ESB Amber Ale - Flying Fish Brewing Co. - Cherry Hill, NJ

ESB Amber Ale Stats
ABV: 5.5%
fl. oz.: 12
Original gravity: 14.3 Plato (I don't know what this means, but it sure sounds impressive)

Now here is a pleasant surprise. Sure, this beer has a pedigree to die for: uh, it's brewed in the, er, beer capital of, um, New Jersey? Okay, so maybe that doesn't impress you. When you hear Cherry Hill, NJ, your first thought is probably not "yum, tasty brew", but this beer delivers, folks.

It's aesthetically pleasing, with a nice golden amber color, and a simple yet effective label design. It does lose points for labels that seem to be falling off of every bottle in the six-pack, though.

As far as taste, well, this is a beer that tastes like a beer, which is all anyone can ask for. I had several of these after working all day outdoors (yes, I do partake in manual labor on the weekends), so maybe I sweated in it a little bit, but regardless, it was a nice way to cool down. This gets an A- for flying in the face of low expectations.

Flying Fish Brewing Co.

Prima Pils - Victory Brewing Company - Downingtown, PA

Prima Pils Stats
ABV: 5.3%
fl. oz.: 12
Snarky stat to be filled in later: 1

Hops, hops, hops! If you like hops, you will like Prima Pils. It goes down smooth with a nice dry finish that leaves you wanting more.

The other thing this beer has going for it is that I got it for free, courtesy of my brother-in-law Mike Puerto Rico, who foolishly left a few of these bottles at the house of our mutual parents-in-law. Yoink! Mine now.

I give this an A. I can't really think of any reason any type of beer drinker wouldn't like this brew.

Victory Brewing Company

Circus Boy - Magic Hat Brewing Company - South Burlington, VT

Circus Boy Stats
ABV: 5.2%
Pints: 3/4
Creepy pseudo-ninjas: 1

Ah, Hefeweizen. Yes, at one time, it was my one true love when it came to beers. Whether it was Paulaner or Weihenstephener or Franziskaner, this style had me at "hello". But then Hefeweizen's buxom cousin, the Belgian Tripel, came along, and me and Hefeweizen grew apart somewhat over the years.

And yet, here comes Circus Boy, sauntering up to me like an old friend, as if we're just going to have a nice platonic conversation, and all of a sudden, my heart is swooning again. It's smooth, with that light taste that makes you think you can drink 15 of them without blinking. A great session beer, if you're into that sort of thing.

So yes, it tastes nice, but at the end of the day, I'm not ready to go back. It's still good enough for an A-, because no well-made Hefeweizen deserves worse than that, and don't get me wrong, this is a well-made Hefeweizen, well worth your purchase at the local drinkery.

Magic Hat Brewing Company

60 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Milton, DE

60 Minute IPA Stats

ABV: 6.0%
IBUs: 60
fl. oz.: 12

Now here is a nice tasting IPA from Dogfish Head. My previous sampling of Dogfish left me unimpressed, but this one is quality.

I did a little research and found that the beer's name refers to the process by which hops are continually added to the wort for 60 minutes during the brewing process. My research did not take me so far as to bother learning what wort is. Maybe next time.

At any rate, I give it an A- for its nice hoppiness; I guess that's the best word I can use to describe the 60 Minute IPA: it's just a really nice beer. You know, the kind of beer you bring home to meet Mom and Dad and sister Alice, and even Grandma if she's around.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Brooklyn Brand East India Pale Ale - Brooklyn Brewery - Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn I.P.A. Stats
ABV: 6.9%
Fluid ounces: 12
Number of Burps Induced (NBI) 31 per bottle

Could I have made my first post about anything else besides a Brooklyn beer? Yes, I could have but this was the only beer in my fridge. And frankly, I wouldn't normally buy Brooklyn I.P.A. and I didn't this time. For now, I thank whoever it was that that bought this beer and left it at my house last night.

You can see by the ABV that this isn't the strongest of beers but it tastes like it. It isn't medciney, just pungent. People say that New York City water is to credit for our famous bagels, pizza and beer. They say that there is just the right amount of minerals in the water. That flavor sticks to the minerals and everything tastes great. This is what makes Brooklyn Brewery beers and their I.P.A. in particular, so full of flavor. This is a great example of New York attitude. "Our water has a bunch of shit in it, sure. But that... uh... that's how we wanted it." Anways, very flavorful.

So I said before that wouldn't normally buy Brooklyn I.P.A. The first bottle is great and the second is pretty good. Eventually the taste you enjoyed falls off and you are left with raw flavor. But for now I am going to drink the shit out of this bad boy. The perfect "only beer left over after a night of drinking" beer. With that in mind I am giving Brooklyn I.P.A. a net grade of B+. First through third beers would get a grade of A and the fourth through sixth fall off a little to a B. So if my math is correct a B+ is in order and I am nicely toasted... mmm I love math.

Merry Monks' Belgian Style Golden Ale - Weyerbacher Brewing Company - Easton, PA

Merry Monks' Ale Stats
ABV: 9.3%
Fluid ounces: 12
Hours of delight: Endless

Sometimes, when a beer tastes just like another beer, it's not such a good thing. This happens when the beer tastes like crap or garbage juice. Some beers need not be imitated.

Now, I don't know what came first, the chicken (Merry Monks' Ale) or the egg (Victory Golden Monkey), but, by God, they are both sensational, and will get you blitzed if you don't watch yourself.

This deserves no less than an A+. It's got literally everything: complex flavor (how many different fruits and grains are in that little bottle?), smooth finish, high alcohol content, drunken clergymen... need I go on?

Weyerbacher Brewing Company

Shoals Pale Ale - Smuttynose Brewing Co. - Portsmouth, NH

Shoals Pale Ale Stats
Fluid ounces: 12
ABV: 5.0%
IBUs: 30

Sure, the brewer's name is hilarious, but that doesn't sell beer. Okay, so it sold me this one (Dig that serenely boring scene on the label!). But would I buy it again?

Yes, I think I would. The Shoals Pale Ale has got a nice hoppy flavor to it, and some bitterness on the backend that doesn't overpower, unlike some other beers I've recently sampled.

Somewhere in the range of a B+ is where this one falls on my rudimentary and poorly informed scale. It's pretty good, you could drink several of them in one sitting (and I did), but probably not my first choice off the shelf.

Smuttynose Brewing Co.