     OatGoop (Three Floyds Brewing Company)
Finding this available here in Sweden was the equivalent of finding a $50 bill in a jacket you haven't worn since last winter. A welcome surprise to say the least. OatGoop is actually an oat wine that is the second beer brewed together with Danish Mikkeller and is not an easy beer to come by, especially not in these parts. Mikkeller's beers can be found at many pubs, and they occasionally show up at the beer store, but this collaboration with Three Floyds was beyond my hopes. (This may be the first Three Floyds beer I've actually seen for sale here...) The bottle, although I imagine the design is the same, is packaged for the Danish market rather than the US one. With all the text in Danish, and the bottle size in metric. Appearance - Pours a deep orangey-copper, slightly cloudy without a lot of carbonation. Has a thin layer of off-white foam that bubbles away on top of the beer. Aroma - Smells hoppy - piney and sweet, with a mixture of sticky malts. Caramel and forest fruits. Very fresh and aromatic. Taste - Rich and clompy with lots of bitter hops and mellow malts. The 10.4% ABV is hard to find, but this certainly warms you up. Has a sweet aftertaste that stays on the tongue till you feel compelled for another sip. A great mixture of complex tastes, but still not over the top. Not at all like an overpowering barley wine of the same strength. This is much more refreshing and easier on the pallet. OatGoop is a unique beer, maybe it's the oats, but it is definitely hard to place taste wise. At this strength you expect something that isn't this smooth, it has only the slightest tinge of it's actual strength. Overall - A really enjoyable beer with a great combination of aroma and taste. A bit surprising component wise, but it all works well together - even the high ABV. Hoppy, malty and sweet and made to drink slowly. It's probably already sold out throughout Sweden, otherwise I'd gladly buy another bottle - even at a price of over $20 here. Below is a video from Mikkeller's trip over to Three Floyds to brew OatGoop...try and make some sense out of it if you can.
Posted by Kelly Labels: Wheatwines, Collaboration Beers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
   Juxtaposition Black Pilsner (BrewDog/Cambridge/Stone)
Yet another in a growing trend of "collaboration beers". Juxtaposition is a beer that combines the minds and brewing prowess of BrewDog from Scotland, Cambridge Brewing from my home state of Massachusetts and the almighty Stone from sunny San Diego into one impressive amazing creation. With those super powers altogether you're bound to get something delicious and definitely unique. From the Stone site: "That’s right…a Black Pilsner (and at 10% abv, one might be tempted to call it a Double Black Pilsner…but we’re not…we’ll let the style zealots start endless discussion threads on their own on that…we’re just brewing the damn beer…everyone will have to figure out for themselves what the hell style it is…just sayin’). Aside from being the first lager ever brewed at Stone (and using Bohemian lager yeast no less), this beer represents several other Stone “firsts.” This is the first time we’ve used Japanese Sorachi Ace hops and Motueka hops from New Zealand (there are no American hops in this beer). It’s also our first time both mash-hopping and mash-wort hopping a brew, as well as our first time using more than two kettle hop additions (there were 9 hop additions throughout the wort boiling process)." Holy Mother of Moses! That is sh*t ton of hopping! The dictionary tells us that juxtaposition means the act of being close together or side by side. A fitting name for a three way collaboration. Juxtaposition pours dark as an oil spot. It show some hints of red when held to the light but not much, this is dark, dark, dark. Talk about a pretty intense pour. Its thick, viscous and looks like carbonated motor oil. The head is nice and thick and an off white color that stands out against the black liquid it sits atop. The aroma is hoppy! Close your eyes and your brain will tell you this is an IPA. Open your eyes and you are faced with something that looks like anything but. There are some faint hints of Play-Doh and caramel to go along with a boat load of hoppy godness. As it warms a bit there are fleeting aromas of bourbon/whisky. This is something to cherish. Ahh, the first sip. Wow, this is something different. Lots hops, tongue numbing hops. Then there is a blast of warmth coming from the high ABV along with a good amount of malt. It has slight hints of Arrogant Bastard. My mouth is dry from the assault of alcohol heat and hops, this is intense! So much flavor, its almost an overload! I shall wait a few moments and let this beauty warm up and develop its full potential... ...and we're back. The hop aroma has settled and the dark, sweet smells are really taking shape. The taste is definitely one that makes me think of whisky/bourbon barrel aged beers. Its vanilla-esque, drying and warming. This is such a complex beer, one must try to truly appreciate. Cheers to friendships in the beer world!
Posted by Russ Labels: Lagers, Pilseners, Collaboration Beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
