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Harpoon Chocolate Stout
Wow. More in depth review later when there isn't a basketball game.

devildeac wrote:I'm thinking Goose Island Christmas Ale tonight...

From the description on the GI website, that sounds good..GI is just starting to be distributed up here and I haven't seen that one yet..maybe next winter..

A little stout tasting as the bluebear house tonight..
Old Rasputin
Ten Fidy
Stone IRS

CameronBornAndBred wrote:Harpoon Chocolate Stout
Wow. More in depth review later when there isn't a basketball game.

Looking forward to the review..I've seen this around but have yet to purchase..sounds like I should..

bluebear wrote:

devildeac wrote:I'm thinking Goose Island Christmas Ale tonight...

From the description on the GI website, that sounds good..GI is just starting to be distributed up here and I haven't seen that one yet..maybe next winter..

A little stout tasting as the bluebear house tonight..
Old Rasputin
Ten Fidy
Stone IRS

Lavabe brought down a bomber from Lexington during their Christmas visit. It is not distributed in this area.

Almost finished the bomber...

So far:

bluebear wrote:

devildeac wrote:I'm thinking Goose Island Christmas Ale tonight...

From the description on the GI website, that sounds good..GI is just starting to be distributed up here and I haven't seen that one yet..maybe next winter..

A little stout tasting as the bluebear house tonight..
Old Rasputin
Ten Fidy
Stone IRS

that sounds like quite an evening...

You oughta see the haul I made at Total Wine today. In fact, you will, some time in the near future...

Cerise, Bigfoot, Gordon...

devildeac wrote:You oughta see the haul I made at Total Wine today. In fact, you will, some time in the near future...

Cerise, Bigfoot, Gordon...

I almost bought some Cerise when I met , that one's interesting with the right dessert.

A beer to keep an eye out for.. Founders nemesis.. A wheatwine aged in maple syrup and bourbon barrels. It's suppose to be excellent. Apparently, it's going to hit the shelves up here in MA this week but it's definitely already out in most of the Midwest and down in NC.

bluebear wrote:A beer to keep an eye out for.. Founders nemesis.. A wheatwine aged in maple syrup and bourbon barrels. It's suppose to be excellent. Apparently, it's going to hit the shelves up here in MA this week but it's definitely already out in most of the Midwest and down in NC.

It ain't available down here yet. I think I saw every Founder's brew they make at the Brier Creek TW today and it was not on the shelves. But, of course, I'll keep looking.

Goose Island Christmas Ale 2009-A bomber of a brown ale they say can be aged for 5 years. It was brewed 10/09, delivered 12/09 and consumed 2/10. It made it less than 4 months . This reminds me of the DFH Indian Brown Ale with a a dark brown, clear pour, modest head and flavors of your usual chocolate and caramel malts and a bit of brown sugar. The hops impart a bit of a bite but not at all unpleasant or astringent. I'd guess an IBU of 30-40 and the ABV is 5.7%. This would make a fine beverage with a BBQ sammich, ribs or BBQ chicken.

Le Fleur, Misseuer-New Belgium-Lips of Faith series-

What a funky brew! I think it comes closest to a Belgian single or white ale with a fizzy, whitish-yellow pour and crisp apples and pears on the taste. Wheat malt is not mentioned at their web site but there is a bit of citrus in the flavor, too. What makes this funky is a slightly musty, sour taste that come from the Brett yeast used in the fermentation process. It is nowhere near as sour as a Rodenbach however. This was a bomber consumed over a couple hours this weekend while working on some financial/business stuff and I really enjoyed its complexity. I'd guess the IBU to be about 30 and the ABV is 6.2% so a great beer for tasting in a session, sharing with friends or with a chicken or fish meal with some fruity salsa toppings. Heck, this would be a fine lawnmower brew, too.

Bigfoot-2010 edition-Surprisingly quaffable in the same year of its release. Usually, I find this barleywine difficult to drink its first year as it it highly hopped, quite bitter with a large amount of malt giving it an ABV of 9.6% and an IBU somewhere around 90. I wonder if they used a different recipe this year as I found it more balanced with a ton of malts and still lots of scorching bitterness but less brutal. It pours with a nice 1-2 finger head and a reddish-brown hue. The hops are herbal and the malts are a bit smokey and a bit whiskey-ish. I've got 11 of these now so there will be a few traders and a few for the cellar for the next 2-5 years. Good from a snifter or with some smokey meats/cheeses or spicy entrees.

devildeac wrote:Bigfoot-2010 edition-Surprisingly quaffable in the same year of its release. Usually, I find this barleywine difficult to drink its first year as it it highly hopped, quite bitter with a large amount of malt giving it an ABV of 9.6% and an IBU somewhere around 90. I wonder if they used a different recipe this year as I found it more balanced with a ton of malts and still lots of scorching bitterness but less brutal. It pours with a nice 1-2 finger head and a reddish-brown hue. The hops are herbal and the malts are a bit smokey and a bit whiskey-ish. I've got 11 of these now so there will be a few traders and a few for the cellar for the next 2-5 years. Good from a snifter or with some smokey meats/cheeses or spicy entrees.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh. Haven't seen it yet, but will be looking. I was just remarking on your cellaring abilities the other day to a lady who walked into the art show (I was gallery sitting) wearing a Bigfoot sweatshirt. She had no idea where she had gotten it, but I commended her on the attire and told her of your skill of hiding them away for years.

CameronBornAndBred wrote:

devildeac wrote:Bigfoot-2010 edition-Surprisingly quaffable in the same year of its release. Usually, I find this barleywine difficult to drink its first year as it it highly hopped, quite bitter with a large amount of malt giving it an ABV of 9.6% and an IBU somewhere around 90. I wonder if they used a different recipe this year as I found it more balanced with a ton of malts and still lots of scorching bitterness but less brutal. It pours with a nice 1-2 finger head and a reddish-brown hue. The hops are herbal and the malts are a bit smokey and a bit whiskey-ish. I've got 11 of these now so there will be a few traders and a few for the cellar for the next 2-5 years. Good from a snifter or with some smokey meats/cheeses or spicy entrees.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh. Haven't seen it yet, but will be looking. I was just remarking on your cellaring abilities the other day to a lady who walked into the art show (I was gallery sitting) wearing a Bigfoot sweatshirt. She had no idea where she had gotten it, but I commended her on the attire and told her of your skill of hiding them away for years.

Not to fret, there will be one in your 12 pack...

My goodness, I was traveling around the beltway today and was thinking, "after the judge dismissed any charges against me for possibly being at fault for my accident back in Nov!, yay!", I need to start posting my reviews again of the brews I've been consuming! I am finding a few things out though: First, I love various types of beers and the dark ones really get me excited; Second, I am finding that I am not enjoying too much HOPPS; third, I like smooth taste (the oatmeal stout that chris made was incredible); fourth, hmmm, I can't remember the name of the bastard beer I had, but it gave me heartburn (I don't like that); Fifth - I had a chimay reserve last night, it is still awesome!; Sixth, had a sam adams boston lager again tonight, never go wrong here, it hit the spot!; sixth, bud light is like having water with your meal, had two on sunday I shamelessly admit, but I had to drive home; Lastly - for now.... corona is still a very good also! I will be trying the brews that CB&B and I traded before Valentines Day and report on them!

Black Toad Dark Ale-a trader with a drug rep-I had a suspicion where this was from and a bit o' snooping around Beer Advocate confirmed: A contract brew for Trader Joe's and a pretty good one, too. I wandered around TJ for the 1st time ever a couple weeks ago and saw some strange brews. I am gonna guess this was $6 for the 6er. This beer can't decide whether it is a brown ale or a porter. It is a bit dark for a brown ale and a bit thin for a porter. Clean pour with a bit of nuttiness and a bit of light coffee and cocoa. Malts win here but there is just a hint of bitterness. I'd guess the IBU to be 30 and the ABV about 5% so I was able to enjoy this tonight before my Old Rasputin. The Black Toad would be nice with 'cue, ribs or in stews.

CameronBornAndBred wrote:Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
I have two of these, one each from DD & . I've had it before, it's a favorite stout, but haven't reviewed it. I might as well since I've got to stay awake for another hour and a half while I can my oysters.
The roasted malts jump instantly on your taste buds and do one of those funny looking Russian jigs. The first word that jumped to my head was "crispy", because that's how roasted it is. The brew has a great after taste too, with those malts just lingering around for a while as you enjoy the deep black color in your glass. Low head, but great retention as the light tan foam just hangs on and stays behind, a testament to the remnant sugars that give this ale some of it's balancing sweetness. Not milk-stout sweet, but a nice complement to the toasted flavor. Heavily bodied, very low bitterness, 9%ABV. As I said, I got two, so that means another to enjoy later this week.

Not much to add to this except I taste a bit of expresso which is not mentioned here. There will be one of these in your 12 pack of traders this weekend as I got 2 in my most recent round of trading. Hope you don't mind ;) .

devildeac wrote:There will be one of these in your 12 pack of traders this weekend as I got 2 in my most recent round of trading. Hope you don't mind ;) .

devildeac wrote:

CameronBornAndBred wrote:Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
I have two of these, one each from DD & . I've had it before, it's a favorite stout, but haven't reviewed it. I might as well since I've got to stay awake for another hour and a half while I can my oysters.
The roasted malts jump instantly on your taste buds and do one of those funny looking Russian jigs. The first word that jumped to my head was "crispy", because that's how roasted it is. The brew has a great after taste too, with those malts just lingering around for a while as you enjoy the deep black color in your glass. Low head, but great retention as the light tan foam just hangs on and stays behind, a testament to the remnant sugars that give this ale some of it's balancing sweetness. Not milk-stout sweet, but a nice complement to the toasted flavor. Heavily bodied, very low bitterness, 9%ABV. As I said, I got two, so that means another to enjoy later this week.

Not much to add to this except I taste a bit of expresso which is not mentioned here. There will be one of these in your 12 pack of traders this weekend as I got 2 in my most recent round of trading. Hope you don't mind ;) .

Great reviews..I had part of one the other day along with Stone IRS and Ten Fidy and Old Rasputin is definitely the boldest of the 3. Big roasted flavor and I picked up a lot of espresso. The Stone and Oscar Blues were both sweeter and a bit smoother overall. I like all 3 nearly equally but for very different reasons. I have a bottle of barrel aged rasputin in my basement and would like to compare it to the regular at some point..

bluebear wrote:

devildeac wrote:

CameronBornAndBred wrote:Old Rasputin Imperial Stout
I have two of these, one each from DD & . I've had it before, it's a favorite stout, but haven't reviewed it. I might as well since I've got to stay awake for another hour and a half while I can my oysters.
The roasted malts jump instantly on your taste buds and do one of those funny looking Russian jigs. The first word that jumped to my head was "crispy", because that's how roasted it is. The brew has a great after taste too, with those malts just lingering around for a while as you enjoy the deep black color in your glass. Low head, but great retention as the light tan foam just hangs on and stays behind, a testament to the remnant sugars that give this ale some of it's balancing sweetness. Not milk-stout sweet, but a nice complement to the toasted flavor. Heavily bodied, very low bitterness, 9%ABV. As I said, I got two, so that means another to enjoy later this week.

Not much to add to this except I taste a bit of expresso which is not mentioned here. There will be one of these in your 12 pack of traders this weekend as I got 2 in my most recent round of trading. Hope you don't mind ;) .

Great reviews..I had part of one the other day along with Stone IRS and Ten Fidy and Old Rasputin is definitely the boldest of the 3. Big roasted flavor and I picked up a lot of espresso. The Stone and Oscar Blues were both sweeter and a bit smoother overall. I like all 3 nearly equally but for very different reasons. I have a bottle of barrel aged rasputin in my basement and would like to compare it to the regular at some point..

$$$ vs $ would be my 1st comparison.