Beer Reviews – Page 67 – Beer Search Party

November 17, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop IPA

The name tells you all you need to know. Which is why it is so long. This is the 4th of a 5 beer series from Sierra Nevada. This and the Wild Hop beer being the ones that caught my attention.

What I liked about the Wet Hop is the simplicity of the ingredients:

Bittering Hops Wet Centennial
Finishing Hops Wet Cascade, Centennial

That is it. And boy does it impart flavor. This IPA is half danky earth and the other half is straight up Orange juice. It really struck me at first the power of the flavors. The aroma is reminiscent to me of orange juice that is sitting on the table with breakfast. I know it sounds weird but that is what was triggered in my mind.

This is a super bitter beer too. From first sip to aftertaste, there is a vegetal earthiness that just sticks to the palate and will not let go. This from a beer that was bottled at the end of September. I can’t imagine the IBU punch on a fresh bottle! But as much as it is bitter that juice note doesn’t give up either. I would probably call this a Double IPA taste wise even though the ABV is only at 6.7%

November 14, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Peanut Butter Cup Porter from Karl Strauss

Brewed with cocoa nibs and peanut flavoring by Karl Strauss, I heard about this beer from L.A. beer writer, John Verive. With that recommendation, I bought the bomber the first time I saw it.

Unfortunately, this beer did not coalesce for me. The initial aroma is sweet and almost floral. Only as it warms up did the true aroma hit me. Sickeningly sweet milk chocolate. On the plus side, the beer had sparkle to it. I thought the peanut would end a flattening viscous effect which did not happen. And yes, there is a strong peanut taste here which works to great effect.

This beer is a case study in not tasting like the name on the bottle. The one ingredient standing out as a discordant note makes me think not of a peanut butter cup but more peanut butter and a sweetened chocolate milk.

I gave a sample to my resident aroma expert and she said it reminded her of a cherry cordial. And if I had been given this beer and asked to 50-50 between peanut butter cup or cordial. I would be on the fence. And that is not a good sign.

October 28, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Sleek Zeke from El Segundo Brewing

El Segundo Brewing is known primarily for their love of hops so a wheat beer seems like an odd choice.

But the Amarillo hopped Sleek Zeke wheat beer named for a surfboard just might be one of the best of the year. And I had missed it until now!

It pours a lovely hazy lemonade color and has a tart lemon aroma that really grabbed me. Like smelling lemons being juiced. The mouthfeel is just full of wheat. Thick on the palate with that note of citric acid displaying some grapefruit qualities. My bottle was over a month old so I presume the major hop notes had faded but that worked in its favor for me.

You don’t normally see wheat beers paired with desserts but this would really work with a grapefruit sorbet.

October 27, 2014September 5, 2018

BCS (the beer one, not the college football one)

I had the opportunity to sit down with Goose Island Brewmaster Brett Porter to talk about the 2014 slate of Bourbon County Stout beers, in Beverly Hills of all places.

The answers to my questions posed that day will appear over on Food GPS in early November. For now, you get my tasting notes on the spin-offs and variants of the classic Stout that debuted over 20 years ago.

This year the BCS consists of the following: (with my tasting notes in italics)

Bourbon County Brand Stout – Original: A liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with thick foam the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer.
One of the rare bourbon barrel beers that doesn’t scream bourbon. I like that the previous occupant of the barrel is an additional note here. And this year the alcoholic heat is much less. No need to wait for this one, it is ready now. Quite viscous with milk chocolate notes here.

Bourbon County Brand Stout Coffee: Everyday Goose Island smells the wonderful coffee roasting next to our brewery at Chicago’s Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea. This world class roaster puts the same passion and skill into their coffee as Goose Island does with its beer. This excellent stout is made with a different coffee from our friends next door each year. With the change in coffee comes a change in the flavor profile, making each release truly unique from the previous years.
The 2014 wasn’t ready yet but brewmaster Porter really liked the coffee choice from Intelligentsia for this year. But the 2013 really held up well. Big coffee nose with lots of unroasted bean notes to it

Bourbon County – Barleywine: Aged in the third-use barrels that were once home to Kentucky bourbon and then our renowned Bourbon County Stout, this traditional English-style barleywine possesses the subtlety of flavor that only comes from a barrel that’s gone through many seasons of ritual care. The intricacies of the previous barrel denizens – oak, charcoal, hints of tobacco and vanilla, and that signature bourbon heat – are all present in this beer. Hearty and complex, Bourbon County Brand Barleywine is a titan and a timeline; a bold, flavorful journey through the craft of barrel aging.
When left to warm up, this really showed off some complexity. Lovely garnet color, this beer spent 6 months in barrels that previously held BCS. Slick on the tongue with cola and cranberry fruit notes. A little Umami action as well.

Bourbon County – Vanilla Rye: First brewed for the legendary festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer in Chicago, drinkers enjoyed this Bourbon County Variant so much we bottled it the next year (2010). People flocked to stores to get their hands on a bottle and have this one of a kind barrel aged stout. Over the past few years we have heard our fans express their love for this version and we are extremely proud to bring it back in 2014. This year’s version features a little twist of aging the stout in Rye Whiskey Barrels with a mix of Mexican and Madagascar vanilla beans!
I so wish this one had been ready but I will really like to see how these flavors meld together.

Proprietors Bourbon County: Proprietor’s Bourbon County Brand Stout is meant to show our immense gratitude to our neighbors here in Chicago – the loyal and adventurous fans whose support helped bring Bourbon County Brand Stout to towering new heights. Each year this release will differ from the previous year; a special variant created for Chicago and unique to the year it was released. Whether your first sip is today or was from that first batch in 1992, thank you for lifting us up on your big shoulders and joining us every year to celebrate the original bourbon barrel aged stout.

October 22, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Valar Morghulis from Brewery Ommegang

With news that HBO might offer non-subscribers the chance to stream the channel in the possible works, I just might not be as harsh on this latest Game of Thrones offering from Brewery Ommegang.

All kidding aside about the reclusive pay channel, this is the first GoT beer without a gimmicky ingredient. I say gimmicky without sarcasm too. Crazy ingredients are all well and good, but it is refreshing to see a straight-up Abbey Dubbel becoming an installment of this series.

The VM pours a dark red color and in every sensory category is quintessentially Abbey Dubbel. There is a lovely bit of spice in the beer reminiscent of the Hefeweizen profile with clove and banana mixed with a richer fig type taste and some burnt caramel. It also is both sticky on the palate while also being crisp initially.

I also like the touch of having the cork emblazoned with Valar Dohaeris (All Men Must Serve). It makes up for the somewhat hazy focused coin on the label that doesn’t work for me design wise.

And if you like this beer, other top rated Dubbels are:
Westmalle Dubbel and Lost Abbey’s Lost and Found.

October 20, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Craftylicious from Widmer & Gigantic

I was so busy reading the label of this 30 Years – 30 Beers collaboration between Widmer and Gigantic that I didn’t research the beer itself before taking a sip.

Boy, was I surprised because this is a tart and super fruity beer. I saw hoppy on the label and expected IPA but got a sour instead. Once that initial shock wore off, I was quite taken with this beer. Grapefruit pith, mango and fruit punch. Loads of acidity here too. The aroma carries no hint of it. Just barnyard funk. Twice I was lulled into thinking something else was coming.

Whatever position you hold in the craft v crafty debate, this beer should be tasted to be believed. Really top notch.

October 18, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Double IPA from Strike Brewing Co.

I am not one for baseball but even the faux baseball stitching on the can of Double IPA from Strike Brewing of San Jose, did not deter me from picking up a can. I have heard about this brewery but as with many new, smaller brewers not in LA, their beer had not reached us. Now we have one to base a summary judgement on.

This DIPA clocks in at 93 IBU’s. Quite the fastball that is. The aroma is very spicy and pepper filled and the taste that follows is nice and strong. After a pair of herbaceous fresh hop ales it is nice to get back to a truly bitter beer that has a nice balance of carbonation. It is sprightly and I am glad it is in the 8% realm of ABV. I am torn as to whether I like the aroma or flavor better. Leaning towards the aroma though. I would have liked to try their other baseball themed XPA, Chin Music to see how they work hops at the lighter end of the spectrum. But this beer was brewed with a deft touch and for a first beer tried, is a really strong start.

October 11, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Longevity Baltic Porter from Eagle Rock

Full disclosure:

A) I know the home brewer whose recipe this beer is based on

B) I had this beer at the Kick-Off Festival for L.A. Beer Week (at the end and my taste buds were shot) and I wasn’t blown away by it.

That being said, I wanted to go back and re-visit this beer with a fresh palate. So here is a second taste and first review on the blog of Longevity Baltic Porter from Eagle Rock Brewery & the Maltose Falcons home brew club.

The Porter pours a dark and inky black with streaks of brown to it. There are a mixture of roast, tobacco and chocolate notes on the nose that are quite nice. It did take a few sniffs to figure out exactly what was coming through to me even though the aroma is fairly potent.

The texture is quite light and very drinkable. The most dominant flavor to me is smoke with hints of a sweet cola underneath. This is no rauch bier by any means but that taste of smoke is certainly there.

This is one of those styles that may not be to my taste. It is well done but the smoke notes are a distraction to my palate.

If you are in the mood to try other Baltic Porters then check out Flying Dog’s Gonzo Porter, Victory’s Baltic Thunder or Baltika #6.

September 24, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Venn & Oktoberfest from Ninkasi

I love it when a box of beer comes in the mail. And when it is stamped Eugene, Oregon, I get more excited ’cause I know it is from Ninkasi.

So, which of these two media samples did I like better. Let’s start with Venn…

…which pours a darkish yellow meeting orange. That smell is the traditional swirl of spice and toast that you get from a clean, well made lager. This is a crisp beer. Not bubbly. Just crisp like biting into a neutral apple. It is strange but I taste a bit of strawberry here. Might just be me. But this is a juicy type of beer. No off flavors. No metallic minerality. Just really strong.

Now onto Oktoberfest in September. This beer pours a lovely orange color. Right off the bat, the aroma screams mineral to me. Again very crisp. Odd to have malt forward beers back to back. I just can’t escape the mineral saltiness that is in every sip. I keep looking at the empty Venn bottle. Not a good sign. There is a skosh hit of citrus in the flavor but it can’t overcome the major taste.

Obviously, this isn’t a toss up. Venn by a country mile.

September 17, 2014September 5, 2018

Review – Dopplebock from Widmer

I am still unsure about the label on this beer. As much as I like the concept, it seems a little too cartoon-y for me and for a big, bold Double Bock. But, as I have mentioned before, I am here to review the beer inside….

Time to check out the Dopplebock from the 30 Beers for 30 Years series from Widmer.

This Doppel pours a dark garnet color with flashes of red if the light is right. There is a residual head around the rim and a bit in the center as well. Nothing a barista could fashion into a design but certainly nice to look at.

The initial taste is quite zippy with a medicinal tinge to it. It is not thick at all. Flavor wise this is in the fig and plum realm exclusively. No coffee or chocolate. Just that tingling on the tongue as the bubbles cross the palate. In the way back, there is a slight burnt note or char that sorta creeps in as well.

The top two dopplebocks (per Ratebeer) come from Augustiner and Andechs of Germany. And California wise Navigator from Ballast Point earns top marks.