Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody's Our Glass (ENG)

Dorothy Goodbody has to be one of most attractive women to grace a beer bottle label. She's no more real than Betty Crocker, but if she were she'd be a lot more fun. Gotta love the punny name: not just "good body" but "(h)our glass." I believe in Britain, however, this is just known as Country Ale. It's either an ESB or an English Strong Ale at 6%. As an import, it cost me over $5 for 500 ml.

Nice clear ruby color--it had a little yeast in the bottom, but I left it there--with a terrific head that imprinted the side of the glass as I emptied it. A little more malt than hops. Rich caramel mostly, but some raisin as well. As it warms, fruity esters appear. As it warms even more, sherry is evident (not so fresh a bottle?). The hops hit the back of the throat in the finish and provide balance. Until the very end when it had warmed a bit too much, I thought this was wonderful. It's not something that grabs you by the throat, though. Well done, Dorothy!

Cropton Brewery Monkman's Slaughter (ENG)

This is a great name for a beer. It's a great bottle, a bit like the newer St.Peter's with its fat round body and then neck. The beer looks nice: a bit muddy and dark brown from afar, but light shines through to reveal a reddish tinge. Pretty head. Nice, creamy "flat" (i.e., low fizz) British body. 

But then there's the taste. My first reaction after drinking was to Google this beer to see whether it's supposed to taste like this. Apparently, yes. Alan at A Good Beer Blog describes it as "lime juice and molasses cookie," and there's not much I can add to that. Maybe its tart green apple skin rater than lime, and there's also a distinct earthy quality to it. English hops add a some bitterness (Challenger and Goldings). 

The label claims this is a "Strong Bitter Style." Is it supposed to be this sour? Maybe the trip across the ocean didn't do it any favors. Also, this is a bottle conditioned beer, and I might have let some of the yeast slip through the pour. Still, I don't think that's to blame. More likely, Monkman's Slaughter is ultimately a taste I haven't acquired. Strange brew.

Four from Lakefront Brewery (WI)

To me, Lakefront Brewery is known for two things: for New Grist, their gluten-free beer, and for being arbitrarily sued last year by a guy who was hit on the head by a can of Schlitz. As their beers are newly available to my area -- we seem to be getting a lot from Big 10 country all of a sudden -- I figured I'd try to learn more about them.

I bought their unusual 8-by-1 variety pack from my local retailer. It's a nice package for those who want to try as many beers as possible, although I'd prefer at least two of each. Thankfully, New Grist is not included. Instead, there are a surprising four lagers in the box, perhaps a sign that this Wisconsin brewery embraces it's German roots.


Cherry Lager: This is the seasonal in the pack, and an out of season one at that (my variety pack seems to be from late August). The last fruited lager I had was the crummy Wild Blue. Cherry Lager is much better, although still not great. It pours with a pinkish hue and really nice head. The cherries aren't really prominent, but at least if you didn't know you could guess they were there. There's only a light cherry tartness to it, and some proper fruitiness. The beer finishes dry with rough hops (Mt. Hood, the website says), which maybe clash a bit. Overall, I'd say this is pretty good for a fruit beer in that it doesn't have that no-calorie seltzer flavor that so many others do.

Klisch Pilsner: Klisch is the family name of the brothers who run the show. Their pilsener is pretty ordinary: straw-colored, light-bodied, fizzy, without much of a hop kick. There's an unfortunate faint sourness to it. In the summer, I might applaud it for being thirst-quenching, but now there isn't much to recommend.

Cattail Ale: I should point out that I don't like the label designs on any of these. Cattail is categorized by Beer Advocate as an English pale mild. I don't know what Ratebeer says; they're down again. The ale is a hazy golden brew, light and fizzy, not too distant from the pilsener. Again, there's a slight sourness. Is this a problem of lack of freshness? There aren't many hops here, nor even much in the way of malt body. Cattail probably works best fresh in the summer as a sessions beer at just over 5%.

Oragnic ESB: This may be the best of the bunch. It pours more amber has more heft to it than Cattail, with biscuity malts and earthy hops. The website says "cascade hop flavor" but I don't detect that. Also, it really isn't all that bitter, even by English standards. It's a style I like though, and a solid attempt.

Not a blockbuster start for the eight-pack, but the beers are to follow are darker and more to season right now. I enjoyed the ESB the most but would probably order the Cherry Lager if I had a choice, if only that it's just about the only one of its kind out there.

Custom BrewCrafters EPA (NY)

This is kind of exciting: Custom BrewCrafters has started bottling their beer. Located about a half hour's drive south of Rochester in Honeoye Falls, Custom BrewCrafters creates private label beers for many area restaurants and bars. Under their own name, they've also sold growlers at the brewery and a few other places. Only recently have they expanded their facilities for bottling.

This English-Style Pale Ale is "a well balanced amber ale with a smooth, dry finish," according to the label. Those expecting something like Sierra Nevada or Anchor Liberty will be disappointed. CB's brew leans more toward malt sweetness than hop bitterness, and the hops are herbal and floral. The malt base is slightly caramel or maybe toffee (and, admittedly, a touch watery), but the finish still pulls back dry. It's supposedly 5.1% ABV, but feels lighter. It's also quite low on carbonation by US standards (good!). This strikes me as a decent interpretation of the style, which isn't to say it's what American beer drinkers are yearning for. However, I like it, and am glad they went all English on us.

There's still the issue of the name. "Custom BrewCrafters" accurately depicts what the company originally set out to do, but is all wrong for a craft brewery. The label also calls it "CB's," which sounds like a forced nickname . But now that they're selling six packs, it's probably too late to change.

Rogue Younger's Special Bitter (ORE)

Rogue produces not one but two bitters: Brutal and Younger's Special. The former is their imperial version and thus receives most of the attention. I supose most US breweries would simply have called them pale ales. The bottle claims Younger's as 12 degrees Plato, 75 AA and 35 IBUs. It doesn't list the ABV, but I calculate about 1.048 OG and 1.012 FG (75% attenuation), which is just below 5%, which is what it says online.

Younger's is a nice looker, coppery with a pillowy head that sustains pretty well. It's not adventurous or anything, just nicely balanced between caramel malts and bitter hops (Willamette and East Kent Goldings, according to the bottle). I detect slight citrus and floral, slightly American I think. It has a pretty good hop bite to it, but not by American standards. The finish is dry. Drinking on a warm afternoon, it is very refreshing.

The problem is that, at my beer shop at least, this costs as much as the rest of the Rogue line ($6+ a bomber). That feels like too much for a sessions beer, even if a nice one at that.

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.