Left Hand Jackman's Pale Ale (CO)

Another selection from Colorado's Left Hand seems like a good choice at the end of an abnormally hot April afternoon.

This one's a looker, nice and clear golden with an off-white head. The brewery says they used Cascade and Centennial hops, and dry-hopped with Mt. Hood. This would suggest a mixture of citrus and floral, I think, which is pretty much what you get. It comes across as mild, but not in the sense of being tasteless. Instead, it's a blend of hop flavors rather than the dominant grapefruit bitterness present in some APAs. Jackman's is also slightly grainy and sweet. This is a solid APA, nice and crisp, but not what some would want from the style. On a warm day, I'd rather drink this than the brewer's pilsener, but their darker beers seem to be better.

Left Hand Milk Stout/Black Jack Porter (CO)

The last two from the Left Hand mixed pack, and possibly my last taste of these styles for months.

Milk Stout: This is my favorite of the four, although you probably need a bit of a sweet tooth to enjoy it. Wikipedia tells us this about milk stouts:

Milk stout (also called sweet stout or cream stout) is a stout containing lactose, a sugar derived from milk. Because lactose is unfermentable by Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it adds sweetness, body, and calories to the finished beer. Contemporary labeling standards in place since prevent the use of the term in the UK. The classic example of sweet stout is Mackeson's XXX.

So they'd have to re-name this if exported to Britain, I suppose. Left Hand's offering is wonderfully rich and creamy. If it's coffee, it is cafe au lait or latte or something. If Starbucks sold beer, this might be the one. I don't want to go too far in proclaiming it's sweetness, however, as the roastiness does keep it in check a bit. Still, this isn't a Guinness clone, and it's all the better for it.

Black Jack Porter: Higher in ABV than the Milk Stout (6.3% vs. 5.3%), the body proves to be less creamy, lighter and fizzier than the stout. A dry porter would nicely complement the Milk Stout, but the first couple bottles of this I had struck me as perhaps being a bit too much. Roasted chocolate malts are in the forefront, and there's some bitterness at the end. But Black Jack isn't as dry or clean finishing as I would have liked. Maybe this is an issue of me wanting it to be something else. Also, my expectations were raised after drinking the Milk Stout, which is the one to get.

Left Hand Sawtooth Ale/Polestar Pilsener (CO)

Left Hand's Mountain Mixer put me back more than $18 before tax and deposit, which is certainly on the high side for a 12-pack.

Sawtooth Ale: This is the brewery's flagship beer, an "American-style" ESB. Or maybe it's a slightly hoppy amber ale. The key here is balance between malts and hops, sweet and bitter, and I think this gets it right. The hops are citrusy, but not pushing too much into APA (or IPA) territory. Light-to-medium bodied and crisp carbonation, it's drinkable, and probably good will all kinds of food. The downside is it can get lost in the shuffle. I'm not sure I could pick this out of a lineup. Still, you need something like this in a good variety pack.

Polestar Pilsner: "The hardest beer we make -- there's nowhere to hide!" For that effort, this turns out to be an okay pilsener, but not much more. It's straw color is oh so slightly hazy with a nice white head. The aroma is sweet to me: cookies, maybe banana (!?). But the taste doesn't seem to follow suit. Grassy is the first thing that comes to mind. I like it, but it's not flavorful enough. Would be good for a hot summer day, but not much else.

The two dark beers to come.

Left Hand Oktoberfest Marzen Lager (COL)

In the glass, this is clear copper with a fluffy, white-tan head that lasts. Much of the expected from this Oktoberfest brew: toasted malts, caramel, toffee, and so on. I'd say this is a bit richer than most others of this style that I've tried. Sweet. The carbonation is also a definite plus for me, with very fine, soft bubbles against a medium body. Very smooth to drink. A few hops jump in at the end, but ultimately don't really balance out the malts. It isn't exactly a clean finish. I was slightly disappointed in the aftertaste, which is a bit messy.

All told, this is an above-average bottled Oktoberfest/Marzens. Still, I don't think this transcends the style, whatever that would mean.