Deschutes Black Butte XXVI (26th Birthday Reserve)

Brewed By: Deschutes Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Binny's in Naperville, IL; 2014 (2014 Vintage - "Best after 06/16/15")

Style/ABV: American Porter, 10.8%
Reported IBUs: ?

I have been busy!!! Who knew that graduate school orientation could be so time consuming. I'm ready to crack into a beer. This one is dubbed an "ale brewed with pomengranate molasses with 50% aged in bourbon barrels blended with ale with cocoa nibs and cranberry added." About Deschutes:

The Deschutes Brewing Company was founded by Gary Fish on June 27th, 1988, when they opened the doors to their Bond Street Public House pub. The brewery has since expanded, growing to be one of the top craft beer producers in America. The brewery also operates a pub in Portland, and has a dedicated brewing facility overlooking the Deschutes river. For more information, check out the brewery's website; their Facebook page; their Twitter; or Wikipedia. 

The Black Butte is an ongoing release/series: this 26th anniversary Imperial Porter was aged in bourbon barrels and dry spiced with "Theo Chocolate's" cocoa nibs. This also features pomengranate molasses and Oregon cranberries. The malt bill includes: Pale, Wheat, Midnight Wheat, Chocolate, Crystal; the hops are Millennium, Cascade, US Tettnang. Special ingredients include the Theo Chocolate Cocoa Nibs, Pomegranate Molasses, and Cranberries. This was blended with 50% beer barrel-aged for 6 months in bourbon barrels.

Deschutes Black Butte XXVI 

This one pours into an opaque, but cola-black body, kicking up two fingers of tan head. There is nice lacing here, along with some alcohol legs...and head retention is pretty good. It looks pretty much how'd you expect...so Zzzzz

On the aroma: chocolate-bourbon, wood, bourbon, some whiskey-raisin sweetness, big molasses, and cherry-chocolate/cranberry-chocolate/pomengranate-chocolate. There are some silky vanilla undertones on the aroma, along with coffee, and lots of cranberry.

This is most definitely thrown for a loop by the fruit...I can't agree with the reports calling this sour -- I think acidic or tart-fruity are better descriptors. This has big notes of cranberry, cherry, and pomengranate, with overtly fruity and sweet notes that play off the whiskey-raisin sweetness, bourbon, wood, and chocolate/coffee. You get some nice coffee notes in here, whiskey-raisin, and chocolate covered pomengranate candies. I wouldn't exactly call this subtle.

If you like overtly sweet beers...this is going to make you happy. This is medium to full-bodied, with a substantial palate duration and very little in the way of complexity. You'd think this would unravel with more mystery given the barrel and fruit additions, but this mostly just dials up fruity sweetness, molasses, and faint chocolate/bourbon/coffee notes. Honestly, the porter base here really takes a back seat. This does mask the alcohol well, and I'm not getting booze. I am, however, getting sugar. Up front: pomengranate, cherries, sweet candies, molasses, cranberries; the mids roll into chocolate-pomengranate, chocolate-cranberries, and more sweet notes, with some whiskey-raising sweetness; the back end hits a little bourbon, oak, coffee, chocolate, but mostly finishes with more sweet candy notes. This is like the exact opposite of the Abyss. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average here. I actually don't mind the tart and fruity notes here, what is throwing me for a loop is the intense candy sweetness. I guess this beer would work as a dessert drink, and maybe that was the intention. I'm curious how this will taste with a few years of age on it, and I wonder if next year they should let the porter base stand out a little bit more.

Random Thought: It's cold out! For the first time all year, it really feels like Autumn outside.

5 Rabbit Yodo Con Leche

Brewed By: 5 Rabbit Cerveceria in Bedford Park, IL  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer, 8.2%

Reported IBUs: 38

These Summer nights and running [X miles] followed by drinking [Y Imperial Stout] is apparently becoming a thing. And I'm okay with it. It's not like I just mowed a lawn. I swear...I still love wheat beers. About 5 Rabbit Cerveceria: 

5 Rabbit Cerveceria is an Illinois-based craft brewery launched in 2011. The brewery has a unique perspective, focusing on Latin-themed craft beer. The company is lead by CEO Andrés Araya, Creative Director Randy Mosher, and brewmaster (and former Goose Island employee) John J. Hall. For more info about the brewery, check out their Facebook or their website. 

The Yodo Con Leche is an "Imperial Porter brewed with milk caramel and Costa Rican Coffee" The bottle reads: 

"A Costa Rican slang term for coffee, "Yodo" means something rich, dark and intense-a perfect name for this distinctive beer. We use "Finca Agrícola Cafetal" coffee beans from Lourdes de Cirrí de Naranjo, Costa Rica, custom roasted by Gaslight Coffee Roasters for the freshest, smoothest flavor. We combine this with Argentine dulce de leche (milk caramel), three caramel malts, three dark malts including chocolate rye, and finally oatmeal, creating several layers of creamy chocolatey roasted character.""

Yeah, you read that right...this is a malt bomb, brewed with Costa Rican coffee. The exact malt bill includes 2-Row, Caramel, Roasted Wheat and Rye malts, and Patagonia C-120. This also has the Dulce de Leche (milk caramel) and Costa Rican coffee. The hops here include Pilgrim and Summit, and this one is finished with dem English yeasts. It sounds like the coffee is a late addition, post-fermentation, steeped in some of the beer and then blended into the final result. I'm excited, are you?

5 Rabbit Yodo Con Leche

In true Porter-but-not-Imperial-Stout fashion, this one pours into a mostly black and mostly opaque body, but in reality you catch some brown tones and this is slightly transparent around the edges. The beer kicks up a finger or two of mocha-brown, coffee-infused head. The beer generally looks the same in bright or low light. Head retention here is nice...courtesy of all the proteins and malts. Swirling the beer kicks up sex in the glass, and there's nice lacing and alcohol legs. It's a good looking beer...I say that rarely, so prepare your fap chamber.

Damn...I really love coffee beers. I can't emphasize that enough. Really, really, love coffee beers. This has sweet aromatics and with rich coffee overtones. It smells more like a coffee bean shop than a Starbucks, with sweet and earthy coffee beans emerging as the dominating aroma. I'm getting sweet, earthy coffee beans, mocha, huge espresso and coffee creamer (like the canned energy drink espresso), ash, and earthy hazelnut. This plays up the hazelnut as you sink into the aroma, and I'm getting a ton of vanilla and caramel sugars too. I'd say this aroma leans towards the sweeter, earthy, unprocessed side of coffee...and that's not a bad thing.

This is blissfully drinkable, and the flavors mirror the aroma with huge hazelnut, caramel, vanilla sweetness, earthy ash and ground coffee, raw coffee beans, and big espresso with creamer. At times this reminds me of chewing on a chocolate-dipped coffee bean, with hints of chocolate-caramel and caramel-vanilla sweetness. You have to wonder how this beer would taste aged in a barrel; preferably a bourbon barrel. Probably well, as I answer my own question. For whatever reason, this one avoids the lactose sugar notes...I'm getting a lot of sweetness here, but it's well balanced by measured levels of roast. This is truly a balanced, well-made beer.

I'm really surprised by the lack of love, hype, and reviews for this beer. Apparently no one gives a fuck about Randy Mosher's epic brewery thing, but whatever. This is a medium-bodied beer, but it is creamy and smooth...so smooth. This drinks like a Milk Stout in every way possible, and sort of rides the line between medium and full. I'm not getting any of the 8.2%, which is a good thing. Palate depth is great, especially for a Porter. And this is very complex. Really, this is one of the most memorable Porters I have had in recent memory. Up front: caramel sugars, sweet coffee, espresso, vanilla, creamer, mocha, hazelnut; the mids roll into huge hazelnut, with earthy and ashy coffee, caramel-vanilla, some roast; the back end trails with roast, more ashy/earthy coffee and coffee beans, and tons of lingering residual sugars. This is sticky and unashamed about it. It's basically a coffee Sweet Stout dubbed an Imperial Porter. Pretty good.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here...almost reaching that divine brew plateau. I'd have to revisit this to commit to a divine brew rating, but this is clearly one of the best things that 5 Rabbit has made. I do recommend seeking this out if you can find it on the shelves. There's not much else to say...I think you could pair this with burgers, coffee-braised beef or pork, pork chops, gamy meets, and maybe even some Thai or Indian food. The sweeter notes in this beer seem like they'd compliment a curry dish. Obviously this would work with chocolate desserts, vanilla ice cream, or breakfast as well.

Random Thought: I should probably mention that I will be going to graduate school soon...within the next two months. How that will effect my blogging or beer purchasing remains to be seen, but what is for sure is that I'll be on a tighter budget. It may be back to 6-packs and the occasional bomber. I can't say I'm thrilled about that, but I'm not even 1000 beers into my beer-drinking journey. I have so much to learn, still. So much to see. I doubt I am going to be bored with beer anytime soon...even boring shelf turds. But stay tuned, I guess.

Surly Smoke Lager

Brewed By: Surly Brewing in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Purchased: 1 Pint 9.4oz (25.4oz) GRAY WAXED bottle bought at Whole Foods in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 2013)

Style/ABV: Smoked/Baltic Porter/Oak Aged Smoked Baltic Porter, 8.2%

Reported IBUs: 50

Baltic Porters are the weird step-cousins of Imperial Stouts. These non-hoppy, malt bombs of a Lager are similar in style to both English Brown Porters and Schwarzbiers. The style was traditionally brewed by countries bordering the Baltic Sea, and is most similar to English Porters but was influenced by Russian Imperial Stouts. Tonight's beer takes the Baltic Porter format, and ratchets it up a few notches. About Surly Brewing: 

The Surly Brewing company is a brewery based out of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The brewery was founded in 2005 by long time homebrewer Omar Ansari with the help of Todd Haug (Minneapolis's Rock Bottom Brewery). For more info, check out the brewery's about page.

Tonight's beer, the Surly Smoke Lager, is massive in all the ways that matter. The bottle (and website) reads: "Ebony-hued, Smoke wafts out of the bottle and into your senses, borne on the wings of European traditions, wrapped in American innovation. Lager-brewed, like any true Baltic Porter, with smoked malts from Bamberg, Germany, the home of Rauchbiers, then mellowed by oak-aging. Black malt flavors mesh with notes of raisins, plums, figs and licorice with the subtle smoke on the side, for a complex and luxurious, yet silky smooth drinking experience. It's a sipper at Alc. 8.2% by VOL., but everyone knows you can't have Smoke without fire!" This one features Pale Ale, Smoked, Black, and Oat malts; it uses Warrior hops; the beer is fermented using German Lager yeast; and the beer is aged in or on oak. At 8.2% ABV and 50 IBUs, this one is sort of within the style guidelines.

Surly Smoke Lager

The Surly Smoke pours into an opaque, dark black/brown/reddish body, and kicks up three fingers of pretty dark mocha/brown head. There's a centimeter of hazy head hanging around, probably courtesy of the oats. Bright light confirms the same stuff...I'm okay calling this beer dark brown. It's opaque as they come.

The aroma here is big Bamberg/beechwood smoked malts, meats, ham/bacon, cherrywood, sauna, and dusty cocoa. SWIRL THIS BEER! When you swirl the beer in the glass, you unlock the mystery of dark grains, coffee, molasses, dark fruits, cherries, fruity alcohol, and big oak sweetness. The oak sweetness is woody and nutty and reminds me of the Two Brothers Atom Smasher.

The taste is intense, with big Rauchbier-esque smoked malts. I'm picking up beechwood, sauna, dark grains, cherries and boozy dark fruits, and layers of oak/wood/booze. Between all the smoke and fruity booze is some hints of molasses, coffee, and chocolate. There's a mild salty character here too.

This isn't as complex as I was expecting it to be...but that is not a serious knock against the beer. The beer is medium to full-bodied, depending heavily on the temperature that you drink it at. As it warms up, it starts to thicken up. The mouthfeel has added sustenance thanks to the low levels of carbonation. At 8.2% this is very drinkable, but you do get some nice, subtle booze in this. It adds a layer of needed complexity, and goes well with the dark malts and smoke. This is a Lager through and through, so a lot of the complexity comes from the malts, smoke, and oak. Speaking of: Up front is rich sweetness, dark fruits, molasses, chocolate, cocoa powder, coffee, and smoke; the mids roll into big sauna, beechwood, cherry wood, coffee, legit Bamberg Rauchbier-esque smoked malts, meaty hints, smoke, oak/bourbon/whiskey, more dark fruits; the back continues to bounce between oak/alcohol/bourbon/oak/dark fruits/etc. There is lingering molasses and smoke. The finish isn't super dry or sweet...very clean...hints of Lager spice. Like a Lager should be.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Decent Above-Average for me. I enjoy the boozy fruits, coffee, and subtle oak that elevate this beer above just being a smoked Baltic Porter. It's a very well-made, clean beer too. It's kind of...like...an embodiment of Surly, to be honest. They make aggressive but clean beers that you can quaff all night long. I'd maybe pick this beer up again...it's hard to say with the $17 or $18 price tag. Food pairings here are pretty much smoked meats, bacon, BBQ sandwiches, chili, strong cheeses, ribs, burgers, and yeah. This is good stuff. Also, dat bottle art/wax. 

Random Thought: For whatever reason, this week just keeps going on and on. It's like the longest week ever.

Southern Tier Plum Noir

Brewed By: Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York
Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Imperial Porter, 8.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

I love plums...I love beer...I love beer with plums. This beer seemed like a logical purchase, and will be yet another plum beer in my repertoire. Yay me. About Southern Tier.

Southern Tier Brewing Company is based out of Lakewood, New York. The brewery was founded in 2002 by Phineas DeMink and Allen "Skip" Yahn. Using equipment purchased from the old Saddleback Brewing Co., the company began production with the vision of reviving traditional small batch brewing to the region. By 2003, the brewery was distributing their small batch ales, and by 2005 their sales covered New York and Pennsylvania. Before the brewery had any seasonal beers, it produced a Pilsner, Mild Ale, and IPA. Due to popularity, in 2009 a 20,000 square foot facility was built to allow for the brewing of large-scale beers. Since then, Southern Tier has continued to expand, and continued to invest in better equipment to keep up with the increasing demand for their beer. You can read more about Southern Tier's history on their history page.

The bottle of this beer has all sorts of good info on it, and reflects Southern Tier's new bottle art designs. This beer lists a myriad of ingredients: 2-row malt, caramel malt, barley flakes, chocolate malt, debittered black malt, pureed plums, and chinook & willamette hops. Punching in at 8.0%, this is a big beer. If you roll over to the Plum Noir page, you get much of the same info. This beer is brewed with Prunus cocomilia plums, which are an Italian plum that has a dark color and flesh. The pureed plums are added during fermentation to provide sugar and residual flavors. 

Southern Tier Plum Noir

This beer is like...a Stout. I guess I wasn't sure what to expect. This beer pours into a dark black/purple body in low light, and kicks up one or two fingers of super thick, bready head. The head is a dark tan/wheat bread color. In bright light the beer is still surprisingly dark, and the head has settled into a pinky's worth of dark tan, bready coating. There's lacing from where the head used to be, and some light legs.

As with the aroma, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's not this. This beer plays the Stout/Porter thing straight, if you like your Stout/Porter dressed up as a Bock. I'm getting a LOT of coffee on this. I'm also getting big bread, toast, and toffee...maybe some Bock-esque melanoidins. There's some bready grain on the nose as well. As the beer sits, stagnant, you go without fruit. When I swirl the beer in the glass, I kick up some raisins and plums.

This is surprisingly light and void on the palate...it's very clean, and almost reminds me of a Doppelbock or Dunkler Bock. You get grain and coffee up front, with some hints of roast and huge toast in the middle. The back end finishes with toast, toffee, and coffee. Hints of raisin/plum/molasses sweetness linger throughout, and the alcohol is completely hidden.

Seriously, this really reminds me of a dark, chocolaty Bock. The mouthfeel is medium-light, veering towards creamy, with airy carbonation. The whole thing finishes super clean, and there's just a hint of bitter towards the back. No flavor really jumps out at you, at least not at first. Once your palate adjusts the beer turns into a refined and mature beer. The 8.0% is absolutely undetectable making this beer both highly drinkable and deceptive and dangerous. The palate depth is actually really nice for a Porter, and there's some nuance to this. Far too often I associate complexity with aggressive flavors, but I think this beer has something going for it. You get a blast of caramel sweetness followed by grain, coffee, and sweet bread/toast up front; that rolls into more toast, bread, coffee creamer, and sweet toffee/caramel; the back end is trailing toast, a hint of roast, more coffee, and fade to light dryness and slight sticky.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this...this is by no means a bad beer. It's actually quite refined and quite enjoyable, and it's a nice change of pace for Southern Tier. Compared to something like their Creme Butterscotch Rape Brulee, this is a welcomed change of pace and is very drinkable at 8.0%. There's a wonderful toffee sweetness at work in this beer, and tons of nice toasted notes. The plums don't really assert themselves...at least not as plums...and this beer is very clean and reminds me of a Bock. That's not a bad thing at all. And this was priced fairly at around 10 bucks a bomber. I would pair this with dry chocolate cake, coffee-braised meats, or a pulled pork sandwich. I give this a lukewarm recommendation if you like Southern Tier, plums, or Strong Porters chocolaty Bocks.  

Random Thought: I'm actually deviating from my own recommendation and pairing this beer with some cheesy mashed potatoes with green beans. Ideally I'd go the chocolate cake route, but it's only Monday...I haven't jumped that shark just yet.

Ballast Point Victory at Sea

Brewed By: Ballast Point Brewing Company in San Diego, California 
Purchased: 22oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Binny's in IL; 2013

Style/ABV: American Porter, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: 70

It's finally Summer in Chicago, and the weather has been pretty legit. It has been very humid though. Also, hockey in June? To be honest, I'll take it! Because right now baseball in Chicago is abysmal. About Ballast Point Brewing: 

Like a lot of craft breweries, Ballast Point began as a home brewing outfit. Founder Jack White (not the Jack White) began home brewing, only to realize that sourcing ingredients was easier said than done. So Jack opened up Home Brew Mart, a home brew shop, in 1992. From there, Jack met Yuseff, and the two began brewing in the back of the home brew shop. In 1996 the brewery was born. Because Yuseff loves fishing, the brewery names all their beers after fish. You can read more about the brewery and its history here. 

Tonight's beer, the Victory at Sea, is a "Coffee Vanilla" Imperial Porter. This beer combines coffee from Caffé Calabria, vanilla flavoring, and Ballast Point's hefty Imperial Porter. Should be good stuff. 

Ballast Point Victory at Sea

As you might expect with an Imperial Porter/Stout type beer, this pours into a dark black body, and kicks up a pinky of bubbly, carbonated, brown/khaki head. The head settles into a nice cauldron effect. There's some nice lacing on this, and swirling the beer kicks up a centimeter of head...which is sustaining nicely. In bright light, the beer is still impressively black. There are legs. It looks like a Stout/Porter.

The aroma is awesome, with intense coffee, rich roast, BIG hazelnut, espresso, hints of creamer, chocolate/molasses/caramel, and some hints of dark fruits and booze.

There's a whole lotta roast and coffee in this one. I'm looking for the vanilla, but it seems to be a balancing character on the back end if more than anything. There's a ton of roast, coffee, hazelnut, earthy bitter, dirt, dark roast, burnt sugars, pecan/burnt nuts, and then some boozy complexity. There's incredible complexity to the booze here, hinting at dark fruits, burnt sugars, nuts, and spirits (rum comes to mind).

As the beer lingers, it eventually gets to be a bit sticky, but for the most part the body betrays the 10% ABV. The mouthfeel is somewhere between medium-full to full-bodied, but is driven by the added coffee which softens the carbonation and adds a bitter density to the drink. Palate depth is okay, but complexity is off the charts. As I drink more of this, some vanilla is starting to peak out. You get coffee, hazelnut, hints of dark fruit, and molasses up front; that rolls into big roast, intense coffee bitterness, wood, dirt, earth, hints of vanilla; the back end is trailing bitterness, hints of nuts, burnt sugars, dark fruits, boozy complexity...nice dry and roasty finish. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

 

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a very nice coffee beer, and the more I drink this, the more I'm picking up on some subtle vanilla bean in the mix. This one definitely leans on the roast and earthy coffee, so if you're looking for a earthy, bitter, coffee-forward beer, look no further. This doesn't mess around with the sweeter malts/sugar, and the 10.0% ABV simply adds boozy complexity to the mix. This is clearly a sipping beer, or a beer to share with friends. But you could definitely pair this with some dry rubbed ribs, coffee-braised meats, dry chocolate cakes, coffee desserts, breakfast foods, Tiramisu/Baklava, or an earthy cigar. This is actually really nice stuff, especially at the price, which was less than 10 dollars a bomber.

Random Thought: Tomorrow: hockey, work out, hockey, sleep. In that order.