The Pour:  I’m assuming it’s due to darker rye malts that this beer was a slightly darker version of an IPA.  Not black or brown, just deeper.  A touch of haziness was part of the overall appearance of Hop Rod, while the body was active and propped up a stable head, which incidentally, left very nice lacing as I drank it.

The Nose: Ever ubiquitous and perhaps starting to grow on me (to an infinitely tiny degree), grapefruity hops were a part of the nose. The citrusy nose was under-girded by a touch of tropical fruits, and the 8% ABV was a touch noticeable.  A slight caramel and rye pop made its way through the clusters of hops.  Also, an iron-like hint of metal emerged to the surface as well.

The Taste: Honestly, I expected quite a bit of spicy rye on the palate.  The bottle indicates that 18% rye was used.  Almost 1/5 of the grain bill is a notable amount, but it simply didn’t make the rye readily apparent.  Perhaps the hops stifled the impression.  Speaking of the hops, they dominated with high amounts of grapefruit qualities and a very nice and firm tropical fruit undertone.  The sharp bitterness and metallic tones cuts through the tongue like a razor while the bits of caramel malt and medium mouth-feel held the brew in check. This is very much and American IPA.

Overall: Truthfully, the beer was better than I expected.  It’s still not something I’d go after on a normal basis, but I enjoyed it as an occasional sipper.  Personally, a bit more mouth-feel and residual sweetness would benefit this beer.  This is, of course, a common criticism I have of U.S. IPAs.  That being said, I would recommend that those of you who like IPAs (not that I don’t) to try this one…if they don’t sue you for drinking it.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among Other American IPAs: ★★★¾☆ 

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The Pour:  To be honest, this beer simply wasn’t as dark as I expected it to be.  It was dark, but light pierced through the body.  However, a creamy, light brown, and stable head rested neatly on the robust porter colored body.

The Nose: Plenty of hops came through on the nose.  Personally, I’m not a huge fan of large hop aromas for a stout, but this wasn’t too bad at all.  Hints of powdery yeast and iron-like metallic qualities were part of the nose.  Caramel, chocolate, and bits of coffee also played a role on the nose.  A treacle/honey tone was also detectible.  Sweeter malt aromas told me that the beer would have a fair amount of balance for all its bigness.

The Taste: The sweetness and caramel were perhaps the first impression that I had of Big Bear.  It wasn’t long after the beer hit my tongue that I caught some noticeable alcohol in the backdrop of this brew.  A dry and semi-bitter chocolate dominated the middle, while coffee made itself known in the far back.  Treacle/honey and vinous (wine-like) qualities were also notable flavors that occurred on the late middle to the finish of this Bear Republic brew.  Of course, the hop tastes and bitterness were a major factor in the beer as well.  Big Black Bear had a creamy mouth-feel, which held the biggest parts in check.

Overall, this is a good beer when fresh.  However, I’m inclined to let a bottle hibernate for 2-3 years because I think it could be much better than its current form.  This should cause the hops to tone down, sweeten the body, and mellow the beer.  It’s still worth trying fresh.

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I’ve written before about how important a beer selection is to me vs. simply having a large quantity on tap. Although these guys don’t have the number of beers to match corporate models, what they do have is what one might call a deep cut.  So, when Dan told me that they didn’t have tons of beer on tap, I wasn’t too deterred…and that’s a good thing.

When we arrived, I immediately took note that the Back Abbey had a display above the bar of bottles from every Trappist Ale, even the rare Westvleteren selections.  That is the one Trappist coveted by beer drinkers that can’t be obtained very easily since they do not distribute or sell their beer commercially (most people are either out of luck or become one-armed and one-legged).  At any rate, every other Trappist was available for purchase.

Having already eaten, Andrea and I did not order any food but did eat some Fritz, which were pretty good (thanks for sharing, Dan and Samantha).  The Back Abbey served food, which looked very nice in presentation and even better in my mind’s tasting eye.  Yet, I was more than content to order a beer or two.

Andrea ordered Carmelite Trippel and I order Schneider Aventius and Saison Dupont…all on tap.  (I didn’t know where else to start, so I went for some things I’d never had on tap before.)  I also tasted Dan’s draught Celebrator, which is already great in the bottle.  I’m not going to give you a full list of the beers, but their tap list was wonderful and their bottle list was great, too.

As I side note, I do want to mention that Dan ordered Kwak on tap.  He literally had to give up his shoe to get the Kwak glass (some thievery has brought about this state of affairs).  But the ambience of the place is also very nice.  The interior had a rustic, almost older German/Belgian pub feel.  No music was blaring, only lively conversations.  The wait staff was friendly and knowledgeable.  There is also something re-assuring, from a quality perspective, when the glasses are inspected with scrutiny before beer ever touches them. Anyway, it was one of the more enjoyable nights that I’ve had for $15 worth of beer.  Check out the Back Abbey if you are near Claremont, CA.

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The Pour: It’s amazing how one’s recollection of a beer can be skewed by time and expectation.  When I poured Bison Chocolate Stout, I noticed that it was not quite as dark as I remembered it being.  In fact, it was less Stout looking and more Porter in approach; light was visible throughout the dark brown/black body and a creamy light brown head sat atop–looked like a Porter.

The Nose: When I caught the touches of coffee aroma, I remembered that this was in fact a Stout.  For me, the dividing line of a stout and porter essentially lies along the lines of using Black Patent Malt or Roasted Barley.  I normally don’t see porters as having these coffee tones simply because they don’t (normally) use the darker and malts.  Thus, it seemed more stout-like on the nose than in the color.  Along with the coffee came sweet malts and, of course, chocolate.  I also noted a slight stale quality on the nose (I think this was also from the darker malts).  Even a metallic note was present.

The Taste: That metallic note came through on the first sip of the beer.  It wasn’t overbearing, but it was there.  I started drinking the beer as it was cold and noted the rich chocolate tones, dark roast, and touches of coffee.  There were some sweet notes that were probably bolstered in perception by the chocolate.  As I like to do with most beers I try, I let Bison’s offering warm up a bit.  At that point, the chocolate tones really started to come into their own.  The dark roast and biscuit qualities/malts (even though some people hate that others use the term biscuit to describe a beer) also became very distinct.

Overall, I personally prefer Bison to Young’s Double Chocolate Stout any day of the week, so I’m a little more enthusiastic about this one.  However, I think the short comings of this beer rest in its lack of more darkness and roast.  I also think the chocolate could stand to be a little more intense.  Contrary to what you might think, this is still a beer worth drinking.  My personal opinion is that the drinker tries a bottle and ages a bottle.  When it’s aged, this beer really comes into its own.  Pick it up!

Here is a link to the specifics of this brew.  Hope you know your gravities–it actually ends up being 5%ABV.

Mike’s Rating

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★¾☆ 

Among other Chocolate Stouts: ★★★★¼ 

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