Having started with Brabant of the Avery barrel series, I was immediately in love.  That was the first of the series, and I began my quest for their second one with no luck.  The same was true of the Black Tot until the gallant Sir Peter of Simply Beer rode his postal steed and sent me a bottle.  First and foremost, I really have to thank him for his generosity.  I've yet to send him anything, although he sent me this, a homebrew, and Captain's Golden Delicious.  It was a very generous gift, and I really appreciate him for it (and in general).  Here is my take on the brew. The Pour: As an Oatmeal Stout of 10.65%, this was a foreboding, black, and viscous ale.  Upon pouring, I noticed its dense body with a minor amount of quickly fading head retention.  The head itself was finely carbonated and brown...I wish it would have stuck around for the whole show. The Nose: Whatever else may be said about Avery's barrel aged beers, they are, at a minimum, very interesting.  The nose on this was no exception.  I noted a definite horse blanket/wet dog quality on the nose...natural bretts?  A sour juiciness was ...

Pay attention, because I'm "coming out of the closet" in a beer fanatic sort of way.  I'm not talking about my sexuality, but my brewality.  I just might be an anomaly in the world of beer geeks:  I am not a huge fan of bourbon aged beers.   I like bourbon.  I like beer.  But mixed, I often find the flavor unpalatable.  Kentucky Bourbon Barrel ale was a sink worthy beer for me.  That being said, I so enjoy trying different varieties and take on this style, even if the style isn't my favorite because 1) not all bourbon aged brews are the same, and 2) taste and preference is far from a static quality. So this weeks Sip With Us Saturday brew(s)--any bourbon aged beers--were up against one harsh critic since I wasn't drooling over the bottle before the cork was popped, unlike other styles.   I decided to sample two varieties.  The first was Old Rasputin XII by North Coast Brewing Company and the second was Kentucky Breakfast Stout by Founders Brewing Company.  I chose these two bourbon aged imperial stouts because they are both 11.2% ABV, and thought that would make for an interesting comparison. The Pours: In how many different ...

Even though it's owned by Heineken, Murphy's still makes a great stout.  I have a personal preference for this over Guinness any day of the week, so that's why I thought it would make a nice Sip With Us Saturday beer.  If you get a chance to drink it on tap, it's a must.  For now, I just bought the draught can.  Here is what I think of it. The Pour: Watching that pour settle is one of the greatest joys about drinking a beer in the draught system.  The soft, creamy, and extremely stable head sits, once it makes it's way to the surface, atop a deep black body (with some red hints) while the slowly active body pushes carbonation to prop up of the lovely sight.  The head is clingy and sticks to the glass, leaving a residue from the previous sip. The Nose: Hints of coffee, caramel, and a deep roast give the beer a soft, dry aroma.  I've always thought the aroma also smacked of mint tobacco and hints of licorice.  Touches of smoked peat also gives the beer an subtle touch of roundness. The Taste: The tobacco (very subtle mint) and licorice are dominant features of the brew. ...

As I mentioned previously, I interviewed the Bruery a while back.  When I went to interview them, I brought a bottle of Dark Lord and an extreme beer that I brewed.  We tried both of those and a ton of other beers in the Bruery's line-up before I tried Black Tuesday and knew that it was good but I didn't have the chance to really get a good feel for it.  So, when my thirtieth birthday hit, Dan, who went to Black Tuesday release with me, brought the bottle he had gotten.  It was very gracious of him and I'm glad to have such a sharing friend.  Anyway, we tried it first so that there would be no mistaking what it tasted like.  After the much anticipated waiting time and not so great experience in the waiting line for the beer, I tasted it and here is what I thought. The Pour: I felt like I was sitting underneath the car changing my long overdue oil.  This baby is black, really black.  A nice dark tan head comes to the surface of this viscous bubbling caldron of a beer.  The beer likes to stick to the glass and could be said ...

I love the simple goodness of this stout.  I'd drink it over Guinness any day of the week.  Many among us are surprised that this beer hasn't achieved more popularity.  Well, we are going to try to raise Murphy's awareness this week.  It just so happens that it will happen on Saturday this time around.  Join us if you can for a Sip with us Saturday of a session type stout.  I may even make my Irish Stew again...it was pretty stinking good last time.

At 68 IBUs and 8.1 % ABV, this is a Big Bear of a Stout, indeed.  Sometimes drinking a bomber of something like this can take a bit of time, but I had plenty of time to savor this bear and hibernate.  Check out the list of beers these guys make/have made.  Crazy long list. 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 ...

I've already posted about my enthusiasm for Older Viscosity, which is Port's/Lost Abbey's brew, a stout with bourbon aging and more strength.  The label states that this is not your dad's wimpy 30 weight motor oil.  So, I went into the beer expecting some serious thickness and depth, especially since this is 80% fresh viscosity mixed with 20% bourbon barrel aged beer.  The beer is either 10% or 10.5%. (The website appears to need an update since the bottle says 10%...maybe a minor detail but a detail nonetheless.) The Pour: Maybe this beer is dark, maybe it's strong, maybe it's big but not as big as the label claims.  I honestly expected Dark Lord thickness or something somewhat close.  If you call a beer thicker than motor oil, make it truly big.  I've spoken my peace about it, so let me talk about the merits of the beer.  Again, this was not as dark or viscous as I expected.  It was still dark but not like a still night.  It had a small but steady, brown head. The Nose: Plenty of grains, coffee tones, and ripe juicy fruits graced the nose of Old Viscosity.  I almost thought I caught an aroma similar to ...

We just got it put on...on tap, that is.  Velvet Merkin is made by Firestone and we have it on tap at the Whole Foods on Arroyo.  Doing my duty, I made sure to taste this beer, although I would never taste an actual velvet merkin.  After all, I have to be able to talk about the beer.  At any rate, this is a limited release done by Firestone and is only found on tap.  The style is Oatmeal Stout, which is one of my favorite styles.  I've seen various places that this is a barrel aged beer.  The question is whether it's wine or bourbon.  Here is what I think. The Pour:  The beer poured with a nice blackness but more along the lines of a robust porter than a stout. The head poured with a nice cream tan color.  Carbonation was pretty fine, almost like a Belgian in quality. The Nose: The oats were pretty big on Velvet Merkin.  Plenty of roasted malts and coffee were discernible on the nose.  Touches of the yeast and sweetness also made an appearance.  Furthermore, a touch of the traditional English Fuggles (hops) made themselves known.  In addition, there was a hint of mint ...

As promised, this is the beginning of our series of classics within the given styles of beer.  The format seems like it can take a similar shape to our Styles of Beer Series.  The previous series really just attempted to define what the styles of beer are, not what beers are the best/oldest/good versions of those styles. Now this series has taken shape because we feel that we ought to give the beers that are the gateway to those styles. Plus, we've had some prodding from others to the effect that we ought to do a series like this. So, it's high time we do it.  Without further ado, here are some of the classics. Stout found its earliest terminological usage in 1677 to describe a strong beer.  This is not necessarily meant to describe the stylistic guidelines that we are used to.  Although first used as an adjective, it is not the same thing as the more common application of "stout" to describe a stout porter.  While maybe not the oldest expression of the style or the best version, it is hard to get away from the notion that Guinness, at a minimum, popularized the style of beer.  Thus, stout ...

Rich, delicious, classic.  These are just three words I associate with Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.  Ever since it was commissioned at the behest of Merchant du Vin, it's had a serious foothold on the world of oatmeal stouts.  It's odd that we've not reviewed it before now on the site.  It's widely liked, and I've always had a special love for this beer.  Better late than never, I suppose. Oatmeal stouts have not been around for too long a period.  Their introduction seems to be connected to some time in the 1890s.  Of course, oats themselves have been used in brewing for multiple centuries.  It used to be that oats were seen to detract from the quality, adding bitterness via tannins to a beer (especially in higher amounts).  Michael Jackson mentioned an oatmeal stout that he had tried, and that was enough to peak the curiosity of many and essentially revive the style.  In my mind, Samuel Smith's is the classic example. The Pour: As I've mentioned before, sometimes stouts look like porters and vice versa.  I would certainly categorize the colors of this beer as being along the lines of a robust porter.  It's dark but light enough to let some ...