Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop^3 Ale, Clipper City Brewing, Baltimore, MD

Now a person may think I have nothing better to do, especially with Jersey Shore not premiering on MTV until Thursday and most shows on Thanksgiving hiatus. But amazingly my day is pretty much booked so it was definitely a heart stopper when someone pulled the ol' "Don't you have a review to write for tomorrow" late Sunday evening. Luckily I had a Clipper City Brewing Heavy Seas Loose Cannon Hop ^3 (Hop Cubed) Ale ready to be uncapped in the fridge.

The Loose Cannon had great caramel coloring when poured into the stein. There is an immediate hop presence, but the pale and Munich malts maintain pace and really drive home a great crisp taste.

The 7.25% ABV is surprising. Because the malt and hops any semblance of an alcohol flavored kick.

The Hop^3 Ale has quickly jumped into the fray for one of my favorite IPAs, and the 4.0 rating is definitely justified.

Ipswich Harvest Ale, Mercury Brewing Co., Ipswich, MA

This one is the fall seasonal for the Ipswich Ale line of beers. The Ipswich Harvest Ale tastes like a combination of an IPA and a malty octoberfest-type beer. Interesting concept, but overall, the hop flavor washes out everything else.

Going into the glass, the chestnut brown color is inviting and enticing. The cloudy consistency helps to give this beer an earthy quality. Nothing is terribly prominent in the aroma, but hints of hops are certainly evident. The beginning of a sip of this beer tastes of sweetness and malt, and brings in the earthy sensation. But the heavily hopped finish drowns out everything and imparts a solid, astringent hop flavor to the beer.

Rating = 3.0

Solid beer from a good brewery. Definitely give Ipswich a try if you have a chance.

Dogfish Head: Red & White

Very very interesting...

The Red & White by Dogfish Head surprised me. Well, maybe not surprised, as I wasn't really sure what to expect, and Dogfish consistently puts out quality beers. But I was definitely happy I choose this brew. It pours with very little head, which quickly disappears. This beer really reminded me of a wine. The smell of the orange peel surprised me though. It was strong, but not overpowering.

On the bottle, it states that it contains pinot noir juice and is aged in pinot noir barrels, and it's quite evident that this is the case. There is no beer aftertaste, it went down smooth and a hearty 10%abv really helped with the enjoyment of this beer.

If you're looking for something new, I highly recommend giving this one a go. I'm going to give this one a solid 3.5... enjoy..

Lord Chesterfield Ale, D.G. Yuengling & Son, Pottsville, PA

Drinking the Lord Chesterfield Ale, the aroma definitely gave me one of those International Coffee moments, instead of some café in Paris however, it reminded me of every single beer that came out of a keg at a party. The same sweet smell of cheap malted hopness. Red Solo cups, ping pong balls, invincibility. Sigh…Unfortunately that is not necessarily a good thing. The Lord Chesterfield poured into my fine German stein with minimal head and exhibited a pale yellow hue. The beer is very light bodied and has quite a bit of bitterness; the bitterness detracts from any malt flavor. The 5.6% ABV is a surprise; I thought it would be on the lower end. I am going to have to give the Lord Chesterfield a 1.5.

This is the second Yuengling beer that has sampled poorly with me. This is surprising to me for two reasons, one everyone I know in the Mid-Atlantic states swears by all things Yuengling. And two, I have consumed an inordinate amount of Yuengling in my life. I think I am going to have to take on the Black & Tan if I can find it, I think I remember actually liking that one.

Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale, Kiuchi Brewery, Ibaraki, Japan

I found this beer in a 21 oz bottle at a Trader Joe's, which has a surprisingly varied beer selection. For the good of the site, I decided to review it, particularly since it was not another Lagunitas product for us to review.

Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale is definitely the most unique beer that I've had in a while. As the name suggests, this beer is brewed with a special Japanese red rice. Additionally, sake yeast is added, as ale yeast is not able to turn the sugars from the rice into alcohol.

When poured into a glass, the red rice gives the beer a pinkish-red color, but it's not like it looks like a pink lemonade. It is unmistakably a beer. The best visual comparison would be something cloudy, like a hefeweizen, with a hint of pink. Like I said, very unique.

The aroma is similar to other Japanese beers, like Sapporo or Kirin, but with a noticeable sweetness. Some beers have a sweet aroma that is like the smell of sweet bread, but the sweetness in the Red Rice Ale is lighter and much less malty.

The taste is probably the most interesting part of this beer. There is a sharp, clean taste, and the sweetness from the aroma carries over into the flavor. But the good news is that the beer is not over-powered by the sugar. There is much less sugar taste than the aroma would lead you to believe. Interestingly, I can't detect any hop bitterness, which is usually used as a counter to sweet flavors. The well-balanced taste is able to hide any hint that this beer carries a 7.0% ABV. Impressive...

If you like Japanese beers, definitely give this one a try. The best comparison would be to say that this is like a Japanese craft brew as opposed to the mass-market Sapporo. Good stuff.

Rating = 3.5

Next time I have sushi, I'm going to have to get another bottle of Hitachino Nest...

Harpoon Brewery: Chocolate Stout

Just to be upfront with everyone out there, I have never been a big fan of stouts. Chocolate stouts I usually like even less. Maybe it's just because I have yet to find a good one, or maybe it's just because I'm a wuss and don't like the dark beers. Either way, just wanted to be honest.

Harpoon's Chocolate Stout was an interesting brew. It poured a very dark, black color with a nice amount of head. Immediately the smell of chocolate and malts, which to me, smelled more like coffee hit you. The taste again, was coffee like to me. I could never drink an entire bottle, but a couple sips here and there, sure, it's pretty good. Otherwise it's just a little too overwhelming for me. I'm going to give it a 2, but that's mostly because I'm not a stout guy.

I did do a little experimenting though. I was sitting around the dinner table with my wife, mother in law and father in law. They suggested, jokingly, that since it reminded us all of a beer coffee, why not ad milk. So we did. At about a 4 to 1 beer to coffee ratio, the chocolate stout tasted and smelled exactly like a carbonated Bailey's. To continue with the coffee theme, we added a spoon full of sugar ( i hear it makes the medicine go down), and boom, sugary Bailey's. Weird I know, but oddly very tasty. Don't judge me, just try it if you happen to be bored...

Drifter Pale Ale, Widmer Brothers Brewing Co., Portland, OR

The first thing that comes to my mind when sipping the Widmer Drifter Pale Ale is that this beer has some kick to it. The Drifter has some dark, deep malt flavoring. The hops provide an apply, apricot flavor before delivering an enduring bitterness. The 5.7% ABV is nothing to shake a stick at either. The Drifter gets a 3.5.