Avery Vanilla Bean Stout

Brewed By: Avery Brewing Company in Boulder, Colorado  

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Binny's in Chicago, Illinois; 2016 

Style/ABV: American Imperial Stout, 11.0% on bottle, 10.8% on website

Reported IBUs: ?

Avery is doing some very cool stuff these days. If you would have said to me earlier this year, "Hey man, there's this awesome bourbon barreled vanilla stout, you wouldn't believe who brewed it." I would be probably be like, "Okay who?" And you'd be like, "Avery." And I'd be like, "Damn...you're right."

Ahhh...Avery. What to say about these guys. Avery is a brewery that was founded in September 1993 by homebrewer Adam Avery. You've heard this story before: homebrewer makes awesome beer, homebrewer jumps into the booming craft beer scene with great beer. Between 1993 and now, Avery has expanded numerous times, including bigger tanks in 1995 and in 1997. In 2000, the brewery replaced their brewhouse, and in 2002 more tanks were added, and 2004 marked the second year of Avery's barrel program. Since then, it's been all uphill with more expansion, canned beer, and continued success. To read more, check out Avery's website.

The Vanilla Bean Stout is a new[?] addition to Avery's lineup of beers. Brewed with a trio of "Tongan, Ugandan, and Mexican whole vanilla beans," the beer also pulls vanilla flavors from bourbon barrels. They also seem to add a pinch of chocolate, caramel and molasses.

Avery Vanilla Bean Stout

I won't comment much on the appearance, which looks like every other Imperial Stout ever. It is a fairly opaque affair, with bright light failing to penetrate this beer's body. You get the rooby dooby reds on the edges, and the head retention is nice.

I'm not sure if this is flash pasteurized. I'm not sure why I would mention that in the aroma section. The aroma is creamy and rich, with vanilla bean, vanilla ice cream, crème brûlée, cheese cake, light wood and bourbon, molasses and burnt caramel sugars, and light notes of dark and white chocolate. There's some berry notes and alcohol as well.

This follows the nose with some added layers of alcohol and wood. It starts out with rich unfolding vanilla: cake, cream soda, coconut cake, vanilla bean, crème brûlée, cheese cake. There's some light coffee and roast, but this mostly sits in the realm of vanilla and dark fruits. There's a touch of wood and oak, and some nice alcohol to boot. 

The alcohol in here is a welcome and needed piece of the puzzle. Since this beer stays away from the heavy dark malts and over-the-top bourbon/barrel character, the profile could be nothing but vanilla. Fortunately, that is not the case. The alcohol and dark fruit notes offset the rich vanilla profile. This is NOT an overly sweet beer. It tastes weirdly balanced, with just the right amount of sweetness -- and that is in spite of the lack of dark malts. As this warms up the alcohol gets brighter, and the beer takes on a creamy root beer/cream soda aspect. This is moderately complex and develops with a smattering of vanilla and dark fruits, followed by lingering vanilla on the mids, and alcohol on the back. The wood comes and goes. 

Rating: Light Above-Average (3.75/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. Actually, if this ends up shelf turding alongside New Holland's Dragon's Milk, breweries are going to need to watch out. This tastes kind of like how I imagine Breckenridge's Twenty Five was supposed to taste. This is good stuff. You can't beat the price or the availability. I hope Avery keeps this year round, because I would occasionally pick this up.  

Random Thought: Tonight's drama is titled, "kitchen nightmares." Or, how a simple batch of chili could become me cleaning up giant messes in the kitchen.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Vanilla Rye (2014)

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bottle from Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled on 10/31/2014, #1118)

Style/ABV: Barrel-Aged American Stout, 13.6% (13.8% per their website)

Reported IBUs: 35

Bourbon County Vanilla in Rye Barrels? Yes, please. 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, 2013, 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. 

The 2014 Vanilla Rye is brewed with 2-row, Bonlander Munich, Chocolate, Caramel-60, Roasted Barley, and Debittered Black Malts; features Columbus hops; and is aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels on Mexican and Madagascar vanilla beans. The bottle says this clocks in at 13.6%, the website says 13.8%. Unlike regular BCBS, this has an IBU count of 35. Not sure why, don't care, whatevs. 

The bottle reads: "We first bottled this beer at the countless requests of festival-goers who first tasted it. However, when that last bottle of vanilla BCBS was grabbed off the shelves four years ago, you needed more. We heard you in the brewery, at festivals, and wherever there was an open ear. Well, you weren't alone. To be honest, we needed more too. We couldn't be happier to make this beer again and, most of all, drink it with you once more. Cheers -- Brett Porter." 

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Vanilla Rye (2014)

This is black, opaque, oily stuff. There are unfiltered chunks of what I assume is vanilla floating around, and the beer leaves glossy alcohol legs and some brown, residual lacing on the glass. It looks the same as every other Bourbon County, with those extra oils...for your skin...in case you decide to pour it on the escort's face or whatever.

On the aroma: intense sweetness, bourbon, waffle cones, vanilla wafers, vanilla beans, and some marshmallow-y notes. This is super raw with the vanilla, and in no way is the vanilla present in the beer artificial. The base beer is surprisingly present in the aroma, with lots of the fruity notes distinct to the 2014 vintage (I need to review regular 2014 BCBS...soon). There's a lot of sugar in here, but the whiskey and rye cuts through a lot of the fat. This is like the strongman of Vanilla beers, thick but muscular.

This is quite impressive to taste, with monster vanilla notes crushing it from the onset and never really letting up. Sure, the bourbon and alcohol make a helpful appearance, and the rye barrel adds tons of complexity. And the base beer shows up with all its nuances. But this is, true to its name, a vanilla show. This has rich vanilla, bourbon, vanilla beans, vanilla wafers/cones, complex sugars that taste like brown sugar, creme brulee, burnt sugars, and toasted marshmallow. The palate duration is insane as this drops vanilla in the front, mids, and back. The back end develops into this rich, creamy, and smooth vanilla note. The alcohol and rye show up in the mids, and the base beer is ever present with hints of complex fruit-sugars, rich chocolate, intense cocoa, truffles, and fudge. The rye barrel continues to be an interesting wrinkle, providing the perfect contrasting spice to the vanilla. 

Obviously this is a sweet, full-bodied beer. Palate depth is insane, with duration that lasts for minutes. This isn't the most complex beer, while also being complex in that the base beer is present, there are shades of vanilla, and the barrel, rye, and spirit do shine. So, despite the sugar and vanilla, you do get some nice nuances. At 13.6%, this is pretty boozy with some welcomed bourbon, rye, and alcohol notes. The alcohol cuts through the sweetness...which is always a sure sign that this beer is a million calories. Calories are flavor though, and up front is intense vanilla beans, vanilla sweetness, wafers; the mids roll into rye, alcohol, bourbon, vanilla, complex sugars, the base beer, brulee, hints of coconut; the back end drops lingering vanilla, and lots of lingering fruit notes. Good shit.

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. If you are in the mood for an aggressive, sweet beer...you can drink this. I think, out of all the Bourbon County variants, this one is going to age the best. As the vanilla drops off, it should meld into the base beer. 

I need to sidebar/tangent here. I think that this beer would not impress me so much if (1) it wasn't aged in rye barrels, (2) it was released any other year. Regarding the first point, this is a beer that works because of the complexity that the rye barrels bring to the beer. This beer needs the rye spice to balance out some of the one-dimensional vanilla notes. Also, regarding point number two, this year's base beer is a little more fruity than past vintages. I actually think the 2014 Bourbon County Stout is stellar, but it doesn't have the coconut/vanilla character that the 2013 and 2012 had due to the addition of some of those fruit notes. For that reason, the Vanilla Rye feels like a great addition to this year's lineup. Furthermore, regular Bourbon County doesn't touch the Rye Barrel...which is so sad. 

Random Thought: If Goose Island does release next year's Bourbon County in 650ml bottles, they should age some of it in rye barrels. Just do it, you InBev shills. 

Off Color Dino S'Mores

Breewed By: Off Color Brewing in Chicago, IL

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: American Stout, 10.5% 

Reported IBUs: 40

Tonight's beer is a certified shelf turd. I literally walked into the store, and found this turd sitting on shelves. AMA. About Off Color Brewing:

Off Color Brewing is a brewery founded in 2008 according to their Facebook, or 2014 according to their website, or 2013 if you follow their release party and the logical timeline. It really doesn't matter, I suppose. What you need to know is that this brewery is the brainchild of former Goose Island barrel guru, John Laffler, and former Two Brothers brewer, Dave Bleitner. The duo are both graduates of Siebel, and share a passion for brewing exotic, off-color beer. For more info, check out the brewery's ABOUT page.

The Dino S'Mores is another S'mores inspired imperial stout, which is a trend that I can get behind. I'm quite partial to Pipeworks' S'More Money, S'More Problems. The Dino S'Mores is brewed with Pale, Vienna, Wheat, Cara II, Extra Special, Flaked Oats, Dark Chocolate, Black, and Roasted Barley malts. This features only Nugget hops (a little Goozie Island inspiration?), and a bunch of adjuncts. The extra ingredients include: marshmallow, vanilla beans, molasses, graham flour, and cocoa nibs. My goodness, this sounds amazing. 

Off Color Dino S'Mores

If you need me to describe the appearance, you probably won't be able to track down this beer. Just sayin'. Black, opaque, brown head. OH NOES. There's legit lacing and alcohol legs tugging and glossing on my glass, and this smacks of chocolate bukkake. 

The aroma is surprisingly roasty and smokey. It actually -- and I know this is going to be some sacrilegious shit to say -- it actually kind of smells like the same roasted malts used in Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut series. As I dig into the aroma some more, I'm getting some of that graham cracker, chocolate, and vanilla. This does not scream S'Mores to me on the aroma, and to be honest, I think the Pipeworks' S'More Money, S'More Problems had a more S'more-forward aroma. 

This gets a lot better as it warms up, but try as I might I cannot find the direct S'Mores flavor. I'm getting a lot of nice roast (which is still reminiscent of the roast found in Rogue's Voodoo series), big vanilla bean, big cocoa, and lots of hints of campfire, complex roast, hints of roasted coffee, and some nice graham notes. It's GOOD. I really like this beer. The sweetness isn't ratcheted high enough to match that of a proper S'More, but in some respects I like that. This really grounds itself in that earthy roasted note...it's a note that when done well tastes really good, and again reminds me of coffee and complex dirt. 

At 10.5%, I'm not tasting any alcohol here. This is not overly sweet at all. That's both a good thing and bad thing. When I think of S'Mores, I think of layers upon layers of sugar. Even if you add that burnt marshmallow flavor to the mix, the S'More dessert is all about the sugar. The complex roasted notes in here are reminiscent of a campfire, dirt, and coffee...and I like it. But S'Mores? I don't think so. Still, this is fairly complex, and the palate depth is great. This is medium-bodied, and starts off with roast, dirt coffee; the mids roll into cocoa, vanilla, sugars, graham; the back end finishes with roast, dirt, ash, coffee, and lingering vanilla sugars. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. I'm surprised to say that I prefer the S'More Money, S'More Problem if you are looking for that S'More flavor. In terms of a complex, roasty Imperial Stout...you could do much worse than this beer right here. I think this is very tasty, but the sugar needs to be ratcheted up to hit that dessert note. But some people (like myself) prefer less sugar....so for that crowd, this is going to be a certified hit.

Random Thought: I'm curious to see if future batches of this will taste different, and I'm happy to see this just sitting on shelves. 

Pipeworks S'More Money, S'More Problems

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #294-295) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled ??.??.2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout/American Double, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

It's an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™, so you know the drill. I'm going to type up a crappy review for a Pipeworks beer, and complain about the weather. Seriously though, this weather is ridiculous.

This is just....fuck.

The only silver lining is that it is peak Stout/Strong Ale/Barleywine season. There are no other silver linings. 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. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Tonight's beer is unqiue in that it was brewed with one of Pipeworks' Friends With Benefits (aka donor) members, Keith Lonergan. This beer is brewed with "copious amounts of chocolate malt, roasted barley, golden naked oats and crushed graham crackers." Cocao nibs, vanilla bean, and "marshmallow flavor" are added after primary. The back of the bottle states::

"This is about to get campy... Boys and girls scoutin' for an ale that's s'more than a feelin' for the next jamboree or just looking to mallow out with something tasty, this is s'more like it. Crafted in collaboration with Kickstarter supporter Keith Lonergan, this chocolatey stout is brewed with graham crackers, and has an in-tents marshmallow flavor. Get s'more for you and all your friends, because s'more the merrier. Only you can prevent forest fires, by drinking s'more."

Oh my the puns. This beer pours very much like every other opaque, inky black Imperial Stout. That is to say: thick and viscous with a black body, and producing a finger's worth of brown head. There is some tight lacing, alcohol legs, and glossy brown beer sticking to the side of the glass. In bright light the beer catches some ruby/brown tones on the very edges, but yeah.

Pipeworks S'More Money, S'More Problems

Unlike every other Stout...the aroma here is awesome and unique. This beer really does smell like S'mores, with huge cocoa and cacao nibs, chocolate, marshmallow, burnt marshmallow and sugar, and bready graham crackers and Golden Grahams. Wowza, what an aroma. I just want to park my nose in this beer. When you start to deconstruct things, you get the vanilla bean, roast, coffee/espresso/earthy, and hazelnut. The coffee/hazelnut is pretty big. What is impressive is that the graham note really comes across on the aroma. It's a really specific food/flavor, so I doubt I'd place it blind, but I don't know.

Mmmmmm...this is fantastic. Credit to Pipeworks and Keith Lonergan for nailing this. This tastes like a S'more. I'm getting tons of chocolate, marshmallow, dense graham cracker, and lingering chocolate/cacao and marshmallow on the back. The beer is thick and hearty, like a Milk Stout, and there's some serious vanilla bean dancing around in here. Along with all of the S'mores and graham cracker is some really nice hazelnut, earthy coffee, and roast. The beer has a surprising amount of bitterness.

This beer is rich and thick and sticky, and it hides the booze well. I'm not picking up any of the 10%. The mouthfeel is full-bodied, and the palate duration is long. Complexity is pretty good. It's a sweet and sticky beer, but there is some earthy stuff and bitterness in the mix. Up front is a huge blast of cocoa and vanilla bean; that rolls into the S'more with earthy roast, coffee, campfire, marshmallow, chocolate and cocoa, and graham cracker; the back end is lingering chocolate and roasted marshmallow, with some hazelnut/coffee and a sticky finish. Really solid stuff here....

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average  on this...this beer sets out to taste like S'mores, and it pretty much nails it. It's not a particularly complex or refined beer, but it's a really good Stout. And the S'mores come through big time. It's also cold as fuck outside, so the notion of drinking liquid S'mores is very appealing to me right now. Food pairings: S'mores. The Stout base here is pretty legit and earthy/coffee/roasty so you could also pair this with dry chocolate cake, ice cream, or just drink the beer for dessert itself since it's probably tipping the 615+ calorie mark (per 22oz). I hope Pipeworks puts this one on their rotation.

Random Thought: What I find particularly fascinating about this beer is that it has a long list of ingredients...it reminds me of Rogue. I could see a Voodoo Doughnut S'mores beer...and it would probably fall somewhere between "average" and "suck." You can make beers with unique ingredients taste good. It probably helps that Pipeworks has the Stout base down, but yeah. Buy this beer.

Pipeworks Toasty Nut Abduction

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #284-285) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled ??.??.2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout/American Double, 10.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

It's Thursday, so that means it is an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™....I'm really excited to try tonight's beer, which is Pipeworks' Abduction Stout base brewed with coconuts and almonds. 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. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Tonight's beer is big, coming in at 10.5% ABV. It's also brewed with cacao nibs, vanilla bean, toasted coconut, and almond. The back of the bottle reads:

"Aw man, I got this one guy. He's an alien. I was in this one place, real tropical, real cool, real classy, and he just scooped me up. He gave me this beer, it was savemylife good. These aliens were seriously killin' it ALL DAY! Is it wrong for a grown man to kiss an alien full-on the lips? Somebody check my pressure. DONE. It's cool to be cool." We love Nick, and we love this beer too. Done."

Pipeworks Toasty Nut Abduction

The Toasty Nut pours like your typical Imperial Stout: an opaque, black body, a finger or two of thick, bready, dark brown head, and yeah. The head retention is nice, with a sea foam coating on top of the beer, and a thick brown ring along the edge. You can kick up some head when you swirl this. There is glossy alcohol legs, and thick, paint-like lacing.

On the aroma: a fucking shitload of coconut. There is a ton of coconut in this. I say that with confidence, as I just bought a Randall and dumped an entire roasted coconut into a bottle of Bourbon County Stout. This beer smells like coconut, with huge toasted coconut and meaty coconut goodness. I'm also getting a ton of coffee, espresso, earthy dirt, roast, and some woody chocolate-vanilla. There's some nutty aromas, but mostly nutty in the realm of toasted coconut (which has a nutty aroma and taste).

Wowza...the taste...is dense, rich, and coconut. This is a big, hearty, Imperial Stout. Very much in line with a sweeter Russian Imperial Stout. I'm happy to report that there is quite a bit of roast, coffee, and earthy bitterness in this beer. I'm a bit surprised. Up front though: sweet cacao, vanilla bean, huge almond and coconut, roasted coconut, epic nuttiness, and Almond Joy/Mounds bar. This beer probably won't escape the Almond Joy description, which is completely applicable. I should mention the front of the beer is loaded with some sticky, boozy alcohol as well. Beneath all the coconut, nuttiness, and chocolate is some serious but subtle roast, coffee, espresso, and grungy Stout stuff. It's good.

This is an impressive display of Imperial Stout stuff. The mouthfeel is full-bodied, but the carbonation is perfect and supportive. You get the booze up front, but it is kind of welcomed for a 10.5% beer. I would treat this beer like a sipper. Palate depth is really good, but this could have slightly longer duration, and the complexity is okay as well. To be honest, this mostly tastes like a boozy Almond Joy. There are some layers though. Up front is cacao, chocolate sweetness, and almond/coconut sweetness, and booze; that rolls into huge coconut, vanilla bean, more booze, nuttiness; the back end dials up rich chocolate and some roast/espresso. The finish is sticky and dry. There is roast, coffee, and espresso abound, mostly found in the mid and back palate. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this literal interpretation of an Almond Joy. At least, that's what it tastes like. An Almond Joy in a bottle. It's fantabulous, and I wouldn't pair this beer with anything except for maybe some dry chocolate cake, coconut cake, Almond Joys, or nothing. You can probably sip on this for dessert. This probably isn't my favorite of the Abduction series (that might go to the coffee or raspberry), but this is just a fun, over-the-top, in your face beer. It's worth checking out if you like coconuts and Almond Joys. 

Random Thought: So I bought a Randall Jr. 

It's basically a fancy travel mug that you can put loose leaf tea into, and those are basically riffs on the classic French Press. The idea is novel and worth marketing, but it's not original. Anyway, who cares. The point is that the Randall Jr. seems like a quality product in terms of what you get. I like Dogfish Head, so I was happy to part with my money and support them.

Since regular Bourbon County Stout is just sitting on shelves in Chicago (such #shelfturd, so #Midwest), I decided it would be fun to pick up a couple of extra bottles and buy a coconut and some berries. My life is average.

Part of my motivation to Randall coconut and berries into Bourbon County is because I missed the Black Friday release and didn't pick up any Proprietors or Backyard Rye. It's no biggie, but there you have it. So I shredded a coconut, which was a fucking pain in the ass. I've never broken down a coconut before. My weapon of choice was a hammer, a knife, and lots of patience. After punching a hole in the top of the coconut with a screwdriver to drain the delicious juice, I went to town with the hammer. Let me tell you something: coconuts are like the Adamantium of tropical fruits. Like, I used to think that if I was ever stranded on a deserted island, I would just live off of coconuts. Maybe I should opt for an island with bananas instead. After you break the coconut in half, you want to break the halves into fourths or eighths. Basically you want to break the shell into as many pieces as you can, exposing the white, fleshy pulp. From there you take a knife, and pry apart the pulp from the shell. The white pulpy fruit stuff (the coconut) has two layers: a brown skin layer, and then the actual coconut shell. I found this to be the hardest part of the process, removing the shell from the brown skin layer. Once you have the shell off, you can peel the brown skin layer off with a knife or a potato peeler.

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE FUN YET!?!?!?

I like doin' fun things.

After all this bullshit, you still have to pull out your shredder, and shred the coconut. Then you have to preheat your oven (I went with 375), prepare a baking tray, and put the coconut on the tray. Before baking the shredded coconut, I rehydrated it with the coconut juice from the coconut.

Was it worth it?

Surprisingly...maybe? Once you have your toasted coconut, life is easy. I filled the Randall Jr. most of the way up with toasted coconut, and then poured in the beer. I let it sit for about an hour at room temp (the beer was cold from the fridge). The beer poured easy enough from the Randall without any serious blockage or clogging, though I wish there was a way to press the beer out of the coconut pulp. 

The result was mostly fantastic (3.5/5.0 Untappd). The coconut added serious protein and density to the beer’s body. Coconut, chocolate, vanilla, and big nuttiness were POPPING off the beer's aroma, and the beer tasted like chocolate, vanilla, coconut, and nutty. The coconut dialed up the beer's sweetness, but it was more of a natural sweetness. The barrel character took a back seat. It was good, and maybe worth the trouble to try again.

On the other hand....the base beer is really fucking good. I love Bourbon County Stout. I really do. And in my totally honest opinion, the base beer has subtle complexities that might get lost when you layer in the coconut. 

How about the berries?

The berries were easy. You just buy some fucking berries and Randall them. I went with raspberry and blackberry. Mmm. I put too many berries in the Randall, not accounting for the moisture the berries contain. I ended up pressing the berries in the Randall to get some of those berry juices flowing...I'm not sure if this is preferred or not, who fucking cares this isn't Cantillionaire shit. I ended up Randalling about 8oz of beer for about an hour, and pouring that into the remaining 4oz. 

Unlike the toasted coconut, the berries totally clogged up the Randall's filter. The beer did not want to pour out. I ended up doing a hack job, removing the berries from the Randall and squeezing out some of the juice and beer into a bowl. I then strained that through the Randall. It was a mess to say the least. Was it worth it?

Well, yeah. I really liked this. Probably (4.0/5.0 Untappd) or whatever. The fruit mixed with the Bourbon County base adds a TON of jammy berry notes. I was getting jammy raspberries and blackberries off the hook. The raspberries also added a slightly tart and funky character to the beer. The berries compliment Bourbon County's chocolate notes, and they also play well with the bourbon, barrel, and vanilla. The berries also gel well with the beer’s alcohol.

However, you lose a lot more beer going the berry route...and that shit is sweet. Unlike the toasted coconut which adds nutty density (bust a nut, yo), the fruit just adds juicy juice. If you like juicy juice you'll be in good company, but fruity stouts seem to offend a lot of people. You also lose a good amount of beer when you Randall fruit...next time I'm going to go with two bottles of Bourbon County. I'll Randall one with fruit (and I'll use less fruit), and then pour it into the beer that hasn't been Randall'd.

tl;dr - The Randall Jr. is pretty fucking cool, even though it is a novelty. 

Addendum: I like the Randall, and I'm already thinking about picking up a stout to mess with this weekend. I still have a second, unopened coconut to experiment with. I enjoy the novelty of the Randall...but adding fruit or coffee or coconut post-production actually can take away from a beer. I like the subtle nuances and hints of flavor you get from the regular Bourbon County Stout. It doesn't need fruit or coconut. But at the same time, adding fruit and coconut is fun, and it tastes good. So it works but it is unnecessary. And this isn't some Ding-rant or anything like that. I'm all for adding coconut and fruit to stouts, and I hope more breweries do it. The point is: you can still enjoy the base beer, especially when the base beer is as good as Bourbon County Stout.

Maine Beer Mean Old Tom

Brewed By: Maine Beer Company in Freeport, Maine

Purchased: 1 pt .9 fl. oz (16.9oz) bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (bottled on 10/29/13)

Style/ABV: American Stout, 6.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

And now for part two. About the Maine Beer Company:

The Maine Beer Company is a brewery based out of Freeport, Maine, founded in 2012. The brewery focuses on American-style ales, with an emphasis on fresh beer intended to be consumed fresh. For more info, check out the brewery's website. 

The Mean Old Tom is not a racial epithet, and is actually an American Stout/Porter/thing. Brewed with a malt base of American 2-Row, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, Midnight Wheat, Caramel 40L, and Flaked Oats; and featuring US Magnum and Centennial hops; this beer punches in at 6.5% and is aged on vanilla beans. 

Maine Beer Mean Old Tom

The beer pours into a black body that has some ruby red tones. Such tones. The beer also kicks up three fingers of magnificent, ice cream float-like head. The head is a nice khaki/tan color, and leaving lacing as it drops off. Bright light confirms much of the same.

It seems like not often that I indulge in a non-Imperial Stout/Porter, and I'm happy to say the aroma here is good. I'm getting rich vanilla, vanilla bean, Porter-like-roast, coffee, dusty/powdery cocoa, and some caramel and toast. The vanilla really stands out.

This tastes pretty good, with lots of coffee, bitter chocolate, cocoa, some creamer, and tons of vanilla. You also get quite a bit of roast with some hints of toasted bread and biscotti, and lots of caramel sweetness. Hints of nutty, like a Brown Ale.

For a drinkable, affordable, 6.5% Stout...I'm already leaning towards a light above average. I really think the vanilla and coffee in here elevates what would otherwise be a very simple Stout/Porter into something memorable and worth stocking. Palate depth and complexity are both solid, and the mouthfeel is medium-full. The beer is supported by nice carbonation, and rounds out with tons of bitter coffee and roast. It's light, but robust. You get coffee, vanilla, and bitter chocolate up front; that rolls into more vanilla, some roast, dense body; the back end trails coffee, throws in the toast 'n' roast, and finishes dry and attenuated. Simple in the best ways possible.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Light Above-Average. As I just said, a memorable, lower-ABV Stout/Porter drink. Super drinkable, and only smells. The best smells. You can pair this beer with a burger, a steak, coffee braised anything, chocolate and coffee desserts, or breakfast. Actually, pairing this beer with some chocolate chip pancakes and home made chocolate syrup sounds pretty effing fantastic. Will consider.

Random Thought: This is so much better than Shipyard. Come at me, Maine bros.

Pipeworks Chai Dog

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #108) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013  (bottled 8/14/2013)

Style/ABV: Milk Stout/Sweet Stout, 10.0% 
Reported IBUs: ?

Welcome to another Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. If you aren't privy to the happenings, the happenings are that on Thursdays I drink Pipeworks beers. Tonight's beer is courtesy of my lovely girlfriend who went out and snagged me a bottle of this beer. Last night I dusted off the Jones Dog, but tonight is all about the Chai, baby. 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. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

The back of the Chai Dog bottle reads (this is verbatim/copypasta):

"Chai Dog is our Eastern answer to the coffee-centric caffeine concoctions popular here in the West. This silky smooth milk stout is brewed with cacao nibs, green cardamon, vanilla bean, star anise, black peppercorn and cinnamon. This delicious blend of spices creates a balance and complexity will transport you from your local watering hole to an authentic, old tea house in the heart of Mumbai."

Of course, we all know what vanilla, cacao, anise, peppercorns, and cinnamon taste like. Cardamon is an aromatic spice used in Indian cooking, and Chai is a blend of tea and spices. I actually enjoy chai tea quite a bit, so hopefully this beer will kick ass and take names.

Pipeworks Chai Dog

Like the Jones Dog, this beer pours into a black, dark body. I kicked up a finger of bready, dense, brown head...but the head was reluctant to form, and it faded quickly. You can thank all the spices for that, but as far as I can tell this beer doesn't have any carbonation issues. In bright light, you can not only see how dark and Imperial Stout-like this beer looks, but you can see streams of tiny bubbles rising upwards. There's a brown ring of carbonation around the edges, and swirling the beer kicks up some head, leaves some sticky lacing, and reveals some glossy alcohol legs.

The aroma on this beer is powerfully spicy, like a rapey-spicy pumpkin beer. I'm getting massive cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. This beer smells like two or three other beers I've had: the Sam Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout, the Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale, and the Southern Tier 2XMAS. This beer isn't quite the Christmas/Pumpkin beer I'm describing it to be. I'm also getting a lot of that green cardamon on the nose, which is super pungent and not-quite-curry and not-quite-ginger. If you sit there and smell the beer for a while, you also get some earthy ash/dirt/coffee. I can only guess how this will taste.

Whew...this -- thankfully -- doesn't taste like a Christmas beer. It doesn't really taste like a Milk Stout either. There's a lot going on here...but the large Stout base and the slight booze presence really helps temper the spice. Up front you get rich, dense, spicy chocolate/cacao. I'm getting a lot of cinnamon, some pepper, and a nutmeg/ginger/cardamon thing. This beer is chewy and dense, so the cacao/chocolate/vanilla thing really sludges along. The spices are earthy, and have a straight up Indian-cuisine vibe. The beer is aggressively sweet, and there's some layers of fruit/caramel/sugars in the mix. There's also some hints of earthy ash/roast/coffee, but it's very subtle.

All this beer really needs is the addition of Jalapenos, and bam! It's a fiesta. This beer is fucking weird, man. I don't mean to go all Pie Style up in this shindig, but yeah. I guess this beer does remind me of Chai Tea, so mission accomplished. This beer has a full-bodied mouthfeel, supported by good carbonation and tingly spice. At 10.0%, you do get some booze. The drinkability is probably going to be low for a lot of people courtesy of the spice, booze, and sticky sweet kisses this beer gives you. Palate depth is good, and I guess this is pretty complex...or intriguing? You get dense

You never go full Pie Style.

cacao/chocolate and spice up front; that rolls into more spice, some caramel/sugar/fruit, vanilla, flat out chai tea, and more cacao; the back end is lingering pepper and spice, some booze, earth/coffee/ash, and a sticky-sweet finish.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I like this beer and I like what is going on here, so I'm going to toss this a Light Above-Average. This beer has a strange appeal...I'd almost throw it into the "foodie" category. This is definitely a beer to pair with foods, and those foods are Mexican cuisine (a mole sauce? mmm) or Indian food. As a standalone beer, this is interesting to try and would be worth splitting with a friend or two. I might even seek something like this out in the late Fall or early Winter months. It kind of feels like a Christmas beer, but it really isn't. Having said all that, this is another excellent Stout from Pipeworks. Their Stout program continues to impress...can't wait to see how their barrel-aged stuff tastes. 

Random Thought: A final, final note about this beer...I know earlier in the review I stated that the huge Stout base and big ABV helps temper the spice. Well, the huge spice in this beer helps temper the sweetness. It all kind of gels in harmony.