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Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout

Jabez: 4.5

This is a very dark black beer and a nice brown head. I could taste the oatmeal with the other flavors like the roasted malts. It did have some sort of twang to it that I couldn’t put my finger on. It seemed a little creamy to me but was very easy to drink. It had good carbonation and a nice dry finish. 

Tom T: 4

Dark with a light brown head that fades a little too quickly. Chocolate, vanilla, cream, and roasted black coffee are all present in the nose and the flavor. Balanced with a moderately dry finish. It lacks the heaviness of a typical stout. It’s not my favorite oatmeal stout, but a satisfying beer nonetheless.

Tom F: 3.5

The nose is surprising with tart ripe fruit of apricot and prune. I recommend to nose it in a Glencairn tasting glass or other tasting glass which will allow the aroma to be present because you deserve to smell this. The taste is a pure and clean stout and feels velvety on the tongue. There is mot much of a finish, but it is pleasant and crisp. 

Dylan: 4

A stout FOR the faint-of-heart, the guy has all the flavor and wonderful maltiness of quality stout without the “I just ate a loaf of bread” feeling afterward. A terrific American oatmeal stout.

Tsing Tao Pure Draft

Jabez: 3.5

This was a pale yellow beer. It had a bunch of carbonation and seemed much like a soda.  It seemed to have a rice smell to it. Once I drank it, I could detect the rice and some pilsner hops. This was a very light tasting beer that didn’t leave an aftertaste. This beer had a little too much fizz for me and not much substance but still ok. 

Tom T: 2

Dark straw yellow with some initial bright white head. Aroma is sour with a mild skunkiness. It’s overly thin and fizzy in the mouth. Flavor is better than expected, but that’s not saying much. It might be acceptable with a spicy Chinese dish, but otherwise pass on this one.

Tom F: 3

The nose is similar Heineken. I get a young wine flavor from the front end, then it peaks briefly with a little rush of flavor and levels off with light juiciness. Disappears into a dry finish with a touch of hominy. Not bad for a light beer.

Dylan: 2

I had high hopes for this but found it somewhat dull and lackluster. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this draft-in-a-bottle take this well-known import, but the flavor, aroma, texture and missed the mark for me.

Goose Island Matilda Belgian Style Ale

Jabez: 4.5

This beer is a brown/orange color, with decent carbonation. It had a sweet fruit odor to it.  I really liked this beer because of the complex flavors I detected. It was sweet but also a little spicy. It had a sweet honey taste to start with but I could taste some coriander at the end.  This beer had ample carbonation. This was a very good beer made by Goose Island.

Tom T: 4

Orange, amber under a creamy head. The nose is sweet, spicy, and fruity with a definite hop presence. It tastes like it smells. A smooth, creamy, and tasty beer. Goose Island does it again.

Tom F: 4.5

The nose is between a lemon and grapefruit. Fresh flavor, wow! The taste is floral, some subtle spiciness, and that delicious bread flavor from the yeasts. All the elements of an excellent Belgian beer and far lighter than some I've had.

Dylan: 4.5

A near-perfect Belgian-style ale from the US. Spicy but not overbearing, robust without dominating the palate, strangely refreshing and loaded with flavor. A big win here.

Atwater Block Brewery Vanilla Java Porter

Jabez: 3

This was a dark black beer with minimal head. I could smell the coffee and the sweet smell of vanilla when I opened it. The vanilla was the prominent flavor but I could also taste the coffee and malts. I felt like I was drinking a French vanilla cappuccino at the gas station rather than a beer. It just didn’t seem like beer to me. 

Tom T: 2.5

Deep black color with a fading tannish head. Very weak nose of chocolate, vanilla, and coffee.  No presence of that roasted barley porter flavor. It tastes more like a watered down iced vanilla latte, which matches its watery mouthfeel. This beer sounds good on paper, but it’s uninteresting and a bit disappointing.

Tom F: 2

The nose is full of the Vanilla, powdery, slight java. Taste is wet milky, light and not as much java as I expected. I thought the flavor would be more powerful due to the nose, but it wasn't. Not that impressive overall

Dylan: 1

The first sip was one of the most fantastic taste experiences I’ve had in a while. The second was as if I’d had the entire glass replaced by something else – something the same color that had been strained through a Sumo wrestler’s uniform. The third was sickly, skanky, and just plain foul. Couldn’t finish it.

Joining the brew-tasting panel this month is a familiar face and name, Tom Fischer of BourbonBlog.com.