Beer 362/365 – J.W. Lees Vintage Harvest Ale

Style: English Barleywine

ABV: 11.5%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Super sweet but still really good.

Will I be drinking this again: Pricey but might have been worth the $8.99 price tag.

Grade: A+

11/5/2010: Phill out at Vintage Estate has been telling me for a while how good this beer is, but I could never bite the bullet on spending $8.99 for 9.3oz of beer. My last trip to VE I decided to finally pull the trigger since I wanted to get some really good beer for my last dozen or so. He had the 1999, 2001 and 2002 vintage’s, and said that his favorite was the 2001 so I decided to go for that one. Oh this is also my first ever English Barleywine, so not sure what to expect.

Tons of sweet caramel and toffee in the nose of Harvest Ale, semi-musty as well. The flavor is abundant and extremely unique; malty, sticky and almost port-like in a way. Lots of toffee, caramel, some honey, some wood, and a bit of earthiness. Mouthfeel is almost syrupy, but still creamy if that makes sense. I have never had a beer that was this sweet, yet this drinkable. Had trouble not drinking this beer in only 10 minutes, very good and very unique.

Picture of the day: Super Market Mario.

Beer 295/365 – Fuller’s London Porter

Style: English Porter

ABV: 5.4%

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Very good porter, nice and chocolaty.

Will I be drinking this again: Yes one of the better porters I have had in awhile

Grade: A-

8/30/2010: I know porter isn’t exactly a summer style, but I have been wanting to try this beer for awhile. Plus at $1.59 for a bottle you can’t pass it up. Gotta love Ohio beer prices. I’m sure this would cost at least $3.00 here in Pittsburgh. If you are interested in reading what makes an English Porter different than an American Porter, click here.

The nose is almost all chocolate, getting some kind of fruit too, almost raisiny. The flavor is really nice, lots of sweet chocolate, again some kind of small hint of a fruit that i can’t put my finger on. Overall this beer isn’t overly complex, but the flavor is really good. Mouthfeel a little heavier than an average porter, but not by much.

Picture of the day: The police are onto pedobear.

Beer 84/365 – Young’s Double Chocolate Stout

Style: Milk Stout

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman Ohio

What makes this beer different: Tastes like Guinness with chocolate added

Will I be drinking this again: Yes

Grade: B+

1/31/2010: I have passed on buying this beer for years, and I’m not quite sure why because I love stouts; especially chocolate ones. Regardless I finally bought a couple to give it a try. Plus you gotta love any beer that comes in a nitro can.

So much about this beer reminds me of Guinness. The head on Young’s Double chocolate stacks up like an upside down waterfall. Smell is chocolate and lactose (milk). Taste is not as sweet as I thought, and actually reminds me more of a Irish Dry Stout than a Milk Stout. A good bit of roasted malt here, and a little bit of chocolate. Maybe I am getting too accustomed to drinking over the top beers but to be the title “Double Chocolate” is a little bit of an overstatement. I would rename is Young’s Half Chocolate Stout. Mouthfeel is creamy just like a Guinness, but maybe a bit thicker. Overall a simple easy to drink beer, I just would have liked a little tiny bit more chocolate.

Funny Picture of the day: Not sure how some of these stores get away with these names

Beer 71/365 – Samuel Smith’s The Famous Taddy Porter

Style: English Porter

Purchased at: Vintage Estate – Boardman OH

What makes this beer different: Tons of taste for a beer so light

Will I be drinking this again: Yes

Grade: A-

1/18/2010: Excuse me for using my Steelers glass, but this time of year is very depressing when the Steelers miss the playoffs. Trying to remember the good times :cries:

As I have mentioned before I always feel like I have to drink Samuel Smith beers with my pinky out, being that the bottle is so fancy and it’s from England. This is my third Sam Smith beer, the Winter seasonal was very average, and the Russian Imperial was awesome (actually the first beer I had out of the 365).

Smells a lot like roasted coffee. The taste is an even mix of roasted coffee, and chocolate, with a tiny bit of fruit in the background? Maybe prune? This beer is very very drinkable and has a ton of flavor for how light it is. The mouthfeel is on the light to medium side, but has the flavor of a medium/heavy beer. Very good session beer. Give this a try if you have not yet.

Funny Picture of the day: USA is pure evil.

Beer 22 – Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale

Style: Winter Warmer

Purchased at: Vintage Estate

What makes this beer different: A bit watered down for Samuel Smith

Will I be drinking this again: Negative

Grade: B-

12/1/09: Anytime I drink a Samuel Smith I feel like I need to drink it with my pinky out, as it is brewed is England and the bottles always look so fancy shmancy.

This beer fell short for me and lacked the wow factor. Especially because I really like all the other beers brewed by Samuel Smith. Not a bad beer, but its just something I would not go out of my way to drink again. Needs more flavor for my mouth buds.

Beer 1 – Samuel Smith Russian Imperial Stout

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

Purchased at: 3 Sons

What makes this beer different: Its Russian! Okay not really its made in England

Will I be drinking this again: Yes mam

Grade: A

11/09/09 If you don’t like dark beers, stop reading here. Very smooth for a stout, really complex taste. A little bit of an alcohol aftertaste but I kind of like that in my stouts.