Mt. Shasta Brewing Co.'s Mountain High IPA

    
     It pours a very nice honey color.  Got about a finger worth of head and it seems to be holding very well due to a very lively carbonation.  Hazy.  Decent lacing and solid retention after about 10 minutes.  Huge hop aroma.  Very floral, earthy, and piney.  A strong spice, too.  The aroma is similar to smelling fresh hops off the vine.  Some bready malt comes through carried by a strong yeast presence.   Overall the aroma is just dominated by a warming herbal quality.
      You're introduced up front to some nice caramel malt; not too sweet, not too dry.  This is quickly overtaken by an intense astringent hop bitterness.  I'm a huge hophead and bitterness is rarely something that makes a strong impression on me, but this thing will make any beer drinker pucker a bit.  Beyond the bitterness, there are some spicy herbal flavors.  Very oily; coats the mouth thickly.  The only time any citrus seems to shine through is in the aftertaste.  Strong carbonation helps carry the thin body.
     I'm not too crazy about this one, though I will say I definitely enjoy the strong bitterness.  Being a California brewery, you might expect more West Coast IPA character here, but they were definitely going for something a bit different. 

Laughing Dog Brewing's Cream Ale

    
     Another review for Laughing Dog.  I'll always have a soft spot for this brewery, though I haven't had any of their stuff in a while.  I'll be attending the 2011 Oregon Brewer's Fest and will definitely be checking out their booth.  Hear they are going to have an imperial coffee porter.  Can't wait to see their take on it.  Anyway, I've had this once before, but it was about a year ago, and it certainly wasn't my first drink of the night.  I'm not crazy on cream ales, but I remember really liking this one.  Let's see how it holds up.
     It's a very light straw color.  Pretty hazy.  Seems to be decently carbonated but can't hold a head.  Sweet malt on the nose.  Little sour and sharp citrus.  Just a bit toasty, too.  Some well-balanced herbal, grassy hops.  Has a very pilsner-like aroma. 
     If I had to describe the taste of this beer in one word it would be "subtle".  It's incredibly smooth and just goes down like water.  What does stick out are some faint notes of sweet, grainy malt and a stronger presence of earthy hops.  Dry.  Definitely tasting some of the toasted malt, but it is all so minimal.  Bitterness is low, but it definitely has a strong hop flavor, like all of their beers (regardless of style).  Body is pretty thin for a cream ale.
     This is definitely a great session beer. Far from a traditional cream ale. Not something I would run out for, but would definitely be a great BBQ beer.  I can't imagine anybody who likes beer wouldn't drink this, which you can take as either a positive or negative I guess. 

El Toro Brewing Co.'s El Toro Oro Golden Ale (English Pale Ale)

  
   It's kind of hard to go wrong with El Toro Brewing.  Their oatmeal stout is impressive and they just have some all around great stuff.  Something I find interesting about this one is that it is labeled as a golden ale, which typically means something much different than a pale ale in the States, yet it won the 1994 gold award for English pale ale at GABF (proudly displayed on the label).  Just goes to show how interpretive beer styles can be.
     The first thing I notice upon pouring is that it is extremely well-carbonated and produced nearly two fingers worth of solid head.  Looks fizzy, but the strong carbonation is holding it very well.  It's a very light orange, almost yellow color.  Hazy.  Very strong hop aroma.  Earthiness and spice really shine through.  Some sweet, honey malt blends well.  Rich bready malt, too, like a dessert cake. 
     Hits the top of the tongue a little dry and quickly blends into some faint caramel and subtle herbal hop spiciness.  Bitterness is low, and overall it is is very sessionable.  Has a really pronounced honey quality.  Body is incredibly thin and lively.  Some herbal flavors linger in the back of the throat and washes away with some breadiness.
     A fine brew.  Definitely nailed the English quality of this beer. Flavor is strong yet goes down smooth.  The only thing it truly lacks as a classic English pale is the body.  It's very thin and watery. 

Lagunitas Brewing Company's Lucky 13 Strong Ale

  
     I feel like I've reviewed a lot of Lagunitas beer at this point.  They really do make great stuff considering the prices they ask.  Why does this have alt on the label?  It seems pretty clear that an OG of 1.085 and 8.9% ABV pretty much disqualifies it from ever being classified as such.  More appropriately, many websites have labeled this as a strong ale.  Many places list it as an alt, though, which they can't be blamed for given that's what it says on the label.  I really don't know what they were going for.  Anyway, the only other thing the label indicated is 76.92 IBUs (they are always precise). 
     It's a very clear orangish gold color.  Seems pretty fizzy when poured but left no head whatsoever, which is likely thanks to the huge alcohol.  Fierce citrus hop and alcohol aroma.  The alcohol really seems to give a sharp zing to the citrus, making it most reminiscent of a lemon.  This absolutely dominated the nose and little can be said about anything else in here.
     Upon tasting, definitely getting some strong toasted malts with maybe a splash of biscuit.  Little sweet and caramely. This is taken over almost immediately by a soothing alcohol flavor with an impressively well-balanced bitterness.    Hop flavor is very grapefruity and piney, which like the aroma is really given a zing by the alcohol.  There is a bit of alcohol burn, but is actually very warming and pleasant.  The pine definitely seems to linger more than anything.  Medium body with just enough carbonation.
     Very good, no major complaints.  A stronger malt backbone could have balanced out the huge alcohol/bitterness, but it still works just fine.  I must say that the brewers definitely handled the alcohol content with the hops bill quite well.  I guess my biggest criticism would be the confusion it has created with the name.

Ninkasi Brewing Company's Spring Reign Ale

    
     It's hard to go wrong with Ninkasi.  They are always consistent in making some very quality beers.  You know what I really don't like, though?  I really wish more breweries would get out of the habit of just putting "ale" on their beers without specifying a style.  I know this is a spring beer, but that could still fall into several different styles.  I've seen it listed as both a blonde ale and a pale ale, but who knows for sure what they were really going for.
     It's a light orange color that seems to be very-well carbonated, but it is just producing large bubbles without any head or retention.  Very hazy.  Aroma is primarily characterized with bready and toasty malt.  Very clean and easy on the nose.  Definitely some light floral notes and a splash of citrus from the hops. 
     I have to admit that this has an incredibly impressive malt profile.  Very sweet yet it has a warming sensation similar to fresh bread.  All of this is encapsulated by a pleasant toastiness.  Hop flavor is dominated by floral notes and is actually a little bit spicy.  Decently bitter, too.  Very clean on the mouth.  That spiciness from the hops lingers more than anything else.  Lively carbonation.  Light body.
     I'm impressed.  This is a mighty fine seasonal.  I don't really have anything I would improve about it.  I can see now, however, why they may have been reluctant to specify a style since it kind of blends several.  Definitely something you could drink all day long.  Will buy again. 

Deschutes Brewery's Hop in the Dark CDA

   
     Yet another Cascadian dark ale.  Like I said, I can't get enough of this stuff.  I know I've had this one before, but I honest couldn't say too much about it at this point.  If I remember correctly, I just had a sample of it at their brewhouse in Bend, OR.  CDAs were still pretty new to me at the time.  I can definitely say now that I've had my fair share of beers in this style that I am incredibly excited to see how Deschutes handles it.
      First thing I have to say is that this has a huge aroma.  I just opened it, and I can already smell nothing but hops coming two feet from the bottle.  Pours a very, very dark color with almost no hue.  Got about a fingers worth of light brown head that seems to be sticking around.  As I mentioned, big nose.  Very sharp pine with a nice mix of citrus.  There is some roast and sweet malt coming through, but it's hardly worth mentioning.  Big orange zest; almost stings the nose a little bit.  Little bit of clean yeast notes.  Great aroma.
     Hits the tips of the tongue super sweet.  Definitely a very rich, strong caramel malt character.  Some burnt malt and roast shine through, but it is subtle.  Very, very minor ester and yeast notes; kind of blends with the subtle roast and really lets that sweet malt shine through.  This is 70 IBUs, and it is definitely a bit bitter.  Hop flavor is very piney and spicy.  It's quite heavy and really leaves a bit of tingle in the back of your mouth.  Some of the darker malt character sneaks up on the aftertaste.  Your mouth will be coasted with a very nice rich chocolate flavor.  Leaves the mouth very clean, which is surprising given how much this has to be dry hopped.  Little alcohol burn.  Pretty light body.  Medium carbonation.
     This one definitely ranks up there for me in this style.  I'm still liking HUB's Secession a lot, but I will be getting this one again for sure.  My main thing I would change on this one is that roast and malt character.  It's great in the aftertaste, but there is almost no roast buildup to the hops.  Regardless, fantastic stuff.  

Lagunitas Brewing Company's Imperial Stout

    
     Three dollars.  Three dollars for a 9.9% imperial stout.  I just can't get over that.  If this is half decent I think I'll have to run back and stock up on these.  I think this is my third Lagunitas review now, and I have to say that its starting to grow on me.  I had their IPA on draft the other night and it was definitely better than I remember.  Anyway, this thing is a beast; an original gravity of 1.092 and an IBU count of 72.45.  I'm really excited for this one.
     This one is about as dark as they come.  Can't really describe it much better than just black with a dark red hue.  Got about a finger of brown head when poured, and it drained by the time I finished this sentence, but that's to be expected.  Seems very well carbonated and fizzy. Aroma definitely isn't dominating on this one. Getting a strong worty character on the nose and some subtle roast.  Definitely some strong esters most comparative to a raisin.  Some hop presence as well, primarily pine and just a splash of spice. 
     Hits the tip of the tongue very hard with lively burnt malt.  It evolves into a very rich blend of coffee, chocolate, and fruity esters.  This is very carbonated and fizzes throughout your mouth.  Some spicy hop bitterness in the end, but even at 72.45 IBUs, they really just work to balance out such a huge beer.  You can taste some alcohol, but you'd never guess it was 9.9%.  Leaves a bit of a burn in the back of the throat.  Leaves a lingering raisin-like sweetness.  Pretty thick body.
     This one is pretty good, not great, but definitely an impressive brew given just how huge it is.  My biggest problem is that the flavor is mostly characterized by esters, which don't really do it for me in stouts.  Great job at alcohol masking and rich stout qualities, though.  At $3 dollars a bottle, this is definitely worth checking out.