Snug Harbor in Kearny, NJ

I traveled to a local bar in Kearny to visit one of the best bartenders in Hudson County and enjoy some delicious craft beer. Neither let me down. Snug Harbor is an interesting place- a dive bar with a great beer selection. I started off the night with one of my favorite beers, Firestone Double Jack, and like always it was amazing. The IPA trend continued with Kane Head High IPA before moving to some beers that wouldn't leave me stumbling out hammered- Guinness and Saranac Blueberry Blonde. The Guinness poured by one of Kearny's finest, Erin Murphy, was a bit on the colder side, but delicious nonetheless. The Saranac Blueberry wasn't bad either, having a not too overwhelming blueberry taste and refreshingly crisp finish. Not something I'd drink a lot of, but a nice change up from the heavy beers I started with.

Overall, it was a great visit to the Snug Harbor. The only place I have ever been that has 10 craft beers on tap and only charges $4.50 for each. Makes for a great evening of mixing beers and a terrible morning of pounding headaches.

Anchor Steam Summer Beer

On this blistering summer evening, there's nothing better than coming off the beach and drinking an ice cold summer beer.  Since basically every beer Anchor Steam puts out is delicious, I decided to try out their summer ale. It poured a much lighter color than i expected, almost as golden and light as an American light beer, but with a much bigger foamy head. According to the label the big head is from the wheat used when brewing this beer. The aroma wasnt very strong with only some slight wheat and maybe lemony scents. The taste was citrus and wheat at first before finishing with a smooth bready taste. Its definitely a great beer for the summer and although it doesnt blow you away with flavor, it has a good citrusy and bready taste.  It also doesnt overpower you with the wheat which is always a worry with these beers. Id definitely try it again.

Guinness @ Harrigan's in Sea Girt

This one comes a week late. I went to Harrigan's to see Mike Byrne sing, but was pleasantly surprised to be almost as happy with the Guinness as I was with the music. A delicious pint that was poured beautifully and presented with charm. While it wasn't a top contender it was a silky smoothy one that is definitely worthy of top 5 consideration. A delicious pint of Guinness and a great bar. Cheers!

THE BEEKMAN

Beekman, we meet again

Garden State Beer Expo

Overall it was a great event. Never had to wait longer than 2 minutes to get a beer and there were many solid brews. I thought the best breweries were Kane, Carton, Brooklyn and Wolavers.  Wolavers only had their oatmeal stout there but it was really delicious. Kane had an Imperial IPA which is always amazing and their summer seasonal - Single Fin. Carton brought a great selection of beers - BDG (a country brown ale that I go nuts for), Boat Beer (a delicious light IPA), 077XX (a good double IPA) and a Milk Stout that was pretty good. Brooklyn didn't have any tap beers which was kind of disappointing, but their delicious summer ale made up for it. Their East India Pale Ale was also good, but on a hot day the summer ale really hit the spot.  The other breweries put out some good stuff but nothing else really stood out and blew me away like these 4.  Definitely a great event and i hope they do it again.

Dogfish Head Tweason's Ale

Interesting. Smells like a strawberry margarita. Taste is very berry, sour. Some hops. Putting it up here because its so intriguing and different.

Carton Brunch. Dinner. Grub.

Probably my favorite beer of the day. Such a tasty brownish ale that is easy to drink bur so delicious. You should all flock to the Atlantic Highlands now to get some.  

Lagunitas Pale Ale

A solid pale ale that pushes the IPA line. Almost as good as their IPA.

Kane Overhead Imperial IPA

Have to give some love to my favorite brewery. Love this imperial IPA

Long Trail Double IPA

Always a solid Double IPA. One of my favorites.

Beach Haus Kick Back Ale

Solid ale for summer. Easy to drink but also flavorful.

Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout

First winner of the day. A delicious stout.

Garden State Beer Expo

A beautiful day for a beer expo in Holmdel, NJ. Really looking forward to the event as we wait for them to open the doors to heaven. We'll be reporting back with our favorites during the 3.5 hr event. Bottoms up!!!

Guinness @ Scotland Yard in Hoboken

I can't believe I haven't reviewed a Guinness here yet (or if I have, I don't remember). Scotland Yard is by far my favorite bar in Hoboken that combines Scotland, Colombia and frat house basement to create a great place. After work you'll find the usual happy hour regular businessmen there grabbing beers, shots or maybe just sipping on some Rumpelmintz. The entire bar is half off till 7 which means Guinness is $3. On the weekends you'll run into anyone looking for a reasonably priced beer or a game of beer pong.

As for the Guinness, it was a decent pour that wouldve been better if it wasn't in a Budweiser glass, but for $3 I'm not complaining. Taste was pretty much what you would expect a Scotland Yard Guinness to taste like, a bit too bitter and not so crisp, but definitely above average. While I'm not going to say its a contender for the perfect pour, I will give it a medal for best value. At $3 you can't beat it.

Guinness at Montclair Station

From the beginning this looked like a disaster - a Guinness being poured into a skinny glass with a handle. However, I was surprisingly delighted when I watched a very well thought out and efficient pour that was probably as good as you could do with the tools at hand. The beer was served a bit too cold, but it was decently smooth with slight bitterness. Overall, probably one of the more interesting ones I've had due to the glassware it was served in. Far from the perfect pour, but not bad either.

River Horse Summer Blonde Ale

River Horse is one of many solid New Jersey breweries and is located out West in Lambertville. I don't think I've reviewed many of their beers on here, but I've never had a bad one from there. Their Summer Blonde Ale, which featues the female river horse on the bottle, did not disappoint again. I'm usually a hard person to please with a summer ale because although I want something a little lighter for those hot days, I don't want just a watered down beer that tastes like Coors Light with lemon. The Summer Blonde was bready with some slight citrus nodes, but not nearly as citrusy as I expected. It also finished with some faint earthy hops (wouldve liked it to have been a bit hoppier). Overall, a very refreshing beer that fits the bill for a good 90+ degree day drinking beer. I would've liked a little more flavor and hops, but its a far cry from some of the watered down summer beers you'll find, but won't see on here.

Newcastle Brown Ale on tap @ Gallagher's Pub

After a brief hiatus of buying beers for my mini-kegerator I decided to try the Newcastle Brown Ale one. I've had the Heineken Light one on tap here a few times and even though I'm not a fan of Heineken, it was pretty good out of the keg. The Newcastle Brown Ale was much the same. I've had Newcastle in bottles and never was a big fan, probably because they use clear bottles which equals skunking. Out of the mini-keg though, its quite delightful. A heavier, but very smooth beer that has a very nice taste to it. It's aroma was much like the taste - caramel and nutty. Aftertaste was a bit metallic, but not too bad and it went down very smooth. I think the best part of it was the mouthful which was soft, medium-bodied and silky smooth. Very delightful. Overall, the lack of hops brought it down a bit, but not bad at all - 100 times better on tap vs the bottle for sure. I'd say its my favorite mini-keg so far for sure.

Guinness @ Tierney's

What a Guinness should look like, courtesy of Doug

Guinness @ Victoria Hotel Bar and Grill in Hoboken

I hate writing 2 terrible reviews in a row, but I am trying to go back in chronological order so unfortunately I have to. While I've been going throughout the US trying to find the best pint of Guinness, I have stumbled upon a few bad ones, but this one was by far the absolute worst. To start, it took the bartender 10 minutes to pour it. I am not exaggerating at all, I think they hired this guy without watching him pour a beer. I sat in disbelief and horror as I watched him pour the Guinness 3/4 of the way, stop, pour half out because it was half head, pour it back up, stop, pour more out, etc. Obviously there was an issue with the tap so that's not his fault, but it is his fault for not doing anything about it and wasting God's liquid gold. This continued on for a good 5 minutes until he finally just let it sit there for 2 minutes before revisiting his brilliant plan again. After struggling with this for another 2-3 minutes he finally just gave in and presented the Imperfect Pour, a Guinness that was 65% black and 35% head on my estimation. After I stopped laughing, I gave the beer a try and, as expected, it tasted like the worst Guinness ever. In fact, I would rather not call it a Guinness because that tarnishes the good name of Ireland's finest export. However, I did finish it because you can't waste a Guinness, even if it is a bad one. Congrats Victoria Hotel Bar and Grill you have officially been awarded the Worst Pour Award. Stanley will be dropping off your certificate when he figures out how to walk.

Blue Moon Samplers

Well hello there! I have a backload of reviews I need to put up, so I'll start with the Blue Moon sampler that I did at Texas Arizona yesterday. To start, I'm not a huge fan of Blue Moon because it really violates everything about macro-breweries that I hate. Its owner by MillerCoors, but spun off as if it is it's own micro-brewery producing Belgian wheat beers that too many idiots believe. All you need to do is a little research to see that its produced by MC in Colorado ... WEAK! That being said, I decided to give this sample thing a shot at Texas Arizona since you got to sample 3 different beers that aren't technically released yet (even though by being on tap @ TX-ARI they are). The point of it is to have people sample the 3 and vote on which one they like the best, the winner will be Blue Moon's next seasonal beer. Cool idea .. cooler if it was done by a real micro brewery.
As for the beers: The first one I had was a blackberry wheat beer that tasted like cough medicine mixed with crappy beer. That's all of the analysis it deserves.

#2 was a apple flavored one that had a metallic aftertaste to it. I saw people @ the bar asking for pints of it post-sampler, I like to refer to these people as FOOLS.

#3 was tolerable, not so much because it was a quality beer, but because it was intriguing. They called it a Dark Chocolate and Bacon Porter. Now, I've had chocolate covered bacon before from this guy who works in my office and dresses like the Terminator on Fridays, so I know what a great combination it is (until you feel like you're having a heart attack 3 minutes after eating it, but I'll leave it at that since this isn't "Born to Eat"). The porter itself started off chocolatey and finished with a bacon aftertaste. It wasn't bad tasting and actually made me want bacon. That being said, if I'm judging it as a beer, it was awful. I basically just tasted a crappy porter mixed with bacon and chocolate. I think I couldve brewed this one at home and gotten the same results (I am considering it). On top of all this I was absolutely ignored at the bar by the 2 Blue Moon girls there giving out shirts (they had a box full of 50 and I didn't see anyone get one) and handing out voting cards to rank them. Maybe they could tell by my reaction to each sip that I thought they were all crap and would've told them to take all 3 back to Colorado and put them wherever they keep the cases of Coors Light that people send back because they ordered beer not water. Regardless, I was not impressed and highly recommend never drinking Blue Moon.

Carton Brewing Company Red Rye Returning

I also had this rye ale on tap at Brickwall during Bingo and really enjoyed it.  It was much darker in color than I expected, pouring a dark brown with a reddish tint rather than a true red color.  The aroma was very pleasant - typical rye scent but with some delicious hops coming through strong.  Taste was also very delightful, with some earthy piney hops up front before the spiciness of the rye kicked in leading to a strong, but not too strong, hoppy finish.  At this point I can't say that I don't like rye beers since I think I've said that in the last 3 rye beer reviews I did before saying how great the beer was.  I've come to enjoy these hoppy rye beers because the spiciness of the rye does well when combined with some delicious hops.  This rye ale also had a slight sweet taste to it that I couldn't get my head around, but tasted like it could be caramel.  A really nice beer from Carton Brewing Company, which is located in Atlantic Highlands, NJ.  I hope to get over there for a weekend tour very soon.

Magic Hat Vinyl

This American Amber/Red Lager is a spring seasonal for Magic Hat that I had on tap at Brickwall Tavern in Asbury Park.  As a side note, while there today they had Bingo which was being run by a fully dressed Leprechaun ... awesome.  As for the beer, it was a dark red/brown color with a small head on top.  The smell was mostly toasted malt, nothing great.  Taste was very toasty with some nodes of caramel mixed in a a very distant fruity flavor that I may have been imagining because I didn't taste it in every sip.  It also had some nuttiness to it that came and went just like the fruity flavor.  Finish had some hops that were mostly earthy, but gave a nice balance to the toasted malt.  It was a solid beer that was nicely balanced, but didn't blow me away at all.  Worth a try if you see it on tap and there's nothing else intriguing.

Kane Brewing Company Imperial IPA

Oh hello there! We stopped into Kane Brewing Company on Saturday for their regular 12-5 tasting hours and got to try out their newest beer - an Imperial IPA. It checks in at around 8% abv, a boost up from their regular Head High IPA which is around 6%. It poured a burnt orangey brown, but looked a little bit lighter than the Head High I think. It had a nice head and left some lacing in the small tasting glass. It looked the same when I poured it out of the growler I got to go today as well. Smell was VERY hoppy with some sweet scents that were a little more floral and earthy than the citrusy ones that I remember from the Head High. Taste was similar, hops at front, followed by some earthy nodes, before finishing with some over the top hoppiness that leaves a delicious finish. I also thought I there was some citrus flavor in there, but was definitely more floral and earthy. Since Head High has mostly grapefruit and other citrus flavors, I thought this Imperial IPA would be a beefed up version of it, but it definitely wasn't. The Imperial has its own distinct flavor to it and packs a ton of hops. I was surprised in a good way by this and really enjoyed it. Although I find Head High to be much more drinkable in the long haul, this was a very solid Imperial IPA that had a flavor that was more than just hoppy bitterness and made me want more. Another great beer from Kane.

Tequesta Brewing Company Review

Tequesta Brewing Company is located in Tequesta, FL which is on the southern east coast of Florida. Unfortunately I lost all of my reviews of the various beers at TBC because of a technical issue with my Blackberry, but I still am going to try to give some short descriptions of the beers that we sampled there last weekend based on what I remember. Overall, the place was great. We visited the brewery back in January 2011 on the weekend that it opened and it's great to see that the place is doing well over one year later. According to some people at the bar, they actually have more demand than they can fill, which is a good problem to have.

I wish I took some pictures of the bar and inside of the brewery, but even if I did they would have been lost so it doesn't matter. The brewery is located in a strip mall and has a cafe next door where you can order food and have it delivered over to the brewery if you're hungry. The brewery has a really nice long, straight bar on the right side of it that stretches down towards the back where the large vats and brewing equipment is set up. There's also a few tables set up on the left side of the brewery opposite the bar, and some couches back past the bar. It's a cool place to watch a game since they have a few TVs scattered around. As for the beers..

Gnarly Barley American Pale Ale - I already reviewed this one when I had it on tap at a restaurant in Juipter, FL, but I'll say again that it was delicious. Such a well balanced beer that packs some great hops. Definitely my favorite out of all the different ones I had.

Honey Rye - I'm not really a fan of rye beers, but this one wasn't bad. It has a slight honey taste to it and some hops in the finish, but still had that same taste that all rye beers have which I don't like. Not bad, but not one of my favorites

Honey Rye in Oak Aged Barrel - I liked this one better than the regular Honey Rye that was on tap. Was a lot less carbonated and had a thicker mouthful to it. I also thought that it was a little hoppier and had a nicer honey base to it.

Hoppy Amber - I really like this one, had a strong smell to it of hops, caramel and some citrus. Taste was caramel malt and finished with some really delicious hops. Like the Gnarly Barley, it was really well balanced and easy to drink even though it had a lot of hops to it. Probably my second favorite.

Der Chancellor - This is one of the beers that TBC distributes to the local bars so I saw this one on tap at a bunch of places. It's a German Kolsch which isn't one of my favorite styles, but I actually enjoyed this one. It was bright yellow in color and had a malty yeast smell to it which made me think I wouldn't like it, but the taste was very nice. Mostly floral, bready and citrusy with some nice hops kicking in late. It's definitely a good beer for a Florida brewery to make because it'd be perfect for the summer since it's a bit lighter, but not too light and fruity.

Julio's Weizen (German Hefeweizen) - TBC rotates which hefeweizen beer they have on tap and calls them all Julio's Weizen, but the one I had was a typical German hefeweizen according to our bartender. It came out looking like a Blue Moon with an orangey golden color, citrusy aroma and an orange on the rim of the glass. The taste was pretty typical with orange and yeast being prominent in the taste, but it did have a bit of hoppiness to it that was unexpected. Again, not one of my favorite styles of beer, but the hops and balance of it made it quite enjoyable.

The other beer that TBC usually has is their Terminally Ale which is an American Brown Ale, but unfortunately they did not have any on the day that I went (which is why I got two kinds of the Honey Rye). I think that the most impressive part of their beers is that they are all really well balanced. None of them overpower you with either malt or hops, even the hoppier Gnarly Barley and Hoppy Amber Ale. While I would've liked to have an IPA or stout in the mix, I actually enjoyed the kolsch and hefeweizen beers that they had which is usually not the case for me. If you're ever in the Tequesta area I'd highly recommend checking out TBC, especially during Happy Hour where the beers are less than $4 which is a steal. Check them out at the link below. CHEERS!

Tequesta Brewing Company

Tequesta Brewing Company Video

A rainy day in Southern Florida means a trip to Tequesta Brewing Company

Born 2 Brew at Tequesta Brewing Company

Tequesta Brewing Company Gnarly Barley American Pale Ale

I was going to wait and review all Tequesta Brewing Company beers when I visit the brewery itself tomorrow in Tequesta, FL but this beer is so delicious that I couldn't stop myself from proclaiming its greatness. I had it on tap at Maxi's Lineup in Jupiter and it poured a delicious dark burnt orange with a really good head that didn't disappear at all. Smell was very hoppy and the taste was citrusy goodness with a bit of earthy hops in there. It really tasted like an IPA to me and had a good malt base to it that was just strong enough to balance out the hops but let them do their magic and create a delicious beer. This is by far the best beer I've had since I got in Florida and may be the best new beer I've had in 2012.

Inlet Brewing Company Monk in the Trunk Organic Amber Ale

Got a bottle of this at Captain Charlie's Reef Grill in Juno Beach, FL. It says that its from Inlet Brewing Company in Jupiter, FL, but then specifies this in fine print by saying its actually brewed by another brewery in South Carolina for Inlet Brewing. Kinda weak to have someone else brew your beer. The bottle design is pretty sick with a monk standing with a glass of beer in his hand in a field of wheat with the Jupiter light house behind him. It poured a dark amber with a nice head on top that lasted throughout. Smell was sweet malt and yeast like a Belgian Abbey style beer. Taste was sweet malt with some slight spices mixed in and a yeasty finish with some hops. It tasted like a typical Belgian beer with lots of yeast which aren't my favorite types of beer. Overall, an Ok beer with a cool label on the bottle. Nothing great though.

Yards Brewing Company IPA

Grabbed a six pack of this Philadelphia brewed English style IPA at Bottle King. It poured a typical orangey brown color and had a piney aroma with some bready malt scents to it. Taste was piney hops to start with some nodes of caramel and breadiness behind it. It finished with some long lasting bitter hops that left a piney aftertaste, much like the start. I didn't taste any significant citrus flavors in there (maybe some slight orange), which is what I usually like in my IPAs, but being an English IPA this can be expected since they tend to have some more earthy flavors (hence the pine). The pine was definitely the strongest of the tastes and even made the mouthful which was medium bodied and not overbearing, feel a bit prickly almost. Overall, it's a good IPA that would definitely appeal to English IPA lovers, but I probably wouldn't buy it again.

TapHouse Grille - Wayne, NJ

Here's the link to the TapHouse Grille in Wayne, NJ. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who likes craft beers since they have 25 on tap, including the Old Heathen in their cask!!

TapHouse Grille

Weyerbacher Old Heathen Imperial Stout

Sweet nectar of the Gods! I had this imperial stout on cask at the Taphouse in Wayne on Monday, but decided to take a few days to let it sink in because I thought it was that good. Well, a few days later I still think that this is a delicious beer, although I'm not ready to pin it as the Best Beer of 2012 as I was back on Monday. I really enjoy cask conditioned beers which have a much gentler carbonation that doesn't mask their true flavors since they aren't carbonated with nitrogen or carbon dioxide. They tend to be served a bit warmer (as this one was) and are siphoned out of the cask by a hand pump, which is pretty awesome.

The Old Heathen comes in at 8% alcohol and poured a dark black with little to no head or visible carbonation for that matter. It smelled sweet chocolate combined with some espresso/coffee mixed in. Taste also had some chocolate and coffee nodes, but also a slight taste of fruit, possibly raisin or plum. It was sweet, but a very nice sweetness that mixed well with the coffee and had some slight hoppiness behind it. One of my favorite parts of it was that it had a velvet-like feel to it which made it thick in the mouthful, but still very smooth and enjoyable to drink. Truly a great beer that lacks any real flaw. At first, I was skeptical of it's warmer serving temperature, but after I adjusted to it I thought it was perfect and added to the Old Heathen's deliciousness. I'd recommend this one very highly if you can find it on cask. It also is available in bottles and on tap from a keg, but I think that cask is the best way to go. If I can find it in a bottle or on tap from a keg I will definitely try it out and put up another post. Cheers!

Port Brewing Wipeout

Since we have today off for President's Day, my lovely wife suggested taking a trip to the Taphouse Grill in Wayne, NJ. I searched their draft beer list online and was very impressed by their selection. They also offer 11 of their 25 draft beers for $4 during Happy Hour which is always a plus.

To start, I had Goose Island's Honkers Ale which I have previously reviewed and it was absolutely delicious once again. After honking, I went with an IPA from Port Brewing called Wipeout. It poured a lighter golden yellow and had a hoppy aroma with some floral scents. Taste was floral, bready and bitter in that order. Started off with the floral hops, had a bready middle and a hoppy bitter finish that I enjoyed. If your a fan of citrusy IPAs like I am, this one will disappoint a bit because it doesn't have a strong citrusy taste, but it was a well balanced and very solid beer. Not my kind of IPA exactly, but definitely worth trying.

Guinness @ George Street Ale House in New Brunswick

The second beer I picked off George Street Ale House's impressive beer list was Guinness.  The pour by the bartender was pretty good as she took the time necessary to deliver a delicious pint of Irish goodness, although the pause in between the first and second steps could have been longer.  The head was a little too thick for my liking and the taste was a bit more bitter than some of the best pints I've had, but all in all, it was a solid Guinness.  One of the few drawbacks was that they used one of those smaller Guinness glasses, which is a pet peeve of mine.  Anything less than 16oz is unacceptable for a Guinness, and the big 20oz glass is really what I prefer.  GSAH's Guinness ranks close to the Top 10, but nowhere near any of the top contenders.  

Left Hand Brewing Company 400 Pound Monkey

I had this English IPA on tap at George Street Ale House in New Brunswick.  It poured a golden color with a tiny head that quickly vanished, and was much lighter than I expected.  Aroma was pretty light as well with some earthy scents and slight hops, but nothing over the top.  Taste started off hoppy and earthy with some grassy nodes and finished pretty easy and smooth with some slight bitterness from the hops, but overall light for an IPA.  It was a decent IPA that packed some nice hoppiness to it, but didn't leave me with a taste that made me want more.  Definitely not worth the $8.50 per pint either.

Flying Fish Exit 8 Chestnut Brown Ale

First off, a great event at Texas Arizona tonight with many New Jersey breweries showing off their delicious craft beers for $5 a pint. Unfortunately I only had time for two, the first of which was Flying Fish's newest member of the Exit Series, Exit 8. This Chestnut Brown Ale poured a dark, dark brown (almost black) color with a thick beige head on top. It looked more like a stout or porter, but it had a slight nutty and sweet malty scent to it. Taste was sweet and nutty, much like the aroma and finished a bit hoppy and bitter, although nothing over the top. It was a very well balanced and smooth beer, but didn't have an over abundance of flavors to it. Being a bit thicker than expected for a Brown Ale, it is definitely a good winter beer that comes very close to the line between Brown Ale and Stout. Overall, another great Exit Series brew.

Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

Happy Super Bowl! There's nothing like drinking a delicious beer out of a Super Bowl mug on Super Bowl Sunday. This British beer comes from the famous Samuel Smith Brewery in Tascaster. It poured black with a creamy top and had a sweet chocolatey smell. Taste was sweet chocolate and slight oatmeal, finishing a bit bitter like a good stout should. There was also a nice coffee taste to to add to the delicious flavors. The mouthful was near perfect, not too heavy but not too light and weak. Although it was bitter, it was still very easy to drink and enjoyable. A very enjoyable stout even though it is from England. Cheers!

Shipyard Applehead Ale

Since I'm a pretty big fan of Shipyard's Pumpkinhead, when I saw Applehead in Bottle King today I had to get it. It poured a very light golden color with little to no head. Aroma was pretty weak with a slight nutmeg scent. Taste somewhat like Pumpkinhead with cinnamon and nutmeg coming through strong along with some sourness from the apple flavor. Overall though it was pretty bland. Basically just a lighter beer with some spicy and sour nodes, nothing that appley about it. A bit disappointing and nowhere near as good as Pumpkinhead.

Shipyard Pugsley's Signature Series Imperial Porter

Got a six pack of this Shipyard brew courtesy of my father-in-law. It is part of Shipyard's Pugsley's Signature Series which walked away with last year's Inaugural Born to Brew Pumpkin Beer of the year. The Imperial Porter poured very dark black with a nice white head on top. Aroma was roasty, chocolatey and a bit of alcohol. At first it tasted a bit light, but then the malt kicked in leading to some nodes of chocolate and maybe nuts. The ending was a bit alcoholy, but at 7.4 ABV that is somewhat expected. Didn't taste much bitterness from the hops, but it still had a very balanced/solid taste for an Imperial Porter. Another great beer from the Pugley's Signature Series.

Long Trail Pale Ale

I am a huge fan of Long Trail's beers and this one did not disappoint. It poured a light orangey brown with a pretty nice head. Aroma was like a typical pale ale with a light citrusy aroma and some earthy tones. Tasted a bit sweet at first with some citrus followed by some delicious hoppiness late. It was very smooth and light for a pale ale, which was pretty refreshing and enjoyable. I would've preferred a little more hops, but as a lighter Pale Ale it was quite delightful and easy to drink. Another great brew from Long Trail.

Guinness @ Cloverleaf in Caldwell

Well hello there! Stopped into the Cloverleaf on Friday to try their pint of Guinness and was not disappointed. Pour looked very solid with a nice creamy head on top of that black goodness. Temperature was cool, but not too cold leading to a very enjoyable pint of smoothy goodness followed by a slightly bitter ending. Overall, a very good Guinness that I'd rate in the top 5, but not near the leaders of the pack. Cheers!

Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale

I've seen this brown ale in 6 packs at a lot of stores, but finally decided to give it a shot on tap at The Office in Montclair. It pours a reddish brown with a slight head that leaves some subtle lacing. Didn't really get much of an aroma from it at all, was expecting some chocolate scents or something like that. Taste started a bit sweet with a little bit of cocoa coming through, but the dominant flavor was definitely the roasty malt. It didn't pack a ton of hops, but did have a little bit of hoppy bitterness in the finish mixed with some spiciness. Overall, a very solid and tasty brown ale that I'm glad I finally tried. Also enjoy the dog on the label. Cheers!

2011 Beer of the Year

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFxTAHdD4nU&feature=youtube_gdata_player