Tonight, I arrived home to find the first of my Beer of the Month club shipments, which was a gift. I had completely forgotten about it, so it was a pleasant surpise.

I tore open the box, and found inside 3 each of the following:

• Choc Beer Company's Basement Batch Pale Ale
• Matt Brewing Company's Saranac India Pale Ale
• Kulmbacher Brauerei's Pilsner
• Kulmbacher Brauerei's Eisbock

Here's the wonderful thing about getting a shipment of beer in January: it's cold and ready to drink. Except for the Eisbock, which probably needs to be "cool" rather than warm.

After quickly taking inventory and a quick picture, it took me no time to crack open a Basement Batch. Choc Brewery has an interesting history, beginning in 1903 with an Italian immigrant and was wrought with legal issues (and a prison term) clear up until 1980, because brewpubs were illegal.

As far as pale ales go (and I have to say, my experience is limited - I'm a tripel / quad sorta guy), this isn't too bad. Naturally, I'm going to compare to my hometown Boulevard Pale Ale. While this is quite similar, it has a nicer head which is retained longer, leaving nice rings in the glass, and is a bit cloudier. The beer has a nice blend of maltiness and hops - with just enough bitter. It's fairly dry, and the newsletter suggests slight hints of fruit, nuttiness, and peppery spice, but I find you have to really search for it.

I do find that if you aerate it some in your mouth, the bouqet completely changes, and again, the fruit, nuts, and pepper do not come out to me at all. Rather, the beer mellows quite a bit. The finish, however, is the same.

The aroma of the beer is the same as any pale ale is to me. A bit sour, with a grassy / hoppy aroma.

Keep in mind this is my first attempt at any sort of beer review. Bear with me as I improve!

 UPDATE: I just came to discover that Choc is just "down the road" from me in Tulsa. Considering the size of the company, and that they are essentially a part of a restaurant that has taken off on it's own, I will have to keep an eye on them. :)