Center of the Universe Pocahoptas

Pocahontas is a fine IPA. I like it better now than in my first
review. It is often a good choice at a restaurant.

Brewer's notes: This hop forward India Pale Ale features four different hops from the Pacific Northwest combined with a base of imported English 2-row barley and Crystal malts. Dry-hopped for additional hop flavor and aroma.

Beeradvocate

Tasting notes

20260329: I drank a can with gumbo and savory beef and mushroom stew after the Bikes for Kids ride. It has a nice bitterness. I like it better than Hardywood The Great Return. I am increasing the rating for Pocahoptas and decreasing the rating for The Great Return.

Rating = 3.5 glasses

20130407: A big IPA w/ lots to hops. More bitter and pine than I like. 

Old rating = 3 glasses.

Hardywood The Great Return

The Great Return is Hardywood's take on a West Coast IPA. I like it. It combines a nice bitterness from a big dose of hops and a sweet malt backbone.

The name, Great Return, alludes to the return of Atlantic Sturgeon to the James River in Richmond.

BeerAdvocate

Tasting notes

20260329: I have drank several glasses of Great Return since my last review. I am liking it less. The flavor is too harsh. When I compared it to Center of the Universe Pocahoptas, I like Pocahoptas better. I am downgrading the rating.

Rating = 3 glasses

20201005: Previously, I rated it as my favorite Double IPA. The correct category is IPA. I am downgrading the rating from 6 glasses. 

Old rating = 6, 5 glasses.

Tucher Festbier

Festbier is a great example of a festbier. It is brewed to celebrate Fruhlingsfest and may be available year-round.

Brewer's Notes: I could not find this beer on the brewer's web page. The following quote is from Beeradvocate. I think BA took it from the brewer.

To many, the festbiers of Bavaria are a liquid voyage to the tents of Oktoberfest. For Tucher, nestled in its home in northern Bavaria and out of reach of the festivals that overtake Munich’s fairgrounds each fall, the focus is on Fruhlingsfest and celebrating the end of the cold winter months. As such, this festbier is brewed as a fuller-bodied helles lager with a slightly louder presence of old world hops instead of a marzen and is available to festivals year-round!

Tasting Notes
20260327: I drank the second can after drinking a can of Surly Hell. Hell is good. Festbier is better. I has more flavor and complexity. 

On my bike ride a day after writing the review, I kept thinking about the beer and how good it and Surly Hell are. I am upgrading the rating.

Rating: 6 glasses

20260326: I drank the first can in a four-pack. I drank at least two four-packs back in the fall during Oktoberfest time but must have failed to write a review then. I really liked it and followed the first four-pack with at least one more.

The beer did not disappoint. As in the brewer's description, it is a full-bodied Helles. It is quaffable. It has a tiche of sweet. It has flavor but is not big or heavy. It is just what you want in a Festbier. It may become a regular visitor to my "cellar".

Old rating: 5.5 glasses

Rothhaus Tannenzäpfle, aka Pils

Tannenzäpfle is a fine German pilsner.

Brewer's Notes: The Rothaus Tannenzäpfle is the absolute classic among our beers - and has been since 1956. That is why it is also the namesake and figurehead of the Gäpfle family. The best aromatic hops from Tettnang and the Hallertau as well as local malt made from summer barley and the purest spring water from the Black Forest give Rothaus Tannenzäpfle its uniquely spicy and fresh taste.

Beeradvocate

Tasting Notes
290330: I drank the second bottle after drinking Hardywood Pils. I liked Pils better. It has more bite. Tannenzäpfle is earthier with a lemony (grassy?) element.

Rating: 3.5 glasses

29260327: I drank the first bottle in a six-pack. The beer has an earthy flavor with biscuit and grassy notes. I think that the hops are noble - and just enough to give the beer a nice bite. Its not Prima Pils but may be my new "go to" pilsner.

Old rating: 5 glasses

Surly Hell

Surly Hell is a great example of a Helles.

Brewer's notes: "German for “light,” Hell is a pale gold lager with bready malt sweetness, floral hops, and a crisp, balanced finish."

Beeradvocate: "Not unlike a Zwickel Bier from Germany, Hell is not filtered and fermented with lager yeast. American hops takes a back seat to the Pils malt sweetness and fresh bread aroma. The color is well... hell (Deutsch for light). It's fiendishly drinkable, and you don't have to sell your soul to get another."

Tasting notes
20260327: I liked the first four-pack so much that I purchased another four-pack. Tonight I compared Hell with Tucher Festbier. I drank Hell first. As I drank it I was thinking what a good beer it is and how it might replace pilsners in my rotation. Then I drank the Festbier and liked the Festbier better.

On my bike ride a day after writing the review, I kept thinking about the beer and how good it and Tucher Festbier are. I am upgrading the rating.

Rating: 5 glasses

20260111: The first can of a four-pack purchased on somewhat of a whim from Total Wine. I was surprised by how much I liked it. It fits the description of the style in BeerAdvocate well. "Helles lager beers offer a touch of sweetness that balance a measurable addition of spicy German hop flavor and light bitterness. The malt character is soft and bready, making it a terrific complement to light dishes such as salad or fresh shellfish, like clams. Clean and crisp, this is a refreshing beer with substance." The beer has a nice touch of sweetness balanced by grassy and spicy hops. It has substance and is easy to drink. I think that I could add it to my regular rotation of beers to have in my "cellar". 

Old rating: 4.5 glasses and thought about 5.

Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue)

Grand Reserve is a delightful Belgian Strong Dark Ale. In the 33 cl bottle, it is called Blue. In the .75 l bottle is stamped Grande Réserve.

Brewer's notes

The beautiful, warm, dark color and compact, light brown head of Chimay Blue are a magnificent sight. This beer is undeniably the result of a divine marriage between exuberant fruit aromas and delicious chocolate. The initial taste is slightly sweet, before the creamy caramel transforms into a smooth mocha with a lively spicy character, finally developing into a delightful candied fruit finish. The extremely flavorful whole evolves into a long, pleasant aftertaste, evoking a slightly comforting feeling and a sensation of pure chocolate.

Beer Advocate: The Chimay Blue is a dark ale with a powerful aroma. Its complex flavor improves with passing time.

Tasting notes 

260226: I drank the second bottle of a four-pack. I remember that the first did not hit my spot. It was too much clove. The second bottle had evolved and was really good, a great example of strong Belgian Ale. It is complex: some figs, some stone fruits, some subtle hops.

(2311) Alex and I shared a bottle during Lisa's birthday dinner. I think that it was bottled around February 10, 2022 and has aged 1.75 years: the label reads L22-040. I did not enjoy the beer as much as I remember. It did not WOW me. I am downgrading the rating to 5 glasses.

(1106) A bottle w/ about 6-8 months on it. A delight.

(1101) Complex and difficult to describe. Not sweet as I was expecting. Musty apples, a dash of cinnamon, and a light hop bite. Complexity may merit 6 glasses. 

(0911) A bottle in NYC. Brown sugar, apple butter, and light hops. 

(0701) A delight. Brown sugar, spiced slightly sour oranges, and light hops. Winelike. Upgraded from 2/8. 

(????) Had a 12 oz. bottle. Looked for something else after the bottle was empty.May be worth another try. 

Rating: 5 glasses

Previous ratings: 2, 5, then 6 glasses

Lawson's Sip of Sunshine

Sip of Sunshine is a fine IPA.

Brewer's notes: This lupulin-laden India Pale Ale is packed with juicy tropical fruit character, bright floral aromas and delectable layers of hop flavor. Pour mindfully, inhale deeply and enjoy a tropical vacation in a glass.

Beeradvocate: This lupulin-ladin India Pale Ale is packed with juicy tropical fruit character, bright floral aromas and delectable layers of hop flavor. Pour mindfully, inhale deeply and enjoy a tropical vacation in a glass. Always store cold, enjoy fresh and stay cool!

Beeradvocate classifies Sip of Sunshine as an Imperial IPA.

Tasting notes
20260204: I had a glass on draft at Industrial Taphouse West. I liked it but was not particularly impressed. It was smooth and easy to drink but lacked the bite I seek in a double IPA. I am enjoying Springfest IPA more. Maybe I need a second glass to judge accurately.

Rating = 3.5 glasses

Hardywood Christmas Morning

Brewer's Notes: Hardywood Christmas Morning lends a cheerfully heightened decadence to our Gingerbread Stout through deep conditioning on locally roasted Blanchard’s Coffee Co. coffee beans. Hints of sweet honey and oven baked gingerbread greet the comforting nuances of freshly brewed morning coffee in this imperial milk stout. Skip the leftover cookies and milk and awaken your senses with this delightful holiday tradition.

Reviews
202601: I drank the second of two cans. It was a delight. The bitterness of the coffee cuts the sweetness of the stout.

Rating = 6 glasses

202512: I drank one of two cans from a Hardywood gift pack. It is nice, even for someone like me who does not like coffee. However, I am downgrading the rating slightly.

Rating = 5.5 glasses

(202203) The coffee balances some of the sweetness in Gingerbread Stout.

Rating = 6 glasses

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale

Brewers Notes: Bigfoot is a beast of a beer, brimming with bold flavors of bittersweet malt and heaps of aggressive whole-cone Pacific Northwest hops. First introduced in the winter of 1983, Bigfoot is a cult-classic beer brewed in the barleywine style, meaning a strong, robust, bruiser of a beer with the refined intensity of a wine. Bigfoot is prized by beer collectors for its supreme cellarability. Under the proper conditions, it can age like a fine wine, developing new flavors and character as it matures in the bottle. Each new release or “expedition” is vintage dated. Collect your own and see the flavors develop and progress.

BeerAdvocate

Tasting Notes

20260125: I am sipping a 15-year old 2011 vintage as I watch the snow fall and the Patriots play the Broncos for the AFC championship. It is a total delight. It combines caramel sweetness with a dose or subdued hop bitterness. I wish that I had more of this vintage.

20260117 I am drinking the first bottle from the first six-pack from the 2026 vintage. I was surprised to see Big Foot in Total Wine before the middle of December. Printing on the bottle indicates that the beer was bottled December 05, 2025.

In a war between hops and malts, hops wins. They are bitter, coat the tongue, and kick in after the swallow to give a sustained bitter after taste. Easily one for the hoppiest beers I have had. It is not for the faint of heart. 

202511: I drank a 5.5-year-old vintage from 2025. Yummy! The hops had mellowed slightly and some chocolate flavors emerged. 5.5 years is GOOD!

Aug. 2025: I drank a 19.5-year old 2026 vintage with a Pecan Bliss Bar (Our thick, crumbly oat cookie bar filled with chopped pecans, caramel and chocolate chips) from Shyndigz. Fantastic beer and pairing!! The head was minimal. The hops had mellowed down to a dark sour bitterness. Chocolate notes abounded.

Nov. 2023: I drank a ten-year old 2013 vintage with pumpkin cake from Shyndigz. The pairing was great. The beer still had robust flavors and the hops had mellowed some. I noticed a nice chocolate flavor coming forward. Yummy!

August 2023: I drank a 2023 vintage with Jen's Chocolate Cake at the conclusion of dinner to celebrate my 71st birthday. The beer continues to amaze me. What I noticed was the fantastic lacing clinging to the glass as it emptied. I revisited my review to see if I rated it 6.5 or 7 glasses. The flavor, color, and lacing merit 7.

Feb. 2022: The first 1.5 bottles of 12. Alex got the other 0.5. May not be as sweet as last years but it has hops galore. A flavor bomb. I plan to purchase another 6-pack.

Jan. 21, 2021: I drank the first bottle of a case of just released 2021 vintage. It paired wonderfully with carrot cake from Publix. It did not disappoint. Loads of caramel-sweet almost sticky malt coupled with tons of hops. At $13 a 6-pack, I think it is a great value for a fantastic beer. 

July 5, 2020: Bigfoot is the classic American Barleywine. It is a flavor bomb - tons of sweet malt and tons of bitter hops. It ages fantastically and my "cellar' has bottles dates 2006. It has been a favorite of mine for years. It goes great with carrot cake and other sweet desserts. My understanding is the "Barleywine-style" in the title arose because the ABC folks feared that buyers would confuse it with wine if the SN called it simply "Barleywine".

Rating = 7 glasses.

St. Bernardus Abt 12

Abt 12 is a classic quadruple. Beeradvocate classifies it as a Belgian Quadruple (Quad).

Brewer's notes: St.Bernardus Abt 12 is widely regarded as one of the best beers in the world. It is therefore no surprise that it is our brewery’s flagship beer, ranked at the very top of the St.Bernardus beer hierarchy. It is brewed in the classic quadrupel style and adheres to the original 1946 recipe.

St.Bernardus Abt 12 has a very fruity aroma that is the result of using our own unique yeast. It brims over with different, complex tastes and stands out through its long, bittersweet finish. Thanks to its mild, rounded taste and perfect balance between bitter and sweet, this beer goes down very easily. When you drink an Abt you can enjoy life to the full!

Tasting notes: 

20260119: Alex and I split 750 ml at a dinner the night before his 40th birthday. It is a pleasure.

Rating: 5 glasses

(1103) A deep complex beer w/ fruit and yeast notes. Upgraded from 5 glasses. 

(0908) Shared bottel w/ GS. Apples, borown sugar, wheat. w/ a spicy bite. Complex and way too easy to drink. Each sip called for more. 

Click here to read an earlier review.  Previous ratings: 5, 6, then 5 glasses 

Hardywood Kentucky Christmas Morning

Kentucky Christmas Morning is Christmas Morning aged in bourbon barrels. Christmas Morning is Gingerbread Stout with coffee. The coffee adds some bitterness to the sweet milk stout and then the bourbon adds back some sweet and more flavor. Wow! Beeradvocate classifies it as a Sweet / Milk Stout.

Brewer's notes: Hardywood Kentucky Christmas Morning is liquid proof that good things come to those who wait. Our original Gingerbread Stout takes an initial transformation through months of aging in Kentucky bourbon barrels, reaching new levels of maturity with layers of vanilla, coconut, and toasted oak. Before bottling, the barrel aged stout is cold filtered through heaps of freshly cracked locally roasted coffee beans from Blanchard’s Coffee Co, showcasing the nostalgic joys of Christmas Morning. Treat yourself, it’s been a long year.

Beeradvocate: Bourbon barrel aged imperial Imperial milk stout, aged in Kentucky bourbon, barrels with ginger, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, and coffee added.

Tasting notes
20260119: I enjoyed a bottle with some cupcake while watching the CFP championship game. The beer is a delight. Wonderfully sweet with hints of coffee and a nice touch of bourbon. I am returning the rating to 7 glasses. Maybe I should go with 6.5 glasses based on my review of Concealed Darkness but what more could a beer do?

Rating = 7 glasses

18 Oct. 2020

A bottle from 2018. I drank it after drinking a crowler of Concealed Darkness. (I had help.) Kentucky Christmas Morning is way sweeter and bourbony that Concealed Darkness. It is a BIG beer with Big flavors but I am downgrading the rating.

Rating = 6 glasses 

25 Dec. 2019

Kentucky Christmas Morning is Christmas Morning aged in bourbon barrels. The bourbon flavor is subdued and adds more complexity and some sweetness. 

Rating = 7 glasses.

Alewerks Intentional Stout

Intentional Stout is a fine stout. Beeradvocate classifies it as an American Stout.

Brewer's notes: Strikingly bold and irresistibly delicious, Intentional Stout is a no-gimmick American Stout with dark fruit and toasted bread notes. A natural richness is balanced by a generous addition of American hops. A roasty finish leaves the palate with the taste of dark chocolate and cocoa.

Tasting notes
20260115: Intentional is a solid stout. The taste has chocolate and some licorice. It reminded me of Kalamazoo Stout. I am happy to drink more and may occasionally buy some for my cellar. 

Rating: = 3.5 glasses

Hardywood Pils

Pils is a fine pilsner. Beeradvocate categorizes it as a German pilsner.

Brewer's notes
Crisp, clean and incomparably quaffable, Hardywood Pils sparkles a brilliant shade of gold with a rich, cloud-white head. Hand crafted with only the finest European pilsner malt and German noble hops, Pils is patiently conditioned for weeks in our lagering tanks, maturing into a beer that refreshes the palate and satiates the soul. This classic pilsner is the quintessential lager beer in its purest form, brewed in strict accordance with the Reinheitsgebot Law. Hardywood Pils is a nod to old world tradition offered by the innovative brewers at Hardywood. Prost!

Tasting notes 20260114: Pils is balances a wheaty malt and gentle bitterness. It paired well with no-tomato pasta sauce and artichoke pasta. It is solid and quaffable.

Rating = 4 glasses

Sierra Nevada Springfest IPA

A "small" IPA that drinks like a pilsner. The color is very pale and the taste is simple and good. The flavor features lemony hops with low bitterness for an American IPA. It is a great beer if you just want to drink a good beer.

Beeradvocate

Brewer's notes: We owe everything to the land, and to those that cultivate it. Springfest IPA is our tribute to farmers who make it all possible. A vibrant celebration of Spring, this radiant IPA blooms with citrus blossom aromas drawn from organic hops and sustainably sourced barley. It’s a small taste of our larger commitment: to source half our ingredients through sustainable farming by 2030.

Tasting notes
20260112: A second surprise from my latest purchases at Total Wine. The beer is refreshing and crisp. At 38 IBUs is will not melt your taste buds but, rather, pique them like a good pilsner. The hops featured some lemon and spice flavors. The beer is quaffable and could be an ale substitute for pilsner. The beer is hard to rate because, IMO, it lacks the bitterness I look for in an American IPA.  I want more!

Rating: 4.5 glasses. 

3 Floyds Alpha Klaus

Alpha Klaus is a delicious Christmas porter. I think that it tastes like Christmas. BeerAdvocate classifies it as an American Porter.

Brewer's notes: Alpha King’s festive cousin. A big American Christmas Porter brewed with English chocolate malt, Mexican sugar, and tons of strange American hops. The pronounced hop bitterness gives way to flavors of molasses and chocolate from the roasted malt bill.

Tasting notes
260113: After drinking a few more after Christmas, I am upgrading the rating.

Rating = 5.5 glasses

2511:  A great Christmas Ale.

2511: The brewer's notes are spot on! 

Rating = 5 glasses

2311: Alpha Klaus tastes like it has chocolate and maybe cinnamon; but the brewer's notes do not mention any extracts. The beer is pleasant and a nice variation of a Christmas Ale. It is easy to drink and the flavor is interesting.

Rating = 4 glasses

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

Edmund Fitzgerald is a fantastic porter. Beeradvocate classifies it as a Robust Porter.

Brewer's Notes: Robust and complex, our porter is a bittersweet tribute to the legendary freighter's fallen crew--taken too soon when the gales of November came early.

04 Jan. 2021
The more I drink the beer the more I like it. I am upgrading the rating.

Rating = (at least) 6 glasses

11 Nov. 2020
Edmund Fitzgerald is a fantastic porter. It is complex with some nice smoke and chocolate. It packs plenty of flavor into a beer while remaining "lighter" than stout and quite quaffabe. It will be a regular in my "cellar" if it remains available. 

I now have two nice dark beers to include in my rotation for a while. Smuttynose Robust Porter reappeared in stores recently following the brewer's declaration of bankruptcy. It joins Edmund Fitzgerald as a great choice for regular consumption. Smuttynose Robust Porter is bigger. Edmund Fitzgerald is more complex.  

Raters on Beeradvocate love the beer. They rated it as one of the top 100 beers back in the day.

Rating = (at least) 5 glasses.

August 2019
Edmund Fitzgerald is a malt forward American porter. Sweetness leads, followed by light chocolate. Easy drinking and nice flavor.

Rating = 4, maybe 5, glasses. I need to investigate more.

Weihenstephaner Festbier

 

Brewer's Notes: A full rich bodied, hoppy, seasonal lager. Especially brewed for the Festbier season. This beer truly represents the Bavarian way of celebrating. Deep gold color, great mouth-feel and lots of flavor. Prost! 

BeerAdvocate

Festbier v. Märzen

Tasting Notes

August 2023

Nov 2022

I am updating the rating. I went back to buy more and keep liking it more and more.

Rating = 5.5 glasses

02 Oct 2022

I am back to really liking the beer. It drinks easy and goes great with food. One bottle calls for another.

Rating = 5 glasses and I thought about 5.5

10 Oct. 2020

With more tastes, I am downgrading the rating to 4 glasses. 

Rating = 4 glasses.

05 Oct. 2020

Festbier is a great Oktoberfest beer. It is light enough to encourage drinking massive quantities and flavorful enough to enjoy every sip and gulp. The more I drink Oktoberfest beers, the more I appreciate ones that are more delicate and quaffable. Festbier fits the bill. 

I like it better than the raters on BeerAdvocate. Some of them complain that the beer is more a Helles or Pilsner than an Oktoberfest beer. I call it good.

Rating = 5 glasses.