Beer Review: Double Barrel Ale

England's most popular beer style -- bitter -- seems to be anything but in the states. There are a few variants, bitter, premium bitter, special bitter and extra special bitter (esb). While not wildly popular this side of the pond, there are some really great examples from some American brewers, which is exactly what I was hoping to experience with Double Barrel Ale.

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale - 5% ABV
Premium Bitter/ESB/British Pale Ale
12 oz bottle poured into a goblet
Bottled 11/27/2012

Appearance - Pours a clear amber with a fluffy, off white head that retains nicely.

Aroma - Smells sweet -- fruity malts, bananas, dough, caramel, a hint of oak.

Taste - Lighter than expected; sweet bread, light vanilla, slight hoppiness and a bitter finish.

Mouthfeel - Slightly fuller body, creamy, average carbonation.

Overall - Not having had a ton of different beers in this style it's a little hard to compare but this is a great beer. Very clean, very well done. I really expected this to be a bit heavier but it was extremely easy drinking and strangely refreshing. This is one I will definitely come back to.
Overall 4/5 Style 5/5

Drink On,

Dan

Beer Review: Finding Bigfoot

The biggest problem I have found with my love for all things beer is the incredibly vast selection from which to choose. Because of this, sometimes it takes a very long time to try even the most readily available beers. I can't tell you how many times I have passed by Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, always saying to myself, "I've got to try that." Recently it seems every website I look at, someone is talking about Bigfoot. I took this as a sign to finally bite the bullet and give it a go. All I can say is, it's about time.

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot - 9.6% ABV
Barley Wine
Winter Seasonal
12 oz bottle poured into a tulip
Bottled 12/01/2012

Appearance - Deep, rich, molasses color with a thick, frothy, cream colored head that retains well. Excellent lacing to the finish.

Aroma - Sweet, malty, some pungent hops and a bit of sweet oranges.

Taste - Rich and sweet up front. A good balance of malt and hops, good bitterness on the finish. Great hop flavors, piney, sugary oranges.

Mouthfeel - Thick and sticky, well carbonated.

Overall - Impressive. I've heard a lot of people describe it as more of an imperial ipa but I think it's a lot more complex than that. I'm a big fan of the barley wine style in general, but the hoppy ones are really great in my opinion. They normally show great balance and this is no exception. Excellent example of a hop forward barley wine.
Overall 4/5 Style 4/5

Drink On,

Dan

Issue #25: Yeah, Smitten Sounds About Right

Bell's Brewery is one of those brewers that seems to be can't miss. I always feel safe grabbing one of their brews and look forward to trying all of their new offerings. When I saw Smitten Golden Rye, and it's description as a light, refreshing, warm weather beer, I knew I had to give it a shot.

Bell's Smitten Golden Rye - 6% ABV
Specialty Grain/Rye Ale/American Pale Ale
Spring Seasonal
12 oz bottle poured into a pub glass
Bottled 01/24/13

Appearance - Hazy golden color with a thick, white, lasting head. Excellent lacing the whole way through

Aroma - Lemons, grass and a bit of orange.

Taste - Very light and refreshing. Bitter, lemon, grapefruit, some orange and slightly peppery from the rye.

Mouthfeel - Slightly fuller body, good carbonation and creamy.

Overall - Very easy drinking, light, refreshing, excellent flavor. Another perfect beer for spring and summer.
Overall 4/5 Style 4/5

Issue #24: My Beer Club Contribution

I was awarded the somewhat easy task of finding a quality craft beer that calls the west coast home. I say somewhat easy because while it isn't hard to find a good brew from the western US, it is hard to choose just one. After roaming the aisles for about 30 minutes, I settled on Bitter American from San Francisco's 21st Amendment Brewery.

21st Amendment Bitter American - 4.4% ABV
American Pale Ale
12 oz can poured into a pub glass
Can date unknown

Appearance - Slightly hazy, golden amber with a big, fluffy, slowly fading white head.

Aroma - Full of hop aroma. Lots of citrus -- oranges and grapefruit.

Taste - Much lighter than expected from the nose; very crisp and clean. Good bitterness throughout with underlying flavors of orange and grapefruit that linger through the finish.

Mouthfeel - Decent body and well carbonated. Kind of gives a zing from the hops the whole way through the finish, which is slightly dry.

Overall - This beer is really nice. Incredibly easy drinking yet full of flavor. At 4.4% this is a perfect summer beer and sessionable as hell.
Overall 4/5 Style 5/5

Drink On,

Dan

White Monkey

This past Saturday was the release of the newest of Victory's barrel aged beers, White Monkey. This time Victory chose their crowd pleasing Golden Monkey, an abbey tripel, then aged the brew in Chardonnay barrels for three months. I've never been a huge fan of the style, but special releases at Victory are always a good time.

We had a breakfast reservation at 9 am, and since no one in our group planned on taking home more than a bottle, we skipped the huge line for the retail store and went right to the brewpub. As I said earlier, Golden Monkey is a fan favorite and this was made very obvious by the hoard of people there to take it home by the caseload. The breakfast menu was the same as it was for the Thanksgiving release of Red Thunder, which was fine with me because the food was excellent. Once again I went with the cornflake crusted stuffed french toast (as did nearly everyone in our group). Everyone also got a sample (5 oz) pour of White Monkey and the Victory breakfast staple, a Prima Mosa. It may seem a strange combination, but Victory Prima Pils and orange juice is as good as it gets and the perfect accompaniment to any breakfast.

The Prima Mosa and the french toast were as expected, fantastic. White Monkey was also as expected. There was a lot of white wine flavor, as this beer style really lends itself to that flavor profile. It was less sweet than the original but still held true to its abbey tripel roots. The beer was done really well and fans of the style will most likely really enjoy it, that being said, it just wasn't for me. I also tried a new brewery exclusive imperial ipa, K-Bomb, and unfortunately this one didn't do it for me either. It certainly wasn't bad, but just wasn't really anything special.

I refused to leave empty handed however. Victory had yet another new beer, this one released one day earlier -- Swing Session Saison. They have also brought back St. Victorious Doppelbock, which hasn't been brewed for several years due to capacity constraints. These turned out to be the two best beers of the day by far (reviews coming soon!).

All in all it was a great day and I can't wait to see what they do next. A barrel aged V 12 would be excellent but I trust the brewmasters to give us something great no matter what they choose.

Drink On,

Dan

Miscellaneous Updates

So as I'm sure you've noticed, I took a good part of the week off last week. I was a little under the weather so I wasn't drinking and just wasn't really feeling up to posting, but I'm back. I'll have several reviews for you this week as well as a rundown of the release of White Monkey at Victory this past Saturday. At some point this week I will probably give you some more beers to look for as well.

Drink On,

Dan

Issue #23: Christmas Leftovers

I find it's normally nearly impossible to grab every seasonal release each year and this year Goose Island Christmas Ale was one of those misses. Luckily in my latest pick-a-six creation I was able to snag one of these and finally give it a shot.

Goose Island Christmas Ale - 7.5% ABV
Brown Ale
Winter Seasonal
12 oz bottle poured into a goblet
Bottled 10/04/12

Appearance - Mahogany with a thick, creamy, cork colored head.

Aroma - Smells sweet, dark ripe fruits, cherries.

Taste - Sweet up front with some bitterness and a strong tea-like flavor.

Mouthfeel - Full body and well carbonated with a slightly dry finish.

Overall - It's a little different than other Christmas ales but in a good way. It doesn't overwhelm you with spices; they are there but in a much more subtle way. It has a tea-like quality to it that reminded me of Anchor's Our Special Ale but much more understated. This is one I will definitely be drinking during the Christmas season this year.
Overall 3/5 Style 4/5

Drink On,

Dan