St. Bernardus Wit and Tripel

St. Bernardus Wit - Pierre Celis Signature Selection (2013)
Collaboration Brew (Year Round).

11.2 fl. oz. / $5.99 USD / 5.5% ABV

About: "St. Bernardus Wit is a traditional Belgian white beer developed and brewed in collaboration with the legendary Master Brewer Pierre Celis. This ale is very pale (whitish-yellow color) and quite hazy. The head is white and dense. In aroma, it has a wheaty, apple-like, tartness; herbal-spicy notes with coriander and orange fruitiness and honey-ish sweetness. Very refreshing: perfect thirst quencher!"

Thoughts: St. Bernardus Wit poured a very cloudy yellow, almost lemonade or margarita colored. The head was stark white but very small, not something I would have expected from a wit. Upon inspection there's a ton of carbonation rising and the beer glows in the light.

The scent is wheat up front, even when popping the cap off the bottle it immediately hit me. I guess you could say that the Wit is strong with this one. There's that beautiful yeast which imparts a delicate aroma here. It's soft, slightly citrusty, crisp smelling and overall pleasant.

The beer starts off pretty sweet with a solid malt background that doesn't go overboard. All that gentle peppery spice flows in and the Belgian yeast slowly builds to a boil, then it kicks off with a huge smooch of all three things before falling back into a totally relaxing aftertaste. Yeah, this stuff is awesome. So flavorful. It's got a thorough yet gentle spice. There's a hint of lemon, but it's like lemon candy, only the perfect amount of it that's not heavy sour or strong, but just real soothing and enjoyable.

The mouth feel is a little dry, crisp and nice. I've had my fair share of wheat beers, and over time have come to enjoy them more for what they are. It was a hard earned appreciation for the style, sure, but that being said this tastes absolutely delectable! Old Chico from Sierra Nevada is something I've been dying to try again actually. When a wheat beer is done perfect, it certainly shines above the rest, and this beer here is the standard that all wheat beers should be held.

St. Bernardus Tripel (2013)
Year Round Brew.

11.2 fl. oz. / $5.99  / 8% ABV

About: "St.Bernardus Tripel is a traditional abbey ale brewed in the classic "Triple" style of Belgium's best Abbey Ales. This high fermentation beer has a pale amber color and a flowery, fruity taste with a harmonious balance between sweet and sour (8% alcohol content). It has a thick and vivid froth and strikes by its balanced taste with a delicate bitterness. Wonderfully drinkable and surprisingly light."

Thoughts: St. Bernardus Tripel poured a dense pear looking yellow color with a thick frothy white head. Only a small bit of visible light is seen through this total cloudy haze of a beer.

Well this one smells a little different than their others, though not all too much. Perhaps it's because I've just had the Pater 6 and Wit, but this one is definitely showing a bit more strength in the nose. Belgian yeast, spicy notes, a sweet lure of booze and soft warm bready malts come flowing through. In the background there's the hint of a tart fruitiness, like cherries.

First gulp and I can tell you right away that this is a marvelous tasting brew. It reminds me of Mad Elf a little bit actually. It's got a huge flavor to it, despite being only an 8% and not a 10-12%, the taste of this thing is absolutely massive. It's toasty, peppery and sweet. It's also so slightly tart it's hardly noticeable, and a there's nary a hint of bitterness. This beer is strong, sweet, refreshing and has a soft haze after each swallow. It doesn't seem all that complex, but that doesn't matter since overall this one is a beauty.

The mouthfeel on the Tripel is super smooth. It goes away pretty clean but that taste lingers inside the mouth for days. The aftertaste is wonderful, and left me feeling fine.

21stA and Elysian He Said He Said

21'st Amendment and Elysian HE SAID Baltic Style Porter - Lager brewed with Pumpkin and Spices (2013)
Limited Release / Collaboration Brew.

24 fl oz. (2 cans) / $6.98 USD (1/2 the 4 pack) / 8.2% ABV

About: "I met Shaun in 1999. He walked into my Seattle pub, came over to me and said he'd always wanted to meet the Pumpkin King. Later on, while hatching a plan to colonize a planet entirely devoted to pumpkin and watermelon, I invited him to my massive pumpkin fest. Ten years later, Shaun asked if the invitation still stood. I punched him in the ribs and said yes. After some cajolery, Shaun and Nico begged me to do a pumpkin collaboration as soon as possible. I said we should brew a pumpkin beer like no other. A Baltic Porter with caraway and cinnamon in a light colored can. Courage!

Hops: German Northern Brewer, Styrian Golding / Yeast: German Lager Yeast / Malts: 2-row, Carafa II, Cara-Vienne, Dark Munich, Carafa III / Special Ingredients: Pumpkin Puree, Pumpkin Juice, Vietnamese Cinnamon, Caraway Seed."

Thoughts: Canned on 9/9/13. Drank 11/9/13. This one poured a seriously dark brown that's bordering on opaque black. The slightest hint of light comes through. The head was tan, huge, fluffed out and left the beer relatively clean. 

Smells pretty strong, and it is kinda pumpkiny. Smells like a cold pumpkin coffee without the sugar. It's pretty raw smelling. You can tell that there's spices in there, mostly a ginger like substance, but it's making the scent a little bit weird. It's got a weird fruitiness to it and kind of smells like an extinguished half smoked cigarette. Or even like the inside of a jack-o-lantern after you've had a candle burning in there all night. Raw, smoky, and a little funky.

The taste starts off just like the scent with that fruity gourd, then a ton of spice hits the mouth for a couple seconds before receding and letting that smokey dinginess have its way. There's really hardly any bitterness to this which is nice, so I suppose they didn't have to go absurdly crazy with the spices, wut-evur! It's pretty sweet for the most part, and a few seconds into the gulp it hits with a really sweet bang before getting softer. It's a bit cola like as well. A hint of grassy hops comes through about halfway and the cinnamon gets stronger as the beer warms. 

I really wish the spices were a bit more pronounced. Also, this one could use some Belgian candy sugar or brown sugar even. It's a thickly built beer as it stands though, for a lager I mean. While it's good, it leaves just a little bit to be desired, but maybe I'm just nitpicking about porters again. There's a nice boozy tone that really helps the beer along which is much appreciated. In the end it tastes like a mix of a Chirstmas beer and an Pumpkin brew.

21'st Amendment and Elysian HE SAID Belgian Style Tripel - Ale brewed with Pumpkin and Spices (2013)

Limited Release / Collaboration Brew. 

24 fl oz. (2 cans) / $6.98 USD (1/2 the 4 pack) / 8.2% ABV

About: "I met Dick in 2010. He walked into our San Francisco pub, came over to Nico and me and said he'd always wanted to meet the watermelon guys. Later on, while I was knocking his block off at Rock'em Sock'em robots, Dick mentioned his little pumpkin fest and suggested we attend. One year later, Dick asked me again. Then he kicked me in the shins until I said yes. After drinking the pumpkin elixirs, I told Dick we should do a pumpkin collaboration sometime. I said we should brew a pumpkin beer like no other. A Belgian Tripel with spices in a dark colored can that's as big time as it gets.

Hops: German Northern Brewer, US Golding, Sterling / Yeast: Trappist Ale Yeast / Malts: 2-row, Aromatic, Belgian Candi Sugar / Special Ingredients: Pumpkin Puree, Pumpkin Juice, Galangal, Tarragon."

Thoughts: This one poured a really cloudy golden yellow with a very white head full of small bubbles that popped away super quick and left this one headless as a whore'sman.

Mmmm... soapy water. Man, you gotta love Trappist Ale Yeast. The stuff is wondrous. This is so perfumy. Is perfumy a word? The one smells pretty tame. The peppery yeast dominates for the most part, and if you hadn't told me that this was brewed with pumpkins I probably would have only suspected. Smells good though.

Nice fumes with that first gulp. The taste on this one is soft, sweet, crisp, mild, and features a smooth almost cider-like quality to it. Alcohol strength is evident, but comes and goes. It's got a nice spice profile and is pretty tingly whenever you take another sip. Then there's the quick bite followed by a gentle haze that takes  a while to ride out. Doesn't really taste all that much like pumpkin beer per se, but you can taste the natural pumpkin in there that they brewed with. Alcohol becomes more evident as it warms and it gets a bit tart, like sour apples.

This one is a bit light for my tastes. It tastes similar to the other HE SAID, but that's only a few of the base ingredients and based on the fact it's all made by the same dudes. These were cool to try but I don't think I'd pick this up again. The artwork is kinda weirding me out as well. Got two cans left and I'm going to try mixing them against my better judgment. 

The Baltic Porter pretty much takes over everything scent wise and taste wise as well. I guess you can't do a straight 50/50 mix with these two because it ends up being 90/10 in the end. Lifting the cans for the second time around and I find out I actually poured about one third the Baltic Porter and two thirds the Belgian Tripel and still the porter took over. The mix doesn't taste half bad, but it hasn't improved on either one of the beers individually. It tastes a lot less like that Trappist yeast and a lot more like a blend of meh. It's all good for two beers as well as two beers mixed into one, but either or all three ways, it's still missing something special that just pops. My interest feigns, much like that of the reader's of this blog.

Boulevard and Seirra Nevada TERRA INCOGNITA

Boulevard and Seirra Nevada TERRA INCOGNITA - Ale Aged in Whiskey Barrels (2013)

Brewed and Bottled by Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri. USA.

Collaboration Brew (Limited Release).

25.4 fl. oz. / $13.95 USD / 8.5% ABV

About: "Situated at opposite ends of the California Trail, pioneering breweries Sierra Nevada and Boulevard have once again embarked upon a journey into the unknown. It was in 2012 that we first convened to craft a beer for SAVOR attendees. And it’s that collaborative effort, aptly named Terra Incognita (Unknown Land), which brought us together to relive our collective adventure in 2013 - and this time we will release it out into the world.

Earlier this year, Sierra Nevada Head Brewer Steve Dresler and Boulevard Brewmaster Steven Pauwels met in Kansas City to create a blend of three components: Terra Incognita aged in Templeton Rye barrels / Terra Incognita aged in a 2,000-gallon foudre / Fresh Terra Incognita dry-hopped with East Kent Golding. The end result is a, fittingly, earthy beer, celebrating the unique terroir of our two locations. The blend incorporates (roughly) 45% foudre-aged, 30% Templeton-aged, and 25% fresh dry-hopped beer - all aimed at showcasing some predominant oak characteristics with a subtle hint of earthy hops. Then just prior to bottling we added a dose of the wild yeast Brettanomyces, and allowed the beer to age for over three months."

Thoughts: Wrestled with that damn cork and pried that sucker clean out. Tipped my glass and started pouring slowly at first, and even slower as the head got thicker and thicker. For a barrel aged beer this thing sure has a thick, fat head that isn't showing any signs of dying down anytime soon! Color looks to be a dark chocolate brown with some shades of burgundy. There's absolutely no seeing through this one at all.

The smell on this bastard is fan-fuckin'-tastic I tells ya! Kinda like an evil root beer a little bit. I'm trying to lean in and get more of a scent through this two inch thick foamy head on top that's not dissolving. *Ten minutes later* Well, the heads still there so let's see what we've got here: man it's a weird one. There's a little bit of chocolate, but it's not chocolaty, a little rye, some wheat, straw, cherries, oak, a thick layer of easy going malts and a touch of hops. It smells sweet, spicy and just a little bit sour all at the same time.

First gulp and I'm hit with that wild sour yeast that just rips my shit apart. I have a feeling that this beer may be infected... with awesomeness that is!!1 Haha, I keed. A loaf of super peppery rye bread slaps me upside the face, while a soft touch of coffee beans and stale root beer flows through. Doesn't taste all that much like whiskey straight up, but the aftertaste of whiskey is there with a little bit of a burnt rubber, spice and a lot of rye. After that initial shock, the sour stuff really dies down but the funk remains. It's a little dirty, grassy, spicy, malty, sweet and sour, and tastes a little of hay and watered down vinegar. There's also notes of raw figs and brown sugar. Still not getting much of that whiskey, if only remnants of a cheaper Captain Morgan knock off, but it did impart a small bit of overall flavor into the beer. Mainly though it's raw figs and peppered rye bread everywhere. Not that that's a bad thing I guess.

Mouth feel is super light, airy and really carbonated. It almost disintegrates once inside the mouth. Pretty frothy too. TONS of bubbles.

This beer is decent, though it feels as if they may have played it safe. There's nothing overly offensive here, and at the same time it's not all that great. The rising sweetness in each gulp seems as if it's hiding something else. Overall it's really malty and flavorful, just not extreme in any way. Last bit of aftertaste after sipping the end of my first warm glass is a bit of nuttiness and cigarette smoke. It's good but just like many of the others, a one time bottle for me. Not that I wouldn't mind seeing the next batch made though... and man would I love to go back home again! 

Stone, Aleman and Two Brothers DAYMAN Coffee IPA

Stone, Aleman and Two Brothers DAYMAN Coffee IPA (2013)

Collaboration Brew (Limited Release) - Bottled on 3-1-13 (25 days ago as of this review).

22 fl. oz. / $7.19 USD / 8.7% ABV

About: "Jim Moorehouse, Nate Albrecht and Brad Zeller, three pals planning to open a Chicago brewpub under the moniker of Aleman, won first place at last year's Iron Brew homebrewing competition in the Windy City. Their style-bending IPA artfully married the assertive tropical bite of Citra hops with amazing coffee flavor and aromatics to create something truly unique and exceptional. Serendipitously, Two Brothers recently kicked off a new adventure roasting their own coffee beans, and provided just-in-time freshly roasted java for the brew. The result is an innovative IPA that's well balanced and intensely flavored thanks to the felicitous blend of hops and fresh roasted coffee."

Thoughts: Had to pour this one straight down into the glass to get that half finger sliver of a head there, which was slightly off white and bubbled away quickly. DAYMAN poured out a light but vivid orange color, with perhaps a slight shade of auburn in there too. Lot of carbonation bubbles rising despite the short head which is strange.

Smells a lot better than I had thought it would. I didn't know what the fuck to expect when I read "Coffee IPA" on the bottle, but scent-wise the blend is pretty remarkable. You get those hops for a split second before this ridiculously sweet smelling coffee rushes in and then just swirls around. After that it's like a really neat blend of an ice coffee with tons of sugar and cream... and weed.

The taste: Out-fuckin'-standing. Wow. What a beer. For a coffee beer I mean, don't get me wrong. I hardly ever drink coffee, but I used to years and years ago. I got these amazing tasting iced coffees all the time from this local shop back in the day, I think the name was Starfucks or something, I can't remember, and the flavors in here taste just like it. Especially considering at the time I was reeking of that dank bud, this one just really takes me back to the good old daze. If I hadn't ashed my stash this would be the perfect opportunity to get back to the review, so... this beer has a crazy mix of gentle bitter and sweetness that compliment each other well. There's this lingering bitterness that lasts the whole way through, but man it's not really bitter at all. It's got this indulgent sweetness that pulls it back the whole way, but at the same time it's not sweet at all. The mingling of flavors here is just so strange that it has to be experienced by anyone who's into IPAs or coffee just to see how in the hell this sort of thing could happen. This is a weird one!

Decided to look this one up and I guess some people are saying that this is better "on tap". I want to know who the fuck bought a bottle of this AND had it on tap in the same week it came out. They say that "the hops really pop instead of being overflowed by coffee"... but uh, well, I guess you've got to be in the right place at all times. I couldn't possibly know how the tap "with heavier hops" compares to this, but after warming a bit the coffee does tend to take over. When I first opened this hops were crazy nuts, and then everything mixed brilliantly... now that I'm later in the day and am drinking the last half of the bottle after hitting up some other brews, this one really has a strong coffee kick to it. So maybe it's just the warming effect.

I enjoyed this. It was one of those surprising bottle openings that I didn't expect to please me, but it just happened to be so weird that it was a nice change from the same ol' shit.

Sierra Nevada and Russian River BRUX

Sierra Nevada and Russian River BRUX - Domesticated Wild Ale (2012)

Limited Collaboration.

25.4 fl. oz. / $13.99 USD / 8.3% ABV

About: "What began as mutual admiration between Sierra Nevada’s Grossman Family and Russian River’s Cilurzos has grown and progressed into genuine friendship. Brux began as an idea and has grown into something altogether different: The liquid manifestation of change over time. Refermented in the bottle with Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Brux will change and develop over time. Copper-colored, dry and complex, with slightly tart notes of green grass, pear, spice and lemon - this ale will progress in the bottle for many years."

Thoughts: The cork popped off with a fair amount of pressure and smoked like a gun out of some kind of Film Noir. BRUX poured a really light yellowish, apricot color with a huge erupting head of tiny bubbles that faded damn near instantly. While the beer is a total haze, you can still see vast amounts of carbonation bubbles rising up like crazy.

Smells really crisp, really sweet, with some lighter Belgian yeast... spicy notes, and there's a little bit of an apple cider-like spice to it. Very fruity and tart with a hint of pear, but mostly a green apple crisp type of thing going on.

Intense first gulp! A blitzkrieg to the mouth, even with the smokey aftermath. It happened so fast. Let's try it again... it tickles. The carbonation in this is off the fucking charts here and just attacks the tongue viciously while the tartness and flavors pounce all over the place. It really is "wild". It doesn't let up either. Every single gulp has a tang to it, a haze to it and it's just fucking raw tasting. I like it. It's like, almost fuzzy feeling. The finish is really dry, but not super drying.

This really reminds me of a mead. With that cider like consistency and a little bit of a honey flavor in there at least. After adjusting to the immense blasts here a little bit more flavors start to come through. Earthy leaves, bundles of hay, and a lot more of that yeasty base. It's not really funky, but there is a degree of funk there, only it's not really unpleasant by any means. I did let this sit in my fridge inside a paper bag for about six months or so though, since I heard it was pretty rough upon initial release.

I was really expecting that wild yeast to be a huge factor and very up-front in the beer, but perhaps it's fallen back a little bit because it is blending rather awesomely here. It's pretty cool how it starts out like a hard cider / farmhouse type brew and ends up tasting a bit like a spiced ale. I guess this one really played a lot of mind tricks on people. For me I waited the right time, since well... any time I open a beer it's the "right time". But I'm pleased that I got a bit of the strange along with the unusual here.

Mistransformed, transforming or just malformed to begin with, well, who's to say? Some people online try to act like they're the shit, or shiznit if you will, saying that they drain pour $14 bottles of this, that, and other beers. You wanna know what I think? They're a bunch of lying fags. Yeah. I don't drain pour nothin', especially bottles over three dollars no matter how horrid it may be. This one wasn't bad at all though, just saying, so keep rolling with those cheek punches babies.

Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada Rhizing Bines

Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada Rhizing Bines (2013)

Limited Collaboration Brew (Brewed Once).

25.4 fl. oz. / $13.69 USD / 8% ABV

About: "Deepening our bond with Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., forged with the 2009 collaboration Life and Limb, we've brewed an East-meets-West Imperial IPA called Rhizing Bines.

"We had a lot of fun brewing the original dark and roasty Life and Limb in Chico with the Grossmans and Sierra Nevada’s extended family," says Dogfish Head President and Founder Sam Calagione. “We are very proud of the way that beer turned out. Now it’s our turn to repay that hospitality and brew a very hop-centric IPA in Milton with our pals from Chico, incorporating innovative ingredients and techniques from both breweries.”

On the hot side, Rhizing Bines went through Dogfish’s signature continual-hopping process with floral and citrusy Bravo hops. On the cold side, it was dry-hopped with an experimental varietal so new it doesn’t yet have a name, just a number: Hop 644. A component of Sierra Nevada’s aroma-boosting Torpedo system made a pit-stop in Delaware for dry-hopping duty before it headed to Sierra’s new North Carolina brewery.

To celebrate Sierra Nevada planting East Coast roots, Dogfish Head tracked down a Carolina heirloom wheat grown and milled at Anson Mills. The soft red winter wheat contributes subtle sweet and nutty notes to this hop-forward ale.

The label for Rhizing Bines depicts the pairings behind this beer: two hop varietals, two yeast strains (Chico and Doggie), two unique hopping processes and two family-owned breweries. These bonds start at the root - or rhizome - and stretch throughout the mature bines."

Thoughts: Nice hiss off the cap. Color is a rich orange, slightly on the light side and there's a huge white puffy head on top that's lasting forever. The beer itself is very clear.

Smells pretty mild. There's an extremely clean water profile in this. It smells very refreshing too. There's a hint of spice which pops and expands as you breathe in for long periods. I was expecting more of a fierce hop forward brew, but what's actually here isn't bad at all either. It's very earthy and floral, mellow and sweet, citrusy and reminiscent of cold winds. There's a heavy caramel malt which is the most dominating factor here.

This tastes interesting. Very unique. Starts off really tangy, not sour at all, but - and I don't want to say dirty because it's very clean tasting - there's like a strange herbal, grapefruit coughdrop (no menthol) type vibe to it. It's fruity and somewhat bitter, displaying a lot of grapefruit and melon flavors. Maybe a little kiwi too. Not really traditional tasting IPA though, that's for sure. It's got a gentle sting after the swallow, and when you pucker up afterwards that's when the bitterness starts to pound away but it's not overbearing in the least. It's all really an easy drinking, slightly twangy offering. The hop profile in this beer is extremely mellow.

Mouth is a little watery, but it gets a minor foam to it when held for a while. Not really too thin either, and it's not drying at all so that's good. This beer leaves a bit of a raw taste in the mouth. Kinda nutty, but not like peanuts at all, more like macadamia nuts... and a bit like the smell of raw busted open figs.

This is one strange brew. It's got a cool story (bro) to it (check out the video HERE), but for me it's a one time deal. Especially for dat price! Being both a supporter of DFH and especially Sierra Nevada I'd say that this is a must buy at least to try out, but overall I just wasn't that into it. I am however interested to see what's in store for Hop 664 down the road though, and of course, would like to see more collaborations between these two breweries.

Evil Twin, Stillwater and Stone The Perfect Crime

Evil Twin, Stillwater and Stone "The Perfect Crime" - Black Smoked Saison (2012)

Limited Collaboration Brew.

12 fl. oz. / $3.59 USD / 6.8% ABV

About: "Dark with deception, mysteriously smoked, unexplainably dry, and intriguingly hopped," as Strumke states on his bottle, this beer gets away with the farmhouse ale classification... but just barely. Like traditional farmhouse ales, Belgian saison yeast provides intense fruit and spice notes. However, unlike traditional saisons, the beer is black as night, has added viscosity, and pronounced smoke character that dominates thanks to the brewers’ decision to use oak-smoked wheat malt, a new malt style that produces a flavor eerily similar to a fresh oak barrel. Hops bill: East Kent Goldings, Chinook, and Cluster."

Thoughts: Perfect crime, goddamnit it's the perfect crime, motherfucker it's the perfect crime. I said it's perfect!

This Collab brew poured a very dark brown with some reddish tones and a huge fluffy multicolored tan head. It's got a nice look to it, there's no denying that. What? Is looking good a criminal offence? Then set me free, ya fuckin' CD.

Smells pretty cool. Spicy Belgian yeast, really strong and up front. It's awesomely roasty in its nature. Loads of toasted malt in this, and thankfully it doesn't remind me at all of coffee. There's a hint of fruitiness in the background, but that's hiding out for the most part.

A ton of hop characteristics in the taste. That Belgian yeast is strong and permeates throughout the whole beer, but at first gulp each time there's a blast of hop bitterness and resin. Pretty damn good. And it's not overly bitter either, nor is it tart, but it's just on the edge of those things. I suppose the malts pull it back right before it even gets close, by delivering a dash of that sweetness there. It's got a lot of roasted, smokey flavors that come through once you start breathing the air for a while.

Mouth is pretty wet but thick. It lingers for a while. Also, it drops all of that flavor on the back of the tongue and just laughs about it.

There's an Evil feeling in our brains, but its nothing new, you know it drives us insane! So said Venom.

Dogfish Head, Stone and Victory Saison du Buff

Dogfish Head, Stone and Victory Saison du Buff - Ale brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme (2012)

Brewed and Bottled by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware. 

12 fl. oz. / $3.49 USD / 6.8% ABV

About: "The idea for this beer germinated way back in 2003 when the three guys (Sam from Dogfish, Greg from Stone and Bill from Victory) formed the BUFF alliance (Brewers United for Freedom of Flavor) - a noble endeavor with the goal to highlight the passion and camaraderie of the American craft brew movement. Saison du BUFF was first brewed at Stone and then replicated at each of the other two breweries - same recipe, same ingredients, three different breweries throughout 2010 - and then again in 2012."

Thoughts: Poured a seriously hazy muted yellow with a slight amber shade and a one finger frothy whiter than white head. Carbonation bubbles are plentyful.

The scent is very zesty at first, like a mix of orange and lemon peel. The yeast in this one presents itself strongly. The herbs all blend very well into the mix here and aren't stand alone or overpowering to one another.

The taste on this one is very fresh and crisp. It's semi-sweet when it first hits the mouth, but a soft coating tingling of tang erupts after the swallow and it later followed by an unoffensive bitterness. There's an earthy wheat flavor to it that's doused with a moderate amount of Belgian tasting yeast. Everything here blends perfectly and comes off as a really enjoyable drinking experience. The last of the bottle gives way to a pleasant aftertaste with a hint of pine and a coating of spice inside the mouth.

Mouthfeel is sudsy. Little bit heavy. Slightly grainy and just a little bit sticky.

I've been recently drinking quite a few Farmhouse Ales and I've gotta say that I'm really digging this style of beer. This one tasted great from the first gulp to the last sip. I will be seeking out more of this style, and perhaps may pick up the Stone version of this that's been collecting a bit of dust at the store.

Stone Bottleworks 13th Anniversary Ale

Stone Bottleworks 13th Anniversary Ale (2012)

Limited Release (Brewed Once).

22 fl. oz. / $7.19 USD / 11.4% ABV

About: "Bottleworks, Seattle's legendary craft beer store captained by Matt Bonney and Matt "Vern" Vandenberghe, celebrated their 13th Anniversary in March of 2012. Since bottle shop owners can't make their own beer, "The Matts" commission a different brewery each year to help them create their anniversary brew. This time they wanted an especially big beer (they were aiming for 13% abv), so naturally they turned to us for help. Here you see the delicious fruits of our collective labor: a 13-grain, 13-hop imperial porter that packs a wallop. Cheers!

Funny enough, with all the specialty malts used, there were less fermentable sugars than anticipated, so it “only” got up to 11.4% abv, but we’re all still really happy with how the beer turned out. If for whatever reason, you’re upset that it’s not 13% abv, we suggest you take a sip, as it will immediately help you get over it. Hops: Bravo, Target, Columbus, Cascade, Delta, Warrior, Magnum, Apollo, Calypso, Perle, Galena, Chinook, Mt. Hood / Malts: Pale Two Row, White Wheat, Aromatic, Weyermann Chocolate Rye, Light Munich, Brown Crisp, Oats, Crisp Light Crystal, CaraMunich, Baird's Chocolate, Lightly Peated, Simpsons Dark Crystal, Crisp Amber."

Thoughts: Word of advice first off. Be careful when you pour this!

I tilted my glass and poured this brew out very gentle and slow when I got to the point where it looked as if a nice one and a half finger head had formed I set the glass down and it exploded all to hell on me!

Even with my gentle and cautious pour this beeer exploded once I set the glass down. The head furiuosly grew in less than a single second into an uproar and spilt over the top of my glass. The brew is dark brown during the pour and settles into a pitch black in the glass. The light brown kahki colored head that eventually settled down into a two finger showed no signs of going anywhere.

It pours like a Pub Ale with a Widget inside the can, and the forming head greatly resembles a Guiness pour. As I poured it I noticed it wasn't a smooth liquid, but had several clumpy bundles that fillled the glass with fun times to be had.

The smell on this one is pretty crazy. It stars out as a sweet almost barleywine type scent with dark fruits, the candy coated dried and sugared kind, plums and apricot mostly, maybe a little bit passion fruit and raisins, and a tingly boozy feel about it. Give it a few more whifs and some beautiful earthy hops start to mingle in. It smells strong and sweet, like a brandy... but doesn't go far from a recognizable strong ale. There's a heavy caramel candy tone to the whole thing, and luckily for me, it's light on the chocolate malt. After a while the scent of this brew reminds me of Southern Tier's OAT Imperial Stout. My stomach is growling.

Taste is a haze of grainy alcohol at first that starts to spike but slowly falls back before blinding. I'm getting a strong boozy caramel, very full flavored and followed by some grassy notes. It's very rich and flavorful. Nothing weak at all about this one. Pretty damn dense too. After getting used to the hops in the scent and the first few gulps, a roasted malt characteristic slightly takes over. It happened right when that puddle of foam left from the head right in the middle of the brew slid down my throat. Of course, the creeping hops are not far behind. There's a spicy tingle to each swallow followed by a cloudy haze that I can only describe as a state of exhaled joy. There's a high point to the sweetness in this one, but aside from that it's not really bitter at all or overly-sweet. It maintains well, even with that haze of booze and that sharp stabbing sickle of candy. It gets very peppery around the last gulp.

This is one sticky ass beer! Very syrupy and thick.

Overall this was a fun and interesting beer for me. I'd rank it pretty high, but I don't know if it would go on my favorites listing. The taste didn't blow me away or anything, but I'm tellin' ya, this beer was savory and just downright good. It's really hard to describe actually. Supposedly this is an "Imperial Porter", but it's got shades of Barleywine, Stouts and Smoked Ales. It really is an enigma of beer, but I'm not going to fault it for that. In fact, I think it's pretty damn cool. I must have experiecned about six different stages with this one and it made for a hell of a time. Especially on my empty stomach. Dinner has just been served.

Alchemist, Ninkasi and Stone More Brown Than Black IPA

Alchemist, Ninkasi and Stone More Brown Than Black IPA (2011)

Collaboration Brew (Bottled by Stone Brewing Co., in Escondido, CA. USA)
Limited Release (Brewed Once)

12 fl. oz. / $3.59 USD / 7.4% ABV

About: "Stone Brewing Co. is proud to announce its fifth and final 2011 collaboration beer. Proceeds from the sale of this beer will be donated to the Waterbury Good Neighbor Fund, dedicated to rebuilding Waterbury, Vermont – hometown of The Alchemist Pub and Brewery. Malts: Maris Otter Pale, Light Munich, Carafa III Special Dark, and CaraHelles / Hops: Super Galena hop extract for bittering, Nelson Sauvin and Delta for flavor,  dry-hopped with a blend of Citra and Galaxy."

Thoughts: Popped the cap with a loud fizzy hiss and a ton of smoke poured out. The creamy light tan head was massive at first and it took a while to get all of the beer into this glass. Color of the pour was sort of a dark raspberry brown that settled into a slightly darker version of itself. TONS of sediment drift in dark space.

This smells very boisterous. There's a strong citrus hoppiness, and it's slightly piney as well. The scent is strong, cold and absolutely delightful.

The taste is exactly like the smell. There's a little bit of more of a roasted chocolate-like malt overlay on the hops, especially as it warms. It's all a little bit tangy, with a slightly sour after effect. There's a bit of musk. Aside from that it's not really overwhelming in any way, nor is it tame. It's an interesting mix between a brown ale and black IPA, but taste-wise I'm going to have to say that it's about average for a night's brew. A great collaboration and representation of the style, nonetheless.

The feel is a little bit frothy, but everything flows smoothly and is crisp.

Many brown ales and just a few black IPA's have been tough for me to get into so just take my rating of average with a grain of salt. It could very well be slightly above average compared to a lot of other similar beers. I'm still looking at two other collabs they've done that are on the shelf now. I'm not thrilled this time around... but I'm not disappointed either.

Baird, Ishii and Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA

Baird, Ishii and Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA (2011)
Limited Collaboration Release
12 fl. oz. / $3.69 USD / 9.2% ABV

About: "We recently brewed a beer called Baird / Ishii / Stone Japanese Green Tea IPA as a benefit for Japanese tsunami relief. We created this very special IPA, brewed with 100% Maris Otter Malt and Belgian Candi Sugar. Once we decided to tie it all together with the addition of Japanese Sencha Green Tea in a dry-hop, the rest of the recipe came together easily. We included hops that we believe would blend well with the tea flavors, and we went non-traditional, at least in the sense of American IPAs. After bittering with Warrior hops, we used Crystal and New Zealand Pacifica for flavor. And then for the first dry hop, we again used Crystal and Pacifica, and added a brand new hop variety, Aramis, from the Alsace region of France. Then we went all Japanese for the 2nd dry-hop, with Sorachi Ace whole lead hops and the Sencha Tea."

Thoughts: A pretty interesting looking beer, even before it comes out of the bottle. Very orange look to it and there's an absolute ton of sediment lingering on the bottom in there. Green tea leaves as well perhaps? Don't know yet. Let's take a look. Well, I poured it all in there! It poured a very off-orange, burnt amber mix with a tinted almost orange toned off-white head. Perhaps due to my violent half pour it took up half of the glass. It took about four minutes for it to die down before I could do about three or so more mini pours and get it all in there. Even then the half finger head that remained didn't seem to want to fade at all. As I pick up the glass and hold it in front of this white screen, I can see what appears to be about a million or so particles floating within the brew. Some of them are falling towards the bottom of the glass, but most are suspended in the murky dusk.

It smells pretty damn good, and interesting to say the least. That strong IPA nose gets out there first, tickle to the nostrils, and then there's a bit of faded green tea laying around in the back. It's citrusy, and the longer it's breathed in, the colder and more ferocious those hops become.

Time to taste this sucker. Sweet and sour sauce. It goes through little phases while holding it in the mouth. Wow. That taste after swallowing is crazy, like mandarin oranges and lemon peel. There's a bit of a hazy froth that suddenly spikes like a fresh burst of honey glaze. The fallback of the green tea blends excellently amongst the fuzzy alcohol fumes.

This beer is pretty thick, and a little bit heavy, but it tastes sweet and has no unpleasant occurrences.

Mmmm... yeasty! This fruity, strong and medicinal brew is not only quite enjoyable, but also apparently went to a good cause. "A wonderful spirit of camaraderie, cooperation and mutual support exists in the world of craft brewing. We have harnessed this spirit fully in the crafting of this special collaborative brew dedicated to the resilient people of Japan who are bravely endeavoring to overcome the tragedy of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami." Go buy a bottle and enjoy it with some ramen. Trust me on the beer and ramen mix, I'm an expert on this sort of thing.

Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head Life and Limb 2

Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head Life and Limb 2 (2011)
A Sierra Nevada / Dogfish Head Collaboration!
Brewed and Bottled by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., in Chico, CA. USA.
Rotating Schedule (Limited Release)
25.4 fl. oz. / $10.29 USD / 10.2% ABV

About: "Our decision to make this ale together comes from a shared passion for bringing natural beauty into the brewing process. Both of our families own and operate independent breweries and our co-workers, who share this passion, are an integral part of our extended family. / LIFE - For the living brewer’s yeast in every bottle working in vibrant unison to enhance complexity, refinement, and to encourage aging. LIMB - For the two syrups used in making this ale (maple and birch) which contribute to its unique flavor profile and symbolize this collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head. / This ale is dedicated to the family of craft-brew drinkers worldwide who continue to support the little guys, iconoclasts, entrepreneurs, and pioneers who risk life and limb to shape the craft-brewing community. We are proud to share our two branches with the thousands of other vibrant branches – those of fellow brewers – who collectively comprise the craft-brewing family tree. Sincerely, Sam Calagione and Ken Grossman."

Thoughts: Poured a dark, dark brown almost black with a huge fluffy dark-eggshell head that nearly overflowed.

Nothing's really jumping out at me. Very light zingy malt. Caramel and very bitter unsweetened chocolate. I'm getting some fruity undertones, but no real syrupy scent. It's a little woody and grassy, but that's about it. Let it warm because only then will you get the brew's true scent, which is actually pretty good yet still, so very hard to acquire. You've got to breath in through your nose continuously for a while before it really starts to sink in.

It's got a good balance of hops and malt. Little heavier on the malt. I'm not getting straight up Maple Syrup that I've read about. Really I was expecting this to be full blown insanity of maple syrup taste, but it's not at all. It's instead rather earthy, and sappy. Not like some store bought sweet syrup aura you'd expect on waffles, ham or bacon. My big ass neighbor must use about a gallon of maple syrup every weekend morning because I walk out into the hallway and I'm nearly sandblasted by the stuff. I thought a bit of that smell would be in this brew, but it's not. Truth be told, I'm not really a Syrup kind of guy. I don't eat pastries, the last time I had a waffle it was blue, and though I recently visited the Indian reservoir Maple Syrup capital of the northeast US, I partook in nothing more than eating steak and eggs, smoking from a peace pipe and fondling various animal skulls. That being said, it still is a very sweet ale with nearly no bitterness at all.

Alright, so by now I let it warm up. This beer was never meant to be consumed cold. Do it room temperature. Don't even question the thought, as coldness hides every single aspect of Life and Limb. It smells and tastes more like syrup, and still with very earthy overtones. It's still not raging with Maple Syrup, but rather dark fruits like plum, prune and black cherry. The sappy, bittersweet syrup comes through in a seemingly dancing rhythm. Aftertaste is a bit of grapefruit citrus, and lemon zest. Not too dry, but a little drying. Kinda sticky and lingering. There's a boozy feel with each gulp. It's warming. It's a stark contrast to how it was when so cold.

I guess I let expectations get the better of me this time around. I was expecting something so utterly strong and dominating, that when I was hit with all but hidden flavors and scents from a brew too cold, I nearly had a mini freak-out. "What the fuck am I going to write!?", I thought. I've been looking forward to this for so long. Well, it turns out that everything went pretty well in the end. Overall, a fine, fine brew. Spicy, malty, thick, tingling, bittersweet, warming, and the slightest bit astringent. I remember tasting tree sap when I was younger, and this reminds me of that a little bit. Just don't go in expecting Mrs. Butterworth's.