#212: The Bronx Brewery » Belgian Pale Ale

Delicious, citrusy Belgian-style hybrid...

The Brewery: The Bronx Brewery (Bronx, NY)
The Brew: Belgian Pale Ale
Availability: Draft Only (Seasonal)
ABV: 6.7% | IBUs: 36
Rating: 9/10
Location: Felicia's Atomic Lounge

I stopped into Felicia's last week, meeting up for a few post-work drinks to celebrate my partner's sister's birthday. I figured since I'd keep it simple with a tallboy of something tasty, but when I saw that Bronx draft handle staring back at me, I immediately ordered up a pint.

Bronx Belgian serves up a hazy, pale yellow, topped with a fluffy, staying white head. The nose is invitingly bright and full of citrus. There's not much yeast in the nose and if I didn't know better, I'd likely just expect just a pale ale coming towards my palate.

Down the hatch, this is one damn tasty brew. Smooth, buttery, yeasty flavors that finish up slightly dry with firm esters. Lively carbonation is present, but isn't took prickly. There's a slight tartness and mineral notes in there as well alongside soft citrus flavors. Yum.

Overall, an excellent example of how to properly execute a Belgian-American hybrid.

#183: Brooklyn Brewing » Fire & Ice (Smoked Porter)

Smokey warmth for cold, dark nights...

The Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery (Brooklyn, NY)
The Brew:  Fire & Ice (Smoked Porter)
Availability:  Bottles, draft (limited)
ABV: 7.2%
Rating: 8.7/10
Location: Felicia's Atomic Lounge

The Story: A week or so back, I was in Felicia's and overheard talk of Brooklyn's Fire & Ice heading to their tap lines later in the month. I'd never heard of the brew and immediately hit the search engine. As it turns out, Fire & Ice is the latest in Brooklyn's Brewmaster Reserve series. My interest was peaked to say the least as their Cuvée La Boîte melted my mind up in Rochester and The Companion was one of the non-Vermont highlights from Vermont.

After wrapping up a show in Syracuse, I bombed back to Ithaca with my friend Bimini to meet up with my partner Mel as Fire & Ice had just hit the line earlier that evening.

The Beer: A pint glass full of deep, dark, jet-black liquid is lade in front of me with a thick, bubbly mocha head - which surprisingly faded relatively quickly with minimal lacing.

Prickly carbonation hits my tongue with a creamy, silky mouthfeel behind the bubbles. Deep roasted flavors of smoke, soft coffee, and caramel grace my palate. It's smooth, warming, cooling, and calming with significant bitterness of the smoke and dark malts. Firm chocolate notes enter early and stay throughout the glass with support from nutty flavors and faint dark fruits.

Overall, a must-try for any dark brew lover, but not quite as mind-melting as some of their other offerings. That said, it's absolutely worth checking out. I'll be going back for round two soon and may have some additional notes to share...

#176: Left Hand Brewing » Twin Sisters (DIPA)

Left Hand's subtle double...

The Brewery: Left Hand Brewing Co. (Longmount, CO)
The Brew: Twin Sisters (DIPA)
Availability: Draft & Bottles (22oz.)
ABV: 9.6% | IBU: 77
Rating: 8/10
Location: Felicia's Atomic Lounge

The Story? I popped down to Felicia's over the weekend to meet up with the Artistic Director of the Ithaca International Fantastic Film Festival to discuss next fall's event. When I arrived, my partner was getting off of work early and relayed Left Hand's Twin Sisters had just been tapped two days prior.

The Beer? Served up in a half-pint glass because of the high ABV, Twin Sisters has a transparent brass body capped with a tuft of fluffy, white head.

For a Double IPA, this one treads softly and unassumingly. Smooth citrus flavors backed by well-balanced blend of sturdy hops and malt are preceded by a mostly transparent, but fresh nose. Cracked wheat; mild, ripe tropical fruit sweetness, and a touch of rind appear further in. The over 9% ABV is completely hidden. The whole thing has a bit of an old-school vibe to it; quality over flash.

Overall, not the most memorable of beers, but worth a go for anyone seeking balance over monstrous flavor. An interesting DIPA offering in the midst of the heavy hop wars.

#135: Founders Brewing Co. » Centennial (IPA)

I need to post more from Founders...

The Brewery: Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, MI)
The Brew: Centennial (IPA)
Availability: Draft and bottles (Year-Round)
ABV: 7.2% | 65 IBUs
Rating: 9/10
Location: Felicia's Atomic Lounge

The Story? Despite Founders being one of my favorite U.S. breweries, I've only posted about them three times prior. I'm going to remedy that.

If you somehow haven't given their line a try, I'd highly suggest anything they put out. In my book, Founders has one of the best track records for putting out consistently high-quality brews. I've never had a single beer from them that I didn't enjoy or wasn't impressed by.

This one was a pleasant draft surprise stopping into Felecia's last week. '

The Beer? An earthy nose of soft, aromatic hops starts things off for this deep-amber hued brew. The taste starts off minerally, smooth and very drinkable. There's a touch of heat in the hop bitterness as well.

Bitter grapefruit flavors dominate taste, but never become overbearing, and are complimented by citrus pith and slight boozy esters. The bitterness swells on the sides of the tongue a quarter of the way through while the sweet malts begin to creep through. Further on, broader citrus flavors arise with notes of caramel and pepper.

A superb, readily available offering that sounds out amongst the thousands of IPAs.

#115: Bacchus Brewing » IPA

A big, local IPA to cap off a great night...

The Brewery: Bacchus (Dryden, NY)

The Brew: IPA

Availability: draft only

ABV: 6.5% // IBUs: 65

Rating: 8.5/10

Location: Felicia's Atomic Lounge

The Story? After taking two carloads of friends through Inuat Hauntings production, I met up with my partner and her sister at Felicia's for a couple rounds to close out the enjoyably cooling evening.

#1 on the list for the night was Bell's Two-Hearted on tap, however I was pleasantly pleased to see they'd just tapped a keg of Bacchus' IPA. I shared my thoughts on Bacchus' new Flora's Fate Pale, but hadn't had a chance to do so with their IPA. Additionally, this brewery is only 20 mins from where I work, so a stop in will be warranted in the near future.

The Beer? This one is dank, bitter, and prominently floral right out of the gate. There's a touch of grapefruit and other citrus notes threaded through this IPA, but floral flavors and dark bitterness is the star of this show.

The firm bitterness retains throughout, but smooths a bit to let some malt characteristics and allows you to take note of the admirably full mouthfeel supported by mid-level carbonation. A solid suggestion to any IPA fan in the region.