100 beers of 2010: 8/100 - Flying Dog Raging Bitch

Beer Style: Belgian IPA
ABV/IBU: 8.3%/60
Serving Style: Poured from the bottle into a Sam Adams sensory glass.

Appearance: Perfection. Pours completely clear with a thick pillowy head that sticks around for awhile. Great carbonation level along with a perfect deep copper color. Exactly what an IPA should look like. 5/5

Smell: Wow, it just leaps out of the glass. There is a decent amount of Belgian funk there, with a flowery herbal note (chamomile?), and slightly citric and flower hop aromas as well. 4/5

Taste: Orange citrus elements are matched equally with the flavors imparted by the Belgian yeast. There is a nice undercurrent of herbal, resinous hop flavors as well, and maybe some subtle tropical fruit elements. I detected a little alkalinity and there was a bit of dry tongue bite on the finish at times. It's not quite as perfect integration of flavors as I would have liked, but I feel that way about most Belgian IPAs as the flavors don't necessarily meld well. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Zippy up front with some carbonation bite. Good body -- thick, a bit chewy, supports the flavors nicely. 4.5/5

Drinkability: It hides the 8% well with a big juicy flavor profile and a dry, sharp finish. The alkalinity tired my tongue out after most of a bottle, however. I've never been a huge Flying Dog fan, but this is a solid beer for the style - it's just not a very good style, in my opinion. 3.5/5

Overall grade: B+

100 beers of 2010: 7/100 - Alpine Exponential Hoppiness

[Didn't take a photo for this, and can't find a decent one]
Beer Style: American Imperial ("Triple") IPA
ABV/IBU: 10.5%/Unknown
Serving Style: Poured from the bomber into a DFH chalice.

Another fine west coast beer I got via a trade.

Appearance: It pours fairly cloudy and opaque, with a brownish yellow color, and a small head that slips away. The carbonation isn't immediately evident, but there is a dense carbonation visible in the brew. Swirling the glass brings up quite a bit more carbonation, it looks like a whole new pour. The cloudiness isn't super nice, but as the beer warms in the bottle it pours more clearly.

Smell: Tropical fruits, candied apricot, lemon peel, maple, piney freshness, nice, fairly forward, and pretty different.

Taste: VERY different, and a bit odd initially. As I got accustomed to it, the beer slowly revealed itself. It's initially quite resinous, not quite solventy, but there is a sweet/spicy/zesty thing going on. The bitterness is amazingly controlled, with no tongue bite at all. There is a bit of mild alkalinity through the mid-palate, but it fades and gives way to a sweet finish. While still a bit chilled, there is a thinness on the edges that makes it not fully realized. LET THIS BEER WARM UP.

As it warms, the beer comes into its own, and gets solid. Some mild vanilla and oak flavors come out, and the finish gets warmer and boozier with some heat in the back of the mouth. It still has some odd, resinous tang, but it's more of a statement now, and one that speaks powerfully. The tropical fruits come out more with the warmth, as well, which I missed while it was cold. Fantastic.

Mouthfeel: Thick, creamy, chewy, and great. Perfect mouthfeel.

Drinkability: It took a bit of time for this beer to warm up to reach its peak - let it get warmer than you think it should! Once it warms up it integrates nicely and the flavors reach their peak. The controlled bitterness is unexpected and welcome, as so many huge IPAs let their alkaline flavors run free. Each sip reveals something new. A highly recommended big American IPA that takes some time to show its colors.

Overall grade: A

100 beers of 2010: 6/100 - Founders Double Trouble

Image used, without permission, from http://columbiabeerenthusiasts.ning.com/

Beer Style: American Double IPA
ABV/IBU: 9.4%/86
Serving Style: On draft in a standard pint glass.

Appearance: The pour was an absolutely crystal clear light copper ale with no head and nice levels of carbonation. A nice looking IPA that I want to dig into. 4/5

Smell: A huge floral honey hoppy sweetness jumped out of the glass. It's actually ridiculously close to Hop Slam, which was surprising -- I hadn't had Double Trouble for some time, but I didn't remember it smelling like this. As it warms a bit of soapiness emerges (somewhat like Pliny The Elder), along with a bit of pepperiness. 4.5/5

Taste: A big citrus bitterness hits your tongue, with a ton of grapefruit, a weird subtle mild sweet-tart cherry, and a futile attempt to balance things with any malt sweetness. It's fierce on the tongue, and the brew leaves it feeling overly dry and alkaline. Double Trouble is an example of why Hop Slam is as lauded as it is... this beer is just too sharp, too uncontrolled, and not sweet enough. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: A nice chewy thickness that is great for the style. 4/5

Drinkability: Double Trouble is a beer you can drink as fast as you want, I suppose, but isn't a chugger. It's just far too harsh and strong, and a tongue bruiser. I love Founder's and want to like this more, but it's just a little extreme, even for the style. I think that they could dial down the IBUs a bit and bring in some more subtle maltiness and it would be equal to Hop Slam in many ways. 3/5

Overall grade: B+

100 beers of 2010: 5/100 - Bell's Third Coast Old Ale

Image used, without permission, from nuxx.net

Beer style: Old Ale
ABV/IBU: 10.2%/Unknown
Serving style: Poured from the bottle into a Dogfish Head chalice.

I'll note that this is one of my first attempts to be less subjective and instead review based on what I understand the style guidelines to be.

Appearance: A beauty! The color is deep and rich, with dark orange, cherry red, and apricot tones. The ale is fairly hazed, and there appear to be some dark particles in the glass, even though I attempted to leave any sediment in the bottle. The head is thin, but the carbonation level is very appealing. If it didn't have the sediment it would be nearly perfect. 4/5

Smell: Mild notes of sparkling cherries and rich malts appear with time, as it warms I picked up some dried fruit, almost portish aromas. Not sure if the aroma is too tame on this, but it fits the style. I wish the aromas rose out of the glass with a bit more vigor, but when you pick them up they are quite nice. 4/5

Taste: A complex brew, for sure. It's big, very big, with all sorts of chewy dried fruit flavors meandering across the tongue. The malts are rich and sweet, which add to the complexity. There is maybe a hint of chocolate behind the fruit. The finish is long, lingering, with a hint of pleasant bitterness and a smidge of oxidation, which is fine for an old ale. It's a fantastically integrated group of flavors, and it makes me wonder just how old this "old ale" actually is. I want to put a few years on this and see how phenomenal it can get. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Fantastic. It's huge and chewy, with a great level of carbonation to keep it lively on the tongue without adding any bite. Perfection for an Old Ale. 5/5

Drinkability: Again, I am forced to ask, what does "drinkability" indicate? Would you session a 10% Old Ale? No? Do I want to keep taking more whiffs and more sips, trying to get every nuance of this beer? Yes, yes I do. A phenomenal effort by Bell's, showing a deep knowledge and appreciation of the style. 4.5/5

Overall grade: A

100 beers of 2010: 4/100 - Russian River Pliny The Elder

Image used, without permission, from http://www.thebeerbuddha.com.

I was lucky enough to receive a Pliny as an extra in a trade. It was about a month old, so I wanted to bust it open before the fresh hoppiness this beer is known for began to fade.

Beer Style: American Double IPA
ABV/IBU: 8%/100 (uncertain on the IBU)
Serving Style: Poured from the bottle into a Sam Adams Sensory glass.

Appearance: Pours somewhat clear and slightly opaque (redundant or what?), with a nice head that sticks around for a good amount of time. The lacing is pretty good due to the high level of hop oils. 4/5

Smell: Somewhat soapy, with big lemon, orange, and grapefruit notes. There is some honey sweetness. The soapiness throws it off, it's not very appealing. 3.5/5

Taste: A nice balance of sweetness and sharp, cat-piss hops. There is some herbal and resinous hoppiness, along with a slight amount of fundamental malt sweetness. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Good body for the style, but I wish it were bigger in the mouth. It might push it out of the style if it were, however. 4/5

Drinkability: Real tasty and easy to drink. A great west coast IPA for sure, but not exactly my favorite brew. I think the biggest weakness is the aroma and cat-piss American hops, which others might find true to style or even appealing. I simply prefer a bit more tempered American DIPA.  4/5

Overall Grade: B+

100 beers of 2010: 3/100 - Great Lakes Conway's Irish Ale

I'm fortunate enough to have a friend who works on the bottling line at Great Lakes Brewing Company. Every time I go home to Cleveland, I try to see him for good hanging out with the side benefit of a free case or so of underfilled bottles to take home. The major issue with the underfills is that they are unlabeled, so unless they were put into the right carrier you don't know what you are opening until you pour it in your glass. They are running Conway's Irish Ale right now, and when I poured this into my glass, I seriously had no idea what it was - there was so little aroma and flavor!

Beer Style: Irish Red Ale
ABV/IBU: 6.5%/25
Serving Style: Poured from the bottle into a Sam Adams Sensory glass.

Appearance: As is typical for Great Lakes, it's an attractive brew. It's clearly filtered and is a lovely orange-gold color, with good levels of carbonation. There wasn't much head on my pour, and there was no lacing evident as I drank. 4/5

Smell: Very mild, extremely so. I have absolutely NO idea how anyone reviewing this beer would give this high marks on smell. This was a very fresh bottle and it still had almost no aroma. There was some slight malt sweetness with no hop bitterness. I had to stick my nose into the glass and swirl many times just to get anything at all. 2/5

Taste: It's pretty boring, really... some mild maltiness with a bit of buttery biscuit/cracker going on, with a very mild honey sweetness of caramel malts. The bitterness is very "european" and refined, with very mild classic hop notes - nothing great to me. The finish is surprisingly long, with bitterness that lingers in a mildly distasteful manner. There is a mild lemon note on the palate, but it's decidedly NOT an American ale citrus flavor. It's an integrated beer that just isn't very flavorful, really. 2.5/5

Mouthfeel: Pretty standard ale thickness. Great Lakes usually nails mouthfeel pretty well. The flavor is pretty thin but the beer itself is fairly substantial. It's a bit "zippy" on the tongue, but it's ok. 4/5

Drinkability: It's not very tasty or intense, it's almost too mild to care about - it certainly won't wear you out but it's not offensive. I'd want something more flavorful to session, but if you dig extremely mild european ales you might want this. I'm not very impressed with this, really, it's a rare miss by my hometown brewery. I'll admit that this is simply not a style of beer I think I would like, no matter how well it fit the style. My ratings are unfair for this beer in terms of being an Irish Red Ale, and in the future I'll attempt to be rating more on style instead of my personal opinion. 3/5

Overall grade: C

100 beers of 2010: 2/100 - Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Beer Style: Old Ale
ABV/IBU: 8.7%/Unlisted
Serving Style: Poured from the bottle into a Dogfish Head chalice.

Appearance:Hibernation Ale is really nice deep chocolate ruby, tremendously clear with a tan head and nice carbonation levels. The clarity and color is appetizing and beautiful. 4.5/5

Smell: Cocoa, malt, and caramel grains stand out. There are some bitter hops lurking, with a slightly sour mash and vegetative smell lurking in the background. 3.5/5

Taste: The taste belies the smell in some ways. It's malty, sure, with some caramel sweetness evident, while certainly not syrupy. There is controlled bitterness behind the roasted maltiness, and the flavors are well-integrated. There are some vegetative flavors on the finish, but the cocoa helps cover it up. It has a long finish with lingering bitterness. 3/5

Mouthfeel: It's a tough nut to track, here, the high carbonation and good level of IBUs really keeps it lively in the mouth, and balances the malt, but I'm almost wondering if those aspects are a bit overdone. 3.5/5

Drinkability: Eh, to me, it's not a great beer, but if you like the style you might be into it more. It's nothing special, and if Great Divide hadn't made it I'd probably be even harder on it. 3/5

Overall grade: B-