     Reserve Special Black Bier Ale (Dark Horse Brewing Company)
My second beer from Dark Horse and I am happy to read that this one has some roots in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula of Michigan). I called the U.P. home for 4 years while at college at NMU. Its a place like no other and carries a "sense of place" like few other locales on planet earth. If you've ever spent any time there you know what I mean. From the Dark Horse site: "Conceived in a dimly lit room on a blistery cold night in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but born and raised here in Marshall, Michigan. The Reserve Special is the oldest of all beers in the Dark Horse family. It has an incredibly “thick” presence and when poured into a glass its color is so dark it’s eerie. The flavors explode onto your taste buds with heavy malt, roast, and chocolate, but stay very balanced. The Reserve Special Black Ale has a hard time being called a stout or porter but it fits nicely into the category of a delicious strong black ale." Here we go... Pour - settles like a stout or a porter. Super dark brown to black with a thin mocha colored head. No light gets through this one, it reminds me of an Imperial Stout almost.
Aroma - coffee, soy sauce, teriyaki, dark roasted malt, charcoal, burnt wood, burnt sugar, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, caramel and vanilla. Yes, this has a lot of nasal complexity.
Taste - sweet, bitter, malty, tangy and creamy all at once. This hits your pallet at full speed and gets your tastes buds revved up immediately. Its an all out assault of coffee grounds, dark roasty/toasty malts, soy sauces, burnt toffee and caramel goodness. Be ready for a tongue that will be working overtime to handle all that this one has to dish out because its not a simple dark ale, this is something different, something special-er.
Overall - complex and delicious. I am still processing the first sip and all it offered. My tongue is dry and yet thirsty for more of this intriguing elixir. Vanilla, coffee, bitter chocolate, caramel and dark roasted malts galore. Hooray for non-conformity.
Would I buy more of it? - yes. I'll be buying more of this for sure. No doubt about it.
Note - From Wikipedia, "The Upper Peninsula of Michigan contains almost one-third of the land area of Michigan but just three percent of its total population. Residents are frequently called Yoopers (derived from "U.P.-ers") and have a strong regional identity. It includes the only counties in the United States where a plurality of residents claim Finnish ancestry. The area is also home to American Indians nations. Large numbers of Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian emigrants came to the Upper Peninsula, especially the Keweenaw Peninsula, to work in the mines, and they stayed on and prospered even after the copper mines closed. Ordered by size, the peninsula's largest cities are Marquette (less than 20,000), Sault Ste. Marie, Escanaba, Menominee, Houghton, and Iron Mountain. The land and climate are not very suitable for agriculture. The economy has been based on logging, mining and more recently tourism. Most mines have closed since the "golden age" from 1890 to 1920, and the land is still heavily forested today. Therefore, logging remains a major industry.
Posted by Russ Labels: American Strong Ales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
    Brown Shugga' Ale (Lagunitas Brewing Company)
Don't forget to always read the small print! This rather innocent bottle of beer packs some serious heat. You'll notice that really small it says the alcohol percentage at the bottom of the label (9.84%), this is no hop-laden 7% IPA! From the Lagunitas site: "How come you taste so good?? 200 pounds of pure brown sugar in each 30-barrel batch, that's how! This strong ale leaves a lot of stories in it's wake." The label reads: "We believe this Special Ale is something unique. Feeding brown cane sugar to otherwise cultured brewery yeast is a'kin to feeding raw shark to your gerbil. It is unlikely to ever occur in nature without human intervention. And it looks weird besides. But it has happened and now it's too late." Here we go... Pour - beautiful reddish brown in color with almost an inch of thick vanilla icing colored foam on top. Seems so innocent in the glass, like it could be a very "sessionable" brown ale.
Aroma - cooked apples, unfiltered hard cider, caramel and a touch of straight alcohol that gets inside your nose.
Taste - wow, this is sweet and potent. The malty sweetness wraps the tongue and the alcohol warms the stomach instantly. Has a bit of a hard cider flavor with no hop presence whatsoever. Plenty of the brown sugar flavor stands out that is for sure. Nice and dry in the finish with a lingering sweetness, like a desert wine.
Overall - A great fall seasonal from Lagunitas. Guess what? Its not hoppy! This smooth, warming, high octane ale is sweet and delicious. A six-pack would put anyone into hibernation that is for sure.
Would I buy more of it? - yep, already have plans to pick up some more for when the real cold hits.
Note - Did you know that brown sugar has less calories than white sugar? Also, brown sugar has a brown color due to the presence of molasses. It sure does make for a tasty way to increase the alcohol in your beer too.
Posted by Russ Labels: American Strong Ales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Thanksgiving Ale (Mayflower Brewing Company)
I can not imagine a more appropriate brewery when it comes to releasing a "Thanksgiving Ale". Mayflower Brewing is located in historic Plymouth, Massachusetts, home to what many believe was the first "Thanksgiving" meal back in 1621. From the Mayflower site: "Our first seasonal brew! Mayflower Thanksgiving Ale is an inspired blend of two brewing styles: American Strong Ale and English Old Ale. Aged on American white oak, this full-bodied brew warms the soul with hints of caramel, vanilla and spicy nuts." Here we go... Pour - dark auburn with some reddish hues. Head is offwhite, thick and sits atop this pour quite nicely. Its a very clean looking beer, a little viscous as its weighing in at 8%.
Aroma - brown sugar and caramel along with slight hints of vanilla and apples. Its also got just a touch of alcohol heat in the nose.
Taste - sweet, malty and flavorful. Plenty of the brown sugar and caramel comes out in the taste along with some maple syrup, candied apple, cider and a little vanilla. The oak certainly has mellowed this one out and made it super smooth, it exhibits some qualities that remind me of a Belgian-style dubbel. Nice warmth from the alcohol and a dry sweetness in the finish.
Overall - An excellent beer for the Thanksgiving table. The maltiness goes well with everything on the table and the oak has mellowed this one perfectly. Excellent flavors and just an overall great offering from Mayflower. Cheers!
Would I buy more of it? - yes, every Thanksgiving going forward I will do my best to have a bottle on the table.
Note - Click the turkey below for a great article about enjoying beer with a traditional Thanksgiving meal by none other than "the Beerhunter" himself, Michael Jackon.
Posted by Russ Labels: Holiday Beers, American Strong Ales, Autumn Beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale (Stone Brewing Company)
I can't help but love Stone for having a beer called Arrogant Bastard as well as one called Sublimely Self-Righteous. This is yet another category defying "American Strong Ale" from Stone. Well, I guess that is now a style unto itself. By the way, Sublimely Self-Righteous is the reincarnation of Stone's 11th Anniversary Ale. So, if this one tastes familiar, that may be why. If you didn't get a chance to try that a few years back definitely be on the look out for this very unique beer. From the Stone site (about the original release): “The inspiration for making a Black IPA (or should we say "India Black Ale/ IBA"?) has been over a year in the making. As soon as we wrapped up the brewing of the Stone 10th Anniversary IPA, we started brainstorming ideas for the Stone 11th Anniversary Ale, and the Black IPA concept was born. This was a challenging brew to formulate and achieve what we considered the ideal flavor balance of intense up-front hops with balanced roasted malt flavors, a deep, rich flavor, and a hearty bitterness. .” The Sublimely Self-Righteous pours BLACK as night with a very contrasting white head. It reminds me of that famous stout from Ireland but this one looks more vigorous and much more assertive. The aroma from this beer was a shock to say the least. A beer this dark shouldn't smell like this, well maybe it should if its a "Black IPA". We are talking loads of hops, piney, marijuana-ey, grapefruity hops. It also has the familiar smell that makes me think Simcoe hops were a big addition to this beer. Yes, it has that astringent "cat pee" thing going on a bit, but don't think of it that way. Think of it as super fresh hoppy goodness. One sip and again this defies the dark beer expectations that my mind has. No malty sweetness up front, this beer is all about hops. A ton of piney, evergreen flavor is the most prevalent. The astringent bitter hop flavor is tongue numbing but oh so good. There are some hints of bitter coffee and dark chocolate but mainly this is hophead territory. What can I say, this beer is great. Call it a Black IPA or an American Strong Ale or whatever you want. Its a big, gutsy beer that will blow you away and wash clean any assumptions you might have about dark beer.
Posted by Russ Labels: American Strong Ales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
   Imperial Red Ale (Lagunitas Brewing Company)
Another "Limited Release" from Lagunitas. This one was just released this month. This red ale is the real deal, it weighs in at seven and half percent and in true Lagunitas fashion, its hoppy...very hoppy. From the Lagunitas site: "Big on the spicy, skunky hops, bigger on the rich red malt. A variation of our original 1993 "Lagunitas Red"." Imperial Red pours a rich, thick reddish amber. When held to the light it almost looks brown with glimpses of nice ruby red. The head on this is about a half inch and quite thick. It leaves a nice "o" ring as it slinks away into the murky depths of this beer. Initial aroma is sweet, lots of caramel and melted brown sugar. Their are some nice earthy and citrusy hop notes coming through as well but its definitely sweet up front. That being said, the initial sip brings about lots of bitter hops and nice grapefruit and tropical fruit flavors. Its definitely enough to play a duet with the malty backbone that is well defined in the aroma. The tongue will be feeling the effects of the hops that is for sure. My mouth is drying out quickly. The sweet ness is not cloying as things are balanced out quite well. Definitely a beer to sit back and enjoy as its pretty hefty and has a lot of flavor. Another nice release form Lagunitas...how many strong, hoppy beers will you guys brew? I say, there will never be enough so keep 'em coming!
Posted by Russ Labels: American Strong Ales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Stone Thirteenth Anniversary Ale (Stone Brewing Company)
"Big, red and a hop monster" Well, here we are, just myself and a super fresh bottle of Stone 13th Anniversary. I was going to wait to open it but then I read on the bottle "Do Not Cellar, Enjoy in 2009". That pretty much justified my opening this right now. Pours a very deep, dark, mysterious rubyish brown color with an off-white, slightly tan head that is super thick and fluffy. Instantly the aroma fills the general vicinity around this extremely pungent and potent brew. Lots of ridiculously piney and grapefruity smells abound. There is also a delicious smelling essence of pineapple and mango as well. Wow, absolutely amazing smelling stuff. One sip and I am elated. This is very, very, very, hoppy. Its got a ton of piney and citrus going and its instantly tongue numbing, sort of like Ruination IPA. It just beats the living crap out of your tongue with a catastrophic bombardment of fresh Pacfic Northwest lupuluous love. Once the hop attack subsides the warming sense of the alcohol makes things all good and the sweet, caramel maltiness really works to balance things out. Boy am I happy to know that this JUST came out and I might have a few weeks to suck down a few more bottles of this beauty. Who says 13 is a tough age? This is getting a four and a half on the hop scale! Stone, you've done it again. Thank you. From the Stone website: "Take your idea of a hoppy Stone beer and throw it out the window, because Stone 13th Anniversary Ale is the hoppiest beer we’ve ever brewed. Just how much hops is in this year’s batch? You may want to sit down for this…4.5 lbs. PER BARREL! To lend you a bit of perspective, Stone 10th Anniversary IPA, revered by many as the quintessential hopped-up Stone Anniversary Ale, had about 2.5 lbs. per barrel."
Posted by Russ Labels: Amber/Red Ales, American Strong Ales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
    Arrogant Bastard Ale (Stone Brewing Company)
This is the one and only Arrogant Bastard Ale from Stone Brewing Company out of Escondido, California. This is the beer that your friends have talked about for years and it will not disappoint to all those worthy of its hardcore mix of malt and a boat load of hops. One line from the famous label reads, "This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it." How is that for an invitation? Worked for me... Pours a nice dark mahogany color with a beautiful yellowish head that quickly takes up the space at the top quarter of my glass. Its a sight to behold really, such a rich color in a liquid and such a perfectly formed head on its top. The head is tight and slowly begins to leave little islands of foam floating atop this inviting elixir. The smell is arrogant. Well, not really. Its more like super fresh, piney hops that almost sting your nose. Its slightly grassy mixed with hints of malt sweetness mixed with the acidic bitterness of citrus, both orange and grapefruit. I have to drink this. First taste is sharp! Its astringent, its hoppy, its got some serious bite! It slowly becomes smoother and provides that nice hop fix that draws me to beers like this. There is not a lot of malt backbone to the Arrogant Bastard, but you know what? Who cares? It doesn't need to be a well balanced example of anything. Its supposed to be what it says it is...aggressive! The hop bite and the alcohol warming are a nice combo. Its nice to be a bastard. Personally, I like to call this a strong, dark IPA from the West Coast that has no equal.
Posted by Russ Labels: American Strong Ales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale (Stone Brewing Company)
The "Oaked" Arrogant Bastard is "oaked" by throwing oak chips in during the fermentation. This is a comparison between this version and the original. The "Oaked" looks a bit more reddish when it pours. Its a nice dark brown with hints of ruby redness. The head is an off white that is about a finger in thickness and sticks around for quite some time before deciding to go away. The smell is strong and hoppy, much like the "Original". However the hop smell is not as intense and is accompanied by a subtle malt sweetness that wasn't quite as apparent before. I also get some caramel and definitely some baking vanilla from the wood. Tastes smooooooooooooooooth. Definitely smoother and silkier than the original non-oaked version. The fresh, astringent hoppiness is replaced by a slightly bourbon-esque bitterness mixed with vanilla notes and alcohol dryness. Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale is full of unique flavors and is a drinking experience unlike most others. If I had to choose, I would go for the original since I am more partial to fresh hops than I am to barrel aged whiskey/bourbon tastes. Have your own taste test sometime and find out if you're "worthy".
Posted by Russ Labels: American Strong Ales, Wood-aged Beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
