Ah, the weekly edition of beer reviews. Nothing like sitting down with a nice ale on a cold winter’s day. Of course, sometimes you end up with nothing like a nice ale. That’s why I do what I do, throwing myself on the proverbial beer-grenade for you, my reader.

Admittedly, I try to do my best in avoiding those grenades myself, but at times it’s unavoidable. Not this time, though. This time I had three winners – two from the West Coast and one from the East. And on to the wonderful world of beer…

(Sonoma Farmhouse) Hop Stoopid Ale
Lagunitas Brewing Company
Petaluma, CA
Style: Double/Imperial IPA
Grade: 9.0

This was a very nice (I)IPA with good hoppiness and a bitter finish with a hint of malt in the aftertaste.  It’s a very drinkable, very enjoyable beer – now on to the particulars…

I felt the color was a hint paler than you get with most pale ales. It pours well and the and with a nice  head which thins quickly – not inconsistent with the style, and has a complex aroma full of hops and  citrus. The bitterness from the hops isn’t overwhelming like in some Imperials, but it does linger  pleasantly in the mouth. Not terribly rich or creamy in the mouth, but definitely has an effervescence to  it.

I would certainly get this beer again. A very nice offering from Lagunitas.

Brothers’ Reserve Cherry Oak Doppelbock (Limited Release #1)
Widmer Brothers Brewing Company
Portland, OR
Style: Doppelbock
Grade: 9.5

This is as good a beer as I have ever had – just a really complex, well made beer. Enormously drinkable. The only problem with it was that when I was done, I wished I had more. Lots more.

It’s a beautiful, lightly hazy brownish-red and pours well with an almost non-existent head. The beer has a wonderful, malty aroma with just hints of cherry in the back of the nose – there’s almost a hint of being in a bakery to the aroma. The flavors are very much the same: a subtle blend of the nice and malty, the cherries, and just a hint of oak.

Based on this beer alone, I would give the benefit of the doubt to anything Widmer wants to try brewing – even if it were beer made with squid ink, or even haggis. This beer is that good. Keep an eye out for it because this beer won’t be around long.

Tripel Horse
River Horse Brewing Company
Lambertville, NJ
Style: Belgian Tripel
Grade: 8.7

I stumbled across River Horse years ago, when I first moved to Pennsylvania back in 2000. A really  solid, small brewery right on the Delaware River, I’ve found The Horse to consistently produce good  beer.

This was not a beer they were offering when I still lived in The Keystone State.

Like the Hop Stoopid, this may be a shade pale for the style, but the flavors are wonderful. For a beer  that’s at 10 percent ABV, this is surprisingly light, yet complex; a little bit sweet with hints of vanilla and  orange peel – both subtly evident in the beer’s aroma as well. It pours well with both good head and good  mouth – almost feeling creamy on the tongue.

While I don’t believe this is a perfect representation of a Belgian Tripel, it’s a damn food beer and very drinkable. It’s one of those beers that I would term “dangerous” in that it doesn’t drink like a high grav beer, and with the hint of sweetness mixed with the other flavors, it would be very easy to drink a lot of it.