Jackie O's Pub & Brewery Oil of Aphrodite

Brewed By: Jackie O's Pub & Brewery in Athens, Ohio  

Purchased: 375ml/12.7oz single bottle bought at And Beer in Athens, Ohio; 2014 

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

It's cold out, and it is snowing. AKA, the perfect night to crack into a big Imperial Stout. About Jackie O's Pub & Brewery:

Jackie O's is a brewery and brewpub based out of Athens, Ohio. The brewery was founded in 2007 by Art Oestrike and his friend, and brew master, Brad Clark. In 2012 when the production facility expanded, brew master Sean White joined the company. For more info, check out their website or Facebook.

The bottle for the Oil of Aphrodite reads: "Oil of Aphrodite is an American double stout brewed with locally harvested black walnuts and Belgian candied syrup. English, German, American and Belgian malts are accompanied by pacific northwest hops, creating a sweet and rich springboard for deep nuttiness. Share with friends and loved ones. " 

Jackie O's Pub & Brewery Oil of Aphrodite

This pours into your typical Stout body: opaque black, dark mocha brown head. The head that this kicks up is impressive, and there is good retention and lacing.

This has a fantastic aroma, with notes of dark caramel sugars, Belgian candy sugar, hardened sugar candies, molasses, raisins, fruit cake, banana bread, and a Christmas bake shop. There are hints of nuttiness on the aroma, and when you really get your nose into the beer to give it a smell, you pick up some coffee, roast, and hints of chocolate. There is an ashy thickness about this beer, and it reminds me a bit of Evil Twin's Even More Jesus. 

Wow, this is an interesting beer. First off, this is a sweet beer. There's a lot of sugar in here, from the intense and large Stout base, to the sticky citrusy hops, to the big Belgian candy sugar notes. This gets a lot better as it warms up, dropping molasses, sweet citrus, rich chocolate, some coffee/ash/roast, and tons of nuttiness on the back end. This really ratchets up the walnut/nut thing in the rear. 

This is a thick, sweet, sipping beer. My kind of beer. It is full-bodied, with good carbonation, good palate depth and duration, and medium complexity. At 10.0%, I'm not getting a ton of alcohol. What I am getting, however, are a fair amount of pungent and strong hops. This drops Belgian candy sugars, molasses, and some chocolate/coffee up front; that rolls into intense sweetness, with nuttiness, huge hops, citrus; the back end finishes with nuttiness, lingering hops, big walnuts, molasses, some earthy ash, and a sticky sweet finish. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this beer. This is big and bold, but it's a bit sweet and unbalanced. Maybe that is the goal. I feel like the candy sugar could add a bit more nuance, I don't know. Maybe that's just me. As I sip on this even longer, I'm starting to get some dark fruits: cherries, plums, Quad-like notes. It's all really nice, but I think if they threw this in a barrel it would go over the top. Food pairings: ice cream and dry cakes. 

Random Thought: Woah a twofer. Yup.

Gnarly Oak Hazelnut Dark

Brewed By: Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin  

Purchased: 22oz bomber from an $8 dollar gift set bought at Walgreens in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Amber Ale, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 24

Hazelnuts? Yarrr. After last night's mediocre Minhas offering, I'm happy to crack open tonight's beer and put this one to bed. About Minhas: 

Minhas is the oldest continually operating brewery in the Midwest, and the second oldest brewery in the United States. As you can see from the brewery's history page, the brewery has been owned by many different people, and rebranded numerous times. The brewery began in 1845 as the Monroe Brewery when it was opened by Mr. Bissinger. In 1906, the brewery changed its name to the Blumer Brewing Company. And in 1947, the brewery was purchased by Joseph Huber and the brewery became known as the Joseph Huber Brewing Company. In 2005, the Minhas Family purchased the brewery, and in 2006 the brewery changed its name to the Minhas Craft Brewery. For more info, check out the brewery's website. 

The Hazelnut Dark is billed as an "Ale brewed with natural hazelnut flavor." The bottle says: "Hazelnut Dark is a reddish amber ale that has an impeccable balance between its carapils and caramel roasted malts and centennial hops. We add just a touch of hazelnut to give a rich nutty flavor and aroma." I can only hope the hazelnut flavoring added to this beer isn't artificial and crappy.

Gnarly Oak Hazelnut Dark

The Hazelnut Dark pours into an orange/amber body. The body seems mostly transparent, and some streams of small to mid-sized carbonation are visible. The beer kicked up three fingers of amber-tinted head, and that has dropped into a consistent pinky of head. There is lacing if you swirl the beer, and the beer is bright orange when held to a bright light.

The aroma here is actually a bit of a departure from the Winter Bock and Chocolate Stout. I'm getting big Carapils malts and cereal grains on the nose, malt sweetness and fruity molasses, coffee, and hazelnut. There's a slightly buttery quality to the hazelnut aroma...and I'm getting some Cream Ale vibes from this.

This tastes a lot like a moderately hoppy Brown/Amber Ale spiked with hazelnut. The hazelnut doesn't taste too artificial...but there's a slight burnt and butter thing going on in here. Otherwise, I'm getting lots of toast, bread, unprocessed Carapils (which are fucking delicious so whatever), pretty clean hop notes that are floral and spicy, and lots of hazelnut. The hazelnut has some nutty and coffee character. This is actually okay.

As is the trend...this one is medium-bodied and probably a bit too heavy for 5.5%. BUT, you can forgive it because of the bitterness and carbonation that balances things out. This isn't even that hoppy, but the toasted character and Carapils provide additional bitterness. It's drinkable. The palate depth is good, and the complexity is aight. Up front: sweet molasses, hazelnut, and then some toast; the mids hit floral/spicy hops, toast, Carapils, and the beer cleans up; the back features lingering hops, and this one finishes dry and clean. It's almost like they used analytics and shit to brew a beer that has some thought and balance. They probably used BeerSmith for this. 

Rating: Strong Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. I like this...I would buy this again if it came in a 6-pack or if I could find single bombers for three dollars. I can't overlook the slightly burnt/buttery aroma, but in terms of the taste, this is definitely the most balanced of the Gnarly Oak beers. This beer has some nuance and progression. There are things like sugars, malts, and then hops. And when you combine them the right way, you get things like a nice palate progression and balance. I dunno. Whatever. Don't care. Food pairings: American bar food, chicken satay, ribs, pulled pork, pork, anything with pine nuts, YARRR

Random Thought: And that concludes my little $8 Walgreens adventure. All-in-all, not a bad deal....I've spent more than $8 on a single 12oz bottle of beer.

Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar

Brewed By: Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon  

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 6.2%

Reported IBUs: 33

I had no plans to pick this one up but it caught my GF's eye so yeah woo. Beer. About Rogue:

Rogue has been around forever, and if their beer was more widely available, and not so damn expensive, I'd probably drink more of their stuff. The brewery was founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon by Jack Joyce, Bob Woodell, Rob Strasser, and home brewer Jeff Schultz. Due to increasing space and distribution limitations, Jack Joyce went searching in Newport for a location for the new Rogue pub. It was at this time that he met Mohave Niem, founder of Mo's Clam Chowder. She offered Jack space to brew in her building, and in 1989 the Bay Front Brew Pub was built. Rogue's headquarters currently reside in Newport to this day. In May 1989, current head brewmaster, John Maier, joined Rogue after a brief sting brewing with Alask Brewing. John was a former Senior Technician with Hughes Aircraft Co, and a graduate of the Seibel Institute. To learn more about Rogue, check out their website HERE.

The HazelNut Brown Nectar is a European-style Brown Ale brewed with Great Western 2-Row, Munich, C-15, C-75, C-120, Kiln Coffee, Brown, Rogue Farms Dare & Risk Malts; Rogue Farms Revolution & Independence Hops; and Hazelnut Extract, Free Range Coastal Water, and Rogue's Pacman Yeast.

Rogue HazelNut Brown Nectar

This one pours like a stereotypical Brown Ale: a dark brown/reddish, slightly hazy body, and a finger of bready, toast-colored head. A centimeter of head is hanging around, there is some nice lacing, and there is some dotty carbonation in my glass. Brown Ale all the way.

The aroma on this beer is awesome, with huge toast, nuttiness, intense caramel, melanoidins, and big raisins, dried fruits, and Twizzlers. Wow..the raisins and Twizzlers note is almost Doppelbock-esque, and this beer is giving off deeply rich aroma vibes.

The first thing I'm noticing on the taste that is a total surprise is the big hop note: there's a huge pine character that borders on pine sap, maple syrup, and Christmas. It's very Barleywine-esque. I'm getting pine nuts, nuttiness, caramel, raisins, dried figs, and some juniper in the taste. There's some caramel, toffee, and toast as well. The taste is very clean, with the nutty-pinenut-hops coming out first, and then the dark fruits and caramel flavors expanding next.

This has a medium-light body, supported by lots of carbonation. The palate depth is okay, and complexity is very high for the style. As this opens up a bit and warms up, you pick up a faint roast character. At around 6%, this is very drinkable. Up front: pine nuts, nuttiness, pine sap, maple syrup, juniper. The mids feature some toast, complex toasted malts and melanoidins; the back end is lingering toast/roast, and big raisins, Twizzlers. It finishes piney and dry.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. This is a really stellar Brown Ale, with some serious pine nuts and pine sap character that just makes the beer pop. This would be the perfect late Autumn, early Winter beer. I could see myself cracking into one of these in November or December. I could see myself pairing this beer with a hearty stew or soup, duck, and pork roast. Really good beer, I'll pick this up again in the 6-pack format.

Random Thought: See? Rogue also makes good beer; I'm not biased against Rogue, I'm just honest.

Saint Somewhere/Prairie Artisan Ales Carbone Colline

Brewed By: Saint Somewhere Brewing Company in Tarpon Springs, Florida  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Saison/American Wild Ale, 8.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight's beer is a collab between Prairie Artisan Ales and Saint Somewhere Brewing.

Saint Somewhere Brewing Company is a small brewery based out of Tarpon Springs, Florida. Founded in 2007 by Bob Sylvester, the brewery focuses on smaller batch Belgian-style Ales. 

Prairie Artisan Ales are yet another brewery that began as a Kickstarter campaign. Founded in 2012 by brothers Chase and Colin Healey, the duo have been busy making beer as Gypsy Brewers, but also have their own brew facility (complete with barrels!). You can check them out on Facebook here.

The back of the bottle reads: "Brewed in collaboration with our friends at "Prairie Artisan Ales" in Oklahoma. A rustic Farmhouse Ale brewed with blackberries and toasted pecans. Named for "Carbon Hill" Alabama which is halfway between Tarpon Springs FL and Tulsa OK." 

This beer has some carbonation issues...I unscrewed the wire on the cage, and the top exploded off, cork and all. The cork almost took my head off, and the cork and cage took flight. The beer then proceeded to gush everywhere. Even my gentle pour resulted in a glass full of carbonation, so I'm typing up this little paragraph while I wait for the beer to settle down so I can take a picture of it.

Saint Somewhere/Prairie Artisan Ales Carbone Colline

After the Hulk of a head settles down, you're left with a swampy and murky, dark, orange-brown beer. The head is a brownish color, and it's sticky and dense and has good duration. When held to a bright light, the body of this beer is a dank, murky, dark orange. The head is pulling off huge orange-brown tones, and the lacing on this is nice. You can see carbonation on the edges. I like my Saisons swampy, and this one meets that criteria.

The aroma on this beer is awesome...this beer was obviously fermented with Brett, and has that classic, cellared/aged Orval funk. The aroma features funky leather, sweat, butcher shop, horse blanket...there's also some citrus, lemony funk, and nondescript fruits/berries and sweetness. 

I'm trying hard to pull out blackberries or pecans in the taste, but this mostly lays a heavy layer of Brett-funk, yeast, bready yeast and malt thickness, and berry sweetness on your tongue. There's also a nice layer of hops, which provide some bitterness and another level of depth. There's some peppery spice in here with the Brett-funk, and some berry notes (that you wouldn't peg blind). This gets a touch earthy, with a hint of leather/ash, but it's no Fantôme.

This beer is raw in its execution, with an arid finish and tons of bitterness. It's also exceedingly funky. This is my kind of Saison, yo. The 8.0% ABV is masked completely, and this has good drinkability. The mouthfeel on this is medium-bodied, but this beer is propped up with tons of carbonation. Palate depth is outstanding, but complexity waffles. This beer can't decide if it wants to embrace the Brett/lemon/pepper funk, or celebrate the addition of the berries and nuts. All-in-all though...you get some bitter punch up front, followed by huge Brett funk with lemon/citrus goodness; that rolls into some berries, hops, presumably some of that toasted pecan, peppery Brett-funk, and more citrus/Brett funk; the back end is lingering berries and fruit, and then a blast of bitter/funky dryness. The backbone of this beer has nice malt density. Good stuff.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I gotta go with a Decent Above-Average on this. I'm really digging this...even if I don't necessarily get strong blackberry or pecans. This is just a super funky, Brett-forward Saison, and that's my bag, baby. The price was right too, at around 12 dollars for a 750ml bottle. I'm going to pair this beer with some cheese sticks...because I'm classy like that. Really though, you could pair this with strong cheeses, a cheese and onion soup, anything rustic and peppery. I'm glad I bought this.

Random Thought: I need to buy more stuff from Prairie. Fact. I should probably talk about the NFL today...but I'm still recovering from all the noon games that were decided by a final score in the last few minutes of the game. The Chicago Bears didn't look like a team that just beat two of last year's playoff teams (albeit...last year's crappy playoff teams...), but they still looked better on offense than they have in a long time. That's a start, right?