Uinta Brewing Co. - Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin

It's finally the weekend! Seriously, this has been the week from hell for me work wise. I'm ready to unwind. I'm ready to kick back and do nothing. I'm ready to get some serious beer drinking done. That's right. Opening up some good stuff this weekend and I'm starting tonight with another beer from one of my personal favorites.

Tonight I'm drinking another beer from Uinta, their Crooked Line series to be exact. Tonight I've got their Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin which is a pumpkin beer (if you didn't know from the name already) aged in Oak Barrels. This one comes in at 10.31% abv (you know, Halloween) and this particular bottle is over a year old with a bottled date of 8/28/12. So, a little age on this one. Let's get it poured and I'll give you my thoughts on the Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin.

The OJIP pours out a really nice dark amber-ruby red-mahogany color. Lots of that ruby red on the bottom of the glass as it rounds up to the sides. There's about a finger and a half of a white, fluffy, billowy head. It doesn't stick around too long and leaves behind a very sticky and soapy lacing. There's a moderate amount of carbonation coming up from the sides and bottom of the glass. This looks like a real nice beer, definitely got the autumn colors going on. Let's get the nose.

Interestingly enough, the first thing I'm picking up is dark fruits. Plum, raisin, maybe some cherry kind of sweetness. There's some earthy kind of bitterness kind of tucked behind those fruits possibly even from those oak barrels. There's a bit of a yeasty ester and some breads. You get some brown sugar, nutmeg, some subtle cinnamon spices here. To be completely honest here, I'm not picking up a lot of pumpkin or gourd on the nose. If it's there I may just be missing it (as I'm typing this someone is outside smoking and it's kind of wafting into my room). With that said, let's see how the OJIP tastes. There's bound to be some pumpkin there.... I hope!

There we go! Right away you get sweet pumpkin. Really glad it's there. That pumpkin character coats the entire palate with it's richness. Right behind that initial blast of pumpkin you get those spices, lots of brown sugar, maybe even a bit of a buttery note. Sides of the palate you get a little more of the brown sugar, some of those dark fruits come through too. Back end of this you more creaminess, more pumpkin, sweet caramel shining through, little bit of earthy tones. As I let the flavors linger a bit and the beer warms a tad, those oak characters really start to make their appearance. Big woody notes. Really plays well off the pumpkin here.

So overall, this beer is pretty good. I'm still not sold on Pumpkin beers and this is really the 2nd one I've had this season with Fat Jack from a week or two ago being the other. Comparing the two I'd have to lean more towards the Fat Jack. It's a bit more balanced and a bit more true to what I'm looking for. Saying that, the Oak Jacked Imperial Pumpkin is solid, bordering on good. Really surprised not to get much pumpkin on the nose and I think that might be why the Fat Jack was a bit better for me. Either way, get this one if you can and give it a try. Chances are, the bottle you get will already have about a year on it.

Rating: B

Uinta Brewing Co - Cockeyed Cooper

Hey guys! Hope everyone is enjoying their Tuesday night. I'm a little bummed because I head back to work tomorrow after a nice and long 4 day weekend. Tonight I'm drinking my August entry in my wife's beer of the month club and I'm really stoked for this one. I've been looking for it for quite sometime and managed to find a lot of these bottles at my local Cost Plus World Market.

Tonight I'm drinking another beer from Uinta's Crooked Line series. This is their Cockeyed Cooper which is a Bourbon Barrel Barley Wine. That's right, a bourbon barrel barley wine. It's been rather hot here in San Diego the last week or so but that's not going to stop me from enjoying this awesomeness. The Cockeyed Cooper is 11.1% and this particular bottle was bottled on 11/29/12 so, already got nearly a year in the bottle. Let's get this one poured and see how the Cockeyed Cooper tastes.



The CC came in a 750ml corked and caged bottle. There was a very audible pop and quite a bit of "steam" once I go the cork popped. It pours out a really beautiful mahogany color that when held up to the light reveals some really dark, blood red/ruby red hues along the sides and bottom of the glass. There's the slightest bit of carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass. There was a nice 2 fingers of a fluffy and thick khaki colored head that stuck around for quite a bit, leaving behind a pretty nice, web-like lacing. Just a really solid looking Barleywine. Let's get the nose.

Big Big Big burnt caramel and sugar sweetness. Almost like the top of a creme brulee dessert. There's a nice dark fruit character of raisin and fig. A TON of barrel character. Quite a bit of an oak woodiness. Lots of vanilla sweetness here. There's a noticeable chocolate covered raisin character as well. Of course there's a bit of a bourbon alcohol smell. No surprise there. This is just an awesome smelling beer. Let's see if this tastes anything like it smells.

Wow, this is incredible! First thing I get is that woody, oak-like character. That's intertwined with a really nice vanilla and a caramel sweetness. Middle of the mouth you get a little more woody character and some earthy, bitterness. Maybe even a little bit of a burnt flavor. Sides of the palate you get the dark fruits, those chocolate covered raisins and some more of that caramel sweetness. Back of the palate you get a nice bourbon burn, some more of that vanilla sweetness. A bit of the chocolate flavors coming through. Definitely a warming sensation as it makes it's way down the chest. There's a lot of oak, bourbon, vanilla playing with each other throughout this entire beer.

So overall, this is just an amazing beer. Definitely one to sip on. Definitely one I want to see what happens with some age. Fortunately for me, I have another bottle in my cellar cabinet so I'll get to experience that. This is just another solid effort from Uinta who to date, I've yet to have a bad beer from. If you can get this, check it out. Everything about this beer is a home run. Do yourself a favor, seek this out and purchase/trade for a bottle. You will not regret it if you like Barleywines, especially barrel aged offerings.

Rating: A+

Uinta Brewing Company - Cahoots Double Rye India Pale Ale

What's up everyone? Hope things are going well. Spent my dinner at Stone tonight and had a couple of fantastic beers, one of which will be reviewed in the next few days. But that's for another time. I've had this bottle in my fridge far too long and honestly, it's time to get this one opened and see how it tastes.

So with that said, tonight I'm drinking another new(er) release from Uinta, part of their Crooked Line series. This is their Cahoots Double Rye India Pale Ale. In other words? It's a Double Rye IPA. Or, it's a Rye DIPA... or its... well, whatever. The point is, this is a Rye IPA and is actually brewed with two types of malted rye and loads of malted barley... and finally, two hop varieties. Sounds like they're going for a spicy, hoppy, slightly malty IPA. Coming in at 9.4% abv and bottled 5/17/13, let's pop the cork and see how this one is!

Cahoots pours out a really nice amber, mahogany color. Lots of ruby red hues at the bottom of the glass. Not a lot of carbonation on this one, but there is a small amount streaming up from the bottom of the glass. A really nice billowy tan/off-white head. Lots of tiny bubbles. Great retention time with some thick, sticky foam like lacing. This is a really nice looking IPA, DIPA, whatever IPA! Let's get the nose on the Cahoots!

First thing I get on the nose is some nice juicy hop character. Lots of pineapple, peaches, some mango, papaya. Some subtle citrus behind the juicy fruits. A nice amount of pine/resin like characters. The rye really comes through as the head dissipates back into the beer. A nice spice is left behind that plays really well off the big fruits. It does a nice job bringing out more of the citrus, more of the orange specifically. This is a really nice smelling beer. Enough rambling though. Let's do some drinking!

Really nice mouth feel on this. Right away, I get some of the rye malts. A really good spice comes through immediately. It does a good job of driving the hops through the full palate. Clean through to the back of the palate where you get a nice caramel sweetness. There's some bitter grapefruit in the center of the palate. Lingers really nicely. Sides of the palate you get more of that peach, pineapple and papaya character. It's definitely more noticeable on the nose but it's definitely there. Again, the rye on this really carries the beer in my opinion. Cahoots finishes nice and dry and leaves a nice bitter taste in the mouth. Just a really nice, pleasant and dangerously drinkable beer.

So overall, I'm really digging Cahoots. This is pretty much what I want in a Rye IPA. Lots of spice but nothing overpowering the overall juicy characters and citrus characters of the IPA itself. Everything plays together really nicely here. A good malt profile adds a nice mouth feel and some sweetness to the beer. Once again Uinta nails it. They're slowly becoming one of my favorites, possibly top 3 favorite, breweries that I have access to. If you can get Cahoots I think it's worth picking up and checking out. Definitely one to relax with at the end of a long day.

Rating: A

Oh, here's a video of my wife trying Cahoots. It cuts off, but don't fret, it Tastes Like Beer! 

Uinta Brewing - Sea Legs Baltic Porter

Well, it's finally here! The first in my Beer of the Month series my wife hooking up for me. Easily one of the coolest things she's decided to do for me and also one of the most delicious. It's win-win in my book.

So for January, we're drinking Sea Legs by Uinta Brewing, part of their Crooked Line series. This is an 8% Baltic Porter that is aged in Oak Barrels. To be honest, any beer aged in Oak Barrels immediately peaks my interest. I really like what Oak does to beers, especially porters and stouts. 

Corked, this beer proved to be a pain in the ass to open. Once opened though, the immediate aroma of Oak hit my nose. I was pretty happy to say the least. There was also a bit of a tobacco smell as well, very subtle, but anyone who has smoked good tobacco wouldn't miss it. Maybe a bit of a fine leather as well. In other words, this beer smelled incredible before I even let it hit a glass.

On the pour, this beer is incredibly dark. Pitch black with no light shining through. There was about a 3-4 finger head, mocha to bordering on straight brown in color. Very billowy, almost like clouds in the sky. It sticks around for quite some time. It's very inviting too. As the head dissipates we're left with a very nice lacing. Overall, this beer looks incredible.

The aroma in the glass differs a bit from when I first popped the cork. Not picking up much in the way of oak, tobacco, or leather. Instead, I'm getting massive amounts of chocolate. Dark chocolate to be exact. Not much vanilla actually. Usually that shows up in the taste though. I'm smelling some roasted oats. More chocolate. Maybe some espresso shining through as well. It smells incredible. 

I finally get to give this beer a taste. It's awesome. Big chocolate. Big chocolate covered coffee beans. There's no coffee really in the taste, but that bitterness is there. Sort of like drinking a good black coffee. It's dark and sort of hits you like you all know you like it. It's medium bodied. Leaves a nice coating over the tongue and cheeks. Back of the mouth is where I think this beer shines. You get a ton of espresso and black coffee. Bittersweet chocolate. And it lingers a lot. I feel like I just ate some chocolate covered espresso beans. Very good tastes. There's not a ton of carbonation but by no means is this flat. I'd say it's bordering on medium carbonation. You don't taste any alcohol. 8% that's not too surprising though. I usually don't notice the alcohol on the tongue unless it's a bit higher, 10% or so.

Overall, Sea Legs by Uinta Brewing is incredible. It's one of the better "Baltic Porters" I've had, maybe the best. This beer gets a easy 9 out of 10 for me, making this beer a solid A. I highly recommend trying this beer out. Not only this beer though, Uinta makes some amazing beers year round. Some which I'm sure I'll get to reviewing at some point in the future. In the last year, I'd say Uinta has become one of my favorite and go to breweries. I'm hoping one day to visit them in Salt Lake City, surprisingly enough. 

Rating - A