Stone Ruination IPA (Stone Brewing Co.)

According to Stone Brewing themselves, this IPA is named after the effect it has on your palate! While I can't vouch for that, I can vouch for yet another worthy beer from Stone Brewing.

Ruination pours a clear and golden yellow with a minimal amount of carbonation visible. A thick white majestic head forms that barely dissipates and leaves plenty of lacing. Strong aromas of hops and something sweet reminiscent of pineapple juice are present. Ruination packs quie a bitter punch that lasts throughout the drink with a minor malt presence that fleshes out the beer. I also found it to be quite yeasty. The texture is great - not too watery like some other IPA's, but smooth mixed with a good amount carbonation. This beer is definitely very drinkable, since its hop presence isn't so over the top (although Stone would want you to think so).

Final Grade - 8/10

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen (Brauerei Heller-Trum / Schlenkerla)

After a long hiatus, I finally got around to try this rauchbier from Germany. For those that don't know,  rauchbier means smoked beer, as the the malts are dried over an open fire to give it a smoked quality. It's definitely one of the more interesting beer styles out there.

The beer pours a dark ruby body with a thick beige head. Smells strongly of a Swedish Christmas table, with thick smoked reindeer meat and bacon aromas relentlessly hitting your face as you take a sip. If the smell wasn't enough, this beer is the closest thing to liquid meat that you could find, with flavors of smoked meat dominating this beer strongly. The texture is very smooth and thick, with medium carbonation. Drinkability on this one is very low, unless you're really into smoked meat I suppose.

While interesting at first, halfway down the glass I really wanted something else to drink. Once again, a fine example of the diversity of beers, but I can't say that I'll be having another one of these beers for a long time.

Final Grade - 6/10