So I opened up the regular sized bottle (with the silver foil that's
 annoyingly glued down to the bottle neck and cap) and poured it in a Unibroue glass that I also got from Smiley's. Its head sprung up immediately and almost overwhelmed my glass. The color was beautiful, a cloudy dark amber with plenty of sediment. The smell was startingly similar to a Fin du Monde or Terrible - and I believe that that has to do with the similar bottle refermentation that use in each of the beers. The mouth feel is one that is quite carbonated, and pinches at your tongue on the first sips. The taste itself is complex and deeply malty. I don't taste the smokiness, but there's something about this one that's different. It has a spice, an edge to it that other Unibroue brewings don't have. It is has a bite almost like a lambic, and has a sweet fermented taste that defies description. This is one that if you try it, you'll know all that Unibiroue is capable of. I don't think I could sit and have five of these, but the modest ABV would allow you to if you so desired.
I am unsure about the U.S. distribution for this brew. I got it in a sample pack that also included three other brews of theirs, which I may review at a slightly later date. I would have loved to have reviewed this side by side with other Unibroue brewings, so that I could really pull out what it is that makes this one really strangely different than its cousins.Â
An additional note - according to Unibroue's website, the Raftman was "brewed to commemorate the legendary courage of the forest workers. These hard working men knew when to settle their differences and share their joie de vivre with a beer and a whisky." This referrs to the loggers who risked their lives rafting the tree trunks they'd cut down the rivers towards the mills. A dangerous profession, and definitley something worthy of a brewing so provocative. 
This one pours an opaque black with a lot of bubbly, cola-like head that breaks down into bigger and bigger bubbles as they pop. Cool, but requires a little patience to pour into a regular glass! 
The trip to Blue Point was an adventure that involved incomplete directions and lots of U-turns. We eventually located the brewery and parked behind it. I was surprised to see that it was so small, because I forgot that their bottling takes place at Clipper City Brewing in Maryland. So, we made our way on a crisp Long Island evening through the brewery's back door, through a swarm of people holding plastic beer cups filled with various colors of beer - amber, black, yellow. 
The Toasted Lager is the quintessential Long Island beer, and has a stand-out taste. It smells of malt and is a medium amber color, making it a clear alternative to most everything else on tap at local bars here. The taste is slightly toasty, and with a mild hop presence. It is very drinkable and shows a subtle spiciness. It could just as easily be a refreshing summer beer as it could be a winter warmer, which may be why it is so popular. It is a salvation, too, when eating out on Long Island, when you don't want the typical Bud/BudLight/Coors/CoorsLight options. 
Some notes on the visit : This is the smallest brewery I've visited thus far, and is very compact, open, and raw. There's no Plexiglas hallways and tours on the half hour. Just a warehouse making great beer for local restaurants- the rest brewed at Clipper City for bottling. I kept my coat on because it was chilly inside... but that was part of the adventure, too..jpg)
The Pine Belt Pale Ale comes in a can, but I wasn't worried. The beer arrived to me cold - not sure if that was the non-temperature-controlled mail trucks driving through the cold northeast winter, but it was a great treat. I don't fear cans, because there's a debate in the beer community raging about whether or not they actually taste better or preserve beer longer than bottles. But I'll let the verdict hold pending further review. My main problem with cans is - I don't think I've ever poured a canned beer into a glass before. My attempts were actually quite embarrassingly messy with a bit of dribble running down the can side and not in my glass. 
My brain would have really liked it if it smelled like berries, or pomegranate, or punch. But instead it smelled like an Oktoberfest - malty and subtle. The taste, too, is a conflict. There is a hinted sweetness to it, that my brian might be installing there (think, looking at an apple and biting an onion...) but the overall flavor isn't as warm or deep as I had hoped. Its a little thin, with just hints of hops and malt.
I don't watch a ton of television, but when I do, I pretty much alternate between Food Network, Comedy Central, and whatever channel is currently playing reruns of House. That being said, one of my favorite Food Network Shows (second only to Good Eats w/Alton Brown) is Iron Chef America. What can I say? I'm inspired by the chef's abilities to take one ingredient and use it so many different ways. So, hearing about Iron Chef Morimoto pairing up with Rogue to design beer made my eyebrow lift in curiosity. There are three in the set, this ale, a black ale, and an imperial pilsner. I decided to start with the Soba Ale. 
What I think I was detecting was the soba, which gives this brew its name. According to Rogue's website, soba is not a type of wheat but a member of the rhubarb family and has been a longtime staple of Japanese cuisine. Its also known as buckwheat, and is very commonly made to make asian noodles. I wish I had some here to try this beer with!
and Oaked Arrogant Bastard). 
moky malts i.e. Rogue Smoke Ale & Fort Collins Z) I broke into a huge grin. So when I was trying to decide what to taste today, though there are things that have been sitting around longer, this one got to cut in line. 
Falling under the category of "This has been in my fridge for far too long" I had to open this one up despite not having anything 400-ish to celebrate. It isn't a special day, I didn't win the lotto, didn't graduate grad school, didn't get engaged, didn't do anything worthy of such a commemorative beer. But, alas, it was time to face the music and give in to taste, lest I accidentally age it any longer.
Kingston NY is located partway down the Hudson river in New York, south of Albany and north of NYC. According to their website, Hurricane Kitty is named after owner Tom Keegan's grandmother who had a tendency to speed her six grandchildren around a bit too much - gaining some notoriety with local police in Kingston. This one is brewed to "make the hop bill read as aggressively as her driving record." Hehe. 
Believe it or not, I didn't pick this up on my last trip to New York. In fact, I found it in a beer store in Chelmsford, MA, with several other different types from the same brewery (which I will be reviewing at a later time). They all have freak-show or circus names, and anyone afraid of clowns won't be attracted to some of their labeling. 
What makes this taste different than the typical allspice + beer spice combo is that you can actually taste some ginger in here too. So the taste is a bit sharper, a bit crispier and with a tiny bite. I like this little twist. It complements the citrus and other spices well, and this one is very drinkable and interesting. As it stands, I'm not sure if I'll see this again up my way, but I have to note that this is a little off-centered and makes for a refreshing, crisp break from wintry stouts. 
Its been a long time since I've reviewed something from Sam Adams. And what else could be as deserving of my next review as a recent release that was placed at eye-level in my local grocery store (sometimes I swear that they do that just for me). Shiny metallic label, dark black bottle... it called my name. My friend went down to Sam Adams for a beer dinner a few weeks ago and got to taste this at the brewery, making me exceptionally jealous. So I had to pick this up. In fact, I picked up two and gave one to another friend of mine to congratulate them on their engagement.
proximity to New England (they're in Colorado) but I was lucky to see this at Oliver's in Albany. Though it is named a 'Lager' it is far more than a simple lager. The label features a 'z' burned into a piece of wood, surrounded by flames. Though I thought this was cool, I didn't realize its significance until I read further. This, was a Rauchbier, which features malts which are roasted prior to brewing (historically over actual fire). So, because I liked the Rogue Smoke Ale (also a Rauchbier) I was excited to try this.
Interestingly enough, I accidentally found that Golden Monkeys are actually an adorable, yet endangered species. Should you be moved by their cute little blue faces, you can read all about them at
The taste, too, has a hint of something unknowable. The hops hit that I was expecting just, doesn't show up. It threatens, and you can taste the alcohol, the malts and a hint of the hops. But for something so powerful, this finishes by gliding into oblivion instead of a punch. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike it, but I expected more hops from something that smelled like it had them. Where do they go? Where my missing socks go, I suspect.
I don't even remeber when I picked up the Shakespeare stout, its been in my tasting fridge for a long time. The copious amounts of harvest ales and pumpkin ales may have distracted me from a few darker ones waiting in the wings.
The quad pours, as most quads do, with almost no head, in a syrupy continuous pour with a steady cloudy dark amber. The smell is silky and alcoholic, that kind of intoxicating Belgian smell that makes a beer-lover swoon. 
Yes, as wierd as this may be, I am reviewing this, and I'm proud to be doing it. I don't see this beer as a threat to the craft industry, and I'll tell you why. This does the opposite. It won't be stealing craft beer drinkers away from great microbrews, but maybe it will prime the palate of the American beer drinker to get used to ales instead of the lagers dominating the macro breweries. 
It pours with a really thin head. The smell is strong of hops and some kind of fruitiness. It doesn't smell like a straight IPA but of something sweeter and maltier.