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February 4, 2013

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Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Chico, Ca

Ruthless Rye Rye Beer

6.6% ABV

One of the most hyped and well-regarded new beers of 2012 was Ruthless Rye, the 6.6% rye beer Sierra Nevada introduced as its new spring seasonal. The Internets were wowed by its solid blend of rye spiciness and solid hop and malt profiles. As with the vast majority of beers produced by Sierra Nevada, it was regarded as a winner.

I was one of the few who didn’t jump to such a conclusion, which was strange for a lot of reasons. I love rye beers, I’m an unabashed hophead and I generally love whatever comes out of the Chico, CA, brewery. But for some reason, Ruthless Rye left me shrugging my shoulders and wondering what everyone was so excited about.

The year passed and a few weeks ago, Ruthless Rye returned to store shelves just as the warmer weather was beginning to roll in. No sooner had it arrived than the hype machine took over once again, with plenty of people proclaiming it to be better than last year’s batch.

With my palate having developed plenty since then, I gave it another shot. I was …

The nose is a juicy blend of wet pine, melon, sweet malts and a slight spiciness from the rye. Compared with other rye beers – i.e. Bell’s Smitten – there’s definitely more of a juicy hop presence on the nose than a rye bite. The hops give off rich orange, melon and honeydew notes with a light lemony citrus as well. It’s sweeter and fuller than I remember.

The bite on the front of the tongue is strong and spicy, a good mesh of the citrus notes from the hopes and the spice from the rye. There’s just a slight carbonation and a medium body. In the middle of the mouth was where the rye took over. It scorches the middle of your tongue with spiciness, which is accentuated by the bite of the hops. The finish is just slightly dry, with those citrusy notes popping up again and giving it a crisp lemony finish.

All that being said, Ruthless Rye – once again – left me unimpressed. Again, it’s a good, solid, flavorful rye beer, but I honestly don’t see what the fuss is about. For the second year in a row, it left me underwhelmed, and that’s not because I overhyped it in my mind. It just didn’t deliver what I expected it to. To be fair, it’s much better on draft, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t try it. But for the second year in a row, this beer did not deliver.

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January 14, 2013

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21st Amendment Marooned on Hog Island

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21st Amendment Brewery

San Francisco, CA

Marooned on Hog Island Oyster Stout

7.9% ABV

One of my favorite niche beer styles is the oyster stout. I don’t remember what exactly turned me on to the style, but I’ve always really enjoyed the contrast of a rich stout with the briny dryness of the oysters. (Note: I hate dry stouts,  so this is one of those weird things where I don’t understand myself.)

Up to this point, Coast’s Bull’s Bay Oyster Stout has been the best I’ve found, but Marooned on Hog Island, the newest beer from 21st Amendment – one of the breweries I wish we had in South Carolina – is now among “best I’ve had” status.

Marooned is a collaboration with Hog Island Oyster Co. in Marshall, CA. The brewery takes a rich sub-8% stout brewed with rolled oats, chocolate malt, white wheat and Magnum and Willamette hops and adds Hog Island Sweetwater oyster shells into the brew. The result is – in a word – briny

The first thing that hit me on the nose was a really dry cocoa powder chocolate quality. It was certainly dried out, as an oyster stout is wont to be, but this was akin to sticking my face in a mound of cocoa powder. There was a very light espresso bean note on the back and some light hints of sweeter dark chocolate, but the brine smell is incredibly strong. It certainly has that smell you’d expect from oysters.

The taste was surprising at first but finished exactly as I’d hoped it would. It begins with this very smooth semi-sweet chocolate taste. There’s not much bitterness on the front. In the middle of the mouth, this big dark roasted coffee quality comes up. It’s quite bitter but surprisingly pleasant, and it’s complimented nicely by the cocoa flavors that follow. As it gets to the finish, there’s a really smooth mouthfeel that glides down your throat, and then it just kind of ends. But that doesn’t last for long. Just as soon as you think it’s done, this incredible brine flavor and slight dry finish come out of nowhere. It literally made me snap my fingers and say “There it is!” Wrapping it all up are these strong espresso and vanilla bean flavors that linger throughout the mouth.

It’s no surprise that 21st Amendment’s newest offering impressed me, but Marooned honestly ranks up there with Monk’s Blood in terms of quality and flavor. It would be a great stout on its own, but what the oysters do – dry it out just enough while imparting their own unique flavors – was what really impressed me. Oysters and stouts are like chocolate and peanut butter to me: a perfect combination that gets me every time, and this is certainly up there as one of the best.

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December 3, 2012

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21st Amendment Fireside Chat

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21st Amendment Brewery

San Francisco, CA

Fireside Chat Winter Spiced Ale

7.9% ABV

I’m sure I don’t need to reiterate my love for all things pumpkin beers – a quick glance through my archives does that well enough – but there comes a point in the season where either by sheer overload of pumpkin beers or desire for something new, my cravings for them wane.

But those cravings are quickly replaced by a love for spiced beers and winter warmers. Like pumpkin beers, they perfectly fit the hearty, spicy flavors that permeate everything else in the winter season.

21st Amendment makes one of my more preferable spiced beers, Fireside Chat. It’s an English-style brown brewed with a helping of spices and cocoa nibs to help balance everything out, giving it a smooth and subtly bitting nose and flavor. And at just south of 8%, it’s aimed at keeping your insides warm.

Plus, it’s got good ol’ FDR on the can, and you can’t not like that.

The pour is a very, very deep brown verging almost on a black, but there’s a little light getting through in areas, giving it an amberish tint in spots. There were about two fingers of head on top that linger for a while and leave a nice film along the sides of the glass. Both the lacing and the alcohol legs are mild at best.

The nose has a great mix of sweet dark fruit notes and spice. There’s a really big toffee note and a lot of raisins with a slight toasted caramel, raspberry and a cocoa sweetness on the back. As far as spices go, I get a little cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s really rich and delicious.

There’s a good bite of spice on the front of the tongue followed by a medium body mouthfeel with some mild carbonation across the palate. Toward the middle are these really big flavors of caramel, cocoa and plums that give it a very rich and robust flavor. Those sweeter toffee and raisin notes are strong on the finish, topped off with a bit of a dryness from the cocoa. The spices are a bit subdued, but again, those cinnamon and nutmeg notes are pretty prevalent.

With Fireside Chat being an “early winter seasonal” – sold October through December – it’s not as strong and spicy as other winter warmers, but instead is leveled with a great, rich sweetness that nicely compliments the spices.

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November 23, 2012

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Lagunitas Brown Shugga’

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Lagunitas Brewing Co.

Lagunitas, CA

Brown Shugga’ American Strong Ale

9.9% ABV

Last holiday season, Lagunitas didn’t have a chance to put out Brown Shugga’, the brewery’s American strong ale made with a heaping dose of brown sugar. Instead, they opted for the Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale it’s “Brown Shugga’ Substitute.” It was a great beer for sure, but now that I’ve finally tried some of that shugga’, I know what I’ve been missing.

The beer pours a super clear orangish copper brown. I agitated the pour a little bit, so I got about two fingers of a reall thick, creamy head and lingered a long time. Not sure if that’s how it usually is, but it was like a scoop of ice cream on top and left behind some really strong lacing and alcohol legs.

I was expecting a sweeter malt note on the nose, so I was surprised when I was hit with this really pungent juicy hop aroma. There was lots of grapefruit and a little orange and citrus. Definitely a sweeter note from the brown sugar. Malts are certainly there. It’s a really sweet, rich aroma.

There was a strong hop bitterness on the tongue, mild carbonation and very smooth across the palate. The hops are much more subdued, but there’s definitely some grapefruit and citrus there. The end is much sweeter, finishing off on an almost cola note. It leaves behind this grainy, sugary film on your tongue. There’s just a touch of alcohol on the finish. Really great stuff

Wait for it … wait for it …

Pour some shugga’ on me.

There it is.

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November 22, 2012

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Sierra Nevada Narwhal

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Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Chico, CA

Narwhal Imperial Stout

10.2% ABV

Sierra Nevada has seemed to get better and better as the year’s gone along. Brux was a great new collaboration and this year’s batch of Hoptimum was a big step up from the previous year’s batch. But with Narwhal, their new seasonal imperial stout, they created what could be their next Bigfoot.

The beer is a pretty standard imperial stout, and there’s nothing that really sets the beer above a lot of others in the style. But what might otherwise be written off as a new seasonal beer is one more complex and unique base imperial stouts I’ve had in a long time. And the fact they slap a date on the neck makes me think this is something that could get even better with age.

Narwhal has a really thick and silky pour to it. It’s absolutely pitch black in the glass, as an imperial stout it wont to do. The head on top was surprising. There was about a finger to a finger-and-a-half worth of a brown bubbly head that didn’t dissipate as quickly as I expected it to. Even a few minutes after pouring, there’s a slight bubbly film over the top with a big group of bubbles toward the center of the glass. That imparts some really nice, thick lacing and alcohol legs.

The first thing that hits you on the nose is the roasted coffee aroma. It’s a big, rich dark coffee smell, but it’s mellowed out slightly by this equally big chocolate note. It’s a slightly sweet, slightly bitter dark chocolate note along with a dry hit of cocoa. There’s a bit of a plum or fig note to it as well. Nicely balanced with the roasted and sweet notes.

Those bitter dark chocolate and coffee notes hit your palate hard on first sip. It’s a very strong roasted quality and lingers on the back of the tongue as well. But the mouthfeel on this thing is really, really big. It’s not thick or syrupy, but it’s just such a big flavor that it takes over your entire mouth. Those sweeter fruit and chocolate notes are unmistakable, but it wouldn’t be a Sierra Nevada beer without hops, which are definitely present on the finish. It’s a biting, citrus hop note that sticks to the back of the tongue while the roasted coffee flavor lingers nicely.

Narwhal is an incredibly solid and complex imperial stout made even more impressive by the fact this is the first year Sierra Nevada’s made it. It’ll be interesting to see what time does to it. I see some of those hop note fading away and a sweeter, more roast-forward imperial stout developing. Only time will tell, but I’ll certainly be coming back for more in the future.

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November 21, 2012

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Ken Schmidt/Iron Fist/Stone Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout

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Ken Schmidt – California Homebrewer

Iron Fist Brewing Co. – Vista, CA

Stone Brewing Co. – San Diego, CA

Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout

9.6% ABV

Stone‘s collaboration series has been AWOL for a while as the brewery’s celebrated its 16th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of Ruination. That’s been depressing as I’ve been a huge fan of all the collaborations they’ve put out this year, including  TBA and More Brown Than Black.

But they’re back in the saddle again with the cryptically named Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout. This time around, they’ve teamed up with Iron Fist and homebrewer extraordinaire Ken Schmidt, who won Stone’s 2012 Homebrew Competition earlier this year. As the winner of the competition, Schmidt had his beer brewed and produced by Stone for all of us to enjoy. (Schmidt had previously won the 2009 competition, which resulted in the Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter brewed with Stone and Maui Brewing Co.)

For the larger batch, the brewery used chocolate from ChocoVivo and organic chocolate mint and peppermint grown at Stone Farms. The result is an imperial stout that tastes of chocolate and mint. Bet you never guessed that.

The collaboration has that standard imperial stout appearance. Pitch black with no light getting through it. There was about a half a finger worth of head on top made up of a lot of tight brownish bubbles. It lingered for a while, which was surprising for a higher ABV beer. The lacing and alcohol legs were really nice and held on for a while.

A lot of reviews have described the beer as smelling like a liquified Andes mint, or one of those fancy mints you get on your pillow at a hotel. I can’t think of a more apt description. The rich, sweet chocolate and mint are right there from the get go. The mint is a nice, natural-smelling flavor.  It’s a great touch, and it’s all self-explanatory.

The flavor follows the nose perfectly. There’s a very slight bitterness on the front of the tongue, a medium body mouthfeel and some good carbonation across the palate. The chocolate develops first on the finish. It’s a good balance between sweet and dry. The mint rises on the very back and leads to a pretty dry aftertaste. For nearly 10%, the alcohol is just mildly present on the back.

A lot of people have commented that they didn’t get much mint off this collaboration, but I thought it was a perfect amount. Not at all artificial or overpowering, it melded nicely with the chocolate flavors, which were also rich, but not overly strong. Another winner of a collaboration.

Now I just have to bide my time until The Perfect Crime comes out.

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November 20, 2012

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Firestone Walker Parabola

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Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Paso Robles, CA

Parabola Barrel-aged Imperial Stout (2012)

12.5% ABV

Velvet Merlin wasn’t the only Firestone Walker stout that’s recently come into my possession. No, I recently became the proud owner of 22 delicious ounces of Parabola, the annually released barrel-aged imperial stout that’s part of the brewery’s Proprietor’s Reserve Series.

This is one of those stouts that people kill to get their hands on. Released once a year, Parabola is aged for a year in a variety of spirit barrels and then blended back together. If that doesn’t get your mouth watering, you’re probably dead. You should check on that.

The beer pours like your standard imperial stout. It’s motor oil thick and is like a black hole with absolutely no light getting through it. A finger of a bubbly brownish head settled really quickly as you’d expect for a 12% beer. There’s not a lot of lacing but a ton of strong alcohol legs that leave this huge watery film along the edges.

There’s no hiding the bourbon flavors in this thing. It erupted out of the bottle as soon as I popped the cap. The nose is equally as amazing. Huge vanilla and chocolate notes, the sweetness of raisins, a lot of sticky tobacco and a big punch of espresso beans. What really surprised me is how well the alcohol is masked. You only get a very slight hint of it. It’s dangerous.

After my first sip, I had to just sit for a second and contemplate just how phenomenal this beer is. It is insanely, amazingly good. There’s just a very small nip of a roasted bitterness on the front of the tongue. Across the palate, it’s one of the smoothest and slickest beers I’ve had. And the flavors are equally as amazing. There’s the vanilla, the dark chocolate, the espresso beans, the sweetness of bourbon. Along with that are hints of raisins, a little coconut, dark cherries, chocolate milk. And even with all those flavors, there’s not even a hint of fatigue on the palate. They work so perfectly together. And again, the alcohol is totally masked. You don’t taste it at all.

No parsing words with this one: It’s one of the best stouts I’ve ever had.