Karl Strauss Brewing Company - Wreck Alley Imperial Stout

 

What's up everybody? It's Saturday night. Been watching some hockey today and overall, it's been a damn solid Saturday. So, what better way to cap the night off than with a good beer? 

Tonight I'm drinking Karl Strauss Wreck Alley Imperial Stout. This is part of Karl's Imperial Collection and comes in at 9.5% abv. I think I had this a couple years ago and if I'm remembering correctly, I liked it quite a bit. So enough talk, let's open this one up and get to drinking.

The Wreck Alley pours out very dark. It's not quite pitch black. I'm getting the slightest bit of a dark brown at the bottom of the glass. My light source isn't the best so I'm saying it's dark brown. There was about a finger and a half of a creamy off white head. As the head dissipates back into itself it leaves behind a really solid lacing. This looks like a really nice Imperial Stout. Let's get the nose on the Wreck Alley.

Wow. Big coffee. Big Vanilla. A lot of caramel in this as well. It's really sweet smelling but not overly so. I'm getting some bread like characters. Sweet breads, maybe like a pastry of some kind. There's some nice chocolate in this as well. A nice mix of some cocoa nibs, dark chocolate, milk chocolate. There's a slight dark fruit character, red raisins and a little bit of plum. But yeah, the big star of this is coffee and vanilla. Really nice. Let's see how Wreck Alley tastes.

Right away you get the coffee. It's really nice. That's followed up immediately by that vanilla, caramel and toffee kind of character. It's very creamy up front and sweet. Middle of the mouth you get more of that creamy mouth feel and that initial espresso roast kind of flavor. You get some of the cocoa in the middle of the mouth as well. It's all mixing together well in the mouth. The vanilla and coffee work so well together. Back end of this you get a lot more of that espresso roast and dark chocolate. There's maybe even a slight tobacco character on the back end as well. This is a really solid tasting beer.

So overall, Wreck Alley is really good. This is definitely much better than I remember it being. It really shines on taste. It smells really nice but for as good as it smells it just tastes much better. Everything blends together really well. 

Karl Strauss was the brewery that got me into craft beer so to see they're still making amazing beers is really good to see. If you can find this in your area I'd recommend it. Good mouth feel, good flavors, really easy drinking. 9.5% you don't taste it at all. So yeah, pick it up if you see it. Cheers!

Rating: A

Stone Brewing Co. - Espresso Imperial Russian Stout

It's finally Friday! I don't know about the rest of you but this weekend has been absolutely shitty. It seemed to have dragged on forever and it just seemed to be filled with a little bit extra bullshit. Clearly, someone wanted us to suffer this week.

But enough about the week! It's the weekend! Time to let loose. Time to crack open some beers and wake up tomorrow not knowing our own names or where we left our pants. OK. Maybe that's just me. Oh well.

So tonight I'm drinking another "odd year" release from Stone. One of my previous reviews was the Smoked Old Guardian. Tonight we've got the Espresso Imperial Russian Stout which is just like the name says. It's their awesome IRS brewed with Espresso. So let's get this opened and get into it!

The Espresso IRS comes in at 11% abv and poured out a pitch black color with a really creamy looking slightly mocha head. Not as dark as some but definitely not white or even off white. There was about 2 fingers worth and it's sticking around nicely. Once it starts to dissipate it leaves behind a really sticky lacing. This looks like a really nice russian stout. Let's get the nose.

First thing I notice on this beer is the espresso. It's very prominent up front. It's not over powering though but you can't miss it. Right behind that I'm getting some nice chocolate malt characters and some regular coffee. There's quite a bit of dark fruits here too. Most notably, figs and dates. I'm picking up more chocolate. Bitter dark chocolate, creamy milk chocolate, maybe some cocoa nibs too. I'm picking up a slight hint of alcohol. At 11% that's nothing surprising. This beer smells fantastic. Let's do some drinking guys.

Right away you get hit with espresso, just like the nose. It's rich and bitter. I like it a lot. That bitterness lingers throughout the entire mouth. Exactly how it should be. There's a creamy chocolate I'm picking up that does a nice job getting that bitterness all the way across the palate. I'm getting some darker chocolate in the middle of the mouth. Just a lot of espresso bitterness throughout. It's really nice. Back end I'm picking up some tobacco and dates. There's a slight nutty character at the back end. Sort of reminds me of a walnut flavor. It's pretty over powered by the espresso bitterness but as things settle I'm getting hints of that nutty character.

Overall, this is really nice. I've seen a few reviews on Youtube and read a few things here and there about people getting bottles that are very subtle on the espresso. Honestly, this bottle is not lacking the espresso at all. It really makes the Stone IRS a different beer. I'm a big fan of the regular IRS and this is right there with it. This is totally different though. The Espresso in my bottle just really transforms this beer. So needless to say, pick this up if you can find it. Shouldn't be too difficult.

Rating: A

Port Brewing - Board Meeting Brown Ale

Hey gang. I know, Sundays are brutal. In fact, they tend to suck. You're thinking about work which is no doubt going to suck in the morning. It's another 5 days until the weekend which means 5 days of bullshit and pretending to give a damn.

I usually feel your pain. But hey, I'm off until Wednesday so I get to have a bit of fun tonight. I figure, why not drink something new and post a blog for some fun? It's a win win for all of us!

Tonight I'm drinking the latest bottle release from Port Brewing. I'm drinking Board Meeting Brown Ale.This is the newest addition to the year round lineup Port Brewing/Lost Abbey offers. The first addition to their year round lineup in 2 years.

This is an 8.5% abv Imperial Brown Ale that is brewed with coffee and cocoa nibs. The bottle says Brown Ale but their site says Imperial. I don't know either way. It sounds good and I'm ready to give this a go.

Board Meeting pours out pitch black with no light coming through whatsoever. There is a foamy 3 fingers of a khaki head that is sticking around for quite a bit. I'll be honest, this looks like a lot like a porter or even a lighter stout. As the head makes it's exit we're left with a very sticky lacing. This beer looks delicious and definitely different than most brown ales I've had in the past.

The nose on this beer is fantastic. BIG coffee notes. Coffee dominates the nose for sure. I'm getting a bit of milk chocolate coming through too. Actually smells a bit like chocolate syrup. Very sweet and rich. There's a subtle hint of alcohol coming out as well. But again, as soon as you smell that, you're smacked in the nose by coffee. It wants you to know it's there and it's definitely lingering.

I'm hoping the taste of this beer follows the nose and I'm very happy to say it does. Big coffee once again comes in and hits you instantly. It tastes dark and bitter. Definitely eye opening. Middle of the tongue you get those coca nibs coming in to clean up the mess the coffee left at the front end. It's sweet and creamy. Very enjoyable. Back of the tongue/mouth, you get more cocoa and more coffee although it's much more of a burnt coffee to a burnt espresso taste. Very earthy but not in a bad way at all. You DO taste a bit of alcohol on this one. It's not bad but it's there for sure.

Overall, I think this is a pretty solid beer from Port Brewing. I'm not the biggest fan of their lineup but I definitely am enjoying this one. That being said, I wish this was a little smoother and balanced. The coffee is so dominant that while I did find the cocoa, it was very much hidden by the coffee. I wish the alcohol had been a bit more hidden on the back end. I'd like to try this on tap to see how it compares, maybe even see how this tastes with a little bit of age on it. Nothing crazy but maybe a couple of months would balance it a bit more.

Rating: B bordering on B+

Wife didn't hate it. But it tasted like beer. In fact, she said it tastes like coffee and crappy beer. With a "WHY WOULD YOU RUIN COFFEE LIKE THAT?!?!" thrown in for good measure. I don't think she hated it....

Green Flash - West Coast IPA

Hey everyone, thought I forgot about you? No way! I couldn't quit you... like every other blog I've started. Nope, not you. Having a little night cap and figured why not post up a review? A brilliant idea, I know!

Tonight I'm drinking Green Flash West Coast IPA. In other words, I'm drinking the flagship beer of one of the best San Diego breweries. This also happens to be the IPA that got me into the world of IPA. Yeah, I didn't start with some half-assed IPA, no sir, I jumped head first into IPA.

West Coast IPA comes in at 7.3% abv and according to the bottle is "extravagantly hopped". I think that means it's about 90-95 IBU. It's not just super hoppy, it's EXTRAVAGANTLY hoppy!!

Ok, enough bullshit.

West Coast pours out a beautiful golden color, bordering on a copper/rust orange. There was about a finger and a half to two fingers of white fluffy head that vanished fairly quickly, leaving behind a sticky webbed lacing. It's pretty much see through albeit slightly hazy. It's not preventing me from seeing my hand through the glass or the various things on my desk.

The nose on this beer is incredible. Tons of grapefruit and citrus fruits. Lots of that resinous pine and hoppy earth notes that you'd hope to find in an IPA. If an IPA lacks these qualities it's probably just a pale ale trying to puff it's chest out and hang with the big boys. I'm also getting a bit of an orange peel quality as well. Citrus tends to blend together a bit but the usual suspects of grapefruit and orange are here for sure. 

The taste on this beer is what an IPA should taste like. Right away you get that typical west coast hopped goodness. The IBU's sort of show up on your door step and just punch you square in the face, take your wallet, and walk away. Middle of the mouth you get a ton of grapefruit followed by a lot of orange zest/peel. It's like they're holding hands and skipping across the tongue. Have no fear though, they're being chased by the hop monster and it's leaving behind all sorts of good hoppy bitterness. West Coast finishes nice and dry and leaves behind a little more bitterness for your taste buds. Who doesn't like a little bit of cab fair after a nice evening out? I mean.... shit. Getting carried away here.

Overall, West Coast IPA is just a classic version of an IPA. It's not re-writing the book on IPA because it IS the book of IPA. I'll be completely honest for a moment. All bullshitting aside, if you've never had Pliny the Elder but you can easily get West Coast IPA and have made the right decision to buy and drink it, you're not missing anything. West Coast IPA should be the definition of a what an IPA is. If you can get this, do it. Don't ask questions. Don't second guess yourself. Just buy the beer. It's so worth it.

Rating: A+

And yes the wife simply says that West Coast IPA, tastes like beer.

AleSmith Brewing Company - My Bloody Valentine

 Hey everyone! Time for another review here at Tastes Like Beer.

Tonight I'm drinking a beer by AleSmith Brewing Company which is located down in San Diego, CA. Tonight, we're drinking My Bloody Valentine! 

This is the cousin beer to Evil Dead Red Ale (which is fantastic btw). Evil Dead Red is their Halloween seasonal and is obviously good on name alone since it's named after one of the best movies ever to exist in the world, Evil Dead.

But enough about that. My Bloody Valentine comes in at 6.66% ABV and is listed as an American Amber/Red Ale. It's been quite some time since I've had an Amber ale so I'm hoping this is pretty decent. 

The beer poured out a really nice ruby red with a fluffy head that bordered on 1 1/2 fingers. Head sticks around for a bit but doesn't over stay it's welcome. Leaves a really nice lacing on the glass. This beer looks incredible. Really beautiful color. If you've had AleSmith beers before, you know their beers never fail to impress on appearance.

The nose on this beer is pretty decent. The bottle says there is an intense bouquet of hop aroma and honestly, it smells pretty hoppy. No where near as hoppy as an IPA but real nice floral hops. I'm getting quite a bit of sweet malt coming through. Maybe like a sweet bread, a hawaiian bread maybe? It's really sweet smelling. The bottle mentions notes of chocolate but I'm not picking up the chocolate. Maybe it's in the taste? The hop aroma is pretty much dominated by the sweetness to be honest.

It's time to see what this Bloody Valentine tastes like. Initially, I'm hit with a nice hop bitterness. Definitely the characteristic of a red ale. That doesn't last though. This bitterness is immediately cut by sweet malts. Those are accompanied by some fruits actually. Maybe a plum character coming through. There's a little bit of a caramel sweetness right behind that as well. This is a really sweet beer. I get a little bit of creaminess on the second go around. Maybe it's those chocolate notes? Could be a milky chocolate sort of character. The taste isn't there, but the mouth feel is there. The back of the throat this beer finishes fairly dry. A little bit of bitterness lingering around. The sweetness sort of fades quickly after the initial blast. 

Overall, this beer isn't terrible, but it's sort of middle of the road for me. It's really sweet. It's not cloying thankfully, but this is one of the sweeter beers I've had in a while. It has the characteristics of an Amber Ale as well as a Red Ale. I sort of wish it was one or the other. If Evil Dead Red is a Red I would have hoped this would be the Amber. 

I think it's worth trying though. I wouldn't avoid this beer by any means. I like it, but it's just not really my style. A little too sweet and kind of a mix of two styles but not more like one style than the other. If you can get this it's worth a shot. It could be I just need to try this again and I might like it but I haven't had anything this hoppy today so I'm not sure. I give this beer a B-. Not terrible, but sort of... just alright for me.

The wife gave it a try. Said it simply tastes like beer... but nothing special. 

Rating: B-

Green Flash Double Stout

My first review!

I'm a big fan of Green Flash brewing. I'd probably say they are a top 5 for me. Not sure if I'd throw them in the #1 spot ,but they're definitely in contention.

To put it honestly, Green Flash really doesn't make a bad beer. Obviously known in beer circles for brewing incredibly hoppy IPA's, I like them more for the beer I'm currently drinking.

Double Stout

No fancy name. No gimmicks. It's just a big stout. Or Black Ale as the label says.

I'd say of all the Green Flash beers I've had more of this than any other. It's good year round, even during the summer time when it gets a little hot (ok a lot hot) in So. Cal. It's not overly thick like some stouts (which I love) so to have one of these to maybe mix things up come summer time, getting away from the Pales and IPA's, it's a nice treat.

The Double Stout pours out very dark with no light able to be seen through the beer. Maybe the slightest hint of a very dark brown around the bottom of the glass but that might just be my bad eye sight playing tricks on me. The head is a fluffy brown/mocha color that stick around for a bit and leaves a nice lacing on the glass. This head is darker than a lot of the "stouts" that seem to be produced these days. If you're like me, the darker the head, the better the beer.

The nose is nothing short of delicious. Big chocolate. A nice roasty warmth shines through as well that almost makes this seem like a beer you might drink for dessert or even in the AM if you're a daytime drunk (nothing wrong with this.) I also get a little bit of an alcohol smell on the nose. 8.8% it's not too surprising and with a lack of an espresso/coffee character I'm not too surprised. It's nothing to run away from but it's definitely there. There's also a bit of a toasted oat character as well.

Taste wise, this beer is delicious. You get a smooth chocolate flavor immediately. Middle of the mouth you get more chocolate and a bit of that roasted character you could get on the nose as well. It's not a thick stout but it's also not thin by any means. Tail end of this you get more chocolate, more roast, and a subtle hop character. Being a Green Flash beer without a hop character showing up something can't be right. After letting it settle a bit, I also get a nice toasted oat/roasted oat character on the back end.

Overall this is a very solid stout. It's almost an everyday drinker for me when I can get a case. It's available in 4 packs (boo!) and 22oz bottles. You can pretty much get this year round. I think since Green Flash moved down to San Diego from North County they manage to keep this around where as when they were in Vista this wasn't always available. I give this beer an 8.5/10 for an A rating. I highly recommend this beer if you like stouts. Even if you don't, it's worth trying.

Wife's verdict? Judging by the facial expression as well, definitely tastes like beer.