Leinenkugels Creamy Dark

Brewed By: Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin 

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 12-pack bought at Jewel in IL; 2012

Style/ABV: American Dark Lager, 4.90%

Tonight's beer, the Creamy Dark, is an excellent bargain and tastes pretty damn good. It's truly a sleeper beer, and one of the better offerings from Leinenkugels.

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company is an interesting company. First...the company is owened by MillerCoors LLC, which is owned by SABMiller. That makes this company a micro-macro brewery, kind of like Goose Island. As I understand it, Leinenkugel still brews ther own shit (or at least some of it). But every time you buy a Leinenkugel beer, proceeds go to Miller. In fact, recently, MillerCoors LLC announced their new craft beer company, "Tenth and Black Beer Co," which was named after the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee that brews Leinenkugel and Blue Moon beers.

I don't want to totally shaft Leinenkugel just because they are owned by SABMiller. There is a whole history of the brewery on their Heritage Page, and it's actually nicely done so I recommend checking it out. The brewery was founded in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, back in May 1867 by Jacob Leinenkugel and his business partner, John Miller (who, according to Wikipedia, sold his company shares in 1884). During prohibition, Leinenkugel brewed non-alcoholic "non-beer" called Leino. Unsurprisingly, the stuff wasn't popular, so the brewery started making and selling soda water instead. When prohibition ended, Leinenkugel was the largest bottler of soda water in the area. The brewery continued to expand, post-prohibition, and Leinenkugel expanded into Minnesota, Michigan, and Chicago. The brewery was purchased by the Miller Brewing Company in 1988. In 1995, the 10th Street Brewery was opened to help accommodate the growth and brew Leinenkugel beers.

Leinenkugel has two breweries: the original one in Chippewa Falls, and the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to Wikipedia, 95% of the Leinenkugel's sales by volume are brewed in Chippewa Falls. The 10th Street Brewery brews the Leinenkugel's Auburn Ale, Berry Weiss, Creamy Dark, Hefeweizen, Honey Weiss and the Original pale lager.

According to the Creamy Dark page, this beer is brewed with Munich, Chocolate, Wheat, and three Pale malts. This beer is also brewed with Cascade (pleasant, flowery, spicy), Cluster (medium, spicy), and Mt. Hood (mild, pleasant) hops. The beer is described as dark and smooth, and makes note of the fact that the beer is brewed with seven malts. It's described as "nutty" and "crisp." Let's get it into a glass and see how it holds up!

Leinenkugels Creamy Dark

In low light, the beer pours with a dark brown body with hints of red/black. The head is a nice light tan/khaki color in low light, and the pour results in 3-fingers of thick, foamy head. When held to bright light, this beer is super red/ruby red/brown, with a transparent/filtered body, and visible, high carbonation. The head is still a nice light tan color in bright light, and at this point the head has mellowed out into about half a finger's worth, leaving some nice lacing as it dissolved. Overall, this beer looks good...it pours like a Dark Lager.

I haven't talked much about the style. Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate are both calling this a Dark American Lager. But this beer is brewed with seven malts (seven of them!) and three hops. Mt. Hood is like a distant cousin Noble hop, and this beer is stacked with Munich malts. How is this not an interpretation or nod to the Munich Dunkel? 

Anyway, the aroma on this one isn't too mind-blowing. It is a rather subtle molasses, coffee, caramel, slight nutty sweetness (like the fake peanut butter stuff that most people accept as "Peanut Butter"), and some mild/pleasant/earthy hoppiness. There may be just a hint of toasted malt goodness.

The taste is smooth, crisp, and light. This is a creamy, light, Lager after all. Don't let the dark body betray you. Up front is a lot of malt sweetness, and some hints of Lagery fruitiness. You get carbonation, caramel, faded coffee; the middle rolls into slightly acidic and earthy hops; the back end is leaving some toast, and then roast. I'm getting a hint of smoke in here, and just a touch of meaty flavors. The finish is crisp and light, with some lingering earthy hops.

This has a light to medium body, with a lot of carbonation. There's good density to this beer, especially for a Lager...but it's still crisp and drinkable. It's....*drumroll*...creamy. Anyway, palate depth is good for the style, and complexity is ammaaaaazing. I'd say winner-winner, tiger blood. Like I said, up front is Lager-y, fruit, sweet malts; the middle is earthy hops; the back is roast and toast, with some smoke. And hops clean up the finish. There's a hint of nuttiness and molasses in here as well, but to each palate their own, right?

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average rating on this beer. This beer may well be the sleeper beer of the century. I'm almost tempted to elevate this to a divine brew...but I'm not sure. I feel like I need to go drink a lot of German beer. Anyway. At...what is it? Like 11 bucks for a 12-pack? This beer is a steal. It's also really good. This is a lighter beer with dark flavors. So if you're looking for a light beer with those "darker" flavor profiles (roasty, malty goodness), look no further. Would I recommend this? I would. Good job, Leinenkugels. 

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from a six-pack, bought at Jewel-Osco in IL; 2012
Style/ABV: American IPA, 7.2%

 

It's been a little over a year or two since I last had Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA. This beer represents Sierra Nevada's year-round India Pale Ale beer. Their Celebration Ale is also an IPA, but it is a Winter Seasonal. About Sierra Nevada:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010.

What makes today's beer interesting (in my opinion) is the beer's name. This beer is labeled as an "Extra IPA." Sierra Nevada describes the beer as bold and assertive, with complex citrus, pine, and herbal characters. The beer is brewed using Sierra Nevada's "revolutionary" dry-hopping technique called the "Hop Torpedo." The beer uses Magnum (bitter), Crystal (spicy, flowery), and Citra (tropical fruits) hops, and clocks in at 7.2% ABV and packs 65 IBUs. Considering that this beer falls neatly into the American IPA style guidelines, it's probably safe to say that the "Extra" in this Extra IPA comes fro the brewery's unique dry-hopping method. So with that all said...let's put this in a glass and see what's up.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

I gave this beer a pretty aggressive pour, as I'm often inclined to do when pouring into my Duvel glass. The pour yielded 3-fingers of fluffy, foamy, thick, off-white/eggshell colored head. In low light the beer takes on a nice copper/orange color. When held to bright light, this is an orange/copper, transparent beer, with moderate carbonation in the form of mid-sized bubbles rising upwards. In bright light the head has an orange/copper tint. As the head fades, there is a ton of lacing on the glass.

Upon opening the bottle, I was greeted with some nice floral, tropical fruit hop notes. That's always a good sign. This beer has some sweeter tropical fruits on the nose, or it did. Now I'm pulling out some peppery orange and earthy/herbal hops. I'm getting orange, mango, pine, and some light caramel.

The taste is really good. Huge dry hoppiness dominates this beer, as you get bitter oranges, resiny citrus (grapefruit/orange), pine, and mango. There's also a huge herbal/spicy component to this beer, almost approaching a rye or pepper spice. There is some caramel and grain on the back end as well, with a slight shift towards malt balance towards the back end, followed by some woody hop dryness. 

This is - admittedly - a big beer at 7.2% ABV. It's fairly crisp thanks to the moderately high carbonation, but still has some denseness thanks to the slightly sticky/sweet/resiny hop profile. Still, I think it's really drinkable for what it is. I'd say this is a medium-full to full-bodied beer. Palate depth is great, and complexity is moderate to high. Up front is some citrus (now I'm getting some sweeter citrus), tangerines, mango; the middle rolls into some pine, resiny citrus, and herbal spice; the back end is lingering spice, woody dryness, and then dry hoppiness. There is some caramel/grain on the back. I'm also getting a bit of alcohol warming on the finish, which isn't that offbeat for a 7.2% ABV beer. 

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew rating on this beer. As far as value beers go, this is it. A 6-pack of this will run you like 9 bucks. 9 bucks! 9 bucks for a six-pack of 7.2% ABV beer. And not just 7.2% ABV beer, but delicious 7.2% ABV beer. The value alone pushes this beer up, in my opinion. And then there is the availability...this beer is available everywhere, no problem. This is an affordable, delicious, available beer. And it happens to be a really good execution of the style. It's a fulfilling drink, and delivers on those giant dry hop qualities. There's not much more to say...except maybe a disclaimer to hold off on this one if you're new to IPAs. This is definitely on the more "intense" side of an IPA. But if you're embracing your craft beer hobby, or looking for something with big, assertive flavors...look no further. Highly recommended.

Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from a 4-pack bought at Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Old Ale, 9.8%

Nothing says Founders like a big fat Barleywine-styled beer clocking in at 9.8% ABV. Oh, did I say Barleywine? I meant....an Old Ale. Because that's what it is called, "Founders Old Ale." The BJCP describes an Old Ale as as a traditional English ale, mashed at high temps, then aged after primary fermentation (to a point where the beer has age-related characters like lactic, Brett, oxidation, or leather). Old Ales are all about the big malts, they often feature adjuncts like molasses or sugar, and they have enough hops to crank that bitterness up to 30-60 IBUs. The style is supposed to have big malt, dried-fruit, caramel, and vinous aromas; and the big malts should carry into the taste, with the balance shifted towards sweet malts; this beer can be well-hopped, however. Old Ales typically clock in around 6-9% ABV, making the Founders Curmudgeon a bit high on that scale. Speaking of Founders:

Founders is the holy grail of Michigan brewing. Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders was founded in 1997 and produce some of the best beer in the world.

With all that said, I won't spend much more time dwelling on what you can expect from an Old Ale. Like the Porter vs. Stout debate, or the Belgian Dark Strong Ale vs. the Quadrupel, there are some people who argue that Old Ales and Barleywines are the same thing, or that one doesn't really exist. I'm sure there is a lot of interesting reading on the topic, but I personally don't want to get bogged down on a semantics debate in the small window that is this blog post.

Founders states that their Curmudgeon Old Ale is brewed with molasses (okay, that sounds like the BJCP's description of an Old Ale), a metric fuckton of malts, and then oak-aged. They describe this as strong, rich, and malty. And oak-aged! And again, clocking in at an impressive 9.8% ABV, and packing 50 IBUs...this is a big boy beer. So let's crack this open and see what's up.

Founders Curmudgeon Old Ale

This beer pours with kind of a menacing and grim, half-finger's worth of grey/reddish/off-white head. The head doesn't hang around for long, quickly fading into a nice cauldron effect. In low light, the beer is a reddish/orange color, with quite a bit of visible carbonation in the form of small bubbles rising upwards. In bright light, this is an orangish/caramel-colored beer, with A LOT of small carbonation bubbles rising upwards. There is still a silky cauldron effect of head atop the glass, and the head has an orange/caramel tint. I'm getting some lacing on the glass, and some alcohol legs. It actually looks like there is a little sediment in this beer, and the beer is kind of hazy.

Big malt and oak aromas are dominating the nose on this beer. I'm getting oak, wood, fruity esters (like dried bananas, Amaretto liqueur), caramel/toffee, molasses, brown sugar, golden raisins, and some fusel alcohol to boot. I'm also getting some bready, booze-soaked-bread notes, and a little unidentifiable spice. Really, the nose is just a WALLOP of malt sweetness, and oak. I can't place any hops in the nose, because any hops are being dominated by the malts.

MMM....so good. The first sip is just a Brandy/Amaretto-soaked bread explosion, with notes of dried fusel-alcohol-bananas and cherries, molasses, brown sugar, and a slightly oak/woody finish. This beer embraces it's 9.8% ABV, but it drinks well. Mind you, I'm drinking this beer quite warm at the moment. I'm getting some vinous Sherry/Port flavors in here, caramel, and just GIANT, boozy, malt goodness. I'd say I'm pulling out hops (maybe citrus????) but it's nearly impossible to tell with the assertive malt sweetness. Needless to say, the giant malt presence makes the 50 IBUs invisible.

This is really good shit. There's some other notes in here I'm sure I'm missing, including some nuttiness I'm picking up. I'd say almonds. But then, almonds and cherries are the defining qualities of Amaretto, and that's what I'm getting in this beer. This is sweet, slightly sticky, but surprisingly smooth. This is dense and has a giant palate depth. I'd say the mouthfeel is medium-full to full, with a supporting body featuring moderate carbonation. Complexity is through the roof, as this is super complex. There's so much going on here...I'm sure this yields many different palate experiences from person-to-person. Oh, and at 9.8% you can lay this down and drink it 5 years from now. Up front are golden raisins, malts, caramel, molasses; this rolls into fusel fruits, and some Quadrupel-like qualities; the back end is oak, wood, some bitterness...there is warming on the finish, and the beer lingers on your palate a good 15+ seconds after each sip. The finish is dry and warming, and very sweet like a sweet liqueur. 

Rating: Divine Brew 

I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. This is a really nice, big beer. I've already had one bottle of this, and it was fantabulous. This bottle is going down just as nicely. Really though...this is a big malt bomb, with some seductive flavors. At 9.8% ABV, you want to sip this beer. And it's a great sipping beer, and it's also a big enough beer that you could pair it with aggressive foods. I have two suggestions with this beer: (1) drink it at warmer temperatures; (2) buy two 4-packs, so you can age one. Personally, I don't think this beer is too hot up front...but I bet it still ages well. So check this beer out, and I definitely look forward to my next round of Founders beer....

Founders Cerise

Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan 
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from a 4-pack bought at Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2012 

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer, 6.5%

"Cerise" is a French word for "cherry," and literally means "shade of red" or "a deep red color." So it would follow that Founders Cerise is a cherry beer. In case you're unfamiliar with Founders:

Founders is the holy grail of Michigan brewing. Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders was founded in 1997 and produce some of the best beer in the world.

Founders is the mac daddy of Midwestern brewing. Well..one of them. Anyway, if you check out the beer page for the Founders Cerise, you can find some basic info on the beer. This beer is fermented with Michigan tart cherries, as cherries are added five times during fermentation. This beer clocks in at 6.5% ABV, and packs 15 IBUs. This is a seasonal beer, and is available from June to August. There's not much else to say, so let's glass it up and see what's going on.

 Founders Cerise

The beer has an interesting pour, as it pours with 3-fingers of super foamy, thick, pink-tinted head. The head is made up of dense, small, finely-packed bubbles. In low light the beer has a dark, cherry/red appearance. As the head comes down, there is some lacing on the glass, and the head seems to be sustaining at about a half-finger's worth. In bright light, the head is still a light pink color, and the beer is a lovely bright red color. There is a lot of carbonation in this, and it appears to be fairly effervescent. This beer is murky, with chunks of cherry sediment floating around, and you can't see through this.

The aroma is nowhere near as aggressive as you might expect. When I swirl the beer, I get some tart/sour cherry notes. There are some bready/grainy malts in this, and I'm smelling some very faint/subtle spice. I'm picking up some canned cherry pie filling, and maybe some cherry currants as well.

The taste seems to be a lot more fullfilling than the nose. Straight away I'm getting hit with some sweet, but slightly tart/sour/acidic cherries. I'm not talking about Sour/Gueuze acidic, but just gently acidic. I actually felt a chunk of cherry sediment on my tongue as I took a sip. I'm tasting some nice malt presence, and it's kind of bready/doughy. When you pair the malts in this with the cherries, I swear you taste pie crust. I'm tasting cherry currants, cherry pie filling, sweet cherry notes, and some hints of organic cherries. There's also a hint of light spice in here that I can't place.

This is kind of like a cherry pie in a glass, and I'm okay with that. The cherry notes really remind me of cherry pie filling. But this is a natural cherry flavor. Compare this with say...the totally artificial tasting, Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. That's the difference between a real cherry taste and a syrupy, extract taste (although, Sam Adams claims to use real cherries). The more I drink this, the more I think the spice is a slight "zing." Like lemon-zest, or light cinnamon or nutmeg. It's just a subtle, subtle spice.

The drinkability of this beer is through the roof, although this beer is fairly sweet and will probably be off-putting for people who hate sugary, sweet, fruity beers. The 6.5% ABV is completely undetectable. In fact, I'm a little surprised to see this beer clocking in at such a high ABV. I wonder if it has to do with all the cherry fermentation. This is medium-light to medium-full, with moderate-high to high carbonation. Palate depth is good; complexity is kind of one-dimensional, but it is Founders Cerise. Up front you get tart cherry notes; which roll into a sweet cherry pie filling middle; the back end is lingering cherry sweetness, with hints of malts that trick the ol' brain into thinking about pie crusts and shit. There is an elusive spice note that comes and goes.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average rating on this beer. Fruit beers are kind of a love-hate thing, and I happen to enjoy them. I happen to love intensely bitter, roasted, non-sweet drinks...but this weekend I partook in a cookout. And at this cookout was a bunch of shitty beer and party drinks like Mike's Hard Lemonade. I had a few Mike's, and then I tried a bottle of the Cerise later in the evening. The Mike's really messed up my palate, because I could hardly taste the Cerise. Now that I'm sitting here dissecting the Cerise, I feel confident saying that it's a good...if not sweet-forward beer. But those cherry pie notes. If you're looking for a sweet beer, or a fruit beer, or some cherry pie...give this a whirl. It sort of reminds me of the cherry version of Pumking. 

Grand Teton Black Cauldron Imperial Stout

Brewed By: Grand Teton Brewing Co. in Victor, Idaho 

Purchased: 4-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 8.0%

I love Summer in Russia.

Nothing says, "I do what I want," like drinking a beer made for the coldest of Russian winters during the middle of summer. Of course, the temperature did drop...last week it was all like 100+ degrees, with 90% humidity, and the homeless and elderly were dropping like flies. Now it's down to a modest 81 degrees, which feels like 60 because conditioning. That's why. I'm thinking about renaming this to the Beer and Weather blog. 

Anyway, I have high expectations for today's Stout, so let's talk about Grand Teton, and then about the beer:

Grand Teton Brewing Company is a brewery located at the base of the Teton Mountains in Victor, Idaho. The brewery advertises fresh ingredients, including water from glacial run-off, home-grown malting barley, and hops straight from Southern Idaho hop farms. The brewery was founded in 1988 by Charlie and Ernie Otto, originally called Otto Brother's Brewing Company located in Wyoming. The brothers secured the first malt beverage manufacturers' permit in Wyoming in 35 years, and were the first modern micro brewery to be opened in the state. The brewery also credits itself with reintroducing the modern Growler, in 1989. After battling Wyoming's state laws, the brothers opened Wyoming's first brewpub in 1992.

Due to the brewpub's popularity, in 1998 the brothers decided to open a brewery at the base of Teton in Victor, Idaho. In the Fall of 2000, the company changed their name from Otto Brother's Brewing Company to Grand Teton Brewing Company to give props to the people of Teton, where the new brewery was located. In April 2009, Charlie Otto sold the brewery to Steve and Ellen Furbacher. Since the Furbachers have taken over, the brewery has continued to expand. Right now the brewery is an 11,000 square foot building, with a 30 barrel brewhouse, and 660 barrels of fermenting tanks.

The Black Cauldron is an Imperial Stout, of course. This beer is described as being brewed with caramel and roasted malts, and spiced with Nugget and Cascade hops. The beer also features some beechwood-smoked malt, to give it a slight smokey profile. Clockin' in at 8.0% ABV, and 43 IBUs, this is a modest entry to what has become an extreme and bloated style of beer.

One cool thing to note about this beer is that it is brewed to recognize and honor the women in the history of brewing. Grand Teton states:

"Brewing has been women's work since the dawn of civilization. In all ancient cultures, beer was a gift from a goddess, and women maintained status and power through their skills as brewsters. This remains true today in indigenous cultures from Asia to Latin America, Africa to remote villages in Scandinavia. Around the world, women baked bread and brewed their own beer. 

The artwork is good stuff.

In Europe, the rise of cities brought commercial brewing, as governments realized the potential tax revenue to be had from large breweries. By 1445, the first all-male brewers' guild was established, the campaign against witchcraft burst forth across Europe, and the purge of women from brewing had begun. Beer historian Alan Eames has written that, when an occupation was listed, most of the women burned for witchcraft in Europe were brewsters or alewives. 

Most of the imagery we associate with witchcraft today originated with the brewster. The large black cauldron bubbling over with foam? A brew kettle, of course. The black cat? Necessary to keep rats out of the grain store. The tall pointed hat? It allowed the brewster to be seen over the heads of taller men in the marketplace. A broom? The symbol of household domesticity, it is still associated with brewing all over the world."

This is really interesting history (assuming it all is true). I really appreciate the amount of information that Grand Teton provides about their beers, and it seems like a lot of thought goes into their beers. Their website is really nice, and the bottle art and packaging their beer comes in is awesome as well. I have to say they do a really good job with showcasing their product. With that said, let's get this into a glass and see what's happening.

Black Cauldron Imperial Stout

This beer pours like a Russian Imperial Stout. It's actually a really nice pour. Straight out of the bottle is this really inky, thick, black stuff. I would describe this beer as inky black. The beer pours with an inch of thick, bready head. The head has a dark-brown, coffee color to it. The head dissolved fairly quickly, leaving a nice cauldron effect and some lacing. There are alcohol legs, which you would expect for an 8.0% ABV beer. Really though, good looking stuff; but what Imperial Stout doesn't pour like beer porn. 

The aroma on this is really complex, and features these big roasted esters, hints of meat and smoke, and some nice coffee aromas. There's also some underlying caramel sweetness, and some elusive dark fruits; raisins, meaty cherries. I do get some wood/campfire from the roasted malts, and just a hint of booziness. 

The taste is just like the nose, only with an added chocolate kick. Huge flavors dominate the palate of this beer, as I'm getting caramel, dark fruits (raisins; cherries; plums; elusive berries), roasted malts (wood; campfire), baker's chocolate, some earthy/bitter hoppiness, coffee (Chicory; earthy), and a hint of alcohol warming in the back end. The finish is roasty and dry, and ends with campfire notes. I swear I'm tasting Dogfish Head's Chicory Stout in this. 

This is a heavy, dense, thick, full-bodied beer with a thick/full-bodied mouthfeel. It's not oily or sticky though, and I think that is thanks to the moderate to high carbonation. Still, this beer fills its 8.0% ABV shoes. And honestly, that's fucking awesome. I have much appreciate for big beers that fill their big shoes. This beer does just that. Really, you could sip on this beer, or pair it with some bold foods. This has a giant palate depth, and big complexity. Up front are big chocolate and coffee malts; this rolls into some dark fruits, caramel, and hops; the back end is lingering hops, roast, campfire. The finish is dry, roasty, campfire, and there is some nice alcohol warming on the back end. 

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew rating on this beer. This has to be one of the most underrated Imperial Stouts. Or, maybe not. The Imperial Stout category is filled with giant beers that receive giant hype. But this is a giant beer. This beer really has a density and complexity to it, and you really feel like you're getting your 8.0% ABV's worth. Some beers that dial up the ABV don't have the body, flavors, or density to hold up to the huge ABV. I'm impressed with this beer, and you should check it out. I look forward to trying more from Grand Teton in the future. Until next time, 'something something in Soviet Russia Stout Imperials you.'

Abita Purple Haze

Brewed By: Abita Brewing Company in Abita Springs, Louisiana  

Purchased: 6-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: Fruit Beer, 4.20%

Wanna get high?

If you're going to name your beer after some high-class, funky-ass weed, or the famous Jimi Hendrix song, you better bring it. I'm thinking an IPA up in this smokey, distorted-guitar-funked room. Or...you know, a mother fucking fruit beer. Okay, whatever, Abita. I trust you. o_o

Abita Brewing hails from the state where you can (and should) proposition your hot cousin. I'm talking about Louisiana. Abita was founded in 1986, 30 miles north of New Orleans. The brewery produced 1,500 barrels of beer during their first year, and by 1994, they outgrew their original location and moved to a larger facility. The brewery is privately owned, and operated by local shareholders. I have to actually give some props to Abita's "Learn" section on their website. It's full of some really cool stuff, including a brewery tour video, how they brew their beer, and some other cool stuff that you should check out.

With that said, let's talk about Purple Haze. The Purple Haze is a Lager brewed with raspberries that are added after filtration. The beer is also brewed with pilsner and wheat malts, and vanguard hops. At 4.2% ABV, 13 IBUs, and 128 calories per bottle...this is obviously a lighter beer. So let's pop a bottle and see what's up.  

Abita Purple Haze

The beer pours with a giant, foamy, pillowy, white head. I easily had 4 or 5-fingers worth, but it's now mellowed down to 2-fingers. It's still super thick. The head is white and puffy, with just a slight hint of red or purple. Raspberries are added to the beer after filtering, which probably explains the slight haze. The body of the beer is a hazy, yellow-orange color, with a slight hint of red/purple haze. The beer is super effervescent, and has large carbonation bubbles rising upwards. There is a bit of lacing as the head finally comes down, but the head sustainability is great for a Lager. Despite the murky haze, you can see through this beer...there is no sediment.

The aroma on this is pleasant, crisp, mild, and fruity. Sweet fruity. I'm pulling out giant raspberry currants, slight graininess, raspberry tea, raspberry graininess, and maybe a hint of smooth wheat. 

The taste is light, refreshing, crisp: there is some hints of apple, and some Lagery graininess. There are definitely raspberries in the mix, in the form of raspberry currants, and cheap raspberry tea. You get a hint of the wheat in here as well, and a slight hint of skunk on the back end that comes and goes. 

Crisp, refreshing: this has a light mouthfeel, moderate complexity for the style, and good palate depth. At 4.2% ABV, why not drink a 6-pack. Up front you get carbonation, apples, raspberry, hints of wheat; the middle rolls into raspberry currants and tea; the back end is lingering apple/raspberry, wheat, and maybe some Lagery skunk. Honestly, this is what it is. 

Rating: Average

Strong Average...and I lay on my bed, with the distorted sound of Hendrix's guitar whirling around my head. I sit up to pack the bowl for Jimi Hendtrip. I go in for a long inhale...I take a hit, and I'm in Electric Ladyland. Because I used Purple Haze instead of water. I still think this should have been a funky-ass IPA, brewed with some purple haze or something. Until next time, don't drink and Jimi Hendtrip. 

Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA

Brewed By: Three Floyds Brewing Company in Munster, Indiana
Purchased: Big 22oz (1 Pint, 6oz) bomber from Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Illinois; 2012
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 9.5% 

Tonight I'm reviewing Three Floyd's giant Imperial IPA: Dreadnaught. I believe at one time or another this beer was considered to be best or most rare Double IPA. And, if you go to Ratebeer's best Imperial IPA list, you'll see that Dreadnaught is still #3, behind Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger. And that's about all you need to know. What you should know about Three Floyds is:

Today we go to Munster, Indiana, where Three Floyds has been brewing beer since 1996. The brewery was founded by brothers Nick and Simon, and their father Mike Floyd - hence, the name, Three Floyds. The first brewery was originally located in Hammond, Indiana. Eventually Three Floyds outgrew their original location, and moved to Munster, Indiana. After moving to Munster, and seeing an increased demand for their beer, Three Floyds began to bottle their beer. Since 2000, the brewery has continued to grow. And in 2005, the brewery opened its first brewpub. The brewery is probably most famous for their Dark Lord Stout. If you haven't heard of it, Google "Dark Lord Day." And then weep at the beer you probably will never be able to drink.

The Dreadnaught is a giant beer towering in at 9.5% ABV and pushing 99 IBUs. This beer is described as having mango, peach, and citrus hop aromas, that sit atop a caramel malt backbone. They describe this beer as intensely hoppy...but complex, smooth, and memorable. There's not much else to say, so let's get this into a glass.

 Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA

The beer pours with 3-fingers worth of thick, foamy, off-white head. The head is surprisingly thick, with densely packed bubbles, and has a nice golden tint. In low light, the beer is a golden/yellow/bronze color. You can see a lot of carbonation in the form of small bubbles rising upwards. In bright light, the head still has a slight yellow tint, and the body is a wonderful golden/yellow color, with lots of small carbonation bubbles, and a slight haze. It looks like there might be some sediment floating around. Otherwise, this would be transparent. As the head is dissolving, it's leaving some nice lacing. But even after a few minutes, there is still a finger's coating of thick foamy head.

I did get hit with some nice hop aromas upon popping the bottle. I am getting big mango/papaya on this, and pulpy/meaty tropical fruit. I'm also getting a sharp, earthy/woody citrus note cutting through the nose. The nose is pleasantly sweet, and is unmistakably an Imperial IPA's nose. I'm getting some other fruit notes - berries - and maybe a touch of malt manifesting as sweet/honey. But mostly pleasant hops. I'm also getting just a faint, faint hint of alcohol...which is okay, at 9.5%.

Upon my first sip...my impression is that this has a dense/big mouthfeel, almost chewy, and then finishes with some nice honey/bready malts...but then the back end kicks in like 10 seconds later, and you get this drying, bitter, woody finish. Upon my second sip, I'm pulling out a lot more woody/dry citrus notes (orange, tangerine). And those meaty tropical fruits are coming out, with papaya/mango. There are malts in here...honey, caramel, almost even a bread/biscuit note.

This is a medium-bodied beer, and mostly smooth with moderate carbonation. As the hops assault your palate, you do get moments of slight chewiness. Palate depth is huge: this rocks your mouth from front to back, and it lingers. Complexity is high as well. Up front are big hop notes; the middle is more hops with burgeoning malts; the finish is malty, sweet. But then you hit the back end, and you're left with this super woody, dry, hoppy finish. And you get some alcohol warming in your chest as you finish the beer. Nice stuff. The dryness, combined with the hop oils, combined with all the sugars, make this a super sugary beer. It's sticky and oily, despite being fairly smooth for the style, so enjoy this beer, or pair it with some heavy food.

 

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew rating on this beer. This is a really good Imperial IPA, with huge palate depth, a nice mouthfeel, and big hop flavors balanced with some nice malt sweetness. You also get some nice alcohol warming, and hey: what's not to love about that. I wish this beer was easier to get and more available...because I'd like to drink it again. I'm hopefully optimistic that I will tango with the Dreadnaught again. So until next time, don't drink and Tango. 

Firestone Walker's Reserve: Robust Porter

Brewed By: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, California

Purchased: Big 22oz (1 Pint, 6oz) bomber from Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: American Porter, 5.8% 

 

Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the folks at Firestone Walker Brewing. The brewery was founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone (son of Brooks Firestone) and David Walker (husband of Adam's sister). The brothers brewed their first beer in 1996, in a small facility rented from the Firestone Vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County. In 2001, the brothers-in-law purchased SLO Brewing Company in Paso Robles, CA, and set up camp. Despite being relatively new to craft beer, the brewery has a ton of accolades, and is known for their Reserve line and their oak barrel brewing system. You can learn more about the history of the brewery here and here.

Today's beer, the Walker's Reserve, is described as a "dark ale featuring robust flavors of toffee, caramel and bittersweet chocolate." The beer is brewed with five specialty malts, and oat and barley flakes. The beer uses U.S. Goldings hops for bittering, East Kent Goldings during the kettle boil, and Cascade hops during the whirlpool. This beer is part of the brewery's reserve series, and is fermented in their Firestone Union oak barrels. Clocking in at 5.8% ABV, this is Firestone's take on the Robust Porter style.  

 

This bottle has some age on it...which is not ideal but shouldn't be the end of the world for an oak-aged Porter clocking in at 5.8% ABV. This was bottled on 12/29/11, or, I should say, the bottle says "12/29/11." So it's been 7 months from that date, and I'll keep that in mind while I drink this. 

Firestone Walkers Reserve: Robust Porter

 

The beer pours with 4-fingers worth of thick, bready, tan head. The head is made out of finely packed, dense bubbles. The body of the beer is a dark brown color that looks almost black in low light. When held to bright light, this beer definitely appears to be reddish-brown, with clear ruby red hues showing in bright light. The head is still khaki/tan in bright light, and has dissolved into a nice, thick, half-finger coating. The dissolved head left some lacing on the glass. This beer is dark in the center; too dark to see through or see carbonation.

The aroma on this beer is REALLY NICE. I'm getting these really refined baker's chocolate notes, some woody notes, very faint hints of raisins or elusive dark fruits (this could be the sweeter malts/toffee/caramel), and big, smooth coffee notes. It smells very smooth, and just has that woody hint suggesting it was fermented in a barrel.

This is a lot lighter and smoother than I was expecting, with just a slight hint of oxidation. I'm actually getting some nice bitterness in here, with some bitter coffee notes and some bitter dark/baker's chocolate. Up front is malty baker's chocolate and malt; the middle rolls into some slight hop bitterness (that was absent in the nose); and then I'm getting these big roasted notes and lingering hops in the finish. I'm also getting some wood in the finish as well. This is a big, complex beer...rolled into a drinkable, presentable package.

Palate depth is great, and I'm picking up some hints of vanilla, campfire, and smoke as I let this slide across my palate. This has a medium-light body, has moderate and supportive carbonation, good palate depth, and moderate complexity. Up front is chocolate, coffee, and malt; this rolls into some hops; the back end is slightly roasted, campfire, woody, and lingering bitterness on the finish. Finish is dry. At 5.8%, this is incredibly drinkable...but big enough to stand up to more heavy food pairings. You could session this, or comfortably put away a 22oz bomber of this. 

 

Rating: Above-Average

 

I'm feeling a light Above-Average on this. I'd like to get a fresh bottle of this, but what can you do when you're out in the Midwest. This has some really nice subtle wood flavors, and a really nice coffee profile. It's also very smooth and drinkable, and has a nice balance as it works across your palate. The easy drinkability and low price also makes this beer an easy-going, good value. I would try this again, and this seems like a worthy take on the Robust Porter. So with that said, don't drink and set off fireworks.