Beer Reviews – Page 57 – Beer Search Party

December 2, 2015August 30, 2018

Stone Bastards and Jessica Jones

While watching the new Marvel/Netflix show Jessica Jones, because it deals with bastards both good and evil, it was appropriate to have a Stone Bastards tasting too.
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First up was the original Bastard. This one defies style categorization to me. It is a big heavy beer with a ton of hoppy bitterness. It is the type of beer that is too muddled for my taste. It just packs a wallop without subtlety. As my palate has changed, this ale has become one dimensional to me.

And that is proven by the variants tasted next. Bastard on Rye is Templeton barrel-ed and it shows. The beer has an added richness of caramel and coconut. The hops have been pushed into a minor player role and the beer becomes tastier. Same with Southern Charred which takes 2nd place in this tasting. There is a wood note and chocolate tones that are subtle compared to the Rye but all the combo works. I would pair these with shortbread to add a certain buttery note that would contrast against these big beers.

(To take the Stone tasting a step further, the next night I watched a couple more episodes of Jessica and Kilgrave and cracked open and Enjoy AFTER 10/31/15 Brett IPA to see if it was worth the price. And if you are a fan of brett beers and that serious farmhouse-barnyard thing, then it is. If you are looking for hops, well, after over a year. Gone. Gone Girl.)

November 28, 2015August 30, 2018

Featured Review – Mango Beatitude from Council Brewing

I have only vaguely heard about Council Brewing but the yellow of the label and the promise of mango lured me to try Beatitude Tart Saison.

Tart this one is. My first beer from Council pours a very light yellow saison looks more like a fruit soda than a beer. That sour nose is strong on this one. You can almost smell the acid on this one. There is a wheat taste underneath the tart that adds a dimension to a beer that could become one note because the mango, though present, doesn’t wrest control of the beer from the tart. At the back end the beer ends with a watery note plus a nutmeg/cinnamon hit that is there and gone very quickly.

Here is the brewery description, “Beatitude is the French word for bliss which is what we float away on whenever we enjoy this specially brewed beer. Although this Tart Saison is brewed in the historical Wallonian tradition of other low gravity, tart farmhouse ales, the magic happens when our house blend of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus and Saison yeast throw an out-of-this-world party in our fermenters. Aged on various fruits and bottled with precision and care – this yields a beer with a lacto forward nose, an intensely tart fruit flavor, a doughy complexity from our no-boil process, and takes the word “refreshing” to a whole new level.”

November 21, 2015August 30, 2018

Featured Review – 30th Anniversary from Bell’s

In addition to reviewing a pair of San Diego beers that were new to me, I have two Bell’s beers to review. And this one is special…

This one pours really thick. Almost an oil like sheen to it after the dark brown head fades down to nothing. The aroma is chocolate covered black licorice. There is a bit of heat to this at that back that lingers but it can barely contain the anise notes. If you liked the Italian licorice notes in Expedition Stout then this one doubles up on that fun. There is also a touch of coffee ground bitterness snuck into the mix as well as a boozy rum barrel sweetness. This anniversary ale comes in a 12oz bottle which makes for sharing because this falls into the category of sampler size is best. Get two friends and share one bottle.

November 16, 2015August 30, 2018

Featured Review – Best Brown Ale from Bell’s

In addition to reviewing a pair of San Diego beers that were new to me, I will also talk about two Bell’s beers. One is their 30th Anniversary, but first is the 16oz can of Best Brown Ale.

Best Brown is one of those beers that touches all the bases for the style without really exploding. It is a plain amber/brown color. It is a little thin tasting but there are multiple flavors that are encountered with each taste. There is an untoasty malt flavor that is augmented by a touch of sweetness and a little bit of peppery-ness.

Past that, is not much else. It is the type of beer that is gone before you know it and you have to reach back in the memory banks to remember what it was like.

November 13, 2015August 30, 2018

Review – Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale from New Belgium

I had not been a beaming fan of the last chocolate beer that New Belgium produced, but the imprimatur of Ben & Jerry’s and the addition of cocoa and vanilla powders to this beer was enough for me to buy it.

The ice cream beer (as I will call it) pours a medium brown color with a reddish streak to it when held up to the light. The aroma is a lovely milk chocolate. I don’t know if I would equate it with brownies, per se, but it is very nice. The mouthfeel is light but there is a swirl of both chocolate and vanilla that is redolent of a milkshake along with a toasted malt note as well. I am also catching a bit of salt intermittently too. And part of the proceeds of the beer towards combating climate change.

This practically begs to be paired with ice cream. Maybe not Ben & Jerry’s which might overwhelm it, but maybe a nice plain vanilla bean.

November 10, 2015August 30, 2018

Review – Czech Yo’ Self from Figueroa Mountain

I had to buy this beer based on the name and can design all by itself. Sometimes that can lead to pour buying decisions but I am happy to report that it isn’t the case with Czech Yo’ Self from Figueroa Mountain. The hoppy pilsner pours a super clear and vivid yellow with a foamy head and in aroma and taste is more on the Pilsner side than the hoppy. Which I am glad about. There are enough hop treats out there.

There is a contrasting touch of minerality that works with a little bit of sweetness to make this a very refreshing beer with a lingering hoppy bitterness at the back. I would rank this in the top three of the category alongside my favorite beer from Saint Archer, Girls with Skateboards and of course the excellent Pivo Pils from Firestone Walker.

November 7, 2015August 30, 2018

Review – All the Yeast from Highland Park

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After reading the label and seeing the words “fermented in French Oak Puncheon Barrels” and with a name like All the Yeast, I was not expecting a very light yellow and very clear beer with a lovely effervescence to it. This saison from Highland Park Brewing with the Metro trains on the label reminds me more of champagne than beer.

There is a rough hewn woody note that sorta lingers in the background but there is a lively tannic white wine note that is the conductor of this train. It also has a touch of viscosity to it that steps up after a few sips. I know that sounds at odds with my earlier comments but they seem to work in concert.

I am amazed at the vast differences in the saisons that Bob Kunz seems to coax out of the teeny-tiny brewery that he is working in.

For those wanting more definition of Puncheon since the ol’ Google just wants to say that it is a floor support or a tool. A Puncheon in the wine business is generally a barrel holding 500 liters of wine. Generally not as big as a tun but bigger than a hogshead or a barrel.

November 2, 2015August 30, 2018

Featured Review – Willow Wolves from Acoustic Ales

First off, the label & bottle cap for Willow Wolves from Acoustic Ales beer is super cool and must have cost a pretty penny to not only create but to get onto the bottle in the correct way.
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I wish the beer had been as good. WW pours a muddy orange brown with no head. It just did not look appealing in the glass at all. It was redeemed, somewhat by the aroma which is very earthy.

The beer has a dank flavor without balance with a very lingering bitterness that just sorts of sits there without popping. It is a very one note beer which is odd because I had tasted the blonde ale and found it to be very well done and complex.

October 29, 2015August 30, 2018

Review – Toaster Pastry from 21st Amendment

Not a fan of Pop-Tarts, am I. But I did buy this beer the minute I saw it. Great beer names make me do that. Plus it is one of the first beers from their California brewery.

Now it is time to see if Toaster Pastry from 21st Amendment was worth it…..

….and it is. A nice citrus hoppyness in this orange/red hued beer. The aroma is really great filled with a green hop aroma to it. I keep smelling it instead of drinking. Almost a vanilla type scent. The malt flavors do evoke a certain sweet bread type note. The bitterness really sticks to the palate. This is one of the better happier beers in recent memory.

October 26, 2015August 30, 2018

Review – Wet Hopped Mayberry IPA from El Segundo

Mayberry. Wet Hopped. The aroma just cascaded out when the bottle cap was popped. Big pine tree and spice notes that you could not ignore. I let a couple other noses smell and apricot and pepper were picked up as well. Because it is a wet hop IPA, it is important to note that I bought it on the second day it was available and drank it on day four. El Segundo has tried their utmost to get their high hopped bottles out as fast as possible that the consumer needs to work (OK, it ain’t work) equally as diligently to drink them.

The spice, orange peel and pine extends to the flavor that really fizzes with bitterness on the palate. Regular Mayberry is big but there is an added pop to this version which is exactly as it should be. A Wet Hop beer should be the highlighted, extroverted version of the recipe it is built on. Trust the label when it tells you to smell first.