasty aroma, but not a whole lot of complexity to it. Maybe a bit of dark chocolate toward the tail end of the aroma.

Wow, lots of layers to the taste here. Chocolatey, roasted coffee, bitter... a touch of cinnamon, and then a clean finish.

Good carbonation for the style. Slightly thick while managing to be nice and dry.

Good session stout! This is a fine beer!

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 05-02-2006 23:47:14

Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout

Review: Tire Bite Golden Ale

Tire Bite Golden Ale from Flying Dog Brewery
Rating: C-

Appearance and aroma are unfortunately reminiscent of Budweiser... Smell is very clean. Color is really almost yellow.

Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot to talk about in the way of taste. Alittle acidic, maybe that's the "vinousness" of the style described on the style page.

In my opinion the mouthfeel suffers from being a little undercarbonated.

That said, it's pretty drinkable, but then again so are a lot of beers that happen to be much cheaper. Since this was my first time drinking a Kilsch, maybe I'm a bit misinformed. Is this representative? Disappointing on the whole.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 05-02-2006 23:41:11

Review: Hazed & Infused

Hazed & Infused from Boulder Beer / Wilderness Pub
Rating: B

Appearance is darker than I expected, honey with a ruby tint. Good head, great lacing - almost layered, I can tell every time I put down the glass.

Smell is great too, lots and lots of fresh hops.

Taste is a little disappointing, after the appearance and smell Sweet and malty initially, followed by fresh hops flavors, although they're surprisingly light considering the smell.

Finishes nice but the mouthfeel is a little bit too thick and it's too lightly carbonated in my opinion.

Drinkability suffers from being too sweet and too little carbonation, but overall not bad.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 05-02-2006 23:35:23

Boulder Beer Hazed & Infused

Review: Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale from Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster)
Rating: B+

Garnet color, nice head and head retention, but no lacing. On second glance, the color is really almost purple.

Sweet smell, vaguely fruity.

Taste includes fruitiness, nuttiness, a little bit acidic.

As for mouthfeel, good carbonation for the style, nice dry finish.

Drinkability is high! It's a good thing this comes in a 550 ml bottle, because just one 12 oz serving wouldn't be enough.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 05-02-2006 23:31:03

Samuel Smiths Nut Brown 18.7