Beer Reviews – Page 64 – Beer Search Party

January 25, 2015August 31, 2018

Home Brew Review – Coffee & Donut Milk Stout

The tour of home brew continues on with the Coffee and Donut Milk Stout. Hopefully it is meant to pair with and not taste like, the name.

This is the murkiest pour of the bunch so far. Brown and black swirls with an espresso head to it. Big pop when the Grolsch top was opened. The initial hit was quite carbonated but it calmed down as it warmed. Bit of a tar taste to this one. Less coffee and donut and more coffee and cigarettes. Not in a disagreeable way though. There is also an undercurrent of sweetness here too.

And that is the one-two combo of this beer. Tar roast and a bit of sweet. Maybe paired with a BBQ or as an after dinner in a snifter beer.

January 18, 2015August 31, 2018

Review – Velvet Mocha Merlin from Firestone Walker

Part of me loves the special variety packs. But part of me knows that it is a market-y sort of way to get people to re-try old favorites via a special. But that is a corner that new chasing beer geeks have painted themselves into. But in the case of the Winter Bundle from Firestone Walker, I did not think of either for a moment. I just opened the box and dove in. And I saved the Velvet Mocha Merlin for last.

This is the regular Merlin accented with an “infusion of Intelligentsia Coffee House aromas and cocoa dusted chocolate truffle flavors.” And I have to say that it is more on the side of the chocolate truffle. Which is weird because most Intelligentsia coffee, to me, is strong. Or if not strong, very uniquely flavored. But the aroma is cocoa powder. The taste is creamy and cocoa intermingled. Like a dark chocolate hot cocoa. I love the taste and I love the 5.5% ABV too. But I am not getting any coffee here. There is a bitterness at the back end of the beer but to me it is like biting into a dark chocolate bar. No roast notes here. But again, to reiterate, I really liked it. But if you are into the coffee beer scene, this one might puzzle you.

January 16, 2015August 31, 2018

Review – Count Hopula Red IPA

I know it isn’t October but when presented with the opportunity to try my first, From the Vault series beer from SanTan Brewing, I threw holidays to the wind.

Count Hopula a doesn’t quite pour blood red though there is a tint of darkness in the brown colored beer. At first I wasn’t enjoying it and I didn’t quite know why. It’s plenty hoppy for sure. But there is a spicy rye character and some heavy malt taste that aren’t working in concert for me. Three flavors going off in different directions.

I started to think that maybe this was an old can. But try as I might, no bottled on date was to be found so I don’t know for sure. But this beer gets a negative score from me.

January 16, 2015August 31, 2018

Home Brew Review – Cardamom Ale

Of the three home brews that I have tried in January, this is the best. By far. The cardamom is here! Unlike the absent spruce and sage from earlier beers.

This ale is less carbonated and zippy but also has much less of the honey that pulled focus from the first two beers. And as you can see from the photo, it was a bit of a gusher. A slow one thankfully. The aroma is a hit on the sweet side. Nice cereal taste here. The color is a bit fuzzy but with home brew that isn’t as much a concern as flavor for me. This is nice and simple but I wish the spice was even stronger. These days it takes a lot to break through my worn out palate and I could use an extra burst of cardamom.

January 10, 2015August 31, 2018

Home Brew Review – Honey Sage Saison

Next up in the home brew reviews of January is the Honey Sage Saison

This concoction pours a lovely orange mimosa color. With a bit of haze and a prettu cap of foam on top. The aroma is a mixture of bread, honey and yeast. A mixture that doesn’t quite work for me. The taste veers from a splash of orange to farmhouse before settling in on honey. It isn’t thick or sticky like honey on the palate but it is close, (saved by some bubbly carbonation) and it certainly reminds me of opening the bear shaped honey container.

Much like the previous spruce ale, I’m afraid that the spice component, sage that I was looking for has gone missing though. It would have added a nice counterpoint / compliment to the honey. Surprisingly more dry than sweet, which I like.

Of the two, I would choose the Spruce over the Honey Sage. I am looking forward to the darker beers coming.

January 9, 2015August 31, 2018

$30 Taste Test

Traditionally, I break out the more expensive beers for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The holidays demand something more, in my mind.

This year, a bit of a change-up though. I had a Gose from Cascade to pop as 2014 became 2015 but decided to save it for a different type of taste test. A Colbert Platinum version. (Sad to see that show go)

I brought a Gose and my beer buddy Richard provided the Black Tuesday (2014) and we proceeded to have a light vs dark but both over $30 session.

The Gose starts off with a green apple aroma coming off the well laced glass. The salt is in the foreground but not in a savory way until it sits for a bit. I took one sip near the end of the glass and it was a bit more concentrated. The sourness does bite. The mouth does pucker. This is certainly one of the more straightforward examples of the style. Especially considering that Cascade is not shy about additions of fruits and spices. After it sits for awhile, a ton of floral aromatics show up. Almost potpourri like.

The 2014 Black Tuesday begins with a hot aroma. That heat extends to the taste which is also quite syrupy. So to start it seems the balance is off. Was this meant to sit longer? Lots of chocolate and maple syrup taste. Their is some coconut from the barrels but the alcohol runs over that taste. Overall, the dominant flavors are syrup and caramel.

On a positive note, the near 20% alcohol doesn’t warm up the cheeks or burn on the way down which is good. But I just wish it wasn’t so syrupy. I keep thinking pancakes when drinking. I think I will age my bottle a few years.

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The winner for me was the Gose. It had multiple elements going on and despite the high salt factor it was still quite tasty to drink.

January 5, 2015September 5, 2018

Home Brew Review – Spruce Ale

So, the backstory. A dear friend has been home brewing all of last year and (hopefully into) 2015. For Christmas, I received bottle after bottle. OK, five all told. It was an awesome gift. I highly recommend giving that gift to me even if you don’t know me.

I will be reviewing all of them this month and first on the docket is the Spruce Ale.

The label is a bit smudged but believe me, it is a spruce beer. The beer is a hazy orange/red mixture with a big ol’ head of foam on it. The smell is a bit too sweet. Almost like a cough syrup. Any spruce notes have to be waited on but really only emerge a skosh in the taste. The taste is sweet as well even after warming. Not quite cherry but maybe spiced holiday cherry flavor. Little bit of fruitcake notes as well.

Overall, it needs more spruce and the sugar is too high. A little recalibration and further taste testing are in order.

December 27, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Two IPA’s from Crux Fermentation Project

When you get a WOW! beer. You just can’t get enough. I review many beers on this blog but very few make me go WOW! Off Leash from Crux Fermentation Project is such a beer.

A mega amount of Belgian Farmhouse funk is here but it doesn’t overwhelm like it can. Why? The hops are right there. Fruit and mango and pineapple in abundance. Then there is a spice note that is just as strong. And yet, it works. Despite having three major competitive forces. Which is usually a death knell for a beer.

This beer makes me want to find any other beer with a combination of Crystal, Citra and Centennial hops.

I am a cat person but the dogs and bones on this label might change me. The beer is that good.

And since, Off Leash was so good, the next night I uncapped the Outcast IPA in search of another hop experience and I got it. A notch or two below but since that is in comparison to a WOW! beer that is still pretty darn good. Lots of grape notes here. Almost Concord-y in intensity. The bitterness is a lighter shade to my overworked palate but it is still a zippy beer. The Galaxy hops come through with flavor and aroma and the bitterness doesn’t fight the malt but work as an undercurrent to it.

Both beers show a deft touch for balancing flavors and I wish I had bought more. ‘Cause I got no bottles left.

December 20, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Our Special Ale 2014 from Anchor Brewing

Up from the Cellar for December will be focusing on multiple vintages of the Anchor Christmas beer. We have arrived at the present day like some Dickensian character.

(You can check out last years review HERE)

2014 The new vintage is fairly plain compared with the past. No big spruce or pine notes to it. Not much hops either. It is a simple beer. More liquid bread and in line with a British winter warmer than anything else. It is pretty thick to me. There is almost a fruitcake without the fruit thing going on here. A bit of toffee notes for me as well. Decent. It won’t stop me from buying the 2015 version. But I wish it was more spicy with spruce. It is simply missing something.

December 14, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Rhubarbian from 2 Towns Ciderhouse

You are at Beer Search Party and yes, you are reading a cider review on this blog. On my recent trip to Portland, I picked up this Rhubarb cider because when are you going to get a chance to taste this combo? Maybe in a pie but in an alcoholic drink.

This Corvallis based cidery does plenty of fruity ciders but the combination promised on the can: “Tangy, wild, and not for the faint of heart, the Rhubarbarian is a fearsome hard cider made with fresh-pressed NW rhubarb” made me pick up a can.

The aroma doesn’t scream rhubarb to me. More like a combination of cider and white wine. The taste is both pretty smooth with an initial hit of tartness. The apple taste seems most prominent to me though the rhubarb is a nice undercurrent throughout the drinking. You do have to pay attention to get that rhubarb though which leads me to wanting a bigger hit of that and less of the apple. They also do a version with hops by the name of Hop & Stalk which I wish I had seen to compare.

Now I want rhubarb pie!