Wormtown's Dark Day IPA

Picked this up at Austin Liquors in a bomber.  I have to say I think this is one of the more complex beers I have had from Wormtown.  As soon as I popped the cap the hop aroma was noticeable and predominantly Cascade.  Although I read a few reviews online that stated some malt undertones in the aroma I was unable to pick this up.
Poured with a heavy tan head that subsided fairly quickly leaving a nice lace on the glass.  At first it was hard to taste anything other then the hops in this beer but as I drank more I was able to pick up the malt characters you would expect in a dark beer.  I found that there was a very good balance between the hop bitterness and the sweetness of the malts.  Carbonation and mouth feel was just right and the beer finished with a slight bitterness on the tongue, as you would expect from an IPA.
Overall I really enjoyed this beer.  It was not overly hoppy, like many IPAs lately, and it had a good malt balance.

I almost forgot to mention that this beer came in a very cool bottle!

Jack's Abbey Baltic Porter

Wow. I was blown away by this beer.  Brewed by a relatively young brewery in Framingham, MA this porter has a lot of depth. Poured very dark with a thin head this beer had heavy malt and caramel notes on the nose.  This beer was malt forward with toasted tones and and a very subtle smoked flavor.  Finishes dry and packs a punch at 10% ABV.  From a brewery that typically makes lagers, this was a great pour!

Dogfish Head Noble Rot

This was a very interesting brew.  Tastes like a mix between Hefeweizen and white wine. Although that may sound less than appealing, it was actually very good.  Poured a clear light gold with a heavy head. Fruity notes on the aroma and sweet on the tongue.  Definitely not a session beer but still enjoyable and refreshing.

Rohrbach Vanilla Porter

A friend brought over a growler of Rohrbach's Vanilla Porter this weekend and we both really enjoyed it.  Poured into a pint glass, deep brown color and dark tan head.  Vanilla was very upfront in the nose with very little hop aroma noticeable.  This beer had a sweet, malty flavor with hints a caramel and vanilla and almost tasted maple syrupy.  Good mouth feel, maybe just a little bit thin.  Overall this was a great beer that I would definitely drink again.

Old Reviews

These were some reviews from a few months back but I figured I would move them over here so everything is one spot!

Seven Hills Pale Ale (Reviewed 3/19/2010)
Served on tap at Peppercorns Bar and Grill this is one of the first offerings from Wormtown Brewery in Worcester, MA. Poured a pale golden color with a small white head, less than I would expect for this style beer. Aroma was mildly hoppy, unmistakably American, with some bready undertones. This was a very easy beer to drink, well balanced and not excessively bitter at 30 IBUs. Very crisp with a dry finish and a slight soapy aftertaste on my tongue which seemed to diminish as the beer warmed. Overall this is a very good example of this style, I may have appreciated a slightly more floral hop aroma on the nose but this is still something I would order again.

Turtle Boy Blueberry Ale (Reviewed 3/19/2010)
I have to admit I only asked for a sample of this and what I got from the waitress was more like a swig, apparently she didn’t understand the idea of a short pour. It is difficult to be accurate with this sample size, but it looked like a very pale yellow, bordering white. Aroma consisted of freshly picked blueberries with the undertone of a light wheat beer. The taste was very similar, the fresh blueberries and wheat complimented each other perfectly. Sometimes the fruit can be overpowering in beers like this, but I didn’t find that to be the case at all with this beer. This is a very clean, easy to drink, refreshing beer with the crisp dry characteristics of an American wheat beer and the pop of fresh blueberries.

Victory - Festbier

The nights are cooler and the days are shorter.  It's that time of the year again and along with it comes Pumpkin and Oktoberfest beers!  My first beer of the season is an Oktoberfest by Victory.  Pours a golden copper color with very little head.  Malty aroma with little to no hop presence.  Taste is malt forward, appropriate for the style, and sweet with no spice that I could detect.  Medium body and carbonation make it a pretty easy beer to drink, especially on a crisp fall day.  I felt like this was a pretty solid example for the style and I would probably buy it again if there weren't so many other fun things to try!

Southern Tier - Farmer's Tan

I found this to be a little bit of a disappointment.  Farmer's Tan is an Imperial Pale Lager offered by Southern Tier weighing in at 9% ABV.  Poured into a pilsner glass my first reaction was that the beer was a very crisp, dark, golden color. There was a nice, slightly off white, head that left a thick lace on the sides of the glass as I drank it.  The aroma presented was of mild hops with subtle malty undertones.  Overall I found it to be pretty unexciting.

The first taste of the beer wasn't bad, malty with a slight hop bitterness to the finish.  At first I thought the alcohol flavor was well balanced... then  the beer warmed up.  There is a reason the bottle suggests a serving temperature of 37 degrees F.  As the beer warmed I found the alcohol dominated the flavor of the beer and made it difficult to drink.  Other then that it had a medium body, carbonation, and despite being a little one dimensional flavor wise, was what I would consider an average craft beer.

I probably wouldn't buy this again but if you happen to enjoy Imperial style ales I would recommend you give it a try.