Happy New Beer #2 Pennsylvania Pale Ale

Hey beer fans!  I'm sipping some Pennsylvania Pale Ale today.  It's a product from the always awesome Philadelphia Brewing Company.

I'm sipping from a standard pint glass.  The brew pours out a pretty amber-ish color with a frothy head.  It smells nice and hoppy, without being overpowering.  I've smelled some pales and IPA's that had a greener fragrance than my lawnmower.  Can you tell I'm NOT a hop head?  Nothing against hop lovers, it's just not my thing.  Anyway, back to the Pennsylvania Pale. 

As I sipped, I tasted just a touch of malty sweetness, followed by the floral flavor of the hops.  It finished crisp without being overly bitter.  I could see drinking this with a big pile of hot wings or some tacos.  I shouldn't have typed that.  Now I'm craving wings. 

I know I said it before, but I just want to repeat how awesome PBC is.  They operate out of a building that was originally built as a brewery in the 1800's.  Their tasting room is open Saturday afternoons, with plenty of samples and tours of the brewery.  If you're lucky, you might get to try a sample of beer fresh off the line.  Also, if you're into variety cases, you can get one custom assembled with your choice of beers in the sales office.  How cool is that?  Did I mention cases straight from the brewery are usually about $5 less than a distributor charges?  yeah, I visit this place a lot.

Happy New Beer vol. 1: Otto

I know it's not 2012 yet, but I thought I'd go ahead and roll out a new feature, Happy New Beer!  I'm going to attempt to review a new beer each week this year.  I'm not a super hard-core beer geek, so my reviews won't be overly technical.  I'm just a chick who likes beer.  Now, onto the good stuff:

This week's beer:  Otto!!

thanks, wikipedia

No, not that Otto.  This one!

Otto, brewed by Victory Brewing.  Not sure if this is a limited release or going to be added to their roster of seasonals.  According the label it combines the flavors of smoked malt with a traditional Belgian style dubbel.  Okay, I'll bite.

It poured out a nice pretty deep red color, with a creamy head.  It had an interesting aroma.  It smelled pleasantly smoky and woodsy, like a campfire on a chill autumn night. 

As far as taste goes, it felt like I was drinking two different beers.  At first sip, it had the fruity, yeasty flavor I'd expect from a dubbel, then it faded into the smoke flavor from the smoked malts.  Does anyone remember the movie "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"?  You know the scene where the gum-obsessed girl takes the test gum and describes how the flavors change as she's chewing it?   That's the impression I got from sipping this beer--it's a dubbel! but wait, it's also a rauchbier!!

Overall impression, it was an interesting taste combination and a decent beer.  At 8% ABV, definitely not a chugger, but good sipped with a little dark chocolate.  I'd say it's worth a try, especially if you're looking to break out of a beer rut.