Filed under: Imperial Stout (snifter), Stone | Tags: Alcohol by volume, amazing, beer, Beer rating, chocolate, coffee, delicious, hoppy, nuts, rich, seasonal, snifter, spring, stout, Types of chocolate
Stone Imperial Russian Stout
ABV: 10.8 %
RateBeer rating: 100/96
Calories: estimated at 600 C
Volume: 22 fl oz
Glass: Snifter
Purchased at: Super Saver, Pennington, NJ
Price: $5.99
Originally enjoyed on 5/9/2008
This is a one-year anniversary tasting, and by complete coincidence.
First Impression: Aroma is roasted, chocolate, nutty, and slightly metallic. Visuals are pitch dark body topped with a nice thick brown head, which dissipates in a few minutes but not completely. Lacing is nice. Taste does not disappoint. A deep, hoppy, roasted flavor. Some coffee, some dark chocolate, some smoke, but just a touch. Alcohol is very well hidden. Palate is back of tongue, spongey, yeasty, and blunt, long, very tasty finish. Nicely done. A grave presence. Second Impression: an impressive beer by any standard, but a great stout. Surprisingly drinkable, deep, delicious, and so very well balanced. Stone does amazing things.
Aroma: 9 out of 10
Visuals: 5 out of 5
Taste: 10 out of 10
Palate: 5 out of 5
Overall: 19 out of 20. This is one of the best beers I’ve ever had.
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Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Sierra Nevada | Tags: active, Alcohol by volume, amazing, basil, beautiful, beer, Beer rating, blood, cardamom, cloudy, creamy, curry, deep, Drink, dry earth, drying, excellent, Food, fresh, grains, grapefruit, grass, India Pale Ale, orange, peanut oil, pine, Recreation, red, rye toast, sawdust, strong, white
pourn: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2008
Glass: Shaker, Tulip
Purchased at: Oaktree buy rite, South Plainfield, NJ
Price: $16.99
Size: 12 fl oz
ABV: 6.8 %
IBU: n/a
Estimated Calories: 170 C
RateBeer Rating: 96
Aural: quiet opening, active carbonation, nice pour
Aroma 8 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: sweet
Impression: nice
Malt Aroma: rye toast, peanut oil
Hops Aroma: dry earth, grass, basil, grapefruit
Other Aroma: pine
Notes: A great active aroma. Very mindful of a strong IPA.
Appearance 5 out of 5
Color: dark
Clarity: cloudy, bottle conditioned
Head Retention: average
Lace: intricate
Notes: Beautiful beer. Deep red orange hues with a white head and lace.
Flavor 9 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Impression: nice
Malt Flavor: grain bread toast nut
Hops Flavor: curry, cardamom, grapefruit
Other: orange, grapefruit, pine
Notes: Sawdust and blood. Like an accident happened, but in a good way. How do they make such a commercial beer so very good?
Palate 5 out of 5
Mouthfeel
Sensation: creamy drying
Body: full
Carbonation: average
Finish
Length: long
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Notes: Perhaps the best aspect of this very good beer. Leaves you wanting more.
General Impression: 18 out of 20
Craftmanship: excellent
Freshness: fresh
Personal Taste: loved
Notes: An amazing beer for the brewer and price. Just fantastic.
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Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Sierra Nevada | Tags: amazing, beautiful, bitter, brilliant, citrus, clear, crisp, delicious, dry, golden, grapefruit, high quality, hoppy, hops, long finish, nice, orange, pine, resin, well balanced
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
First tasted on 2/21/2009
video added 3/25/2009
Style; glass: IPA; tulip
12 fl oz x 7.2% ABV = 86.4 / 60 = 1.44 beers * 150 C = 216 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ for $1.12
Aroma: hops, citrus, stinging, and pine needles. Invigorating.
Visuals: beautiful brand safe packaging, summer sunset, brilliant golden orange clarity, thinning white yellowish head, exquisite lace.
Taste: starts sweet and bitter simultaneously, middle is dark with some roasted notes and lots of citrus, which lingers as grapefruit, resin, and tar.
Palate: peppery, stinging, and tart, middles dull to a warming and a throb in the back of the mouth, the finish is dark, warming, and delicious.
Overall: This is a spectacular, delicious, and superlative achievement. At this price, intensity, and quality, I have found my go-to daily bread. Sierra Nevada, you’ve absolutely done it. You are so hired.
http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/torpedo.html
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Filed under: Belgian Ale (trappist, tulip, tumbler), Victory | Tags: amazing, beautiful, bitter, crisp, dark, deep, dry, hazy, long finish, mold, pine, resin, sour, strong
Victory Wild Devil
Style; glass: Belgian Ale, Trappist
22 fl oz x 6.7% ABV = 147.4 / 60 = 2.45 beers * 150 C = 367.5 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ for $9.99
It’s a deep bitter style that eludes traditional style descriptions – not quite an IPA, not quite a Belgian, but delicious, dank, and a bit soapy. Recommended as a different direction for hop lovers and Belgian lovers.
Filed under: Imperial Stout (snifter), Mikkeller | Tags: a new level of strength, alcohol, amazing, barnyard, blackness, cocoa, coffee, deep woods, ether, hay, highest quality, intricate lace, long dark finish, midnight, nicely balanced, oak, off the charts in malt and hops, solid, staying tan head, Superb, syrupy texture, thick, viscous, world class packaging
Mikkeller Black Stout
Style and Glass: Imperial Stout; Snifter
12.7 fl oz * 17.5% = 222.5 / 60 = 3.7 beers * 150 = 555 C est.
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ for $18.99
Neither of those (17.5 or 18.99 or 12.7 fl. oz. ) are typos.
Aroma: amazing, coffee, cocoa, hay, barnyard, oak, alcohol, ether.
Visuals: world class packaging, blackness, midnight, deep woods, solid, thick, viscous, staying tan head, intricate lace.
Taste: nicely balanced, off the charts in malt and hops, a new level of strength. Superb.
Palate: highest quality, syrupy texture, long dark finish.
Overall: The DFH 120 minute IPA of the world of imperial stouts. All others pale. It is without a doubt the best beer I have ever tasted in my life. I will go and clear the shelves of it, whatever the cost. It’s not only a favorite, it is my new superlative standard. Highest value for the highest craft. Mikkeller is only posing as a human.
A second tasting: I often say that this beer or that beer is ‘one of my favorites’ but this beer is, by far, my favorite brew. I forst had this in November of 2008, and wondered when I declared that it was my favorite how long it would hold the title. Many beers since have been very good, very complex, flavorful, and rewarding, but this one has all of that, plus personality, style, and an aroma, that is at once chocolatey, peppery, and full of booziness. The complex mixture in the flavor and texture includes maple syrup, alcohol, vodka, coffee, licorice, candy, dust, and chalk. The heft is intimidating, and the alcohol effects about halfway through makes you respect and quietly sip and contemplate it. This is an amazing brew, and would pair well with the most powerfully spicy or sweet dishes. It would overpower almost anything else, and for me, that’s right on. Play on, Mikkeller, you rock it hard.
Filed under: Belgian Strong Ale (trappist, tulip, tumbler), Brooklyn | Tags: amazing, banana, beautiful, citrus, deep, delicious, dry, fruit, hazy, long finish, nice, ruby, sour, sweet, well balanced
brooklyn local 2 belgian strong ale
Style; glass:Belgian Strong; trappist
25.4 fl oz x 9% ABV = 228.6 / 60 = 3.81 beers * 150 C = 571.5 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ for $ (have to check)
Aroma: cloves, banana, peach, fruit. A wonderful version of the style, aroma fills the room.
Visuals: Meticulous packaging, beautiful and royal, thinner translucent head, hazy ruby body, gossamer lacing.
Taste: Begins bubbly, sweet, and washy, middles to a fruity candy, finishes dark with some bitterness. Delicious.
Palate: Heavily carbonated, very fresh, middle dulls and flavors emerge, finish is long lasting, sweetness, roastiness converging.
Overall: As most of my purchases from Garrett O., this is a quality brew, worth the price, with exquisite care, packaging, and attention to detail. Superb.
Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Stone | Tags: amazing, banana, bitter, brilliant, citrus, crisp, delicious, fruit, golden, grapefruit, hoppy, nice, pine, sweet, wheat
Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
Style; glass: IPA; tulip
22 fl oz x 6.9% ABV = 151.8 / 60 = 2.53 beers * 150 C = 379.5 calories (est.)
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville for $7.99
Aroma: sweet, banana and cloves, some citrusy hops, pine, grass.
Visuals: packaging is beautiful, though screen printing always seems to be coming off the bottle. It gives the brand a bit of crumbly marble style, though I wonder if it’s intentional? Perhaps the most brilliant IPA I’ve ever seen, absolutely crystal clear. Like the final scene in THX 1138, it’s that bright sunlight. Golden, pale, transparent, bright white head, sticky fresh Belgian lace. Carbonation is continuous.
Taste: Delicious, sweet, and hoppy. A great blend, very much in the spirit of Chouffe’s Hobblon Dobblen (sp?). Expertly balanced, nice easygoing maltiness, great hops. Perhaps my favorite new session brew.
Palate: Crisp, clean, and refreshing. A dream of fusion of two of my favorite styles. I hope they develop an imperial of this. Starts very sweet, crisp, middle has a bit of a burn and slight roastiness, finish is hops and bitterness with a salty sweet end note. Amazing.
Overall: In terms of lighter brews and more reasonable ABVs, this is a clear winner, and easily my favorite IPA at the moment, and very much a favorite all around, though my top honor still goes to Mikkeller for Black. I’m going to get more, soon. Stone, just keep them coming, and please consider an imperial version of this.
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Filed under: Barleywine Style Ale (snifter), Schlafly | Tags: alcohol, amazing, beautiful, bitter, brilliant, clear, dark, deep, hoppy, long finish, oak, pine, red, resin, resinous, sour, whiskey
Schlafly Oak Aged Barley Wine Style Ale
Style and Glass: Barley Wine Style Ale, Snifter
ABV, Volume & Calories: 10.2% in 25.4 fl oz. estimated at 400C
Purchased at: Canal’s Hamilton for $11.99
Aroma: Oak, whiskey, alcohol, heartburn, smoke, and tobacco. An exhilarating aroma, and just being around it seems a little bit like a spicy barbecue is nearby.
Visuals: Packaging is a bit precious, but well done, and meets the need for specialty presentation. Body is an angry deep hazy red under an almost white long lasting head. Freshness and quality are evident from the way the body acts. Lacing is sticky and thick. Beautiful.
Taste: licorice, smoke, spices, and oak meld at the front, the middle has a deep slow burn, and the finish is almost all hops with a sweet malty undertone. An amazing brew. The oak really gives this BWSA a depth and flavor that I find pretty unique. Barbeque sweetness and smoke is welcome. This should be had with some blackened chicken and spicy curried potatoes. This would be great with Indian cuisine.
Palate: Smoother than you’d expect by far. Very oaky, woody, and crisp. A bit sour, puckers after a moment. Finish is warm, delicious, and strong
Overall: I love this, but I’d love it more playing against some savory and spicy flavors. Delicious.
Filed under: Founders, Imperial/Double IPA (snifter, tulip) | Tags: alcohol, amazing, beautiful, bitter, brilliant, citrus, clear, delicious, golden, grapefruit, hoppy, hops, orange, pine, red, resin, sweet, well balanced
Founders Double Trouble DIPA
Style and Glass: DIPA, Tulip; snifter
ABV, Volume & Calories: 9.4% in 12 fl oz. estimated at200 C
Purchased at: Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ for $2.75
Aroma: A beautiful, hoppy explosion. Pine, citrus, resin, salt, seawater, and burn of alcohol is very present.
Visuals: design is fun, inviting, and apropos, body is a winter sunset, deep reddish orange with a bright white head, very clear, head is small but withstands the tasting, lace is missing.
Taste: smooth, sweet and burning, syrupy and spicy with savory notes, hops are forefront, bitter and biting.
Palate: smooth throughout. Alcohol inhale on first taste, followed quickly by sweetness, then intense bitterness, then a long dulling battering of the mouth. Delicious.
Overall: An amazing and delicious brew. A bit expensive, but always worth it. .
