Long Hammer IPA

So recently Long Hammer IPA (brewed by Red Hook) went through somewhat of a facelift. Long Hammer IPA has been a long time favorite of mine for a couple years now. And Personally I like the older design but its the same stuff inside. And that's a good thing because this is pretty good stuff.
Now I can't remember for the life of me how much a 6 pack of this stuff costs, but its not too bad and even if it was, it's well worth it. I really like this IPA. It's got more flavor than Thunderhead but you can definitely just taste the quality they put into this beer. Even if you hate IPA's I may suggest you give this one a try. It is by no means the best of the best, but it is definitely one hell of a brew.
Also, another note on the bottle. Long Hammer used to bottled into your standard 12oz beer bottle. But for some reason or another they have decided to start bottling it into a 12oz bottle that looks as though it was smashed down by lumberjacks. I say lumberjacks because they also tried to take a more woodsy theme to their beer bottle. Not exactly a bad change but I liked the norse look they were rocking before the change.
Anyway, withholding my rant about the bottle, this is an amazing beer and anyone who is a fan of IPA's should check this one out.

Also, I have noticed this Brew Review blog has become somewhat of an IPA review blog. I recognize that IPA's are not for everyone and will try to get some stouts, wheat beer, and just some bitch beer in this blog in the near future. Best wishes and happy drinking.

Cheers!

Thunderhead IPA

I decided to do another IPA review on the insanely popular IPA, Thunderhead. Now Thunderhead is more milder than some IPAs but regardless in no way lacks in hops. Its a great budget beer with a 24 oz bottle going for about two dollars before taxes.
Taste wise it's a fairly decent beer. I have always been a fan of Pyramid's brews and this one doesn't disappoint. A strong, sharp, almost skunky taste defines this beer. So if at the local 7/11 this is all they have then you can rest assured that despite its price, Thunderhead will quench your thirst just fine.
But aside from taste there is one very specific use for Thunderhead: To get totally and completely smashed on very little money. For those of us who hate mass market American brews, Thunderhead can fulfill the need to get just totally smashed. I mean, 10 bucks will buy you 120 oz of beer at 6.7% alcohol content. I don't care who you are, thats going to get you trashed.

So all in all. Try this beer if either you want a new and different IPA, are on a budget, or just feel like getting drunk to the point where you pass out in front of a street light and your friends have to drag you in because somebody somewhere thought they saw a cop. Yep. This beer will do that.

Also stole the picture off of google images.

Ranger IPA

Ok so as you may (or may not) know, I just started this blog. So I decided that one of my first reviews should be on my beer of choice: Ranger. Ranger is a beer brewed out of the New Belgium Brewery way over in Fort Collin's Colorado. Now this is a hoppy beer. So like all hoppy brews, you either love it or you hate it. And I personally love it.
Don't exactly know why either. I have had arguably better IPA's. Hell, I was in Calgary just a week ago drinking way fancier IPAs straight off the tap. But for some reason, this one always gets me. Its just a great beer. And at a pretty good price too, only something like 3.60 for a 24 oz bottle, which is in no way steep for a beer like this.
As I mentioned before, this beer is hoppy. So if you like wheat beers, you are going to just absolutely hate this beer. Calling it just hoppy or strong can in no small way come close to explaining this beer's taste. It just has a very rich and full taste to it. A far cry from watery or just weak tasting beers that tend to be flooding the market.

All in all, this is just an amazing beer. But like everything, it really does come down to taste. I know many beer fanatics who have otherwise amazing taste in brews but just really don't like this one. But that doesn't change the fact that it is my personal favorite beer.

Picture was taken from New Belgium Brewery's website. If thats stealing, oh well.

Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager

So I decided to try this little known Montana brew on for size tonight. What attracted me to it in the first place was the "Double Hopped" part in its name. I have always been a fan of bitter beers. So I jump in the hot tub and crack one open. I took about three drinks before realizing there was nothing hoppy about this beer. I won't say this is the worst beer I have even had (I mean there is a lot of crappy beers out there), but this definitely is something I will never get again. The taste was noticeably slightly richer than your standard Bud or comparable mass market American brew but it wasn't enough of a difference to save this beer. 

In my opinion if you like the Coors Light type or just like wheat ales, you could possibly like this one. But if your like me and either like your beer hoppy or dark, stay as far away from this brew as humanly possible. 

P.S. Sorry the picture is flipped, couldn't figure out why...