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.

Stone Delicious IPA

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a Stone variety pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2015 (Enjoy By 4/22/2015)

Style/ABV: American IPA, 7.7% 
Reported IBUs: 80

How about them Gluten-free IPAs. About Stone:

Stone Brewing are one of the more prominent breweries in the American craft brewing scene. They were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, and moved to Escondido, California where they recently expanded their operations. Stone was founded by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. Koch has a reputation among the craft beer community for voicing his opinion, not putting up with shit, and standing behind his beer. Also...farking woot and fizzy yellow beer is for bitches. 

The Delicious IPA is your typical Stone IPA offering...except it is gluten-free and brewed with the lemony and spicy Lemondrop and El Dorado hop varietals. 

Stone Delicious IPA

This is a juicy yellow-orange, slightly hazy, hop-fueled affair. The head is thick and authoritative, like your grade school lunch lady. This laces better than shoes and Spider-Man's web shooters on dates with Mary Jane. It looks like many Stone beers.

This has a nice aroma, with white pepper, tropical fruit, and pineapple. There's a cracker note on the aroma, and then you get hit with some nice tobacco/hemp/weed. This has appreciable dankness and would pair well with your hasheesh. 4/22 blaze it.

Stone hasn't deviated much from their IPA with this beer, but that's not a bad thing. Stone's IPA is still a classic beer, and their Ruination IPA is up there. This feels very much in the same format, with over-the-top malts providing a sweet caramel contrast to giant American hops. You get resinous lemons, some cut grass, pithy tropical fruits, huge guava and hemp on the back end, and tons of dank as fuck resin. There's a peach note in this beer, and the fruits just keep on coming. It's fruity, juicy, and the bitterness is dank.

This is a medium-bodied, bitter, sticky-sweet, high-carbed IPA. It's in the realm of your typical West Coast offerings and can hold its own against your Lagunitas' IPA or Green Flash IPA. At 7.7%, I'm not getting a ton of alcohol in this. However, this is definitely a heavier IPA. This beer will stand up to strongly spiced foods. The palate depth is good, and this has good complexity. You get a lot of lemons and fruity notes up front; the mids roll into hops and sweetness (I'm getting some of the Yellow/Lemon Starburst that Stone claims you can taste); the back end drops appreciable spice and drying bitterness. Dank, hoppy, dry, spicy. Good.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'll toss this a Strong Above-Average. Not a bad IPA from Stone. I would buy a 6-pack of this during the warmer months to have on hand. Drink it fresh, pair it with strong, assertive foods.

Random Thought: I just finished my final paper for the Winter quarter. I feel pretty good about that.

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon

#grad life or something

Distilled By: Buffalo Trace Distillery/Sazerac (Franklin County, Kentucky)

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at in Jewel-Osco in Chicago; 2015 

Style/ABV: Bourbon, 45.0% (90 proof)

It occurred to me that I should take notes of the spirits I drink, also I guess we are jumping the shark now because why not. DAE reviews are the content equivalent to dick anyway?

This is a deep burnished, gold color, with glossy legs, lots of clarity.

Once the aroma settles down, you get a lot of nice sweetness in the form of brown sugar and vanilla; with cinnamon, mint, faint char, and barrel spice. There's some sweet pineapple notes as well, with some agave, resin, and candy sweetness.

This is moderately thick, with lots of brown sugar/cinnamon/minty spice, good heat, and some nice cereal malt character that emerges with hints of vanilla and barrel. You get some of the pineapple and fruit without adding water, but the water brings out the fruity notes. 

This grad school thing is killing my beer review thing. Which is for the better, believe you me. Anyway, back to that.