Name: Hop Rising Tropical Double IPA
Brewery: Squatters (Park City, Utah)
Style: American Imperial IPA
Rating: 4/5
Review: During this pandemic, you need something strong. And this is 9%, so it really helps you tune out your family and/or panicked thoughts. Not overly hoppy, definitely tropical (as it boasts, whatever “tropical” means), and probably dangerous, as I could have easily downed a second or third and then have been in TROUBLE. Go try one for yourself.
Name: White Russian
Brewery: Lefthand Brewing Co. (Longmont, Colorado)
Style: White nitro stout with coffee + vanilla
Rating: 3.9/5
Review: It’s been a hot minute since I’ve reviewed any beer, so bear with me.
This beer was very tasty, but it almost wasn’t beer to me. I should admit that I have little experience with drinking White Russian cocktails. One of my best friends, Evyn, introduced me to them in Cuba, of all places. That was four years ago. I may have gone another three years before drinking a White Russian again — and that was when my friend Danylo decided he’d make them for me and all of my roommates to celebrate their graduation in May 2020. I will say: I am quite fond of the beverage, given the limited experience.
This beer is perplexing in that it’s a stout, but it’s got the color of a much lighter beer. Like a wheat beer. It is so creamy that you just forget that you’re drinking beer. You do taste the coffee and vanilla. Honestly, I’d give this a higher ranking if it were just more versatile. It’s THICK. You wouldn’t drink it in summertime. But the last night of February? Sure.
Name: Coriolis Effect
Brewery: New Image Brewing (Arvada, Colorado)
Style: New Zealand Style IPA
Rating: 4.2 / 5
Review: I will preface this review with stating that I am quite, quite biased on this one. Further, I am going into launch into a long story that barely reviews the beer.
I actually saw this beer for the first time back in December (remember December? A time when we weren’t wearing face masks and could socialize without fear of contracting a devastating virus?). My rad co-worker had given me a $15 gift certificate to the liquor store right before you get on I-25 from my exit of Colorado Springs. I never go to this liquor store because it’s just *slightly* more expensive than my go-to, college liquor store. But hey, I had a gift certificate!
I was on my way to Denver to spend the night with a friend, then had a morning flight out of DIA the following day. So I was just looking to pick up some beer for the night and the new year, since the certificate would expire at the end of the month. My eye caught the New Image section — they have excellent branding — and this beer stuck out for one precise reason: my roommate is from New Zealand. I recorded it as something to get her at a later time, unwilling to get a six pack and discover it wasn’t very good. What did a “New Zealand style” IPA even mean?
Looking back, I should have went for it. Because man, this stuff is good. What makes the style “New Zealand” is the hops originating from NZ, motueka hops. There is something about this beer that just strikes the perfect balance for me. Lately, I’ve been on the hazy / juicy IPA train, and this beer is a little hazy, a little juicy, and a little hoppy. And when you combine those three qualities with these special hops, you get a unique flavor.
Six months after seeing the beer, I finally bought it for my roommate, in a mix-and-match birthday six pack. I was curious to know what she thought of it andhoped she’d give me a sip of it (despite the lurking fear of the ‘rona). Lucky for me, another friend of hers got her a full six pack of it — and she shared one with me.
I’ve been a diehard 4 Noses fan for a while, but New Image is now tickling my fancy, if I may use that absurd expression. I decided a while ago that I’m going to “settle” in Arvada, though I’ve never actually been to the place. I just like the idea of it: between Boulder and Denver, access to concert venues in both cities plus Red Rocks Amphitheatre, great outdoor recreation. And it has New Image Brewing.
Name: Hibiscus Wheat
Brewery: Yonkers Brewing Co.
Style: Wheat Beer
Rating: 4.3/5
Review: I don’t know if I’m proud or ashamed to say that at this point, I’ve drank a lot of beer. A lot of styles of beer. And frankly, it’s gotten almost a little old. I’m finally disinclined to try new things, because I can usually peg the beers I’m going to like and the which ones I won’t care for instantly. “Life is too short,” I recently told my friend, “to drink shitty beer.” Therefore, I’ve been kind of seeking comfort and assurance from beers I already know and love. But I grabbed this beer thinking, “Eh, I’ll probably like it well enough,” and knowing my sister, who is not a huge beer drinker, would like it far better than an IPA. Well, I took a sip of this and paused. “Dang. That’s interesting. That’s something I haven’t had before.” I don’t even know what hibiscus really is, nor can I really describe its flavor, but this was refreshing and tasty and just different. There is still a reason to try new beer!
Name: Southern Pecan Brown Nut Ale
Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company (Mississippi)
Style: English Brown Ale
Rating: 3.1 / 5
Review: I spent the last week and a half traveling from Charleston to Atlanta, visiting friends and family. For years, I have received Snapchats from my best friend at Clemson of “The Wall of Beer.” Naturally, now that I was finally visiting her at Clemson, she had to take me. And it’s exactly what it sounds like: a wall of tantalizing craft beers. But it’s not in some magical place — it’s in a Quik Mart.
Since I am far too biased toward Colorado beers, I made an effort to select beers only from southern brewing companies. Pecans are my favorite nut (although I can’t decide how to pronounce their name — PEE-cans? Peh-cahns? It changes every time. I’m leaning toward pee-cans), and I’ve always been a dark beer fan, so I gave this one a shot.
While I did enjoy the beer, I definitely jumped the gun on the dark beer train. It’s still too hot — at least in South Carolina — to be drinking a brown or a stout. So after a few sips, I was already craving some fruity IPA or a lager. This one is still worth the try, though, especially if you like Ska’s Buster Nut Brown. It’s not terribly heavy, and as fall progresses, will be increasingly satisfying.
