Not Another Beer Review: Beer Camp 2014

Showing posts with label Beer Camp 2014. Show all posts

August 12, 2014

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Beer Camp Across America West Coast Double IPA

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California
Purchased: Single 24oz bottle bought at Binny's in Naperville, IL; 2014 (Bottled 06/20/14)
Style/ABV: American Double I-P-A, 8.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

What is this, Beer Camp extras?

blah blah (What is Beer Camp? It is Sierra Nevada's celebration of craft beer and the numerous breweries across America that make that craft beer. For 2014, Sierra Nevada collaborated with 12 different breweries to make 12 different beers. They also have a Beer Camp Across America Beer Festival, which will stop at seven different cities and feature many different breweries and beers.) blah blah

About Sierra Nevada:

The Beer Camp Across America West Coast Douple IPA isn't a movie. It's not a musical porno. But ask yourself this: shouldn't it be a musical porno? I mean seriously, what's with the name here. This Double IPA is a "liquid invitation" to invite beer drinkers to attend Beer Camp Across America. Fun fact: I picked this up at my local Binny's after Beer Camp rolled through Chicago. You can't win 'em all. But if it was a musical porno...

This one features five hop varieties! Five! "Two of which went into Sierra Nevada’s “Hop Torpedo” dry-hopping device." Woo.

Beer Camp Across America West Coast Double IPA

This should-of-could-of been non-musical porno pours into a deeply golden-amber body, kicking up three fingers of super dense, fluffy, gold-tinged head. The carbonation in here is ample. Thanks, teku. You get your usual tiny streams of bubbles...I do like the glass. This one takes on a vibrant gold color with some orange tones in bright light. It looks the part of an IPA or Double IPA. [Also of note: the nice lacing and fantastic head retention].

The aroma here is very much reminiscent of a West Coast IPA, with pungent and dank pine, orange, resin, and super-sweet cakey malt backings. I'm also getting a hint of onion and garlic in the mix. It also smells a bit watery and grassy to be honest, veering towards the lighter side of things.

This basically tastes the part of the nose...very much your standard West Coast IPA, with nice resinous and dank pine, dank citrus, and big caramel/cakey malts. The hop spice plays off the cakey sugars and veers towards lime zest and even brown sugar. The bitterness in here is nice, but this definitely has the malt backings to keep everything in check. It's enjoyable but it's not overly memorable.

This is medium-bodied approaching full, with good carbonation to help drive things, and lots of hop bitterness and cakey-sweet malts. It's easy-going for 8.5%, but I'd say the balance is towards the sweet side. Palate depth is good, but the complexity is very much par the course. It's kind of just a West Coast IPA....I mean, it's well crafted otherwise, but yeah. Up front: hops (duh, stupid), dank pine/orange/tangerine, resin; the mids roll into more dank hops, with some cakey and caramel undertones; the back end drops the bitter, along with some spice, hinting at lemon zest, rind, and some brown sugar. It's a notch away from being an Imperial Red...it's knocking on the Lagunitas door.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this beer. Average+. A well-crafted West Coast Imperial IPA that does nothing other than what it advertises. Food pairings here include sandwiches, pizza, spicy foods, wings, American bar food...you know...the works. Anything with some spice that isn't delicate.

Random Thought: This prelude to the beer camp seems apropos. Too bad I found it post-Beer Camp (or maybe not).

August 8, 2014

A quick Beer Camp 2014 meta-analysis. Was it really that bad?

I posed a hypothetical question to myself while driving home the other afternoon. "What if the Beer Camp 2014 didn't advertise Sierra Nevada's involvement with the 12 beers?" Would it matter? Maybe not, since Sierra Nevada is beloved by all. Even the most pretentious beer snobs will find something redeeming about Sierra Nevada. And they should, Sierra Nevada is a good brewery. They are also "the West Coast" brewery. Or one of them. And everyone loves the West Coast. Well, almost everyone.

I digress.

This year's Beer Camp mix-pack was a success. People are buying it. It's selling out. It's a craft beer commodity. When the craft beer children want something, they get it. They'll wait in line at a brewery after driving hundreds of miles. They'll package up their valuables and ship them halfway across the country. And in the case of Beer Camp 2014, there was no shortage of threads in the regional BeerAdvocate Forums asking questions like, "has anyone seen Beer Camp in [insert location here]."

Yeah, it sold out. But how the fuck does it taste?!

Does it matter? No, seriously. Think about the logistics of assembling this mix-pack. Sierra Nevada collaborated with 12 breweries, many of whom are as far away from California as can be. The spread here includes breweries from Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and California. Many of these breweries, if not all of them, are popular and already operating on thin margins in terms of space and time. New Glarus doesn't even ship out of Wisconsin, and yet here we find them being distributed on a national level, just for that one time. How cool is that?

Apparently...not that cool. If the response from the beer community is any indication, the 2014 Beer Camp has been middle-of-the-road. A dissapoint[ment]. A mix-pack full of average beers. I'll ask again: even if these are middling beers, does it matter?

Your typical beer Vlogger (not pictured: a line of expensive #whalez)

Beer Camp, the festival and the mix-pack, is a celebration of beer in America. I don't think the target demographic for this mix-pack was the fat neckbeards that display their bottles of expensive and rare beers when they film their shitty video beer reviews. The target demographic for this mix-pack wasn't the pretentious Double-IPA critics, or people who are looking for barrel-aged beers where the barrel has been aged inside another barrel for that extra meta rareness.

In an ideal world, I'd like to think Sierra Nevada was marketing this beer towards the every man/woman. Imagine if you could sell a few of these Beer Camp mix-packs to the Joe Average-guy who buys the Sam Adams seasonal variety packs. The Beer Camp is so much better. The Beer Camp is simultaneously a gateway and celebration of craft beer...something you can hang your hat on and say, "fuck yeah, America, titties, craft beer." It's like everything Magic Hat envisioned when they started releasing variety packs, without the Magic Hat. So it's better.

So, it's super disappointing to see reviews of this mix-pack complaining about the price, or the bottled-on dates, or whatever. Yeah, the Chico King Pale Ale sucked, and it tasted faded. But the rest of this mix-pack was on its game. And complaining about the price? Really? These complaints are coming from the same people that will drop $30 on 750ml of beer. Move your yeard out of the way, push your man tits together, and harden the fuck up. And FYI: no one cares if you don't fancy English-style Bitters, Scottish Ales, or Altbiers. This mix-pack has all three, and all three are pretty good.

I'm gonna stop...this is an early morning rant, typed up between a cup of coffee and my morning dump. But while we are talking about how not bad the 2014 Beer Camp was, here was my breakdown of the mix-pack. This much needed meta analysis will help to stimulate my brain and colon. Here's how the 2014 Beer Camp stacks up:

1. Double Latte Coffee Milk Stout Divine Brew (Decent) 4.5/5
2. Tater Ridge Scottish Ale Above-Average (Strong) 4.5/5
3. CANfusion Rye Bock Above-Average (Light) 4.5/5
4. Maillard's Odyssey Imperial Dark Ale Above-Average (Strong) 4/5
5. Alt Route Altbier Above-Average (Strong) 4/5
6. Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock Above-Average (Decent) 4/5
7. Torpedo Pilsner Hoppy Pilsner Above-Average (Decent) 4/5
8. Electric Ray India Pale Lager Above-Average (Light) 4/5
9. There and Back English-Style Bitter Above-Average (Light) 3.5/5
10. Yvan The Great Belgian-Style Blonde Above-Average (Light) 3.5/5
11. Myron's Walk Belgian-Style Pale Ale Average (Strong) 3.5/5
12. Chico King Pale Ale Average (Light) 3/5

Out of 12 beers, there was a total of 60 potential points available. When you add up all the scores, the final total is: 47/60, or a percentage score of 78.3%. If you take the mean/average, you end up with a final score of 3.9/5.0. You know, for all you Untappd people.

That's not a bad final score. It's somewhere between average and closer to above-average, which is where I feel this mix-pack stands out. And while there were no perfectly scored beers in this mix-pack, the Ninkasi collab comes pretty damn close with a 4.5/5.0. It also stands out as the only Divine Brew in the mix-pack. I feel confident calling it world-class (like that means anything). It's a good beer if you like coffee stouts.

Other favorites include the Tater Ridge, which was a nice take on the Scotch/Scottish Ale style. It had substantial body and a welcomed sweetness that would fit right at home in an Autumn beer. The CANfusion Rye Bock was also delicious, with a nice blend of complex malts and interesting hops. The Maillard's Odyssey and Electric Ray should also get serious props, although both beers fail in terms of being original or classics.

The biggest losers here are clearly the Chico King and the Yvan The Great. Even if the Chico King was bottled closer to the release, I'm confident the beer wouldn't have done anything other than middled it. What a disappointing beer...and honestly, it's not surprising when you look at some of the underwhelming stuff FFF has been shoving into bombers as of late. And selling for high prices. I still love Three Floyds and no one does it better...but come on. The Russian River and Sierra Nevada collab was also a huge disappointment. The bottle promised a great experience and the beer was average and hardly innovative. The fact that Sierra Nevada and Russian River are neighbors doesn't help their case either. These two breweries could have collaborated to make something really outstanding...but oh well.

Last but not least, let's talk about the There and Back English-Style Bitter. I thought this skirted by as an Above-Average take on the style. Honestly, New Glarus crafted a delicious beer with this one, it just so happens that the Bitter style isn't particularly exciting for most American beer drinkers. Having said that, New Glarus' regular lineup of beers (including their seasonal offerings) features a bunch of Bocks and Lagers...boring beers by many accounts...but beers that are crafted masterfully. While New Glarus has gained notoriety for their sours and fruit beers, their regular lineup is stellar stuff. There and Back is no exception and pretty much embodies what they do.

With that said...it's August. The Beer Camp 2014 has probably peaked. I don't know if I would still seek this out given that some of the beers were bottled as early as May. At this point in time (8/8/2014), I'd pay no more than ~$24 for the 12-pack. If you were fortunate enough to jump on this one in early July like I was, then you were rewarded with a fun celebration of American craft beer.

I hope Sierra Nevada reads this post and ignores a lot of the lazy reviews and beer snobbery that has surrounded this release. And then hopefully they mail me free shit. Sierra Nevada, email me: Cums4Hops69@hotmail.com

Also, I look forward to Beer Camp 2015

July 23, 2014

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock (brewed with Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, Florida)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California
Purchased: Single 12oz CAN from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 05/04/14)
Style/ABV: Tropical Maibock, 7.7%

Reported IBUs: 45

What is Beer Camp? It is Sierra Nevada's celebration of craft beer and the numerous breweries across America that make that craft beer. For 2014, Sierra Nevada collaborated with 12 different breweries to make 12 different beers. They also have a Beer Camp Across America Beer Festival, which will stop at seven different cities and feature many different breweries and beers.

About Sierra Nevada:

Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock

The Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock is a collaboration with the talented event planners at Cigar City Brewing. If you are looking to have a birthday party, cater a large event, or release a limited beer, you know who to call. My can reads: "Brewed in collaboration with Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, FL, Yonder Bock is a Latin-inspired twist on a traditional Maibock. Cigar City finds inspiration in the Cuban roots of their hometown, which is a long way from our home base in Chico, but our friends down yonder in Florida sure can brew a great beer. YOnder Bock blends a silky malt body with bright, fruity hop aromas of guava, mango and passion fruit from the use of Calypso, Azacca and experimental 366 hops as a nod to Cigar City's tropical locale."

This one pours into a hazy, dark orange body, with tons of carbonation in the form of tiny streams (courtesy of the teku). This also kicks up three fingers of big, fluffy, caramel-orange-tinted head. Head retention is good, and there's a lot of active carbonation minutes after the pour. There is good lacing as well. The body retains its deep orange color in bright light.

On the aroma: big lager spice that flirts with bread, toast, rye, and caramel sugars. Beneath that are sweet honey notes that give way to faint tropical fruits and citrus notes. I'm getting oranges, guava, pineapple, and mango.

This is incredibly enjoyable, with deep sheets of honey sweetness and bread that unravel and drop tropical fruits, honey, and rich caramel sugars. The 7.7% is completely not obvious here, but this has a boozy seduction about it. I'm getting cherries, pineapple, super sweet coconut, mango, and orange in here. There are nice honey and saffron notes, and in the back is some faint grain alcohol that is accentuated by mild hop bitterness.

I'm a little bit at a loss here as far as how to rate this...I haven't had many Maibocks, and this one seems quite unique. This isn't an overly complex beer in general, but for a Bock there's a lot going on here. The palate depth here is great, and this is definitely a full-bodied island treat. I'm not getting any of the 7.7%, at least not in terms of alcohol heat, but some boozy seduction and grainy alcohol does show up. I'm also feeling some warming. Up front: honey and bready sweetness, with toast and Noble hop bitterness; that rolls into more saffron and honey, cherries, tropical fruits, oranges, guava, coconut, pineapple; the back end continues with sharp, quad-like fruits, and leaves some grainy alcohol and faint hop bitterness in your mouth. This could be a little bigger and rounder, otherwise it's nearly perfect.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this beer. This is a really interesting beer...I could see myself pairing this with an upside pineapple cake, mango salsa, white fish, and certainly on a beach somewhere. This is probably the most free-spirited application of a Bock you are going to find, and I commend Cigar City for this one. I could see myself grabbing something like this in a 6-pack.

Random Thought: Dammit, now I want to go drink on a beach. To live in the Midwest...

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Double Latte Coffee Milk Stout (brewed with Ninkasi Brewing Company in Eugene, Oregon)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 05/30/14)
Style/ABV: American Imperial Stout, 7.6%

Reported IBUs: 60

The Double Latte Coffee Milk Stout is a collaboration with Ninkasi Brewing Company, a brewery that is going to put beer in space like anyone cares. At least astronauts can get their drink on now. My bottle reads: "Inspired by the perennial café favorite, Double Latte combines two great things: coffee and beer. Oregon's Ninkasi Brewing knows their way around a good cup of joe. Featuring cold-press coffee from legendary Stumptown Coffee Roasters and a dose of milk sugar, this coffee milk stout is a rich and roasty treat."

Double Latte Coffee Milk Stout

Describing Imperial Stouts is like describing a zebra, or something. You know, it's a horse with black and white stripes. This one pours into an opaque, black body...and kicks up a finger of super creamy, tan/brown/mocha head. There's nice carbonation visible on the side of my glass, and it is tiny in size. This looks much the same in bright light. Notable here is the ridiculous head retention, with a finger hanging around for the long haul. In fact, the other thing to note here is how creamy and dense this head is. It's like whipped egg whites...this makes Guinness look like a chump. Really impressive head here, like drunk chicks.

WOW, dat aroma. This smells fucking amazing...I'm getting blasted with deep coffee, light hazelnut, light espresso, big latte notes, chocolate, mocha, and tons of lactose sugar. Did I mention the head is STILL hanging around?

This tastes amazing...and they nail the bitterness. This is a huge Stout, with tons of lactose, milks sugars, and chocolate density. But there's a ton of coffee notes in here, ranging from straight up coffee, hazelnut, latte, cappuccino, and then big espresso that grows and grows as the hop bitterness takes hold and punishes your palate. Before the bitter hop/coffee wallop, you get some nice lactose-cocoa sweetness, but then BAM. Non-intrusive but bitter hops show up, and then the bitter coffee unloads big espresso notes. There's tons of creamy coffee creamer and lactose sugar in the mix, and yeah.

This is a full-bodied, rich, complex, Stout. Palate depth and complexity are both very high. This is well-carbonated, and has really nice balance between sweet lactose Sugars, roasty Stout notes and chocolate, and tons of coffee. The hops in here are strictly to provide support to the bitter coffee that shows up on the back end. Up front: lactose sugars, roast, earthy notes, ash, growing coffee, hints of espresso; the mids hit hazelnut, latte, cappuccino, more dirty and ash, some woody notes, cocoa, lactose sugars, caramel; the back end rolls into bitter espresso, bitter coffee, more lingering milk sugars, and a nice drying finish that leaves sticky, residual sugars up in the corner of your lips. Really nice.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. This is not just a great example of how to make a coffee stout, but this is a really, really good coffee stout. This puts a lot of the competition to shame...and rivals some top-notch coffee beers. This is even more impressive when you consider that it only clocks in at 7.6 and 60 IBUs. This beer is refined and balanced, making use of every single square inch of that ABV and hop addition. I love everything about this beer, but I really like the balance and the deeply bitter espresso notes that show up on the back end. You could pair this beer with breakfast foods, chocolate bacon doughnuts, dry chocolate desserts, or a big aggressive cheeseburger with strong cheeses. You could also pair this with grilled meats that are heavily seasoned. Great stuff....I am impresed.

Random Thought: This beer is clearly the standout from the 2014 Beer Camp. What a brew...

July 21, 2014

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Tater Ridge Scottish Ale (brewed with Asheville Brewers Alliance in Asheville, North Carolina)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 06/04/14)
Style/ABV: Stottish Ale, 7.0%

Reported IBUs: 35

The Tater Ridge Scottish Ale is a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and the Scottish folk from the Asheville Brewers Alliance. My bottle reads: "We're fortunate to call the passionate and talented folks in the Asheville Brewers Alliance our North Carolina neighbors. Tater Ridge is our nod to the area's Scottish Highland history, and we hope this ale accented by sweet potatoes will be the first of many collaborations to come."

There and Back English-Style Bitter

This one pours out a dark reddish-browh with two fingers of tan/caramel-tinted head. This is nearly opaque; you can't really see the carbonation. There is good head retention and lacing.

The aroma here is really deep, with big caramel, bready notes, spicy notes, brown sugar, and sweet fruits that start to emerge as this warms up. It doesn't smelly like your prototypical Scotch Ale, so immediately judging this by the aroma is a bit difficult to do.

The taste, however, is much more in line with what I was expecting with a Scottish Ale. There are twangy peated malts playing off big bready and caramel notes, with Twizzlers fruits. This is fruity and sweet, with some bready spice in the back. It's very elegant and nice.

This is full-bodied, but I don't get any of the 7.0%. This is all about those gentle caramel malts and that nice, fruity body. FYI: I don't get any potato in this. Palate depth is good; good complexity. Up front: bready malts, caramel sugars, Twizzlers sweetness; that rolls into deep malts, light peat, more fruity and bready notes; the back end has a twang of hops and finishes with lingerings sugars. Nice.

Rating: Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this beer. Maybe even higher...hmm. I'll have to revisit this in a few days. This is easily one of my favorites from the Beer Camp 2014. This is really tightly executed, and also happens to be an interesting take on the Scottish Ale style. I'd buy this in a 6-pack in the late Fall or early Winter months to pair with football and hearty stews and desserts. This is the Autumn beer that I want...not another tired adjunct squash or pumpkin beer.

Random Thought: This is seriously some great beer. It makes up for the sort-of-boring Yvan and Chico.

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Yvan The Great Belgian-Style Blonde (brewed with Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, California)

Reported IBUs: 50

The Yvan The Great Belgian-Style Pale Ale is a collaboration with the brown bears that hunt salmon in the great Russian River. Of all the beers in this mix-pack, this was by far the one I was the most excited about. The bottle reads: "As longtime friends, Russian River brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo and our own Brian Grossman are no strangers to brewing experiments. For this collaboration, they honored their friend and renowned Belgian brewer Yvan De Baets. This Belgian-American mash-up harmoniously blends Yvan's penchant for yeast with Vinnie and Brian's affinity for hops."

Yvan The Great Belgian-Style Blonde

This one is easy to describe in appearance: it pours out a hazy lemon-yellow color, with a juicy and hazy body. My pour yielded one finger of white, Saison-esque head that gently faded into a nice sea foam/cauldron effect. Small, modest streams of carbonation pepper the glass.

The aroma here features big Belgian yeast. This is big, earthy, and super raw, with lots of Belgian yeast, raw dough, barnyard, wheat, lemons, white sugar, green bananas, and big black pepper. The Belgian yeast and doughy notes stand out. This smells pretty damn good for a Belgian Blonde.

I'd say this is somewhere between a wheat beer and a Saison and a Belgian Pale Ale....I'm getting cracker notes, biscuit, wheat, bubblegum, black pepper, coriander/lemon, clove, and earthy straw, grass, and wheat. There's nice bitterness at work here as well, with earthy Belgian yeast.

This is medium-bodied, if not light-full. Palate depth is refined and good....complexity is lacking. This is refreshing and drinkable. It's hard to rate as a one-off, especially in this compilation package. What do I compare this to? As this warms up, some candi sugar notes emerge. Up front: candy sugars, wheat, lemon, Belgian funk; that rolls into bubblegum, wheat, hop balance; the back end is clove, black pepper, biscuit, bread. This finishes with wheat....it's alright.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a super, super Light Above-Average on this beer. The execution pushes it over-the-top, especially for a boring-ass Belgian Blonde/Pale Ale. Despite my favorable rating for the style, I found this beer and Three Floyd's Chico King to be generally disappointing in the 2014 Beer Camp. There's just so much potential here...ah well. This is solid, and would pair well with pizza or white pasta or something of that ilk. I'm a fan, but it's hard to justify this beer when you have nearby (to the Midwest) breweries like Solemn Oath, Penrose, and even Goose Island.

Random Thought: All the Beer Camp 2014 needed was a single sour. In addition to Russian River's clout as a world class brewer, the description on the bottle of this beer summons the phrase, "brewing experiments." For future reference, please do not use that term unless you brew something that is a brewing experiment.

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Maillard's Odyssey Imperial Dark Ale (brewed with Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan)

Reported IBUs: 40

The Maillard's Odyssey Imperial Dark Ale is a collaboration with Bell's Brewery, Inc., or that one brewery with that drunk guy from that beer documentary. There's no Oberon here. My bottle reads: "Rich, dark, and roasty. That was our shared vision, and Maillard's Odyssey is exactly that, taking its name in part from the fond Maillard reaction - the "browning" of sugars and amino acids - that creates the wonderful caramelized toffee-like and roasted flavors so abundant in this beer."

Maillard's Odyssey Imperial Dark Ale

It's so weird that Chrome doesn't know how to spell "amino." Auto-correct suggestions include "amigo." NEWAY, this one pours with a dark, cola-black body, kicking up two fingers of mocha/tan, root beer float head. Head retention is excellent, with good lacing. The body has brown tones on the edges when held to bright light, but this is opaque like most Stouts.

The aroma here features deep roast, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, and big dark sugars/molasses. That's a pretty generic description, so let me offer that this also has huge woody-coffee-cream notes, with coffee creamer, ash, and milk sugars/lactose. I haven't looked up how Ratebeer and BA are styling this, but my guess is they are calling this a Stout. And frankly, this kind of smells like a Milk Stout kind of Stout. An Imperial Milk Stout. Like 18th Street's Hunter. There's some hops lurking way in the back, with faint citrus/pine elements strictly in play to balance things out. Is this a Black IPA? No. Duh. It's not an American Porter either.

The taste...wow. It's intense, and it tastes like an Imperial Milk Stout. I'm reminded again of the 18th Street Hunter, or Bell's Special Double Cream Stout. ...just massive notes of coffee, cocoa, coffee creamer, lactose sugars, dark chocolate, roast, woody notes, and big citrus/pine hops clocking in on the back end to clean things up.

This is full-bodied and dense, but hides the 8.5% well. Sticky sugars coat your lips. This has awesome palate depth and moderate complexity. I'd call this an Imperial Milk Stout, but that's just me. Up front: lactose, coffee, cocoa, creamer; the mids hit roast, deep sugars, woody coffee-creamer nuttiness and toast; the back end trails with sweetness, sugars, creamer, hints of a hop back bone. Wowza.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this beer. This is massive and bold. If this was barrel-aged it would be a banger. It's a touch not-complex, and to be fair the style has been done by brewers like 18th Street, Pipeworks, and probably others I'm not thinking of at the moment. Still, this would be a hell of a beer to pair with a cigar, some dry chocolate desserts, or even a greasy and cheesy burger.

Random Thought: This was one of the clear standouts from the Beer Camp 2014.

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: There and Back English-Style Bitter (brewed with New Glarus Brewing in New Glarus, Wisconsin)

Reported IBUs: 40

The There and Back English-Style Bitter is a collaboration with everyone's favorite cow-sodomizers, New Glarus. My bottle reads: "For beer folks, Chico, CA, and New Glarus, WI, are bucket-list pins on the U.S. brewing map, but it's no simple feat seeing both. There and Back is named for the planes, trains, and zeal that connect them. This classic English-style Bitter is a complex mix of toasty malt and fruity, herbal hops."

There and Back English-Style Bitter

This one pours out a hazy orange color with a finger of orange/caramel-tinted head. There is nice lacing, moderate streams of mid sized carb, and bells and whistles that might impress the UK but good lord show me some implants in bikinis thank you 'Merica.

New Glarus knows a thing or two about German-style Lagers, so it doesn't shock me that they also know a thing or two about English beer. This aroma is really nice, with deep toast and toasty notes, Lager-like cleanness, and fruit notes. This smells very much like one of New Glarus' German-Style or English-Style Ales/Lagers. If you've had any of New Glarus' beers that aren't Spotted Cow or the fruit beers, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. There are some fruity notes here: berries, apples, pears, sweet grain. The nose is ultimately on the mild, sweet, and toasty side.

At cooler temps this is quite toasty with pear/apple/berry fruitiness and raw grains. As the beer warms up, floral English-Style hops emerge with great floral notes and fruitiness. There's lots of toast and caramel notes here, balanced and cleaned up nicely by grassy hops and clean yeast.

This is clean, Lager-like, light-bodied, and quaffable. You don't get any booze here, and my only regret is that this isn't in a 16oz can. Palate depth is top notch, and complexity is also very good for the style. This definitely reminds me of early Autumn and English pubs. You could drink this at a fish fry or with fish and chips. Up front: toasty notes, caramel, berry fruit notes; apple, pear, and bitter floral hops in the mids; the back end cleans up with grain, lingering fruity notes, and mild bitterness. The finish is toasty and round.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this beer. This definitely skirts by being just average...it's memorable and really well-made. Kind of like everything that New Glarus puts out. I know I'm holding them to an impossibly high standard, but they generally nail all the beers they make (and there's a lot of them). Still....this is like a busty English BBW. Refined, but the teeth are still janky.

Random Thought: Ignoring my snide attack above...I actually really adore this style, and I wish more American breweries would make this type of beer.

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Chico King Pale Ale (brewed with Three Floyds Brewing in Munster, Indiana)

Reported IBUs: 45

The Chico King Pale Ale was brewed with those tourist loving rascals at Three Floyds. My bottle says: "3 Floyds has a reputation as the Midwestern kings of alpha (hops), and it seems our flagship beer helped lure them down the lupulin-paved path. Chico King is a mash-up of our mutual passion for hoppy pale ales and we suspect you'll find it fit for royalty."

This one pours a hazy, dark orange nearing copper, color. It's almost reddish-orange. There is good carb; tiny bubbles with big streams. This pours with two fingers of caramel head and has good lacing. Folks, it looks like an IPA/Pale Ale.

Chico King Pale Ale

The aroma here is big caramel and hops. I'm getting orange, rind, and pine. Big pine. There's a big forest aroma that smells like pine, woody dankness, wet hops, and cabin. If a beer embodied camping, this is it. Like RuinTen's caramel meets Bell's Two Hearted. Bitter lemon is buried beneath the orange-wood-pine thing. This will age into iced tea as that note is already on the nose.

The taste has big malty embrace, caramel, orange, and pine hops. I'm getting crushed wet leaves, and hints of iced tea. This was packaged 5/15/14, making it two months old...that's just me fishing[or is it phishing?] for excuses to justify this boring Pale Ale.

This is well-made, of course, with good balance between the malts and hops...it makes okay use of the 6.5%, and good use of the 45 IBUs. This is medium-bodied, average in terms of palate depth, and average in terms of compelxity. Up front: caramel malts and orange; pine and crushed leaves in the middle; sweeter tea and pine sap fades to caramel-hops in the back.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this beer. This is FFF phoning it in. Super average. It's kind of weak in a collaboration package like this, IN MY OPINION. So...just another Pale Ale from Triple-F. You either can applaud that, or admit it could have been more intriguing.

Random Thought: At least they couldn't shove this in a bomber and charge $10~$20 for it. Space Station Middle Finger should have come in a 6-pack for the same price that the bomber cost. Cot Dang.

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Alt Route Altbier (brewed with Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown, Pennsylvania)

Reported IBUs: 50

Alt Route Altbier is brewed with Victory Brewing Company. My bottle reads: "Brewers are notorious for refusing to take the easy path. Alt Route is a tribute to the stubborn spirit that drove us to dodge the status quo and build breweries of our own. Together we chased the siren song of beer with this revamped take on an antique beer style."

Alt Route Altbier

This one pours a dark penny-copper color, producing massive, three-plus fingers of caramel-tinted head. The body is reddish-brown in bright light, with lots of lively streams of carb. The head retention is excellent, and so is the lacing.

The aroma here is a bit of a departure from the rest of the 2014 Beer Camp, with spicy bready notes and caramel sweetness. I'm getting rye, cinnamon, caramel, sweet dark fruits, toffee, Twizzlers, aged Doppelbock notes, and deep bready caramels. The aroma is nice.

This tastes amazing, with bready notes, Twizzlers, caramel sugars, spicy breads, and big spicy hops. The back end is bitter rye bread and rich pumpernickel, fruit bread, licorice, and Twizzlers.

You would never guess this is 6.6%....it is one of those malt bombs that could go either way: higher or lower ABV. Palate depth here is the only shortcoming, with some watery moments. Otherwise, this medium-bodied banger is super complex with tons of malts and good hop support. Up front: water to malty, transitioning to big bready notes, rye, pumpernickel, Twizzlers; the mids dial up huge Scotch-Ale like breads and malts, more rye, more pumpernickel; the back is balanced with hops. This finishes with lingering bread and Twizzlers. Toasted notes are all over the place. I love this Old Ale/Scotch Ale/Bock thing.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'll go a Strong Above-Average here. I'd go higher if not for those watery moments...oh well. This was still one of my favorites from the 2014 Beer Camp. Such a fun beer with a small footprint...I guess it's not the size of the ship, right.

Random Thought: I'd pair this one with a pretzel bun burger or a pastrami on rye sandwich. Yum.

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Myron's Walk Belgian-Style Pale Ale (brewed with Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine)

Reported IBUs: 38

Myron's Walk is a collaboration with the Allagash Brewing Company, everyone's favorite Belgian-inspired, American brewery. The bottle reads: "This collaboration honors Myron Avery, a founder of the Appalachian Trail which spans our North Carolina brewery and Allagash's home in Maine. We share a great love of the outdoors, and Avery and the AT are great reminders of the wild spirit of exploration that connects us both."

Myron's Walk Belgian-Style Pale Ale

This one pours out a hazy, golden color; there are yellow, orange, and bronze tones. Two fingers of lush white head form, with nice lacing and head retention. The carbonation is moderately busy.

The aroma is quite hoppy up front, but then the coriander and bready Belgian funk kicks in. I'm getting barynyard, malty and bready notes, biscuit, lemon, orange peel, coriander spice, and mild perfume/candy notes. It smells good.

This tastes super clean, but as it lingers on your palate you get hit with black pepper, peppery-salt-dryness, and coriander spice. There's big lemon and orange in here, and lots of bready malts. This has mild clove funk. It's like a Saison more than a wit...truly an Allagash beer if I have ever had one.

At 5.3% and 35 IBUs you knew this would be light and drinkable. So let's talk about the balance. This is clean with clove up front, hoppy and spicy in the middle, and bready in the back. Palate depth is good, complexity is average. This is light-bodied. Up front: clove, clean malt sugars, grassy hops, lemon; mids hit big black pepper, coriander, drying spice and nice hop bitterness, rye; back end is lingering spice with bready malts; finishes clean, spicy, and dry.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this beer. It's good, but it's also a penny in the well of growing Saisons/Belgian Pale Ales. For example, see: Penrose, Solemn Oath, etc. This would have been more unique and cool two or three years ago. Food pairings here include mac and cheese, pizza, and any American-style chicken dish.

Random Thought: Not a bad start though.

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Torpedo Pilsner Hoppy Pilsner (brewed with Firestone Walker Brewery Company in Paso Robles, California)

Reported IBUs: 45

The hoppy Torpedo Pilsner Hoppy Pilsner is a collaboration with the fine folks at Firestone Walker Brewing. My bottle reads: "Torpedo Pilsner is a hop-forward take on the crisp, classic lager. We and the folks at Firestone Walker share a passion for New Zealand hop varietals, so we loaded our legendary Hop Torpedo with the southern hemisphere's finest hops for a fruity, floral twist on the Pilsner style."

This one pours a pale yellow color, and has good depth of color throughout. This is transparent if not slightly hazy, with fat carb popping away. I kicked up 3-plus fingers of dense, sustaining, white head. There is some lacing as well.

Torpedo Pilsner Hoppy Pilsner

The aroma here is clean and sweet. I'm getting sweet Pilsner malts up the butt. It smells like an adjunct lager. There are grassy and floral hops in the mix as well. DAE lawn mow? Constrained biscuit and cracker show up, like when you are constipated and prairie-dog it deep in your colon but nothing comes out. There are also some faint, non-descript fruity notes.

Wow. The taste is a real contrast from the aroma, with candy-like hops firing off melon and sweet lemon candied notes. This is fruity with candy berries, dusty citrus, sweet tarts, and layers of dust and dry candy hop notes on light biscuit and cracker malts. This is super sweet. The hops here are floral as well, with dusty flowers and candy in the house. Fantastic.

Now this is a fun twist on the Pilsner style. This is light-bodied and super drinkable, but the balance is shifted towards dusty, candy-like hops. Palate depth is good, and this is complex for the style. Up front: sweet malts give way to sweet tarts and candy hops; the mids roll into grassy and dusty candy hops with some biscuit/cracker; the back end lingers with lemon bitterness. Good.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this...this is a very original take on the style, and what this variety pack should be about. Food pairings here are one and only one: pizza. That's it.

Random Thought: Transcribing notes after the fact suuuucks. So does not having Internet for a week.