Surly Darkness 2011

Here is a little throwback to a tasting from a few months ago that I thought was worth sharing. I recently was able to obtain a vertical of Surly Darkness 09'-11'. I decided that the 11' was easy enough to get that it was worth trying right away to see how the brew was fresh.

Pour is pitch black (the name doesn't lie) with an extremely thin creamy tan head. Aroma is very sweet - malted barley, caramel, dark chocolate, and roasted coffee. The flavor is somewhat cloying with hints of over ripe fruit, candied sugar, and chocolate. Probably much better with age. I think I will stick to aging these for at least a year after attempting this.

Appearance - 3.9
Smell - 3.8
Taste - 3.9
Texture - 3.5
Overall - 3.78/5

FiftyFifty Hiram Walker/Christian Bros Imperial Eclipse Stout

Here is yet another one from the tasting a few weeks back. This beer was tricky to figure out. They make ten or so versions of it all in the same bottle with different wax colors. This one had burgundy wax, so its the one brewed in brandy barrels from Hiram Walker and Christian brothers.

Pour is brownish amber with a very small tan head. Aroma is of heavy dark fruits, tea leaves, oak chips, smoke, and bitter sweet chocolate. A touch of booze lingers in the glass. Flavor is more mild than I would have thought from the smell, with strong Earth, wood, caramel, and chocolate notes. Medium bodied, and not very carbonated.

Pretty good overall, the texture was a bit lacking but I'd like to try one of the other ten verities. 

Appearance - 3.6

Smell - 4.0

Taste - 4.0

Texture - 3.4

Overall - 3.75/5

Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Fourth Dementia Old Ale

As some of you may know Old Ale is my favorite beer style. I've been holding on to this gem for the last year since I came back from Dark Lord Day. Hopefully it has gotten better with age.

2010 Bottle. Muddy and dark amber in appearance with a small beige head. Aroma is of overripe fruits, bourbon, walnuts, and oak. Flavor is extremely boozy even though its been aging for two years. Malts dominate it - toffee, caramel, ripe dates, licorice. Very viscous/oily with little carbonation. Some slight bitterness in the finish.

Well worth the wait.

Appearance - 4.0
Smell - 4.3
Taste - 4.0
Texture - 3.9
Overall - 4.05/5

Lawsons Finest Fayston Maple Imperial Stout

Here is a slightly strange one from the bottle share, I hadn't heard of it until that day!

Pour is dark brown/pretty close to black with a small tan head that darkens into a slight orange as it dissipates. Aroma is of roasted coffee, burnt chocolate, earth, and espresso. Flavor is of burnt wood, ash, very bitter chocolate, and some slight sweetness from the maple. Alcohol is there but hidden well, not too complex but still good. Medium to heavy bodied.

Appearance - 3.9
Smell - 3.6
Taste - 3.5
Texture - 3.3
Overall - 3.58/5

Goose Island Rare Bourbon County Stout

This is a review from a few months back and I thought I'd share since this beer is amazing.

Pour is pitch black with a very thin tan head that fades into nothingness almost instantly. Little to no lacing at all on the glass and faint carbonation. Aroma is of strong bourbon (pappy van winkle) with slight notes of roasted barley and molasses. Flavor is sharp on the bourbon with a mild bitter, hoppy finish. Great bourbon flavor in the aftertaste. Some molasses, coffee, and burnt malts. If you are a bourbon fan this will be amazing, if not, its not worth the cost.

Appearance - 4.0
Smell - 4.2
Taste - 4.3
Texture - 4.0
Overall - 4.13/5

Anchorage Tide and Its Takers

Next up is another review from last Saturday from an up and coming brewery!

Pour is hazy golden with a huge bubbly white head that fades slowly over time. Aroma is what I’ve come to expect from Anchorage - sour Brett, white grapes, doughy bread, and a little bit of oak. Flavor is very strange but welcoming - a huge abbey tripel with sour funk added in. Hints of honey and grapefruit along with the sourness help to balance it out. Medium bodied.

This is pretty easy to find in the NYC area so get it while you can!

Appearance - 4.0
Smell - 3.9
Taste - 3.9
Texture - 3.4
Overall - 3.8/5

Goose Island Bramble Rye Bourbon County Stout

Another great example from the Goose Island BCS series! My thanks goes out to Soj for sharing this at the beer tasting.

Pour is dark red/brown with very little carbonation and an almost none existent head. Aroma is heavy on the blackberries with some boozy tones in the background. Flavor is almost cloyingly sweet, but the alcohol balances it out well, you want to sip this beer. Finish is like warm rye bread and balances out the sweet body. Interesting and better than I expected it to be.

Appearance - 4.0
Smell - 4.2
Taste - 4.1
Texture - 4.1
Overall - 4.10/5

Hill Farmstead Arthur

Its been a while, but I'm hoping that I can keep up with this blog and make a post at least once a week.

I hosted a large tasting event last Saturday and I'll slowly add my review of each beer we tried, starting with this one.

----------------------------------

Hazy golden brown with a bubbly white head. Aroma has a lot of farmhouse characteristics - rustic, zesty spice, grass, citrus, yeast. Flavor is golden raisins, grassy/citrus hops, bananas, and yeast. Great carbonation levels and mouth-feel.

This is worth a try if you can find it.

Appearance - 3.7
Smell - 4.0
Taste - 3.9
Texture - 3.7
Overall - 3.83/5

Firestone Walker 14

There has been quite a hiatus with this blog, but I'm glad to see we are breaking that silence with a beer like this.

The pour is pretty darn close to black with a small tan head. Some ruby notes can be seen around the edges of the glass. The aroma is quite strong with notes of thick bready malts, hints of chocolate, and just a pinch of dark fruits. Flavor is heavy on the bourbon with some sweet bitterness in the finish. Dark fruits, molasses, caramel malts, and spice in the finish. Texture is quite boozy but it balances out very nicely with the sweetness of the body.

Appearance - 4.0
Smell - 4.2
Taste - 3.9
Texture - 3.6
Overall - 3.93/5

Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout

I've been waiting over a year to get my hands on this. Luckily Rattle N' Hum in NYC had a Founders event a little while back and I was able to try a full glass of it.

The pour is dark dark brown with a thin beige head. Great lacing and slight carbonation bubbles throughout the tasting. Aroma is of cream, brown sugar, oak, chocolate, and some booze. Flavor is sharp from the bourbon at first but is much more mellow than the Kentucky Breakfast Stout and transitions nicely into a sweet smokey maple finish. Great mouth-feel. The maple syrup balances out the bourbon instead of overpowering it with sweetness.

If you are a fan of the regular Breakfast Stout and find the KBS to be a little too strong for your liking you have to do yourself a favor and go out of your way to try this, it is damn close to perfection.

Appearance - 4.2
Smell - 4.0
Taste - 4.3
Texture - 4.7
Overall - 4.30/5

Keegan Ales Old Capital

I went to a local liquor store and they had a chance to build your own 6-pack. So I grabbed a bunch of single bottles and this is one of the ones I got.

This beer pours gold, transparent, and produces a nice white head but it collapses on itself quickly. The nose is slightly hoppy but has no other characteristics - disappointing. The taste indicates very smooth malts, slight hints of hops, but not much else. Texture is very carbonated but very smooth and drinkable - ie: bland.

Drinkability is the slogan of Coors Light - that doesn't bode well for this. It's not bad, but it's nothing you should go in search of. I was a little disappointed.

Appearance - 3.3
Smell - 2.6
Taste - 3.2
Texture - 2.7
Overall - 2.95/5

Anchor Liberty Ale

Anchor has an excellent reputation of making solid, reputable beers for a low price in high quantity. I'm here now to try out one of their most recommended offerings - the Liberty Ale.

Beer pours very golden and transparent with a nice, thick, white head. The nose is of smooth hops, light barley and sweetness. The mouth is hoppy, but not bitter. It has a slight vibe of IPA but it's not nearly citrus-y or bitter enough. The texture is quite smooth and frothy. It has excellent flow in the mouth and there's no abrupt changes in any characteristic.

There's nothing hugely outward of this beer, but it's a standard ale, and a very well-produced one at that. I've yet to have a bad sampling of the Liberty Ale and I'd say it's one of the most solid of the easily-attainable ales - highly recommended.

Appearance - 3.5
Smell - 3.5
Taste - 3.6
Texture - 3.5
Overall - 3.53/5

Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

An imperial pumpkin ale... interesting. This brew pours light brown with some orange and red tint thrown in. The white head is barely a ring around the top of the glass and fades into good lacing. The aroma is of pumpkin pie, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, caramel. It is a tad sweet but very spicy with a lot of yeast notes. The flavor is of slight pumpkin with a touch of spiciness much like the aroma. A lot more watery and light-bodied than I was expecting at 8% alcohol with an extremely dry finish.

Appearance - 3.4
Smell - 3.9
Taste - 3.4
Texture - 3.2
Overall - 3.48/5

Harpoon Leviathan Belgian Quad

I think this will be our first review from Harpoon Brewery from Boston. If it does well then I will try to get some more from them to review. The pour is semi-translucent brown/red with a thin white head that fades quickly into a small ring around the glass. The aroma is of plums, grapes, alcohol, caramel, and berry syrup. Flavor is of sharp alcohol at first but transitions into bitter/sour fruits and cane sugar in the finish. Dry and medium/heavy bodied.

Not bad, but not very good for the style.

Appearance - 3.5
Smell - 3.9
Taste - 3.2
Texture - 3.2
Overall - 3.45/5

Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

I enjoy vanilla flavors quite a bit, so when I saw this beer showcased at a local liquor store, I was dying to try it. Nice hearty porter with vanilla? Count me in.

Beer pours very dark with a slight red tint and opaque characteristics. It has a nice, full head and produces good lacing on the glass. It smells of, you guessed it, vanilla. Also hints of roasted malts, bits of dark chocolate and hints of dark fruits. This beer has a classic porter taste at the beginning, spicy, roasted tongue in the middle and a very strong, vanilla finish. Wonderful flow of flavors. The texture is bitter in the middle due to the malts but the finish is very smooth. It also seems a little frothy and airy.

Overall, a very solid beer and something very good for the winter or early spring. Nice and heavy and solid flavor. No real downsides to this beer.

Appearance - 4.0
Smell - 4.2
Taste - 4.0
Texture - 3.7
Overall - 3.98/5

Delirium Noel

Kind of a strange time to review a Christmas beer on this site, oh well, screw it.

Pours light brown with a slight orange tint throughout and a thin white head. Lacing is decent and it appears to be quite carbonated. Aroma is straight forward for a Belgian ale: cloves, grapes, plums, bananas, vanilla. The taste is kicked off with some initial sweetness but then grows spicier. Some slight alcohol throughout and a clean dry finish. Medium bodied with good carbonation.

Appearance - 3.5
Aroma - 3.8
Taste - 3.6
Texture - 3.6
Overall - 3.63/5

Monks Café Flemish Sour Red Ale

I've been holding on to this for a while but haven't had a chance to try it yet. This beer is actually made by Brouwerij Van Steenberge but in the united states it is sold as Monks Cafe Flemish Sour Red Ale so I will be reviewing that version of it (if there is a difference).

This brew pours dark brown with a slight red tint and a thin just-off-white head. The aroma is quite strong with notes of sweet cherries, lactic acid, and a touch of vinegar. Flavor is quite mellow compared to the aroma with a slightly sour cherry start and a strong malty/sweet finish. A tad thin, light to medium bodied and a decent amount of carbonation. If you are a fan of the sweeter wild ales then this is worth a try if you can find it.

Appearance - 3.5
Smell - 3.8
Taste - 4.2
Texture - 4.0
Overall - 3.88/5

Orval 2006 and Orval 2010

I've been wanting to this this for a long time - compare and contrast two of the same beer, one aged for a long time and other just brewed. I've heard stories that aged Orval, if done correctly, will taste more like a dark strong Belgian ale instead of the nice golden blonde ale that it starts out as. Hopefully we can reproduce the same results that I have heard in these stories, and hopefully there will be a good amount of differences.

2006 Orval:

Starting with the older one, aged for about 4 1/2 years, I begin my experiment. This brew pours a translucent orange/red with a bubbly white head. The head fades rather quickly and leaves a decent amount of lacing on the side of the Trappist glass. The aroma is of dried fruit, slight amount of vinegar (uh oh), some dashing of bitterness, and Belgian yeast. The flavor is sharp and dry at first, reminds me a lot of a sour ale but not nearly as intense and vinegar driven as some I've had. The other flavors include banana and other light fruits. This aged brew is very dry and has an acidic burn in the aftertaste.

Appearance - 3.5
Smell - 3.8
Taste - 3.1
Texture - 3.4
Overall - 3.45/5

2010:

The newer Orval from 2010 pours a cloudy yellow/orange with a huge bubbly white head. Extremely carbonated when compared to the older one and the head lasts quite a bid longer. Just as good lacing and a slightly lighter color. The aroma is much sweeter as well with notes of grapes, citrus, cane sugar, grains, and yeast. Even though it is sweeter it is not as strong of a nose as the aged one. The taste is initially of Belgian yeast (bananas, cloves) with a dry sort of dull finish and a touch of booze in the aftertaste.

Appearance - 3.9
Smell - 3.8
Taste - 3.5
Texture - 3.5
Overall - 3.68/5

Mixed:

For the hell of it I decided to mix the two for the last 4 oz or so of beer left, just to see what would happen. The appearance is mostly the same as the newer Orval with the same amount of lacing and carbonation. The aroma is a carbon copy of the 2010 Orval but with just a pinch of bitter and sour vinegar thrown in. The flavor is sweet and sour at the same time, taking the best of both worlds - sweet fruit and yeast body with a sour acidic finish. I really wish I did this earlier because the Belgians have it right with their "Gueuze", mixing the old with the new is really the way to go.

Appearance - 3.9
Smell - 3.8
Taste - 3.7
Texture - 3.7
Overall - 3.78/5

The Duck-Rabbit Schwarzbier

Another Duck-Rabbit beer to round up the night, and this time it is of the Schwarzbier variety, a not very well style which could be best described as a German black lager.

This beer pours black with a thin off-white head that fades rather quickly, fairly good lacing as well. The aroma is of smoke, alcohol, and barbecue sauce. Very interesting aroma, its almost like a smoked beer but with not as much of a kick. The flavor is a lot like a smoked lager with a little bit of hoppiness and bitterness thrown in. Not nearly as strong as a smoked beer body or taste wise and much more carbonated. The best way to describe it would be to call it a "light" smoked beer, but not in a bad way.

Appearance - 3.5
Smell - 3.7
Taste - 3.7
Texture - 3.6
Overall - 3.63/5

The Duck-Rabbit Porter

We have not reviewed any beer from The Duck-Rabbit yet so we decided to do two of them to make up for the malt liquor we had to endure earlier.

This brew pours black with a huge bubbly off-white head, very nice looking beer for a porter. The aroma is fairly straightforward with hints of roasted barley, brown sugar, and a touch of nutmeg. The taste is actually pretty mild: roasty, dry, touch of sweetness. Medium bodied, which seems to describe it pretty spot on, overall it is a pretty medium beer - well balanced on all sides.

Appearance - 3.8
Smell - 3.8
Taste - 4.0
Texture - 3.8
Overall - 3.85/5