Ymm, Beer!

[August West]

On they way back to Durham Tuesday night after delivering AW daughter to Grandma And Grandpa, traffic came to stop on I-40 at the Durham county line. I got off and said let's go to Total Wine. I picked up some bombers for the tailgate on Saturday to share. One is a bourbon barrel aged stout and the other is a winter porter. Ho-ho-ho. See everyone on Saturday. AW.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Breakfast was lovely at the Miami tailgate.

[devildeac]

Reviewed in order of consumption:

Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale-Rogue Brewing

Pass the pancakes! Poured a slightly cloudy amber with a prominent maple syrup aroma and a bit of smokiness. It is brewed with three smoked malts so the taste ended up being a bit different than the scents, though I thought there were some maple syrupy flavors on the palate. Bacon is used in the brewing process but I tasted none. We divided this over-priced $12 or $13 bomber about 5 ways and the general consensus was that it was a nice novelty beverage but none of us would seek it out again. IBU were about 40 and the ABV is about 6% so it was fine for a starter with bagels, doughnuts, an egg frittata, and other breakfast pastries.

Santa's Butt made an appearance next and Ozzie really liked it. Honestly. He even said he'd like to see more of Santa's Butt over the holidays.

[devildeac]

Beer #2 of the morning:

Santa's Butt-Ridgeway Brewing

From the bottle:

"This special holiday porter is made for winter - rich and warming, the way they like it at the North Pole. It was inspired by this famous line from a well-loved children’s storybook:

"And Santa sat on his great butt, enjoying a hardy brew..."

In case you find that amusing, the brewer hastens to point out that in England, "butt" refers to a certain sized barrel, in fact, holding 108 Imperial gallons. Back in the day it was quite a normal thing for a brewery to put its beer up in a large butt for storage. Still snickering, eh? Get your mind out of the gutter, or Santa will be skipping your house entirely this year."

From our lips:

Poured a thin, clear brown with roasted nutty aromas and tastes of the same with hints of unsweetened cocoa. Small tan head which lingered a bit longer than expected. I'd guess IBU about 30 and the ABV was 6%. This was a 500 ml bottle that several of us shared and found it to be a nice match with bagels, salmon and roasted potatoes. We just couldn't stop staring at the label however which depicted a very large Santa possessing a rather generous posterior parked upon about a 108 Imperial gallon barrel.

[devildeac]

Reviewed in order of consumption:

Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale-Rogue Brewing

Pass the pancakes! Poured a slightly cloudy amber with a prominent maple syrup aroma and a bit of smokiness. It is brewed with three smoked malts so the taste ended up being a bit different than the scents, though I thought there were some maple syrupy flavors on the palate. Bacon is used in the brewing process but I tasted none. We divided this over-priced $12 or $13 bomber about 5 ways and the general consensus was that it was a nice novelty beverage but none of us would seek it out again. IBU were about 40 and the ABV is about 6% so it was fine for a starter with bagels, doughnuts, an egg frittata, and other breakfast pastries.

Santa's Butt made an appearance next and Ozzie really liked it. Honestly. He even said he'd like to see more of Santa's Butt over the holidays.

This was my contribution.

[devildeac]

Beer #2 of the morning:

Santa's Butt-Ridgeway Brewing

From the bottle:

"This special holiday porter is made for winter - rich and warming, the way they like it at the North Pole. It was inspired by this famous line from a well-loved children’s storybook:

"And Santa sat on his great butt, enjoying a hardy brew..."

In case you find that amusing, the brewer hastens to point out that in England, "butt" refers to a certain sized barrel, in fact, holding 108 Imperial gallons. Back in the day it was quite a normal thing for a brewery to put its beer up in a large butt for storage. Still snickering, eh? Get your mind out of the gutter, or Santa will be skipping your house entirely this year."

From our lips:

Poured a thin, clear brown with roasted nutty aromas and tastes of the same with hints of unsweetened cocoa. Small tan head which lingered a bit longer than expected. I'd guess IBU about 30 and the ABV was 6%. This was a 500 ml bottle that several of us shared and found it to be a nice match with bagels, salmon and roasted potatoes. We just couldn't stop staring at the label however which depicted a very large Santa possessing a rather generous posterior parked upon about a 108 Imperial gallon barrel.

This was AW's offering.

[devildeac]

Big Bear-Bear Republic Brewing

The third beer of the morning was brought to you by CameronBornAndBred and was a nearly black pour with a creamy, tan head with the usual tastes of dark chocolate with a splash of coffee and molasses and aromas of the same. Kinda between a regular stout and imperial stout in body, IBU (55) and ABV at 8.1% but very smooth except for a trace of over-roasted black coffee. Once again, about 5 of us attacked this 22 ounce specimen.

[devildeac]

Let My People Go-Clown Shoes/Mercury Brewing

We took a step backward with this one. Not in quality but in color and ABV. This is an English pale ale so it was an orange-amber pour with scents of piney, resinous hops and moderate amounts of caramel malt. Mild bitterness, guessing IBU around 40 and the ABV is 6% so the balance matched well with breakfast/brunch fare. Worthy to include in a tasting session, especially to compare to other pale ales. The heavyweights are up next.

AW brought this one, too.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Santa's Butt made an appearance next and Ozzie really liked it. Honestly. He even said he'd like to see more of Santa's Butt over the holidays.

I did NOT say any such thing!

[devildeac]

Double Bastard-Stone Brewing

This was graciously contributed bu dpslaw and greatly enjoyed by the usual suspects near the end of our tasting session. Here's an old review from 6/19/2009 plus I'll add a couple modifiers from this year's offering:

Stone Double Bastard. Another new one for me. This was my birthday beer on Wednesday and Thursday. At 10.5% ABV, a bomber was just too much for one evening. I guess this is best described as a traditional strong ale. These folks already make a barleywine so I don't think they duplicated it here. Keeping in the Stone tradition, this has a ton of hops in the nose and on the palate with lots of piney and sprucey tastes and no citrus. Dark caramel and toffee malts in a medium to dark brown pour. I'd guess the IBU's here are 90+. This would make a nice ale with a really spicy rub on pork, ribs or chicken off the grill or a night cap but not as a dessert beer. The second night wasn't much different than the first serving. It might be interesting to cellar one of these for a year and taste again.

Saturday's thoughts: Not much different to add except this year's ABV is a stunning 11.2% and the IBU may well be 100+ but the balance is well done. Some spicy sausage biscuits or Texas Pete laden tacos would be nice food pairings. One of the very few beers you'll see with 100 point ratings on ratebeer.

[devildeac]

LowRYEder IPA-Sweetwater Brewing

An interesting take on an IPA. 25% rye malt complemented with your usual barley malts make a slightly musty smell and taste balanced by the resinous notes of Mt. Hood and Centennial hops. Poured a pale orange-yellow with a modest head. IBU a bit low for an IPA at 45 but the ABV is pretty standard at 6.2%. Would make a nice beverage with sandwiches and grilled fare and would even stand up to some spicy foods. Rye beverages are not among my favorites and I would not seek this out but it made an interesting trader with one of the usual suspects.

[devildeac]

Our Special Ale-Anchor Brewing

After 38 years of brewing, this is still one of the better winter brews. It's basically a porter with a dark brown color and slightly cloudy appearance with aromas of cocoa and "spices." Each year is a different "secret" recipe and the varieties of hops, malts and spices are never revealed and I rarely can discern what the special additive/s are. This year, I think it's a blend of allspice and nutmeg but that's just a guess. I sniffed the usual suspects from our spice rack at home and still can't pinpoint the smells and tastes. Thick foamy head with the flavor becoming even more enjoyable as the beer warms. This would be good with fruit or spiced cakes or by itself. I'd guess the IBU about 30 and the ABV is listed at 5.5%. A classic certainly worth a 6er to savor a couple, trade a couple and save a couple for next winter to compare with the 39th edition. I received two of these as traders and thank dpslaw and my drug rep buddy for the bottles.

[devildeac]

Jackpot. Had a half price burger and a five for $5 (draft) beer sampler for dinner tonight. First up:

Brown Angel-Clown Shoes Beers/Mercury Brewing Company

Not your usual brown ale. In fact, on the label it is called a double brown ale. Not quite of the imperial variety but a bit hoppier and more robust. 40 IBU and 7% ABV to be exact. Modestly piney nose with a slightly cloudy medium to dark brown pour, this had nutty, caramel flavors with a hint of cocoa. Our waitress said a "double shot glass" sized sample and I think it was about 3 ounces. Just enough to quench my thirst a bit before sampling Unearthly and starting on my burger.

[devildeac]

Sample #2:

Unearthly (draft)-Southern Tier

I'll "unc" this a bit here and re-post a review from 11/19/11 and just add that I thought the draft version was a bit smoother with a bit more citrus.

Unearthly-Southern Tier

They were correct on their label when they stated "most aggressive." This is one heavily hopped brew and I'd guess easily 100 IBU or more. However, the incredible malt backbone with caramel and toffee-like flavors achieves a nice balance to the herbal and piney aromas from the Chinook, Centennial. Cascade and Styrian Golding varieties used in the 3 tiered hopping/brewing process. ABV is high at 9.5%. I was a bit surprised to see red wheat listed as one of the grains but it makes sense now as the rich copper color is slightly tinged with red and orange and it is a bit cloudy to pour with a hint of citrus on the palate. Enjoy this in a snifter for your nightcap or with some curry or spicy Chinese food.

[devildeac]

#3 for the evening:

Delirium Noel (draft)-Brouwerij Huyghe

Very complex beer. A Belgian strong ale. Think an imperial dubbel ale meaning a medium brown pour with sweet dark caramel aromas and tastes of dark brown sugar, cherries, rum and chocolate covered caramels. I'd guess IBU about 30 with the stated ABV of 10%. Far too smooth and dangerous drinking at that ABV level. Fortunately, this was also about a 3 ounce sample. I drank this a bit out of order as the next brew was a bit lower ABV. This was substituted for The Great Dismal Black IPA at my request when I was notified they had run out of that Norfolk, Virginia brew by the O'Connor Brewing Company. I was heart broken.

[devildeac]

#4 sample:

Corsendonk Christmas Ale (draft)-Brouwerij Corsendonk


Another luscious Belgian ale. This is their annual Christmas offering and is also of the dubbel variety with a bit more octane and a sprinkle of coriander, which is a bit unusual to add to a dark ale. I'd guess IBU about 30 and the ABV is a bit less potent at "only" 8.5%. There was a small, tan head on this 3 ounce sample and prominent tastes of dark dried fruits like raisins, dates and figs with a bit of chocolate and dark brown sugar, thinking there is Belgian candi sugar added in the brewing process. Little bitterness up front or in the end. A classic. I actually saved this for a dessert beer along with the final sample/review of the evening.

[devildeac]

Mad Elf (draft)-Troegs Brewing

Not to be confused with the Bad Elf series from England, this is an American strong ale that arrived as a clear, reddish-brown 3 ounce sample that smelled and tasted like a chocolate cherry flavored brandy. I'd guess IBU about 40 and the ABV is a whopping 11% and it does have an alcohol "burn." Its sweetness is enhanced by honey added in the brewing process giving it notes of medium brown sugar, too. You could have this as a beverage with dessert, poured over a plain or chocolate pound cake, or by itself. There will be a 12 ounce bottle appearing in certain family member's stockings hung by the chimney with care in about 3 weeks. Ho-ho-ho!

[Very Duke Blue]

I bought a Pickled Santa today. I will be checking it out soon.

[devildeac]

I bought a Pickled Santa today. I will be checking it out soon.

[devildeac]

Snowdrift Vanilla Porter-Leinenkugel Brewing

I am not a big Leinie fan but this was a surprisingly good trader from CameronBornAndBred at our last Brunchgate. This one really fooled me as the bottle smelled like gingerbread and I thought these folks had discovered a new technique of imparting a great smell onto an inert object but then I remembered that the sticky feeling to the bottle was a JuJu Ginger he had shattered in his cooler while traveling back from Virginia over the Thanksgiving holiday so I had to discount that in my initial impression of the actual bottled beverage.

Now for the beer review. Poured a clear, dark brown with a small tan head. Nose is coffee and cocoa but the tastes are moderately strong vanilla with a bit of cocoa and oak. No booze and no barrel aging. Low bitterness with no discernible hop presence (not a bad thing), guessing IBU around 30 and the ABV is 6% on the bottle. This would be fine with any chocolate or caramel desserts or bread pudding or by itself. Breckenridge Vanilla Porter sets the standard in this category but I would sip another one of these easily if offered again.