Newest reviews are always in red font but continue to be alphabetized by brand and label name ALE - FRUITED AND FLAVORED We now have a separate category for fruited and flavored IPA whether they are ADIPA, NEDIPA, or NEIPA in their based. Maybe one is based on Brit IPA. I have decided to put the Pumpkin and spiced brews with Oktoberfest types as they are usually marketed around October/Halloween in the US and pretty serve as the same marketing theme. You will also get similar effects as these ales from fruit and flavored lagers. Some with specific timing are spiced ales which are sold as Christmas ales aka Holiday or Winter Warmer ales are found under the Christmas/Winter/Holiday section. The Oktoberfest/Marzen/Halloween/Pumpkin/Fall ales are usually flavored up or made sweet and they too have their own substyle section. The traditional Belgian ales often have citrus peels, coriander, and grains of paradise as the traditional dosing. Those are not considered "fruited and flavored" as they are normal (quite standard) for the Ale - Belgian classes. We must be quick to assure that fruity ales are not the same as fruited and flavored ales for one might easily find convincing fruit flavors of lemon, grapefruit, orange, mangos, pineapple, and even cherries from both hop and yeast variations on their own. Those in this section might well have a fruity Citra hop or fruit-filled yeast in them but they must also have something else added besides hops, malt, yeast, and water. There are also newish Herbed Ales of various bases, APA, Kolsch, and Wheat which are not spiced in the usual sense but favor one herbal leaf over another. These include Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, and occasionally a blend of savory herbs. Gizmo's Lavender Kolsch Ale is one curious example and it actually works and is enjoyable! A note of caution for you homebrewers (and all others really), some herbs which are lovely in culinary preparations can be nasty to fully toxic when concentrated in other forms and formats. For example, bay leaves, while lovely to make a tomato sauce, can be very harshly irritating to slightly toxic in concentration to most humans. Some people are allergic to rosemary too. And if you do foraging for your herbal batch, be very sure every single stem and leaf is solidly identified before going in the container. One stray spray could put everyone in the ER if not the morgue. 21st Amendment Monk't Blood Belgian Style Dark Ale Brewed with Cinnamon, Vanilla, Oak Chips, and Dried Figs (Insurrection Series) RATING: 4.5 Abita Springs, Louisiana The 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the infamous 18th Amendment that prohibited sale of intoxicating liquors, aka "the end of Prohibition". Great name for a brewery too. This name is hard to get around, a Belgian dark aged not in barrels but with oak chips, vanilla and dried figs added to that. This 8.3% and 34 IBU creation pays homage to the ancient monks who lived only on beer (poor fellows!) which they brewed inhouse (or in-monastery) and amounting to "liquid bread". One can imagine the interest chants, prayers, songs, and God knows what afterhours. Nico Freccia and Shaun O'Sullivan traveled to Belgium to study and this is one of the results of their horrible, boring, laborous study (not). The malt bill is European Pilsner, Vienna, Caramunich, aromatic, Special B, flaked oats, and flaked wheat. Amarillo is the sole flavoring hop with Magnum and Centennial in the bitter role. Then the only stuff was added for special flavor. The pour is a fairly clear dark red, blood like in fact,but perhaps with a slight amber or orange tint off from true cherry or blood red. The head is creamy-tan, medium in size, diversely sized bubbles, rocky in several minutes. First sip is faintly tart, very fruity and ale-based and by middle passage it seems like an ordinary fruity-malty ale of fine quality. There are some oak type notes later on but as for the cinnamon we found little. There are dark, somber, even dank and dreary fruit notes of a genuine quality and that is surely the fig There are not many fig-altered ales and this shows how nicely it influences an already fruit ale. The fig gives complexity to a bright ale yeast and that is a very good thing. As for the vanilla, there is some in terms of general brightness to the recipe. My grandmother said "vanilla makes all desserts better" and she was quite right and this applies to sweetish beers too. It is pleasant and very educationl experience and our panel gave it one (just one) perfect score. There are occasional odd, hollow, vague, and less flavored notes to be had and those need to be cleaned up. 21st Amendment Sparkale Sparklng Rosè Ale Brewed with Apple, Cranberry, Peach, and Cherry RATING: 4.0 San Leandro, California The Rosè Ale dates (for us) to 2019 and it seems to be another attempt to lure wine drinkers with familiar terms such as brut and vintage. There have been pink or rosè beers for years because if you add enough real fruit to them (especially cranberry, pomegranate, and raspberry) they will be go from their yellow base to pink. They may even have light pink to creamy-pink foam heads too. The pour here is actually not pink, dark or otherwise, but a dark copper-red or almost a clear burnt orange, the head near white, low, lasting a bit. The nose is of mixed fruits, moderately rich. The lace lasts slonger than most ales but it's hardly a champagne competitor on that front! It contains sulfites which means some of the fruit was probably not from a fresh source. First sip is definately that of an ale and not a thin or weak "girly drink" are some had expected - even our girl on the panel! From mass market fruit spritzers and wine coolers it differs in having true ale yeast, light hops, and a true beer nature. The fruits are strong at times, ranging from bright to dark and somber, favoring cranberry and cherry there. It was "something of a strong wine cooler...nay real fruit malt beverage at times but got richer, better" wrote one panelists. Had this proven to be a faux ale you'd have not found it on this page. And occassionally we exclude such nonsense with not even enough space or time on the entire internet to call them out. Like alot of fruit mixed drinks, the apple gets overshadowed and is used many for a sweetish, mellowing base. They clearly were serious about fruit complexity because it would have been brighter, more smooth tropical if that were intended. We like it some, mostly 4.0 worth and one 4.5. Abita Vanilla Double Dog XXV Anniversary RATING: 4.5 Abita Springs, Louisiana Given the $4.99 bomber price (quite low in 2012) and what we know of Abita from the past, this label did not really get our tastebuds and brains a whizin'. This 25th anniversary brew is based on their famous Turbodog but adding more generous amounts of pale, caramel, and chocolate malts. Willamette hops are then added in goodly quanities with whole bean vanilla. ABV is a nice 7% and the pour is dark reddish-brown with nice early lace. The head is dark cream. First notes are promising, decent vanilla but nothing to right home about. The malts are semi-choco rich which caramel spikes in later passages. The finish like some other Abitas trails off more than we would prefer. Still it does have a charm and is "something of a value" to quote one of our panalists who added snobishly "for those who need such things". By the way the bottle is cuter as twenty turbo dog pups and painted on for collectors. Really nice design with gold paisley pups singing a song. We found this malty brew a bit better less than super-cold and the flavors get more complex and enjoyable with a temp closer to room. Overall it is a fine value and probably the best thing Abita has made in years. Allagash Fluxus (Ale Brewed with Yarrow) RATING: 4.0 Portland, Maine Yarrow? Is this a tribute to Peter, Paul, and Mary? I do love yarrow and think it's cool in cough drops and wine too. I almost did a Ph.D. on garden yarrows but found a better-paying-than-a-professor computer job more tempting. It's a good genus, flavorful at times, very ancient in uses, and colorful in flowers. Not sure I like the name of this name as it suggests Acid Reflux among other things. ABV is an even 10%. Allagash's motto is ALWAYS AN ADVENTURE. That is both good and scary in the beer world. For them, it's almost always a calling card towards excellence. This label in their Tribute Series means they give a buck a bottle towards good local organizations and that might be good or scary too. (I'm never too sure what philanthropist-brewers do with their money and what they are imposing with my coin towards puppies, children, fetuses, politicians, farms, schools, parks, and wetlands). Color is ultra-hazy in very rich gold, even having an orangish-golden sheen at time under full fluorescent light. Big head, good lace, ending soon enough for a corked product. As I suspected, one needs to drink nearly the entire bottle to get the BUDSAT (taste bud saturation) of the special ingredient.