15th Annual Knoxville Brewers’ Jam

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Brian Allen

15th Annual Knoxville Brewers’ Jam was very successful this year. The weather was wonderful with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-60’s. The festival featured over sixty beers to sample at the World’s Fair Park.

Some breweries of note are the Marble Brewery, Terminal Brewhouse, and Woodruff Brewing.

The Jam featured music from Kelsey’s Woods, Barstool Romeos, Black Cadillacs, and Cutthroat Shamrock.

This year the organizers, Community Shares, had an area setup for children including a moon bounce and craft table.

Community Shares helps area groups in need.

Founders Cashew Mountain Brown

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Brian Allen

Founders Cashew Mountain Brown pouring up with minimal to no head at all. This is first of Founders beer to distributed in Huntsville. It is a part of their roll out in the state of Alabama.

The whiskey barrel aging presents at the nose very well. The maltiness at the nose compliments the bourbon tones.

The bourbon flavors present right at the beginning of the taste. The high alcohol of 10% ABV goes very well with bourbon.

Stevens Point Brewery’s Belgian White

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Brian Allen

Stevens Point Brewery’s Belgian White pours up very nicely. The head fade quickly.

The amora is a sweet floral mixed with little bit of the spices, which are coriander and orange peel. The aroma is very enjoyable.

The appearance is a hazy wheat color. The appearance is enhanced with the steady stream of bubbles rising up.

The taste is dominated by the flavors from the yeast mixed with the spices. There a medium body to it.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable beer. It would go very well with light fish like trout or Chilean Sea Bass. The 5.38% ABV make this a very good choice for a session beer to be drank while smoking your trout. Mmmm.

Maui Brewing Co.’s Flyin’ HI.P.Way

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Brian Allen

Maui Brewing Co.’s Flyin’ HI.P.Way pours up very nicely. Maui Brewing brews all of their beers in Maui as the name implies. Other than Hawaii, they distribute to California and Colorado.

The appearance is clear with a light to medium copper color.

The full details of the aroma are lost in my stopped up nose. But, the hops aroma does come through. The initial hops aroma was very strong right after the pour.

The taste is filled with a rich hops profile that finishes with a little tanginess on the tongue. The malt flavors are hiding in the background, but they popup a little here and there throughout the taste.

Overall, Flyin’ HI.P.Way is a very enjoyable I.P.A. With an ABV of 6.8%. I could see making this a regular beer, but the limited distribution will prevent that from happening unless some very special ladies send more my way.

Maui Brewing Co’s Bikini Blond Lager

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Brian Allen

Maui Brewing Co’s Bikini Blond Lager pours up nicely, but the can caused a little bit of dipping back down the can.

The appearance is very nice with a head that fades to mild lacing. The color is a clear golden wheat (SRM of maybe 5 or 6).

The aroma is a mellow maltiness with a little hops floral tones mixed into it.

The tastes has a little nuttiness within the malt flavors. The hops profile is very mild as I expected.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable beer. The ABV of 5.1% makes this beer good for a relaxing afternoon on the deck after cutting the grass or for blowing off cutting the grass.

Left Hand Brewing’s Black Jack Porter

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Brian Allen

Left Hand Brewing’s Black Jack Porter pours nicely with a rich looking head that fades to mild lacing with a little head around the edges.

The aroma comes off a little dry and chocolaty.

The color is a very deep amber to not quite black color. The light comes through giving it a nice appearance. The SRM is between 32 and 35.

The taste starts out flat on the mouth with a dry maltiness that fades into the back of the mouth to be lost.

Overall, this beer starts out very nicely. The mild finish could make this beer a great session beer for some, but the lack of character doesn’t impress me for what I expect in a porter. The ABV is 6.4%.

Magic Hat Brewing’s HI.P.A

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Brian Allen

Maqic Hat Brewing’s HI.P.A is a part of the I.P.A. On Tour series. This beer was a part of the “Night of the Livingdead” variety 12 pak. The bottle was missing the freshness date.

The appearance is nice with a little bit of haziness and a light golden amber color.

The hops presents nicely in the aroma with some malts in the background.

The flavor is very untypical for an I.P.A. There is lime taste in the finish, which is not too strong. I wouldn’t say that it is a full flavor I.P.A..

The beer overall is enjoyable, but I wouldn’t want a six pack of it. The ABV is not too high at 6.7%, which will let you enjoy a number of them before the ABV becomes a problem.

Phantom Canyon Brewing Co’s Cascade Amber Ale

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Brian Allen

Phantom Canyon Brewing Co’s Cascade Amber Ale pours up with minimal head. But, it presents very nicely.

The head fades with very good lacing. The color is a deep amber that is light amber color around the edges of the glass.

The aroma is strong initially, but faded to a mellower malty hop blend as the glass sat.

The taste starts with hops right at the front of the mouth. The malt flavors come in behind to give a malt flavor filled with hops. The flavors finish with a strong hops flavor coming from the Cascade hops thus the name.

Overall, this is very enjoyable beer from this microbrewery. You need to be a fan of hops for this beer to a peal to you. I would not consider this beer as session beer with it’s strong taste profile. But, it is still very enjoyable.