Multiple Beer Reviews: Mechanicsberry, Bargain Black IPA, Embers Remain, Ragged Edge Espresso Stout (Appalachian Brewing Company)

Had an appointment in downtown Harrisburg, and to avoid having to pay parking garage fees or using a parking meter, I decided to park back behind the Appalachian Brewing Company, and walked downtown. And of course, once my appointment was over, couldn’t help myself but stop in before leaving and heading home.

So at 9PM in a pretty much deserted bar, I ordered myself a small flight of four beers, and settled in for a very nice flight while chatting with a good bartender.

Beer: Mechanicsberry
Brewery: Appalachian Brewing Company
Style: Pale Ale – American
ABV: 6.5%
IBU: 38
Untappd Write-Up: Juicy strawberry pale ale.
Fruity aromatics.

Appearance is a bit of a darker straw coloring. No sediment. Nice lacing on the glass. Thin small amount of head with good carbonation.

Aromatically speaking, it is very berry fruity. You get a whole whiff of berry fruit smells as soon as your nose nears the glass.

Taste you get hit right up front with a berry flavor, and as you sip on it, you pinpoint it as strawberry first and foremost. Sadly though, the backend of this leaves a lot to be desired. It kinda of tails off into an off flavoring and a really bad and weird aftertaste that haunts after you drink this.

My Untappd Rating: ***.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.62 (as of 11.20.19)

Beer: Bargain Black IPA
Brewery: Appalachian Brewing Company
Style: IPA – Black / Cascadian Dark Ale
ABV: 7%
IBU: 70
Untappd Write-Up: (None – Blank)

This is a really fantastic beer and a wonderful black IPA. Absolutely one of my favorite styles when done correctly.

Appearance is almost stout black. Just a shade thin of being lighter. Nice nearly stout like head at first that quickly subsides.

Aroma is very roast malt and very hoppy all at the same time. This makes for a wonderful combination that provides for a very good nose on this.

Taste is very roasty, very malty, very dark and earthy, but with a fantastic bitter hoppy quality to this. The roast malts give this a great body and mouthfeel and the bitter(ing) hops provide a fantastic flavor to lay on top. Like a layered cake needing to be ate layer by layer.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.66 (as of 11.20.19)

Beer: Embers Remain
Brewery: Appalachian Brewing Company
Style: Stout – Imperial Russian
ABV: 12.2%
IBU: 80
Untappd Write-Up: This imperial stout is an exercise in the scorched earth policy, in other words, don’t drink this first. Big body, warming alcohol and a roast intensity to balance the beer out and prevent it from being overly sweet. Through amplified old world stout techniques and ingredients this beer employs the gratuitous use of brown and black malts to make a flavorful and intensely dark experience. This stout is like the event horizon of a blackhole, it is the point of no return.

Appearance for this bad boy is Razor Ramon hair coloring. Just for mens black – stout edition. Good head to this even in a taster glass, great lacing on this big guy, just a wonderful dark and heavy stout from Appalachian Brewing Company.

The nose on this is pretty sweet. Nice caramel, slight roasted, the darker end of the spectrum malts gives this a very malty and roasted note.

Amazingly, despite its high ABV of 12.2% and despite the write-up for this; you don’t really get a booze flavor this. It at least certainly doesn’t hit you over the head with its alcohol content or ABV. It is also surprisingly and shockingly very sweet. The malts give this a caramel flavoring, with no bitterness, and even perhaps vanilla or lactose flavor to it, used possibly to make it smoother, and easier drinking, which this is dangerously close to something you can order a four-pack of and kill in one sitting.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.84 (as of 11.20.19)

Beer: Ragged Edge Espresso Stout
Brewery: Appalachian Brewing Company
Style: Stout – Other
ABV: 4.6%
IBU: None
Untappd Write-Up: Brewed with Espresso from the Ragged Edge Coffee Shop in Gettysburg PA

Appearance is very dark, Razor Ramon hair dark again, but this time with a much more fuller, heavy, foamy head. By the time I took the picture for this one the head had went down (I had drank the previous three tasters), but it left a great lacing, and was very full with lots of various bubbles.

Aroma is literally what you read. Its an espresso stout; and ergo it smells exactly like an espresso you might have gotten from Starbuck’s or wherever.

Taste is exactly the same. Espresso through and through. Thick bodied, given that its only a 4.6%, it tastes exactly like an espresso stout with a slight bit of alcohol to it – though you wouldn’t know there was alcohol in it by just the taste. Great final beer to leave on.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.72 (as of 11.20.19)

Thanks for reading all! Cheers!

-B. Kline