Evolution Jacques Au Lantern

As the years pass doing the blog, I end up drinking fewer and fewer pumpkin beers every year. The fact that they come out in July doesn’t help either. I’m not organized enough to buy them in the summer and hold them until the Fall, so I end up having most on tap when we go out.

ABV: 6.3%

Style: Pumpkin Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Our fall seasonal is an unfiltered amber ale brewed with pumpkin and spices. We add roasted pumpkin to the mash and traditional pumpkin pie spices to the kettle, and then ferment with a Belgian yeast strain.”

Random: We’re watching a marathon of tiny house shows. This episode, the buyers requested a climbing wall.

The beer poured with less than a quarter of a finger of head. What was there was ecru colored. It went away quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a bright orange color with only limited carbonation visible. The nose started with spice. I specifically picked up cinnamon, clove and ginger. The taste started with graham cracker and quickly went into the same spice notes that were in the nose (cinnamon, ginger and clove), but also had some allspice and nutmeg. There was also a clover honey sweetness. It had a light body with moderate carbonation. It had a quick finish with the spice. This was an easy drinker for the style, but I wish the Belgian yeast made more of an appearance because it would have made the beer more interesting.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Evolution Pine’Hop’Le

With so many different IPAs out there, it’s not surprising that lots of breweries are jumping on the bandwagon of adding fruit to their offerings. I haven’t had many pineapple IPAs and Val thought she would like this one (spoiler: she didn’t).

ABV: 6.8%

Style: American IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Our story starts as a tale of two brothers, Tom with his passion for craft beer, and John with his passion for food. But it goes well beyond that. It involves you and your friends. Backyard barbecues and amazing meals. And beers you won’t ever want to forget. Our top-rated beers are perfectly crafted to complement great food. Whether it’s the food we serve at our restaurants or the foods you make at home. It’s the constant evolution to create the perfect pairings for you to enjoy. Ever-better beer for ever-better food. An excellent recipe for ever-better times.”

Random: The best pineapple I’ve ever had was in Hawaii.

This beer poured with a two finger, white head that took awhile to dissipate. It left a lot of lacing on the glass. The body was a hazy, copper color with some moderate carbonation. On the nose, I picked up canned pineapple rings, pine needles and grass. It was a bit catty. It was more towards the typical IPA notes than pineapple. There was a cracker malt component to it. The taste was also way more IPA than fruit-forward. There were notes of pine sap and needles. The cattiness that I picked up in the nose came through in the taste as well. There wasn’t a whole lot of malt, but some slight sweetness at the end. The pineapple was a bit player in this beer and manifested as pineapple juice. The body was light with high carbonation. The finish was quick and catty. A bottle of this was $1.42, which broke down to $.12 per ounce. I wouldn’t have pegged this as a pineapple IPA. It was drinkable, but nothing that I feel the need to revisit.

Untappd Rating: 3.5/5.0

Evolution Lucky 7 Porter

I hate snow. Like, seriously hate snow. I’m a big fan of the cold, but snow, not so much. Unless I’m snowed in with hot chocolate, a nice fire and a good movie. But, I don’t have any of that tonight. So, I’m stuck doing a beer review. Rough life, I know. I also brewed a brown ale today (it’s going to be called October Blizzard Brown Ale). I think that I corrected a lot of the mistakes that I made when I brewed the Raspberry Wheat. I felt a lot more comfortable today with it. I think eventually, I’m going to switch to brewing in carboys (or better bottles), and not buckets. The bucket that I bought today was an absolute pain in the ass to close. To the point that I’m worried about opening it. I also used dry yeast with this one instead of liquid, so I’m interested to see the differences. I also cut down the time that it took to brew by a lot, primarily since I knew what I was doing. But, back to today’s brew. Another Delaware brew and a porter at that. This should pair well with the current weather.

ABV: 5.8%

Style: American Porter

Trivia: This brew is 24 IBUs.

Random: I’m watching a documentary tonight called “Guns, Germs and Steel,” which is actually one of my favorite books. It’s not quite as good as the book, but definitely enjoyable.

This brew poured with a one finger, tan head on top of an inky, black body with no visible carbonation due to color. The nose had lots of roasted malts, coffee and chocolate. It definitely smelled nice. The taste was a lot of the same. It started with roasted malts, then transitioned into coffee and chocolate with a hint of bitterness. The body was slightly thicker than I’m used to than a porter with a bit lower carbonation, but it actually worked for this beer. The finish was quicker than expected, but had a bit of coffee and bitterness. I would definitely have this one again. I didn’t have incredibly high expectations for this one, but it was really satisfying.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Evolution Lot No3 India Pale Ale

Why is the week not over? I had yesterday off for my firefighter physical and I ended up brewing my first batch of homebrew yesterday. It’s a raspberry wheat and hopefully I didn’t screw it up too badly (it started fermenting today…who knew that I would be so excited about bubbles in the airlock). But, we’ll see. I’m running a little low on beer. Well, for me that is. I always say that I’m going to get rid of all the review beer before I restock and I think this time, I’ll actually be able to. This is another selection from the Delaware stash.

ABV: 6.8%

Style: American IPA

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “In April 2009, the brothers opened a boutique production brewery in Delaware, Evolution Craft Brewing Company. They were intrigued with the artistry in beer and decided that brewing their own beer would be a great new venture. EVO beer is available on draft and bottle throughout Maryland, Washington D.C. and Delaware.”

Random: I love Iron Chef. I can’t wait until the new season is on.

This brew poured with a half finger of pure white head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a clear orange with moderate visible carbonation. The nose was all grapefruit without much else. It smelled really nice actually. The taste was even better than the nose. It started with the grapefruit that I mentioned early with a hint of sweet malt at the end. I also got some grass and some resiny hops. The body was a medium thickness with perfect carbonation. The finish was long with a bit of the pine resin. The worst thing about this beer? That it’s not distributed in New Jersey. This would easily be a go-to brew for me. If you can get your hands on this one, definitely try it. It’s a totally solid IPA that goes down easy and really satisfies.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Evolution Summer Session Ale

This was my first non DFH brew of the trip. My sister and I stopped at a local bar to grab a drink. This bar was definitely interesting. It was almost empty, but it was biker week. Rehoboth is a pretty gay friendly town, so you had them and the bikers. Definitely an interesting contrast. I had picked up some Evolution brews at the beer store in town to bring home and drink, but I figured, why not try the summer seasonal.

ABV: 4.6%

Style: American Pale Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery blog, “Brewed with barley, rye, wheat and oats, it has a subtle complexity overlaid with some hop and yeast fruitiness. Unfiltered and extremely drinkable.” Well, this explains the cloudiness.

Random: I’m all about trying local brews, so hopefully this Delaware brew is decent.

This brew poured with a barely there white head that dissipated moderately with no lacing left on the glass. The body was a cloudy yellow color with no visible carbonation due to the cloudiness. The nose was very muted. I almost got my nose wet trying to find some lemon and citrus, and that was pretty much all I got. The taste…alright, at best. There was some mild citrus, followed up by a little bit of sweetness. The brew itself was thin with mild carbonation. I don’t know exactly where they were trying to do with this beer, but it just didn’t work. This was definitely boring and I wouldn’t rush back to have it again.

Untappd Rating: 1.0/5.0