So on a recent trip to Kansas City, I found myself at a bar with my wife.  Her friend, who is waitress at the bar, offerred discounted drinks on tap.  The selection wasn’t great, so I settled upon Boulevard Brewing Company’s Dry Stout.  It had been six years or so since I had sampled the beer, and had completely forgotten the nuances.

As the beer was set down at the table, the appearance alone piqued my anticipation.  The undulationg service made the think tan head look incredibly smooth.  I picked up the brew and indulged my nostrils.  Yes I was in the mood for this beer.  The crisply dry and smoky  aroma of dark malts, bitter chocolate and espresso were just what I was expecting.

I put the liquid into my mouth.  Well, it was a tad thinner than I had expected, but the smooth mouth feel was exceptional for a dry stout.  The flavor was a bit weaker than I had expected, and tad unbalanced.  Perhaps a little bit malt was necessary.  Nonetheless, the typical flavors were there–a fresh bitter flavor from the bittering hops, rich roasted malt, and very mildly sweet baking cocoa flavor.

But as the liquid engulfed every taste bud and then slid down my throat, there was a sickening twist…elmers glue.  It tasted exaclty like Elmer’s Glue smells.  I sipped again.  The flavor was undeniable.  The more I sipped, the more I realized this beer was bad.  In fact, horrible.

Now, I am sure many will disgree, as perhaps they should!  Many may say that I just don’t know my stouts:  on the contrary I have enjoyed many in the same style within the past few months (Moylan’s Dragoon for example).  And I can’t rule out that perhaps this batch was tainted.  Maybe the bar needed to service their lines, or I was the first to order the beer that evening and the line had not been run first.

But the more I sipped, the more this peculiar/disturbing flavor reared its ugly head, and the more I disliked the beer.  And as a former Missouri resident and fan of Boulevard, I was saddened!  I hope next time I am in Missouri (they don’t distribute to Northwest Ohio) I hope to try a bottle, and prove myself wrong!

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★☆☆☆ 

Among other Irish Dry Stouts: ★½☆☆☆ 

Here are some other posts on Missouri beers.

As with any culture, abundance leads to finicky habits, as is the case with the IPA.  America has become hooked on this revived style, and have flooded the shelves with many, many varieties.  As a result, I have a wider range to from which to judge superiority.  Simply put, they all be good, but they are not all the best.

While I was in KC, I really indulged in beers that are not typically available in Northwest Ohio, and really became quite fond of beers from the St. Louis based, Schlafly.  While I was looking through some randomly assorted single 12oz bottles, my eye hit upon a bottle of Export IPA, one of Schlafly’s special releases.  I picked up a bottle, expecting a typical IPA (American) flavor:  Caramel, hops, hops, hops, citrus, etc.  Boy was I wrong!

The beers pour was somewhat typical.  The ruby red liquid was a tad more brown that I was expecting, and it appeared just a bit thinner than expected, but overall, it looks like an IPA.  Carbonation is fairly active, and stickly lacing leaves neat designs on the glass’ interior.

The aroma burst with pine aromas.  I am guessing the typical Pacific Northwest hops were spared or used sparsely in this brew.  Alcohol bites are up front on the nose.  Beyond this, the aroma is slightly indescribable.  The malt aroma is not as caramel/tofee-ish as in other American brewed IPAs.

The flavor caught me WAY off guard.  In fact I had to remind myself that this was an IPA!  The flavor was crisp and light.  The hop aroma is complex, and tastes similar to how a spruce smells.  Slightly lemony, but not grapefruity at all.  There is a lime hint. The malt flavor is sweet and bready.  You can taste the farm a bit in this one.  There are extreme flowery and herbal flavors.  The malt flavors dissipated quickly after swallowing, and a characteristic flavor that was present from the beginning lingered.  I knew the flavor, I just could not pinpoint it…then it hit me..GIN!

There is the most pinpoint unique flavor of a crisp dry gin in this IPA, that makes this beer extremely enjoyable!

After drinking, I looked at ratings on BeerAdvocate just to see others’ reactions, and was shocked and dismayed to see an average rating of B+ from the BA community.  Are you kidding me?  As I read the reviews, it seemed that perhaps the consumers did not realize that this was not an “American IPA,” rather, it is and English Style IPA. The taste, is quite different from the typical IPAs (many that I do enjoy considerably, but it is more complex than just about any American IPA I have had.  I did not expect coherence to my opinion, but, given that the BeerAdvocate seems to overrate most beers, I was not expecting a B+!

Overall, this beer is a beauty.  Even if you don’t like gin, I think you will find this beer enlightening.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★☆ 

Among other IPAs: ★★★★★ 

Among MO Brews: ★★★★★ 

Note:

Here are several beer from Schlafly we’ve tried…

For it’s oaken barrel series, Schlafly chose to brew an Oak Aged Barleywine and a Barrel Aged Imperial stout.  Normally I would not go out of my way for oak aged beer, as it at times has seemed to be a trend that was bit capitulated to beer trend, but I couldn’t resist the fantastic boxes that the beer came packaged in.  Of course it is the actual beer that I love so much, but at the same time I appreciate a well packaged beer.  I picked up the 2007 series with jubilation…the beer had sat undisturbed in the dark for nearly a year.

Schlafly Reserve Barleywine Style Ale:

First off, let me say I am a pretty big fan of Barleywine.  Even on a hot and humid summer day in Missouri, I do not mind the heavy nature of the style.  Schlafly’s reserve poured a dark Mahogany cover, but reveals clear maroon colors when held up to the light.  The beer looks pretty typical of a barley wine, perhaps just a tad thicker, which is never a problem for me.  Strong grain aromas sneak out of the glass.  Unlike many other oak aged beers I have had, the oak aroma is extremely strong, similar to the smell of a dry Cabernet wine.  In fact, this barley wine actually smelled a lot like wine.  I swear I even smelled dark grapes.

The beer’s flavor is fantastic.  Exceedingly sweet, but pleasantly balanced.  The typical caramel notes and raisin flavors go exceptionally well with the strong oak presence.  If any Schlafly rep happens past this site, I would love to know how long the beer was aged for.

Beer is best when shared, but my wife–being pregnant–was unable to partake, so I shared it with my brother-in-law, who had only tried three different types of beer before.  Surprisingly, he gobbled this vintage beer down, smacked his lips, and said it was amazing, and said the flavor reminded him slightly of coke.  I suppose he was picking up on some vanilla flavors.  At over 10% ABV, this beer warms you up a bit.

The lesson to be learned from this brew:  Barley wine tastes amazing when aged in wooden barrels.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¼ 

Among other Barleywines: ★★★★½ 

Among MO Brews: ★★★★¼ 

Schlafly Brewery

Schlafly’s Barrel Aged Imperial Stout:

Risking my reputation (as if I had one!) I must admit, I am not a huge fan of Bourbon flavored stouts.  I know it is a rite of passage for the beer geek, and unabashed love for bourbon stouts is practically required, but usually they do not appeal to me much.  I love bourbon, and I love beer, but put together in unbalanced amounts, they can be overpowering.  I actually bought this gem from Schlafly after having drank the Barley wine.  I figured if the Barley wine was so delicious, I owed it to them to try the Barrel aged imperial stout.

The beer poured like any other imperial stout.  Thick, black, and slow.  No surprises here.  The aroma, on the other hand was not what I expected.  Sweet, sweet porter-esque flavors emerge.  Burnt grains and a dry alcohol aroma accompanied by again, a strong woody aroma, but only a slight bourbon flavor.

The flavor was much like the smell.  It was actually fantastic.  My complaint with many (most?) bourbon flavored beers, is that they overdo it on the bourbon, so much so that instead of bourbon flavored beer, it seems like beer flavored bourbon.  Amidst spicy peppery flavors and sweet chocolaty malts, the bourbon flavor comes off as a strong nuance.  I was shocked.  I actually really enjoyed the beer.  My only complaint was that it was a bit too hot; that is, the alcohol aroma and flavor tended to subdue the pleasant flavors of the malts, wood, and bourbon.  Nonetheless, it is was extremely enjoyable.

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★☆ 

Among other Barrel Aged Imperial Stouts: ★★★★½ 

Among MO Brews: ★★★½☆ 

I think I may be developing a small crush on Schlafly.  I would suggest picking up a few of each of these beers, if you are so lucky as to have them included in you local beer distribution.

For the most part, within the craft beer scene, beer is regional.  Forsaking global market for quality and individuality, US craft brewers are aware that their product will not grace every shelf of every grocery store or bottle shop in the country.  They are largely dependent on word of mouth, trading, and wanderlust beer geeks, such as myself, for their product to reach palates outside of their distribution area.  For folks like you and I, leaving our neck of the woods lends itself to the excitement of drinking something new.

Thus said, the next few beer review will focus on a few notable brews who share their birthplace with the sublty philosophical Mark Twain, Missouri.

Many of the beers that I drank last week were from the St. Louis Brewery, AKA ‘Schlafly.’ When I first walked into the delightfully unassuming liquor store, The first display that touted local pride contained bottles from Schlafly’s bottle conditioned series.  Loving bottle conditioned Belgian style beer, I bit the bait and bought a few bottles, including their Quadrupel.  I enjoy this style as it tends to be a richer more complex beer.  I was a tad skeptical, as Schlafly’s 12% ABV seemed a tad high for a typical Quadrupel.

The Pour:

The simple artwork on the bottle hides a dark secret.  Upon pouring, the liquid in my glass is thicker and darker than expected.  The beer is a deep ruby/brown color, with a boisterously thick head that does not contradict the bottle conditioned nature of this beer.  Although the Schlafly’s Quadrupel sat upright in my refrigerator for at least 24 hours, there were some intriguing white ‘floaties’ in the glass. The thick liquid coats the inner surface of the gals leaving behind a sticky film.

The Aroma:

Immersing my slightly hairy nostrils in the glass, I was immediately confronted with hot maltiness.  Typical fruit notes that most beer reviews place on a pedestal were not up-front; however, there was a powerful sense of cantaloupe.  Beyond this, there was a general smell of candy…like walking into and old-school general store and opening up the rock-candy container.  There was a slight clove/spice aroma.

The Taste:

Prepared to be surprised!  As expected, there was an immediate sweet–in fact, sickening sweet–malty confrontation that reminded one of taking a spoonful of molasses.  But at the same time, it was accompanied by an odd bitter note, that will hang around after swallowing.  While concentrating on the flavor, the several unique notes come out:  melon (honey dew, not cantaloupe as the aroma suggested), a very vivid clove flavor, an intense spicy nature (extremely black-peppery), a mild acidic quality that reminds one of lime and tomatoes, and of course an intense alcohol note that is slightly liquorish in nature (think Sambuca) that tickles tongue and warms the throat.

Overall Thoughts:

Schlafly’s Quadrupel is uniquely delicious and thought provoking.  The large bottle is a bit much for one beer geek to handle, but well worth the purchase.  If you enjoy big beers, this one will leave you satisfied.  The peppery quality of this beer cannot be underscored.  The after taste may remind you of a spicy Bloody Mary.

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¼ 

Among other Quadrupels: ★★★★½ 

Among MO Brews: ★★★★½