Goose Island Sixth Day (6/10)

Goose Island from Chicago, Illinois, brews Sixth Day.  Their web site says “Every year to celebrate the holiday season, we brew up our Sixth Day, and with each year we change the recipe slightly so that you have something special to look forward to.”  Sixth Day is a brown ale at its case, and is available from October through December.  The odds are good that you can find a few bottles on local retailer shelves right now.

It pours a dark brown with thin off-white head that doesn’t last long.

The aroma is a mix of pine-like hops and caramel malt.

The flavor matches up with the aroma.  It starts a bit hoppy and bitter (like a number of Goose Island brews), then gives way briefly to the sweet malt backing.  I get a bit of leather, dark fruit, and perhaps some ginger in there as well.  It’s quite a bit more bitter than I’d like a holiday beer to be (I mean 55 IBUs in a Christmas beer?  That’s IPA territory.)

Rate Beer gives Sixth Day an 88 overall.  That’s in line with Beer Advocate, which rates it 81-88 overall.  For me, it’s slightly more hoppy than I’d care for, so I give it a 6 out of 10.  With a year of aging to drive down the hops, I think it could easily rate a 7.  (In fact, a year-old bottle I found in the back of my refrigerator actually was a bit more tolerable.)

I picked up this particular bottle at Kenny Road Market.  It’s also been seen at The Andersons General Store in Dublin and at Whole Foods in Dublin.  Pricing is around $1.39 per bottle, depending on the retailer.

Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Hoppy
Spice Level:  Low
Hops Level: Low to Medium
Dominant Flavors: Hops, Malt
ABV:  8.3%
IBU:  55
My Rating: x/10

Bell's Venus The Bringer of Peace (8/10)

Bell's Brewery of Kalamazoo, Michigan, produces a line of planet-themed beers.  There are beers for Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.  Venus The Bringer of Peace is a blonde ale brewed with honey, apricot, cardamom, and vanilla.  It was released in October 2014.

Venus pours a hazy orange amber color with thick white head that dissipates fairly quickly and leaves behind no lacing.

The aroma mixes apricot, malt sweetness, and cardamom herbal and citrus elements.

The flavor is more complex than you might expect for a wheat-based ale.  It starts with an initial sweet malt hit, followed by a strong apricot burst.  Vanilla and cardamom are there, but take a definite back seat to the apricot.  Finish is mildly bitter, like a dried apricot or a bit of apricot near the pit.

RateBeer reviewers didn't seem to like this one, giving it a 49 overall.  Beer Advocate was a bit more kind, giving it a 75 or "okay" rating.  I liked it a bit more than they did, but will admit this isn't a beer I'd want to drink more than occasionally (since I'm not that into the fruity beers).  I'm giving it an 8 out of 10.

I found this particular bottle at Northwest Wine and Spirits, though it may be available elsewhere. The price was $2.99 for the single bottle.

Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Sweet
Spice Level:  Low
Hops Level: Very Low
Dominant Flavors: apricot, cardamom
ABV:  7.5%
IBU:  Unknown, but probably below 20
My Rating: 8/10

Kasteel Rouge (9/10)

The Castle Brewery Van Honsebrouck of Belgium produces a number of beers under  the Kasteel name.  Kasteel Rouge is a “blend of Kasteel Donker and cherry liquor.  The mix of these two excellent products creates an exceptional soft beer with references to the dark mother beer.”  I’m not entirely sure what the last part of that is meant to say… perhaps that the beer flavor shines through the cherry liquor?

In any event, the beer pours a plum colored dark brown with a cola-like head that dissipates almost immediately.  The beer features a soft drink like carbonation.

The aroma strongly resembles sweet dark cherries with a hint of beer behind them.

The flavor is very similar to the aroma.  It’s something like a dark cherry soft drink with a hint of beer to it.  The finish is very sweet and cherry-filled.  It’s not unlike a soft drink in its level of carbonation, sweetness, and lack of “beer-ness”.  Still, if you like cherries, it’s an extremely smooth and easy to drink beer.

Rate Beer gives Kasteel Rouge a 92 out of 100.  Beer Advocate rates it an 85 or “very good”.  I’m right there with them, giving Kasteel Rouge a 9 out of 10.  It’s a very pleasant and enjoyable beer, one I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys cherries.

This particular bottle was one of two I received as a gift.  I believe that they were purchased from Jungle Jim’s in the Cincinnati area.  I’ve seen it locally at Savor Growl.  I’ve seen other Kasteel products at The Andersons General Store in Dublin.

Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Sweet
Spice Level:  None
Hops Level: Very Low
Dominant Flavors: black cherry
ABV:  8%
IBU:  Unknown, but probably below 15
My Rating: 9/10

Columbus Brewing Company Belgian Dark Strong Ale (7/10)

Kudos to the folks at Columbus Brewing Company for producing a Belgian Dark Strong Ale, one of my favorite styles.

It pours a very dark mahogany, with virtually no head or lacing. 

The aroma is caramel malt, spice, and alcohol.

The flavor starts bold and malty, reasonably sweet, with some dark fruit and spice.  The hops bitterness swells up, along with dark roasted malt, almost to the darkness of coffee.  Finish is bitter and lingering, which I kind of expect from CBC.  In all, a good version of the style.

I'm giving it a 7 out of 10 because it's a bit more bitter than l care for, but still quite drinkable.

I sampled this particular pint at The Daily Growler in Upper Arlington - but it may be available on draft at other retailers around town.

The Beer Advocate and RateBeer folks don't have enough reviews yet to rate this one. 

Flavor Profile:

Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Malty
Spice Level:  Low
Hops Level: Medium
Dominant Flavors: Malt, Dark Fruit, Hops, Spice
ABV:  9.5%
IBU:  Unknown, but I’d estimate low to mid 30s
My Rating: 7/10

Zauber Xmas Ale (8/10)

Zauber Brewing on Fifth Avenue in Grandview has released their first Christmas beer.

This 8.7% ABV ale pours almost black.  With enough light it's a dark mahogany.  There's a thin off white head that lingers a minute or two and leaves behind minimal lacing.

Aroma is malty, roasty, and nutty. 

The flavor starts malty, slightly sweet, and had elements of dark roasted malt.  I get a bit of ginger in there. Sweetness and hops bitterness balance out well. A very nice beer. 

I give it a solid 8 out of 10.

In addition to Zauber's taproom, I've also seen it at The Pint Room in Dublin.

ABV: 8.7%

IBU: 35

My Rating: 8/10

Ridgeway Warm Welcome (6/10)

Ridgeway Brewing of England produces a number of beers, many of which are winter or holiday-themed such as Bad Elf, Reindeer Droppings, and Santa’s Butt.  Warm Welcome is a nut brown ale.

Warm Welcome pours a slightly pale clear brown with finger thick off white head.

Its aroma is yeasty and a touch nutty.

Warm Welcome’s flavor is pretty basic.  It’s primarily a balanced mix of malt and hops, with a slight tip toward hops. The nut flavor is present but takes a back seat to the malt and hops.  It’s a fairly basic beer, with not a lot to really make it stand out.

Rate Beer gives Warm Welcome a 42 overall.  Beer Advocate rates it 78 or “okay”.  My own rating of 6 out of 10 is somewhere in between those.  I would probably rather drink this than most macro brews, but not by much.

I’ve only seen the Ridgeway beers for sale at The Andersons in Dublin, but you might find them at other local retailers.  The one thing they have going for them is the price, which is usually under $5 (and sometimes under $3) per bottle.

This is likely to be the last Ridgeway beer review that I ever do for Columbus Beer Scene, because to be perfectly honest I’m just not very impressed with their beers.  There’s nothing wrong with them, but they don’t do a lot for me, either.  I’d rather spend my money (and your reading) time on a beer with more potential.

Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Malty
Spice Level:  None
Hops Level: Low to Medium
Dominant Flavors: Malt, hops, nuts
ABV:  6%
IBU:  Unknown, but I’d estimate mid 20’s to low 30’s
My Rating: 6/10

Hinterland Winterland Porter (7/10)

Hinterland Brewery of Green Bay, Wisconsin, produces Winterland, a Porter style beer.  They describe it as “clean and smooth.  The dark roasted malts give this beer coffee-like tones on top of a rich chocolate malt character. Moderately hopped.”  It’s available from November through January.

Winterland pours almost black with a finger thick tan head that dissipates slowly.  The head leaves behind sheet-like lacing that dissipates to something spotty.

The aroma is that of coffee and dark malt.

The flavor starts malty and then gets mildly bitter with a hint of coffee peeking through. The finish is kind of an ash like bitterness with hops behind it.  There’s not much else to the flavor.
Rate Beer gives this an 88 overall.  Beer Advocate rates Winterland an 83 or “good” overall.  I’m giving it a 7 out of 10, primarily because I don’t care for the bitter finish (probably brought on by the juniper berries used in brewing).  Otherwise, it’s a nice enough porter.

I had this beer on tap at the 101 Beer Kitchen in January, but have seen it in bottles at several local retailers including Ale Wine and Spirits of Powell, The Andersons General Store, and others.  The draft pictured here was priced at $6.00.

Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Malty, Bitter
Spice Level:  None
Hops Level: Medium
Dominant Flavors: Hops, pine, coffee, malt
ABV:  7.5%
IBU:  Unknown, but I’d estimate mid 20’s to mid 30’s
My Rating: 7/10