Avery and Russian River's Collaboration not Litigation Ale

Alright, I'm hesitant to dive into another Avery. The chance for a miss with their beers has been pretty high, at least by my tastes. However, the opportunity to try something from RR is enticing. We shall see.

The pour is a coppery caramel, with a fluffy off white/tan head. Decent retention, and some moderate lacing. Looks promising.

The nose is enticing. Scents of dark fleshed fruits (figs, etc.), candi sugar, cocoa, caramel, and toffee. There is a bit of yeasty breadiness going on as well, with some minimal hops hanging out in the dark corners of the nose. At the tail end there is a touch of something sour.

Taste follows with fruits, chocolate, caramel. The bready character comes out a bit more. The sourness comes out right before the finish, and adds an interesting balance. The finish is surprisingly bitter. This doesn't give much of a hop bitterness, but more just a straight bitter taste. Odd. What surprises me the most here is that the flavor is not particularly full. The tastes are all apparent, but all are somewhat light. This is not a particularly heavy beer. The alcohol content is completely hidden.

Mouthfeel is slightly sticky, but again, lighter than expected. Decent carbonation keeps the beer lively on the tongue.

Overall, not bad, in fact, and there is nothing negative going on here. However, nothing particularly grabs me. 87/100.

Bell's HopSlam!

Long time, no write. Life has been hectic, but filled with good beer. I wish I had eeked in some other reviews, but why not kick back in with a beer from one of my favorite American breweries. This one came to me by way of on Mr. Jon Whitaker. Thank you!

This pours about as I would expect, a rich caramel orange, with a small, but active white head. The head isn't that big, and fades quickly to a ring around the glass. This, however, remains through the consumption of the beer. There is some lacing that leaves a sticky, but patchy trail. This is a pretty double IPA. Haha, who'd have thought I'd be digging on DIPA's of all things. I feel like I can get into just about any style anymore, as long as it is well done. The world may yet make a hophead out of me.

This smells like someone applying a heat source to a hop field. Perhaps someone baking some hopped sugar cookies. There is plenty of sweetness in the nose, biscuit, if not cookie bring up the backbone of the malt. The hops are succulent, you can almost see the oil dripping off the cones if you close your eyes. Grapefruit, orange, and more citrus than I can succinctly describe.

DELICIOUS!!! I picture this as the juice of some divine citrus fruit. It is neither pure hop, nor citric, nor floral, but a lovely combination of all of these and more. The malt is sufficient to keep pace, but doesn't dominate. There is a savory quality here, despite the sweetness. This is balance. So many hop oriented beers lose track of what it is to be a beer. This does not.

The mouthfeel is soft, but oily. The hop oils here are readily apparent. A bit of effervescense is present, but not too much. This one just works.

Overal: Superb. 95/100. I wouldn't change a thing about this beer.