With four beers to try from I went with the newest brew: Bohemian Pilsner.  I’m happy to report that this beer had been hopped more than three lousy times; you could taste the hops all over this beer.  This, to me, is what a classic pilsner should be, and I was not disappointed.  There were some bitter overtones and that golden color invited me back for more.  Yes, it was refreshing and if you have friends that will not let go of Bud Light or Miller Light, try pouring this in their glass and watch them convert.

Next I went with the traditional IPA, and I don’t recall the last time I had their IPA, draft or bottled.  I loved the copper color with that reddish tint and the clean taste was very welcome.  There was the normal bitter flavor throughout the beer itself but it never gets overpowering.  Before jumping into a heavy or industrial IPA, I would suggest giving this a spin to see how you feel about them.

Moving over to the Summer Ale this one has yet to fail me.  Strong citrus flavor and a refreshing taste, this beer is one of my favorites during the warmer months.  While I do prefer to drink this on tap, it still works in bottled form.  I suggest pouring out in a large glass and swirling it around to let the carbonation out and dropping in a lemon slice for some tart bite.

Last, but not least, we come to the alien of the bunch, UFO.  This beer will always hold a special place in my heart as the first hefeweizen I ever had a few years ago.  There are a few variations, such as raspberry, and while they all taste great the original UFO with a piece of orange floating toward the top is hard to decline.

There you have it, avid reader, another variety pack put through the mill and me wishing I still had summers to lounge.  Oh well, I guess I had to grow up sometime.  Yeah, right.  Be on the lookout for my next variety pack from Saranac.

When you hear phrases like “single barrel” or “oak-aged”, a lot of the times you could be talking about whiskey, cognac or scotch.  If you see those phrases on a bottle of beer, you’re in for a treat.  I’ve had a lot of aged beers, be it oak or plastic, and they all taste very good.  I have never seen a beer that proclaimed to be a single type of hop instead of a variety.  I was intrigued and decided to check this off the 100 Barrel Series Harpoon is promoting.  I haven’t had very many in the series (this is 31), but all the bottles I’ve found have been great.

I had this beer in the fridge for a while and then poured it in my big glass to let it come to temperature and take in the full aroma.  It isn’t easy finding a good ESB, extra special bitter, in a bottle.  The best ESB beers are on tap (Redhook and Fuller’s are my favorites).  I have yet to recreate that flavor from a bottle, but this beer comes very close.   The red color was inviting and the aroma wasn’t overpowering.

Brewed with Delta hops, a new American varietal, I was impressed.  There was a good smooth taste that got a little dryer as it got warmer.  I enjoyed the smoky burned quality and there was a solid malt body in this glass.  I felt bad that I had no one to share it with, but not that bad.  Unlike a pale ale or IPA, an ESB is often a malty beer with strong qualities that doesn’t dry out your mouth.

If you are sitting around on a warm summer evening, or a cool fall night, I would reach for this beer.  Pour it in a wide mouth glass, let it come to temperature and then enjoy the flavor.

I’ve developed a better taste for Belgium-style beers over the last few months.  I can remember the first Belgium I drank and thought it was skunked before I realized that it was supposed to have an odd flavor behind it.  Nowadays, I look for Belgium ales, or variations, to broaden my horizons.  I came across this ale, and I’m glad I got the last bottle in the store.

I enjoy a fair amount of beers that Harpoon puts out, and I figured I should add this one to the list.  The copper, reddish tint was a welcome sign, and the familiar Belgium aroma pulled me right into a taste.  I had this sitting in the fridge for a while, and I must say that the extra chill did not kill off the flavor.  There was a hint of bitter on the tail of each sip, but as it got warmer I found the bitter flavor came out more.

Since it is a pale ale, there is no overbearing bitter flavor, just enough to make you drink more to get rid of the existing bitter flavor and the cycle repeats.  Matter of fact, I think the bitter added some character to this beer and made it stand out more than the traditional Abbey ales I’ve had in recent months.

As I’ve noted before, sometimes American brewers take a good European idea add a twist and turn it to garbage; not this time.  I’m happy to report that is was a good beer to sit and sip while re-watching Iron Man. (I have to get ready for the sequel next week.) It was refreshing with enough zing to let you know you were drinking a beer.  I believe this is still on the shelves, but watch out I may grab a few more bottles if I have the chance.

If you’ve ever been to a good sushi restaurant, you know they give you a few ginger slices to help cleanse your palate between bites.  Imagine that flavor with a little bit of lemon and honey, mix it with hops, barley and water, and you’d have this beer.

I’ve had beers that boast about the flavor being ‘up front’, this one can boast all it wants to.  Right off, you would think you are smelling Canada Dry, and the carbonation almost leads you to believe that this is ginger ale you are drinking. But, no, it is beer.  I enjoy ginger in any form, and now I can add alcoholic beverages to my list.

Harpoon figured out how to harness the essence of the ginger because I swear I could taste a piece of ginger root.  The lemon helps out plenty as far as balancing out the bite of ginger.  Believe it or not, ginger is pretty spicy, and the lemon juice brought that bitter taste down a good deal.  You really don’t notice the honey until the very end.  The sweet of the honey helped to create a smooth finish to this beer, not totally smooth though.  The ginger still managed to burn a spot on the back of my tongue like it always does.

This beer is part of the 100 Barrel Series that Harpoon has been working on and is entry 29 on the list.  I’ve managed to sample a few off of that list, and so far this is my favorite.  I really enjoyed the copper color and the big aroma.  If you a want a beer with bite that will bite you right back, trust me, find as many bottles of this as you can.

I decided to treat myself and stop by one of my Manchester spots to grab a mix six.  Going through the selection I noticed that Harpoon had a new limited release; you know me and limited releases, I was all over it.  I grabbed one and a few others that looked good and headed home.

I put the stout in the fridge for a bit then went back out to pick up the pizza.  I came back and poured it in my trusty pint glass and was pulled in by the aroma.  A good stout or porter should have a great smoky smell, and this one was amazing.

I didn’t want to drink it at first because it looked so nice, but I was thirsty and had to taste it.  I had to put the glass down and get back to the food; without noticing I had drunk half the pint.  This was a great tasting stout.  There was a burned flavor and a hint of chocolate that was better than most stouts I had drunk in recent memory.

This stout had a roasted nut smell to it and even a hint of espresso.  It really is a shame that this is a limited release, which only means that I’ll have to go get some more to stock up and share with people.  Well, I don’t have to share with anybody, but it is the season, right?  Do yourself a favor and find this stout before I do, I may just buy a case of it and keep it in storage.

You know, that isn’t a bad idea: a storage shed for my beer. I should have thought of that years ago.