Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

Double Jack-Firestone Walker Brewing

First tasting of this high quality IIPA with a tip of the tulip to fuse for trading it last week. Poured a golden-yellow with pungent aromas of grapefruit and tangerine with tastes of the same with a bit of citrus zest, too. Very well balanced with medium caramel/brown sugar flavors, too. The IBUs of 85 should't scare one off as the ABV is 9.5% and it's a nice combination. Malts are Premium Two-Row (Metcalf & Kendall varieties), Munich and Simpson's Light Crystal. Hops include 4+lbs/BBL: Bittering—Warrior, Columbus; Late Kettle—Cascade, Centennial; Dry Hops—Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe. Last 2 bits of info are from the Firestone Walk website. Lots of awards and medal in this beer's history along with a 96 on beeradvocate and a 100 on rate beer. Worth seeking out/purchasing if you can find it, a difficult thing to do on the east coast.

[devildeac]

From 2/23/13:

Union Jack-Firestone Walker Brewing

I've read several reviews here but have never tasted a Firestone brew until I bought this at a small wine/cheese/specialty shop in Williamsburg in December. Thought it had spoiled when I had a big, foamy pour last PM but, after the fluffy, light yellow head had mostly dissipated, I was left with a pungent, yellow-orange IPA with all the hop flavors and aromas you could imagine with the 6 varieties of hops used for bittering, aroma and flavoring. I tasted/sniffed citrus/pine/cannabis and tasted light caramel sweetness. Pretty standard #s with IBU of 70 and ABV at 7.5%. As with most IPAs, this would match nicely with hot/spicy dishes. This is an excellent IPA.

From tonight:

Another trader from fuse and another thank you. I forgot I had tasted this before but worth another sampling. First impression with tonight's 12 ounce bottle was better on the initial pour and the final impression is pretty much the same as above. Perhaps a bit less balanced than the Double Jack which I enjoyed more, but this is a "different" style ale which is quite high quality. Here are the grains: Premium Two-Row (Metcalf & Kendall varieties), Munich, Cara Pils, Simpson's Light Crystal. And the hops: 4 lbs/BBL: Bittering— Magnum; Late Kettle—Cascade, Centennial; Dry Hops—Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Chinook, Simcoe. So pretty similar to the DIPA.

[devildeac]

Hoppy Lager-Beer Camp/Sierra Nevada and Ballast Point Brewing

Embarrassingly, this is day/beer 5 of my 12 pack beer camp experience from last summer that I forgot to review between days 4 and 6. The only reason I can post about it now is because Sierra Nevada released 6 packs of it recently and fuse was kind enough to trade it last week. Poured a slightly cloudy yellow-straw color with a modest, creamy head. Pleasant notes of flowers, honey, caramel and pine to match the tastes. At 55 IBUs, it's way more bitter than a typical lager, but in a subdued, balanced way. At 7% ABV, it's about 50% higher than your standard lager, too, but those aren't surprising given the name and the collaborators. Most lagers would be overwhelmed with a spicy entree pairing but this would be an excellent beverage to serve with a curry or Szechuan dish. Contents (from their website):

YEAST Lager yeast
BITTERING HOPS Palisade, El Dorado
FINISHING HOPS Citra, Equinox
MALTS Two-row Pale, Pilsner, Munich, Caramel, Acidulated

[devildeac]

King Titus-Maine Beer Company

Fuse, the nearly famous beer hunter, was visiting Maryland recently and discovered a cache of MBC brews and procured 5-6 for trading purposes several weeks ago. I had a bit of hesitation about this one as the label had 2/24/14 as its bottled on date and also the disclaimer that hoppy beers do not store/age well and should be consumed within 90 days of that date so we were only off about 270 days as my youngest daughter, her husband and I shared this 500 ml bottle last PM. This was fine with no bad aromas or excessive foaminess upon decanting. Appearance of this porter was dark brown with a light latte-colored head which lingered for several minutes. Nose of milk chocolate and a bit of medium roast coffee but with no adjuncts added. Tastes mirrored the scents with maybe a bit of orange zest and was quite smooth both in texture and bitterness. Hops are Centennial and Columbus and the grain bill was fairly lengthy including American 2-Row, Caramel 40L, Caramel 80L, Munich 10L, Chocolate, Roasted Wheat, Flaked Oats. The latter two malts likely being responsible for some of the citrus flavor and smoothness. No IBUs listed but I'd guess 30-40 and the ABV approached imperial porter standards at 7.5%. Another doff of the cap to fuse for searching out and finding this and his decision to purchase. Another excellent offering from this company.

[devildeac]

Here's another beer with a great name:

Auld Bitch-Tahoe Mountain Brewing Company

This was my final leftover from my younger daughter and her husband's trip to the SF Bay area last fall. There's really no info on their website about this except it being available from their brewpub in Tahoe City, CA. Poured from a 12 ounce bottle, this bourbon barrel-aged barleywine was a slightly cloudy dark amber with a modest, foamy head. Booze aromas immediately up front along with medium to dark caramel and raisins. Tasting yielded more booze, but not over-powering, along with moderate sweetness and little bitterness. I wondered about what the "this product contains nuts" meant on the label and had to look at their tap list to realize/figure out that it's actually a hazelnut BBA barleywine strangely enough and quite a unique combination. I guess the best way to describe the final product is a bourbon-laced Log Cabin/Aunt Jemima hazelnut flavored pancake/waffle syrup. That may not sound that enticing but it ended up being a very smooth, enjoyable barleywine not only to me but especially to my two tasting guests responsible for its arrival to our house, neither of whom wanted any part of a barleywine.

[devildeac]

Red Wheelbarrow-Maine Brewing Company

Fuse is trading me fond liquid memories of our beercation this summer in the form of 500 ml bottles from these brewers. Red Wheelbarrow is their hoppy red ale. This was a reddish-brown color with a creamy, tan head. More pine and resin than you'd expect on the nose and on the palate with probably a moderate amount of maltiness/breadiness and a hint of red velvet cake in the finish. Once again, no IBU #s available but I'd guess 60-70 with the ABV at 7%. You could call this an imperial red ale. This ain't your decade ago Killians.

[devildeac]

Audible Ale-Red Hook Brewing Company

I'm not much of a fan of Red Hook and this didn't convince me to change my mind. Received as a trader last week from a source (rhymes with) whose name I won't reveal, this 12 ounce bottle poured a light gold color with a smallish head. Nose was slightly floral and a bit bready with weak, diluted, light caramel and wet cardboard tastes. Listed as an American pale ale but stats fall far short of that with IBUs of 22 and ABV of 4.7%. Not unpleasant or worthy of the Ycchh, Beer thread but certainly not one I'd revisit.

[devildeac]

Zoe-Maine Beer Company

This was a 500 ml bottle of their hoppy amber ale that fuse traded a couple weeks ago. I served myself half a bottle each of the last 2 nights, each one with a small, tan head, it was a medium amber color with a nose of resin and pine and tastes of the same with a bit of caramel flavor to help, but not completely balance the hop bitterness. No IBU rating to be found anywhere. I'd guess 60-70 as this was rather pungent for an amber. The ABV was 7.2% so not a lightweight for the style and you could probably call it an imperial amber. I'm always highly appreciative when someone makes the extra effort to find a special, hard to find brew for me and this was no exception.

[devildeac]

Midnight Brue-Brueprint Brewing Company

Drink local!

It's listed as a stout but at 8.5% ABV, it's rather imperial. Poured a kind of thin dark, dark brown with a light tan, creamy head. Some dark chocolate scents with dark fruits followed by milk chocolate first on the palate then raisins, dates, figs and molasses with a late coffee finish. No adjuncts listed on the bottle or at their website. IBUs a bit low at 32 for the style but that allowed the dark fruits to stand out. Mattman, our son and our older son-in-law got the other 3 as traders last month. Certainly one I'd re-taste next winter.

[devildeac]

Barleywine-Duck Rabbit Brewing

Pretty classic rendition here. Dark amber color, modest head and floral bitterness and tons of dark caramel, toffee, dark cherries, a bit of smoke, whiskey and dried fruit aromas and flavors. Borders on syrupy. Do not pour this on your pancakes. I'll guess the IBU about 70 (not listed anywhere) and the ABV is 11% but minimally boozey. Serve this slightly chilled in a goblet or snifter and sip after dinner for an hour or so. Many thanks to ricks68 for the remainder of the 6er he bought a couple weeks ago.

[devildeac]

Ninja Porter-Asheville Brewing (and Pizza) Company

Last night, I had a half a bottle of the "hype" and it was quite good. The "hype" was mattman and ricks68 talking about this beer for a year or so and finally getting a bomber from mattman via some trading a couple weeks ago. This basic porter (no fruits, no aging, no booze) won a gold medal in the porter category at the World Beer Cup in 2014. Brewed as a porter should be with a dark brown pour, a creamy, tan head and aromas of coffee and milk chocolate and tastes to match with the cocoa early, dark caramel in the middle and a late espresso finish. ABV was 5.25% and IBUs were 26, both from their web site. Ingredients were:

Malts:Pale, Wheat, Munich, Crystal-40, Chocolate, Roasted Barley
Hops: Mt. Hood, Northern Brewer, Cascade

I've got half the bomber left and will share with our younger daughter tonight and have Mean Old Tom make an appearance after that, courtesy of fuse and the Maine Beer Company.

Thanks mattman!

[devildeac]

From 8/12/14:

Mean Old Tom (draft)-Maine Beer Company

A standard grade stout aged with vanilla beans. Guess what? This was pretty hoppy, too, once again with the IBUs estimated at 60-70, rather high for a stout but this was nicely balanced with French vanilla and coffee flavors and aromas. ABV was 6.5%. A nice beer to have with/for dessert or to make a beer float with some vanilla, coffee or butter pecan ice cream.

From last PM:

Our younger daughter and I shared the 500 ml bottle secured by fuse a couple months ago. It would have been better with a more favorable MBB score but was still quite enjoyable. My impression of the bottled creature is pretty much the same except the draft version was a bit fresher as one would expect. I think the bottle was dated October or November, 2014 and, because it's bottle conditioned, it still tasted fresh without any adverse aromas or tastes. Definitely worth seeking out if/when you're in the northeast or near whatever craft beer shop fuse visits during his journeys to Maryland. Many thanks for trading this.

[devildeac]

Nugget Nectar-Troegs Brewing

I'm a bit late to the party but sipped my 16 ounces poured from a can into a pint glass. Color was an orange-amber with a creamy, foamy tan head. Aromas of resin, pine and grapefruit rind with similar tastes. Balance is shifted well toward the hops (Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe and Palisade) with IBUs quoted at "93ish" on their web site. I'd probably like a few more grains (Pilsner, Vienna, Munich) to yield an ABV a bit higher than the 7.5% There are some caramel and bready tastes. Very interesting style as fuse mentioned above, an imperial amber, as there are not many others on the market that fit this bill. Think about it as Fat Tire that visited the Bonds/Sosa/Rodriguez/McGwire medical clinics a decade or two ago. I think this was about $2 or $2.50 for the can so definitely worth a 4 pack to share and/or trade.

[devildeac]

Coco Loco-NoDa Brewing Company

In celebration of our Blue Devils getting a 1 seed and playing in Charlotte, this Great American Beer Festival Silver Medal winner in 2012 sounded like a good beverage to partake of last PM. Poured from a 16 ounce can, it appeared as a dark brown elixir in my pint glass with perhaps some ruby tinges. Head was creamy, foamy and light tan. Aromas were cocoa, coffee and dark, dried fruits and the toasted coconut appeared late in the sipping along with the milk chocolate, dark caramel and espresso flavors. It is a porter and the stats were pretty much as expected with IBUs of 40 and ABV at 6.2%. I think it was about $9 for the 4 pack and I have one left to share or trade. It would make a very satisfying dessert beer or I'd consider adding a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream to a 6 ounce portion of this for a beer float.

[devildeac]

Black Hop Down-Gizmo Brew Works

Drink more local!

I tasted about 4-6 ounces of this last PM just before Midnight Brue and finished the bomber tonight. It says India black ale on the bottle but another translation would be a black IPA as mattman posted above. Poured a dark brown with a hint of ruby when held up to the light. Creamy, off-white head that lingered throughout the pint. Hints of citrus, rind and resin on the nose with a pronounced piney and grapefruity hop bite up front with a little chocolate and coffee for a finish. Pretty well balanced with 71 IBUs and 7% ABV, both standards for an IPA whether it's yellow or dark. Centennial, Columbus, Chinook, Comet and Amarillo on the hops side with Midnight Wheat the only grain listed but I'd bet there's a lot of chocolate malt and other heavily roasted barley in the grain bill, too. This would pair nicely with a brisket or ribs at a fall tailgate.

[devildeac]

Cosmos-Pisgah Brewing Company

Ricks68 scored another winner with this 750 ml capped bottle that he delivered a few weeks ago. It's a Baltic porter, meaning a kinda/sorta hybrid between a traditional porter and an imperial stout so there are notes of milk or dark chocolate and coffee from the porter family along with the roasty sweetness of the higher alcohol content of a RIS. This was made even more intriguing by using a Belgian yeast. So, the final product tasted most like a frozen, chocolate covered banana washed down with a mildly roasted coffee. There were some dark fruits on the nose and at the end of the tasting, too. Pour was a dark, dark brown with a creamy tan head. Mild bitterness, guessing IBUs of 30-40 with a warming, dark rummy ABV of 9%. Needless to say, I divided this big beer over two nights.

[devildeac]

This is Foothills Brewery's IPA of the month for February:



Our son and his wife have a Corgi that is almost identical to the one in this picture. We'll be visiting them next Sunday and hoping to have a pint of Sexual Chocolate and treat him (our son, not his Corgi) to a bomber of this IPA to honor Toby, their Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

Finally enjoyed my bomber of this, over two nights of course.

February IPA of the Month-Foothills Brewing

I'm not sure whether the above is the name of the beer or it's called "Charlie," the Pembroke Welch Corgi who is catching the frisbee in the air on the labels. I picked up 4 of these on our Sexual Chocolate mission last month when we dined with our son and his wife at the brewery. The pour was a golden-yellow with a foamy, off-white head. Nose was tropical fruits with a few floral aromas. Tastes were mango, papaya and pineapple with splashes of grapefruit and resin. Moderate bitterness edged out the light brown sugar and bready/malty tastes but overall pretty well balanced. IBUs weighed in at 72 and ABV was 6.5%. Each devildeac family unit received a bomber as our son and his wife own a Corgi who looks amazingly like Charlie. I divided mine over 2 nights. Here's some brewery notes and the label:

"Meet Charlie The Corgi, whose impressive online following is matched only by his energy and “extreme cuteness”. To complement that robust personality, it only made sense to brew an IPA with bold experimental hops and a unique malt bill that, like Charlie, will lend a little sweetness to you life."

[devildeac]

Tripel-Pisgah Brewing Company

Another tip of the pint glass to ricks68 for procuring this as he celebrates in Houston today. This was a capped 750 ml bottle divided over 2 nights earlier this week. Pour was a cloudy straw-yellow color with a frothy, Belgian lace head that had to dissipate a few minutes before I could enjoy. Nose of flowers, light brown sugar and a bit of spice. Tastes were as expected for the style with underripe banana, a bit of clove, a hint of orange and a grain or two of black pepper, once again, all that I'd expect from the name and style. The orange flavor I think comes from some wheat malt and the peppery-ness from the Belgian yeast. Frighteningly pleasant on the palate with estimated IBUs of 10-20 and dangerously drinkable at 9% ABV. I'd like to have a tasting of this with Golden Monkey, Allagash Tripel/Triple and any other US produced Belgian golden ales. I think this would rank favorably.

[devildeac]

Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel Stout-New Holland Brewing

It ain't from Asheville so I think ricks68 picked this up on a whim after having it on draft from one of his (many) favorite watering holes. I usually divide a bomber of a high gravity ale over two nights but this one was consumed over two halves last PM. Poured a dark brown with a modest light tan head. The body/texture was a bit thin for a stout but the tastes were not. Aromas were cocoa, vanilla, wood, bourbon and a whiff of coffee, though it is not an ingredient. Tastes were heavily roasted grains up front and matched the aromas pretty closely with a mildly boozy finish. Glacier and Nugget hops provided little bitterness and an IBU rating of 31. Grains included 2 row, Munich, Caramel, Crystal, Black, Chocolate malt and flaked barley and drove the ABV to 11%. Vintage date on this was 2014 with no month specified. I don't drink many New Holland products but this will make me look again when I see them on the shelves and try some of their other products.
Thanks again to ricks68 for selecting this and including it in his recent delivery.

[devildeac]

Bigfoot (2010 version)-Sierra Nevada Brewing

Ah, yes, 2010 was a very good (basketball) year. This was the next-to-last Bigfoot in my cellar and I found this rather smooth. Poured a slightly cloudy, dark amber with a frothy, beige head that had to settle for several minutes before drinking. Aromas of tobacco, smoke and toffee and tastes of the same with some dark caramel and intense floral bitterness. The 5 year aging has taken the rough edges off this barleywine that is difficult to sip when "early" in its vintage. I think this typically has IBUs in the 80-90 range with ABV of 9.6% so it is indeed a monster of a brew. This would pair well with aged cheeses and some sourdough bread as a snack or some spicy ribs or brisket for your entree.