Beerswap: BOSTONBREWIN' sbeers

Sampling the Porter:

Dude here;

Nice opaque brown, almost coppery hue. Sweet aroma, little to no hop aroma. Tastes sweet, malty, and again, slightly oxidized but not a major fault by any means. I'd work on mouthfeel a little bit, other than that a very good porter. FWIW, I like it more than Anchor porter, which I think the 2 beers are similar. Pretty damn good beer in my opinion.

Sam here: Just to add to Dude's comments.....nice chocolatey aroma! It's a bit overcarbed, though, esp. for the style.

IPA:

Nice aroma. Real dark coppery color, clear. Looks very nice.
Tastes very sweet (is this an extract beer with laaglander?) and possibly like it didn't finish all the way. Then again, if Laaglander was used, mystery solved. I'd use a cleaner better fermentable extract for this next time.

I like the hoppiness, it is just about perfect in aroma and flavor. Blends well throughout but I can't get past the sweetness of the beer.

I'd like to see the recipe.

~Dude

Really nothing to add here.....too sweet. I think if you dry this one out, it'd be very nice.

~Sam

Youu guys are starting to sound like you're studying for judging certificates. My own humble critique would go something like this:

Either

I like it-it's good!

or

It sucks!

(Although I doubt anyone on this forum would ever get that second review)

I got to try a few of BB's beers yesterday:

IPA: this was the first beer I had, and with a clean palate. I really liked it...I was expecting over the top hoppiness knowing BB's tendencies, but it was really well balanced (which is to say hopped) for an IPA. Dark coppery color as Dude (or Swami?) mentioned, and a good malt backbone for the hops IMO. It was definitely a refreshing beverage for a hot day ~100F.

Porter: I tried the porter right before SWMBO picked me up and I can't say my palate was totally clear at the point. HOWEVER...I found it really tasty with no obvious faults. The roastiness was right on for me...I would definitely drink more of them.

Both excellent adult beverages.

I've had several of BOSTON's brews, but I realized that I never reviewed them.

IPA (batch #1)
Had I not been told this was an IPA, I am not sure I would have guessed it. I would have called it an Imperial Pale Ale (which, technically, is still "IPA"). Given Jeff's self-proclaimed addiction to IBUs, I expected more bite and less maltiness, but it was a pretty well balanced beer. The color was a rich, dark amberish color.

However, the beer was very, VERY good. It also packed a nice punch.


Porter
I believe Jeff said that this was his first ever attempt at a porter. To that I say, "BRAVO!" It was nice and roasty. Perhaps a bit more body is in order, but it's pretty close to the thickness that I like for a porter.

IPA (batch #2)
I tried to drink one of these while brewing on Sunday, but after 4 or 5 hours in the 100+°F temps, I had trouble putting down a third beer with a hefty 6.5ish% ABV. (I had already drank BeeGee's Amber and Gaelic Ales at that point.) This one seemed very similar to his IPA #1, but the hoppiness seemed a littlre more pronouced than the first batch. Still not what I expected from a man with IPA flowing through his veins, but a damn good beer. Due to the heat, I only managed to drink about 1/3 of it before I had to switch to ice water.

Luckily, he gave me a sixer, and I put one in the fridge this morning. I'll be having it with my dinner.

-walker