Kona Koko Brown Ale

Brewed By: Kona Brewing Company (Craft Beer Alliance) in Kailua Kona, Hawaii 

Purchased: 12oz bottle from 6-pack bought at Binny's in Illinois; 2012..maybe 2013?

Style/ABV: Brown Ale, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 28

"This much SPAM." 

I'm not going to lie, Hawaii makes me think of stoners, fat (or fluffy) people wearing Hawaiian shirts, and SPAM. Kona brewing hails from Hawaii, so of course they have a coconut Brown Ale thing. This got me thinking...since coconut is a fruit, does that make this a fruit beer? Coconut is a fruit, right? I'm a bumpkin from the Midwest, so I don't know what the fuck is going on with coconuts. True story: I buy my coconuts at the store. This is the Midwest. I don't take my gun down to the beach and shoot coconuts down like native Hawaiians do. According to Wikipedia: "Botanically, the coconut fruit is a drupe, not a true nut." Okay, I'm bored. I just know I want to rub the milk all over my face, and the lime goes in the coconut, mother fucker.

I guess this is where I talk about the Kona Brewing Company. The Kona website is all tropical, and reminds me of travel brochures, high production porn backdrops, and bongs. 

Kona Brewing Company was founded by father and son, Cameron Healy and Spoon Khalsa, back in 1994. The company rolled out their Pacific Golden Ale (now dubbed the Big Wave Golden Ale) and Fire Rock Pale Ale in 1995. Three years later, the company rolled out their Longboard Lager. The company's Kailua-Kona Pub (on Hawaii’s Big Island) opened in November of 1998, and is known for its hand spun pizzas, organic salads, and fresh beer. In 2003, Kona opened a second restaurant, at the Koko Marina Center, in Hawaii Kai, East Oahu. And in 2008, the company opened its Kona Brewing Company Air Pub at Honolulu's International Airport. Turning out more than 10,000 barrels of beer annually, Kona was ranked #14 in craft beer sales in the United States in 2009. Kona is part of the Craft Brewers Alliance, and contract brews some of its beer in the mainland States. For more info on Kona, check out Wikipedia, or check out Kona's website.

Tonight's beer is quite divisive. Ratebeer loves it, BeerAdvocate not so much. The Koko Brown is described as a beer brewed with real toasted coconut, and should feature nutty, toffee flavors. I've killed five of these...so let's get down to business.

Kona Koko Brown Ale

In low light, this one pours a transparent, filtered, reddish-brown color (like a freshly stained deck). The head fizzes like soda, and yields two finger's worth of off-white foam. The head has a really nice sandy/gray color, and it's kind of tropical. I guess? In bright light, this beer is clearly a filtered amber/brown color, with spotty carbonation in the form of small bubbles. There's some lacing, and a centimeter of head is loitering like stoners in your parking lot. The head still has that sandy color. 

Now that I'm in a beach mood, I just need my bong and some SPAM. The aroma on this beer is pretty awesome, with toasted coconut, coconut, toasted coconut doughnuts, nuts, nutty, toffee, sweet caramel (with elusive caramel fruitiness), and some hints of grain (with elusive chocolate/creamer/coffee). I'm getting some coconut/rum spirits as well.

The beer follows through with the nose in the taste, only adding a hint of mild hop complexity mid-palate. You get a lot of toasted coconut, toffee, caramel, slight toast, and a ton of nutiness. There's a pleasant and desriable grain note in here, dropping hints of coffee with that fake creamer shit in a styrofoam cup, and elusive nutty chocolate. But the big flavors are the coconut, nutiness, mild hops in the mid-palate, grain, and toast. 

This is fucking good. For a Brown Ale...this really works for me. I killed this six-pack, and I would drink this like water by the beach. This is a legit candidate for a desert island beer. The mouthfeel is medium-light, and there's quite a bit of supporting carbonation. This has a crazy tropical vibe, with big coconut/island water. Blind taste this and tell me you don't think of surf boards and bongs and coconut bikinis. Drinkability is high, palate depth is good, and I'd call this complex. Up front is malt sweetness, coconut, nuttiness, toffee, caramel; this rolls into mild hops, more toasted coconut, toast; the back end is lingering coconut, hints of chocolate, nutiness, and coffee with powder creamer. There's a grainy/coconut backbone. The finish is slightly bitter and dry, with lingering mild hops and coconut.

Divine Bong

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm giving this one a Strong Divine Bong. This is a beer that I want to drink on the beach, and dammit, I would drink this in Hawaii. As far as Brown Ales go...this one is like the gravity bong of weed smoking devices. Does that make sense? You know you should fry that SPAM for the best results. I already did right by this beer, and paired it with sushi. You could also pair this beer with Thai food, or some coconut curry. Mmm...coconut curry. I'm also thinking this beer would be pure, blissful overload, with some coconut cream pie, or even pecan pie. You could also drink it by the sixer, you islander alcoholic, you. I think this was around 10 bucks a 6-pack. That's not bad...I mean Hawaii...that's basically an import, right??!?

Random Thought: You put the lime in the coconut.

Green Flash Barleywine Style Ale

Brewed By: Green Flash Brewing Co. in San Diego, California

Purchased: 22oz bomber from Binny's in Illinois; 2012

Style/ABV: Barleywine, 10.9%

Reported IBUs: 85

It's raining out, with temps between 40 and 50. That might not sound impressive, but it is for the Chicagoland area, especially in January. By tomorrow evening, it's supposed to be back into single digits with a windchill of -4. Today feels like Spring, and tomorrow will feel like Winter. So to embrace this little window of warm weather, I feel compelled to drink a hoppy, West Coast beer. About Green Flash:

Green Flash Brewing has only been around since 2002 and only puts out about 14,000 barrels annually, but they seem to be on the rise. Based out of San Diego, California, Green Flash Brewing Co. was founded by Mike and Lisa Hinkley in 2002 (in Vista, California). The company brews big beers, and focuses on premium styles and traditional styles with modern twists. The company describes their beer as "cutting edge." Since its inception, Green Flash has won a number of awards for their beers, and has already carved an impressive mark in the world of craft beer. For more info, check out their website HERE.

I haven't circlejerked enough about how much I love Green Flash, so I'll say a quick word: I love this brewery. These guys make some really good beer. If you check out Green Flash's beer page, you can get a brief description of their Barleywine Style Ale. This is a giant, hoppy Barleywine, clocking in at 10.9% ABV and pushing 85 IBUs. This beer utilizes a four hour boil to bring out intense caramel malt sweetness, and giant Pacific Northwest hops. When consumed fresh, this beer should feature big toffee and citrus. This beer is also a prime candidate for aging, and should mellow nicely with time. Let's glass this up.

Green Flash Barleywine Style Ale

This one pours a gorgeous amber-red color in low light, with a slightly hazy body, and two fingers of gorgeous amber/tangerine-colored head. I'm already seeing some nice, sticky, clingy lacing, and there are some nice alcohol legs on the side of the glass. At 10.9% AB, I'm impressed with the fat bubbles hanging around the surface, and swirling this kicks up a finger's worth of head. In bright light, the beer takes on a lovely reddish/orange color. You can see lazy, mid-sized bubbles rising up. This beer appears to be slightly hazy. It's a nice looking beer...

...and that aroma. Oh man. This is such a bright and vibrant beer, with sticky and resinous citrus jumping off the nose. I'm getting big pine sap, orange, grapefruit, white grapefruit, tangerine, tropical fruits, floral, and mild hop spice. There's also a big underlying caramel and toffee aroma, with molasses, huge plums, and hints of golden raisins and white/purple grapes. At 10.9%, I'm not really getting booze on the nose.

As far as Barlewines go, this one is bold and assertive. You get a lot of hop kick in this, with big resinous pine and citrus filling in mid-palate. Up front is some big caramel and toffee, and the caramel and toffee remain supportive throughout. The back end features resinous, teeth-crushing bitterness, but it's layered with boozy complexity: plums, raisins, and grapes. There's also a dash of biscuity bread in the back. As the bitterness builds, so does the 10.9%, as I can feel the boozy warming in my chest. I'm getting some grass, big citrus hops, grapefruit, caramel, toffee, biscuit, grapes, raisins, plums, and complex alcohol.  

Fantastico. This beer brings it...this is bold, assertive, features great palate depth, and moderate to high complexity for the style. This is medium-full to full in terms of the mouthfeel, with smooth/creamy carbonation up front, and chewy hops in the back. From smooth, to resinous hop cone in my mouth...the back end is sticky and dry, and maybe a touch woody. It beckons for another sip. And you get some nice warming with the bitterness. Up front is a blast of initial bitterness, and then sweetness: caramel, grapes, plums, sugary citrus; mid palate is more caramel and toffee, with some grassy hops, citrus hops, hints of tropical hops, and burgeoning hop bitterness; the back end is ridiculously resinous, with hints of pine, grape, raisins, booze...and dat finish.

Rating: Divine Brew

Me gusta un Light Divine Brew. At 10.9% ABV, this is a touch too drinkable, in my opinion. Or maybe I'm just an alcoholic... I'm not prepared to call this hop-forward, because I don't think it is. I think this beer is balanced (for the style), it just happens to have a ton of hops. There's also big and complex malt sweetness supporting this beer...and this one should age nicely. But I don't know. I kind of like this one fresh. Full disclaimer: I like this one so much I picked it up twice. I now have something to look forward to every year. I like to sip on my Barleywines over a basketball or football game, but the huge flavors in this would pair well with spicy foods, wings, burgers, whatever...really. And this shit is a bargain. I think a bottle of this was like 6 or 7 bucks. Seriously, buy 3 or 4 of these. Drink a couple fresh, throw one in the cellar for a rainy day.

Random Thought: A rainy day...also, what the hell is going on with Manti Te'o? He has to have been in on it from day one, right? On an unrelated note, I watched Taken 2 this weekend. It was every bit as bad as I expected it to be, but it was also hilarious and cheesy. If you do watch Taken 2...turn it into a drinking game. Take a shot for every forced one-liner that Liam Neeson does, or take a shot every time he kills somebody. You'll thank me later. 

Samuel Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 
Purchased: 22oz bottle from Sam Adam's Small Batch Collection "gift set" [Batch No. 1]; 2012
Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable (Stout), 9.0%

Reported IBUs: 25

Continuing with the Sam Adam's Small Batch Collection series, I felt compelled to crack open a wintry beer to wrap up the night. There's no particular reason. In fact, it was sleeting and icing yesterday, and today is unseasonably warm with rain. It's supposed to be in the 60s tomorrow, with thunderstorms. I guess I should be drinking a warm-weather beer, but I'm feeling that Christmas spirit. Maybe it's because I just watched Die Hard 2. Who knows. About Sam Adams:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info.

Today's beer, The Merry Mischief, is a big, spiced-up, Stout. This beer is described as a "rich dark gingerbread stout," with aromas of the holidays, including cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, & ginger. This beer has a strong Stout base, and is then layered with spices. Clocking in at 9.0% ABV, and packing 25 IBUs, this beer is brewed with pale, wheat, Special B, roasted barley, and flaked oat malts. This beer uses East Kent Goldings and Fuggles hops, and is fermented with ale yeast. In addition to the malts and hops, this beer features cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Let's glass this up, and see how it stacks up.

Samuel Adams Merry Mischief

I'm a little surprised, this one pours pretty legit. In low light, this beer has an impressively dark black body, with just hints of brown on the edges (it's very cola-esque). This one poured with 3-finger's worth of dense, coffee/tan-colored head. The head is creamy and thick. In bright light, the beer is still pretty dark, but you catch hints of ruby red/brown on the edges. Again, it's very cola-esque. You can see nice carbonation in a stream of tiny bubbles, and the head is a really nice coffee color. The head is maintaining nicely, and leaving some clingy lacing. Given how much jerking I'm doing about this beer's appearance, it's safe to say I like it.

The aroma instantly reminds me of Southern Tier's 2XMAS. I'm getting a ton of ginger, gingerbread, mulled wine, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and gingery orange. I'm getting a hint of roast, and maybe a dash of meat; there's also some underlying booze on this beer's aroma (elusive raisins, port wine, cognac). There's also hints of graham cracker and gingerbread cookies. Very nice and complex on the nose...hopefully it follows through in the taste...

This is really rich and sweet, and quite smooth. The flaked oats did good things to this beer. You get big ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg up front, all accompanied with big graham cracker notes. It's like biting into a gingerbread pie. The malts just coat your tongue, followed by ginger tannins and assertive ginger, hints of mild hops, and mulled wine. The carbonation is lazy and laid back, and you get big malts in the back, with hints of chocolate, cream, molasses/caramel, and just super fucking smooth Oatmeal Stout-esque softness. There are some hints of roast, and lots of lingering booze complexity on the back end. The back end is creamy and smooth, and warming. You get lingering cinnamon and ginger in the back, and with the heat, it creates a really pleasant and warming feeling in your chest/tummy.

This is sooooo smooth. So smooth. This is in Sweet Stout or Oatmeal Stout territory, with lazy, unassertive carbonation. At 9.0% ABV, this is drinkable, but it fills the gap nicely; you want to sip this. This is medium-full to full bodied, and rounds out with a malty, spicy, and boozy finish. The finish is also slightly sticky and sweet. Palate depth is surprisingly good, and complexity is very high. Technically, this isn't really a straight up Stout. This is a Spice/Herb/Vegetable beer, or a Christmas/Winter Spiced beer. Having said that....nutmeg, ginger, graham cracker, molasses, and malt sweetness hit you up front; mid palate rolls into some fruity flavors, hop bitterness, ginger; the back end is malt sweetness, hints of oats, chocolate, molasses, cream; the finish is spicy and boozy. 

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on...possibly approaching that Divine Brew. This beer is basically a Spiced/Herb/Vegetable beer taken to the max, using a Stout base. Why not that Divine Brew rating? Mostly because I'm a pussy, and the mulled spices weigh heavy on me over time. This one might be a bit much in the 22oz format, so grab a friend. I also wonder how this beer would taste if the spices were dialed down from 11 to 10, and the Stout base was amped up from 7 or 8 to 10. Nevertheless, this beer is a huge surprise. It's REALLY good. It accomplishes what it (probably) sets out to accomplish very well. I would happily reach for this beer come Christmas time, and this beer is basically Christmas in a bottle (/sigh, it's almost February). Food pairings: pot roast, beef roast, spiced turkey, spiced/glazed ham, Christmas desserts, sweat potato soup, any holiday pie, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner, stuffing, etc.. You can grab a bottle of this for around 7-9 dollars. It's a steal. Grab one.

Random Thought: It's thundering outside, and it's supposed to reach 60...and then in two days we are supposed to be back into the teens. That's Chicago for you. 

Beer Here Dark Hops

Brewed By: Beer Here in De Proef, Lochristi, Belgium (De Proefbrouwerij)
Purchased: 1 Pint, .9oz (16.9oz) bought at Binny's in IL; 2012 

Style/ABV: Black IPA, 8.5%

Reported IBUs: 80
"Hops were harmed in the production of this beer." 

I wish I spoke Danish or German, because it would make my life a hell of a lot easier. Today, I'm looking at a beer brewed by "the guy," at Beer Here. Beer Here is (or was?) a Danish brewery, based out of Køge, Denmark. The brewery was founded and is run by Christian Andersen Skovdal, the previous brewer at the Ølfabrikken (The Beer Factory) microbrewery. According to THIS ARTICLE, Christian left Ølfabrikken to start Beer Here in 2008. Beer Here contract brews their beer, while Christian masterminds the brews. Hence why I said the brewery may have been based out of Køge.

Tonight's beer, the Dark Hops, is contract brewed at De Proefbrouwerij. You can get the breakdown on the Dark Hops HERE. The Dark Hops is described as a "stout as hoppy as an IPA." This beer is brewed with Maris Otter malt, smoked malt, British specialty malts, and sugar cane. The beer is hopped with Zeus and Czech Saaz hops. Clocking in at 8.5%, this is a big beer. There's a PDF on the beer, which can be found HERE. The PDF outlines slightly different ingredients, stating that this is brewed with Maris Otter malts, malted rye, roasted barley, brown malt; and then hopped with American Columbus hops. Either way, this beer still clocks in at 8.5%, and packs 80 IBUs. This beer is unpasteurized, unfiltered, and bottle-conditioned. You can age this for 3-5 years.

I sometimes laugh at the dumb hop puns that breweries use for their beer names, but I think "Dark Hops" is pretty fucking clever. Especially considering that the Black IPA is still somewhat elusive, and was even more so when Dark Hops first arrived on the market. So props to Beer Here for that one. Let's glass this up and see what we got.

Beer Here Dark Hops

This one pours a swampy brown-purple color, with a super hazy/swampy body. I kicked up 5-fingers of creamy, thick, foamy head. The head is tan, with a bready color. In bright light, the body of this beer is juicy/swampy/murky as fuck. It's like scooping out a cup of muddy swamp water. It's like a purple-brown Bloody Mary. You can see carbonation in the form of tiny, tiny bubbles. The head is quite creamy, and sustaining nicely. It has a cream soda/root beer color. There's lacing, duh. I'm a big fan of these murky, unfiltered beers. It's like an adventure in a glass...crickey.

The aroma on this is dank hemp, resinous hops, roast, hints of coffee, a bready backbone, and TONS of sugar. I'm getting a lot of candi sugar, molasses, and some sugary rye. There's a floral thing going on with the hops as well, with hints of mint, pine, and citrus.

It seems both fitting, and ironic, to serve this in an Arrogant Bastard glass. This is a very palatable and balanced Black IPA, with a creamy and smooth mouthfeel. I'm getting a lot of pine, citrus, and grapefruit on the back end of this. You get some of the resinous and dank hops up front, with hints of hemp and tobacco. The middle rolls into roast, and there's a coffee-roast thing throughout. As the bitterness grows, I pick up some more hop resin, bitter dark chocolate, and the beer really coats the palate well. There's an underlying alcohol complexity going on here, with hints of raisins and figs, and a boozy abyss. At 8.5%, this is a big beer.

This is lighter than I was expecting at 8.5%...less hoppy and resinous than I was expecting (especially for 80 IBUs!)...fairly smooth and drinkable; supported by lots of carbonation..and yet, there is a growing and underlying complexity that drives this beer. There's a lot going on here. First off, palate depth is great. This is medium-full to full-bodied, but retains drinkability (so be careful...8.5% and all). But the complexity is outstanding. Up front is roast, chocolate, coffee...and then you get kissed by hemp, tobacco, resinous/piney hops, a hint of mint; the hops hang out in the middle, with bitter citrus, grapefruit, coffee; the back end is lingering bitter, and then opens back up with roast, chocolate, coffee. The finish is woody and dry as hell. As all of the above is going on, there is an underlying boozy complexity driving this beer, with dashes of figs and raisins and spice. There's also a bit of grain and bread as the backbone.

Rating: Above-Average

Is that what you want?

I gotta go with a Lite Above-Average on this. I was leaning towards Average, but this really won me over with all the stuff going on. I wish the hops were a little more prominent and resinous, but the tradeoff is that this beer features a really nice hops vs. malt balance, has tons of complexity, and makes the alcohol work in its favor. Oh, and this shit is super drinkable. This is a dangerous beer at 8.5%. Food pairings? You know, this is basically an IPA with the added dimensions of roast, chocolate, and coffee. You could pair this with anything, really. This beer is bitter enough to stand up to strong foods and big spices, so I could see this working with spicy chicken and rice, Mexican food, pizza, really hot and spicy wings, ribs, etc. The cost of this was reasonable at around 7 or 8 bucks a bottle.

Random Thought: I actually bought this beer twice. I picked up a bottle of this, and during the trip between my upstairs and downstairs, I dropped the bottle...only to watch it shatter into 20 pieces and spill delicious beer everywhere. The loss of beer is a tragedy, but the real suck-ass is cleaning up spilled beer. I can't imagine spilling thousands of gallons of beer at a brewery (which happens frequently enough). Because that's how you get ants.

Green Flash Rayon Vert

Brewed By: Green Flash Brewing Co. in San Diego, California

Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from a 4-pack from Binny's in Illinois; 2012

Style/ABV: Belgian Pale Ale, 7.0%

Reported IBUs: 32

How do you make West Coast hops more exciting? Add wild yeast! About Green Flash:

Green Flash Brewing has only been around since 2002 and only puts out about 14,000 barrels annually, but they seem to be on the rise. Based out of San Diego, California, Green Flash Brewing Co. was founded by Mike and Lisa Hinkley in 2002 (in Vista, California). The company brews big beers, and focuses on premium styles and traditional styles with modern twists. The company describes their beer as "cutting edge." Since its inception, Green Flash has won a number of awards for their beers, and has already carved an impressive mark in the world of craft beer. For more info, check out their website HERE.

Likely inspired by Orval, Rayon Vert is a hoppy, Belgian Pale Ale, brewed with the wild yeast, Brettanomyces. You can read up on the Rayon Vert on Green Flash's beer page. The beer features bold hops, and is bottle conditioned with live Brett. This beer will continue to evolve/ferment in the bottle, and should pick up some nice funk as it ages. Clocking in at 7.0% ABV, and packing 32 IBUs, let's see how this stacks up.

Green Flash Rayon Vert

Unless you pour this beer at really cold temps, you are going to kick up a huge head. For those reasons, I recommend going with an oversized glass. I babied this beer, and gave it a super gentle pour...only to wind up with 5-fingers-plus of off-white head. In low light, the head takes on a yellowish color, and is built out of super airy, dense, cloudy foam. The body of the beer is a hazy orange color in low light. In bright light, this beer is a juicy orange color. The head remains off-white, with a slight orange/yellow tint. You can see peppery carbonation bubbles in this, but the body of this beer is murky as hell....which you would expect with a bottle conditioned Brett beer. Head retention is spectacular, and there is some epic lacing.

A beer is supposed to take you places, and the aroma on this beer does. I'm instantly reminded of the Bam Bière, or even Orval. This beer takes you to a grassy field, on a windy summer afternoon. I'm getting a ton of grass, leafs, floral hops, fresh light citrus (lemongrass, mandarin orange, coriander), and some pineapple. There is a hint of malts, and earthy, peppery spice on the nose. And I'm getting some really nice Brett: barnyard, horse blanket, funk, slight wood (but NOT like a barrel or sauna). The aroma is really fresh, lively, and bright.

The taste mimics the nose, but then piles on a layer of slightly sour and musty basement-funk Brett. I'm also picking up some clove in the taste, along with some soapy bitterness on the back end (from the hops? the Brett?). This is smooth, and rolls into a biscuit-grain backbone; you get funky Brett, barnyard, grass, pineapple, light citrus, and then the back end rolls into dry hops, light peppery spice, and fade to soapy bitterness. The finish is quite dry and musty.

This is very smooth, funky, and dry. The beer is supported by moderate carbonation. The moutfeel is medium-full to full, but the bright hops make this beer very drinkable at 7.0% ABV. You could easily drink a few of these in one session. Palate depth is good, and complexity is fairly high. What's impressive (and important to consider) is that this beer will continue to age and change down the road. This is going to taste much different fresh. Up front is smooth citrus that rolls into biscuit-grain; you then get funky and musty Brett, barnyard, grass, citrus; the back end starts bitter, teases with light peppery spice, and fades to soapy bitter. The back end is quite dry and features basement must/funk.

Rating: Divine Brew

This is a for realz a Light Divine Brew. Where to start? How about the price. A 4-pack of this is cheap (around 10-12 dollars). This is also readily available. This also "continuously evolves." This shit will change in the bottle, and develop a personality as the years fly by. How long can you age this for? It's hard to say...but my guess is this will be interesting in 2 years, and maybe even 5. Who knows, maybe go longer. The point is, like Orval, this is an impressive beer. The hops and the Brett work well together, and the beer features a nice marriage of Brett funk and bright hops. If you like your beers hoppy, drink this fresh. Food pairings: obviously, this would work with a myriad of strong cheeses. You could also pair this with gamey meats...anything that benefits from pepper, or grassy citrus. I bet this would also work with a variety of white fish, specifically fish that benefits from lemon and pepper. You could even go with lightly seasoned pork roast. It's  kind of in that Saison wheelhouse. 

Random Thought: I'd love to move to the West Coast someday. For the record, I want the 49ers to win the Super Bowl. I have nothing against the Ravens...in fact, if the Ravens win it, I won't be mad. That would be a hell of a story. I just love Kaepernick. The dude is fun to watch.

Goose Island Big John (2012)

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Binny's in IL; 2012 (bottled 12/07/12)

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 11.5% 

Reported IBUs: 60 

As I notch yet another Goose Island Stout into writing, or on my belt, or wherever...I have to laugh at the randomness and availability of the 2012 Bourbon County Stout. At least for us Chicago folk. I was at the Jewel-Osco on Ashland the other day (by no means a special store), when I found a few 4-packs of Bourbon County Stout, along with some bottles of Madame Rose. Seriously, what's up with that? It's January 22nd, and BCBS is still showing up in random stores. About Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2012, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

I'm normally not one to open what will -- hopefully -- be a dessert beer, on a random Tuesday night. But it's as cold as ice out there, as Chicago finally decided to have a winter. So I'm kind of in the mood for a big, filling, warming, black....Imperial Stout. This is that, and not...that.

As we've covered, Goose Island takes their base Stout (their Cook County Stout), and puts it in Bourbon Barrels, or dry hops it, or ages it with cacao nibs. Inspired by the epic Chicago Skyline, or more specifically, the John Hancock, the Big John features tons of roasted malt and cacao nibs that provide massive chocolate flavor and aroma. You can get all the vitals on Goose Island's Big John page. Clocking in at 11.5% ABV, and packing 60 IBUs, this beer uses Columbus hops, and is brewed with 2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roasted Barley, and De-bittered Black malts. The bottle label says: "Develops in the bottle for up to 1 year." You can probably age this for longer, at the risk of the cacao flavors dropping out. Let's glass this up and see what we got.

Goose Island Big John

This beer pours ink-black; dark as night; the DARK KNIGHT. Really, it looks like BCS. What differentiates this from BCS is that you get a pinky's worth of dark, coffee-brown head, and the head hangs around for a bit. The head features some nice bubbles, and as it drops away, you are left with a nice hazy-brown cauldron effect. You also get that brown ring. This has some nice alcohol legs, and features clingy lacing. Swirling the beer kicks up some head. In bright light, I catch glimpses of brown on the edges, but this is a pretty ominous and opaque lookin' Stout.

The aroma on this is helping me put the Night Stalker into perspective. It sorts of makes sense. I'm getting a lot of anise, black licorice, and dark fruits on the nose. When I swirl the beer, I kick up some big roast aromas and some big chocolate. What's really interesting, however, is the HUGE umami aroma I'm getting. I couldn't quite place my finger on this with the Night Stalker...but I'm getting it big here. I'm getting big mushrooms on this, hints of soy, and just an "umami" thing. I'm also picking up on some char. 

Oh man...the taste on this is really nice. At first you get sharp roast, hints of dark fruits, dark fruits...and then BAM. This blows up the chocolate and roast, with underlying alcohol complexity. There's a big chocolate-cacao-mushroom thing driving this beer, with hints of soy and mushroom on the finish. If you let this beer sit on your tongue, and move your tongue through it, you get thick chocolate syrup, melted chocolate, milk chocolate turning into more bitter chocolate, nice roast, and some anise and booze in the back. I'm also picking up on some hints of coffee, and some molasses...usual suspects. 

This is super thick and oily. We're talking milkshake thick. This is a full-bodied beer, with excellent palate depth, and big complexity. This has light carbonation, and has a sticky/sugary/oily finish. At 11.5% ABV, this is surprisingly drinkable, but this is definitely more of a sipper. Maybe share a bomber with a friend? Up front is coffee, roast, chocolate, dark fruits; this rolls into dark fruits, anise, chocolate, big roast, bitter chocolates, and hints of soy; the back end is soy, roast, mushroom, lingering coffee, and fade to sticky, bitter, and dry...boozy complexity throughout.

Rating: Above-Average

I gotta go with a Lite Above-Average on this. I'm really enjoying this, and unlike the Night Stalker, I think all the right pieces fell into place here. For a beer brewed with cacao, this is surprisingly balanced and complex (and boozy in the right way). Unlike say...a Southern Tier offering...this is more subtle, and has a lot going on. The umami thing is great. I'm getting mushrooms, soy sauce...I would pair this beer with an aggressive burger with an aggressive cheese, steak and mushrooms, salty pretzels dipped in chocolate, or a cigar with woody flavors. Considering that bombers of this beer cost around 10 dollars, this is a steal. I don't know if I would age this...drink this one fresh, camp on the Night Stalker. 

Random Thought: I have an Untappd account now, bitches. Finally, my stream of consciousness...bigger than ma bank roll: https://untappd.com/user/adhdjon

Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from a 4-pack, bought at Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 10.2%

Reported IBUs: 60

Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sierra Nevada hasn't been messing around this year, dropping some really nice beer with their Ruthless Rye and 2012 Bigfoot. Today's beer is another down to business beer; a big ol' 10.2% Imperial Stout. In case you aren't familiar with the social news website Reddit, you should check it out. They have pictures of cats and boobs and other cool shit. Reddit is broken down into "subreddits." A subreddit is basically a forum with a specific theme. Reddit has a picture subreddit, a gaming subreddit, and a beer subreddit. You can find the beer subreddit at Reddit.com/r/beer. Why is any of this relevant?

Because the folks at /r/beer were jizzing their pants over the release of the Narwhal Stout. The Narwhal is a famous Reddit avatar, logo, and character. "The Reddit Narwhal." So -- of course -- the denizens of /r/beer had to try tonight's beer. I happen to be one of those denizens of Reddit and /r/beer, but I didn't have any particular plans to buy this beer.

I stumbled upon this beer on accident. I was looking for some beer to drink while playing poker at the girlfriend's house. I went to the liquor store, saw this beer, and said, "why the fuck not?" And so it came to be. As you may recall, I really enjoyed the Narwhal Stout. I enjoyed it so much, I drank 3 bottles in about 90 minutes, along with a bunch of other beer. And I had a badddd hangover. I guess the moral of this story is...Reddit likes Narwhals, Narwhals give me hangovers, and I should spend less time on Reddit. 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.

The Narwhal Stout is part of the brewery's "high altitude" beers. If you roll over to the Narwhal page, you can get info on it. The beer is described as having notes of espresso, baker's cocoa, roasted grain, and smoke. The beer is brewed with Magnum and Challenger hops, and features Two-row Pale, Caramel, Chocolate, Honey, Carafa, and Roasted Barley malts. Clocking in at 10.2% ABV and packing 60 IBUs, this is a massive Imperial Stout, even by extreme craft beer standards. Let's get this into a glass, and see what's up.

Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout

This pours ink black, with a thick viscous body. The head begrudgingly and slowly forms, cascading into a finger's worth of dark, coffee-brown foam. The head is thick and creamy, and clings with good lacing. At 10.2%, you get alcohol legs on this. In bright light, this beer is still impressively dark, and the head is still coffee-brown. The head is sustaining nicely, which leads me to believe this has good carbonation.

The aroma is a really smooth blast of strong roast, chocolate, and hints of meaty smoke. I'm pulling out hints of complex alcohol and booze, boozy dark fruits, raisins, chocolate and cocoa, and some hints of bright hops. (some people are saying they smell licorice; I'm getting raisins and hops). I also get some coffee, and just really nice roast. You get a hint of campfire, but not much.

This is a boozy and hoppy Imperial Stout. This has a ton of boozy complexity, with hints of licorice, bourbon, and even some spice. I'm tasting a lot of roast, grain, and even some tar. This is also quite bitter, with piney and bitter hops driving the back half of this beer. The hops build as you drink this as well. The hops in tandem with the dark roasted malts almost give this beer a Black IPA kind of vibe. There are moments where I'm getting that roast-hop-anise thing you often find in Cascadian/Black IPAs. The giant alcohol presence only reinforces this fact. In fact...the more I drink this, the more I feel like this blurs the line between Stout and Black IPA. I am getting some really solid coffee notes and espresso in this beer, and this drinks really damn smooth for 10.2%.

Yup...smooth, creamy, supported by light carbonation, and pretty damn bitter...this is easy-drinking at 10.2%. I should know, I put down three of these in less than 90 minutes. It may have even been less than an hour. The mouthfeel on this is full, with moderate palate depth for the style, and big complexity. The complexity in this comes from the big hops and the booze. Up front is roast, coffee, espresso, and bitter chocolate; this rolls into intense bitterness, fading roast, burgeoning hops and pine; big anise; the finish is lingering anise/licorice, coffee, hop bitterness. Big dry finish.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. This is a fantastic beer, especially from the Sierra Nevada wheelhouse. Maybe unsurprisingly, this beer favors big hops. The boozy complexity (and 10.2% ABV) is a bit of a shock, and to that I say: "Bravo!" I'm serious! This beer has big complexity thanks to the huge hop and alcohol presence. This should be fun to age, and you certainly would do right by picking up two 4-packs; one to drink fresh, and one to drink down the road. Being so bitter, I would pair this with sweet chocolate cake, a burger, ribs (as per SN's website), or a pork sandwich. I think a 4-pack of this was around 9-12 bucks. Not bad.

Random Thought: This one is really pushing the line between Stout and Black IPA. Ultimately, the Narwhal Stout still seems to tip towards roast, but this also has a huge hop thing going on. Thankfully, beer style guidelines are like Manti Te'o's girlfriend. They don't real.

Pipeworks End of Days (Batch #62)

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #62, red wax) bought at Binny's in IL; 2012 

Style/ABV: Milk/Sweet Stout, 8.2%
Reported IBUs: ?

Alright! I'm getting the best of both worlds tonight. After drinking Revolution's Mad Cow, which was a supped up Milk Stout, and Sam Adams' The Vixen Chocolate Chili Bock, I'm ready to embrace a chili-infused Milk Stout. Thankfully....Pipeworks delivered. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. At one point - and maybe still - the goal was the release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Pipework's End Of Days was brewed to commemorate the end of the world...and this beer is totally appropriate. Why, you ask? Because the Mayans liked chocolate and chilies, and made chocolate drink. The back of the bottle states:

"End of Days is our tribute to the coming of the end... of the Mayan calendar! We've aged this milk stout with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and ancho chilies. The result is a rich chocolaty stout, with just a hint of spice. We hope you'll enjoy this beer before the End of Days."   

One final note of interest...this beer doesn't have the usual warning about being bottle conditioned, which leads me to wonder if it is not. Hmm. 

End of Days (Batch #62)

This one pours surprisingly dark, and has a rapidly dissolving, thin/sickly looking head. The head had a coffee-brown color, but faded into a bit of a lighter color as it went away. I'm reminded quite a bit of SKA's Autumnal Mole Stout. When held to a bright light, this beer is still ink-black, with a nice brown head that you can kick up by swirling the beer. There's a ton of microscope bubbles providing carbonation for this beer, and a ring of brown is sticking to the sides of the glass. Really, this is sexy stuff.

I really like the aroma on this, and I'm reminded (again) of SKA's Autumnal Mole Stout...only with more of that Sweet Stout base. I'm getting roast, lactose-roast, leather, earthy chilies, green chilies, cinnamon, chili spice, and earthy cocoa and chocolate. This one has some really earthy smells, with that leather-chili-almost dirt thing going on. Maybe coffee?

Oh dang...full disclaimer, I love chili. This beer is spicy! I'm getting some mad chili on the back of this thing. Up front is some chocolate, vanilla, cocoa, and coffee...this rolls into lactose-vanilla-coffee, and then bam! I'm getting firey chili spice, cinnamon, mole sauce, dirt, ash, spent coffee, and some impressive chili heat down the back of my throat. The chili heat is amazing, with some nacho-jalapeno-salt kick. This is smooth, but features flat carbonation, and some slight sticky on the finish. 

This beer makes me happy, and fuck the haters. But I gravitate towards overly spicy food. This is smooth, slightly creamy, and dense...but features flat carbonation, and transitions into tingly chili goodness. Mouthfeel is medium-full to full. The palate depth on this is good, with solid chilies hanging around in the finish, and complexity is moderate to high. At 8.2%, I could drink this all night long. Up front is coffee, roast, chocolate, vanilla, a hint of dark fruit, lactose; the middle starts with lactose, then cinnamon, then dirt, ash, hints of smoke, fire; the back end is cinnamon, chili spice, and some nice chili heat. Slightly sticky; slight alcohol on the finish; definite chili heat.

Rating: Divine Brew

This is fan-fucking-tastic, and is surely a Light Divine Brew. I've heard that previous batches didn't have the body to support all the stuff going on here, but Batch #62 is a big boy Stout. This is one of the better things I've had from Pipeworks, but I'm biased in that I love spicy food. You get mad mole flavors and mad chili flavors in this, and I just want to pair this with some chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, a churro with chocolate dipping sauce, chili, assorted Mexican food, a pork sandwich, or anything that works with chilies/mole. Solid stuff.

Random Thought: I am biased as hell, so take that for what it is...also, this is quite the "Milk Stout." I'm curious what the recipe for this beer is prior to the addition of the vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, chili peppers, and cinnamon.

Yuengling Traditional Lager

Brewed By: Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 12-pack that was gifted to me; not sure where it was purchased (possibly Oh hi, Oh!); 2012
Style/ABV: Pale Lager, 4.4%, 4.9%? Who knows.

Reported IBUs: ?

WIKKKKKIIIIPPPPPEEEEEEDOOOOOO

A review of Yuengling Traditional Lager? Why? Because....it's Tuesday, and I was getting that itch. For...Shitty Beer Tuesday! Except, I don't know if it's fair to throw Yuengling Brewery into the ring. According to Wikpezza, Yuengling is tied with the Boston Beer Company as the largest American-owned brewery. Oh, and Yuengling is America's oldest brewery. According to Wiiiiipedia, it's pronounced "Ying-Ling. That's German for "young man," and not Chinese import for "shitty to average beer." Oh, and their logo is an Eagle. According to WIIIIIZZZZZZARRDPEDIA.

I usually do the history on the breweries, but Wiki-wiki-stylie has a pretty decent breakdown. But so does the Yuengling website. I guess the story starts with David G. Yuengling, who immigrated from Wurttenberg, Germany to live in the coal-mining town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania. In 1829, David decided to open the Eagle Brewery, only to see it burned down by a fire two years later. David decided to build a new brewery, and in 1873 the brewery changed its name to D.G. Yuengling & Son to commemorate the partnership between David and his son, Frederick. The next 20 years were a bit of a drag; in 1877 David Yuengling died, and in 1899 Frederick Yuengling died. The brewery was then passed on  to Frederick's son, Frank. During prohibition, the brewery survived by selling "near beer," or according to HARRRY UR A WIZZZZZARRRRD, low-alcohol beer. Following the passing of Frank D. Yuengling in 1963, the brewery was survived by Richard L. and F. Dohrman. In 1985, Richard L. Yuengling Jr. purchased the company and became the president, and during the 1990s and early 2000s, the brewery saw massive expansion. In 2010, Yuengling surpassed 2 million barrels. Yuengling continues to grow, and is one of America's most popular breweries. For more info, check out the Yuengling history page, or go to WIKIKIKIKIKI.

Yuengling makes a number of beers, but their flagship is definitely their Traditional Lager. The Yuengling website has this to say about their Traditional Lager: "famous for its rich amber color and medium-bodied flavor -- with roasted caramel malt for a subtle sweetness and a combination of cluster and cascade hops, this true original delivers a well-balanced taste with very distinct character." The paraphrased version is 'something something you can drink 12 in one night and piss excellence.' Let's glass this up.

Not Shitty Beer Tuesday??? #8: Yuengling Traditional Lager

Balla...I have no respect.

This beer, mad skills. The beer pours with 3-fingers of amber tinted head, and a transparent, filtered body that is copper/amber. When held to a bright light, the beer has a nice dark copper/amber color. There's some head hanging around, picking up 'dem copper tones, and leaving some respectable lacing. You can see the carbonation in the form of mid-sized bubbles. Eye of an eagle.

For a lighter Lager, this has a solid aroma profile. Would smell again. You get some bread/biscuit, cereal, and honey. This is mostly malt, but rounds out with some floral and earthy hop aromas. Maybe a dash of grass or lemon.

This is fairly crisp, refreshing  and drinkable. You do get some cereal graininess in the taste, along with a hint of bread/toast, and there is some nice grass/light lemon hop kick to clean things up. This has a bit of that "harshness" going on, like you would find in a English Ale with hard water. There's that touch of mineral/sulfur. 

Refreshing...drinkable...smooth and creamy, and supported by lively carbonation, this is a beer that beckons you to have more than one. Or maybe that's just the alcoholism talking. This is light-bodied, has decent complexity for the style, and has good palate depth. This sort of reminds me of a Kölsch or a Dortmunder. Up front is refreshing, cereal, grains; this rolls into hints of fruit, grassy hops; the finish is honey, lingering cereal, sweet malts. A touch dry? But refreshing.

WIKICHHHEEEEEEETTTTTTTAAAAAAHHHH

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. This PROBABLY doesn't belong on Shitty Beer Tuesday, but I'm not a calender wizard. It's Tuesday!!! There's not a lot going on here, but there isn't a lot to complain about. This doesn't have any skunk, and you get some solid malt goodness and some solid hop balance. But you know that. I mean, why am I even reviewing this? Exactly. Food pairings: the bar, the food at the bar, the skank you pick up at the bar, the bouncer you punch at the b....wait, this isn't Stella. 

Random Thought: According to WIKICHHHEEEEEEETTTTTTTAAAAAAHHHH, Yuengling is the oldest brewery in America. DO YOU UNDERSTAND. THEY ARE AMERICA'S OLDEST BREWERY. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION. WIKIAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH.

Samuel Adams The Vixen Chocolate Chili Bock

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 
Purchased: 22oz bottle from Sam Adam's Small Batch Collection "gift set" [Batch No. 2]; 2012
Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable (Bock), 8.5%

Reported IBUs: 20

I didn't ask for much this Christmas, so I was surprised to unwrap the Small Batch Collection "gift set," which was a nice treat. Mi familia knows me well. The Small Batch Collection features "limited release beers" that are slightly more experimental or unique in nature, and may or may not be brewed again. About Sam Adams:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info.

Today's beer, The Vixen, is a Chocolate Chili Bock brewed with cinnamon, spices, and cocoa nibs. I'm hoping this beer fares better than their Chocolate Bock. The Vixen is described as smooth and rich, with a touch of sweetness and spicy heat. This beer is brewed with 2-row pale malt, Munich, Caramel 60, and Weyermann Carafa I malts; it also uses Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops. But the real allure to this beer is the fact that it is aged on a bed of cocoa nibs from Ecuador, and then ancho and chipotle chilies are added, along with spices and cinnamon. Let's glass this up, and see what's going on.

The Vixen Chocolate Chili Bock

In low light, the beer pours a dark brown color, with two fingers of thick, creamy, light tan/khaki head. When held to a bright light, the body of the beer is a reddish-brown color. This beer is transparent and filtered, and features good carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles. Head retention on this is pretty nice, and I'm kicking up head as I swirl this (classy, I know). You get some clingy lacing, and some alcohol legs. (seriously, it's been like 10 minutes now, and there is still a centimeter of head hanging around)....

The aroma on this is pretty clean and mild...I'm getting chocolate, cocoa, molasses, powdered cream (the stuff you dump in your coffee if you suck), hints of coffee, hints of dark fruits (plums mainly), caramel, and maybe hints of floral and bread. I'm not getting a whole lot of spice or chili on the nose.

Well, this is not the Chocolate Bock. This tastes fairly rich, and has reasonable density (which you expect at 8.5% ABV). You get chocolate and cocoa up front, along with molasses and caramel, and hints of plums and raisins. I'm getting very subtle chili flavors on the back end, with hints of chili spice and cinnamon. As I continue to drink this, the spice starts to creep up into the front of the palate, and it compliments the chocolate in a very nice and subtle way.

Everything that wasn't fun about the Chocolate Bock is improved here. This has a fuller and denser mouthfeel; this is a medium-full beer, supported by tingly carbonation, and a peppery/cinnamon/chili backbone. Palate depth is average, and complexity is moderate. At 8.5%, this is very drinkable. Up front is chocolate, mocha, cocoa, molasses, hints of coffee and powdered cream; this rolls into more sweetness, raisins, plums; the back end terminates with lingering cocoa sweetness, and a hint of chili and cinnamon. As you drink this, the chili and cinnamon starts to creep towards the front palate, but it never grabs hold to dominate this beer.

Rating: Average

I'm feeling a Strong Average here. This is a nice improvement over the Chocolate Bock, and adds a much-needed layer of complexity. Still, I wish the chili and cinnamon were a touch more assertive, and this isn't the most complex beer in the world. But this is a really solid beer in many ways, and I could see myself trying to mix this in with some chili. I would pair this with chili, or a burger, or go the complete opposite direction and drop a scoop of ice cream in this float style...I bet that would be delicious. This is pretty solid stuff, and MUCH better than the Chocolate Bock. Recommended...especially if you can snag it for less than 8 or 9 dollars.

Random Thought: Time to go watch the Denver vs. Baltimore game....I'm conflicted, I like to cheer for the underdog, but I want to see Manning face off against Brady in the Championship game.