Game Day Beer Review: Good Juju (Ginger Ale) Spiced Beer

(4.80% ABV)  Drunk during American Craft Beer Week at Tap 42 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Good Juju (Ginger Ale) poured a caramel gold color with a fluffy white head.

The smell of ginger was immediately apparent.

The beer had a decent ginger spice on the finish, with some orange and vanilla also apparent. We found it to be a very nice and refreshing beer, and something different than everything else out there -- certainly sessionable. Good Juju had just the right amount of carbonation and very clean finish.  B

Game Day Beer Review: Left Hand Brewing Octoberfest Marzen

If it's Fall, that must mean thing: it's time to head to the refrigerator and pull out a delicious craft beer.  True, we know we could say that Fall means just about anything, but it always feels nice to have an excuse to pop open a brew, and Fall gives us just that.  So if you're trying to figure out what to drink as the leaves begin to turn, you may want to follow this tip: Left Hand Octoberfest was one of the better tasting marzens we've had the opportunity to drink this month.

Brewery:  Left Hand Brewing, Longmont, Colorado

ABV: 6.00%

Mood: Snappy pop-ska mix in the air, as Save it for Later by The (English) Beat blares from Correspondent Ed's iPhone at the Fort Lauderdale Beach.

Smell: All malt, all the time.

Taste: It's not as sweet as the other marzens we've been drinking, with malt and mellow notes of toasty caramel, followed by a slightly metallic twang. I like it, though.

Overall: A pleasant beer, not too complex. Perfect for kicking back and watching a game.  Or sitting at the beach, as the case may be.  B

Game Day Beer Review: Left Hand Brewing 2009 Oak Aged Imperial Stout

(10.00% ABV) Ok, this one aged awhile. Lost in the depths of the farlieonfootie corporate beer locker, the 2009 edition of Left Hand's Oak Aged Imperial Stout aged for a year and a half.  Given the fact that winter is long gone in this part of the world, I decided to pull it out the other night -- before we get into the heat of summer -- and see how it held up to the test of time.

Left Hand's Imperial Stout poured coal dark into my snifter, but it appeared thinner than the typical motor oil consistency I've come to associate with some of the imperial stouts I generally favor. It had the scent of a sharp, boozy chocolate, with licorice; there was also a subtle undercurrent of cherry present.

On tasting, I got chocolate and coffee in equal measure, but the high alcohol level in the beer was very well hidden. The malt was clearly there, and there was also the most subtle of hop finishes that allowed the flavor to linger without overstaying its welcome. The oak aging of this beer really smoothed over any rough edges, so that just a deep, full-bodied mellowness was the only thing left.

It's a welcome warmer upper for a cold evening. Good thing the temperature dipped down into the low 70's on the night I drank it. A-