Mother Earth Brew Co - Kismet IPA

Hey everyone! It's time for another beer review. Today's beer of choice is by my friends at Mother Earth Brew Co., and it's their Kismet IPA.

MEBC brews several IPA and I believe this is the first one they've bottled. They first bottled their Cali Creamin' ale and followed that up with one of my personal favorites, Pin Up Pale Ale. They actually just recently started bottling, so this being the 3rd beer to be bottled isn't exactly a surprise.

Kismet comes in at 7.2% abv and is brewed with New Zealand and Columbus hops. The beer pours out a real hazy golden color, almost bordering on copper and orange (it's orange in the picture but definitely a bit lighter in person). Can't see anything through the beer. There's about a finger maybe to a finger and a half of a bright white head. The head sticks around a bit and when finally dissipates leaves it's mark with some nice white lacing.

The initial aroma on this beer is fantastic. Big fruits. Papaya, a bit of Mango and some really nice Pineapple characters coming out. There's a piney scent, almost an earthy floral note that is coming through behind the fruits. Going back for a second opinion I get a bit of a Peach character, almost like the peaches you get in the snack cups with syrup. A bit sugary and sticky. Nothing wrong with that.

Finally deciding to stop drooling I take my first drink (of this bottle, I've had this before on tap). Immediate hop bitterness that is delicately cut by that fruit note - Papaya and Mango are immediate. Middle of the mouth there's more bitterness from the hops. Not a ton of bitterness, but just enough to keep your tongue tingling for a bit. Back of the mouth I get that sugary, syrupy peach flavor that I got on the nose. It's subtle and takes nothing away from the initial blast of hops and tropical fruits. Great carbonation on this beer with a perfect mouth feel for an IPA. It's a very good IPA all around from beginning to end.

Overall, this is very solid. Not overly bitter and not overly sweet. I'd say it's a very good blend of the bitter IPA and the more citrus/tropical IPA. As I continue to drink this I get a lot more of the hop bitterness in the back of the throat. It's pretty mellow and I like that. There's a time and place for the hop bombs and fortunately Kismet doesn't lose it's identity.

I recommend this beer for anyone who likes IPA. Kismet is a solid offering from MEBC. I highly recommend checking out MEBC if you're in San Diego especially up in North County where they're located (Vista to be exact). I give this beer a 7-7.5/10 for a solid B+/A-.

This isn't my favorite MEBC IPA but it's probably right up there. It's worth picking up if you see it in the stores or like I said, if you're in the area, it's worth getting if it's on tap. MEBC has a constant rotation of beers so hitting the tap house while Kismet is on isn't always a guarantee. Check out their website to see what's pouring. It's fairly accurate.

Rating: B+/A-

PS, my wife takes all the pictures for the blog. She's far better with a good camera than I am. I don't want to not give her credit but FFS, this blog is named after her opinion of beer... (which btw, Kismet tastes like beer)

Uinta Brewing - Sea Legs Baltic Porter

Well, it's finally here! The first in my Beer of the Month series my wife hooking up for me. Easily one of the coolest things she's decided to do for me and also one of the most delicious. It's win-win in my book.

So for January, we're drinking Sea Legs by Uinta Brewing, part of their Crooked Line series. This is an 8% Baltic Porter that is aged in Oak Barrels. To be honest, any beer aged in Oak Barrels immediately peaks my interest. I really like what Oak does to beers, especially porters and stouts. 

Corked, this beer proved to be a pain in the ass to open. Once opened though, the immediate aroma of Oak hit my nose. I was pretty happy to say the least. There was also a bit of a tobacco smell as well, very subtle, but anyone who has smoked good tobacco wouldn't miss it. Maybe a bit of a fine leather as well. In other words, this beer smelled incredible before I even let it hit a glass.

On the pour, this beer is incredibly dark. Pitch black with no light shining through. There was about a 3-4 finger head, mocha to bordering on straight brown in color. Very billowy, almost like clouds in the sky. It sticks around for quite some time. It's very inviting too. As the head dissipates we're left with a very nice lacing. Overall, this beer looks incredible.

The aroma in the glass differs a bit from when I first popped the cork. Not picking up much in the way of oak, tobacco, or leather. Instead, I'm getting massive amounts of chocolate. Dark chocolate to be exact. Not much vanilla actually. Usually that shows up in the taste though. I'm smelling some roasted oats. More chocolate. Maybe some espresso shining through as well. It smells incredible. 

I finally get to give this beer a taste. It's awesome. Big chocolate. Big chocolate covered coffee beans. There's no coffee really in the taste, but that bitterness is there. Sort of like drinking a good black coffee. It's dark and sort of hits you like you all know you like it. It's medium bodied. Leaves a nice coating over the tongue and cheeks. Back of the mouth is where I think this beer shines. You get a ton of espresso and black coffee. Bittersweet chocolate. And it lingers a lot. I feel like I just ate some chocolate covered espresso beans. Very good tastes. There's not a ton of carbonation but by no means is this flat. I'd say it's bordering on medium carbonation. You don't taste any alcohol. 8% that's not too surprising though. I usually don't notice the alcohol on the tongue unless it's a bit higher, 10% or so.

Overall, Sea Legs by Uinta Brewing is incredible. It's one of the better "Baltic Porters" I've had, maybe the best. This beer gets a easy 9 out of 10 for me, making this beer a solid A. I highly recommend trying this beer out. Not only this beer though, Uinta makes some amazing beers year round. Some which I'm sure I'll get to reviewing at some point in the future. In the last year, I'd say Uinta has become one of my favorite and go to breweries. I'm hoping one day to visit them in Salt Lake City, surprisingly enough. 

Rating - A

Green Flash Double Stout

My first review!

I'm a big fan of Green Flash brewing. I'd probably say they are a top 5 for me. Not sure if I'd throw them in the #1 spot ,but they're definitely in contention.

To put it honestly, Green Flash really doesn't make a bad beer. Obviously known in beer circles for brewing incredibly hoppy IPA's, I like them more for the beer I'm currently drinking.

Double Stout

No fancy name. No gimmicks. It's just a big stout. Or Black Ale as the label says.

I'd say of all the Green Flash beers I've had more of this than any other. It's good year round, even during the summer time when it gets a little hot (ok a lot hot) in So. Cal. It's not overly thick like some stouts (which I love) so to have one of these to maybe mix things up come summer time, getting away from the Pales and IPA's, it's a nice treat.

The Double Stout pours out very dark with no light able to be seen through the beer. Maybe the slightest hint of a very dark brown around the bottom of the glass but that might just be my bad eye sight playing tricks on me. The head is a fluffy brown/mocha color that stick around for a bit and leaves a nice lacing on the glass. This head is darker than a lot of the "stouts" that seem to be produced these days. If you're like me, the darker the head, the better the beer.

The nose is nothing short of delicious. Big chocolate. A nice roasty warmth shines through as well that almost makes this seem like a beer you might drink for dessert or even in the AM if you're a daytime drunk (nothing wrong with this.) I also get a little bit of an alcohol smell on the nose. 8.8% it's not too surprising and with a lack of an espresso/coffee character I'm not too surprised. It's nothing to run away from but it's definitely there. There's also a bit of a toasted oat character as well.

Taste wise, this beer is delicious. You get a smooth chocolate flavor immediately. Middle of the mouth you get more chocolate and a bit of that roasted character you could get on the nose as well. It's not a thick stout but it's also not thin by any means. Tail end of this you get more chocolate, more roast, and a subtle hop character. Being a Green Flash beer without a hop character showing up something can't be right. After letting it settle a bit, I also get a nice toasted oat/roasted oat character on the back end.

Overall this is a very solid stout. It's almost an everyday drinker for me when I can get a case. It's available in 4 packs (boo!) and 22oz bottles. You can pretty much get this year round. I think since Green Flash moved down to San Diego from North County they manage to keep this around where as when they were in Vista this wasn't always available. I give this beer an 8.5/10 for an A rating. I highly recommend this beer if you like stouts. Even if you don't, it's worth trying.

Wife's verdict? Judging by the facial expression as well, definitely tastes like beer.

Beer of the Month Club

Around Christmas time, my wife made mention of a beer of the month club. Not a specific one you can find online, but doing something on her own, for me. She kept talking decided it might not work out so well because she knows nothing of beer (other than they all taste like beer.)

I immediately interjected and told her how incredibly awesome the idea was! How many beer geeks can say their wife goes out of their way to do something so awesome? I'd venture to say not too many. I could be wrong, but really, probably not many.

So after convincing her it was the best idea she's ever had, the wheels began turning.

What beers to do? How many a month? What style? Local?

The possibilities were endless.

The other day we went to the store and I came across a beer I deemed worthy of being the Beer of January. What'd I settle on?

Uinta Brewing Sea Legs.

It's not local, but it's by a brewery that I absolutely love. The Crooked Line series Uinta produces is nothing short of incredible. I highly recommend the Labyrinth "Black Ale" (it's a stout). I can't tell enough people how amazing this beer is.

But to get to the point. The first beer in my Beer of the Month Club is decided. Not sure when I get it, but I'd imagine in the next week or so I'll have a review and tasting notes up on Uinta's Sea Legs.

Cheers!

Cheers!

Welcome to Tastes Like Beer! Thanks for checking us out. This blog is about... Beer! Local breweries, local brews, not so local brews, everything related to beer. We'll be posting reviews, tasting notes, perhaps even some news.

Being from San Diego, we're pretty much in beer mecca. Being in North County, SD, we're definitely in the prime spot for all things beer in SD.

So come back sometime. Check us out. I say we and us because their may be more contributors in the future. But for now, my name is Rich, and I like beer.

My wife however, simply thinks they all just... taste like beer.

Cheers!