Tasting Notes: Avery Ale to the Chief!

Brewery: Avery Brewing
Style: Double IPA
ABV: 8.75%
Date Poured: November 2008

It's Election Day and in honor of the spirit of democracy, we'll crack open a bottle of Avery's Ale to the Chief! What is Ale to the Chief! ? It's described as a "Presidential" (in lieu of "Imperial") Pale Ale brewed to celebrate Inauguration Day...January 20th, 2009.

The bottle reads as follows:

We the Brewers of Avery Brewing Company, in order to form a more perfect ale, require new leadership that can liberate us from our quagmires in foreign lands; embrace environmentally sound energy alternatives to imported oil; heal our ailing health care system; free us from tyrannical debt and resurrect the collapsing dollar. We hereby pledge to provide him with an ample amount of our Presidential Pale Ale to support in the struggle for the aforementioned goals! Hail to the New Chief!

Obviously, the brewers at Avery are not fans of President George W. Bush! On to the beer!

Pours a lovely clear mahogany with a thin but lingering khaki head. Big citrusy hops in the nose and rich caramel malt.

Citrusy hops in the mouth, herbal hops too. Grapefruit and tangerine from the hops but very malty too. Lots of rich caramel malt with just a hint of fruitiness. Well balanced but clearlymore malt forward overall. Thick, sticky finish, blurring the lines between "Presidential" IPA and a hoppy barleywine. Big full body. Very tasty ale and very smooth. The nearly 9% ABV sneaks up on you so be careful. It hit me with quite a buzz by the time I finished the bomber!

Good "Presidential" Pale Ale. Pick one up to celebrate your civic duty. And if you are reading this from the US today, go out and vote!


Avery Brewing Company

Tasting Notes: Bell's Hopslam Ale

Brewery: Bell's Brewery

Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 10.0%

Date Poured: August 2008

It pours a clear orangey copper with a frothy ivory head. Lots of fine spiderweb lacing. Beautiful smell. Floral and sweet citrusy hops. Hints of tangerine and apricot, orange rind and a hint of alcohol.

In the mouth, the alcohol is quite apparent. Quite hot actually. It is quite sweet but the malt provides very little body to offset the copious amounts of bitingly bitter hops. The hops are pretty unpleasant actually without the malt to offset the spice. It comes off exceedingly harsh. And thin! Long hoppy aftertaste.

Wow, really lacking as a double IPA. It's kind of a mess. Horrendously overrated on the various beer sites. A fantastic brewery (the best brewer of stouts in America in my estimation) but this is a beer that is surprisingly lacking in craftmanship and taste. Miss it.

Bell's Brewery

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 9: Mendocino Winter Ale

There's a couple of firsts here with beer number 9 in the 25 beers of Christmas. First, it's the first Imperial IPA on this list (and the only winter seasonal I know that is made in this style). Second, I didn't remember seeing this one before and according to the website this is indeed the first year this beer has been offered. It weighs in at 7.5% ABV, so lets dive in.

This ale pours crystal clear copper with a creamy ivory head. The head leaves spotty lacing down the side of the glass. Sticking a nose into the glass reveals the most beautiful citrusy aroma from the hops. Copious amounts of grapefruit and tangerine with hints orange rind.

Bitter, bitter, bitter. This one hits you it the mouth. It's chewing on an orange rind bitter. The hops dominate but somehow a biscuity malt profile does manage to break through now and then. Mostly it's the bitterness, overpowering at times but that's what you drink an imperial IPA, right? It's hoppy in the finish and aftertaste. Full bodied.

Nice IPA. It's nice to break up the malty ones for once, right?

Mendocino Brewing