Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

Yakuza-Allagash Brewing

A draft only offering that I tasted (correction: stole several sips of from my daughter's portion) at Tyler's Taproom pre-theater a couple weeks ago. Served in an Allagash tulip, it appeared a slightly cloudy, light yellow-golden with a small amount of gentle Belgian lace. This is a Belgian golden ale and the interesting use of Japanese Sorachi Ace and American Cascade hops yield tastes of bubble-gum/lemon grass and grapefruit, respectively. Considering the 10 ounce portion, this was pretty damned expensive as our bar bill was about $15 for this and my pint of Sexual Chocolate. And we didn't even get to keep the glasses! I'd guess the IBU about 30 and the ABV was 9%. Certainly worth a taste but not a steady diet of this for me.

[devildeac]

HellRazer-DuClaw Brewing

The first "hit" for DuClaw Brewing yields "the #1 brewery in Md..." Certainly a surprise to me as I just discovered this outfit when CB&B brought back a few traders after his Virginia trip in November and I have recently finished my last one. This one is an IPA and a darned hoppy one too with IBU of 85, typical in the range of a DIPA or barleywine. With the IBU of 7.5%, it is a bit unbalanced with a shade too much citrus flavor/aroma and not quite enough grains. Poured an orange-yellow with a mildly oily mouth-feel after its generous foamy head faded. Would stand up well to hot/spicy fare. Certainly worth a taste/single at the $1.69 sticker on the cap. Damned bottle was still sticky and smelled like ginger from the generous "coating" of ginger-flavored ale that CB&B applied from his cooler.

[devildeac]

Burton Baton (2011)-Dogfish Head Brewing

Best let the brewers initiate the description:

"This oak-aged gentle giant has been gaining popularity over the past few years and is now available year-round.

For Burton Baton, we brew two "threads," or batches, of beer: an English-style old ale and an imperial IPA.

After fementating the beers separately in our stainless tanks, they're transferred and blended together in one of our large oak tanks. Burton Baton sits on the wood for about a month.

When enjoying the Burton Baton, you'll find an awesome blend of the citrus notes from Northwestern hops melding with woody, vanilla notes from the oak. The wood also tends to mellow the 10% ABV of Burton, so tread cautiously!"

Now I'll take a shot. What a smooth mouthfeel! Poured a golden-bronze with a modest head and gentle scents of grapefruit and dark, brown caramel/sugar. Don't think I've had one of these for a couple years at least and last night's 12 ounce bottle shared from snifters with our son reminded me how good this is. I think the cellaring enhances the oak and vanilla notes and adds some rummy/sherry flavors to the mix. IBU at 70 but the ABV of 10% hides the fairly typical DIPA hop bite very nicely. I'd enjoy this as a nightcap ale.

[devildeac]

Samaels (2009 edition)-Avery Brewing

Part of their triumvirate of evil/devils/demons of ale series, this old English ale/barleywine style ale is brewed with less than their usual complement of hops (IBU=41), a ginormous amount of grain (ABV=16.45% which means I should NOT have been able to buy this brew in North Carolina), some turbinado sugar and aged on oak chips. Poured into a snifter and shared with our son, this slightly cloudy, dark amber hued monster had a nose of dark dried fruits and sherry and tastes to match, along with the expected oak and vanilla flavors. Pretty boozy but still incredibly smooth. This should be sipped as a port or sherry after dinner. I might have one more bottle of this so I'll have a 5 year old review next year.

[devildeac]

Hop Rising-Squatters Brewing

Further disproving the old wives' tale that no good beer is brewed in Utah, this potent offering checks in with 75 IBU and 9% ABV. Poured from a 12 ounce bottle last night with dinner, it was a golden-orange and had pungent aromas and tastes of citrus and resin with a pretty nicely balanced malty backbone. As most double IPAs do, this one would pair nicely with hot and spicy dishes.

[devildeac]

The Devastator-Wasatch Brewing

Adding additional evidence refuting the premise that no good beer is brewed in Utah, this dark brown double bock lager has tastes of deeply toasted bread, chocolate caramel candy with a drop of coffee. Little hop presence with an IBU estimated at 20, the ABV of 8% will warm you richly as you sip this "liquid bread." Serve with ribs, brisket and chopped/sliced 'cue for a tasty tailgate treat.

[devildeac]

Outer Darkness-Squatters Brewing

Part of their Reserve Series, this black as night Russian Imperial Stout is oak aged and brewed with licorice and molasses. I tasted the licorice but my son disagreed. I thought molasses, too, but there are only so many flavors I think you can taste in a beer as I also tasted coffee and dark chocolate and that came from the heavily roasted grains and not from any other additives. IBU are 65 which is fairly standard for this style and the ABV weighed in at 10.5% so we split a 750 ml bottle of this last PM. Overall, considering the amount of work/effort/additives/care that was put into this beer, we were both a tad disappointed in the $9 price/product package. Maybe we should have chosen the Uinta product, Cockeyed Cooper, a bourbon barrel aged barleywine.

[devildeac]

Hop Henge (Experimental) IPA-Deschutes Brewing

I split a $6.65 bomber of this last PM after dinner with our son. What a hop monster! Seven hop varieties listed and 2-3 malts, depending on who/where I read, yielding an outrageous IBU of 95 and an ABV of 10.6%, so this is a potent, pretty well balanced brew. Poured a straw yellow with a small, slightly off-white head which disappeared rather quickly. Nose is all fresh grapefruit juice and zest and the taste is Tropicana, too. The malty/caramel-y/boozy balance follows strongly. If you didn't already figure it out, it's not really an IPA but an IIPA. But, it garnered the World Beer Awards best pale ale () and IIPA award in 2011. Go figure. This might even overpower a hot/spicy Oriental/Indian dish. Outstanding beer, especially at <$7 for the 22 ounce bottle.

[devildeac]

Tilted Smile-Uinta Brewing

This one might be available locally in your specialty beer shops. It's an imperial pilsner which means the brewers typically take twice the hops, but, more importantly, twice (or thrice) the grains for fermentation to end up with a final product twice as hoppy and with 2-3 times the standard alcohol content as session beers. Poured a light yellow-golden with a small head which actually lingered on the glass as I sipped it. Immediate scents of flowers from the standard pilsner Saaz hops. Tastes floral, too. Additional flavors of light caramel from the all Pilsen malt. IBU of 30 which is slightly above the 10-20 usually seen/tasted with pilsners. ABV is a stunning 9%, about 2.5X that of Stella Artois and most other "lighter" beers. This would be a fine beverage to have with light seafood/chicken dishes but not as a dessert beer. I think this was a fairly reasonable $7.50 for the corked and caged 750 ml bottle.

[devildeac]

duketaylor amber ale-duketaylor brewing

Had Chuck's first homebrew attempt one day last week and was impressed. Poured a clear amber color with a small head and had faint floral aromas and similar tastes with a bit of light brown sugar/caramel sweetness. Would make a nice pairing with BBQ chicken, brats or burgers. I'd guess an IBU about 20 and ABV around 5%. Got 5 of them total IIRC so will share with one of my trading buddies, my son, have another myself in 30 days or so and try to save one for CB&B, assuming Ozzie took one for himself as part of his "delivery fee."

[devildeac]

In order of consumption(4 ounce draft samples at the brewery, shared with son-in-law):

Madbeach American Wheat-Aviator Brewing

Half wheat and half barley. Slightly cloudy appearance with a small head. Lacking a bit in the typical features of a wheat ale, namely the citrus notes. Spiced with sweet orange peel and "other spices," all of which are barely discernible. IBU were 23 and ABV was 4.8% so a pleasant session brew or summer thirst quencher.

[devildeac]

Saison De Aviator

Good but not great representation of the style. Unfiltered yellow-golden colored ale with mild fizziness but little head. Brewed with coriander and sweet orange peel with the Belgian yeast also lending underripe tones of apples and pears. Light bodied brew with IBU of 22 and ABV at 6.5%.

[devildeac]

Devil's Tramping Ground

This is probably my favorite brew that they produce, available in cans and bombers. It's a triple/tripel so the color is golden with a small amount of Belgian lace and little head. Light floral tastes and aromas from the hops and a bit of peppery spice from the Trappist yeast with a mild sweetness from the added candy sugar. This was a bit out of order as our third sample as it checks in at 9.2% ABV but the IBU are only 31 so it is a lighter bodied brew and the alcohol is sneaky smooth.

[devildeac]

Hot Rod Red

A bit of a different style of a traditional Irish red ale. This has the traditional East Kent Goldings hops with a generous amount of Cascade hops for a nice bite not usually present in red ales. The medium caramel sweetness is still present but the IBU of 41 slightly outweigh the ABV of 6.1% so this was our finishing beer from our first flight (pun semi-intended).

[lawgrad91]

And you were worried about how you would ever get your numbers up....

I can't even post this, the reviews are coming in so fast.

[devildeac]

And you were worried about how you would ever get your numbers up....

I can't even post this, the reviews are coming in so fast.

Stored up several reviews in my cellar .

[OZZIE4DUKE]

dd, how in the world do you ever have any time for doctoring?

[devildeac]

dd, how in the world do you ever have any time for doctoring?

I have not posted a brew review here for a while and I had "several" that were "aging."

;)

[devildeac]

dd, how in the world do you ever have any time for doctoring?

I have not posted a brew review here for a while and I had "several" that were "aging."

;)

In fact, I found another:

On to the dark/wild side of the Aviator sampler:

Black Mamba Coffee Stout

Pass the cream and sugar! This was just a bit too much. By that I mean too much coffee flavor and too many IBU for the style. ABV was 6.5% but just didn't balance the roasted bitterness of the coffee or the over the top hop bitterness and IBU of 87. Imperial stouts with ABV at 9% or greater generally balance this level of hops fairly well. Poured a pitch black with hints of dark chocolate in aroma and taste, the quality was pretty decent and would be an OK dessert or after dinner beverage but was a bit too thick/heavy for my palate on Saturday afternoon.

[devildeac]

dd, how in the world do you ever have any time for doctoring?

I have not posted a brew review here for a while and I had "several" that were "aging."

;)

In fact, I found another:

On to the dark/wild side of the Aviator sampler:

Black Mamba Coffee Stout

Pass the cream and sugar! This was just a bit too much. By that I mean too much coffee flavor and too many IBU for the style. ABV was 6.5% but just didn't balance the roasted bitterness of the coffee or the over the top hop bitterness and IBU of 87. Imperial stouts with ABV at 9% or greater generally balance this level of hops fairly well. Poured a pitch black with hints of dark chocolate in aroma and taste, the quality was pretty decent and would be an OK dessert or after dinner beverage but was a bit too thick/heavy for my palate on Saturday afternoon.

And another:

Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Mamba Oatmeal Stout

This is their standard stout that has been aged in bourbon barrels and I found this far smoother than the coffee stout. Pitch black with little to no head, the oatmeal added a silky mouth feel to the sampling and nice smoothness to the bite of the hops. The bourbon was faint on the nose and I didn't perceive it until near the end of each sip. Somehow, this combination was more pleasing. Could not find the IBU but I'd guess the same as the coffee stout and the ABV was the same, yet I found this much easier on the palate the the prior beer.