10 beers to try in April (photos) - cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Just because you're holed up at home doesn't mean you can't drink good beer. This month, we tried 10 beers from six states, ranging from 3.8% to 7.2% alcohol. Reminder: We show label and color along with flavor profiles of the beers, which are all from out-of-region breweries. All were bought in Northeast Ohio stores. At the end we list our favorites of the bunch. If you see a particular beer on the shelf and want us to consider it for review, email us. Cheers!

Blood Orange Hefeweizen: Ellicottville Brewing Co., Ellicottville, New York; Hefeweizen, 4.6% alcohol

Blood Orange Hefeweizen

Ellicottville Brewing Co., Ellicottville, New York; Hefeweizen, 4.6% alcohol

This hefeweizen is very clean-tasting, though the banana is subtle and spicy notes are very nominal. But the blood orange is barely detectable. All the other blood-orange ales we have tried are India Pale Ales, and the blood-orange flavor usually comes across as strong as the very pithy flavor it yields. But here? It's a Hefeweizen for sure, first and foremost.

Hazy Miss Daisy: Zaftig Brewing Co., Worthington, Ohio; New England India Pale Ale, 7% alcohol

Hazy Miss Daisy

Zaftig Brewing Co., Worthington, Ohio; New England India Pale Ale, 7% alcohol

Citrus pith on the nose, decent carbonation, and lemon on the palate, followed by a delayed hit of grapefruit. It's brewed with Mosaic and Amarillo hops. (Related coverage: Zaftig has been around for a few years. We talked with its owner-brewmaster when the beers became available in Northeast Ohio a few years ago.)

Hilltop Lager: Hilltop Brewing Co., Detroit, Lager, 4.2% alcohol

Hilltop Lager

Hilltop Brewing Co., Detroit, Lager, 4.2% alcohol

Hilltop Lager formerly was brewed at the now-defunct Four Strings Brewing Co. in Columbus. The beer lives through a contract brewing deal in Detroit. Very clean tasting, with a faint fruit finish, pretty light-bodied and not sweet. A lawn-mower beer that is much preferable to the pedestrian lagers on the market. Well made, very drinkable.

Hilltop Light: Hilltop Brewing Co., Detroit, Lager, 3.8% alcohol

Hilltop Light

Hilltop Brewing Co., Detroit, Lager, 3.8% alcohol

Same flavors as Hilltop, and we tried the Lager and light in a side-by-side blind tasting and could not tell a difference. The body and flavor are both surprisingly close.

Furious: Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis, India Pale Ale, 6.7% alcohol

Furious

Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis, India Pale Ale, 6.7% alcohol

This is a unique one, in color and taste: It's like a hoppy red ale in an angry mood. Despite its hop-forward profile - it’s made with Warrior, Ahtanum, Cascade, Simcoe and Amarillo hops - you do get a dose of malts come through to keep things somewhat honest. Nicely done. Hops really kick up on the finish. Hop fans and red-ale fans will like this marriage.

Todd the Axe Man: Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis, India Pale Ale, 7.2% alcohol

Todd the Axe Man

Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis, India Pale Ale, 7.2% alcohol

This one is all about lemon and grapefruit pith, with healthy carbonation, a delicious drinker made with Citra and Mosaic hops. We've enjoyed the beers from Surly for quite some time - consistent, solid efforts. A fun side-by-side would be of Furious and Axe Man. Two IPAs, very different.

Nelson: Alpine Brewing Co., San Diego; India Pale Ale, 7% alcohol

Nelson

Alpine Brewing Co., San Diego; India Pale Ale, 7% alcohol

Extremely smooth ale. Lime, orange and pine flavors all emerge and play well together in this very hoppy beer that finishes dry. It's named after the New Zealand hop varietal its brewed with.

Duet: Alpine Brewing Co., San Diego; India Pale Ale, 7% alcohol

Duet

Alpine Brewing Co., San Diego; India Pale Ale, 7% alcohol

This ale is billed with having "pine, citrus and cedar," but we get a lot more orange out of it than anything else and not much in the way of pine. Hops are there in this ale which - like its sibling, Nelson - is very smooth.

Budweiser Black Lager: Budweiser, St. Louis, Lager, 7.1% alcohol

Budweiser Black Lager

Budweiser, St. Louis, Lager, 7.1% alcohol

We're open-minded enough to try new beers even when they are not craft. This one, a collaboration between Bud and Jim Beam, is aged on six-year JB bourbon-barrel staves. We get a brown sugar-molasses-maple taste. It's dark and definitely not going to be confused with the mainstream Budweiser in taste or color, though it is similar in body. Not a whole lot of Bourbon flavor, so don't let the Jim Beam label throw you. Was supposed to be around until March but we're still seeing it on shelves.

Stick: North High Brewing Co., Columbus, Amber Ale, 6.2% alcohol

Stick

North High Brewing Co., Columbus, Amber Ale, 6.2% alcohol

Caramel and brown sugar - especially on the finish - pop through in this smooth and definitely malty brew. The hops rear up a bit, but this is all about the malts. Not as sweet as a slap shot from the point, but a smooth ale and a smidgen hoppier than a typical amber. Proceeds from sales of this beer benefit the Movember Foundation for men's health.

Our favorites: This month was tough - no dog in the bunch, that’s for sure. We’ll go with three favorites: Furious, Nelson and Arrogant Bastard.

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10 beers to try in April (photos) - cleveland.com
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