Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock

I can't pronounce the name of this beer or the company, but that is no matter. That tends to mean it's foreign and very good. Let's get going.

This beer has a very feint amber glow when held up to the light and has very minimal head. Otherwise, this has very good lacing and a rather dark color. The smell is absolutely phenomenal. This is fucking BBQ in a glass. A very classic southern smoked BBQ smell. It smells a lot like a can of pipe tobacco I got from Virginia one time. Amazing. The taste was very minimal with touches of smoked BBQ and the pipe tobacco that I previously mentioned. It also has classic Imperial Stout touches like coffee and roasted malts, but all of these details are rather flat in comparison to the smell which was extremely outward. The texture was very bubbly and carbonated but rather disappointing following that crazy smell with a rather thin body.

The smell and taste of this beer alone are enough to try. This beer absolutely assaults the scenes and it's amazing.

Appearance - 3.9
Smell - 4.8
Taste - 4.0
Texture - 3.4
Overall - 4.03/5

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock

Looks like coca-cola... dark brown with little to no head and very carbonated. Aroma is dominated by the sweet malts but hides a nice smoky background from the barley. Taste is nice and dry with a hearty smoke finish and hints of sugary malts spread throughout. Texture is lacking a little, but besides that it is very good. Its like have a sweet BBQ dinner in a beer. Would get again.

I kind of cheated and took my review off of ratebeer.com, but oh well.

Appearance - 3.0
Smell - 4.5
Taste - 3.5
Texture - 3.0
Overall - 3.5/5

Bells Special Double Cream Stout

Starting back up again with a Bells, because why not?

This brew pours just on the light side of black with little to no head. The lacing is also very minimal and it appears to be on the carbonated side. The aroma is quite interesting with notes of bitter coffee and sweet cream. Just a tad of alcohol in the nose. The flavor is quite smooth with a bitter coffee front and a roasty finish. Very smooth.

Its worth a try if you can find it.

Appearance - 3.7
Smell - 3.7
Taste - 3.9
Texture - 4.5
Overall - 3.95/5

Bell's Special Double Cream Stout

And we're back. Welcome Bell's.

This brew is a lovely cream stout that has the general characteristics of one. No head, tan lacing on a vigorous stir and it is black and opaque. Very similar to a Imperial Stout, but thinner. The nose has bits of coffee and roasted scents. Strangely, for a ~6% brew, there is a lot of alcohol in the smell. The beer has coffee and roasted malt in the mouth and a dash of heavy cream to bring out the coffee characteristic. Like most cream stouts, the beer is a little bitter but very smooth. There are no distinct timing of the tastes, they're somewhat lumped together, but not in a bad way.

A very solid dessert brew. Would pair well with a nice dessert or just as a night session brew. Great way to bring back the Brew Reviews.

Appearance - 4.2
Smell - 3.9
Taste - 4.1
Texture - 4.3
Overall - 4.13/5

Triumphant Return

It may have been 8 months, but over that time much has happened in the world of beer. Seasonal releases, mishaps (I'm looking at you dfh 120 minute), and more acquisitions for my beer fridge.

We may have missed a lot of time, but we have 40 wonderful stories chilling in my fridge as I type. It will be a wonderful 2011.

Tomorrow we will start again.