[Cellar Review] Mission St. 2012 Anniversary Ale (Vintage 2012)

Brewed By: Steinhaus Brewing Co. (Firestone Walker) in Paso Robles, California  

Purchased: Big 650ml bomber (22oz) bought at Trader Joe's in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale, 8.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

Oh snap...I bought this beer back in early 2012, making it just over two years old. This is one of Trader Joe's beers...but Trader Joe's doesn't actually make beer. They contract brew all their beer with various companies, including Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Unibroue (Sapporo), and the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company. Tonight's beer is all Firestone, bby. About Firestone: 

Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the folks at Firestone Walker Brewing. The brewery was founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone (son of Brooks Firestone) and David Walker (husband of Adam's sister). The brothers brewed their first beer in 1996, in a small facility rented from the Firestone Vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County. In 2001, the brothers-in-law purchased SLO Brewing Company in Paso Robles, CA, and set up camp. Despite being relatively new to craft beer, the brewery has a ton of accolades, and is known for their Reserve line and their oak barrel brewing system. You can learn more about the history of the brewery here and here. 

As noted...I did review the Mission St. 2012 Anniversary Ale back in 2012. The bottle states: "The 2012 Mission St. Anniversary Ale showcases complex malt flavors with roasty notes layered in and medium hop character. it is a blend of three incredible brews carefully blended for maximum aroma and flavor. We affectionately call this brew an Imperial Brown Ale." And that's all they wrote. I guess...into the glass we go.

[Cellar Review] Mission St. 2012 Anniversary Ale

This one pours into a dark brown, dark red color, and kicks up three fingers of tan head. The head isn't quite mocha, it's not gray/sandy...it's a yellowish-reddish-amber color. When you shine a bright light through the beer, the beer is textbook ruby red. There's numerous streams of tiny bubbles rising upwards, and a finger of foamy head is hanging around. There's also some nice lacing. It looks good, especially with the age on it. 

The aroma here is really nice...and mellow. I'm getting HUGE Twizzlers and licorice. There's some pine sap in the mix, wood, smoked malts[?], and big Doppelbock-like sweetness with toast, toffee, and dried out dark fruits. The aroma is simply sublime at this point in time. 

Like the taste, this is all but mellow and smooth; titty sprinkles. I'm getting big blasts of malty sweetness, dried berries and dark fruits, Twizzlers and licorice, toffee, and some pine sap. There are still hops in the mix, believe it or not, showing up as slightly resinous and bitter pine towards the back. I'm getting some light pine and orange/tangerine. It's just...a fantastic sleeper with dominate Bock-esque sweetness and giant Twizzler notes to make you feel like you are twelve.

This is a medium-full to full-bodied beer. The mouthfeel is perfect, with tons of carbonation, and big gripping malt sweetness. This has fantastic palate depth, and moderate complexity. It's held up well over the last two years, but I did take care to cellar it properly. At 8.5% this is worthy of sipping on...but you can also take it a bit faster. Given the fact that you can't buy this beer any more, I intend to sip on it. Up front: dried berries, floral/UK hops, pine sap, and big Twizzler/licorice, toast, toffee; the mids dial up the toast and toffee, and slap you with almost fruitcake-like Twizzler/licorice, and Bock sweetness; the back end finishes with lingering malt complexity, some burnt sugars, brown sugar, muscovado, and dried berries. The finish is perfectly dry, and I just want to sip on this all night. Damn what a stunner for such a bargain beer.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. Maybe higher? This is seriously fucking awesome. This is why you cellar beer...and this was a great candidate for the cellar. I'm also pretty sure this 650ml bottle cost me well under $10, making it both a delicious beer and a serious bargain. If you have a bottle of this laying around and you plan to dust it off, pair it with fruitcake, berry pie, cake with fruit compote, or bread pudding.  

Random Thought: As you can see, I'm in the process of clearing some shit out of my cellar...woo. 

Prairie Artisan Ales Okie

Brewed By: Prairie Artisan Ales in Tulsa (brewed in Krebs), Oklahoma  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Fischman Liquors and Tavern in Chicago, IL; 2013  

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale/Wild Ale, 13.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

The world is a better place when the work week starts on Tuesday. That's the ripple effect, and the best part about a three day weekend. It's knowing that Tuesday is the new Monday, and mid-week is the day after, and before you know it it's Friday. I'm not in a terrible mood, so let's wrap up this weekend with a fun one. About Prairie Artisan Ales:

Prairie Artisan Ales are yet another brewery that began as a Kickstarter campaign. Founded in 2012 by brothers Chase and Colin Healey (nice beards), 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.

Hipster bottle art is cool. Okie. 

It looks like tonight's beer was Gypsy Brewed at "Pete's Place / Krebs Brewing Co.." You can read more about them in my review of the Prairie Somewhere. The Prairie Okie, which -- as with all the Prairie beers, features awesome bottle art -- is described as an "Imperial Brown Ale aged in oak whiskey barrels." There's not much else to go on here...but I love Brown Ales, I love oak, and I love whiskey. 

Prairie Artisan Ales Okie

This beer pours a surprisingly dark brown color, almost approaching black. It's almost cola-esque. The beer also kicks up two fingers of dark tan/light brown head. The head is creamy and thick, and suggests nothing of the 13.0% lurking beneath. In bright light, you definitely see some brown in this beer. Head retention is nuts on this beer. A pinky of creamy, dark tan head will not die on this beer. It's like the John McClane of beer heads. The lacing is top notch.

On the nose/aroma you get big whiskey, wood, and some fruity notes. I'm getting big raisin, oak, molasses, brownie/chocolate/caramel, and some toast? It's a subtle nose, minus the whiskey and oak.

I don't know what it is about the eve before work weeks...but I seem to really enjoy whiskey beers on those evenings. That or I've lucked into another fantastic whiskey-aged beer. This is just...fantastic. I mean, where did the 13% go? And this beer uses such a deft hand with the whiskey barrel. You get a lot of whiskey and barrel in this, with some oak goodness...and you also get some raisins, caramel, and molasses. But there's also a sweetness and lightness to this beer that I can't quite put my finger on. It really adds some lightness and levity to this beer, and it elevates what would otherwise be a heavy beer. It almost tastes like figs or pomegranate, and it reminds me of the He'Brew Funky Jewbelation. I'm also getting some hints of sweet brownie, chocolate, and some smoke/toast in this. 

At 13.0%, this has some heat and has some booze...but it's not bad. A lot of the heat come from the whiskey barrel flavors you get. It's definitely a sipper, but the mouthfeel still only pushes into the medium-full range. A lot of that is also the result of lots of supportive, creamy carbonation. Palate depth is good, and complexity ain't bad. This is a Brown Ale like the Kraken is a fish...and I wonder what yeast was used to ferment this. In the end, this is whiskey/barrel-forward. You get a kiss of pomegranate figs up front, followed by big whiskey/barrel/oak; that rolls into chocolate, brownie, raisins, molasses, more whiskey/oak; the back end is whiskey, oak, hints of smoke, and some toast. The finish is dry, sticky, and boozy. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. I don't even know what I would categorize this beer as, but this is a good beer. You get a lot of bang for buck with this beer, and this would be the perfect monster to sip on over the course of an evening. What I really like about this beer is the hint of sweetness that shows up. I don't know where that sweet fig/pomegranate flavor comes from, but it adds a much needed layer of sweetness to the big whiskey/barrel character that you get here. There's almost a sour/tart character at work here...maybe from some wild yeast. I would drink this as a dessert beer, or pair this beer with a dessert course. This beer would go great with vanilla ice cream, chocolate cake with fruit accents, a cheese cake...or you could pair this beer with red meats with a sweet sauce.

Random Thought: The more I drink this, the more I'm convinced that the fruity pomegranate note is coming from some wild or Belgian yeast. Hmmm...

Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot (WTF) Ale

Brewed By: Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale, 7.85%

Reported IBUs: 59.00

Isn't that Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? About Lagunitas (Pronounced: "LAH-goo-KNEE-tuss"):

Lagunitas is a brewery I dabbled with when I hit up their controversially named "Kronik" (Lagunitas Censored) back in November 2010. The Lagunitas website has some cool info on the brewery and the beer, and can be found here. The brewery was founded in 1993 out in Lagunitas, California, and has since moved to Petaluma in California. It seems like Lagunitas is run by a bunch of deviant madmen geniuses, and the brewery appears to be a true grassroots movement, if you catch my drift.

According to Lagunitas, the WTF is a malty, robust, "jobless recovery ale." This is a big, Imperial Brown Ale, that is "rich, smooth, dangerous and chocolatey." Clocking in at 7.85% and packing 59 IBUs, this beer is no slouch. I'm going to be paying attention to the 59 IBUs, which is getting into IPA-territory.

Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot

I love it when I'm right. This one is basically an Imperial Red, and I was greeted with a ton of hops when I popped the top. This one pours a muted, reddish color, with hints of brown. Even in low light, this beer is carbonated, and has moderate carbonation. The head was another giveaway, as this kicked up 3-finger's worth of super soapy, sticky head. There's still a finger's worth of head clinging on, and a ton of sticky lacing running down the sides. In bright light, the beer is a reddish/brown color, with a ton of effervescence in the form of tiny carbonation bubbles. The head remains off-white, and there's a ton of sticky lacing. How is this not an Imperial Red Ale? 

The aroma is a nice blend of bread, toast, biscuit, nondescript malt, and a ton of hop spice. I'm getting pepper, lemon, lemony pepper (<-try me), and a fuckton of rye. I think rye is the dominating spice on the nose. There's some caramel, and some fat, resinous citrus; woody oranges/grapefruit. 

This is basically what I expected. A hoppy, spicy, bready, Imperial Red ale thing. You get a ton of grapefruit, orange, and citrus rind. The citrus hop-kick gets pretty soapy and bitter, and eventually finishes woody and dry. This has great flow through the palate. The big flavor here is the rye bread, with bready rye hitting you up front. The citrus then comes in as a secondary character, along with some nice hop and rye spice. The whole thing cleans up nicely with hop dryness and some nice wood.

This one is medium in the mouthfeel, with good palate depth, and moderate to low complexity. This is more in line with the Imperial Red Ales/American Strong Ales (ala Arrogant Bastard) compared to Brown Ales. Where's the cacao and/or chocolate? For 7.85%, this drinks good. The 59 IBUs is very evident, but it's enjoyable. This is very much a "Lagunitas beer." Up front is a dash of malt sweetness (a blast of chocolate?), spicy rye, and bread/toast; the middle is rye spice, hop spice, pepper, lemon, and citrus; the back fades to woody citrus, and some dryness. All around, really drinkable and nice.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. This one is very reasonably priced around 6 dollars a bomber, and would pair well with a good burger, some wings, fried chicken, pizza, assorted bar foods, and Americanized Mexican foods. I could even see myself pairing this with some bread or pasta. This is nice stuff from the Lagunitas wheelhouse. It's also drinkable, and available...worth checking out.

Random Thought: Seriously though, I don't get it. That's whiskey. Right?

Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown

Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Purchased: Giant 750ml bomber from Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: American Brown Ale/Strong Ale, 9.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

I was browsing for some beer while visiting my girlfriend's family in Urbana, and I happened across one of the always sexy, 750ml Founders bottles. The bottle calls this a "Brown Ale brewed with Hazelnut Coffee." How could I say no? About Founders:

Founders is the holy grail of Michigan brewing. Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders was founded in 1997 and produce some of the best beer in the world.

This beer is, I believe, a one-off, much like their CBS. Founders doesn't have any information about this beer on their main site, but they did talk about it in this blog post and this blog post. This beer uses hazelnut coffee in the brewing process, and is described as being "sweet and nutty." This beer was available on draft at Founders' Grand Rapids taproom, and is part of the brewery's "Backstage Series."

 Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown 

The beer pours a lovely dark brown color, with 2 fingers of thick head. The head is made up of super densely packed bubbles, and has a real thickness; the head has a nice tan/sandy-beach color to it. When held to a bright light, this beer takes on a murky brown/orange color on the edges. You cannot see through this murky beer, but you can see quite a bit of carbonation (in the form of tiny bubbles) rising upwards. The head is hanging around, leaving some nice lacing, and there are some legs.

Wow! The aroma on this...this reminds me of Founders' Breakfast Stout, only with a kick of hazelnut goodness. I'm getting big coffee on this: spent coffee in the filter, ground coffee. And the coffee has a distinct hazelnut profile. I'm also getting huge nutty aromas on this, as well as big earthy profiles from the coffee and nut. There's some sweetness in the nose as well, and maybe a hint of booze? Overall: big sweet malts, HUGE hazelnut coffee, and a touch of alcohol.

Do you like coffee? Do you like hazelnut? Do you like hazelnut coffee? If you answered yes to any of the above, then odds are you will enjoy this beer. This beer just wallops the palate with huge coffee notes. I'm getting giant hazelnut coffee, sweet caramel, sugars, nuttiness, slight coffee-bitterness, and some really nice alcohol complexity on the back end. You pick up the booze as a lovely character in the palate, and it almost drops a raisin-caramel-sugar thing in the back-palate. 

I'm a coffee whore, and a hazelnut coffee whore too. So, consider that my bias...Having said that, this is delicios-o. This beer accomplishes exactly what it set out to accomplish, which is to fuse coffee into a Brown Ale. This is a medium-full to full-bodied beer, with a slightly oily mouthfeel, that drinks incredibly smooth thanks to gentle carbonation. Palate depth is superb, and complexity is moderate. Up front are sweet malts that give way to big nuttiness, hazelnut, and then hazelnut coffee; mid-palate is more hazelnut coffee, along with some coffee bitterness; back palate is lingering coffee, along with a hint of complex booze (raisin/caramel). 

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Decent to Strong Above-Average on this. This isn't exactly blowing me away in terms of complexity, much like Bell's Java Stout, for example. But, for what this beer is...it's really fucking good. Like, better than any of the competition. In some ways, I'd prefer this to Founders' Breakfast Stout. It's sort of a shame that this is a one-off. Food pairings? Breakfast, any type of chocolate, cream, or coconut pie, pork chops, country fried steak, or even fried chicken. This is just a really fun beer, and something you should pick up if you enjoy breakfast beers. Recommended....even at the steep price of 14 bucks a 750ml bottle. 

Random Thought: I don't understand how Founders' distribution works in Illinois. I can't find their beer anywhere in the Chicago-land area, but when I travel 100 miles south to Urbana, I can find their rare beer. What is up with that? 

Mission St. 2012 Anniversary Ale

Brewed By: Steinhaus Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, California 

Purchased: Big 650ml bomber (22oz) bought at Trader Joe's in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale, 8.5%

Today I'm reviewing another exclusive beer from Trader Joe's. I talked a little bit about Trader Joe's when I reviewed their 2011 Vintage Ale. I mentioned that Trader Joe's contracts their brewing out to a number of companies, including Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Unibroue (Sapporo), and the Gordon Biersch Brewing Company. The Vintage Ale was a beer made by Unibroue. Today's beer is made by the "Steinhaus Brewing Co.," which is apparently a front for Firestone Walker Brewing.

For anyone wondering what Trader Joe's is: Trader Joe's started out as a small chain of convenience stores back in 1958. Back in 1958 the chain was known as "Pronto Market." The first store named after founder Joe Coulombe opened in 1967. Trader Joe's is known for its organic and gourmet foods, and they sell lots of food straight from the manufacturer at lower prices than other retailers. That's the textbook definition...Trader Joe's is a grassroots style store that sells a lot of fresh, organic, and hippy products. It's a cute little store, and it has gained a lot of popularity over the past couple of years. They are especially popular for their cheap wine, and they also sell Trader Joe's branded beer that is typically much cheaper than the competition. For example, the beer that I am drinking today costs around 2.99-3.50 a bottle. That's a steal for a bomber of 8.5% ABV Strong Ale. 

Googling "Steinhaus Brewing Co." results in Firestone Walker Brewing Co. as the second most popular hit. Firestone Walker Brewing is considered to be one of the best breweries out there by many craft beer enthusiasts. For that reason, it is very exciting to see such a cheap beer being outsourced to such a high quality brewery. If you stroll over to the history page, you can get some background on Firestone Walker Brewing. The brewery is based out of Paso Robles, California, and was founded in 1996 by Adam Firestone and David Walker. 

Before I jump into the review, I want to mention again that this beer is a great bargain. The bottle states that this beer "showcases complex malt flavors with roasty notes layered in and medium hop character. It is a blend of three incredible brews carefully blended for maximum aroma and flavor." The label goes on to say that this beer is an Imperial Brown Ale (which is perfect since I had this beer not too long ago). It's pretty rare to see a beer made out of blended beers sold at this price. I did have the 2011 version of this beer last summer. My opinion was that it was a great beer with lots of malts. I did find the 2011 version to be somewhat vicious with a lot of sharp alcohol. The 2011 version settled down when I drank a bottle a few months later. If I had to guess right now, I would say that this beer is probably going to be a bit heated. With a beer this cheap, it is worthwhile to invest in 2 or 3 bottles so that you can drink one fresh, and throw another in the cellar to drink down the road. Let's pop this open and see what we get!

Mission St. 2012 Anniversary Ale

The pour reveals a brownish looking beer with a one-finger, hazy brown head. The head is made up of small, thin bubbles. When held to bright light, this is clearly a redish/orange-brown beer. The head is leaving a nice cauldron effect atop the brew, and there is some lacing as head pulls away from the glass. The beer is murky and hard to see through, but there is quite a bit of carbonation visible as tiny bubbles stream upwards. All-in-all, not a bad looking beer. 

The aroma on this is slightly less vicious than I remember the 2011 edition. In fact, I recall the 2011 version having more molasses, twizzlers, and sharp malts. I'm pulling out some roasted malts, some chocolate, some twizzlers, and some sugary notes. I'm definitely picking up some hops, with hints of orange and grass, and some floral and mild English hop notes. Maybe a hint of pine, maybe a hint of vanilla, and faded hints of fruit sweetness.

The taste is definitely a lot more subdued than the 2011 version. Right up front I'm getting some interesting malt flavors, including caramel and molasses. There are hints of alcohol in the back, but honestly this hides the alcohol very well and is not giving off any vicious burn. I'm also picking up some interesting dark fruit notes: raisins, raisin puree, cherries even. There are notes of butterscotch, some DMS (veggies), and hints of German malts (think: Oktoberfest). There is some chocolate in here, and hints of roasted malts as well. The hops seem to provide balance to the malts, and you do get some bitterness in the back palate, along with hints of pine. It seems like some mild hops balance the beer throughout (think English hops; or the balance in a Pale Ale). Lots of big malt flavors though, including that really interesting raisin and chocolate note.   

I'm really surprised at how balanced this beer is. I was originally pulling for some cellar time, but I feel like the malt and hop balance in this beer is pretty solid as is. This is incredibly drinkable, with nice maltiness, good bitterness, and alcohol that is pretty well-hidden for 8.5% ABV. This is well-carbonated, with a medium-full mouthfeel that has some bitterness. The finish is a touch dry. Complexity is moderate, but the palate depth is is large. Up front you get carbonation, sweet malts, hints of chocolate and caramel; the middle is more sweet malts, with some dark fruits, DMS, and those Oktoberfest malts; the back end rounds out with some pine, even hints of citrus, and hop bitterness balanced with malt sweetness; the finish is malty and dry.  

Rating: Above-Average  

Score: 84%

Well, I am impressed. This is truly a value beer, especially at the price of around 2.99-3.50 a bottle. There are a ton of big malt flavors driving this beer, and the notes of chocolate and raisins are awesome. There is also a nice hop balance, with some good bitterness. Unlike last year's edition, this beer does not seem to need any time to "cool down." I remember the 2011 edition being a little bit more malty, but it also had a lot more vicious alcohol qualities. This beer is balanced and good to go. For the price that this beer costs, this beer is a steal. It also happens to be a damn delicious brew. There are really good flavors in here. This is worth picking up several bottles of. I would highly recommend this beer, and I would happily pair this beer with some fish or chicken. You might also be able to pair this with some sweeter, or even dessert. So until next time, cheers. 

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack from Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 7.2%

 

Tonight I'm taking a stab at one of Dogfish Head's year-round and more widely available beers, their Indian Brown Ale.  

Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995.The brewery began as a brewpub (the first in Delaware) called Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats and was originally located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The initial brewing setup included three kegs and propane burners. They brewed 12-gallon batches of beer three times a day, five days a week. In 1996 the brewery began bottling their beer, and by 1999 they had distribution to around a dozen different states. In 2002 the company outgrew their Rehoboth location, and moved to Milton, Delaware. More info can be found HERE.

The Indian Brown Ale isn't a typical Brown Ale by any metric. I'm not even sure you would really want to compare this beer to other Brown Ales, and I'm kind of skeptical to even label it an American Brown Ale. Nevertheless, both Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate have labeled this beer as an American Brown Ale.

According to Dogfish Head, this beer is a mix of a Scotch Ale (malty, caramely), an India Pale Ale (hoppy, balanced with malts), and an American Brown (malty, caramel, toast, chocolate, with some hops). Dogfish Head states that this beer has the color of an American brown, the caramel notes of a Scotch Ale, and is hopped like an IPA. This beer is actually dry-hopped in a similar fashion to the 60 and 90 Minute IPAs. This beer is brewed with "aromatic barley" and "organic brown sugar." This beer clocks in at 7.2% ABV, packs 50 IBUs, and is described as having molasses, coffee, ginger, raisinettes, and chocolate notes. Let's dig in and see how this beer stacks up. 

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

This beer is definitely a darker red/ruby color when held up to bright light, and it has a lot of carbonation. However, in low light, this beer takes on a dark brown/black color. There is a solid stream of small to medium sized carbonation rising upwards, and the beer pours with 3-fingers worth of excellent head. The head is made up of some big and small bubbles, and it has the consistency of something between dish soap and a nice thick foam. Head sustainability is good (I watched around 40 minutes of TV last night while drinking one of these, and there was head throughout), and there is some lacing left as the head pulls on the glass. Overall, this is a quality looking beer.

This beer smells quite a bit like a Scotch Ale, with strong malt notes right up front that remind me of wood, earthy chocolate, tobacco, and caramel. I'm also picking up some hop spice, some earthy hops, and a hint of bitter hop notes. There is some molasses or burnt sugar in here as well, and I'm definitely picking up some booze on the nose.

The taste is a lovely follow-through of the nose, with a smooth and tingly carbonation up front, with woody and chocolate notes, huge caramel and woody malt notes in the body, and a nice balance of floral and earthy hops. I taste wood, chocolate, molasses, brown sugar, caramel, herbal and earthy hop bite, and touches of sweetness that almost hits vanilla. There is some booze in the body, with a hint of viciousness throughout. There are also hints of fruit from the booze, like berries or grapes even. You don't really feel the 50 IBUs, and the hops seem to be the perfect foil to the huge malt flavors and the sugary alcohol. There is a touch of Diacetyl in the finish, and it is a woody finish.

This beer drinks medium-full, with a smooth body, lots of tingly and light carbonation, and a slightly woody and drying back end. This has big complexity, but moderate palate depth. I'm going to overlook the moderate palate depth, because Brown Ales aren't exactly known for walloping your palate. This is actually very drinkable, despite the 7.2% ABV, although this is a sugary beer with a hint of oily hops. You may be okay with 2 or 3 of these, but you're better of enjoying this beer. The front palate is carbonation, chocolate, caramel, molasses; this moves into sweet, sweet caramel, brown sugar, berries, earthy hops; this finishes with some woody notes, some veggies, some hints of citrus hops, and some more herbal hops. The finish is warming, and slightly drying. 

Rating: Divine Brew 

Score: 93%

 

This is a real surprise for me. This is a sleeper beer as far as I am concerned. I have seen this beer on shelves for many years, and I never really felt compelled to try it. This beer has a really nice balance of interesting flavors, and it is incredibly tasty. You get a lot of nice malt kick in here, with caramel and chocolate; you get some nice brown sugar kick in here; and there is a nice hop balance, but the 50 IBUs are not overly-assertive. And all things considered, a 6-pack of this beer is like 12 bucks, which is not bad for 7.2% ABV per bottle. 

 

The only caution I have is that I would not consider this to really be an American Brown Ale. This is definitely approaching hybrid beer, and this is a delicious and exotic take on the style. I don't think you can fairly compare this to other Brown Ales. Having said all that, this is a really delicious beer, and one of the better beers I have had from Dogfish Head. Recommended.