Feature Beer Friday! - Goose Island 2013 Bourbon County Stout

I've been saving this review until just now, because as a lot of you know may know, next Friday will be the release of the Goose Island 2014 Bourbon County Stout. I still have a few mixed feeling regarding Goose Island being taken over by AB-InBev, but for the most part it seems to have been a positive thing for both the brewery and consumers like me. Before the takeover Goose Island wasn't available in Louisiana and it would have taken some luck or trading to get some Bourbon County Stout. It's still not easy to find (it will likely sell out on black Friday) but at least it's possible. We also see their barrel aged sours and other great beers regularly and the quality doesn't seem to have dropped off at all. 

For the uninitiated, Bourbon County Stout is the grandfather of barrel-aged imperial stouts. It was one of my first tastes of craft beer back with friends at the Wrigleyville Goose Island location years ago, and it stuck with me. All batches tend to vary a bit in the abv, but the 2013 version was a ridiculous 14.9%... and yes you read that right. They age it for 8-10 months in first-use bourbon barrels, so there is nothing between the bourbon and the bourbon county stout. 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge (Baton Rouge Adventures in Beer).

Serving: Poured from a 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark black with a tan head. Brenton said that it looked "perfect" and I can't really disagree.

Aroma: Dark, rich, and sexy. There are fantastic notes of bourbon, oak, and vanilla to compliment the roasted malt flavors of the stout.

Taste: Rich vanilla with a slight medicinal note at the front that quickly gives way to the roasted stout and bourbon flavors. That slight off flavor is probably coming from the strong alcohol content of the beer, but it was gone as fast as it was there.  

Mouthfeel: Smooth, and the little tinge of off flavor didn't linger at all. Thick and rich, I could drink more of this than would be safe.

Overall: There's a reason this one is so sought after, it's a great beer. It has everything you would want in a barrel aged stout, and sets the bar high for all other attempts out there.

Try to find some next Friday, it'll be way more fun than fighting the crowds at Wal-Mart or Best Buy! And if you miss out on the bottles, we will almost certainly see a few kegs throughout town.

Overall Rating: 94.75
My Rating: 93

Parish Grand Reserve Day! - Info and Sneak Preview

Alright, we are only one week away from the 2014 Parish Grand Reserve Day! If you already have your tickets (they can be purchased here) then you have made a great decision. If you're still unsure, I'm here to tell you that you don't want to miss this.

The tickets for the day are only $25, which doesn't include any bottles to take home, but it does include all sorts of good beer while you're there. You will get a commemorative snifter glass and 10 pours of all the special beers. They will have 2012, 2013, and 2014 batches of Grand Reserve, the new Imperial Reserve (more about that one later), the Milton Teagle Jr. Jr. sour ale, the new batch of Ghost In The Machine, plus some specialty casks. Just in case that's not enough, you can also have unlimited pours of the three flagship brews, Canebrake, Envie, and South Coast. Bottles of the Grand Reserve and Imperial Reserve will be available for sale as well, so let's get more into those.

First, the latest batch of Grand Reserve. It's packaged the same as before, in 750ml bottles with a wax seal over the cap. The label is the same other than the 2014 marking on the side, but why mess with a nice clean label anyway? 

The beer pours fairly dark as you can see with a large foamy head. The carbonation level is pretty high, but nothing like the Farmhouse IPA. 

The aroma is rich and flavorful, with sweet malty notes combining well with the strong hop presence. The easiest way to describe it is that it smells exactly how a barleywine should smell.

The taste is more of the same, an excellent blend of malt of hops in a robust flavorful package that threatens to overwhelm your taste buds. I think, at its freshest, this 2014 vintage is even better than the 2012 or 2013, and I see no reason why it shouldn't age with the best of them. 

I think Parish nailed it with this one, taking even another step forward. There will be a barrel aged version in the future as well... so that might even be a leap forward.

Also available in 5 oz. pours and for purchase will be the 2014 Imperial Reserve. This is an imperial stout in the 12% abv range, bottle conditioned and cellared in the same manor as the Grand Reserve. 

The labels are very similar, just with a blue tint to them and a star in place of the castle that we all associate with the Grand Reserve. Like the previous one, the Imperial Reserve bottles have a marking for the year of release. 

You can see the pour to the left... rich and dark, similar carbonation to the Grand Reserve above, and a massive bubble tan head. I think it looks like an imperial stout.

The aroma is what you would expect as well, rich malt with a good roasted bitterness and a hint of hops to balance it all out. 

On the taste buds, it's just as good... and excellent balance between sweet and bitter for such a big in your face stout. I had no problem finishing off most of the bottle by myself, so the 12% abv is sneaky and doesn't interrupt the other flavors at all.

You're going to want to bring a few of these home as well, and get excited for the barrel aged version coming in a few months.

Thanks again to Andrew for sending me a few advance bottles. As expected, they didn't disappoint at all. If you're on the fence, click on this link and buy a ticket, they won't be on sale at the door and you will not be sorry you did.

Reviews: Abita Imperator Black IPA and Bourbon Street Stout

Not too long ago a box showed up at my place with a couple of Abita Brewing Company's newest bombers, their Bourbon Street Stout and their Imperator. These are both part of Abita's push to have a larger lineup of 22 oz. bottles, and I'm a huge fan of the idea. Abita has a long history of putting out quality select series beers, so seeing some of them make it to shelves in bottle form is a great thing for them and for the consumers. 

First off, the Imperator, this is the fifth in Abita's lineup of "big beers"  following the Abbey Ale, Andygator, SOS, and Strawgator. Imperator is a black IPA, listed on their site as 8% abv and 90 IBU. I remember enjoying this one when it was on draft as a select option, so hopefully the bottle release is just as good.

My first thought was that the color was spot on, a dark tone but not as rich and thick as a stout would be. The beer poured with a frothy head, more white than tan, and it lingered a good while. 

The aroma was roasty as expected, but lacking the real hop bite I would want in a black IPA. The characteristics to look for in the style are a roasted malt backbone with a hop-forward nose and taste, but this one really has more of a malt-forward presence. I'm not saying the hops didn't exist, but I would have liked them to be more pronounced. 

The taste was more of the same, this beer is a good start but it would really benefit from even more hops. I remember the draft version being a lot hoppier than this bottle, but there was no date listed that I saw, so I guess I might have been sent a bottle that had been sitting for a while. I hope that's the case, because it would explain the lack of hop profile expected out of the style.

Next, the Bourbon Street Stout, Abita's first release in their new Bourbon Street Series. This one was also a select not too long ago, and I loved it on draft. I would go so far as to say that the draft version that I tried was a top 10 Louisiana brewed beer, maybe even top 5. They cold crash it for 6 weeks after fermentation is complete, then transfer 100% to bourbon barrels for 8 weeks. I think that's on the shorter end of barrel aging, but in all honesty it's probably plenty long enough to get the right flavors. The beer clocks in at 10% abv and 20 IBU.

Like the Imperator, this had a great looking pour, dark and rich with more of a tan head. That's what you want a stout to look like, nothing to complain about so far!

While the Imperator lost some luster on the nose, the Bourbon Street Stout is fantastic. The barrel aging really gives a complex array of flavors, oak, vanilla, some roasted tones, and plenty of malty sweetness to balance out the alcohol notes. 

The taste follows through on this one strong, a complex delicious beer and a good example of a bourbon barrel aged stout. I don't know where it would rank in the pantheon of great bourbon barrel imperial stouts, certainly behind Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and Founder's KBS, two others that can be occasionally found locally, but both of those are going to be a lot harder to get your hands on than the Abita Bourbon Street Stout. I think a blind tasting might be in order sometime soon!

For now though, I'd say pass on the Imperator unless you know you're getting a fresh bottle, and if you see the Bourbon Street Stout, grab a few. I plan on finding a few more to add to the cellar myself.

Feature Beer Friday! - Great Divide Yeti

Welcome to 2013 folks!  I'm sure there will be a few new breweries entering our state this year, such as New Belgium, and if I had my pick Great Divide Brewing would be pretty high on the list.  Unfortunately for now we don't see Great Divide on the shelves, but I know plenty of readers travel to Texas, Alabama, Georgia, or Florida pretty regularly and Great Divide can be found pretty easily in any of those states. 

Yeti Imperial Stout is one of Great Divide's flagship brands and comes in several varieties (oak-aged, Belgian, etc...) in addition to the original stout.  The original recipe comes in bombers and in 4-packs, while the other varieties only come in bombers.  For this Feature Beer Friday we had a bottle of their basic Yeti, and I was excited to get started. 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Jeremy Spikes  and James Lawson (Whiskeybomb.com). 

Serving: 12 oz. glass bottle.
 
Appearance: Awesome dark beer with an off-white head. 
 
Aroma: Rich chocolate, Jay just wrote down "brilliant" in his description and gave the Yeti a whopping 24/25 on the aroma. 

Taste: Rich again, but a little roasted/burnt along with the sweetness. 

Mouthfeel: Easy to drink for such a strong beer, very nice.  

Overall: No one hated this one, but Jay and I scored it a grade better than James and Jeremy.  In fact, my 89 is the second-highest mark yet.  This is a winner of a stout, so if you're traveling and you see some, don't hesitate.  I recently also broke out a nearly two-year aged bottle and it was even better than when fresh.  If you have the cellar space, some Yeti is a nice addition.

  
Overall Rating: 79.5

My Rating: 89

Review: Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel No. 1

A while back I mentioned this upcoming brew from Saint Arnold Brewing Company (facebook - twitter), their first barrel-aged release under the new Bishop's Barrel series.  It's only available in a handful of bars/retaurants around town, but last I checked they still had some in stock.  Check The Bulldog, The Cove, and The Chimes for sure if you want to grab one before they are gone!  

This first release is a Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, and they knocked this one out of the park.  I was a little concerned at first that not being able to buy it retail and age the beer would leave it a little too "hot" and boozy, but I think Saint Arnold did a nice job of aging this one for us to let it mellow out before it hit the market.  The reportedly aged it for a whopping 10 months in Knob Creek barrels and the bourbon influence is astounding.  The vanilla and oak bourbon notes play right into the rich malt character of the stout base.  The beer isn't one to be chugged down, but rather sipped, and can easily be shared with a friend if you don't want to take down one by yourself. 

It's not a cheap beer, but this is definitely one that deserves to be tried if you are a fan of top notch craft beer offerings.  I'm thrilled that this beer found its way to Louisiana and that we were able to get a decent supply at the local bars.  Try it before it's too late, you won't regret it at all!  Well done Saint Arnold, well done indeed.  

Coming Soon: Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel No. 1

Just saw this on Saint Arnold's facebook site and also on Beerpulse.com, but it appears Saint Arnold's barrel aging project is ready to release the first offering on November 5th, a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout that will be known as Bishop's Barrel No. 1.  Kudos to them for instituting a barrel aging program and really trying to put out some great beers beyond their main lineup.  I'll admit that a bourbon barrel imperial stout isn't really groundbreaking, but it's also a proven winning combination.  Their second Bishop's Barrel offering has already been announced as an old ale in chardonnay barrels with cherries... now that sounds interesting, and delicious.  This first release will only be available in bars and restaurants, not retail, but I'd bet that places like Avenue Pub and The Cove will be on the list to get a few.  Read the full press release below!

Press Release:
(Houston, TX) – Saint Arnold Brewing Co. (www.saintarnold.com), the oldest craft brewery in Texas is preparing to launch the Bishop’s Barrel series next week. Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel, which will only be available in bars and restaurants, will feature small batches of a variety of barrel aged beers under the Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel label. As is the case with Saint Arnold’s highly regarded Divine Reserve series, each batch of Bishop’s Barrel will be distinguished by the number on the neck label.

Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel No. 1 is a Russian Imperial Stout aged for nearly 10 months in used oak bourbon barrels that the brewery acquired from Kentucky’s Woodford Reserve distillery. Saint Arnold emptied 48 barrels, which produced 948 cases of 12-ounce bottles. Bishop’s Barrel No. 1 will ship to bars and restaurants throughout Texas and Louisiana on Monday, November 5, 2012.

“We filled our first barrel in 2005, mainly for our own enjoyment,” said Saint Arnold founder/brewer Brock Wagner. “We slowly expanded our barrel program to a few barrels here and there before beginning our barrel program in earnest at the end of last year. The barrels essentially become one more ingredient in the beer recipe adding both the character of the beverage previously stored in the barrel as well as flavors extracted from the wood.”
Bishop’s Barrel No. 1 is a pleasant sipping beer with the bourbon both present but not overpowering. It pours a black color with a nose that is all bourbon and chocolate. The taste starts with a mix of spice with the bourbon and chocolate emerging and lingering through the finish. The warmer it gets, the better Bishop’s Barrel No. 1 tastes. The brewery recommends serving between 55 and 60 degrees.

Since moving into its downtown brewery more than three years ago, Saint Arnold has planned to expand its barrel aging. The brewery features a 2,000 square foot barrel room housing over 200 barrels acquired from California wineries and Kentucky distilleries. Saint Arnold uses the barrels one time before they are retired. They make lovely tables or flower pots after that.
Aging is currently underway for three future Bishop’s Barrel offerings, including Bishop’s Barrel No. 2, which will be an Old Ale in Chardonnay barrels with cherries. It has been aging for nearly a year and is scheduled for release in February 2013. The barrels came from a winery founded in 1981 by Wagner’s cousin.

“Our brewers are enjoying the challenge of deciding what to put into a barrel next,” said Wagner.

Barrel aging beer is a very small niche in the overall craft brewing industry, but it has gained in popularity as tastes evolve and appreciation for craft beer varieties has grown. The Great American Beer Festival has four categories devoted to wood- and barrel-aged beers that attracted more than 300 entries in 2011.

Feature Beer Friday! - Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Hello folks, welcome to the second installment of Feature Beer Friday, a new weekly feature here on the BR Beer Scene in conjunction with the Raise A Glass radio show.  Throughout season 5 of the show and into the future we will feature episodes where we bring a handful of beers to the table and have a roundtable discussion / critique of the beers while also rating them on a 1-100 scale.  

This isn't an old-school gymnastics scoring though where everyone is between 9-10, or 90-100 in this case.  A 50 should be considered a mediocre beer and anything in the 90 or above range is world class.  Basically 0-20 is a failure, 21-40 is a poor beer, 41-60 is a mediocre brew, 61-80 is getting good, and 81-100 is an "A" effort.

The scoring includes 4 categories, each weighted appropriately.  Appearance is worth a total of 15 points, aroma is worth 25, taste is worth 40, and mouthfeel/finish is worth 20.  We all have our differing opinions on beer, so I'll present the group average, as well as my ratings for each brew. Up next is a locally available craft beer all the way from Brooklyn Brewing (facebook - twitter) in Brooklyn, NY, the Black Chocolate Stout!

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (Bite And Booze), Jeremy Spikes (Whiskeybomb.com)

Serving: 12 ounce bottle, 2011 vintage.

Appearance: "Deep brown with a nice tan head" and high scores all around.

Aroma: Jay described it as a "brownie with espresso" and the overall sentiment was very positive on the aroma here. Chocolate, coffee, and rich were some of the key terms.

Taste: "Roasted malts, rich chocolate." was one comment and every score came in at 30 or above out of a possible 40 points on the taste.

Mouthfeel: "Creamy & delicious," and "easy drinking stout for 10%" were two of the comments as this beer scored well for mouthfeel overall.  

Overall: The overall sentiment of the group was that this is a great example of an American Imperial Stout, and one that can be found in Baton Rouge when it's seasonally released from October to March.  And don't be afraid to age a few, as this one should cellar well.

Overall Rating: 82

My Rating:86

The Raise A Glass Beer Olympics @ The Cove - Stouts!

Check out the stout lineup below for the first ever Raise A Glass (facebook - twitter) Beer Olympics event!  All Summer we'll be recording at The Cove on Corporate on Wednesday evenings (starting around 6 typically... but we might miss a week or two) and you are all welcome to come hang out and join in on some of the beers.  Many thanks to The Cove for their support of this season of Raise A Glass, it wouldn't be possible without their help and their beer selection!  

Now for the stouts... here are the first 8 beers up for a medal in the "Best Stout" category... NOLA Irish Channel Stout from the USA, De Struisse Black Albert from Belgium, Coopers Extra Stout from Australia, Kiuchi Hitachino Espresso Stout from Japan, Nils Oscar Imperial Stout from Sweden, 8 Wired iStout from New Zealand, Mikkeller Black Hole White Wine Aged from Denmark, and Nogne O Sweet Horizon from Norway.  Which ones took home the gold, silver, and bronze?  Tune in to Raise A Glass on WHYR 96.9 FM on Fridays at 6 and Sundays at 4 to find out... or find us on iTunes! 

Brewery Review: Left Coast Brewing Company

Alright, time to talk about a brewery instead of a specific beer!  Left Coast Brewing started distributing to Texas back in August, so if you're ever at Spec's over there look for a few of their regular lineup plus maybe a seasonal or two!  The first one I tried was the Hop Juice Double IPA, probably their signature beer, and it was well received among all of the IPAs we had lined up at the IPA Day tasting!  I need to try it again in a more isolated setting and really appreciate a good beer.

Since then I've also had the chance to try the seasonal Una Mas Amber Lager and the year-round Voo Doo Stout.  Both beers also impressed, but especially the Una Mas which really had a lot of flavor for the typically less than powerful style.  The Board Walk Saison, a summer seasonal was also a pretty solid beer and the year-round Trestles IPA was good but not quite as impressive as the Hop Juice Double IPA.

 














The next chance I get I'd like to try their year-round Asylum Tripel and the other two seasonals, the Wedge Black IPA and Ale Epeteios Imperial Stout really look appealing to me.  Maybe one day these guys will be in Louisiana.  Expansion from California to Texas is a step in the right direction.

Beer Travels: Bozeman Brewing Company in Bozeman, Montana.

Alright, time to finish off one of my New Year's resolutions with brewery trip #6 on the year, a visit to the Bozeman Brewing Company up in Montana!  After flying in, and a quick rest stop for lunch at Mandi's aunt's place, we headed to the brewery for their nightly open house.

 Apparently law in Montana allows the brewery to sell three pints per person (or one growler refill) per night directly, but only between the hours of 4 to 8.  I guess that's an interesting way to allow breweries to sell direct, but only in smaller quantities, or give daily growler fills to the locals.  So,  we picked out a table in their tasting room, and headed to the bar for the first round, the Amber Ale and Belgian Dubbel.

The space was a little small but it is a small town, and they had 8 of their beers on tap, some of the regulars it seemed plus a few special releases. I did like the atmosphere of the bar area / tasting room a lot and they had a handful of tables with barstools plus some popcorn available.

The beers were outstanding, and cheap! The regular pints were $3.50 and snifters of some of the special releases like their Imperial IPA and Barrel Aged Imperial Stout were only $5. I really liked the Imperial IPA a lot, and Mandi loved the Barrel Aged Imperial Stout which was aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels for a very different and interesting flavor.

The standards were quite good as well, and one of the real highlights was the fresh hop ale made from local hop varieties. It was a real treat and the epitome of drinking local.  Apparently Montana is a real hotbed for hops farms... I did not know that.

All in all a great experience and if I'm ever back in Bozeman I'll be stopping in to see what's new on tap. A must-try for any beer lover stopping through. And with that, I'm am done with another New Year's resolution!

Review: Rahr & Sons Snowmageddon Imperial Stout

Time for something other than an IPA as I had been going a little crazy with the ultra-hoppy reviews.  This one is from Rahr & Sons Brewing Company out of Fort Worth, TX.  Rahr & Sons is a relatively new brewery, opened in 2004, but with a lot of history.  The great great grandfather of the brewery's founder originally founded the Eagle Brewery in Wisconsin in the mid 1800s and eventually became the Rahr Malting company which claims to supply about 90% of the breweries in the United States.  Well, alright then... certainly a brewing lineage to live up to.

I've had Rahr & Sons beers before on previous trips to Houston, but always on draft at places like The Flying Saucer or The Petrol Station.  I found this Snowmageddon Imperial Stout in a bomber at Spec's, so bring it on! 

 

Poured into a pint glass, this brew is a deep brown color with a large off-white head. Very nice looking beer! The aroma is rich and chocolatey, malty and strong. Another high mark here.

The taste is more of the same, bitter rich chocolate. It's a very nice imperial stout and the alcohol is well masked.  There is nothing overly complex about this one, but it's a damn fine beer and if I see it on tap when I'm out I wouldn't hesitate to order one up and see how the draft compares with the bottle.

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B

Review: BrewDog Tokio* Imperial Stout

I picked this one up at Martin Wine Cellar a week or so back thanks to a tip from a friend about a beer available in Baton Rouge that clocked in at over 14% alcohol.  I still don't know why this BrewDog offering is spelled "Tokyo" in some places but "Tokio" in others, but either way, at $15 per bottle it had better be good!  Since it's final count in 18.2% alcohol, I invited Dustin over and we proceeded to give this one a taste. 

For tasting, I poured from an 11.2 ounce bottle into a Samuel Smith's snifter. It's dark brown, you can tell it's not black when held up to the light. There's a small tan head, not much retention or lacing, but I wouldn't expect too much head from a beer this strong.

Whoa, the aroma is complex and boozy. It has hints of dark fruits, caramel, boozy spice, tingles the nostrils a bit with the alcohol kick. It's good but it makes me a little nervous of trying this one!  I've never had a beer be so overwhelming on the alcohol, even the ones I've tried that came close to this one in the 13 to 14% range.

The taste is similarly complex but not so boozy that I don't enjoy it. It has the same flavor profile as the aroma. Dark fruits from the cranberries and the jasmine is there too. There is still a caramel note but I don't get the chocolate roasted flavors of a typical imperial stout.

It has a good mouthfeel despite the high abv that is unmistakable. I'd definitely drink another at some point but this isn't meant to be a session beer. It's hard to score the drinkability when I consider the price as well. Still, I'm liking this brew and I'm damn glad I've tried it.  It's certainly not for everyone, but it fulfilled one of my resolutions, counted towards the 365 in 2011, and was certainly an interesting beer to have experienced.

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B

Imperial Stout

Review: SweetWater Happy Ending Imperial Stout

I picked up this one on the recent beer run to Gainesville... I've had SweetWater beers before while visiting friends in Alabama but at the time the laws prevented anything stronger than 6 (or 8) percent alcohol from being sold, so this one was off the table.  Fortunately the laws in Alabama have been changed, so it's a little easier to get good beer there, but they still have some work to do.  SweetWater Brewing is a pretty sizeble micro-brewery out of Atlanta, Georgia.  If you're ever there, check them out.

 

I had this one poured from a 12 oz. bottle into an imperial pint glass.  It's a pretty impenetrable dark brown color, nearly black, with a bubbly light brown head. Great looking brew, just what you'd expect from an imperial stout.

The smell is chocolate malt and a little metallic tinge to it. Just alright on the nose... nothing special.  The taste, on the other hand... yum. It's rich, chocolatey, a little roasted bitterness on the end. Very little booziness mucking it up, just a well done imperial stout.  The mouthfeel is a little thin, but not bad... really easy to drink for a 9% abv stout.

Solid beer, wish I had another in the fridge!  One thing about this 365 in 2011 trip I'm on, I'll know which beers I want to stock up on next time around, and which ones I can skip!

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B+

Imperial Stout

Reviews - Three Beers From Left Hand Brewing

And now, the first batch of beers from that beer run in Gainesville a few weeks ago.  They really had a great selection of beers I can't get in BR or in Houston, so I went a little nuts.  Among the beer haul was a trio of bombers from Left Hand Brewing out of Longmont, Colorado.  I've seen their beers in Alabama before, and now in Florida, but never in Louisiana unfortunately.  I've tried a few of their 12 oz. brews in the past, the Milk Stout and Oktoberfest for sure, among a few others, but never any of these three.  Last time I had any was a trip to Alabama a few years back and they can't have anything larger than 16 ounces, so these 22 ounce bombers would have been illegal!  Poor Alabama... at least they're not Mississippi.

Warrior IPA: A well above average IPA, hoppy up front with just a subtle hint of some caramel malts.  Very citric on the tongue, but not so bitter than I didn't want to keep drinking.  It's brewed with all Colorado hops, giving it a little different feel than most IPAs using Pacific NW hops.  Worth checking out for any hop head out there.

My Rating: A-

BeerAdvocate: B+

Barrel-Aged Wake Up Dead Imperial Stout: A good looking stout on the pour, with sweet and boozy aroma of toffee and chocolate.  The taste was as expected, but a little weak.  Not much of the barrel-aging notes come through and there's not a lot of balance.  It's a decent beer overall, but for the style it's below average I think.  This one has some really bad reviews out there, but I didn't find it to be an awful beer, just mediocre.

My Rating: B-

BeerAdvocate: C+

 

Chainsaw American Strong Ale:  This one was kind of weird for me, and really required a different approach than most beer... as in... I had to drink it somewhat warm to really enjoy it.  The first few sips I had when the beer was still quite cold were brutal.  The aroma was fantastic with hints of caramel and dark fruits almost like a brandy.  The taste was just bitter hops and hard to swallow.  After that I let the beer warm to closer to room temperature the flavors mellowed out and each sip was better than the one before.  I know it's an odd approach to take for a beer, especially the way 'frost-brewed' is bombarded into us by the big advertising, but trust me, it's the way to go for a beer like this.

My Rating: B

BeerAdvocate: B+

And with that, 3 more down on the resolution.  I actually went slightly out of order in my reviewing as I had a Stone Cali-Belgique Ale in between these three, but I wanted to mention all the Left Hand beers in one post.  That's called creative liberty... or something.  I'm still right about on pace, and have a nice stockpile at home for the next month or more.  

Cheers!

India Pale Ale (IPA)

Imperial Stout

American Strong Ale

The Bulldog BR - 3 New Beers

There really aren't too many good options when it comes to a variety of draft beer in Baton Rouge.  There are a lot of places with the standard Mockler Beverage 4-beer lineup, some places like Ivar's, Schlitz & Giggles, Happy's, and a few others with a better tap range of around a dozen beers, and then a few places like The Chimes and The Bulldog that actually put together a pretty good tap lineup.  

Last Thursday I met up with Jay at The Bulldog for happy hour before we headed over to Monjuni's for a muffoletta tasting for one of his upcoming articles.  I knew Abita had a vanilla porter as their select brew, so I wanted to give it a try before it was too late!  I also knew they had the NOLA Irish Channel Stout on tap, and was looking forward to giving that one a try.

Unfortunately I was already too late for the Vanilla Porter... apparently it went quick!  Oh well, on to the new Abita Select, an Imperial Stout.  Poured into a shaker pint glass from the tap... it a good looking stout, dark body with a finger worth of creamy off-white head.   This is basically what a brewer should be shooting for with the appearance of a stout beer.

This one packs a rich malty-chocolate aroma and a taste to back it up.  It's a little sweet up front then finishes off with a bitter roasted kick. The 8.5% abv isn't too apparent in the flavor of this one, it doesn't kick or have a warm burn like a strong beer usually would.

My biggest complaint would be that it's a little thin but it's still a solid imperial stout. As usual, Abita's select series outperforms their flagship brands.

 

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: B

After trying the Abita Imperial Stout, it was on to the NOLA Irish Channel stout... a seasonal brew from the guys at NOLA that I didn't want to miss out on.  I know their next seasonal, the "Flambeau Red" is about to roll out so it was now or never for this one.  First off, that picture really is a second picture, not just a different photo of the Abita Imperial Stout.  They really look that similar!  Which is a good thing, considering this is what a stout should look like.

This one didn't have a strong aroma to it. A little bit of sweeter malts come through, and just a hint of chocolate. The taste is much more rich and bitter, chocolatey and strong.  The flavors hit a lot harder on the taste than in the aroma.  This is definitely not a dry stout despite the Irish in the name.  I'm not a New Orleanian, but I'm pretty sure the Irish Channel is one of the many neighborhoods of the city?

Good full bodied mouthfeel, not boozy at all... another solid beer from NOLA.  These guys continue to impress and represent Louisiana craft beer well.

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: A

After that I had time for one more, and scanned the beer list and new additions for something new... voila, the Saint Arnold Christmas Ale was still on tap!  I've tried a handful of beers from Saint Arnold, but never the Christmas Ale... so the seasonal offering was the perfect beer for adding a third new one to my list.  It's a clear amber color, small head, nothing to look at here folks, move on.  In all reality it's a pretty mediocre looking beer.  Maybe it's just the pour from the bar, but not impressive.

The smell is spicy with a hint of pine.  From a Christmas Ale I tend to expect a little cinnamon and ginger and other Christmas spices, but they aren't here... at least not in any abundance.  The taste is more subdued, mild hops but they are there.  There are fruity flavors mostly, pear and grape? This one confuses me more than any beer I've had in a while. I'm still not getting any typical winter warmer spices.

It's a good beer, one I'd definitely drink again, but a confusing beer.  It's not very consistent with the style, or at least this one didn't measure up.

My Rating: B-

BeerAdvocate: B

And from there it was on to Monjuni's to take some pictures for Jay's next article.  They even surprised me by having a beer in bottles that I'd never tried before!  That'll have to be the next blog post, coming tomorrow!  

Count at the end of this post: 19 out of 365.

Uinta Brewing - Salt Lake City, Utah

Dustin and I did some brewing last night... and as we always do we broke out a few bottles of beer to aid in the process.  Consider it research, if you will.  This time the selections were from Uinta Brewing in Utah.  Dustin had been up there to do some skiing before Christmas and brought back a couple of bombers for us... a Cockeyed Cooper (bourbon barrel aged barleywine) and a Labyrinth Black Ale.  Yes, strong beer does exist in Utah, it just has to be bought at the state-run liquor stores, I believe.  Maybe someone can correct me on that if I'm wrong.  I haven't been to Utah since I was 20 and I was kicked out of a liquor store back then for just going in underage, I wasn't even trying to buy anything!  Uinta started in 1993, which is relatively old for a US microbrewery, and from what I can tell on their website they are one of the more 'green' breweries around.  They can now be found throughout a lot of the West, the East coast, and a few places in between.  Not Louisiana though... at least not yet.

First up was the Cockeyed Cooper Barleywine, aged in bourbon barrels.   We broke out a couple of tulip glasses (appropriate for the style) and got to the beer.  First note was the beautiful color... the Cooper is a deep red color with a large bubbly head.  The head retention and lacing were both fantastic.  The smell was first hoppy, with pine aromas coming through the strongest, then a slight hint of bourbon cut through.  The taste was a lot more complex, the hops are still there but the bourbon imparted flavors that weren't strong on the nose are much more bold here.  The vanilla and caramel from the charred oak are there on the back end of each sip, but the typical alcoholic warmth of bourbon isn't there.  It's a very well put together blend, with great balance.  This one will soon be added to the 'My Favorite Beers' page as it scored an A+ for me.

Second up was the Labyrinth Black Ale, which as first I took to be a 'black IPA' or 'Cascadian dark ale' but as I found out on first whiff, it's an imperial stout.  The beer pours extremely dark, with a creamy off-white head that went on forever.  Just like the Cockeyed Cooper, this is a beautiful beer.  The aroma is primarily coffee notes, roasted, with hints of hop bitterness as well.  The taste once again surpasses the aroma, just like the barleywine. It's rich, creamy, hits hard of coffee, and it's not overly alcoholic for such a strong beer.  The roasted malts come through more on the aftertaste.  It has a fantastic mouthfeel, but I'd have a really tough time taking down more than one of these in a sitting... it's actually too rich!  

Another really good beer, but I definitely prefer the Cockeyed Cooper Barleywine to the Labyrinth Black Ale.  What this really means is that now Dustin and I are going to have to try the other 'Crooked Line' series beers from Uinta, and their other stuff as well if I can find it!  We'll have a layover in Salt Lake City to and from Vegas in a week, so maybe they will have some at the airport?  We can hope... but until then I'll be closing out 2010 on a good note with two delicious brews.  Too bad I didn't wait a couple of days, these could have been the start of my 365 new beers in 2011!

Cockeyed Cooper Barleywine:

My Rating: A+

BeerAdvocate: A-

Labyrinth Black Ale:

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: A-

Barleywine

Imperial Stout

Schlafly Reserve Imperial Stout & Barleywine

Thanks again to Lynn for bringing these down from St. Louis as part of an early Christmas present!  They presented the perfect drinking material for Dustin and I's home-brewing adventures yesterday.  We were busy, bottling almost 5 gallons of wine that Travis and I accidentally left fermenting for 4 years, brewing a batch of malted cider, and bottling our first beer of the new home-brewing operation, a pale ale.  The wine (which is potent, by the way) is ready to drink, but the pale ale will take a few weeks to bottle-condition before it's ready.

While dealing with all of that, we took the time to enjoy these two Reserve series beers from Schlafly.  Up first was the bourbon-barrel aged Imperial Stout, split between Dustin and I from the 750ml bottle into imperial pint glasses.  The beer is dark brown... really really dark brown to the point where it's almost black, and no light is getting through.  The smell is rich chocolate, with hints of the bourbon aging in there as well.  This imperial stout tastes pretty much like the smell... dark chocolate with hints of bourbon but unlike some other bourbon-barrel aged stouts the bourbon is secondary to the stout.  It's a little thin on the mouth for so much flavor and alcohol, but the alcohol is pretty well masked. Doesn't taste like a 10.5% stout. I'm glad I got to try this one, not disappointed at all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up next was the Oak-aged Barleywine, split between Dustin and I just the same as the imperial stout.  It's a hazy deep amber color, with a small off-white head. Some red in there, a very nice looking beer.  Smells of alcohol and caramel primarily... very boozy.  The taste is more of the same, but much more complex... the booze is there, but there's a great caramel malt flavor blended with other spices and a slight hop bitterness at the end.  Pretty good mouthfeel too, syrupy and thick and boozy.  Very nice beer, I'd have another right now, if I had one.  (Hint hint to anyone near St. Louis anytime soon...)

Imperial Stout:

My rating: B

BeerAdvocate: A-

Barleywine:

My rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: A-

Imperial Stout

Barleywine

Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel - Péché Mortel

I know what you're thinking... "oh great, another fancy Belgian beer with a foreign name..." but you're wrong!  Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel is actually a Canadian brewery with a foreign name!   And if you thought that "Péché Mortel" had something to do with peaches, well you're also wrong!  According to the brewery website it means "mortal sin" although I'm not sure why they named it that... I don't think drinking this ridiculous coffee-infused imperial stout is a sin at all.  If it is, then I am in trouble.  T-R-U-B-B-L trouble.

On to the beer itself... I poured from it from the bottle into an imperial pint glass. The beer is a dark chocolate color with a strong head, little disspiation and a good bit of lacing.  Looks tasty, that's for sure. 

The aroma is pure coffee. This take 'coffee stout' to the extreme on the nose, with hints of chocolate behind. The taste is more of the same... BOLD coffee overtones dominate the beer, the chocolate stout is an afterthought. It's really pretty good, I promise! 

Give this one a try if you get the chance, I promise you will enjoy.  Especially if you like coffee AND beer separately, why not enjoy them together?  This is another one that's in the BeerAdvocate top 100 beers on planet earth, and you should be able to find it at Calandro's or maybe a few other places with a great beer selection.  If they don't have it, ask them to get some, I found it in town, so it must be available to distribute!  And apparently they also make one aged in bourbon barrels... I need to find that. 

My rating: A-

Beeradvocate: A



Imperial Stout