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