Labatt Blue

You didn't ask for it! You didn't demand it! But I'm providing it anyway! SHITTY BEER WEEK is a go! Five increasingly shitty macrobrews will pull down the grading curve over the course of the next week.

First Brewed: 1951
Brewery Location: Originally Toronto, Ontario, Canada; now London, Ontario, Canada
ABV: 5.0% in Canada; 4.7% in the US

History & Availability: Labatt Blue stole the title of Canada's best-selling beer from one of Labatt's earlier offerings, Labatt 50, in 1979, and although it's no longer the best-selling beer in the country, it is still the best-selling Canadian beer worldwide. With Labatt being the largest brewer in Canada, their current flagship beer is unsurprisingly sold across the country, and imported heavily to the US. An easy way I've found to remember the spread in the US is the following chain: Labatt -> Canada -> ice hockey -> which states play ice hockey? And accordingly, Labatt Blue is most popular in the northern midwest (i.e. Minnesota and the surrounding states) and northern New England/upstate New York.

Appearance: A little bit more golden than yellow, which is nice to see. The head pours thick but fizzy, and reduces to a trace showing on the top of the beer almost instantly. Carbonation is low for the style which contributes to the complete lack of head within 30 seconds. Clarity is perfect, since obviously we don't want to leave any of the good stuff in there.

Smell: I'm gonna have to come up with a whole host of new words to describe metal this week, I'm sure. This beer definitely smells like a heavier metal; wrought iron or something of the sort. There's actually the slightest hint of apple in there too, which is incredibly reassuring, since I was expecting straight copper.

Taste: Really low on taste. I never thought I'd try a new beer that actually had less taste than all the other macros I've had in the past, but Labatt Blue does the impossible and takes the prize. I'm actually fairly impressed that they managed to get the brew to look like a beer and smell like a beer without actually having any of the taste of a beer. There's a little bit of aluminum flavor from the can, but really other than that, this is pretty much Perrier in a mug with yellow food coloring.

Mouthfeel: Really low on the carbonation, it almost tastes flat, like a Bud that's been left to sit for a few hours. I guess that's Labatt's thing though. I would have preferred a little more fizz but it's not really a huge issue for me. Other than that one little twist the beer feels exactly like any other macro pilsner out there: watery and light, with not much left behind.

Drinkability: Are you kidding me? It's water. I know I said a couple other beers earlier were watery, but this is by far the wateriest. I could easily throw back seven or eight of these in an hour and the only hint that I was drinking beer and not seltzer would be the drunkenness - but even then at 4.7% you're not going to get trashed unless you're really trying hard.

Overall verdict: C. Water is water, what can I say? At least it's not offensively bad.

Allagash Curieux

First Brewed: 2004
Brewery Location: Portland, Maine, United States
ABV: 11%

History & Availability: To finish off Expensive Beer Week, we've got a beer that weighs in at $18 a bottle. The Curieux was Allagash's first beer in their "Barrel Aged" series. Like the bottle text "ale aged in oak bourbon barrels" implies, the beer is actually aged for 8 weeks in Jim Beam barrels, just like a real Kentucky bourbon would be, before being bottled. As a result, the beer is advertised as gaining a "hint of bourbon flavor." We'll see how it stacks up. As for availability, I picked this up the first time I'd ever seen it a couple weeks ago. If you're actually on the hunt for it, you could probably find it with some searching, but this is another of those limited-quantity special brews so maybe not. It would definitely be much easier if you could get into the Portland area.

Appearance: I have a little confession to make; I actually popped this beer open before I was planning on doing the actual review, which is why I knew to make the little joke with the glassware there. The beer itself is a nice hazy tan, almost completely opaque even in the rocks glass. Not much carbonation or head is apparent.

Smell: Yeah, smelling a lot like Jim Beam.

Taste: I'm gonna be straight, this beer tastes like pure whiskey. The alcohol is so present as to have the warming effect of a light liquor, and the bourbon taste has really taken hold. I can't even extract what this beer would have tasted like before it was aged. There's a slight hint of vanilla beneath the whiskey but again it's so backgrounded as to be swallowed up by the main taste.

Mouthfeel: Light, as tripels go. Really heavy-handed on the alcohol feel, which does tend to reduce the density, but of course also warms the mouth and evaporates quickly leaving little to no residue.

Drinkability: Essentially none. The joke about putting the beer in the rocks glass was only partially an exaggeration. You want to drink this beer about as fast as you'd drink bourbon, and I'm not really joking around. Definitely don't drink the full 750mL bottle in one go unless you have the tolerance of an alcoholic who's drunk a fifth a day since 1980.

Overall verdict: A, it's a really, really good beer, but be careful, this shit will get you fucked up.

La Fin du Monde

First Brewed: 1994
Brewery Location: Chambly, Québec, Canada
ABV: 9.0%

History & Availability: Almost certainly Unibroue's most famous beer, La Fin Du Monde (End of the World) is also Canada's most award-winning beer and consistently one of the highest-rated beers worldwide. I can often find it in any specialty shop in NH or Maine, but since we're essentially south Quebec I'm not sure how much further south they penetrate, and the internet isn't being very helpful with distribution figures. Nevertheless I bet special order will be fairly successful with this beer given its high standing among beer enthusiasts.

Appearance: This beer is an slightly cloudy, translucent pure yellow color. Carbonation appears pretty high and similarly the barely off-white head pours very thick and high, staying at a half-fingerwidth after receding. It's actually very much reminiscent of the UFO Hefeweizen in terms of color: brilliant straw-yellow and hazily unfiltered.

Smell: Light and flowery with a bit of citrus and the slightest hint of Italian spices. Totally inoffensive unlike some overbearing citrusy beers. You can smell a little bit of alcohol, which doesn't really surprise me given the high ABV that comes with the tripel style.

Taste: You can taste the yeast here which follows from the beer being unfiltered. In addition the alcohol makes an appearance, as one might expect it might as we near double-digit ABVs. More prominently the beer follows through on the scent's promise of sour citrus; grapefruit or lemon more than orange or anything like that. The aftertaste is warm and surprisingly low on the alcoholic taste, and is definitely more fruity than anything. But despite the above, be aware that this isn't a traditional "fruity" beer. It's actually a lot like a slightly more sour version of Magic Hat #9, which I think you'll agree isn't overwhelmingly fruity, prominent though the taste may be.

Mouthfeel: 8/10 on the smooth scale. It's the slightest bit rough around the edges, intentionally. I think it's probably just a function of the high alcohol content, but it's definitely noticeable. Other than that dry alcohol feel, the carbonation is not too heavy which is a plus, especially since it still stays high enough to keep the head rolling. (I feel like I'm repeating myself here but it's important to recognize this delicate balance.)

Drinkability: Pretty darn good. It's light enough in body that it's really easy to drink the full 750 mL bottle without difficulty. The only thing that you might have trouble with is the classic "taste overload." The beer is complex enough in general that this shouldn't be a problem, but I could definitely see it happening under the right circumstances, and so I can't really discount it.

Overall verdict: A-, it's several of my friends' personal favorite, but not among mine.

Arrogant Bastard Ale

First Brewed: 1997
Brewery Location: Escondido, California, United States
ABV: 7.2%

History & Availability: Stone Brewery, makers of the Arrogant Bastard, actually don't consider this beer to be their flagship, despite it being by far the most popular of their brews and the only one you'll find with any consistency on the east coast. However, it does get some great circulation and I tend to find it almost anywhere craft beers are sold.

Appearance: A medium ruddy color, this beer has a slight head that dissipates to a thin layer within a couple minutes. The beer is totally opaque, and probably the lightest beer I've seen so far that has such a cloudy quality. I can see only slight carbonation, which makes sense due to the relatively small head, but again because it's so cloudy I can't really tell. --Interestingly the head seems to actually increase as you drink the beer.

Smell: Pretty bitter. The hops are definitely prominent in this one, and it's not mild hops either. Hidden beneath the hops are scents of some bitter grain and alcohol, but these are definitely secondary scents that I really had to search for.

Taste: Same as the smell, this beer is aggressively hoppy. The brand's shtick is the arrogant attitude, as the name implies; and as such the bottle proclaims prominently that "you're not worthy" of such an aggressive taste, and I have to say, you probably won't like this beer if you don't have an incredibly refined palate. As the beer warms you get a little more of a sweet taste in the background but the bitter hops always remain prominent in the foreground.

Mouthfeel: Rough. This is definitely not the beer to drink if you're looking for an easy, quick-drinkable brew. It's tough to really hold for any longer than a couple seconds because it's just so bitter. Carbonation is lowish so that's really not the issue, it's totally a taste thing.

Drinkability: I personally have trouble finishing a 22oz bottle simply due to the overwhelming hops. It's not a burpy beer by any means, and it's not too filling, but if you're not crazy about the taste it's going to be tough to have too much of it.

Overall verdict: A-, it's not one of my personal favorites, but it's the best-tasting of the highly-hopped beers I've had yet.

Harpoon Catamount Maple Wheat

First Brewed: 2009
Brewery Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States and Windsor, Vermont, United States
ABV: 6.8%

History & Availability: The Catamount Maple Wheat is the current beer in Harpoon's 100 Barrel series, which consists of beers that are brewed in smaller quantities (namely, 100 barrels) and in a single batch, so are available only for a limited time. This particular beer was first introduced as the 26th in the series in 2009, but was popular enough that Harpoon decided to feature it again as the 35th in the series. The "maple" in the name is not only a woodsy evocation; it was actually brewed with real maple syrup to give it that authentic northern-New-Englandy taste. The beer was bottled on Jan. 21, and these beers tend to run for about two months, so if you want to give it a try you may want to start looking around sooner rather than later. It's only $6 a bottle, which is obviously more expensive than most beers you'll buy in packs, but is one of the cheapest 22oz-ers I've seen around.

Appearance: It looks like maple syrup, so they at least got that down. Maybe a bit redder than the average syrup. Carbonation is slight, but despite this the beer is a little hazy. Head pours low and diminishes quickly to just a trace on the top of the mug without any agitation. With such low carbonation there probably won't be much retention to speak of through the drink.

Smell: Rather than maple, I'm instead getting an aroma that reminds me of soft fruits, like kiwi or mango. I'm actually a little disappointed because the smell of real maple syrup sends me into a wild drool-fest where I start craving corn pancakes and vanilla ice cream slathered in the stuff. Alas, no such luck with the scent of this beer. On the plus side, when they advertised "lightly-hopped" they seem to be taking it to heart, since I can sense almost no bitter aroma from this beer at first glance.

Taste: I taste the wheat, for sure. I don't taste the catamount (although not having a cougar taste is probably a good thing), and sadly I don't really taste the maple. The beer is certainly sweet, don't get me wrong, and the hops have a minimal impact on the taste as advertised, but when I'm really hoping for a truly maple-flavored beer it's disappointing to find that it's just a sweeter-than-average ale.

Mouthfeel: Oddly balanced despite having no hop bitterness to speak of. As mentioned, carbonation is fairly low, but not low enough so that it's flat. Average finish and little aftertaste make this a pretty neutral-feeling beer.

Drinkability: Good. The low carbonation definitely helps out in keeping this beer light in the stomach. And despite my lamentations about the lack of maple, the taste is really quite pleasant, it doesn't strain on you at all.

Overall verdict: B, it really is a pretty good beer, I'm just horribly disappointed by the broken promise of maple syrup.

Victory Storm King Stout

First Brewed: Between 1996 and 2001
Brewery Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania, United States
ABV: 9.1%

History & Availability: This is the only Victory beer I've ever seen, despite living only a couple states away from PA. Nevertheless that is probably a good sign for saturation of the beer. Victory's website says they distribute to 30 states so if you're in one of those, you can probably find this beer if you search around. Again, it leans a little toward the expensive end, but it's not orders of magnitude more than the average craft beer.

Appearance: Without a doubt, this beer takes its place among the darkest two or three beers I've rated yet. There's a hint of red during the pour but in the mug itself there's nothing but a pure black. The head, while thin, is the darkest and chocolatiest head I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. I couldn't tell you how the retention will be because I literally can't tell if there's tons of carbonation or none at all. The beer is simply that opaque.

Smell: This beer smells retardedly good. Slow to hit the nostrils, but once it does you get a strong sweet dark chocolate aroma with tons of malt suggestion.

Taste: Rich like chocolate, but with an ever-so-slight tartness to it that reminds me of raspberry or fresh pitted cherries. The aftertaste is malty and slightly more grainy than the initial taste, but there's also coffee and the slightest bitterness in the aftertaste that you don't otherwise see. Interestingly, despite the astonishing 9% ABV, you can't taste alcohol in the mouth, and only the slightest hint of dryness in the aftertaste reminds you that this stout has quite a kick to it. Well, that hint, and the fact that after two bottles you feel like you've drunken a full 6-pack.

Mouthfeel: Thick, but unlike a lot of beers that are thick like bread, this stout is thick like melted chocolate. I know I'm overusing the chocolate analogy in this review but I simply can't overstate how decadent this beer is. Carbonation is super thin and kind of creeps up on you, you only really notice that it's there because of what it's doing for turnover in the mouth, not because of the bubbles themselves. It's a very well-done feel.

Drinkability: This is a little burpy for a stout, but it tastes so much like mocha chocolate even in the other direction that I can't complain. The only thing holding it back here is the >9% ABV, which might actually be a benefit for some drinkers. Nevertheless it is still a stout, so you're not going to want to down the whole 6-pack simply due to volume.

Overall verdict: A, outstanding even among its peers, which make up one of my favorite types of beer.

Rogue American Amber Ale

You asked for it! You demanded it! And I'm providing it! EXPENSIVE BEER WEEK is a go! Five increasingly expensive craft beers will grace the ratings over the course of the next week.

 First Brewed: At least 1996
Brewery Location: Newport, Oregon, United States
ABV: 5.6%

History & Availability: America, f*** yeah! Rogue's American Amber has won the World Beer Championships' gold medal for the category for 6 years since 1996, including 5 years in a row from 2003 to 2007. Saturation is probably about the same as any other Rogue brew, meaning specifically that you'll be able to find it anywhere that specialty beers are sold. Slightly more expensive than the average 6-pack, American Amber is nevertheless a popular option when you want a higher-priced beer without splurging on the 22oz bottles of wallet-breaking potential.

Appearance: Rogue's amber ale is, appropriately, a medium-to-dark amber color with a nice tan head and a hazy body. Retention seems decent but not great, since carbonation is on the low side. After I poured the beer, there were actually a bunch of huge film bubbles left in the bottle, which suggests something about the characteristics of the beer but I'm too ignorant to know exactly what.

Smell: This beer has a very faint smell of roasty toasty coffee beans. Not really any more to it than that.

Taste: This is a pretty sweet beer. I can definitely taste the redness even though I couldn't see it, which is a little backwards but interesting nevertheless. As expected, roasty toasty malts take the stage with pleasure here. I can't seem to shake an odd sense of connection with the Rogue Mocha Porter, even though these two beers look nothing like each other - they certainly taste the part. Malts on one end, a little bit of a coffee aftertaste, and low on the hops. I actually haven't really had all that many Rogue beers so I'm hoping they aren't simply the same thing repeated over and over, above-average though that one thing may be.

Mouthfeel: A little coarse around the edges due to the smoky flavor, but the minimalistic carbonation helps to keep the beer smooth even in the face of the flavor trying its best to roughen it up. This is definitely a holdable beer unlike a number of the recent ones I've tried.

Drinkability: Pretty good. Not stellar, but not bad. It's certainly not a burpy beer, but neither is it one that you suddenly find yourself staring at the bottom of the mug wondering where the last pint went.

Overall verdict: B+, see the Rogue Mocha Porter if you're interested in a very similar but slightly darker brew.

Magic Hat hI.P.A.

First Brewed: 2003?
Brewery Location: South Burlington, Vermont, United States
ABV: 6.7%

History & Availability: hI.P.A. is Magic Hat's fall "On Tour" seasonal, so I'm not really sure how I ran across this one. Availability of any of their "On Tour" beers is in general significantly lower than the more ubiquitous year-round brews, so finding this beer in particular is spotty even in-season.

Appearance: A cloudy but exceptionally light-colored beer, hI.P.A. is a pure yellow with lots of carbonation. The head is pure white but frothy and thick like marshmallow fluff. Retention is great due to the carbonation content and the head clings to the glass all the way down. I only had one bottle of this beer that I bummed off a friend, so excuse the half-mug.

Smell: The smell is very strong and herbal; very hoppy with almost no sweetness to speak of. It's not actually as strong as the Harpoon Winter Warmer but damn it, it's trying. The Magic Hat website lists pine but I'm getting much more of a fir scent (which are definitely totally distinct, don't even start with that).

Taste: Super bitter and lots of hops as advertised. As IPAs go this is clearly high on the hops and low on the spice. It feels like there's little hints of citrus trying to poke through but the hops are browbeating everything back to the ground indiscriminately. The aftertaste is toasty like roasted almonds.

Mouthfeel: A little rough, to be honest. The toasty aftertaste translates into an odd smoky feel while it's in the mouth, which isn't really represented in the taste itself but makes it tough to hold for any extended period of time.

Drinkability: A little too heavy on the hops to be drinkable in extreme proportions. I was feeling it take its toll even after the single bottle, and I'm actually glad I didn't have a second because it might have brought the rating down almost by necessity.

Overall verdict: B-, I'll have one from time to time, but I certainly won't seek it out.

Harpoon Winter Warmer

First Brewed: 1988
Brewery Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States and Windsor, Vermont, United States
ABV: 5.9%

History & Availability: As Harpoon's winter seasonal, Winter Warmer is distributed heavily throughout the winter months. Chances are wherever you find Harpoon beer, the Winter Warmer will be available. Harpoon says this beer is available from November to January but it's pretty easy to pick it up for even up to two months after they officially stop distributing.

Appearance: Winter Warmer is a medium-dark maple-colored beer with a creamy tan head. The clarity is really high for being as dark as it is, and you can see the carbonation racing up the sides of the glass as a result. The head itself is really rich and thick despite being relatively thin, so head retention is probably going to be pretty good.

Smell: This is by far the strongest-smelling beer I've rated yet. The second I popped the cap, a huge rush of banana and cinnamon raced into my nose. It's extremely potent and doesn't even really smell like beer at all, but instead some kind of spiced eggnog mixer. I think it's gotta be the slight hint of nutmeg that's making me think of winter; the strong cinnamon smell is really overpowering otherwise.

Taste: This beer tastes like a spiced banana. It surprises me every time I have a bottle how little it tastes like a normal beer. There's no malt taste, no hops taste, nothing at all. The cinnamon taste is, again, really overpowering, but unlike in years past I'm able to notice some little subtleties that didn't exist before. The very first time I had this beer a couple years ago I actually thought someone was playing a joke on me and had dropped an Atomic Fireball in my bottle while I wasn't looking. It was really that stupidly overspiced. For this year's batch it seems like they've toned it down significantly, which is definitely a good thing, but it's still way too much for me.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with a prominent aftertaste. Carbonation is relatively unobtrusive. The issue is that it's extremely hard to focus on how it feels in your mouth with how spiced it is. Unless you really, really enjoy the taste of cinnamon, it actually doesn't matter how the beer feels in your mouth since you won't want to do anything but pour it directly down your throat.

Drinkability: Objectively speaking, the beer is plenty drinkable. It's light in the stomach, not too heavy on the carbonation, and doesn't require too much of your tolerance. But the flavor is never something I'd want to have more than one of. This is one of the few beers I've ever left unfinished simply because I can't bring myself to drink the rest of the bottle. Rare are the times when I'd choose not to drink a free beer, but I think I'd decline this one.

Overall verdict: D+, don't bother unless you've got an insatiable cinnamon craving.

Killian's Irish Red

I had this on tap at the pub and didn't have my phone charged, so I neglected to take a picture and couldn't take notes. But in the interest of completeness I figured I might as well mention that I had it. The beer is brewed by Coors and so as you might expect it's got a pretty macro taste to it. I didn't like it at all. It's slightly better than the average golden lager but really not worth searching out by any means. Jason Alström calls it a "last resort" beer and I'd have to agree with that assessment.

Overall verdict: C-

Löwenbräu Original

First Brewed: 1383, although the formula has changed since then
Brewery Location: Munich, Bavaria, Germany
ABV: 5.2%

History & Availability: So I'm going back through my list and I'm realizing this is the first actual Bavarian beer I've rated yet. If there's one thing you should know about Bavaria, it's the beer, and so this section will serve as a mini history lesson. Bavarians love their beer. The whole region is drenched in it. Bavaria has more breweries than the entire rest of Germany combined (641 of 1275 in 2003), and they host Oktoberfest every year, which traditionally was an agricultural show (and originally a celebration of Ludwig I's marriage) but has become famous for being the largest beer festival in the world, with over 5 million people traveling to Munich to celebrate beer annually. This is serious business. And so as one of only six breweries allowed to operate a tent at Oktoberfest, you know Löwenbräu is serious business too. (Side note: although almost everyone in the U.S. pronounces the name of the brewery something like "Lo-wen-brow," the proper German pronunciation sounds more like "Ler-ven-broi" due to the umlauts. The more you know!)

As for the beer itself, although the recipe has obviously changed over the years due to the Reinheitsgebot and all that, Löwenbräu Original is nominally the same beer that was first served at the Lion's Inn ("Zum Löwen," hence the name) over 600 years ago, which I think is pretty neat. It was absurdly popular in the U.S. in the '80s, which interestingly enough was during the short period of time it was brewed for the North American market under license by Miller (which I'm sure is a name you all recognize), and in fact they used a totally different recipe than the actual Löwenbräu in Germany used, adding corn and taking out a good bit of real malt. Since 2002 Löwenbräu beer in North America has been reverted to the original recipe and is no longer brewed by Miller-Coors (thankfully).

I'll tell you one thing though, these people sure know how to sell a beer:

Appearance: Löwenbräu is a pastel yellow color reminiscent of straw. It pours with a decent-sized but weak white and fizzy head, which has above-average retention for the style. Of course, although it's technically a helles lager, it shares a lot of the pilsner style so as a result its head retention is really nothing special.

Smell: Like old coins. It's a lot like Beck's, a lot like Pilsner Urquell, a lot like most pilsners in fact. I'm a little disappointed that there's essentially no variation between all the beers of this style.

Taste: Still metallic, although I find that there is a little more hops presence than I found in any of the other pilsners I've rated. As I've mentioned for pretty much every other beer in the style, it's not something that stands out in any unique way. It's not a bad taste, but it's simply not interesting enough to keep me coming back.

Mouthfeel: A little bit heavier than the average pils. Carbonation is not too overwhelming, which is a problem that seems to plague a lot of beers of the style.

Drinkability: Pretty great actually, I found myself finishing the second bottle almost without realizing it. The problem is that this is largely a function of being so neutral. I'm sure it's a great hit at Oktoberfest because you can slam down a bunch in a row but if you're actually looking for something tasty to drink I don't think I can recommend this beer.

Overall verdict: C+, meet the new central European pilsner, same as the old central European pilsner.

Harpoon IPA

First Brewed: 1993
Brewery Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States and Windsor, Vermont, United States
ABV: 5.9%

History & Availability: The India Pale Ale style was created in London when merchants needed to find a way to keep beer fresh during trips on unrefrigerated ships from England all the way to India. As a result IPAs have noticeably higher hops and alcohol content than an "average" pale ale. Harpoon was the very first craft brewery in Massachusetts after several decades of the state being completely without local beer, and this is their flagship beer. As one of the most well-established brands in the northeast, it should be easy to find their IPA pretty much anywhere in the region year-round.

Appearance: This IPA pours a light apple juice color with a thin, fizzy, off-white head. Carbonation is about average for the style, but probably not enough to keep the head present throughout the drink. Clarity is excellent.

Smell: As expected I get a lot of hops from this beer. However, they are not quite as bitter as I expected, and instead there is a distinct floral scent. Interestingly there is almost no malt at all so it can't be a non-floral scent masked by the sugar to seem flowery, this has to be a real fresh hops smell. Not much else of note here.

Taste: Very floral. This is a really interesting brand of hops. I was honestly a little nervous since I generally don't like IPAs, since they tend to go way overboard on the malt-to-alcohol transition and leave no sweetness behind, but even though I'm sure Harpoon has made the same decision in regard to their malt, they've managed to get such an infusion of floral hops that it really ends up being ok.

Mouthfeel: Medium- to light-bodied and with not too much carbonation to slow you down. Leaves behind a fairly prominent residue and floral aftertaste that I'm not a huge fan of.

Drinkability: Decent but nothing special. Unlike Long Trail I can't see myself really having any more after I finish my second. Again, not because it's overly filling, but simply because the taste is beginning to wear on me.

Overall verdict: B, pretty good for a style that I don't really care for. I personally wouldn't choose it over many of the other Bs but it's important to cater to all tastes.

Geary's Pale Ale

First Brewed: 1986
Brewery Location: Portland, Maine, United States
ABV: 4.5%

History & Availability: The Pale Ale is Geary's first and flagship beer, so it will have the most widespread distribution around the northeast.

Appearance: This is a mostly-clear deep copper beer, not as dark as the more wood-colored ales, but pretty standard for the style. Carbonation appears slightly above average but the head is making me anxious, it's pretty fizzy and doesn't have much beef to it so I'm nervous that it'll disappear before I get too far into the drink. --As a follow-up, it appears my fears were unfounded, as Geary's goes 4 for 4 on the head retention front. It's definitely a smaller head than some of their other beers but present and able nonetheless.

Smell: Standard for a pale ale, Geary's has some bite in the smell from the hops. Despite the merely average ABV I'm getting whiffs of alcohol dryness coming from the mug. Like Long Trail, this is giving me good contrast; this is a much crisper, sharper scent than most of the maltier beers I've had in the past week or so.

Taste: A very balanced taste, toeing the line pretty well between malt and hops, although near the end of a sip the malt falls off and leaves the bite of the hops a little too much in the foreground. The aftertaste falls heavily on the herbal side, tasting a lot like parsley.

Mouthfeel: Oddly watery. It's made from Maine hard water so it may be the buildup of 20 years of having this from the tap, but I feel like without the bite of the hops this would be just like drinking water out of my sink. It's medium tending towards light bodied which doesn't really help the issue. However I bet if you didn't grow up with Maine well water it's not going to even be noticeable for you.

Drinkability: Decent. It's a little too hoppy to really drink in excess but I had no problem putting back two in a row without killing myself. Because of the relatively light body I'm not really concerned about overfilling, simply more about overtasting.

Overall verdict: B-. I've kind of worked myself into a corner here, it's definitely better than the Shipyard but not quite as good as their own Winter Ale, so here I sit.