Archive for the category “3-4 Toasts”

03 Dec 2016

Mosaic Saison – Anchorage Brewing Company

mosiac-saison_bttl6.5% ABV
Purchased at Capitol Beer and Taproom ($14.99?/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into tulip glasses.

This saison made with brettanomyces and “fermented in oak tanks” pours a pale, lemonade yellow with a fluffy, mid-sized ivory head.  Mosaic Saison offers a lovely nose that blends the funkiness of the farmhouse with the zest of a hop field – lemons, grapefruit peel, wild yeast, grass, and hay all show up, indicating tart and refreshing flavors ahead.  The first swallow is all that and more – with the barnyard funk, cracker-y Mosaic hops, and abundant but not overpowering citrus, it tastes like your favorite saison mixed with your favorite pale ale, with all of it cohered and given shape by the rich, oaky notes. Smooth, delicious, and complex, this outstanding beer has all the makings of a hot weather habit-former, and more than holds its own against beloved Anchorage staples like Bitter Monk.

  5 Toasts

 

 

   5 Toasts

 

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Beer Review, Saison and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
23 Dec 2015

Paris of the West – Almanac Beer Company

Beer bottle9.5% ABV
Purchased at Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa ($5.99/22 oz. bottle) and poured into tulip glasses.

This “Quadrupel ale brewed with flame raisins, candi sugar and oranges” pours a date-like dark brown with a small, off-white head.  The richly inviting nose offers classic Belgian Quad aromas of raisins, dark fruits, nuts and a hint of maple, but the first swallow beckoned some unexpected flavors, especially on the sharp and seltzer-y finish. It’s no wonder the bottle suggests pairing Paris of the West with Roquefort cheese, and even as the brew warmed, it became apparent that we probably needed food to fully bring out the flavors.  That seltzer aftertaste is likely due to the unusual addition of oranges, as subsequent sips brought forth fruitcake-like flavors of citrus peel and dried fruits and nuts.  Not fully successful but consistently interesting, and I love the willingness of Almanac to push the envelope on familiar beer styles.

  3 Toasts

 

Almanac-ParisoftheWest

 

   3 Toasts

 

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Beer Review, Quadrupel and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
27 Aug 2015

Paradox – Skully Barrel No. 26

paradox8.0% ABV
Purchased at Capitol Beer and Tap Room (16.9 oz. bottle) and poured into tulip glasses.

This “sour golden ale brewed with mango, chili, sea salt, and natural flavors and aged in oak barrels” from Colorado-based Paradox pours a dark burnt orange with a big-bubbled, hazy sliver of foam that all but disappears upon impact with the glass.  The nose offers a sour-y aroma of tart fruits, melons, Pixie Stix, and just a whiff of heat from the chili.  I got a lot more than a whiff of chili on the first swallow, although the lingering burn is balanced well by a salty finish.  More tequila-like lime and cantaloupe and green apple come through than the promised mango flavors, but it’s all nicely rounded out by mouth-coating wine tannins, with the salt continually beckoning you back for another sip.  As is the case with most “hot” beers, a little bit of Skully Barrel No. 26 goes a long way, so splitting a 16.9 oz. bottle between two people is just about perfect.

  3.5 Toasts

 

Parradox

   4 Toasts

 

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Beer Review, Golden Ale, Sour Ale, Spiced Beer and tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
09 Apr 2015

Bokonon – Shady Oak Barrel House

 

bokonon_bttl6.75% ABV
Purchased at Taylor’s Market in Sacramento ($12.49/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into tulip glasses.

This inaugural offering from Santa Rosa-based Shady Oak Barrel House pours a gorgeous light gold with a foamy, bright white head.  Inspired by the works of Kurt Vonnegut, the brettanomyces-heavy Bokonon exudes tart and earthy farmhouse aromas – lemons, grass, barnyard funk, Belgian yeast, and minerals dominate the nose.  It’s also a little bit metallic, on the nose and on the first swallow, but it’s brimming with Belgian complexity, with mellow citrus and freshly mowed lawn holding the front line while the more tart and aggressive flavors guard the rear.  Bokonon offers a whole lot of funk and must, not all of it entirely pleasing, and yet I kept going back to discover more about this fascinating and challenging beer.

  3.5 Toasts

Bokonon

   4 Toasts

 

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Beer Review, Farmhouse Ale and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
26 Feb 2015

Black Metal 2013 – Jester King Brewing

blkmtl_bttl9.3% ABV, 1.085 OG, 1.015 FG, 44 IBUs
Purchased at Final Gravity ($11.99/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into goblet glasses.

This imperial stout brewed with farmhouse yeast from Austin-based Jester King has been aging in our “cellar” for nearly two years, and it pours a licorice black with a marshmallow-y, toasted brown head. Rich coffee and chocolate aromas welcome you on the nose, along with wood, licorice, and a citrus smell that eventually comes to dominate; the overall effect is similar to chocolate-covered oranges. That orange-y bitterness is also present on the first swallow, as are bitter chocolate and kindling, with those richer chocolate and coffee flavors barely peeking out from the background.  After aging, Black Metal is still a big, dark boozer with a light body and some intriguing bitterness, but it’s also one-note, and it was a lot better fresh.

   3 Toasts

 

blackmetal

   3.5 Toasts

 

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Beer Review, Imperial Stout and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
23 Oct 2014

Sourtooth Tiger – The Rare Barrel

sourtooth_bttl5.2% ABV
Purchased at The Rare Barrel and poured into tulip glasses.

This “golden sour beer aged in oak barrels with ginger” pours a pineapple-juice gold with a bright white head, and it boasts a lovely nose of candied ginger, alongside touches of grapefruit and oak.  The first swallow is extremely ginger-heavy, and while that may not be to everyone’s taste, the flavor is strangely unoppressive and the beer finishes clean.  A grapefruit- and lemon-heavy citrus pulp flavor puckers the tongue on the finish, and the beer remains delicious and even throughout, with an overall taste similar to sucking on a lemon drop and a ginger hard candy at the same time.  It should be noted that although the portions were poured evenly, the beer in Darcey’s glass, in addition to being darker, murkier, and less carbonated, was more citrus-forward and less ginger-y than my pour.

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

 

RareBarrel

toasts-4   4 Toasts

 

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Beer Review, Sour Ale and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
05 Sep 2014

Weizen Double Bock – Meantime Brewing Company

meantime_bttl8.0% ABV
Purchased through Rare Beer Club (25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into tulip glasses.

This unusual offering from London-based brewers Meantime pours a dark, muddy amber with an almost nonexistent white head, with a thin halo of off-white foam circling the inside of the glass (we initially thought the beer was skunked).  The nose promises a tart, caramel apple-like sweetness, with crisp green apple playing off of burnt toffee and caramel aromas.  That interplay between tart and sweet is also present on the first sip, which offers much more carbonation than suggested by the flimsy head and brackish body.  Meantime Weizen Double Bock gets richer and less tart as it warms, rounding out the flavor profile with black pepper, wood, brown sugar, red apples and other red fruits, and wine tannins.

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

 

Meantime

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

 

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Beer Review, Double Bock, Weizen and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
21 Aug 2014

The City – Calicraft Brewing Company

city_bttl

6.4% ABV
Purchased at Curtis Park Market (22 oz. bottle) and poured into tulip glasses.

This “Dynamic” India Pale Ale from Walnut Creek-based Calicraft Brewing was “brewed with blackberry root and orange peel,” and it pours a murky tangerine color with a sizable off-white head.  Dried fruit and a honeyed sweetness are the first to appear on the nose, with apricot and cantaloupe especially prominent.  There is an unusual, seltzer-y flavor on the first swallow, along with a very definite berry and bitter root presence, and it ends with some nice citrus and pine bitterness.  As more is consumed, the bitterness on the first flavor movement becomes less and less pleasurable, too closely resembling cocktail bitters, although the pine and citrus finish still satisfies.

toasts-3   3 Toasts

 

TheCity

toasts-3   3 Toasts

 

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Beer Review, IPA, Strong Dark Ale and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
12 Aug 2014

Brotherly Love – The Commons Brewery

BroLove-commons-bttl10% ABV
Purchased at Final Gravity ($11.99/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into goblet glasses.

This “bourbon barrel aged Belgian dark strong with sour cherries and cocoa nibs” pours a dark and brackish espresso brown with a marshmallow-like, sawdust-colored head.  Hard alcohol and barrel wood aromas assert themselves on the nose, with dark cherries, dark chocolate, and some citrus peel on the periphery.  Wood and alcohol take the lead on the tongue as well, although here those flavors are given depth by the cocoa nibs, as well as a little bit of tartness from the cherries.  Still, the most robust flavors (freshly cut wood and bourbon neat) seem to come straight from the barrel, and the fact that the Portland-based brewery The Commons used a Belgian dark as a base may have given the alcohol-soaked staves more to latch on to. Brotherly Love has a powerful firewater character, but there is also some nuance and craft, and despite being a little overwhelming, the flavors of this beer are still quite good.

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

BrotherlyLove

toasts-4   4 Toasts

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Barrel-Aged, Beer Review, Belgian, Cellar Series, Strong Dark Ale and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
07 May 2014

Wrath: The Sinner Series – Amager Bryghus

AmagerSinnerWrath_bttl6.5% ABV
Purchased at Capitol Beer and Tap Room (16.9 oz. bottle) and poured into mini wine glasses.

This barrel-aged saison from Denmark brewery Amager pours an apple butter color with a thick white head, and a subtly smoky nose of burnt leaves, cigar ash, and wood. There were not any saison-like notes on the nose in my glass, and it was surprisingly bready and nearly quad-like on the first swallow, fading into dark fruit and caramel, with a woody bitterness in the finish.  Smokiness is generally a red flag for a saisons, and it seems fairly certain that this beer was infected, although it’s unclear at which phase the infection occurred.  During brewing?  During barreling?  During bottling?  Somewhere in transport?  In my fridge?  Whatever the case, the beer still remains pretty interesting and drinkable, with notes of brown sugar, apple, scorched wood, and a whiff of hard alcohol, with a finish of bitter kindling that is the only truly unpleasant part.  It should also be noted that although this beer was poured evenly between two small glasses, Darcey’s glass did not have that distinctly smoky nose or the woody finish.  Hers was more flowery on the nose, similar to chamomile tea, with a bit of a lemony flavor coming in at the finish.  I would rate my glass 2 ½ toasts and Darcey’s glass 3 ½ toasts, so I will split the difference at 3 toasts.

toasts-3   3 Toasts

Wrath

 

toasts-3   3 Toasts

Posted in 3-4 Toasts, Barrel-Aged, Beer Review, Saison and tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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