Okay, so this mission is going to start with an admission: I don't like reviewing beer that I don't enjoy. Don't get me wrong, I love trying all kinds of beer but I always feel bad about scoring brews low because I know that a brewer somewhere worked up a recipe and I hate trashing someone's invention. And if I'm being totally honest, I have to admit that I don't feel inspired to write about beers that I don't like. Obviously this creates an unrealistic cross-section of my tasting experience. It probably appears that I love every beer I try when the reality is that I run across many brews that don't suit my tastes.
Well, this mission didn't give me any room to hide, so I'll shoot straight.
(1) Southern Tier - Unearthly
Watery with a marmalade flavor that isn't over the top. An interesting brew that I won't avoid but probably won't go out of my way for either.
Score: 5 out 10
(2) Flying Dog - Double Dog
Oddly, the scent reminds me of a Belgian pale ale. Strong orange taste with a strong bitter alcohol finish. I won't say that this beer is bad, but it did not suit my tastes at all.
Score: 1 out 10
(3) Founders - Double Trouble
Awesome citrus hop scent, big citrus and pine front and a nice dry finish. Now, this I enjoyed!
Score: 9 out 10
(4) Mojo Risin - Boulder Beer
Small orange taste with a huge bitter finish. I like the little brother much, much better.
Score: 4 out 10
(5) Rouge - XS Imperial Pale Ale
I almost added this brew to my list of favorites. This brew reminded me distantly of an English IPA without as much "earthiness", which I really enjoyed.
Score: 8 out 10
So in the end, I did find a couple real winners. XS is good enough that I will seek it out and Double Trouble had to be listed as one of my favorites.
My new list looks like this:
(1) Bell's - Hopslam
(2) Three Floyds - Dreadnaught
(3) Oskar Blues - Gordon
(4) Three Floyds - Apocalypse Cow
(5) Founders - Double Trouble
(6) Victory Brewing - Hop Wallop
The separation between 1 - 3 is minuscule enough that it's difficult to say that I really have a favorite.
Thanks Charles, this was great mission! Lots of fun and very tasty!
Eis Igian,
Randall
