Beer Review – Page 4 – The Tap Takeover

Beer Review: Lumberjack Sap from Readington Brewery and Hop Farm

Name: Lumberjack Sap
Brewing Company: Readington Brewery and Hop Farm
Location: Neshanic Station, NJ
Style: Dark Ale
ABV: 7.1%

An interesting, fun beer from one of New Jersey’s newest breweries.

From Readington Brewery’s Instagram post for the beer:

Ale created entirely with sap tapped from the maple trees on our property.

When a brewery opens up less than 2 miles from your front door, that’s a good thing. What’s even better is that each time I’ve visited and sampled the beer at Readington Breweryand Hop Farm, I can taste improvement. They’ve had traditional styles like Pilsners, Dunkelweizens, and IPAs, but the brewery has also had some playfully crafty styles like this beer made with Maple Syrup.

The beer I’m given looks like maple syrup, which is not a shock. There’s a slight maple aroma, again, that’s expected.

First sip is a delight. There’s a nice malty element, but the maple is the most prominent flavor component. I’ve had issues with some beers that feature maple syrup, some have been far too overpowering and cloying or even an unpleasant sour taste. This beer, Lumberjack Sap, has a wonderful balance. The maple flavor is omnipresent, but not over dominant, if that makes sense. Through and through, this is a beer.

I really like how the sweetness from the maple sap plays with the carbonation. It is pleasant and makes you to keep drinking more, and that’s important. Of course the “wants to make you keep drinking it” is important. Also important is the fact that, carbonation is a main characteristic of beer and the carbonation here proves that yes, this is indeed a beer.

If I can level any criticism at the beer is that it felt a little thin on the body. For 7.1% ABV, I’d expect the beer to have a bit more thickness to it.

This beer is called a “Dark Ale,” which is a rather wide descriptor. It isn’t a stout by any means, nor is it a porter. It isn’t hoppy enough to be considered a Black IPA or Cascadian Ale. Regardless of what this beer style is, the flavors are delicious.

I’ve had Readington Brewery’s Pilsner, Dubbel and others and they’ve all been quite tasty. This beer is unique and interesting and the kind of one-off / small batch beer that makes visiting a brewery so much fun. You’ll likely always find something interesting like this beer and I hope to enjoy fun one-offs (as well as many other beers on their tap list) like this in future visits to Readington Brewery and Hop Farm.

Recommended, link to 4 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Beer Review: Burlington Beer Co.’s Beekeeper

Beer Review

Name: Beekeeper
Brewing Company: Burlington Beer Company
Location: Burlington, VT
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double New England/Hazy
ABV: 9%

My first sampling of a Burlington Beer Co beer is a delicious, sweet hoppy IPA that should have wide appeal to craft beer drinkers.

From Burlington Beer Co.’s landing page for the beer:

Beekeeper is a New England style Honey Double IPA brewed with an absolutely absurd quantity of Vermont Honey. Heavily hopped with Simcoe, Cascade, and Amarillo to provide flavors and aromas of Dank Weed, Ripe Peaches, and a bouquet of Fresh cut Flowers.

Cans of Burlington Beer Company started appearing on shelves in coolers here in NJ over the last 6 months to year, the majority of which are their IPAs. I’ve been looking to sample one of their beers since then, but was looking for something slightly outside their main/flagship IPAs. When this beer, brewed with an “absurd” amount of honey, showed up at one of my local liquor stores, I found the one to ry.

The first thing that stands out to me is this really cool can art. It fits with what seems to be the branding for Burlington Beer Company; the complementary colors of yellow/gold and blue, really pops out.

Out of the can, the liquid that fills my glass could easily be mistaken for orange juice shaken vigorously just prior to being poured in the glass. In other words, it fits the mold of a Hazy IPA. I breathe in the beer and get mostly hops on the nose. Again, pretty much what I expect.

I finally take a first taste/sip of the beer and my palate is greeted with bold hops of the tropical nature. Maybe peaches like the description says, but more of a mélange of juicy flavors. There’s some thick dankness to the beer, too. I’m pleased there isn’t a strong bitter finish, which is probably from the abundance of honey that coats the entire flavor profile. It isn’t too sweet, rather it is quite delicious.

Burlington calls this a “Honey IPA” and I can’t argue the name. Beekeeper is undoubtedly an IPA with all the hoppy goodness one would expect, but the sweet honey flavor is in harmonious balance with the blend of the Simcoe, Cascade, and Amarillo hops. Simcoe is a hop that will call to me if I see it as a predominant hop in an IPA, it strikes a nice balance between the piney/bitter West Coast IPA, but also has some nice tropical hints that work well in the Hazy/New England IPAs.

All told, Beekeeper is a damned fine beer. It is the type of IPA that will appeal to beer drinkers who have some aversions to hop-forward beers, but is hoppy enough and has a strong enough IPA profile to appeal to die hard hop heads.

Recommended, link to 4 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Beer Review: Ashton Brewing’s Shore de Garde

Beer Review

Name: Shore De Garde
Brewing Company: Ashton Brewing
Location: Middlesex, NJ
Style: Farmhouse – Bière de Garde
ABV: 7.8%

A fantastic take on a relatively obscure Farmhouse Ale demonstrates the high quality beer I’ve come to expect from Ashton Brewing.

From Ashton Brewing’s landing page for beers:

The 2021 Motown MASH Best of Show winner, Erik Shore, created this delicious country ale. It is a Bière de Garde, which is a French Farmhouse Ale. This beer is malty, clean, dry and smooth. Truly a keeper.

I’ve been really enjoying the beers coming out of Ashton Brewing over the last couple of years, regardless of style. I happened to stop in recently and saw this beer on draught, a style I don’t see often – Bière de Garde, a French Farmhouse Saison-type of ale which translates as “beer for keeping.” Whereas a Farmhouse Ale of the Saison variety is lighter in color, like straw, a Bière de Garde is a little more malty and darker in color. As such, I don’t have too much to compare Shore de Garde against, with the exception of Two Roads’s tasty Holiday Ale.

Before getting the full pour, Donna (one of the owners) kindly allowed me a sip/small taste of this beer and the Saison/Farmhouse they had on draught that day. Both were good, but this one was different enough that I wanted the full pour.

The beer I’m given is a relatively clear golden-burnt umber color. It looks relatively unique, which is enticing. Aroma…I didn’t get anything out of the ordinary on the aroma portion of the show, so I dive in for my first sip.

First taste…is both unique and somewhat familiar. I think the yeast elements give the beer some familiarity, kind of what I’d expect from a Saison or Farmhouse Ale. But the malt character…that’s what is unique, at least what I expect in this style of beer. There’s a sweetness that is rather different from most Farmhouse Ales I’ve enjoyed. The fruitiness is more earthy, maybe figginess and dates? Whereas the Saison side of Farmhouse evokes more of a banana flavor.

This is a very surprising, pleasant beer. The more I drink, the more I enjoy it. It is a fun beer in many ways, in terms of trying to determine what flavors are coming from the yeast and malt combination, and quite delightful.

As the description calls out, this beer is a product of MASH. As I noted in my Brewery Spotlight for Ashton Brewing, Steve is a member of MASH (Morris Area Society of Homebrewers) and I think this is the second beer (at least) that is a product a MASH contest and it is a damned fine one at that. Donna mentioned to me that the batch on draught that day was essentially a test batch and that it did well enough that Ashton will be canning this beer with the next full batch. This is a unique style, a flavorful, well-crafted ale that is worth seeking out.

Recommended, link to 4 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Beer Review: Jack’s Abby’s Lagerness Monster

Beer Review

Name: Lagerness Monster
Brewing Company: Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers
Location: Framingham, MA
Style: Porter – Imperial / Double Baltic
ABV: 14%

A complex, rich, delicious beer that marvelously upends the expectations of Lager beer.

JacksAbby_LagernessMonster — A sleeping Dusty makes a cameo appearance in the background

From the Jack Abby’s landing page for the beer:

Something monstrous has surfaced. Lagerness Monster is an Imperial Baltic Porter aged in bourbon barrels. Last spotted years ago, this strong dark lager features deep flavors of chocolate, vanilla, and coffee. Grab one while you can, this one won’t lurk long.

Jack’s Abby is one of the premier lager breweries in the United States. Jack Hendler and his crew have pushed the boundaries of what a lager can be across the many styles that can be produced with bottom-fermented yeast. Lagers are traditionally thought to be yellow or yellowish-golden in color, though many people who enjoy beer know that Bocks (usually dark brown) are lagers, too. What many people may not realize (and I didn’t initially know years ago) is that Baltic Porters are actually lager beers. Some of the most highly rated beers from Jack’s Abby are their “Framinghammer” series of Baltic Porters, which are often barrel-aged. But the rarest Baltic Porter from Jack’s Abby is this one, Lagerness Monster. (what a great name!)

So is the beer as good as the name?

Pouring a deep black reminiscent of an 8-ball into the glass, there’s a slight head. With the high ABV (14%!), I’m not too surprised at the thin head, but the beer pours fairly thick, which is nice. The aroma is strong on the bourbon, but it doesn’t drown out the malty elements of the beer or the slight licorice elements associated with the style.

The first sip impresses me. I like the beer quite a bit from that first taste and I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy this 500ml bottle over the next hour or so. Moments later, I have a second sip and it is stellar. I start to get a pleasant tingly feeling in my belly when the beer hits, a familiar feeling I associate with good beer.

The more I acquaint myself with the beer, the more I enjoy it. I’m not a licorice fan and many Baltic Porters have that flavor element in them. The hints of licorice are here in Lagerness Monster, but mild and far more pleasant than any hints of licorice I’ve ever tasted. The barrel elements soften that strong element, balancing out the flavor with some oak and bourbon, along with very welcome hints of vanilla and maybe even toffee.

About halfway through the beer, as I’m sitting on my couch, I can feel my legs becoming slightly heavier. That’s when I know I’ve had a beer with a high ABV and it isn’t a bad feeling. It just reminds me that I’m glad I had no real plans that night other than maybe watching a movie or reading a book and enjoying this beer.

What impresses me the most is the balance in this beer. The Baltic Porter elements are omnipresent, the barrel character wraps itself around the malty core of the beer and gives Lagerness Monster one of the cleaner flavor profiles I’ve enjoyed in a barrel-aged beer. Jack’s Abby is pushing the boundaries of craft, pushing the boundaries of what to expect from Lager, and doing so marvelously and deliciously.

As I was finishing up this beer and thinking of how I’d rate it in the end, I came to a slight crossroads. I initially landed on a 4.5 bottle caps on the untappd rating meter but the more I thought about it, the more I realized the beer had almost no flaws. I upped my rating to a 4.75 because it was nearly perfect. The only minor slight: I wouldn’t mind if it was slightly lower in ABV, but that’s it. Even at that high ABV, the booziness isn’t the punch to the face you might expect. The beer is incredible.

Jack’s Abby distributes fairly widely along in the Northeast but I’m not sure how widely they’ve put Lagerness Monster into distribution. If you see it, grab a bottle. At the $11 I paid for it, it was practically a steal especially taking into account the quality of the beer and what I’ve paid (and prices I’ve seen) for other barrel-aged dark beers.

Highly Recommended, link to 4.75 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Untapped badges earned with this beer:

To The Port (Level 16)

Dating back to the 18th century, porters remain an extremely popular style to this day. That is 130 different beers with the style of Porter.

Beer Review: Cigar City’s Marshal Zhukov’s Double Envelopment

Beer Review

Name: Marshal Zhukov’s Double Envelopment
Brewing Company: Cigar City Brewing
Location: Tampa, FL
Style: Stout – Double / Imperial
ABV: Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, NJ
ABV: 11.8%

An outstanding, unique barrel-aged stout that should be on every stout lovers “to find” list.

From the Cigar City’s landing page for the beer:

This Russian Imperial Stout is dedicated to Georgy Zhukov, arguably one of the finest generals of World War II, and to the double envelopment maneuver he utilized to trap the German army at the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. This beer was divided between rum and sherry barrels, with the final blend being skewed just a bit heavier on the rum barrels. Rum barrels have added a pronounced spiciness and texture to the beer, while sherry barrel-aging has imparted flavors of dark cherry and blackberry. The base beer’s recipe has been tweaked a bit over the last few years, with some of the roastiness taking a back seat to dark chocolate flavors and sweetness. Other than that, it’s a straightforward barrel-aged version of Zhukov’s. .

Marshal Zhukov’s is Cigar City’s flagship Stout, a Russian Imperial Stout as it so happens. Like many breweries tend to do for special releases, they take this stout and age it some oak barrels. But not the typical Bourbon barrels, the folks at Cigar City decided blend two versions, the rum barrel-aged and sherry barrel-aged to create something unique. Or at least I suppose that is the aim of such a brewing and blended stout.

What are the results?

The beer is very dark, as is expected. The aroma is very pleasant and inviting, I smell a sweet booziness with the sherry a little more prominent than the rum. I’m not a sherry drinker by any means, but I really like the aroma of this beer.

The first taste blows me away. The roasted malt elements of the stout are potent and pleasing, but the barrel character emerges very pleasantly. The rum brings the added sweetness. With rum being fermented and distilled from sugar, that makes sense. Then the sherry element comes in, which brings maybe a hint of dryness, a little bit of a sweet almost sour tang? Not unpleasant by any means, quite the opposite!

Since this is an 11.8% stout, I take my time with the beer. Being in a cool bar with a good friend and good food on the way, I was real happy to just relax and enjoy this complex beer. As it warms, the barrel characteristics become more prominent, but they don’t drown out the base elements of the stout. The barrel elements blend into one, dynamic flavor adjunct that is extremely pleasing, the sweetness from the rum barrel is complemented by some of the dried fruit elements in the sherry character.

This beer is one of the more unique barrel-aged stouts I’ve ever had. If I can have any slight on the beer, and it is minor, it is that the body was slightly thin. Not what I’d expect from such a high ABV stout.

I haven’t had too many brews from Cigar City (I’ve liked what I’ve had), and only a beer or two aged in these kinds of barrels and definitely not a blend of beers aged in these kinds of barrels. In other words, I don’t have a beer to compare this against, in exacting terms, so I’ll just say this. Marshal Zhukov’s Double Envelopment is a dynamite stout, it possesses the great elements of a high ABV stout, but the two barrels used in the construction of the final beer bring something new and unique to the liquid. This is a beer well-worth seeking out.

Bottles of the beer are available only through Cigar City’s El Catador Club, which is their Members Only barrel-aged beer club. Somehow, a keg of the beer made its way to the Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, where I enjoyed the beer before enjoying a night of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite with a good friend over at Boardwalk Hall.

Highly Recommended, link to 4.5 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Beyond a Shadow of a Stout (Level 81)

We all love Stouts, and now we have a dedicated badge to celebrate your dedication to these dark, top-fermented beer in multiple variations, like Oatmeal, Milk and more! Which one will you start with? That’s 405 different beers with the style of Stout.

Beer Review: Ross Brewing’s Bockenator

Beer Review

Name: Bockenator
Brewing Company: Ross Brewing Company
Location: Port Monmouth, NJ
Style: Bock – Dopplebock
ABV: 8%

A tasty, dark lager with a sweet, chocolate twist.

From the Ross Brewing’s Facebook post announcing the beer:

𝗕𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥 is our 𝟴% 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗼𝗰𝗸! The beer style that inspired us to start brewing way back when finally sees a release under the Ross pennant!

Our tribute to all of the amazing German Doppelbocks we’ve had over the years, Bockenator has the 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲, which in turn are only accentuated by the 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿. Maintaining balance without being too sweet, with the 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗕𝗩% 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗹, this is the beer 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘀! Enjoy at your next feast or special occasion, or any other time you’d like an amazing beer. Prost!

I’ve been happy to see Ross Brewing’s growth over the past year despite launching their brand without a taproom and during a pandemic. When I learned they had a doppelbock in the works I knew I’d have to grab some. This beer is brewed with chocolate, so I was even more intrigued.

The beer is adorned with cool label consistent with the clean branding of Ross Brewing along with the iconic goats symbolizing the bock style of beer on the can. But the contents of the can are always more important, aren’t they? Let’s dive in, shall we?

Yep, that looks like a doppelbock. Dark brown, slightly translucent, and a thin khaki head. I don’t get too much of an aroma outside of what I’d expect. It smells like a malty beer.

First sip…I get some sweet malt and a crispy/snappy lager finish. I like this first impression of Bockenator. The chocolate comes through more each time I go back to my glass. Not coincidentally, the beer is warmer with each sip I take which, as we all know, allows the flavors to breathe and express themselves more.

That chocolate wakes up more the closer the beer gets to room temperature and consequently, I’m finding myself enjoying the beer that much more. The chocolate also helps to smooth out the starkly crisp finish.

The folks behind Ross Brewing have continued to show their mettle, especially on a style like Dopplebock. Given one of their launch beers was a somewhat dark lager, I shouldn’t be surprised they brewed a tasty Dopplebock, another dark lager.

Recommended, link to 3.75 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Beer Review: Wystouti from Sunken Silo Brew Works

Beer Review

Name: Wystouti
Brewing Company: Sunken Silo Brew Works
Location: Lebanon, NJ
Style: Stout – American
ABV: 6.8%

A well-made American stout that doesn’t rely on adjuncts for its tasty flavor profile.

From the Sunken Silo’s Our Beers page:

We honor Joe senior with a riff on his name. A whiff of coffee and chocolate with a silky-smooth mouthfeel. ON NITRO

Sunken Silo Brew Works has been open for about 2 years, I visited just before the pandemic and given how close they are to me, I figured it was about time I made another visit. They are also part of the Hunterdon Beer Trail, which might be a feature post later this week. As for this beer, they only had it on a nitro tap, which I often feel drowns out the flavor of the beer, but I was in the mood for a stout. So how did Wystouti work for me?

After a slightly slow pour, the beer placed in front of me looks very inviting. The creamy looking khaki head topping off the dark stout is a picture-perfect beer.

Diving in, I get the mouthfeel of the Nitro immediately. The fluffiness is pleasant. Then the taste follows, which is what I expect from a Stout, mostly. Roasted malts. But wait, there’s more!

I’m getting some other flavors, unexpected flavors, but good nonetheless. There’s the expected evocation of coffee and hints of chocolate from the roasted malts. But there’s a berry-like sweetness on the backend of the beer. More of a hint of berries, I’d say, a nice surprise and pleasant overall.

Maybe the thing I most appreciate about this beer is how straight-forward it is. It seems there are far more stouts with some kind of adjunct (chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallow, lactose, coffee, etc), so a stout that gains its flavor from the core four ingredients? Seems like a novel concept these days, but you can count me in. Especially if the beer is as well-made and tasty as Wystouti is.

Wystouti is a terrific stout, although ’d like to try the non-Nitro version. Sunken Silo let a batch sit in bourbon barrels for 9 months to celebrate their 2nd birthday. Next time I visit the brewery, I may have to grab a bottle of it.

Recommended, link to 4 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Untapped badges earned with this beer:

Smooth as Silk (Level 2)

That extra smooth mouth-feel you just experienced is all thanks to the thousands of tiny bubbles created by infused nitrogen. Yum! Check-in 10 times with the serving style of Nitro.

Beer Review: Victory Brewing’s Hop’Hazer

Beer Review

Name: Hop’Hazer
Brewing Company: Victory Brewing Company
Location: Downington, PA
Style: IPA – New England/Hazy
ABV: 6%
Location Consumed: The Alchemist & Barrister

Victory’s latest (as of Winter 2021/2022) Hazy IPA is a well-crafted and flavorful take on the immensely popular style.

From Victory Brewing’s landing page for the beer:

With cooler weather on the horizon, the HOP’HAZER transports you straight to an enchanting fantasy land with its juicy, citrus, and hop-forward characteristics. The use of innovative hops amplifies the flavor and brings light to the longest, darkest days of the year

HOPS: Mosaic, Citra, Citra Cryo, Citra Incognito®, HBC 586

It has been quite a while since Victory made an appearance here at the Tap Takeover, at least in the form of new beers I’ve had from them. That doesn’t necessarily mean I haven’t been enjoying their beer. Prima Pils is a regular rotation beer for me. Victory has been on board the Hazy IPA bandwagon, having released quite a few in this style over the past couple of years. Hop’Hazer is a beer they are considering a winter seasonal. Not sure why or how this evokes winter, but more importantly, is it a good beer?

Victory_HopHazr6pack — Image courtesy of Victory Brewing’s Facebook.

The beer I’m given 100% looks the part of the style. Aroma is juicy hoppiness. So far, Victory has the style keyed in.

First sip…thirst quenching. Juicy hops abound in this beer, is my first thought. My second thought is just how drinkable this beer is. For me, sometimes some IPAs can have a bitter, off-putting finish, but not Hop’Hazer. I find myself wanting to drink this one relatively quickly because it is so tasty and refreshing.

I had a burger with this beer for my lunch and it was a perfect pairing. Most beers pair well with burgers, but this beer enhanced everything about the burger.

I wasn’t sure what hops were in the beer, I had it on draught. When I looked up the description to include in this review, I was very surprised to see Mosaic hops as one of the hops in the mix. I typically don’t like Mosaic to the point that it taints everything else it touches, at least for my palate. But the Citra is definitely present, and I’m guessing the other hops listed above help to mute what I typically don’t like about beers with Mosaic hops.

Hop’Hazer is an extremely tasty beer and a nice take on the Hazy/New England style of IPA. I think I like their Cloud Walker Hazy IPA just a little bit more, but this beer is still very good.

Plus, I’m a sucker for a beer with a wizard on the label.

Recommended, link to 4 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Untapped badges earned with this beer:

Haze for Days (Level 17)

You may not be able to see through the haze, but that juicy, hoppy goodness goes down smooth. What started as a trend is here to stay. That’s 85 different beers with the style of IPA – New England (Imperial or Single), Pale Ale – New England or IPA – Milkshake.

Beer Review: Carton Brewing’s Cafe Revolver

Beer Review

Name: Cafe Revolver
Brewing Company: Carton Brewing Company
Location: Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Style: Cream Ale | Imperial Cream Ale
ABV: 12%

Another outstanding entry in Carton Brewing’s “Regular Coffee Game” – A Must Try

From Carton Brewing’s landing page for the beer:

Imperial Cream Ale Aged In Bourbon Barrels w/ Orange Bitters: 12% | IBU: 20 | SRM: 5

Café Revolver is a continuation of the Regular Coffee game. Our golden imperial coffee cream ale has been finished on Bourbon barrels with orange bitters. Much like Regular Coffee looks to evoke an amusing version of the acidic bitter coffee curbed by milk and sugar that starts a day in a paper cup, Cafe Revolver addresses it on the other end of the day. A beer rendition of a modern Revolver cocktail, sweet coffee and bourbon’s richness defined by a dash of aromatic orange bitters, lending a subtle brightness to the darker tones. Drink Cafe Revolver and take your best shot.

Carton Brewing becomes the first brewery with a 4th feature review here at the Tap Takeover with a version of one of their more highly sought after offerings. Every New Year’s Day (or thereabouts) Augie Carton and his crew release cans of an “Irregular Coffee,” a variant of their flagship cream ale, Regular Coffee. Regular Coffee is their interpretation of morning coffee in the form of a Cream Ale – milk sugar and coffee are added to the base beer of a cream ale. One of the 2021 versions of Irregular Coffee is Café Revolver, the beer interpretation of the Revolver cocktail, which is Bourbon, orange bitters, and coffee liqueur. For this beer, Carton aged Regular coffee in bourbon barrels along with orange bitters with the goal of evoking that evening, sipping cocktail. Or a “coffee on the other end of the day.”

I like bourbon quite a lot (my favorite spirit), I like the flavor of coffee, and I’ve enjoyed 7 versions of “Regular Coffee” including the original prior to Café Revolver, but this one is the first I’ve had that has a barrel aging element.

Pouring the beer into my Carton glass, I get some aromas of bourbon. The beer is a little murkier looking than other Irregular Coffee variants I’ve enjoyed, which is neither negative or positive. Just the way I see it. There are more flavor elements so the beer’s murkiness makes sense.

The first sip gives me the sweetness from the lactose, but the bourbon soon envelopes everything. The orange bitters are an assertive flavor component, but that element plays extremely well with the bourbon. As it should considering bitters are part of many, many bourbon-based cocktails. The coffee elements are the underlying flavor holding all the elements together. Halfway through the 12oz can, I’m thoroughly enjoying this fun and tasty beer, all those elements come together in a very cohesive, elegant fashion.

I’ve always been impressed by how many of Carton’s beers are inspired by food or other non-beer things like cocktails. What’s even more impressive is how despite this beer emulating a bourbon cocktail (or a doppelbock brewed with coffee beans substituting the hops, for another example) yet the beer remains undeniably, well, a beer.

Café Revolver does just that. It is undeniably a beer, but the elements of the cocktail play the base beer extremely well. Specifically, the elements of Regular Coffee are distinct and give the beer its dominant character. The cocktail elements are damned fine complement to what fans of Regular Coffee like myself, have come to expect. I can’t rank this one against the original, but my favorite variant is Café Y’ Churro. In speaking to Augie during our visit, he said a lot of people consider that their favorite, because people love cinnamon. He isn’t wrong. I’d say Cafe Revolver is in the top half of the Irregular Coffee beers I’ve had, but again, they are all spectacular beers.

To paraphrase the Carton motto that closes out the beer description on the cans of most of their beers, drink Cafe Revolver because it is a delicious, fun, and playful beer.

Highly Recommended, link to 4.25 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Drink Review: Cranberry Sauced from Sourland Mountains Spirits

Beer Review

Name: Cranberry Sauced
Brewing Company: Sourland Mountain Spirits
Location: Hopewell, NJ
Style: Craft Cocktail (Gin & Cranberries)
ABV: 8%

A delicious, refreshing, cocktail that is a perfect balance of flavors.

From the Sourland Mountain Spirits’slanding page for the droml:

Just in time for the holidays, our debut canned cocktail features a refreshing blend of our 12 botanical flagship gin, farm-fresh New Jersey cranberries, rosemary, honey, and lemon. Just chill, shake, and pour over ice. Each pack includes 4x 12 oz cans.

Tasting Notes: fresh cranberries, rosemary, honey, lemon

Let’s try something a little bit different, shall we? As much as I enjoy beer, I do enjoy spirits, too. Last year for my wife’s birthday, I took her on a tour and tasting at Sourland Mountain Spirits in Hopewell, NJ*. We had a fantastic time, our tour was lead by owner Ray Disch who also happens to be a co-founder of Triumph Brewing. We had a fantastic time, due in large part to Ray himself, who was entertaining, knowledgeable, and gregarious. Essentially, everything a small business owner should be as the public face. Sourland also makes some tasty spirits and cocktails.

*The distillery happens to be on the same farm Troon Brewing, which I didn’t initially realize.

Cranberry happens to be one of, if not, my favorite fruit (as I noted in recent beer review). NJ happens to be one of the largest producers of the fruit in the State of New Jersey. When my wife and I learned they released their first canned cocktail, which highlights the tart fruit, we wanted to give it a try in the spirit (pun somewhat intended) of supporting small business and a business we like a lot (despite Gin not being a spirit I typically seek out). Also, this is a perfect holiday drink!

One thing I learned on that tour about a year ago is that gin is the base, or starting spirit, for many other spirits, so it makes sense that Ray and his cocktail sorcerers would utilize gin in their first canned cocktail. Gin is also quite popular.

I don’t typically go for craft/canned cocktails, but “Cranberry Sauced” from Sourland Spirits might change that. Along with delicious and copious cranberries, this drink has honey, lemon, and rosemary mixed with their tasty gin. Per the directions on the can, I gave it a shake and filled up my glass with the cocktail.

That was a nice little kick! Again, gin isn’t a go to for me, but I do get that as a prominent element of the drink. My wife caught more of the cranberry, but she’s not into cranberry quite as much as I am. I gave the drink a splash of Cran-Mango juice and boy-howdy does that bring some nice balance to an already tasty adult beverage. If gin is your thing, then maybe a shot of gin could be added for an extra kick. Regardless, Sourland has crafted something really special with this drink.

Cranberry Sauced is a delicious, FUN, and refreshing drink and a nice change up from what I normally enjoy. This is a perfect holiday drink, given that cranberries are often associated with fall/winter holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. I can’t recommend this tasty treat enough.

Highly Recommended. If this beverage were on untappd, I’d probably rate it at 4.25/4.5 out 5 bottle caps