Great Lakes Brewing Edmund Fitzgerald

12 oz. Bottle

Pours only slightly less dark than black; when held up to light, becomes a only a little transparent. Slight dark khaki head that dissolves into a small ring around the edge of the glass. Smells of roasted malt, coffee bitterness, and a good amount of smoke. No sweetness apparent on the nose.

Some chocolate sweetness on the taste, mixed well with some bitterness from hops and coffee, roasted malt, and smokiness. Everything seems to work well, but the aftertaste of bitterness and smoke kind of throws off my palate. Don't get me wrong, this is a really delicious beer; the aftertaste is just a bit of a nitpick. The smoothness of this beer works well with the style, moderately low carbonation is awesome in this porter. 5.8% ABV makes this a fairly sessionable beer too.

In the end, a great porter, and an enjoyable beer overall, but not my favorite.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Maine Beer Company Red Wheelbarrow

Bottle

This beer was described to me as "Nugget Nectar on steroids", so it was an obvious pick up from the Growler and Gill in Nanuet, NY, along with a couple of other fantastic sounding (and hopefully tasting beers).

This beer is absolutely beautiful, red ale doesn't do it justice. Not quite the vibrant red you'd find on a red radio-flyer wagon (or red wheelbarrow), but a tad darker, and translucent with visible carbonation. About a half an inch of small bubbled, khaki head. Pine, citrus, and caramel on the nose. Incredible scent.

First sip is incredibly smooth. Caramel and raisin lead on the palate, but then takes the back seat to slight lemon, lime, and tangerine, before bowing out to a good amount of pine (and a solid, but not overwhelming "hop bite", might be a hint of some pepper involved here as well) mellowed by the persistent caramel and raisin in the background. Everything about this beer works in harmony - scent/flavor/mouth feel all work together to create an incredibly balanced, well executed brew. 7% ABV incredibly well hidden, moderately high carbonation works well with the style.

It is definitely as good as, if not better than, Nugget Nectar. Fantastic brew overall and well worth the $8 price tag.

Overall Rating: 4.85/5