Been a while since I've come here. Some nice reviews. I'll offer a review of the Stone BCOS when I drink the one I've had sitting in my fridge for a few days. See how it compares to Wook's.
But for now, I'll review a new one: Coastal Fog IPA. This is a brewery in San Francisco. I had never heard of them, but they had a few cases of the IPA, a Pale Ale, and an Amber brew at BevMo. They're twelve packs, but they're pretty cheap. I think I payed 11.99 for the 12 of IPA.
It pours an orange/amber color.. pretty standard IPA stuff. But OH MY GOD THE HEAD. Seriously it's overwhelming. It's the headiest beer ever. Even more than some of those heady Belgians like Duvel. I've gone 7 or 8 of 'em and I've still yet to get a whole bottle emptied on the first poor in a standard beer glass. I came close on a couple once I started pouring VERY gently and waiting 'til near the end to tip the glass upright. I just tried to go with a normal pour in an oversized 22oz mug and I only got ~10oz in and I nearly overflowed. Just wow. The head laces really nice, too. Maybe they did this on purpose to mimic the clouds in SF.
Unfortunately, that's about the most interesting part of the beer. The nose is meh. You can smell the hops of course, but it's not very clean or crisp. A little more malt than I'd prefer. Same goes for the taste. I don't like the balance much. A little too heavy in the mouth and heavy on malt flavor, light on nice, grassy, citrusy hops that california microbrews are famous for. It also leaves an aftertaste not so much unlike a day swimming at the beach.
Overall, it's not bad, and for $1/beer, it's quite a bargain. If it were priced like most microbrews, it'd probably be just 2
's. Given the affordability, it's worth 2.5. I'd maybe pick up a few 12packs if I were having decent beer at a cookout or something, but I doubt I'll be buying it again anytime soon.
If I get a chance I'll try to post some pics of the head. Really crazy.
Also, in a couple weeks I'll be hitting up Buzzard's Bay Brewery in Westport, MA. They make some solid beer, and I guess they have some cookouts where they supply the beer and you bring your own meats and such. My parents went and said it's a blast. Hopefully we find time to go.