Current Featured Beers - October 2012

This 2009 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winner cuts a very fine figure in the glass, with an attractive copper hue and a very persistent cap of off-white foam that drops plenty of lace as you go. Expect a complex aroma profile presenting a sweetly floral and pungently herbal, almost minty, character, with touches of pine, earth, and citrus. Bolstering the hops is a solid malt core offering some caramel and bready notes. Wow, there’s lot... Read More

Expect a clear, light amber color on the pour of this laid-back Floridian brew. We found the aromas quite nice, with some notes of light caramel malt, mildly herbal hops and a bit of toastiness that grows somewhat with warmth. Look for a nice, mild fruity quality too, with some candied orange peel and a hint of candied ginger, along with a bit of apple skin. On the palate, Sunset Ale sort of fills the role of a golden ale, but with some caramel a... Read More

This Bavarian-style Hefeweizen pours a pleasant golden color with a fluffy cap of white foam. Expect plenty of haze from the yeast in suspension within this unfiltered brew. On the nose, we found it certainly displayed a true-to-style German character, offering up some nice spicy and peppery tones from the yeast and hops, along with big clove notes. There’s plenty of tangy wheat along with an earthy, grassy hop contribution, and a touch of bubble... Read More

This relatively new brew from Florida Beer Co. presents a wonderfully aromatic character from its coppery depths. We found a surprisingly fruity impression on first sniff, with a hint of citrus acidity. Expect good caramel malt expression with a sweetly floral hop edge. Northern Brewer hops are known to contribute a bit of a fragrant, almost minty note, and that’s definitely in play here. It’s a very unique aroma, especially for a lager, reminisc... Read More

It’s that time of year again – Oktoberfest is here – and what better way to celebrate than with a beer straight from Bavaria, made in the oldest brewery in the world? The Weihenstephaner Oktoberfestbier (also known simply as Festbier in certain markets) pours a brilliant, clear, golden color capped by a nice crop of white foam that retains fairly well before leaving behind some lace as it drops to a persistent collar. Unlike some other Oktoberfes... Read More

When you pour this beer you’ll see we ain’t lyin’ – this is one black beer. But Xingu is not to be confused with the German style of black beer known as Schwarzbier; this is an entirely different species and is quite unusual. On the nose, there are not the big roasty notes one expects from such a dark brew. Instead there’s an impressive complexity including sweetness akin to treacle (which is like a heavy, almost medicinal molasses), notes of ani... Read More

Gotlandsdricka is the indigenous beer of Gotland, Sweden’s largest island, located in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Latvia. Similar in many respects to Finland’s native brew, Sahti, this is a type of beer that typically relies on juniper—both berries and twigs—and is typically made in the home or farmhouse according to traditional recipes. The name means “drink of Gotland” or translated further, “drink of the good land.” Both styles also tend... Read More