Yakima Glory Ale

Yakima Glory Ale – Victory Brewing Company – Downingtown, PA 

Of all the beers I’ve opened in my life this has got to be the smelliest one. Like literally I opened the bottle and I smelled this beer without moving my face towards it. I could not decide if this was good or bad...So I drank it. WOAH BABY clearin’ out the sinuses with this one. I don’t understand what it is that’s in this beer that makes it feel like I just snorted pixie stick (flashback to freshman year of college…oops)…oh wait. Hops! I guess the “dark malts warming the hops bright edge” was not warm enough for me, and I fell off the bright edge. So if you like hops, definitely try this beer. If you don’t, stay away from it.

St. Rogue Red Ale

Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red Ale - Rogue - Newport, Oregon


If it’s Rogue I automatically like it. I have many personal connections to Rogue beers; they hold a special place in my heart for many a’ reason. So when I saw this bottle on the shelf I was pretty excited, because I have never seen it before - not even at heaven on earth, Total Wine. As the beer’s name points out it is “dry hopped” which I’m not really sure what that means***, but as I have said before I tend to shy away from lots of hops. And this beer does have a lot of hops, but the beer wizards out in Newport have found a way to blend the red ale-ish-ness with the dry hops to have it come out more sweet than anything else. This is definitely another strong tasting beer, one of those one-at-a-time, get a pint beers, but it is very pleasant and very tasty. Also the label is really cool and I’m pretty sure beer-drinking Jesus is on it, which obviously makes this a go-to on any shelf. Or maybe St. Rogue was Jesus’twin brother…the smarter one who turned the water into BEER.


***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dry_hopping#Brewing

Koko Brown - Guest blog!

Guest blog! By my number one fan Jess!

Koko Brown - Kona Brewing Company - Kona, Hawaii


I first encountered this beer in a frathouse, when a friend was sipping on a bottle and raving about the toasted coconut infusions of this Kona Aloha Series brew.  I was intrigued, but I was only granted a single sip upon which to base my first impression. This impression was also colored by the fact that the fratboy who suggested this beer had a collection of Woodchuck bottles on display in his room.  Now, this is nothing personal against Woodchuck, but a professed love of this sweet cider doesn’t really lend itself to a reputation as a great beer connoisseur.  In any case, my reaction to this one sip was: WHOA! Extreme coconut overload! I didn’t think that the coconutty taste mixed well with the moderate bitterness of the brown ale.  Little did I know, however, that my opinion would change when this beer would next cross my path. 

Several months later, my roommate decided to host a bring-your-own-six-pack party, and the shirtless man on the label caught my eye and peaked my curiosity once again.  I claimed a bottle for myself and set out to see if a second taste would sway my opinion. Sure enough! With more than a single sip to tantalize my tongue, I was better able to appreciate how the roasty tones inherent in a brown ale mixed well with the coconutty tones that distinguish this brew.

A couple weeks later, I was impressed enough with this beer to buy a whole six-pack for myself when I spotted it at the grocery store. I realized that I tend to appreciate fruity tones in a beer as long as they blend well and aren’t too overwhelming. I like that this beer has that little zest of flavor integrated with an ale, as opposed to a wheat beer, the style which accompanies many fruity-flavored brews.  I recommend it if you like brown ales and are interested in trying one with a twist, but beware that the toasted coconut flavor gives the beer a rather sweet and nutty finish!