Beer of the Week

The beer: Honey Orange Tripel

The brewery: New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, Colorado

Description (from the website): "This tripel is crafted with the very best ingredients. We source wild honey from the African Bronze Honey Company, a member of the Fair Trade Federation and a certified B-Corp. Old Town Spice Shop—a local Fort Collins favorite—also helps us grind fresh Seville orange peels the day before we brew. The result of this collaboration? A citrusy sweet Belgian-style beer that never fails to delight."

Would I buy it again? I love doppelbocks, but I don't think any beer masters the art of high ABV and sheer drinkability quite like a tripel. And this is no exception. At 10%, it's twice as potent as your standard beer, but it's incredibly pleasant to drink. It's got a nice honey flavor mixed with a bit of citrus, which hides the alcohol very well. This isn't the first one of these I've had, so the answer is yes, I would buy it again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Milk Stout Nitro

The brewery: Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, Colorado

Description (from the website): "Experience America’s Stout. Milk Stout Nitro is a full sensory experience. Gaze at the mesmerizing cascade of all those tiny Nitro bubbles. Breathe in the aromas of roasted coffee, milk chocolate, brown sugar and vanilla cream. Savor the super smooth Nitro sensation. And, smile as the perfectly pillowy head coats your upper lip. This portable draft beer experience is Good to Go straight from the can or served Like a Pro in a glass. From the bottle, Pour Hard to release the Nitro magic inside."

Would I buy it again? Here's the thing: I don't really like nitro beers very much. It's fine for Guinness, since it's Guinness, but that's it. And this beer tastes pretty much exactly like a Guinness, except maybe this one is a bit sweeter. Which is fine, but I'm sure this one is more expensive. Also, despite the can being 16 oz, you only get 13.65 oz of beer, which seems extremely stingy and cheap. So I'd pass on this in the future.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Westbound Italian Pils

Brewed by: Westbound & Down Brewing Company, Idaho Springs, Colorado

Description (from Untappd): "A bright, floral hop aroma meets crisp crushable Pils from the use of Hallertau Blanc, Saphir, and Saaz with Italian-grown pilsner malt."

Would I buy it again?: Dry hopping worked really well for this beer. It's got that hoppy, floral taste, but it's not bitter at all. This beer is quite refreshing, as befitting a good pilsner, and if I ever find it again I would buy it again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest Lager

Brewed by: Avery Brewing Company, Boulder, Colorado

Description (from the website): "Just in time for fall and its most notable Fest, this limited release Imperial Oktoberfest Lager is our emboldened Prost! to one of the world's most recognized styles. The Kaiser weaves together rich, toasted Vienna and Munich malts with the floral spiciness of Hersbrucker and Bravo hops to create a bold and brazen dry Imperial Oktoberfest."

Would I buy it again?: Depends how much I'd have to pay for it. It was definitely good, it had the signature Oktoberfest taste but richer and deeper. If we're talking maybe a dollar or two more for a six pack of this than of a regular Oktoberfest, than sure. But if they're looking for $15 to buy a four pack, then probably not. It's good, but not that good.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Voodoo Ranger Atomic Pumpkin

Brewed by: New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, Colorado

Description (from the website): "At 6.4% ABV, Atomic Pumpkin Ale is perfectly positioned to capture the fall beer drinker who wants more than just an ordinary Pumpkin or Oktoberfest beer."

Would I buy it again?: This is what I get for not reading the label carefully. I saw Atomic Pumpkin, and I thought it would be a beer with a whole lot of pumpkin flavor. What I received was a spicy beer, and that's just not what I want. Spicy and beer do not go together in my opinion. Now, it's not that spicy, but that just makes it worse. They went to all the trouble and didn't even go that far. So what we have here is a pumpkin beer that doesn't taste like pumpkin and is spicy but not really. I would absolutely not buy this again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Good Juju Ale

Brewed by: Left Hand Brewing Company, Longmont, Colorado

Description (from the website): "A little Juju voodoo – fresh ginger kisses the lithe malty body, copulating with the hop in this pale ale ancestor. Emancipate yourself from the dead of winter, none but the vernal equinox can free the light. A refreshing frivolity. Hey mon. Shuccha fwangaa! Better a witch doctor than a trouble maker. Quit yor’ bitchin’ an’ get to witchin’."

Would I buy it again?: I doubt it. When I took the first sip, I was afraid this would be terrible. That the brewery would have gone overboard with the ginger and I was about to get punched in the face. That was not the case. The ginger is there, but it's very subtle and in the background. It's basically just a pale ale otherwise. Not bad, but nothing special.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Hotbox Coffee Porter

Brewed by: Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, Colorado

Description (from the website): "This roasty, wake-up-call of a porter (6.5% ABV, 30 IBUs) is based on a robust malt bill that highlights chocolate, fig, plum and espresso flavors; led by nutty, drum-roasted CaraAroma malt. Then, Hotbox Roasters crashes the party and infuses potent, cold brew coffee from a blend of South American beans, roasted to reflect notes of chocolate, tobacco, wood and earthiness."

Would I buy it again?: No. You would think that a coffee porter would be a memorable sort of beer, but this was surprisingly forgettable. It was heavy, I mean, duh, but not a whole lot of actual taste. The thickness was really all this beer had, making it pretty one-dimensional.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Vanilla Porter

Brewed by: Breckenridge Brewery, Littleton, Colorado

Description (from the website): "Real vanilla beans from Madagascar combined with caramel and Munich malts create a beer that’s balanced and flavorful. Aromas of vanilla and toasted grain set the stage for mellow flavors of vanilla and dark roasted malts. Don’t let its deep mahogany color fool you. Vanilla Porter is dark in color and packed with flavor, yet it is as smooth as they come and easy to enjoy at any time of the year."

Would I buy it again?: Yes, I would. I like Saranac's vanilla porter a little more than this one, but this one is a lot easier to find. It's a good beer for the winter, but it isn't so heavy that it couldn't be enjoyed at any time. And the vanilla flavor is pretty good and not so strong as to be overwhelming.