Stone Brewing Co - Suede Imperial Porter

Evening all! Hope everyone is enjoying their week. Wednesday night and the wife has taken over the TV. I need to occupy myself so I figure it's as good a time as any to post a new review. Makes sense, right?

Tonight I'm drinking the latest collaboration beer from Stone Brewing Co. This is their Suede an Imperial Porter brewed in collaboration with 10 Barrel brewing and Blue Jacket brewing featuring Calendula Flowers, Jasmine and Honey. I'm sorry, what? An Imperial Porter with what I can only describe as tea spices? Interesting to say the least... and maybe slightly odd sounding. This is 9.6% abv so at least it's not lacking in that the department. Coming from Stone, that's not a surprise in the least. So let's get Suede poured and I'll give you my thoughts.

Suede pours out incredibly dark pretty much pitch black. If I hold my phone light up to it I'm maybe seeing a little bit of a dark brown... but it's so dark I'd call it black. Yeah, this beer is black. There's about a finger of a foamy, frothy beige head which I got after a pretty vigorous pour, more vigorous than I usually pour. It dissipates pretty quickly and leaves behind a very thick lacing. Incredibly sticky looking and slightly soapy. This looks like pretty straight forward Imperial Porter. Let's get the nose.

Big roast coming through right away. Some cocoa nibs, dark chocolate following right behind. But right after that I get a big blast of earthy floral characters. Those flowers are surprisingly present and holding their own on the nose. There's the slightest bit of spice as well. Maybe from the Jasmine. I'm also getting a sweetness that's most likely from the honey. It's doing a nice job of cutting that roasty note I picked up at first impression. This is a very good smelling porter and these additions of calendula, jasmine and honey have me intrigued. Only one thing left to do!

Right away I get that floral sort of earthy bitterness. It has to be from the flowers and whatever hops they used in this. Coupled with the Jasmine the beer is definitely not what I expected. The spices and floral notes really linger on the front and middle of the palate. Sides of the palate I'm getting some sweetness but very subtle. Back end of this I get a blast of those dark chocolates and bitter chocolate I got on the nose. They don't linger very long. The lingering taste I get more than anything is jasmine. Very tea like. Very subtle and smooth. Honestly if I closed my eyes I'd think I might be drinking tea! The longer I let the flavors linger I pick up more honey sweetness and a lot more tea character. So interesting!

So overall, I like this a lot. It's not what I was expecting at all from this latest collaboration from Stone. I was expecting a big, sort of in your face porter and I'm really left looking for that. This is really jasmine, calendula, honey forward. More so than I would have ever guessed. I can honestly say I've never had a beer like this. There's no hint of that 9.6% that the bottle boasts which makes this a pretty dangerous drinking beer. Body wise this reminds me a lot of an English porter. Not like a lot of the imperial porters brewed here in the states. Get this if you can. It's worth it.

Rating: A

Ninkasi Brewing Company - Tricerahops Double IPA

Evening everyone! Hope you're having a good week. It's actually raining here in San Diego tonight. That has nothing to do with tonight's beer, I just figured it was somewhat newsworthy. It IS San Diego after all, the land of 75 and sunny year round. But enough bragging.

It's a new beer tonight for me. I've never had this one and I'm really looking forward to trying this one. Tonight I'm drinking Tricerahops from Ninkasi Brewing out of Eugene Oregon. Tricerahops is a Double IPA coming in at 8.8% abv. So pretty big DIPA and I'm quite all right with that. So let's get this one opened and I'll let you know my thoughts on the Tricerahops (awesome name btw).

Tricerahops pours out a beautiful golden color, slightly copper maybe with some hints of orange. This beer is crystal clear, no haze whatsoever. There's about a finger to maybe just a tad more than a finger of fluffy white head which dissipates very quickly. There's a nice web-like lacing left behind. A decent amount of carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass which is nice to see. Not sure when this was bottled but at least this tells me we're not looking at a flat beer. Always a plus! Let's get the nose.

Big fruit notes. Big pear, peaches, a bit of a sticky peach sweetness. Quite a bit of orange citrus, maybe even a mandarin orange going on here. There's a nice bit of floral shining through behind that initial blast of fruits. There's a good hop bitterness too, smells very fresh, slightly dank but not dank in the garlic/onion sense. Just a big hoppy, bitter beer. Smells wonderful. Let's see how Tricerahops tastes! 

Honestly this follows the nose very well. First thing I notice is a real nice bitter hop character, very floral and slightly earthy. That initial bitterness is followed up by a lot of those fruits; pears, peach, orange citrus, and surprisingly a bit of an apple. Not an overly sweet apple, slightly bitter. Sides of the palate you get the fruits and some sweet caramel kind of notes. Back end of this beer, this finishes incredibly dry. One of the more drying DIPA I can remember having in recent months. No alcohol from that 8.8% at all. Not even a warming sensation as it goes down. Really easy drinking DIPA. 

So overall, I'm really digging the Tricerahops. I went into this not expecting much but I'm definitely surprised by how good and balanced this beer is. It's not a big time hop bomb. The hops are certainly present but not kicking you in the teeth like a majority of DIPA are these days. I'd honestly have never guessed this was a DIPA. It's mellow but in a very pleasing way. I'd recommend this one for sure. Easy drinking, flavorful, reasonably priced. If I had to have a complaint I'd just say it's a little easy on the bitterness for a DIPA. I'm used to the big in your face palate destroyers and this is not one of them. So that's it. That's my only knock and it's minor at that.

Rating: A-

Here's a video of my wife trying Tricerahops. Requested by some of my friends. 

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

AleSmith Brewing Company - Evil Dead Red Ale

Hey gang! Hard to believe it's already October. So like most of the first reviews of each month, it's time for my September BOTM beer my wife picked up for me. Pretty stoked for this one. Admittedly, I've had it once before on tap so I'm very interested in trying this one from the bottle.

So tonight I'm drinking the fall seasonal from AleSmith Brewing Company down in San Diego, this is their Evil Dead Red Ale which is a 6.66% abv red ale, or amber ale. One of the two. You can go ahead and pick. On tap this was fairly hop forward with some nice caramel malts keeping everything together. I very much enjoyed this on tap so I'm anxious to get this one poured into a glass. So with that said, enough babbling. Let's get this one opened up!

Evil Dead Red pours out a really dark amber color, bordering on a red/blood red. Holding this up to the light you definitely get the red colors shining through. There's a really fluffy and thick white head about a finger to a finger and a half worth. It sticks around for a while and leaves behind a really thick and sticky soap-like lacing. A good amount of carbonation streaming up the glass. Overall just a really nice looking red/amber ale. Let's get the nose.

Wow, right away a huge hit of citrus hops. Big grapefruit and maybe mandarin orange. Very sweet smelling, very fresh smelling. There's a bit of a sticky caramel malt shining through behind the initial blast of hops. This beer smells incredible! Really fresh hops, tons of citrus, and just more hops. Much more citrusy than I was expecting or what I remember. This is a pretty fresh bottle so I'm thinking that's a big factor. I'm ready to drink this one. Let's get to it! 

First thing are really fresh citrus hops. Lots of them. They really drive straight through the palate. Sides of the palate you get that caramel malts, lots of sweetness, some sugar, a bit of a bread-like, cake-like type of taste and similar mouth feel. Back end of the palate you get more caramel maybe even a hint of vanilla believe it or not. More of that citrus lingers throughout tap dancing on the tongue. As I sip on this some more the orange flavors really shine. Very juicy and sweet. This is a fantastic tasting beer! 

So overall, Evil Dead Red Ale from AleSmith Brewing Company is another winner. There's nothing wrong with this beer. I literally cannot say a single negative thing about this beer. It's so incredibly balanced. I'd even consider going as far as saying that Evil Dead Red is the BEST red ale I've ever had. If you can get this, you need to do so. It's amazing fresh so get it now and drink immediately. I don't remember this being as good as this on tap. If I see this again before it's out of the stores I'll be buying it. Do the same! 

Rating: A+

Ninkasi Brewing Company - Vanilla Oatis

Hey guys! It's Sunday night and I'm dreading going into work tomorrow. Yeah, I'd imagine a lot of you are in the same boat. So to ease the pain of working Monday morning I'm drinking a new beer that seems to have just made it's way to my area.

Tonight I'm drinking Vanilla Oatis from Ninkasi Brewing Company out of Eugene Oregon. This is a 7.2% abv Oatmeal Stout brewed with Vanilla. It was a little warm here today in San Diego so it's still not exactly stout weather but I really don't care. Let's get this one open and see how it is.

The Vanilla Oatis pours out pitch black in color which isn't surprising since this is a stout after all. There was about a fingers worth of a beige creamy looking head. The head is sticking around for a long time. In fact, there's still a nice little ring of beige/tan head still on top of the beer like a lid or cap. It's leaving behind a very thick and foamy lacing. This is a very nice looking oatmeal stout. Let's get the nose.

First thing I pick up is the Vanilla. Thankfully this is a beer with Vanilla that ACTUALLY smells like vanilla. It's not in the background, hidden behind a shitload of coffee. This is right there in your face. There's some roasted oat coming through behind the vanilla. I'm picking up some creme brulee like sweetness in here as well. It's not quite like a burned sugar but that richness you get from the creme is coming out in this very nicely. There's some subtle milk chocolate notes in here too. Really impressed by the nose on this one. Very stoked the vanilla is dominant. Only one thing left to do now.

There's an immediate blast of roast, like a roasted oat to be exact. That lends itself to a really nice, creamy mouth feel. Behind that is the vanilla. Very sweet and a perfect compliment to the creamy, roasted oats. Sides of the palate you get more of the vanilla and more of that creme brulee sort of feel. Sort of fluffy, sort of creamy, definitely a bit on the rich side. Back end of this beer sort of explodes into a bitter coffee experiment. This really brings the beer altogether. Definitely makes it more of a vanilla latte than it does a creme brulee. As the flavors linger a bit you get a lot of that bitter coffee, a bit of bitter chocolate, very earthy.

So overall, I'm really digging this beer. I vaguely remember having the regular Oatis years ago and wasn't all that impressed. But this is just really nice. I think where this one stands out is the vanilla. It is really up front and put out there. It's kind of surprising that they really nailed this. Not because Ninkasi is bad or anything, but from my experience a lot of breweries use the vanilla in the background, maybe as an after thought. Just used to that I guess. I'd give this one the nod if you're thinking about picking it up.

Rating: A

Samuel Adams - Fat Jack

Evening everyone! So Fall has finally arrived here in San Diego and I just so happen to have a fall type of beer in my fridge. I've never had this one and I'm really happy to have found it this year. I tried to get it last year and came up empty. 

So tonight I'm drinking Samuel Adams Fat Jack which is an 8.5% abv Double Pumpkin ale brewed with pumpkin and spices. That's right! It's time for a Pumpkin beer! I'm going to throw this out right now, but I'm not a fan of pumpkin beers. I've never had one that has made me want to buy it again. I've had a few and they're OK but just not really my thing. But enough intro, let's get the Fat Jack poured and see if this is a Pumpkin beer I can fully endorse.

Fat Jack pours out a pretty clear ruby red color, maybe amber but definitely leaning more towards the red category. There's a nice little bit of a very steady carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass. There was about a finger of egg shell colored head, fairly foamy with a lot of tight white bubbles. It doesn't stick around too long and leaves behind a somewhat sea foam-esque lacing. This looks like a pretty nice beer, definitely reminiscent of fall with the red/amber tones. Let's get the nose.

First thing I get is brown sugar. Lots of sweet brown sugar. I'm picking up some nutmeg and some cinnamon. The cinnamon is a little on the subtle side. It's more hiding in the background, lurking, stalking.... you know it's there but it's not overbearing. A nice bit of pumpkin pie coming through as well. From the pumpkin filling to the buttery crust. There's also a little bit of dark fruits. Raisins and dates are present but very much in the background like the cinnamon. Some bread like characters here as well. Genuinely a really nice smelling pumpkin beer, very much reminds me of a slice of pumpkin pie. Only one thing left to do now. Let's drink! 

Wow. This follows the nose perfectly! Right away there's some sweet brown sugar on the front of the tongue. Immediately followed up with some creamy pumpkin pie filling with nutmeg, cinnamon and maybe even some vanilla, or vanilla cream. Sides of the palate you get more of that pumpkin, more brown sugar, a nice bit of a buttery crust. Back end of this you get a little burst of bitterness, some more spice, cinnamon is more noticeable here. As the flavors linger a bit you get the dark fruits especially the raisins. This is just a really nice, enjoyable pumpkin beer.

So overall, this beer is fantastic. I came into this expecting nothing. Honestly, I expected this to be OK and maybe a bit difficult to finish a full bottle. I was wrong. This is exactly what I want in a pumpkin beer. Good spices, nothing too overpowering, full pumpkin flavor, great mouth feel. It covers everything I look for in a pumpkin pie all while still keeping that integrity of being a beer. If that makes sense. Basically, this isn't a pumpkin syrup nightmare. Get this if you can. I think it's highly enjoyable and very much a fantastic early fall/late fall beer.

Rating :A

Left Coast Brewing Co - Hop Juice

Hey all! It's Tuesday night and I'm in the mood for something new. Well, I should rephrase that. This isn't exactly new. At least I don't think it is. I vaguely remember having this beer several years ago, back before I could appreciate good beer. I don't remember anything about this other than I've once tried it. 

What's that? What beer? Oh, tonight I'm drinking another beer from Left Coast Brewing out of San Clemente, CA. This is Hop Juice, a 9.7% abv Double IPA. Yep, still sticking with the hops here. C'mon, I'm in San Diego. Would you expect anything less?? 

So lets get the Hop Juice open and see if it's as good as I don't remember... 

Hop Juice pours out a really deep copper, rust, orange, amber color. Very much clear, not much haze at all. There was about a finger and a half of a very thick, fluffy looking white head. Lots of bubbles in here. The Hop Juice head doesn't linger around very long and leaves behind a very thick and sticky lacing. There's not a lot of carbonation streaming up from the bottom of the glass. I'm guessing just based on looks that this is going to be a thick, heavy DIPA. Let's get the nose. 

Tons of syrupy peach sweetness. I mean, TONS! I'm also getting some mandarin orange, mango, papaya like fruits. There's a lot of caramel and malt sweetness. Very potent. Honestly, the nose is pretty much what I was expecting just from looking at this beer in the glass. Surprisingly, I'm not picking up a lot of hop bitterness so this might not be the freshest of bottles. There is some grass like qualities in the nose, like a wet grass kind of scent. It's more back end then anything else but to me, it's there. I'm ready to see if Hop Juice is worth it. Let's drink up! 

First thing I get is a somewhat subdued hop bitterness. It does a nice job of driving everything else through the palate though. Middle of the tongue is where you get hit with a heavy dose of IBUs. Sides of the palate you get that peach sweetness, mango and papaya. Back end of this you do get more bitterness, some fresh hop characteristics. Actually that's probably the wet grass sort of note I was picking up on the nose. There is some subtle bitter citrus lingering on the palate as well. The caramel-like sweetness is definitely present throughout. 

So overall, Hop Juice isn't bad... but I don't think it's really that great. This has a nice mouth feel, definitely on the thicker side of things. But it's not exactly balanced. I was hoping for more of a balanced DIPA and ended up with the stickier, syrupy sort of sweet DIPA. Again, it's not bad but I wouldn't really go out of my way to pick this up again. Certainly wouldn't turn it down if offered but it's one that otherwise I'd say is a pass. 

Rating: C+