Tonight I’d like to try one of the many unique beers Rogue releases. The one I’m drinking tonight is their Chipotle Ale. You don’t see it too often, but they list the ingredients on the side of the bottle. Pretty cool!

The aroma is very interesting. It’s spicy, mildly smoky, and it kind of reminds me of something vintage. The taste has some spice & kick; you can taste the pepper in this beer. Spice aside, I find this beer to be surprisingly easy to drink.

I give aroma a 9.5, taste a 9.5, and drinkability a 10. With a 29/30, it gets a final score of 97. This was an awesome beer to try. It’s not a beer that you can drink more than one of, but it’s got a smooth, yet spicy taste to it. And the peppery flavor is not overwhelming in the least.

I bought this bottle last week. I wanted to open it if/when the Niners win the division, but I decided I’ll buy a different beer. I’m having Allagash Black.

The aroma has hints of cocoa & coffee. The taste is mildly hoppy, with coffee flavor, almost like a Porter. This beer is very easy to drink.

I give the aroma a 7, taste a 9.5, and drinkability a 9.5. With 26/30, it gets a final score of 87. I love Allagash & everything they release. This is another great beer, and I recommend it to everyone.

I’m at Cuban Revolution in Providence. They have some different beers available, so I decided to get a Julius Echter Hefe-Weiss. It’s a rather large bottle.

The aroma reminds me of cooked hot dogs at a cookout. The taste is simple, like that of traditional Hefeweizens. There’s nothing overbearing about it, it’s got a mild taste of fruit & wheat. I think this beer is very easy to drink.

I give aroma an 8, taste an 8.5, and drinkability a 9.5. With 26/30, it gets a final score of 87. I like this beer a lot, even though I’m not a regular drinker of Hefeweizens. It could be the size of the bottle. I think everyone should try this beer.

I’m at The Spot Underground. It’s their one year anniversary, happy anniversary! I’m drinking Mayflower Brewing’s Porter.

The aroma is sugary sweet & peppery. The taste resembles a robust coffee. It is quite drinkable as well.

I give aroma a 7.5, taste an 8.5, and drinkability an 8.5. With 24.5/30, it gets a final score of 82. It’s a good porter, I like it. I’ve never heard of Mayflower, but this is good. I’d recommend it to anyone.

I’m at The Spot Underground. It’s a friend of ours’ last day at The Spot so we are celebrating. I’m having an Abita Bock.

The aroma is earthy, mildly bitter & sweet. The taste is mildly hoppy, other than that, nothing stands out. I find this beer to be very easy to drink.

I give aroma an 8, taste an 8.5, and drinkability a 10. With 26.5/30, it gets a final score of 88. This is a very enjoyable beer. It doesn’t smother you with flavors, a very easygoing brew. I approve of this one greatly.

Time to finish off the sixer. The last beer of my mix a six I’d Rogue’s Mocha Porter.

The aroma is smoky, like the smoked ale I had a while back. The taste is coffee-like, mildly hoppy. It’s a pretty drinkable beer.

I give aroma an 8, taste an 8.5, and drinkability an 8.5. With 25/30, it gets a final score of 83. Rogue’s Mocha Porter is tasty, I enjoyed it greatly. Does anyone know if Rogue makes a variety pack? If so, I’d like to buy one.

Over the past month or so, I’ve been hearing how some breweries are doing exceptionally well, which is always awesome. It’s great to see craft breweries excel in a market where Budweiser, Coors, & Miller dominate. Unfortunattely, in recent news articles I’ve read, while they may be doing well, they can’t keep up their production with the high demand in some states. The two breweries I read about having this situation occur are Dogfish Head and Great Divide. Dogfish Head has decided to pull out of Wisconsin, Indiana, Tennessee, and Rhode Island. Great Divide is pulling out of Michigan, Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, DC & parts of Virginia. I will post links at the bottom.

I guess my big question would have to be, “What gives?” Why does my great home state of Rhode Island have to suffer? Is it because we are a small state? Do they think we need to suck it up & drive to another state to buy a beer that we truly love? I could get into the whole reasoning as to why we won’t drive to other states, but that’s another story for another day. The population of RI is greater than a handful of states that will still be able to buy these beers. why not stop distributing to Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Alaska? While I understand they want to stay true to their Independently owned roots & not be a massive corporation like Budweiser, they should make more research into which states sell the least and drop them. While I’ve never had anything by Great Divide, I’ve always wanted to try something by them. I suppose if you love something enough, you may go to any lengths to get what you love, even if that means going out of state to buy great beer.

http://www.dogfish.com/community/blogfish/members/sam/thanks-for-understanding.htm

http://thefullpint.com/beer-news/great-divide-brewing-pulls-out-of-4-states-and-2-regions

Lumpy Dog Light Lager - Tastes like urine. Budweiser drinkers will love it.

Muinch Gold - Eh, it’s a little bitter.

Improper Hopper IPA - Bland for an IPA.

North Star Amber Ale - Tastes bland.

Rotating Dark Ale - Pretty damn tasty.

Rocktober - It’s decent enough…

The seasonal pumpkin ale (too lazy to find the waiter to ask for it’s real name) - Freaking amazing! Best pumpkin beer I’ve ever had!

Here we go, trying the first beer of the day. I’m starting a streak. This is Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale.

The aroma is very sweet. It smells like sweet caramel, molasses & a slight hint of hops. The taste is strong. I taste the hops, a hint of coffee, & sweetness of a caramel-like syrup. It’s not overbearing which is always a plus. This beer is quite easy to drink.

I give the aroma an 8, taste a 9, and drinkability a 9. With a 26/30, it gets a final score of 87. This is another great beer from Dogfish Head. I feel bad for not trying this brand more often.

And now, for my second beer of the day. I’ve been on a bit of a Dogfish Head run lately. I am drinking Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron. This beer is aged on Palo Santo wood, as it says on the label.

The aroma is intense. I detect a bit of fruit, burnt wood, hops & sweetness at the end. The taste is strong, probably due to its high abv (12%), but it tastes slightly sweet like molasses; also slightly taste the hops. This is a beer that should be drank like a fine wine.

I give aroma a 10, taste gets an 8.5 & drinkability gets an 8. With a 26.5/30, it gets a final score of 88. This is a great beer, almost like a dessert wine. I’m disappointed I didn’t get into Dogfish Head sooner. They haven’t disappointed me yet.