B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout - Hoppin Frog Brewing Company

APPEARANCE: (5) Super dark, heavy almost molasses looking when pouring into the testing glass. Foam is weak at first when pouring. Builds up somewhat when twirling the testing glass. The foam then looks like thick milk chocolate pudding.

AROMA: (4) Intense scents of chocolate and banana liquor.

TASTE: (5) Sweet, intense and very hoppy.

EXTRA: (4) Label and Website is approved. It would have been nice to read something more about each beer on their website though.

Hoppin Frog Brewery

Beer style: Imperial Stout
Serving temperature: 10-12 C
Alcohol: 9.4%
60 IBU

Food Pairings: Nuts

APPEARANCE: 5 x 5 = 25
AROMA: 4 x 10 = 40
TASTE: 5 x 10 = 50
EXTRA: 4 x 1 = 4

Total: 119/130

Oatmeal Stout - Free State brewing

APPEARANCE: (4) Ink jet black with light brown creamy head.

AROMA: (4) Oat and malt, distant smell of banana.

TASTE: (4) Pretty good mouth feel. Malt and hops in perfect harmony with either sticking out over the other. There is a pleasant after bitterness that comes hunting you later.

EXTRA: (3) See previous testing. Website OK but again, why is it so difficult for these breweries to print the alcohol level on the label or at least on their website?

Beer style: Oatmeal Stout
Serving temperature: 10-12 C
Alcohol: Unknown. 6.10% ABV according to Ratebeer.com

Food Pairings: Hard cheeses, deserts or as a session beer.

APPEARANCE: 4 x 5 = 20
AROMA: 4 x 10 = 40
TASTE: 4 x 10 = 40
EXTRA: 3 x 1 = 3

Total: 103/130

8 (ball) Stout - Lost Coast brewery

APPEARANCE: (4) Very dark (as expected from a Stout :-)) Not a very rich foam head initially but some twirling of the testing glass builds up the foam which is creamy milk chocolaty.

AROMA: (4) Hints of chocolate and coffee

TASTE: (5) Very rich chocolate flavor. There is some coffee in the after notes but the first taste is chocolate. There is some sweetness is this beer and the special 'house flavor' of Lost Coast brewing. This is a very nice stout, well balanced and pretty drinkable.

EXTRA: (3) Nothing really to mention. Website is OK but not much information about the beers.

Beer style: Stout
Serving temperature: 10-12 C
Alcohol: 5.50% ABV

Food Pairings: Session beer and pairs well with some deserts and cheeses.

APPEARANCE: 4 x 5 = 20
AROMA: 4 x 10 = 40
TASTE: 5 x 10 = 50
EXTRA: 3 x 1 = 3

Total: 113/130

IPA - Arcadia Brewing Company

APPEARANCE: (5) Clear dark golden color with a head so thick that the beer cannot be poured immediately even into a very large testing glass.

AROMA: (5) There are fresh hops in the aroma. Apricot and banana scents.

TASTE: (4) The beer has a pretty good mouth feel but the hops is not easy to identify in the taste. The bitterness is perfect but I was hoping for some more aroma hops in the flavors. This beer has been sitting for some month in my home so I am not sure if this is typical for this beer or if the beer in my bottle has faded somewhat.

EXTRA: (4) Extra points for printing the ABV on the label. The website is nice and informative but I wish that breweries would use more websites that focus on the content and not the design. It is difficult to overview the beers with the 'spinning pictures'.

Of some reason I cannot find this beer either on the brewery's web site or Ratebeer.com.

Arcadia Brewing Company

Beer style: India Pale Ale
Serving temperature: 8-10 C
Alcohol: 6.0% ABV, printed on the label!!!

Food Pairings: Hard flavorful cheese.

APPEARANCE: 5 x 5 = 25
AROMA: 5 x 10 = 50
TASTE: 4 x 10 = 40
EXTRA: 4 x 1 = 4

Total: 119/130

Copperhead Pale Ale - Free State Brewing Co

APPEARANCE: (4) Creamy head. Hazy bronze color.

AROMA: (4) Fresh hop aroma.

TASTE: (4) Dominating malt which reflects the English style IPA more than the American IPA. Hop bitterness plays a background role for this beer. There is almost a little bit of smokiness in the flavor and I could swear that I taste asparagus also.

EXTRA: (3) The website is pretty informative about each beer they brew but why can they not state the alcohol level on the website or preferable on the labels?

Free state brewing company

Beer style: English style IPA ("with an American twist")
Serving temperature: 8-10 C
Alcohol: Unknown. According to Ratebeer.com 6.0% ABV

Food Pairings: This beer has a little bit more malt and some more hops which makes it more tasteful but also reduces the food pairings somewhat. It pairs well with cheese, hot dogs, stews, chili etc.

APPEARANCE: 4 x 5 = 20
AROMA: 4 x 10 = 40
TASTE: 4 x 10 = 40
EXTRA: 3 x 1 = 3

Total: 103/130

Flying Monkey Amber Ale - Flying Monkey beers

APPEARANCE: (3) Light brown hazy with a tiny foam head which very quickly disapperars.

AROMA: (3) Sweet maltiness. Clean aroma.

TASTE: (3) Taste about the same as the aroma. A very easy drinking beer. Not a bad thirst quencher.

EXTRA: (1) Not much extra to give here. A pretty regular beer which is not bad but does not stand out either. No extra points for less informative label and the website looks like something from 1995.

Flying monkey beers.com

Beer style: Amber ale
Serving temperature: 8-10 C
Alcohol: Unknown. Ratebeer.com claims that it is 4.0 ABV which seems reasonable after tasting.

Food Pairings: Very versatile with all kind of food. A good general beer to pair food with since it is not imposing with a lot of flavors and pairs well with most food.

APPEARANCE: 3 x 5 = 15
AROMA: 3 x 10 = 30
TASTE: 3 x 10 = 30
EXTRA: 1 x 1 = 1

Total: 76/130