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Nugget Nectar gets a beatin' from a couple of HopSlam thugs

A nice fresh bottle of Nugget Nectar. This was bottled on January 22, 2010. That wasn't all that long ago so I am in for a treat. Hoppy goodness come my way...

From the BeerNews.org site:

"Squeeze those hops for all they’re worth and prepare to pucker up: Nugget Nectar Ale, will take hopheads to nirvana with a heady collection of Nugget, Warrior and Tomahawk hops. Starting with the same base ingredients of our flagship HopBack Amber Ale, Nugget Nectar intensifies the malt and hop flavors to create an explosive hop experience."

Here we go...

Pour - golden, orangish-red in color with great clarity and about a inch of foam on top. Nice clean and clear pour. Very enticing. 

Aroma - sweet pineapple juice, burnt sugar, caramel, malt, orange juice and hints of lemon and pine. Quite a "nose" on this beer that is for sure. 

Taste - citrus, cotton candy, candied orange peel, caramel, bitter lemon, pine and seltzer. This is quite balanced and laden with hop goodness however it is not the over the top hop bomb you may be expecting by the name. NN is a more subdued heavily hopped amber ale that packs a punch of bitterness but has a nice malty balance to it as well. 

Overall - still a great beer after a number of years of growing popularity. Has it changed? I can't really tell. My palate has probably changed more than this beer has. I've pummeled my tongue with so much lupulin that its hard to be amazed by much when it comes to hop forward beers. Nonetheless, this is a good one if you can get your hands on it. 

Would I buy more of it? - I always seem to end up with some every time they release it so yeah, probably. Its a solid beer and I look forward to it. 

Availability - February

Note - Despite a lot of hype, Nugget Nectar is not truly an IPA and thus really isn't a direct comparison to beers such as HopSlam and Pliny the Elder. However, beer is subjective so compare away! 

Less than 100 cases of India was released to the public by Weyerbacher. I was lucky enough to find myself with a bottle and pretty excited to try this one-off specialty from the folks at Weyerbacher.

From the BeerNews.org site:

"Dan Weirback described the beer on Beer Advocate as, “The latest in our Brewers’ Select One-offs, India is a West Coast style IPA at 7.2% ABV, with incredibly delicious hoppiness! Golden in color, this beer is tilted way over toward the hops by way of less specialty malts used in the mash."

Here we go...

Pour - bold golden orange to amber with some bursts of bright yellow. Dish soapy head that leaves some nice lacing inside the top of the glass. Looks the way I like my IPAs to look. 

Aroma - pineapple, pine cones, orange peel, caramel, lemon juice, brown sugar. A lot of great stuff coming out of this pour. I'd like to shrink myself and dive right in. Smells like a very hoppy IPA.

Taste - mouth puckering, bitter and dry. India is hops, hops and more hops. I dare say it might be leaning a little bit towards one-sidedness. There is some powdered sugar sweetness but its not very strong and can't possibly support the load of tongue lashing going on here. The beer itself tastes very light on the tongue and somewhat astringent like citric acid a bit. Where is the malt sweetness I smelled? 

Overall - lacking in body and support from the malt side. India is not a bad beer and definitely one that a good many hopheads will enjoy. Personally, I was left wanting a more balanced IPA as I really think the hop profile was good it just ended up being a bit too mouth drying and bitter. 

Would I buy more of it? - I would probably pass in favor of other beers that Weyerbacher makes, including their Hops Infusion or Double Simcoe IPAs. 

Note - Weyerbacher has released a number of beers in their Brewers’ Select One-offs series thus far. The only real order seems to be alphabetical as they've put out the following so far:

Alpha (aka Zotten or Verboten) - Belgian Pale Ale

Beta - American Pale Wheat Ale

Charlie - Smoked Beer

Delta - Imperial Stout

Echo - Rye Beer

Foxtrot - Biere de Garde

Golf - "Festeweizen"

Hotel - Imperial Porter

India - American IPA

Juliet (not yet released) - 

A brewer's take on the old CCCP Soviet Hammer and Sickle flag. The hammer has been replaced with an old mash paddle and CCCP is now the Cyrillic Russian word for "beer"! 

They are about $20 and can be found with all of the other hop related merchandise in the Hop Shop found here.

Будем здоровы

Oh Sculpin, you ugly, sexy, beautifully hoppy and altogether wonderful fish! How do I love thee? This is one of the hopmonsters that you've got to hunt down if you call yourself a hop lover. Its hard to get better than this, I promise.

From Ballast Point:

"The Sculpin IPA is a testament to our humble beginnings as Home Brew Mart. Founded in 1992, the Mart continues to be a catalyst for the San Diego brewing scene, setting the trend for handcrafted ales. Inspired by our customers, employees and brewers, the Sculpin IPA is bright with aromas of apricot, peach, mango and lemon. Its lighter body also brings out the crispness of the hops. This delicious Ballast Point Ale took a Bronze Medal at the 2007 Great American Beer Festival in the Pro Am category. The Sculpin fish has poisonous spikes on its fins that can give a strong sting. Ironically, the meat from a Sculpin is considered some of the most tasty. Something that has a sting but tastes great, sounds like a Ballast Point India Pale Ale."

Here we go...

Pour - big, bright orange and yellow with a glow that makes you think of that first morning sunrise of a long vacation. This is all topped off with a big fluffy white head.

Aroma - tropical fruits (mangoes, pineapples, papaya, guava) and loads of tangerine and grapefruit to boot. This smells heavenly, such a great mixture of fresh piney goodness from the hops. Its pungent and enticing, I am drawn in immediately.

Taste - big juicy tropical fruit flavors mesh with a great balance of cotton candy like malt sweetness. Its a perfect match for the big hop profile that Sculpin is packing. Pineapple and grapefruit really stand out on the tongue with just the right amount of bitterness and astringency but again this is backed up nicely by the sweetness. 

Overall - absolutely excellent American IPA and one that stands out even amongst so many great choices on the shelves these days. This is what the discriminating hophead craves.

Would I buy more of it? - yes, yes, yes. Next time its released fresh I'll be stocking up on this super fine fish.

Note - some facts about Sculpin:

• There are 756 recognized species of Sculpin
• The vast majority of Sculpin species live in salt water; only the Abyssocottids, Comephorids, and a few species of Cottids living in fresh water.
• These bottom feeders are generally considered good to eat, and have sharp spines rather than scales.
• Sculpin can live for several hours out of water if kept moist. They use their large pectoral fins to stabilize themselves on the floor of flowing creeks and rivers.
• The easiest fishing method for Sculpin is a dropper loop setup with live or dead anchovies.
• Sculpin stings are very painful and are often associated with swelling and reddening of the affected area. The most common treatment for a Sculpin sting is to submerge the stung area in warm to hot temperature water. The heat will help to denature the proteins in the poison and to relieve the pain of the sting.

The first beer from the New Glarus "Unplugged" series that I've gotten my mitts on. This is a series of limited release and rather unique beers from the Wisconsin brewery which only distributes within the state of Wisconsin. Cherry Stout was actually a beer previously released by New Glarus and has been brought back due to popular demand. 

From the New Glarus site:

"This ale is aged in Oak barrels to promote the spontaneous fermentation. Eight Wisconsin malted barleys combined with Wisconsin Montmorency Cherries make for a complex and sublime taste experience that you may never find again."

Here we go...

Pour - pours rather light for a stout. By that I mean it appears like a brown ale when it comes to depth and has some hints or red or auburn in the light. Minimal head with only a thin ring remaining after the pour settles. 

Aroma - a nose full of cherry cough drops, that is what I get. Maybe its mixed with black cherry flavored soda. This is a little more intense than I would have liked from a cherry stout, so much for subtle.

Taste - sweet and sour cherry flavor up front that quite dominate with some hints at maltiness but nothing close to a roasty/toasty stout in the background. This is pretty tart and the color of this beer really does nothing more than trick your eyes and palate. I am slightly tasting the oak but the cherry is just too much and takes over immediately. 

Overall - I am astonished by the flavors of this beer. I was pretty excited by a stout that had been aged in barrels with some subtle cherry flavors. Instead, it is almost as if this beer is dominated by cherry and whatever else was involved is nothing more than an afterthought. 

Would I buy more of it? - since I don't live in Wisconsin it's not really a question I am faced with. However, I do wonder what those who were originally psyched about this beer and somewhat responsible for its return are thinking. Is this the same beer or is this some sort of cherry cough syrup flavored beast that has supplanted the original in a terribly unfortunate way?

Note - If you LOVE strong cherry-flavored beers then you will LOVE this beer. 

The only coffee beer I know that comes in a can. Surly certainly has done its share to rid the world of canned beer phobia. Once you open a can of this, or any of their other beers, you are well aware that you have something special in your midsts and it should be taken seriously. 

From the Surly site:

"Coffee Bender refreshes like an iced-coffee, is aromatic as a bag of whole beans as satisfies like your favorite beer. The Surly brew team has developed a cold extraction process that results in intense coffee aromatics and flavor bringing together two of our favorite beverages. Your only dilemma will be whether to finish your day or start it with a Coffee Bender. "

Here we go...

Pour - out of the can this floods my glass and settles as a reddish brown color with a big, thick, off-white foamy head. Looks like a nice beer right out of the can. 

Aroma - wow. Once you pop that tab it smells like you cracked one of those little Doubleshots from Starbucks. The smell is that of super fresh roasted coffee and can easily be detected from across a room. Hay-soos! Coffee galore when it comes to the aroma, not much else to say. Hooray for coffee!

Taste - a big wave of bitter, dark-roasted coffee heaven takes center stage followed by some sweet malt and some tangy flavors. This is a very solid brown ale mixed with some ridiculously fresh (and quality) tasting coffee. 

Overall - I had this once before and wasn't all that impressed. For some reason the second time around is a totally different experience. Maybe Surly changed things? Maybe this can was fresher? Who knows. All I know is that the coffee flavor in this beer is intense and makes for one hell of a great tasting beer. 

Would I buy more of it? - part of me wishes I lived in Minnesota and part of me is glad I don't. I'd be spending a lot on Surly beer....

Note - The coffee used to brew this beer is Guatemalan Finca Vista Hermosa Full City Roast (which is a roast level) by Coffee and Tea Ltd.

The canned pride of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota! Surly doesn't just can their beers they can their beers BIG! 16 oz. pounders that fit nicely into a pint glass, you can't beat that. Thanks so much to John in Minnesota for hooking me up with these and much, much more. Cheers!

From left to right:

CynicAle - Saison/Farmhouse Ale (6.7%)

Bitter Brewer - English Bitter (4.5%)

Coffee Bender - Coffee-flavored American Brown Ale (5.1%)

Furious - American IPA (6.2%)

Bender - American Brown Ale (5.1%)

SurlyFest - Rye Beer (5.5%)

Hell (not pictured, because I don't have it) - Kellerbier (5.1%)

Some hoppy goodness from Pennsylvania and the Midwest. If you've yet to try and of these, and you're a fan of hops, be sure to hunt them down if you can. These four differ quite a bit in intensity and alcohol by volume but all offer something special when it comes to homage paid to the almighty hop.

From left to right:

Hopslam Ale - Bell's Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI)

India - Weyerbacher Brewing Company (Easton, PA)

Nugget Nectar - Tröegs Brewing Company (Harrisburg, PA)

Hop Hearty - New Glarus Brewing Company (New Glarus, WI)