Happy Fourth of July!

For this Independence Day I thought it would be a good for me to post a bunch reviews of great American beers I've tried over the last year or so. Cheers!

Allagash White (USA - Maine - Portland) 5.2%

Smells very fruity and floral, hint of banana. The taste is also floral, orange, spicy, coriander, bitter, a little yeasty. The suggested technique of pour most of it then swirling & pouring makes a great frothy head. Very cloudy gold or pale gold in a glass. A great Belgian style white beer.

Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale - Berkshire Brewing Company (USA - Massachusetts - South Deerfield) 5.3%

A heady mix of nutty and spicy malt and hops. Caramel sweetness and a perfect bit of bitterness. Described on the label as what the water in heaven should taste like and I am inclined to agree.

Pennant Beer - Brooklyn Brewery (USA - New York - New York) 5.1%

Caramel aroma and taste, quite sweet but also tangy with hops and a little bitterness that lingers on. Quite nice and well balanced. I drank this at the Cheers bar in Boston.

Gritty McDuff's Red Claws Ale (USA - Maine - Freeport)
A caramel and toasted bread aroma with some bitterness. Sweet caramel flavour with a spicy green hops bitterness. The warm round tones of toasted bread and caramel are nicely contrasted with, and the sweetness is cleaned out by, the spice of the hops and fairly bitter finish. Very enjoyable and drinkable. Would go well with food or on its own. An amber-brown colour in a glass.

Old Plowshare Stout - North Coast Brewing (USA - California - Fort Bragg) 5.7%

Not quite opaque, A roasty, chocolatey, oatmeal scent. A milk chocolate taste, sweet and smooth, some wood tones also. Has tiny bubbles, as a proper stout should. A pleasant slightly chalky mouthfeel with mild bitterness. A very pleasant stout; for those who favour organic food and drinks this one mustn't be missed.

 Redhook ESB (USA - New Hampshire - Portsmouth) 5.8%

A deep pumpkin orange. Sweet, earthy tones at first; a bitter tangy almost coppery finish that is quite hoppy. Sweet caramel malt combines with the mild earthy and wooden tones as well as a fairly pronounced hops taste for a pleasant-drinking and somewhat rustic beer which seems appropriate for a beer from northern New England.