Archive for the tag “3.5 – 4.5 Toasts”

15 Nov 2013

Oyster Stout – Upright Brewing Company

uprght_oyster_bttl6.25% ABV
Purchased at Pangaea Bottle Shoppe ($11.49/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into pint glasses.

This “stout brewed with oysters” from Portland, Oregon-based Upright pours a squid ink black with a thick, light-brown head, and a nose of licorice, bark, coffee-flavored chocolate, brown sugar, and slight sea brine.  Upright Oyster Stout has an exceptionally light mouthfeel, on the verge of watery, but that first impression is followed by an outburst of flavors.  The taste is powerful and inscrutable, touching on but not quite imitating flavors of chocolate, coffee, dirt, wood, barrel root beer, black licorice, sarsaparilla, and dark fruit tannins.  A touch of salty, oyster shell brine on the finish urges your palette towards the next sip, and this masterful and mysterious beer proves to be compulsively drinkable.

toasts-4.5   4.5 Toasts

Upright_Oyster

toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

Posted in 4-5 Toasts, Beer Review, Oyster Stout and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
28 Jun 2013
2 Comments

Fantomé Saison D’erizee – Printemps Edition

fantome_printemps_bttl8% ABV
Purchased at Trappist Provisions ($18/25.4 oz. bottle) and poured into tulip glasses.

This spring saison from legendary Belgian brewers Fantomé pours lemon drop yellow with a gorgeous, strobe-light white champagne head.  Bright countryside scents dominate the nose – wild flowers, sun-kissed hay, fresh citrus, and a little bit of barnyard swelter.  The first swallow is revelatory – light lemon bitterness, some honey, an incredibly crisp and pleasing mouthfeel, and then a sudden and unexpected assault of farmhouse spices.  Brewing spice flavors like coriander and spruce tips are augmented by unusual, cooking spice flavors like tarragon and parsley.  It’s a real dual-personality beer – part springtime refresher, part contemplative spice bomb – and remarkably successful on both fronts.

toasts-4.5    4.5 Toasts

Fantome

 toasts-3.5   3.5 Toasts

 
Posted in Beer Review, Belgian, Saison and tagged , , , , , , ,
16 Nov 2012
1 Comment

Smoked Porter – Stone Brewing Company

5.9% ABV
Purchased at Nugget Market ($4.19/22 oz. bottle) and poured into pint glasses.

Stone Smoked Porter pours a murky black with a frothy, light brown head, and a pleasing and subtle nose of hickory smoke and cured meat, very similar to jerky.  Wood-smoked malt dominates the palette, but the taste is surprisingly subtle and velvety, with a light and pleasing mouthfeel.  There are some black pepper notes on the retreat, along with roasted peanuts and enough hops to make their presence known.  The smoky flavor of Stone Smoked Porter is charred and bracing, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome on the tongue, and would probably pair perfectly with BBQ-ed meat and even smoked fish.  There is enough caramel-nut sweetness on the aftertaste to make this a palatable dessert beer as well. (4 ½ toasts

    4.5 Toasts

   3.5 Toasts

Posted in Beer Review, Porter, Smoked Beer and tagged , , , , ,

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