Anglers Pale Ale, Uinta Brewing Co., Salt Lake City, Utah

In the movie Beautiful Girls, the protagonist Willie is asked by his friend Kev to rate his girlfriend based on face, body & personality. For each question Willie responds, "Good, solid, seven and a half." Essentially nothing excellent, nothing bad, middle of the road. This is how I feel about the Anglers Pale Ale. It does a lot of things good, nothing great, and more importantly nothing bad. The beer is creamy, light and has a very flavorful malt taste. The kind of beer you can pretty much offer anyone who enjoys beer and they'll like it. Perhaps the only thing above average in this beer is the ABV which is 5.8%. The Uintas therefore gets a good solid 3.0 rating.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware is well known for their unique and top-quality beers. Based on their lineup, the brewers are clearly willing to experiment and try some outrageous ideas.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron definitely makes me wonder about these guys and where they get their ideas. First, who makes a brown ale at 12% ABV? That's stronger than some wines! Then, they age the ale in a 10,000 gallon wooden cask made of some obscure Paraguayan wood called palo santo, which is apparently Spanish for "holy tree". Because that is typical in brewing...

Do you think they were just sitting around, sampling their products, and throwing out ideas? "What if we made a super alcoholic brown ale, and then aged it in wood? And not just any wood, but something from South America? Yeah, that sounds awesome..."

Regardless of the origins of the idea, it is a home run. This beer is completely unique and delicious. I can't remember ever having a beer quite like this one. It has a strong aroma and taste of roasted malt, with some brown sugar and vanilla flavors to balance it. The alcohol is definitely ever present, and this is one that you'll want to drink slowly.

I'd be really interested in trying the other variations of this recipe. Like, how does it taste if you don't age it in Paraguayan wood? Or if you age it in bourbon casks or something similar? Fascinating beer from fascinating brewers.

Rating = 4.0

Be ready for it. It is a "liquor beer". Basically, it'll warm you up like a scotch and left you feeling satisfied and maybe a bit sleepy.

The Sunset Grill & Tap, Allston, MA

Visiting some friends and family in Boston this week and I just had to swing by here. Their beer selection on tap and in bottles (they probably have like 80 beers on tap and the pamphlet above is like 12 pages full of bottles) is amazing and the food is great too. I may have to make a return trip. They bartenders are all super knowledgeable and I quizzed all of them on their favorite beers before ordering, many of them tended to have a Belgian as their favorite but they still could rattle off deleicious Pales and IPAs for me to try. The best part is, the draught beers can be sampled in 2 or 5 oz shots which allows you to really sample a bunch of things or only invest a little money before taking a risk on a beer. Heck, I even tried a Belgian in a 5 oz shot and it was real good, maybe I am changing my ways? Probably not.

Bud Light Lime

The second beer in my beers of summer review is relatively new on the scene. Bud Light Lime. It's only been around a year or so, but it has already carved out it's place in the summer beer market.


When first opened, you're immediately hit with the scent of lime. Almost as if you were to put three or four limes into a Corona. The beer is light in color and light on substance, like a typical bud light and has a very low 4.3% abv. The dominant flavor is without a doubt, lime. In my opinion, if you enjoy Corona, you'll enjoy this beer, and the lazy among us will enjoy not having to cut up limes to put in the beer. Essentially, Budweiser saved us the pain of getting lime juice in the paper cuts on our fingers. If you were to pick up a six pack, it's not something you'd regret, although at the same time, I'm still very loyal to Corona, and don't see myself making the switch at any point.

Overall, I'd give this beer a 2.5. In my humble opinion, the Corona is still king of the summer beers.

Denver Pale Ale, Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver Co.

I called up my friend Leroy on the phone
I said, ‘Buddy, I’m afraid to be alone
‘Cause I got some weird ideas in my head
About things to do in Denver when you’re dead’

I am not quite sure where the great Warren Zevon was going with this, but if I am in Denver, living or dead, I am hitting the breweries. I have always been a fan of the Colorado Brews, especially the pale ales. Boulder Extra Pale Ale back in ’97 opened me up to a whole world outside of the $9 case of Keystone. I have raved about the wonders at Oskar Blues Brewing, and I am adding Great Divide Brewing Co.’s Denver Pale Ale to my beer rotation. Now the label does say English Style, but I wholeheartedly disagree. The Denver Pale doesn’t have that flat taste I find most English Pale’s have. The Denver Pale is full bodied, with a firm malt taste. It is not as strong as a Dale’s Pale Ale, but it is stronger than a Sierra Nevada. The final notes of the beer are a crisp apple/grape hopped tinged taste. The Denver Pale has a surprisingly low 5.4% ABV. The Denver Pale gets a 4.0

This Season on Beer Crusade

Otter Creek World Tour - Otter's Dubbel

Otter Creek Brewing in Vermont is probably best known for their excellent and much-loved Copper Ale. The brewery is now producing a series of brews called Otter Creek World Tour, which is a series of different varieties of beers not normally produced by Otter Creek. Examples include Sea Otter, a Baltic Porter, and Otter Mon, a Jamacian-style Stout. Interesting concept, certainly...

One of the newest releases in the World Tour series is Otter's Dubbel, a Belgian Ale in the traditional dubbel style. For the benefit of the Internet, I tracked down and purchased a 22 oz bottle of Otter's Dubbel for $2.99. Sadly, this beer is a huge disappointment. It is also somewhat hard to find, which could be a good thing for the rest of you.

First, the beer tasted and smelled like sour fruit, like cherries or raisins, which is not uncommon for a Belgian style beer. But it seemed like the fruit was spoiled or something, as it was a flavor disaster. Really not at all good. Then, there is an overpowering taste of caramel or dark brown sugar, as if the brewers were trying to drown out the fruit with sweetness. It didn't work, and the end result is like a visit to the dumpster behind the grocery store where they throw the rotten fruit.

To make it worse, the beer seemed to be a bit light in the alcohol department. ABV is not published, but I'd guess that it is below 6%.

I had to pour out the last few ounces, and throughout the entire beer, I was thinking of something to chase the taste of this one out of my mouth. Like an onion.

Rating = 1.0

And a quick intro - I'm very open minded with my beers, and I'll try anything once. Unlike some other reviewers, I believe that beer glasses were created to enhance the flavor of the beer. Something like Corona is appropriate from the bottle, but a Duvel or a Sam Adams is better in the right glass.