Beer Review: Great Lakes Elliot Ness

This beer pours a rich amber color with a skimpy head but this lack of head can be forgiven due to the beautiful hue and, as we will see, exceptional taste. Good lacing on the glass saves the head from being a total dud. A nice creamy filament remains throughout the glass.

The smell is a nice compliment of sweet malts and earthy hops. Hops first are followed by seemingly bold malt notes; I do hope that the taste lives up to this promise.

The first taste is a bitter kick in the mouth; nice hop presence with some thick bready flavors seeping in. The back end of the sip is all the malt backbone. Toffee and very light sugary tastes envelope your tongue here and this combines with the hop flavor perfectly. Though a lager doesn't have a very unique, extraordinary taste by nature, Elliot Ness just has something about it that makes you go “Wow...” Perhaps it's precisely because you aren't expecting much that this exceeds your expectation.

The beer doesn't really taste crisp, definitely has a rough “character” about it, but in my opinion this adds to the appeal. Tastes substantial and has a boldness uncommon in a vienna lager.

For me, this isn't a beer that I can pound one after another; it took me a while to finish three. It's still easy drinking and the right amount of body makes it an extremely enjoyable experience.

For $8.99 + tax, this is one of the best, if not THE best value in a beer I've tried. Really the perfect lager in almost every way. If you haven't tried it, do so. Now.

Score: A+  4.75/5

Beer Review: Rogue Chocolate Stout

Welcome back readers! I realize this is my first post since November of last year, but I plan on making up for my little hiatus with some great beer drinking and reviewing. I hope you enjoy the coming slew of write-ups as much as I did! Onto the beer...

This beer pours a black with brown hue when light passes through it. It's got a creamy, but modest head that disappears over the course of about 5 minutes.

The smell is dominated by thick malt, roasted scents, baker's chocolate and some esspresso. Some grassy, earthy notes creep in too.

The taste is all roasted malts at first and then it gradually morphs into the chocolatey dessert that it is supposed to be. Big bitter malts upfront with a bittersweet chocolate taste on the back end. The middle is spent trying to figure out which taste is more present but in actuality they both are very present. An extremely tasty beer. Honestly the most intense flavor I've experienced in a stout. I would describe the flavor as pretty one dimensional but it does that one aspect extremely well. 

Kind of light on the palate, especially when cold. As it warms, it becomes a little thicker but still a bit lighter than I expected. Carbonation is mild to low and forms a nice texture despite the lack of substance.

Easy to down a bomber due to the taste but the taste becomes more thick as it warms so not the most drinkable beer overall. For a stout, quite drinkable.

Bought a bomber for $5.99 + tax (only available in this large bottle format). Bombers are not the ideal value but this beer was very solid and I enjoyed every minute of it. I do wish it had a more creamy texture to accompany the bold, bitter chocolate flavors but more than satisfying and so flavorful.

Score: A-  4.0/5