Flying Dog Kerberos Tripel

So despite the fact that I’ve had a hard time posting reviews of the beers Flying Dog has sent me lately, they sent me another sample: Kerberos Tripel. This arrived on a good day as I was in need of a good beer but wasn’t planning on buying any until Friday.

Along with the bottle, they also sent a pretty handy chart (printed on both sides) showing their various beers and breaking down the malts and hops used in each, their awards, flavor characteristics, food pairings, etc. It’s available for download here.

Here is what Flying Dog has to say about this beer:

Kerberos is a bottle conditioned Belgian-style Strong Ale that weighs in at 8.5% ABV. It’s brewed with Pilsner and Aromatic malts and Golding and Saaz hops, yielding a deep golden to light copper in color. We recommend pairing Kerberos with poultry, creamy cheeses, fruit pastries or creme brulee.

Here’s what I had to say…

The Pour
Poured into a nice big pilsner glass, this showed an average, somewhat loose head that dissipated quickly, and leaving no real lacing on the glass. This brew was a bright golden copper color and definitely looked unfiltered. It looks like it will be a heavy, very slightly carbonated brew.

The Nose
This has a slightly sweet, slightly hoppy floral aroma. It smells like it will be a solid bodied beer that you’ll want to chew. You can pick up hints of bread or wheat in the nose as well.

The Taste
The body is indeed thick. It’s somewhat cloying and has an oily mouthfeel and does feel like something you could chew. None of this is really a bad thing, as it’s balanced out by the alcohol and hops, which are more noticeable at first. There’s also almost a wheaty flavor noticed after a few sips. After a few drinks the hops and alcohol become less pronounced, but you get the warmth of the alcohol all the way through. The mouthfeel doesn’t really change but it’s a somewhat pleasant presence.

Overall
This is like a thick, heavy pilsner. It seems to maintain a good subtle hoppiness, interspersed with wheat flavor making the occasional cameo. For a beer that is 8.5% ABV, the alcohol is slight noticeable at first, though very mellow, and just gets better as it warms your palate. All in all, this is great for those times you just want a good solid heavy beer to almost chew on. Very warm and tasty.

Recommended: Sure, but don’t buy it expecting beer to chug as you watch the game or hang out on the deck.

Price: Unknown

ABV: 8.5%

Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale

I spotted this a week or so ago while walking through a Publix. I’m not a big fruit-in-beer kind of guy, and their Honey Moon Summer Ale was a disappointment, but I love Blue Moon so much I thought I’d give this a shot. I wasn’t disappointed. First, here is what Coors had to say about their Pumpkin Ale:

From the 6 pack packaging:

A unique amber ale handcrafted with the flavors of fall, including vine-ripened pumpkin, cloves, nutmeg and allspice.

From the bottle neck:

This amber-colored, naturally flavored ale is brewed only in autumn and combines the flavor of vine-ripened pumpkin and spices with traditional crystal malt.

And now on to the tasting…

The Pour
This pours with a nice ruby-tinged amber color. I gave it a vigorous pour to see what kind of head it produced, and it gave me a high fluffy head with loose bubbles. It didn’t really lace the glass….the head seemed to slide around on the glass as one unit, as opposed to falling apart and lacing as it slid down the glass.

The Nose
On first sniff this smells like a typical amber ale. Nice hops, though the malt definitely takes center stage. Deeper sniffs, however, brought out subtle hints of the cloves, nutmeg and allspice. Quite pleasant.

The Taste
The first sip was interesting. It took another couple of swallows to get a feel for the brew. The pumpkin flavor is evident more as a sweetness than a definitive pumpkin taste. There’s just a tinge of spices, lurking in the finish. It is easy to go overboard spicing a brew like this, so the understatement was appreciated. By the 4th or fifth swallow I was really enjoying this beer. It seemed to have a smooth, round mouthfeel and a clean finish.

Overall
This is a tasty fall seasonal ale. It’s sweeter than a regular amber ale, thanks to the pumpkin. Nicely crafted. Enjoy this if you’re looking for a slightly different way to usher in the cool, crisp days of autumn.

Recommended: Yes, it’s a nice way to get in the spirit of fall.
Price: $7.49 for a 6-pack
ABV: 5.6%
Visit the Blue Moon Web site

Schlafly Summer Kolsch Ale

Schlafly beers are made by Tom Schlafly through The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (Visit the Schlafly Web site.)  They’ve been incorporated since 1989 and had their grand opening in 1991.

First, here is what they say about their own beer:

Schlafly Summer Kolsch is a golden-colored, medium-bodied crisp and refreshing ale. This style, which originated in Cologne, is well balanced, mild mannered, and a perfect companion for the lazy days of summer/

Here’s what I thought:

The Pour
This poured a nice golden color, almost copper actually. The head was high and loose and somewhat long lasting. It left a decent amount of lacing on the side of the glass.

The Nose
The nose is hoppy and crisp. There are slight caramel and biscuit notes in the nose, and fruit appears as the beer warms a bit.

The Taste
They were right about this being a medium-bodied brew. It’s very smooth and very well balanced. Not too hoppy or malty…it really sits in the middle of that spectrum and just edges over to the hoppy side now and then. I didn’t taste a lot of complex and diverse flavors here, which isn’t necessarily bad. It tasted of nice hops, malt and yeast. It’s a nice beer. As it warms, caramel appears and the hops intensify just a bit, becoming a bit more aggressive on the finish (a very little bit more aggressive).

Overall
Overall this is a very well balanced beer, though as it warms it does give you a slight nudge towards hops, which is nice. Eminently drinkable and refreshing. Crisp and clean and just a good Kolsch ale.

Recommended: Yes….this is just a good solid beer that will grow on you
Price: Can’t remember exactly, somewhere around $8-$9 for a six-pack
ABV: 4.8%