Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
A high-octane favorite that skirts the bad habits of other dessert beers, Brooklyn’s Black Chocolate South attacks with a refined nose of (you guessed it) chocolate and caramel piggybacking on the alcohol bouquet. Strikingly sweet, its roasted edges knock it closer to the imperial stouts of Russian and Scandinavia. With six malts in the mix that never clash, the chocolate couldn’t match the alcohol content any better.
Definitely reserved for the winter months, this chocolate stout doesn’t wear thing after one sampling. Just as importantly, the roasted malts leave a pleasant, slightly bitter aftertaste. Brooklyn’s strong stout cruises by with a mellow, refreshing character seldom welcomed in a beer that crosses the 10 percent ABV line.
Rating: 8/10
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome 2007-2008
This British brewer turns out prototypical winter ale, and its 1997 edition was among the first ever tried. Like Samuel Smith’s other brews, the alcohol content is within the style parameters (6 percent) but still goes down like a session beer.
The bouquet muscles up from the pint glass with chocolate, molasses and mild spices. The ruby body matches the vibrant apple crispness.
But importation is the downfall of all Samuel Smith’s products. Even with the brewer finally left behind the dreadful clear glass bottles that ruined so many tastes, its beers don’t weather the trek across the Atlantic well. I marvel at its hop textures and rich fruit layers, yet I’m foiled every time by the metallic taste that overwhelms the finish.
While a classic and a winter tradition, I can’t rate it as such.
Rating: 6/10 (add two full points if sampled fresh or on tap)
Sweetwater Festive Ale 2007
Going for opaque heaviness over high spiciness, Sweetwater’s Festive Ale has a little licorice, toffee and ever-so-slight molasses in its nose, along with trace amounts of cinnamon. Buried deeper, express flavors rise before it finishes on an overly bitter malt fadeout. The spices are there, but never development – they alternate between the background and disappearing altogether. This is almost identical to the Breckenridge's uneventful Christmas ale choked down in late 2006.
Given their successful interpretations of other styles, I expected better from Sweetwater. This ale fails to buck from the pack of craft-brewed winter seasonals. Punch up those spices in the 2008 version, and Festive will rise in the ratings. For this year, it’s fine without other options, but don’t race to the store to track it down.
Rating: 5/10
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
A Bush for One Season: Scaldis Noel
Sampled Dec. 3, 2006 and Dec. 19, 2007
Head for the mountains, but only if the beer is from Belgium.
I'm doubling up this year, comparing my impressions of Bush Noel samples from last year and now. For the record, Belgian brewer Bush markets itself in the U.S. as Scaldis; since no one reading this will expect a review of the unrelated American swill, I'll keep its proper name.
Known as Belgium's strongest ale, the 12 percent ABV Bush comes in a Christmas variation - and Bush Noel isn't merely a clone loaded with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg then slapped with a Christmas Ale label. Both carry the same alcohol content The late Michael Jackson classifies both as barleywines because of it). They part in their hues - the standard issue Bush is a blonde-orange ale while the Noel is red.
Both vintages kick off with mighty plum, raisin and date bouquet. According to the brewery Web site, it places hop flowers in the beer vats during the 4-6 week maturation period so an extravagant nose comes with the territory.
I am not sure to what degree Bush varies the Noel recipe each year. But in the 2007 version, a pepperiness from the alcohol content cuts a swatch through every facet of this beer. The fiery pepper uptick on the finish is starkly different from last year's model. While constantly present, it nestles up nicely against the nose's dark fruits and through the tones left by the caramel malt. Last year's finish didn't have that power, and the spices emerged slowly.
Both editions have a maltiness that surges late, a trait undoubtedly due to the caramel malt. In the 2007, the pepperiness elbows it to the background. This is a beast, a Christmas ale that won't hold back.
Drink it carefully - the magnum picture above rarely appears in the U.S., but the 8.8 ounce bottle sold in finer liquor stores throws enough punches to leave its drinker slightly dazed.
Bush Noel occupies the upper limits of where a Christmas ale can reach. Year after year, it's a mighty festive perch.
Rating: 8.5/10 (up from 7/10 in 2006)
Head for the mountains, but only if the beer is from Belgium.
I'm doubling up this year, comparing my impressions of Bush Noel samples from last year and now. For the record, Belgian brewer Bush markets itself in the U.S. as Scaldis; since no one reading this will expect a review of the unrelated American swill, I'll keep its proper name.
Known as Belgium's strongest ale, the 12 percent ABV Bush comes in a Christmas variation - and Bush Noel isn't merely a clone loaded with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg then slapped with a Christmas Ale label. Both carry the same alcohol content The late Michael Jackson classifies both as barleywines because of it). They part in their hues - the standard issue Bush is a blonde-orange ale while the Noel is red.
Both vintages kick off with mighty plum, raisin and date bouquet. According to the brewery Web site, it places hop flowers in the beer vats during the 4-6 week maturation period so an extravagant nose comes with the territory.
I am not sure to what degree Bush varies the Noel recipe each year. But in the 2007 version, a pepperiness from the alcohol content cuts a swatch through every facet of this beer. The fiery pepper uptick on the finish is starkly different from last year's model. While constantly present, it nestles up nicely against the nose's dark fruits and through the tones left by the caramel malt. Last year's finish didn't have that power, and the spices emerged slowly.
Both editions have a maltiness that surges late, a trait undoubtedly due to the caramel malt. In the 2007, the pepperiness elbows it to the background. This is a beast, a Christmas ale that won't hold back.
Drink it carefully - the magnum picture above rarely appears in the U.S., but the 8.8 ounce bottle sold in finer liquor stores throws enough punches to leave its drinker slightly dazed.
Bush Noel occupies the upper limits of where a Christmas ale can reach. Year after year, it's a mighty festive perch.
Rating: 8.5/10 (up from 7/10 in 2006)
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Pre-Christmas Beer Reviews
The winter warmed have crept into the rotation.I won't review Avery Old Jubilation Ale, a quintessential holiday choice. For me, it's an essential once-a-winter proposition. With apologies to The Bard, there are more beers than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio. More than a six-pack of Old Jubilation is excess for me -besides, I have a bottle of Scaldis Noel waiting for a sample this weekend.
But here are four beers for the season, even if two were brewed with yuletide in mind.
Yazoo Hop Project # 4
Available only from the Yazoo Taproom in the old Marathon Motorworks, Yazoo doesn't lack for ingenuity despite it young age and small selection of ales. This does no good to anyone living outside of Nashville, but Yazoo deserves the spotlight for its IPA.
With its Hop Project, Yazoo truly strives for something unique; with each brewing, it changes the recipe. Since Hop Project is not bottled and served only in the taproom, they can get away with switching key ingredients each time.
The fourth incarnation of Hop Project, Yazoo goes away from the American trend of overhopped IPAs and takes a stab at a British-style IPA. Number 4 comes off more mellow than its American cousins.
The nose still juts out with a stiff alcoholic presence amid red fruits. The hop presence is thoroughly bitter and felt immediately, but not with the impact of most microbrews. The bitterness is consistent, yet never obnoxiously so. Hope Project #4 finished with a mild tartness.
Not a weak ale by any stretch, Yazoo effectively created a session IPA that effectively straddles the debate between American and British variations. While I'm curious about the ingredients that await Hop Prject #5, hopefully Yazoo realizes the merits of #4. Easily the best non-Imperial IPA I've sampled in a while.
Rating: 8.5/10
Lagunitas Kill Ugly Radio
"This ale is released in celebration of the40th anniversary of the release of Frank Zappa and the Mothers Absolutely Free."
I won't mince words about that awfully redundant tagline. In the nose, alcohol pushes to the front followed closely by a heap of passion fruit, headline by peach, tangerine and a little mango. The flavor has none of the overbearing hop presence I expected. It's a mostly smooth affair that arrived at a finish which cannot decide between bitter and sour.
The nose led me to believe a Belgian Tripel or an America IPA awaited, but this tastes nothing like those styles. Going with a lower hop presence, it doesn't rise to the complexity of those styles. Kill Ugly Radion comes off as pleasant yet unassuming. The passion fruit cuts out after the nose, but the alcohol bouquet (7.8 percent ABV) sticks around without wearing out its welcome.
I'm somewhat torn on this one. While interesting, I wish the alcohol content allowed it become a session ale. As a limited release, it does well --- it would lose points as a mainstay of the Lagunitas line.
Rating: 7/10 (because of limited run)
Samuel Smith Imperial Stout
Chocolate, toffee and roasted nuts waft off this luxurious, slightly oily nose. At 7 percent ABV, this inky number doesn't possess the heft of other Imperial Stouts. It performs well enough for a beer not aimed at making its drinker sweat during a St. Petersburg winter. Strains of all the flavors from the nose run through this stout. Molasses and caramel step right in before the finish. Sweeter on the finish than most imperial stouts, the Sam Smith's version is more in line with British versions. It doesn't seek to knock the drinker to the floor.
This imperial stout is definitely a dessert beer. Sam Smith's brewmasters play a different tune with the flavors, creating an ale that feels stronger than its ABV. It isn't quite chocolate cake in beer form, but I wouldn't try both on the same menu.
Rating 8/10
Killer Penguin Barleywine Ale
Boulder Beer Company
Aged a year before bottling, this barleywine tastes worlds apart from its younger counterparts. Plums, raisins, dates and the everpresent alcohol dominate the nose, but all come across more muted; these flavors are rounded instead of sharp. A 10 percent ABV ale has to show its colors, but the Killer Penguin reveals it gently. As a matured ale, that's understandable – it's had time to mellow. From there, the taste floats on a stream of dark ripe fruits before breaking into aromas of tobacco, then a smooth smokiness I've never encountered in a barleywine before. On the finish, Killer Penguin kicks in with a stubborn thickness and ramps up its maltiness.
A definite winter warmer not unlike a port wine, the heaviness at the end does not inhibit this Penguin's progress. Killer Penguin never goes full throttle at the tastebuds, but pecks at them as gently as any high-alcohol beer could.
Rating: 7/10
But here are four beers for the season, even if two were brewed with yuletide in mind.
Yazoo Hop Project # 4
Available only from the Yazoo Taproom in the old Marathon Motorworks, Yazoo doesn't lack for ingenuity despite it young age and small selection of ales. This does no good to anyone living outside of Nashville, but Yazoo deserves the spotlight for its IPA.
With its Hop Project, Yazoo truly strives for something unique; with each brewing, it changes the recipe. Since Hop Project is not bottled and served only in the taproom, they can get away with switching key ingredients each time.
The fourth incarnation of Hop Project, Yazoo goes away from the American trend of overhopped IPAs and takes a stab at a British-style IPA. Number 4 comes off more mellow than its American cousins.
The nose still juts out with a stiff alcoholic presence amid red fruits. The hop presence is thoroughly bitter and felt immediately, but not with the impact of most microbrews. The bitterness is consistent, yet never obnoxiously so. Hope Project #4 finished with a mild tartness.
Not a weak ale by any stretch, Yazoo effectively created a session IPA that effectively straddles the debate between American and British variations. While I'm curious about the ingredients that await Hop Prject #5, hopefully Yazoo realizes the merits of #4. Easily the best non-Imperial IPA I've sampled in a while.
Rating: 8.5/10
Lagunitas Kill Ugly Radio
"This ale is released in celebration of the40th anniversary of the release of Frank Zappa and the Mothers Absolutely Free."
I won't mince words about that awfully redundant tagline. In the nose, alcohol pushes to the front followed closely by a heap of passion fruit, headline by peach, tangerine and a little mango. The flavor has none of the overbearing hop presence I expected. It's a mostly smooth affair that arrived at a finish which cannot decide between bitter and sour.
The nose led me to believe a Belgian Tripel or an America IPA awaited, but this tastes nothing like those styles. Going with a lower hop presence, it doesn't rise to the complexity of those styles. Kill Ugly Radion comes off as pleasant yet unassuming. The passion fruit cuts out after the nose, but the alcohol bouquet (7.8 percent ABV) sticks around without wearing out its welcome.
I'm somewhat torn on this one. While interesting, I wish the alcohol content allowed it become a session ale. As a limited release, it does well --- it would lose points as a mainstay of the Lagunitas line.
Rating: 7/10 (because of limited run)
Samuel Smith Imperial Stout
Chocolate, toffee and roasted nuts waft off this luxurious, slightly oily nose. At 7 percent ABV, this inky number doesn't possess the heft of other Imperial Stouts. It performs well enough for a beer not aimed at making its drinker sweat during a St. Petersburg winter. Strains of all the flavors from the nose run through this stout. Molasses and caramel step right in before the finish. Sweeter on the finish than most imperial stouts, the Sam Smith's version is more in line with British versions. It doesn't seek to knock the drinker to the floor.
This imperial stout is definitely a dessert beer. Sam Smith's brewmasters play a different tune with the flavors, creating an ale that feels stronger than its ABV. It isn't quite chocolate cake in beer form, but I wouldn't try both on the same menu.
Rating 8/10
Killer Penguin Barleywine Ale
Boulder Beer Company
Aged a year before bottling, this barleywine tastes worlds apart from its younger counterparts. Plums, raisins, dates and the everpresent alcohol dominate the nose, but all come across more muted; these flavors are rounded instead of sharp. A 10 percent ABV ale has to show its colors, but the Killer Penguin reveals it gently. As a matured ale, that's understandable – it's had time to mellow. From there, the taste floats on a stream of dark ripe fruits before breaking into aromas of tobacco, then a smooth smokiness I've never encountered in a barleywine before. On the finish, Killer Penguin kicks in with a stubborn thickness and ramps up its maltiness.
A definite winter warmer not unlike a port wine, the heaviness at the end does not inhibit this Penguin's progress. Killer Penguin never goes full throttle at the tastebuds, but pecks at them as gently as any high-alcohol beer could.
Rating: 7/10
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