First, it’s been a while since I had this beer and this particular one has matured for about a year and a half.  In fact, it was bottled in April of ‘07.  Jefferson’s Reserve is a quite a good bourbon on its own (especially the small batch stuff), so I was excited to drink this Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout beer.  It is made by Bluegrass Brewing.  Upon the pour, it looked nice and blackwith hints of brown coming through when held up to the light.  There was very little head retention after the beer sat for a second. 

A slightly metallic aroma was noticeable on the nose, while Bourbon vanilla, caramel, and nuts were evident.  There were also grain-driven chocolate, sweet malts, and coffee to be noticed.  A charred wood aroma also came through.

The charred wood was also slightly smoky in the taste of the beer.  All the above mentioned grain and bourbon qualities were also present in the brew.  One thing that was lacking was the sweetness that the malt presented in the nose.  I found the beer to be a little thin for a stout but still having some good taste qualities.  There was a slight dryness throughout the stout, which was especially pleasant with the dry woodiness of the beer.  There were no notable hop qualities to the beer.  I’ve had much better bourbon stouts than this, but it was still not bad at all. 

Drinking this beer with a Kristoff cigar was another matter altogether.  Let me say that the cigar picked up some wonderful bourbon qualities, which were imparted by the George T. Stagg that I flavored it with.  The cigar seemed to add a slight sweetness that intermingled wonderfully with the beer.  Of course, the cigar also made the beer seem much less dry that it was.  By way of contrast, I really enjoyed what the dryness of the cigar did for the perception of the beer.  The toastiness of the grains really pushed through the beer.  The sweet smokiness of the cigar made some nice additions to the beer, while pushing the alcohol and fruits to the front of the palate.  Wonderful experience…I bet even more with a really good beer.  I’ll let you know.

Without further ado, let’s talk about this beer.  First off, this beer is a wheat doppelbock.  Translation: it is a wheat beer made in a very strong way, which is described as double strong bock.  (If you want to know what some of this means, it’s on this page as a link.)  It may be quite a bit darker than most would expect a wheat to be.  Since I mentioned the color, I’ll deal with it first.  It is dark crimson brown in color with a stable and creamy head.  It looked very nice in my glass that was made specifically for this beer. 

The aromas of this beer were many.  I noted that it had a mix between a barley wine and Belgian candy sugar aroma.  There was a winish quality that came though as though the beer was aged on lees (expended grapes that were used for wine fermentation).  Notes of over-ripe bananas, cloves, and cocoa were certainly noticeable. 

The over-ripe bananas were an important but subtle quality in the taste of this beer.  In addition, the cocoa (but not so much the cloves) came through.  The beer was not so yeasty as might be expected for a wheat beer, but this beer is anything but typical.  A nice alcohol warmth could easily be picked up.  There was also a smooth and full mouth-feel to the brew, which was just wonderful.  Because of all the malt and alcohol present, the beer ended in a medium dry maltiness.  For those who are not huge hop fans, this beer had no real bitterness or hoppy aromas.  I’ve had this beer many times and enjoyed it thoroughly every time that I have it.  Pick up one and try it.

Most of the time you can scrounge up some Guinness, Bass, or possibly Stella Artois (which are good beers), but it is difficult beyond that.  Now if you are in Denver’s or Chicago’s airport, you are actually not in such desperate straits.  One can readily find some Breckenridge or New Belgium selections in Denver and some Goose Island in Chicago.  I readily admit that this is a soap-box article.  But isn’t it singularly odd that in a place where you can buy an ipod from a vending machine, a decent beer is hard to come by?  Think about it: tons of restaurants (some of them very nice) but very few decent beers?  Just a thought.  

Of course, this is more about public demand and less about airport supply.  After all, a business has to make money.  I guess what I’m really trying to point out is that even among Americans who are country (or world) travelers, there is still a large degree of insularity when it comes to beer.  So, drink a good beer for those of us who are stranded in the airport with lackluster beers.  And for the love of all things holy, get someone you know to try a new and good beer.

So this week you have your choice for the Drink It With Us Friday Beer.  You can pick up and drink the Aventinus, OR you can check out Magic Hat’s #9.  Obviously the Aventinus will taste much better.  It also has nearly double  the alcohol content (8.3% to 4.6%).

Let us know which you liked better!

Legend had it that there was a co-op in the far and wondrous land of Boise, ID.  It was told by those from the old country that there were abundant brews to be found there.  So, I became part of a long 50 minute wagon-train and trekked the unforgiving wilderness in search of some auspicious find.  (Eat your hearts out, Lewis and Clark.)  Behold I discovered gold, brown, red and numerous other precious finds in the rush of the ‘09ers.  I went in thinking, “They’ll have a decent selection of beer.”  I was wrong.  It was worthy to be called excellent by Bill and Ted.

I have seemed to fall off the radar a little bit, as far as our site is concerned (thanks for writing, Nate).  Don’t worry, though.  Although I’m on vacation, I’ve not strayed from keeping the site in the front of my mind.  Next week I’ll be back with a vengeance since I’ve been tasting a ton of beers that I plan to review.  I’m not saying my notes are meticulous by any means, but I will give an offering on my impressions of the beers (plenty of imports and some locals).  Anyway, if you’re in the Boise area, check out the Co-op between 8th and 9th street on Fort.

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and will have a great New Year.  I know I will.

But nutrition scientists (and we all know scientists know everything) have weighed the indisputable evidence of beer ingredients and have discovered that beer is, in fact, good for one’s health.  A recent study shows that drinking beer in moderation (two 12 ounce brews a day for adult males) is quite beneficial.  In fact, craft beers–those beers that this blog specializes in–are the most medicinal of all.  So please, for your own good, subscribe to this blog!

From a recent Forbes article, here are eight reasons you ought to drink up:

1. Beer prevents heart disease.   Drinking beer regularly can decrease your chances of heart disease by 35%.
2. Beer prevents blood clots that lead to stroke.
3. Beer lowers blood pressure.
4. Beer increases insulin sensitivity, leaving one less prone to type 2 diabetes.
5. Beer actually increases brain function, as I suggested in a recent post.  Actually, adults who drink beer regularly are less likely to suffer dimentia after the age of 65.
6. A review of 50 studies has shown that regular beer drinking prolongs life in generally.  (drink beer, live longer)
7. The same review shows that beer drinkers (again, moderation) are generally healthier.  They fall ill and make fewer trips to their primary care physician.
8. Studies have shown that beer may play a role in preventing bone loss and actually strengthens bones, perhaps due to the beverages high silicon content.

Go check the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory and check out the stats on beer.  You will find that beer is far healthier than your dietitian would lend you to believe.  Sure there are a few calories, but there is absolutely no cholesterol.  While you are there, look up the stats for a milkshake or a glass of coke and you will end up patting yourself on the back for ordering that brew with your dinner instead of the Mountain Dew the guy in the booth next to you is slurping down.

I was pleasently surprised by this weeks Friday beer; St. Peter’s Cream Stout.  The adage, “you get what you pay for,” certainly had me expecting a mediocre beer, as I believe it has for many…just read the reviews for the Cream Stout HERE at the Beer Advocate.  I think this presupposition renders many reviewers helpless to presupposition as they embrace an economical beer like St. Peter’s.  Such is not the case with this not-so-humble reviewer, whose motto (stolen a bit from Andrew Zimmern) is, “If it looks good, drink it!”

As the cap popped off the Cream Stout, there was not an enormous ruch of carbonation escaping the bottle.  The pour was proved to be a foreshadowing the mellow texture to come:  smooth, creamy, and moderately carbonated.  A beautiful khaki color head–about a centimeter thick–lazily hung around the surface of the beer.

The sweet bouquet that greeted my nose was comprised of sweet malts, hazelnut, chocolate, and striking coffee aroma.  It looked good and smelled good, so I drank it.

There was a surprising wine quality about the beer.  Surprising, because the ABV was only 6.5%.  The sweet roasted malts were outstanding.  The Chocolate flavor was not limited to the aftertaste, but was present the entire duration of the beer in my mouth.  There seemed to be a slight hoppy finish (very slight) that offset the chocolatey malts nicely.  The texture all the while was extremely smooth.  The warmer the beer got, the better it tasted.

Overall, this was an excellent English stout, in my opinion.  I could have easily put down five or six more without having overdosed on the sweet flavor.  Fortunately for me and my highly evolved sense of morality, I only had one in my refrigerator.

Appearing like liquid gold, this Ale looked delicious.  It had very very little head retention, which brewers often do with fairly strong beers.  This one weighed in at 9.5% ABV.

Seriously Bad Elf was very floral.  I was immediately taken by the aroma of hops.  Even more significantly, the beer was reminiscent of an Asti or Riesling wine.  It had touches of crisp green apples on the nose, which gave it a nice fruity aroma.  It almost smacked of perfume aromas. 

This was thick and full-bodied (almost barley winish in some respects), giving a very full mouth-feel and coating.  The green apples came through in the Ale, which was very nice with the sweetness of the brew.  Alcohol was also noticeable in the beer, which I thought added very strong hints of Gin.  There was maybe a touch of sulphur taste in the brew.  This was a lingering Ale that finished in a dry hoppy bitterness, which went well with this assertive brew.  I actually had some smoked ham (any strong smoked meat would be nice with this beer) with this Ale…delicious.

Three Floyd’s brewery

When I poured this beast, it looked very dark for a Porter; it actually looked more like a Stout.  However, this American version of an English Ale is still true to the style.  It had a deep dark body and a creamy brown head, which was very stable. 

The beer smelled hoppier than I’m used to for Porter but was still pleasant.  The hops had a slight citrusy grapefruit quality.  It smelled very roasty with a slight biscuity quality.  It had some serious dark chocolate aromas to round the smells out. 

Now for the sip.  The beer was fairly carbonated and dense, which gave it a very nice mouth-feel.  It was very roasty (think coffee) and chocolatey.  Alcohol warmth was present in the brew.  Hop-wise, the grapefruit quality came through and added a nice bitterness.  Touches of caramel were also present.  There was a long, dry, and slightly chocolate-caramel end to the brew.  I though it was very good, especially if it was left in the glass to warm up and breath for a bit.

In appearance, the beer was blond with touches of orange hue.  There was a small but stable head at the beginning of the brew.  In addition, there was not a lot of activity in the glass, which means that the beer was fairly subdued. 

When I sniffed the beer, I immediately noticed touches of hay, a hop spiciness, and hints of wine fruitiness.  There were also faint hints of toffee along with sulphur in the the nose.  I found the hop aroma to be particularly nice.  A bit of sweetness was also discernible. 

Fresh green hops were immediately evident in the palate of the beer.  The hops went all the way through to the end of the brew.  Intermingled with the hops was a slight sweetness and very faint cola quality.  The beer ended in a dry grain and hops finish.

I found the hops in this Ale to be very refreshing and thoroughly enjoyed Bad Elf Winter’s Ale.  If you like British Ales with good balance, this is one for you.