Firestone Walker - Velvet Merkin

Hello everyone! It's that time again. Not necessarily time to take over the world, but time to get another beer review up. This one also happens to be my October Beer of the Month. Yep, right on time with my monthly beer, I know! 

I'd have had this up earlier but I've been ill the last few days. So without further delay, tonight's beer is none other than the latest release from Firestone Walker. That's right, we're drinking Velvet Merkin, and 8.5% abv Bourbon Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout. I'm pretty stoked to get this one and I'm really looking forward to trying it. So let's get this thing poured and I'll give you my thoughts on the Velvet Merkin.

This one pours out a pitch black. No light coming through at all. There's about a finger and a half of a beige head that's very foamy. Not a ton of retention time on this and honestly not a lot of lacing left behind. Sort of surprising on the lacing at least. This looks like a pretty standard stout. Nothing too crazy. Let's get the nose.

First thing I get is a lot of vanilla, lots and lots of it. Maybe more than any other beer I can recall in recent memory. Vanilla boozy notes. There's a lot of caramel sweetness. Lots of woody, oak qualities. You can definitely smell that this is a big bourbon barrel beer. Some nice toasty notes from those oats. There's some big milk chocolate and cocoa notes too. Big time vanilla and oak bomb here. I'm ready to see how this one tastes. Let's drink! 

Interesting. First thing I'm hit with is a big blast of vanilla and bourbon goodness. That immediately is erased by a tidal wave of oak. It's almost like I'm drinking the barrel itself. That sensation, flavor, note, basically plows through the entire palate. Sides of the mouth there's more oak, almost a charred wood flavor. A little bit of vanilla and a lot of a bourbon quality. Back end of this thing almost tastes like I just took a shot of bourbon. Lots of caramel and vanilla with a bit of an alcohol burn. This one definitely warms as it makes it's way down the chest. I don't get any of that chocolate/cocoa I caught a whiff of before we started drinking. 

This beer is also a little thin in the body. I know a lot of oatmeal stouts tend to be a little thinner than their imperial counterparts. However, this one is thinner than even some of the local oatmeal stouts. I'm kind of surprised in that regard. I was hoping a little bit for more body and I'm left wanting a little bit more in that department.

So overall, Velvet Merkin is good... but maybe not what I'd call great. The nose is awesome but those characters fall a little short while drinking. I sort of wish I'd given this a little more time to develop or mellow just to see what happens. I may pick up another just for that reason alone. Give this one a shot if you want. For $20 a bottle I'd consider this a touch pricey. Your call.

Rating: B+

Stone Brewing Company - Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout

WHEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATON!!!!!!!

Ok, now that I've got that out of the way I guess I should introduce tonight's beer or else that's just going to seem totally random. Tonight I'm drinking the 2nd most recent Stone collaboration beer. This is a beer brewed by Greg Koch (Stone), Drew Curtis (Fark.com) and Wil Wheaton (ST:TNG, Stand By Me, etc, etc Nerd, author... he does it all). This is an Imperial Stout brewed with pecans, wheat, rye and one quarter of this beer is aged in bourbon barrels.

Btw, this is my Beer of the Month for July. I know, it's a couple days late but oh well. Oh, this is also 13% abv and I believe is the strongest beer Stone Brewing has brewed up. So, it's a big fucking beer with a lot of interesting ingredients. I've had a bottle of this before but I wanted to revisit it again and really give a review. So, let's get into the w00tstout and see how it looks, smells, and tastes!

The w00tstout pours out a jet black. There's no light shining through. This is just a dark, black hole of an abyss. There was maybe a half a finger of beige/brown head which only formed because I did the most vigorous pour I've ever done. It dissipates very, very quickly and leaves behind very little lacing. A bit of a soapy film like texture to it but that's it. This is one big, intimidating looking beer. Let's get the nose on this one.

First thing is a quick waft of bourbon like booze and an immediate slap in the face of chocolate covered raisin. Dark fruits, figs, dates maybe even a slight plum character. I'm definitely picking up those pecans. This very much reminds me of a pecan pie, like bourbon soaked pecans baked into a pie. For only being a quarter aged in the bourbon barrels that character shines brightly. Lots of sweet vanilla, caramel. There's some subtle rye spice mixed in with the sweetness. I think the wheat is adding a bit of earthiness to the beer as well. But really, the stand out on the nose is the bourbon and pecans. As it warms there's a bit more alcohol shining through. 13% that shouldn't be a surprise. Alright, let's see how the w00tstout tastes!

Wow. This is such an excellent tasting beer. Right away there's that raisin character. Not as much chocolate as I picked up on the nose. Quite a bit of dates, fig adding a nice bit of chewiness. This beer just absolutely coats the entire mouth. Middle of the mouth and sides of the palate I get a lot of pecan and rye with that wheat. Seriously, it's like the aftertaste you get from eating a slice of pecan pie. Everything about this is awesome. Back end of the palate you get caramel sweetness. Lots of creaminess. The alcohol is only really noticeable for a brief moment as the beer hits the palate but then fades away quickly. Not much of a burn or heat as it goes down in the chest.

So overall, this is just a fantastic beer. For being 13% it's dangerously drinkable. The first bottle I had was a bit of a hot mess but this one is definitely bordering on perfection. I'd say pick up a couple and drink one fresh and age one for a bit to see how the flavors develop. I've got no complaints about this beer. Excellent collaboration from Stone, Drew and Wil.

Rating: A

Here's my wife giving the w00tstout a try! 

Anderson Valley - Bourbon Barrel Stout

Thursday night. We're almost ready to party. I mean, almost ready to get some work done tomorrow.... Nah, who am I kidding? Tonight I'm drinking my April Beer of the Month.... in May.

 I know, I'm late again. But hey, it's only 2 days. No big deal. 

My April Beer of the Month is a new beer, or at least new to me, from Anderson Valley in Boonville, CA. This is their Bourbon Barrel Stout which comes in at 6.9% abv. According to the label this is a Malt beverage aged in Wild Turkey Bourbon barrels. So of course, it's aged in bourbon barrels meaning, we're incredibly interested in this beer. Let's get into it and see if this beer is worth checking out.

The Bourbon Barrel Stout poured out pretty damn dark. I don't really see any color coming through or any colors around the bottom of the glass. This looks pitch black. There was a fluffy two finger head that was light brown/tan in color. The head didn't stick around very long and once it dissipated it didn't leave behind much lacing. Maybe a little but it's minimal at best. Let's get the nose.

First thing I pick up is a sweet vanilla. It's very nice. I'm getting some milk chocolate and some sweet caramel/toffee. According to the website they only aged this for 3 months in the barrels. So the complexity of the barrel characters might not be as pronounced as say a beer that's been aged for a year (Dark Days by Iron Fist). I'm not picking up a lot of roasted notes or espresso. Maybe they will show up in the taste. Overall, this is pretty sweet smelling and very inviting. No alcohol on the nose whatsoever (6.9% would be shocking really). Let's see how the BBS tastes.

Wow. So right away I'm getting a nice hit of Wild Turkey. Very bourbon-like even with a subtle burn. Lots of vanilla and sweetness. There's a slight breadiness, almost like a fresh baked bread. More vanilla, more of that Wild Turkey. I'm picking up a little bit of a coconut character most likely from the barrel. There's a slight roastiness on the back end. Not quite like an espresso but maybe a medium roast coffee. It's subtle and definitely lingers a bit. I'm getting more of that milk chocolate as well. This is a creamy beer and the oats definitely play off the Wild Turkey nicely. The Wild Turkey really shines in this beer. As I let it warm a bit more I'm getting more roasted coffee throughout the back end. It's definitely a bit better as it warms up.

So overall, this is pretty good. When I first tasted it I wasn't overly impressed. I didn't get a lot of flavors. As I let it warm a little bit the beer definitely came to life. I definitely get a lot of the Wild Turkey bourbon which is nice. If you're going to advertise that, make it shine. For 6.9% this is very easy to drink. It's medium to light bodied probably closer to light but not Rogue ales light. I'd say give this a try if you can find it. It's not bad. I wouldn't go out of my way to find it and for the price ($11) I'd say it's a little pricey.

On a side note, Anderson Valley is an awesome brewery, completely solar powered. Any brewery that runs entirely off solar or wind gets a thumbs up in my book. And to be honest, the other AVBC beers are good too. Check those out if you get them in your area.

Rating: B