Long Hammer IPA

This India Pale Ale comes out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Red Hook is the brewery.

It pours a cloudy orange. On the scale, it weighs in at 6.5% ABV and 44 IBUs. Both of those numbers are pretty much middleweights, relatively speaking. If you compare this beer to, say, Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA and its 90 IBUs, the hop bite on the tongue isn't that sharp. This Long Hammer is dry-hopped, meaning the hops are added last. Dogfish continually hops their beers, which I guess is why their beers tip the scales in terms of IBUs. This beer was pretty good. The hoppiness was pretty evident, however, not overwhelming. The thing that caught my senses immediately after opening this beer, and while pouring it, was the hop aroma. It smelled great. Overall, a decent beer from a decent brewer. I've had Red Hook's ESB and their Winterhook a while ago. From what I can recall, the ESB was good, the Winterhook not so much. Red Hook has two others I'd like to try: a Belgian Tripel and an Autumn Ale.

If you are a fan of IPAs, I say give this one a try if you haven't already.

Mad Anthony's American Pale Ale

This Mad Anthony's is an Erie Brewing Co. creation. A glance at the label shows a picture of Brigadier General Anthony Wayne looking a little, well, mad. This isn't the heaviest of hitters in terms of alcohol content, but then again, I'm not sure APAs are supposed to be "big beers". It weighed in at 5.5%. A first taste revealed some sweetness. After the swallow, some bitter kicks in. I thought it tasted nicely balanced. I went onto the website and they have a Mad Anthony's bottle on a meter. One side they have "malty" and the other side of the meter says "hoppy". This beer fell dead center on the meter. So, I was right, I knew what I was tasting. My beer tasting connoisser rating just went up. Previously, I might have considered myself a 1/10. Pretty sure I've catapulted to level 2. Anyway, it you haven't been on their website, check it out. The meter on each beer is pretty cool. It makes shopping for your style pretty easy. The beer itself wasn't bad. I'd do it again. Wouldn't mind trying a bunch of their brews, actually. This beer certainly isn't at the top of my list. Doesn't come close to cracking top 10. Not even close to the bottom, either. Like I said, not bad.

My Mad Antony's APA beer pairing recommendations:

-would go nicely with a springtime game of horseshoes

-would blend perfectly with the atmosphere in your buddy's basement playing a few rounds of biliards

also try this beer with:

a football tailgate or a nice game of poker

Boddinton's Pub Ale

This is one quality beer. This is an English draught beer in a can from Manchester, England. It dates back to 1778. This is right around the time the British citizens, its king, its Parliament were cursing the American rebels for having the nerve to revolt against their leadership...and shocking the world to back it up. England must have been reeling. They must have needed something to give their souls a lift from all the money lost, power lost, land lost, control lost from the colonial uprising. Enter some dude in Manchester that concocted Boddinton's. I can imagine England, all of it, rejoicing that something could drown their collecctive sorrows properly. This can contains a pressurized insert so that the beer pours like its frothing from a tap. The picture above is exactly how it looks when its poured. Cascading action abounds throughout the center of the glass, while a creamy heads rises to the top. When first poured, this beer is alive, breathing and morphing. The earth's core comes to mind when describing all the action in this Boddington's Pub Ale. Once things slowed down in the glass, when the beer found its comfort zone, there was a thick, solid, one-inch head. Under the surface, the beer was a pale-golden color. After 20 minutes or so of sipping this beer, a quarter-inch head remained. The first thing that hits the taste buds is the creaminess. Then there is the beer itself: the right marriage of slight bitter and slight sweetness. Goodness. This would be the perfect beer to enjoy during a football game, or hockey game, or while grilling in the winter (did that tonight, lampchops!), or while belly-up at your local pub. Boddinton's Pub Ale delivered and made me an instant fan. I'll add this beer to my preferences list.

Dominion Oak Barrel Stout

Dominion beer is brewed in Dover, DE. This stout is pretty good and this is the time of year to enjoy a stout. Dominion's website boasts of cascading action with the pour. There was none of that in this beer when I poured it into a pint glass. In fact, very little head was visible. It also mentioned that this beer was fermented with vanilla beans, which are evident in the taste. I enjoyed this beer, however, if there was some cascading action, like a good stout should have, I would have given this beer a higher rating. Had this beer been poured from a tap, things may have been different. Overall, this was a pretty tasty stout. And Dominion being semi-local makes it all that much better. I've never heard of Dominion, but now that I've had the stout and liked it, I might have to give their other beers a try.