North Coast Blue Star Wheat Beer

Rating: positive


This has to be one of the most neutral/generic tasting beers I've ever had. Nothing jumped out at me: no one flavor or characteristic caught my attention, which is extremely rare. Most beers have a salient feature like bitterness, smokiness, sweetness, "breadiness", etc. But it's not a bad thing here. It's extremely drinkable and went great with food, not covering up the taste of what I was eating. Pale and cloudy color, looks nice.

Origin: USA (California)

Rogue Mocha Porter

Rating: positive


I wouldn't have known this was mocha from taste or smell, but if they say so I'll take their word for it. No noticeable coffee or chocolate. As a porter though, this is good stuff. Dark, bitter, flavorful.

Origin: USA (Oregon)

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel Dernier Volonte

Rating: positive


Belgian-style blond ale. Taste reminded me of apricots. Light colored and cloudy. Heavy, meal-like, filling.

Origin: Canada (Quebec)

Konings hoeven quadrupel

Rating: positive



Possibly the best Belgian-style ale I've ever had. Sour, but not overly so. Unidentifiably spicy, maybe has herbs or something in it? Very drinkable for something so heavy. Light brown and slightly cloudy, irresistible beer smell. Kind of on the pricey side, around ten bucks a bottle, but worth it.

Origin: Netherlands

Uerige Doppelsticke

Rating: positive




8.5% altbier. Very sweet, almost no carbonation whatsoever. Pitch black in the glass. Tastes almost like a desert wine. Picture port with wheat rather than grape flavor, if you can. The thickness and sweetness definitely cover up the high alcohol content, because it doesn't taste anything like 8.5%. Pretty good, but nowhere near my favorite.

Origin: Germany (Nordrhein-Westfalen)

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier

Rating: neutral



This tastes very smoky, but it ends up tasting (to me) like barbecue sauce because of it. Seriously. It's very different from any beer I've ever had before, and it went well with the greasy pizza I was eating, but I'm not sure it'd ever be my go-to choice. Other notable qualities: not very carbonated, not strongly hopped. It says it's a marzen, but if I had to identify it without a label, I'd think this is a cousin of the schwarzbier/dunkel lager were it not for the smoke taste.

Origin: Germany (Hamburg)
Yes, Hamburg is one of the founding German states, not just a city.

Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet

Rating: neutral



This is a Belgian style but made with oats, wheat and barley. Too sweet for me. Interesting combination of flavors, worth a try for the novelty.

Origin: Belgium

Legend Brown Ale

Rating: positive



Awesome. This is up there with the Rogue brown ale. Smooth, baked-bread like flavor and smell. Tan color. Really good stuff.

Origin: USA (Virginia)