Lawrence Brewers Guild

Picked this up from Bryan's liquor store in Auburn, yes Auburn. It was $9.99 for a 4 pack (woooooof).

It's bottle conditioned with a great hop aroma from the start. The hops really overtook the rest of the flavor of this brew.

The color is slightly dark-gold with a little cloudiness. Nice head retention and sheeting all the way through the beer (I used my Sam Adams glass that they were giving away if you were a AHA member)

The first taste you get is that noble hop with some grapefruit combined with a slight spice. The hops really overtook the rest of the flavors. I didn't get much, if any malt flavor at all.

The warmer the beer got, the more the alcohol came through, leaving a slight burning sensation after you were done with a drink followed by a smack of, you guessed it, hops.

Its a well crafted brew, but the Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops apparently are not one of my favorites, especially when they are smacking me in the nutz with every drink.

I would have to give this a 6 out of 10. I'm sure others will give it a higher rating, but I just can't get past that dry grapefruit peel aftertaste. I'll leave the other 3 beers sit and try one again in about 30 days to see if I have the same feelings.

after thinking about it, I probably shouldn't have used the Sam Adams glass as it is 'laser etched' to supply a continuous stream of tiny bubble rising from the etching on the bottom. I'm sure that had to contribute to the head retention as it was continually adding bubbles and foam.

when I try the next bottle, I'll just use a pain 'ol pint.

CHEERS!

Can't believe I forgot to review this one when I got it a few weeks ago but what Bill said except (again, remembering I love hops and strong alcoholic brews) I loved every drop of this stuff!

(P.S. I Loooooooooooove grapefruit!)

Didn't notice the alcohol coming through as it warmed up as it didn't take too long for me to drain the glass in fact, I really didn't notice the alcohol until I got that nice, warm tummy feeling.

Again, it not only is a prerequisite that you better love hops for this one but (like Flying Dog Pale Ale) it's heavenly if you like grapefruit!

I didn't get much malt taste either (& never got a spice hint) but thought it was balanced enough to be deceiving until you realize you're waaay past where a normal beer leaves you.

Wouldn't recommend anyone having more than one on an empty stomach & then doing much of anything.

I liked this. I thought there was definitely some malt there.
Along with the ass load of hops!

I'm not a big fan of the "imperialization" (is that even a word) of a lot of styles, but I thought this one worked.