A Year of Craft Beer, Vol. 104, Yards Poor Richard's Tavern Spruce Ale

Hello Everyone,

I apologize for being away for 3 days but it seems that life can be as important as this blog is to me.  Never fear though!  During those three days I had 6 new beers!  I added them on Untappd and it's a shame that I don't know how that I can link my blog to it.  But you can follow me on untappd as my name on there is Sean Null as well.  I also forward my Untappd entries onto FB under the name Wissinoming Brewing and that would be easier if you just friended me on there, but I will fill you in as a recap of the beers that I had:

Cricket's Nocturne- On Tap, Garbage, black no head no lacing A- strong butterscotch mild roasted malt T- roasted malt sweet butterscotch M- Thin and sweet.  This beer sucks.  2 out of 5

Coconut Mudbank Milk Stout, Neshaminy Brewing- On tap, Black w tan head good lacing A- Chocolate malt sweet vanilla and bread T- sweet malt cream vanilla mild hop M- sweet and full mild carbonation 4 out of 5

Pig Iron Porter, Iron Hill Brewery- On nitro tap, black creamy one finger lasting head stucky full lacing A- roasty bisquity vanilla T- roasted caramel sweet mild hops dry M- creamy 3.5 out of 5

Allagash Grand Cru- on tap, amber minimal head not lacing A- pale malts fruit esters T- pale maltes apple banana bread pine hops M-sweet thin mildly dry 4 out of 5

NATO IPA, Victory Brewing- on tap, clear gold amber ring and cap head A- HOPS and grapefruit T- HOPS and grapefruit LOL M- HOPS and grapefruit Dry, some mild baseline sweet. Med body 4 out of 5

Abbot 12, Southampton Publick House- On tap, dark mahagony with khaki lasting head full lacing A- dark sweet malts tart dark fruit T- swwet dark malt mild tart raisin little hop dryness M-syrupy 4 out of 5

There ya have it for those, my grammar sucks on them but you only get 120 characters to describe the beer.

Now on to Yards Week again.  Tonight is Benjamin Franklin's recipe for his homebrew and is considered a spice beer which is the class that some of the fall pumkin or christmas beers fall into.  Good ol' Ben used spruce tips and sprigs with molasses in this ale.  I'm not sure if it is hopped at all.

The beer poured a brown amber cloudy colour from the bottle and left a thin head which remains as a ring and center cap with half decent lacing considering there isn't much in the way of head.

The aroma comes off as ginger snaps and banana bread with malts, of course.

The flavour starts off as a mix of sweet malts with hint of sour (spruce?) on top of the tongue and as it travels back eventually the spices and molasses come out in the form of gingerbread really.  Finally there is some mild dry which seems hoppy and mildly bitter.  I really like this beer!

The mouthfeel is mildly creamy mildly sweet with medium body and mildly dry in between sips.  The carbonation is a bit higher than most beers in this style around medium, but it still works well.

Overall, I think this is an exceptional beer for the fall, or if you are like me, anytime and it is definitely something that you can recommend.  I think it's excellent and gets at least a 4 out of 5 from me!

Do it up!  Get out there!  Try new beers!  It's worth it!  Even that Cricket Nocturne was worth the conversation that it brought up!  Life is too short to drink crappy beer!

-Wiss