Stillwater Brontide

Brewed By: Stillwater Artisanal at Dog Brewing Co. in Westminster, MD  

Purchased: 12oz can from a 6-pack bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015

Style/ABV: Black Ale, 5.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

What, Stillwater is doing Black Ales now? About Stillwater Artisanal Ales: 

Stillwater Artisanal Ales are a Gypsy Brewery based out of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 2009-ish, the beer is brewed by Brian Strumke. You can find more info at the brewery's blog or their website. 

The Brontide is "a smooth black ale with mild roast and a soft Trappist yeast character." The beer pours into a dark brown, roooooby red body, kicking up a couple of fingers of lightly tan head. It looks like a Dry Stout or Porter...there's good lacing, appropriate carb, and all that good stuff.

Stillwater Brontide

This definitely has the Trappist yeast character...it's very mild...like a diluted Rochefort 10. I'm getting a lot of subtle coffee notes, hints of dark fruits and figs/grapes, some toasted sweetness ala a Brown Ale or sweet dark lager, and lots of earthy notes. This has some pretty nice earthy notes and deep roast, which is nice for the lower ABV. 

The taste basically follows through with the aroma. It's a nice, simple, dry, clean beer...the Trappist yeast is dialed down into the 5% format, but it tastes like a toned down Rochefort 10. I'm getting a lot of coffee, ash, deep roast, and some subtle dark fruit notes. It's high on the yeast character, followed by the dark roasty malts.

This is a solid beer for 5%. It has good palate depth and duration, and pulls off a medium-light mouthfeel. The finish is dry, the beer is well carbonated, and you want to keep sipping. It has okay complexity as well. Again, up front this is all about the roast and yeast, with some ashy notes and coffee; the mids roll into more coffee, toasty sweetness, more roast, fruity notes; the back end finishes dry with lingering goodness. Not bad, Stillwater, not bad.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. It pretty much does what it says it is going to do...gotta say, I would buy this again, if only because it comes in a 6-pack and seems to pair well with red meats and chocolaty foods. Not bad. 

Random Thought: The use of the Trappist yeast at the lower ABV is an interesting twist.

Against the Grain Kentucky Ryed Chiquen

Brewed By: Against the Grain Brewery (and Smokehouse) in Louisville, Kentucky   

Purchased: 750ml (1 pint 9.4oz) bottle bought at Friar Tuck in Urbana, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Rye Beer, 8.6%

Reported IBUs: 27.4

When life gives you lemons, buy that tarred and feathered beer...seriously, this bottle is obnoxious! I've seen waxed beers, I've seen foiled beers, but I haven't seen a beer that is tarred and feathered. About Against the Grain Brewing: 

The Against the Grain Brewery and Smokehouse is a brewery (and smokehouse) that was founded back in October 2011. The brewery is located in the southeast corner of Louisville Slugger Field at the corner of Jackson and Main Street, in Kentucky, and is run by four dudes who are cooler than you. For more information, check them out on Facebook or check out their website. 

Tonight's beer, the Kentucky Ryed Chiquen, is a "rye beer aged in rye whiskey barrels." The bottle reads: "Cluck Cluck. The Chiquen has come home to roost! You asked for anything but chicken...so here you go! An original rye amber ale recipe aged in rye whiskey barrels hatched right here in Kentucky! Kentucky Ryed Chiquen is malty and mellow, but has quite the barrel-aged bite." This one is described as an amber ale brewed with rye malt. And, of course, the rye whiskey barrels. This features Marris Otter malts, rye malts, caramel rye malts from Germany, and English Nugget and Kent Goldings hops. The barrel used here is a Redemption Rye barrel from Strong's Spirits. Let's see what we got...

Against the Grain Kentucky Ryed Chiquen

This pours into a really nice, two-tone, amber-orange body, with some nice rounded brown and orange tones. I got a couple of fingers of caramel-tinted head, and there is nice lacing and head retention at work here. This also appears to be appropriately carbonated. The feathered bottle wasn't too hard to work with either...no harder than wax, and less annoying than glued on wax.

On the aroma: a lot of funky sweetness. I'm getting the wood and barrel, which is reminiscent of oak...but I'm also getting a funky note that reminds me of Brett. I wonder if this was infected, intentional or otherwise. If this was infected, I doubt it will be to the beer's detriment...but we will see. I'm also getting a lot of nutty notes on the aroma, with some caramel, and some weird pineapple sweetness. Again...Brett? This smells big...let's see how it tastes. 

Yup...dat Brett infection. Again, the Brett actually works with the barrel and the whiskey, and provides some funky balance to the malt sweetness and gentle oak/wood notes I am getting in the back. It reminds me of something from the Prairie wheelhouse, with Brett notes that play off the oak and also drop some fruity hints. I'm getting pear, pineapple, caramel, oak, wood, nice gentle barrel, sweet toasted grains and coconut, and some hints of cane sugar. There are some complex shades of darker sugars in here, and lots of grain/coconut. The rye notes in here mostly come across with the grain and the barrel....I'm not really getting a ton of rye in here. In that regard, this beer fails to deliver. But it's still pretty damn tasty...

I'm really conflicted, because I think this is good and laid back...it actually reminds me of a nice Belgian Ale, or something like Orval...only with a tropical island vibe. This is medium-light bodied with good levels of carbonation. Things move along smoothly here, and you would never guess this is 8.6%. The Brett probably helped clean up some of the residual sweetness...notably absent here is the big rye spice, but you do get some rye barrel, and you do get some nice wood/oak/barrel notes. The whiskey in here is a faint afterthought, but that's not problem. This has good depth and complexity. Up front: caramel sweetness, some hops, pineapple, fruit, Brett; the mids roll into really nice grain, coconut, oak, caramel sugars, wood, barrel, faint rye, and some oak/Brett funk; the finish mellows out into really nice grain/coconut/wood/oak/Brett, with lingering caramel and whiskey sweetness...and then fade to dry. Just...really laid back and nice.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. I really like this, despite the fact that it doesn't quite deliver on its promise of rye. Okay...so maybe that's a deal breaker for other people. I'm an opportunistic beer drinker. I love the fact that this was infected by Brett. I think the Brett + Barrel + base beer here = winner winner, chicken dinner. That's where your chicken is. So whether this is an accidental success or not...it's a good beer. Fruity, malty sweet, and mild barrel/spirit character make this both palatable and easy going. I want this on my tropical island to pair with some mango salsa chicken, or my sweet barbecue ribs. I think this would go great with a nice pork dish. Maybe even spam. Yum.

Random Thought: I <3 ATG

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: CANfusion Rye Bock (brewed with Oskar Blues Brewery in Longmont, Colorado/Brevard, North Carolina)

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 05/03/14)
Style/ABV: Rye Bock, 7.2%

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:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010. For more info, check out their website.

The CANfusion Rye Bock is a beer brewed with Oskar Blues Brewery. Do you like to get it in the can? My can reads: "Brewed in collaboration with Oskar Blues, the pioneers of great craft beer in a can, this partnership was a perfect fit - we're mutual members of the canned craft club and North Carolina neighbors. A dry hop rye bock, CANfusion blends features from across the brewing spectrum: spicy rye, tangy wheat and bright citrus-like hops. The complex malt body launches a peppery blast that's balanced by the fruity and floral Australian Ella hop varietal. CANfusion is a true synergy of friends and flavors." 

CANfusion Rye Bock - that's how I roll

This one pours an absolutely drop-dead gorgeous orange color, with two to three fingers of orange-tinged head. The head is hop-fueled, and leaves nice lacing. The body is a hazy orange color, with medium carbonation. The head settles into a nice cauldron effect. 

The aroma here features big tangerine, citrus spice, orange spice, rye, perfumed apricot, caramel, and intense fruity sweetness. There's also big passion fruit, papaya, mango, and tropical fruit. 

The taste here features big caramel sweetness, tropical fruits, and rye. The blast of tropical fruits goes from berries and passion fruit to caramel and Bock-malt sweetness with raisin and apple notes. Nice rye spice comes along for the ride. There's a big range of fruit notes and malt/caramel fruits: cherries, apples, orange, tropical fruits....it's complex. As this warms boozy and bready rye notes come out.

This is medium-bodied and malt driven, with a nice hoppy balance. You do get some booze here, but it's not a bad thing. Good palate depth and crazy divine complexity drives this beer. I would totally buy more of this. Up front: tropical fruits, passion fruit, rye; that rolls into apples, caramel sguars, Bock sweetness; the back end has trailing hops and sugars with fantastic coating on the palate. Wildly complex...truly original.

Rating: Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this...almost leaning towards that divine brew. Wow, this is just an interesting hybrid beer that is uber complex. The sweeter hop notes in here would pair with lighter spicy foods, maybe a nice shrimp or fish taco. 

Random Thought: I really like the boom in craft canned beers. 

Two Brothers 17th Anniversary Rye Ale

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Andersonville Wine & Spirits in Chicago, Illinois; 2014

Style/ABV: Rye Beer/Ale, 8.5%
Reported IBUs: 65

Another year...another anniversary. It was a little over a year ago that I reviewed the Two Brothers 16th Anniversary Ale. Last year's beer was just okay, and frankly, it kind of set the tone for the year that Two Brothers had. I'm hoping that tonight's beer is a bit more interesting. We'll see, right? About Two Brothers:

Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant. If you get the chance, swing by and check out their Roundhouse. It's an awesome joint, and needs all the love it can get. For more information, check out their about page/website.

This Rye Ale is brewed with Thai Basil and Milk Sugar. Punching in at 8.5% and 65 IBUs, the back of the bottle reads:

"Anniversaries cause us to pause for reflection and this year we are especially proud to have helped shape an industry that brings people enjoyment through flavor and good times. Every day we look forward to creating new beers and being a part of an ever growing community of brewers.

Our 17th Anniversary Rye Beer has been aged in oak barrels to lend complex flavors of vanilla and spirits. We added lactose sugar to soften the palette and finished the beer with fresh, sweet Thai basil to give a bold floral zest to the aroma. We're glad to have had you along for this great seventeen year ride. There is plenty more to come!"

You read that right, by the way. This one is oak-barrel aged. Yum. I'm curious to see how this stands up to one of my favorite beers ever, the Two Brothers Cane and Ebel. 

Two Brothers 17th Anniversary Rye Ale

This one pours out with a lot of rapidly-forming head. It's almost as heady as Duvel or something infected (knock on wood that this is not that). The head is thick like root beer floats -- think the topping when you pour soda over ice cream. It looks like it too, with tan/gray tones. The body of the beer is murky brown in low light, and when held to a bright light the body takes on a reddish-amber/auburn color. There's mid-sized carbonation bubbling away as well. Head retention is impressive, and so is the lacing.

I don't even know what I'm smelling on the aroma....I'm getting rye, basil, juniper, watermelon (wut), melon, melon seeds, fruity salad notes, and a weird spicy funk. There's like a curry note in here....and then lemon balls. Or lemon/lime candy. It's that Asian guava candy, which I've made reference to before in another beer which I can't recall. Lastly...I'm getting some wood on the aroma, but no oak. 

Ah, you do get some oak on the taste. That's refreshing, to say the least. This is surprisingly complex, albeit incredibly subtle. That subtle thing was the reason that The More The Merrier was shit on by reviewers, despite being a solid beer. Anyway, I'm getting a lot here. There's some nice oak, vanilla, woody barrel, rye spice, rye, basil (big, big basil), fruity sweetness, guava, melon, watermelon, fruit salad, fruit seeds, light tartness, and some big bitterness that takes over towards the back. As the bitterness hammers your palate you're left with some nuttiness, medium roasted grains, and lingering coconut. To say this beer is complex is an understatement.

This is my kind of beer. This is a sipper with a lot of stuff going on. I actually really like this...and I think this is a big improvement over the unnecessarily boozy 16th Anniversary Ale. This is a medium-bodied beer with plenty of carbonation, and the beer is nicely attenuated with a shift towards bitter and dry on the back. Palate depth is outstanding with long duration, and the complexity is something to admire and think about. Like seriously...what is going on here. Up front is a tart blast of melon, watermelon, fruit seeds, fruit salad, basil, big spice, rye spice, sweet rye, sugar; the mids roll into some of that oak, with woody tannin showing up to fuck shit up, with more rye spice and basil; the back end features growing bitterness against nutty and sweet malts, and then the malts turn grainy with coconut and dryness. This is just...lovely stuff. 

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

Ughhhh...this a Light Light Divine Brew. I'm so hesitant to elevate this to that status, because honestly, I don't even know what the fuck I have here. Is this a Rye Beer? Is it a Specialty Ale? Who cares, really. Honestly, I would have never expected Two Brothers of all breweries to roll out a Rye-Basil-Milk Sugar beer aged in oak barrels. That takes a brazen approach to brewing. This beer is a crap-shoot, but the end result is fantastically complex and big and bold. I will pick up another bottle of this if I see it on shelves. I'm about to pair this with some moo shu beef taco things, but I suspect this complex brew would pair well with delicate meats like duck, peppery chicken or turkey, and maybe even something as simple as a rye bread sandwich. I don't know for sure, but I am enjoying this.

Random Thought: The glassware was completely coincidental, but that bottle cap/glass combo. Dayum. Also, this beer is really good. It would be a shame if they never brew it again.

Stone Crime

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 16.9oz/500ml bottle bought at Evolution Wine & Spirits in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale/Chile Beer, 9.6% 
Reported IBUs: 102

Tonight's beer has been getting absolutely shit-panned on Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate for being too hot. I'm a huge fan of spicy foods, so it was with more than morbid curiosity that I found myself purchasing the Crime. Will it live up to the hype/hate? About Stone:

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

When people say, "I like spicy food," they probably don't mean that they are pepper masochists. I'm a pepper masochist. I enjoy trying hot sauces that push the Scoville limit. I'm a fan of ghost peppers and other unholy chilies. Bring on the heat, baby.

I was surprised when I started to do my homework about this beer. According to THIS blog post and THIS blog post, Stone's Crime is brewed with jalapeños and black nagas. The black naga is nuthin' to fuck with. These are peppers in the same class as the Bhut Jolokia and the Trinidad Scorpion. These are not gentle peppers. These are not jalapeños. 

I'm guessing this beer is legitimately hot.

The Crime's base beer is the Lukcy Basartd Ale (a blend of Arrogant Bastard, Double Bastard, and OAKED Arrogant Bastard). The Crime is then aged in American Oak; specifically, Kentucky Bourbon Barrels. The Crime uses "mid-level-heat" red and green jalapeños, "ultra-hot" black nagas, Caribbean red hots, and Moruga scorpions and fatalis. Can you say "owe, my fundie hole." This insane beer was bottled on October 2013, and clocks in at 9.6% and 102 IBUs.

Stone Crime

What a fucking disaster this was...the cork was cemented into the bottle, and I broke it in half trying to remove it. I ended up having to manually remove the cork with a wine opener, which agitated the beer and consequently lead to some gushing. The beer itself pours into a cloudy, dark red body, and kicks up two or three fingers of red-tinted head. This is a dirty beer, with obscene amounts of sediment floating around in the reddish/orange body (per bright light). Surprisingly a layer of orange-tinted head is hanging around, and there's plenty of lacing. 

On the aroma...aggressive peppers that have been cut open, seeds exposed, on your chopping board. Lordy Jesus, the peppers on this beer's aroma are intense. This is...Julius Peppers in his prime. I'm getting aggressive habanero, jalapeno, green pepper, dry heat, salt, some fruity pepper notes, and something more spicy and more sinister than habanero lurking beneath. If you camp out on the aroma for a little bit, you DO pick up some oak, oak/vanilla sweetness, and a little bit of the base beer. I'm getting some mild hops and citrus resin on the aroma beneath the waves of aggressive pepper.

I guess...cheers? I dunno why I'm nervous. Bottoms up, bitches. Wow...this is fucking spicy. My first sip was INTENSE. As it goes with spicy foods. It takes a bit for your palate to adjust to the extreme heat. My first sip was overwhelmed with heat, but I will say this has great duration on the back end. Aside from the salty-spicy heat, I'm getting the base beer in the mix, which includes layers of oak, wood, and some nice hop resin. As the peppers unfold, you pick up jalapeno, green pepper, habanero, and burn. The burn is pretty intense...I'm surprised this beer has as much burn as I'm getting. 

I'm not a huge fan of this. I thought I was going to enjoy this a lot more, but it's one-dimensional, like biting into a hot pepper. The base beer is drowning in peppers, and the subtle oak and Lucky Bastard notes aren't enough to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, this isn't a condiment or pepper or sauce. This is a beer. It's also really hot...I'm surprised, because as noted above, I like to chase hot peppers. It's just not very drinkable. Palate depth is really good, but complexity is low. The mouthfeel is medium-full. I dunno...up front, mid-palate, and back palate all ride into pepper land. You get some subtle oak and Lucky Bastard mid-palate, and some nuanced pepper notes on the back end. I'm just totally over this.

Rating: Sewage (WTF did I just drink?) (1.0/5.0 Untappd)

Ah, the elusive Light  Sewage (WTF did I just drink?). It happens. I guess I expected more beer here and less pepper juice. While the spice levels in this beer are manageable for seasoned veterans, the beer itself lacks any logical direction. It's just...beer drowning in hot peppers. If that's your bag then godspeed, but in my opinion this is a salty, burning mess. All the subtlety happens somewhere in the mid and back palate, as you pick up some mild base beer and peppery notes...by then the intense burn is kicking in, and you ride salty heat to intense burn. I could see this beer working well in a sauce, so maybe cook with it? 16.9oz is way too much for one person, I recommend tackling this in 4oz or 6oz servings. This is an entertaining novelty, and I'm glad I checked it out. As far as beer goes, I would not buy this again, especially at the high price this sells for.

Random Thought: And here is what I don't get. Stone releases an impressively spicy beer like this, but their hot sauces are weak as hell. WTF is up with that? 

Rogue Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale

Brewed By: Rogue Ales in Newport, Oregon  

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Binny's in IL; 2014

Style/ABV: American Brown Ale, 5.3%

Reported IBUs: 43

Anyone that watches Iron Chef should know all about Masaharu Morimoto. The dude is a culinary badass, and one of the world's best chefs. It's also been hinted at for a long time now that Morimoto enjoys beer, so it's not surprising at all that Morimoto has designed his own line of beers with Rogue. I think it's a bit of an unfortunate pairing in some regards. Rogue doesn't have the best street credit among craft beer enthusiasts, and there are lots of creative breweries on the cutting edge that could develop awesome beer with an Iron Chef like Morimoto. But at the same time, Rogue's Pacman Yeast is kind of light and lager-y and plays well with the lighter styles of beer that Morimoto seems to be going for. About Rogue:

Rogue has been around forever, and if their beer was more widely available, and not so damn expensive, I'd probably drink more of their stuff. The brewery was founded in 1988 in Ashland, Oregon by Jack Joyce, Bob Woodell, Rob Strasser, and home brewer Jeff Schultz. Due to increasing space and distribution limitations, Jack Joyce went searching in Newport for a location for the new Rogue pub. It was at this time that he met Mohave Niem, founder of Mo's Clam Chowder. She offered Jack space to brew in her building, and in 1989 the Bay Front Brew Pub was built. Rogue's headquarters currently reside in Newport to this day. In May 1989, current head brewmaster, John Maier, joined Rogue after a brief sting brewing with Alask Brewing. John was a former Senior Technician with Hughes Aircraft Co, and a graduate of the Seibel Institute. To learn more about Rogue, check out their website HERE.

The Rogue Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale is a Specialty Grain/American Black Ale that is probably similar to a Schwarzbier/Dark American Lager IF I HAD TO GUESS. This is described as a "richer version of our Soba Ale with the addition of specialty malts and a special blend of hops to give it a fuller, nutty flavor while retaining a clean, crisp finish." This one is malted with Roasted Soba, 2-Row, C-15, C-60, Carafa Special No. 2, Rogue Farms Dare & Risk, and Munich malts; this beer uses Rogue Farms Rebel, Liberty, & Independent Hope hops; and the beer is brewed with Rogue's Pacman Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water. Soba translates to buckwheat in Japanese, and is synonymous with a thin noodle made from buckwheat flour that is often served chilled with a dipping sauce, or in a hot broth. The more you know.

Rogue Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale

The beer pours about how I expected it to. This one pours into a Dry Stout/Brown Ale/Dark Lager type body that is somewhere between red and brown and black, not completely opaque, and will be betrayed by a bright light in a minute. The beer kicks up a really nice three fingers of bready, tan head. Head retention looks good, and it really does remind me of a Brown Ale or Dry Stout. In bright light the beer is a hazy brownish-amber color, with moderate streams of mid-sized bubbles keeping the head sustained. It looks okay. There's some tight lacing on this.

The aroma on the nose is really clean, with big nutty aromas, toast, some sea salt and salt, soy sauce, umami, and serious Schwarzbier vibes. You get some Munich malts and caramel/kettle malts in this, with some hints of Marzen-like sweetness. The two big aromas -- nuttiness and soy sauce -- sort of blunt any hop character, but the aroma isn't all malts. There are hops in the mix. They're just super nondescript.

And...it tastes kind of exactly like how I predicted it would. Love it or hate it, the Pacman yeast is subtle, light, and airy. It's clean too. It's maybe as close to a Lager as you can get with an Ale yeast, but I don't homebrew so I wouldn't know. This beer flirts with the whole Dark Lager category (Dark American Lager/Munich Dunkel/Schwarzbier), and I'd throw in Marzens and Brown Ales for good measure. I'm getting a lot of nutty notes, toast, Munich malts and sweetness, earthy/bitter/clean Noble hops towards the back, and some spice. There are hints towards coffee and chocolate, but it's very subtle. There are also some hints towards salt and umami, but I'm not getting any actual soy sauce. It's a hinting beer. It's actually a really nicely executed beer when you compare it to other Brown Ales and Dark Lagers.

Sometimes it's nice to kick back and enjoy a lighter style beer. This beer blurs the line between Ales and Lagers, but it has tons of complexity, good palate depth and duration for the style, and and easy going light to medium-bodied mouthfeel. There's plenty of carbonation, and you don't get any alcohol. There's some nice trailing hop bitterness, good malt flavors, and a clean Lager-like finish that works. Up front: malt sweetness, hints of fruits and berries, toasted malts, toast, Munich malts, hints of coffee and chocolate; mid palate hits toast, kettle/caramel malts, more Munich malts, some complimentary hop bitterness, earthy hop spice and Noble hops; the back end is trailing Noble hop bitterness, lingering toast and Munich malts. There's a layer of salt/umami that never quite comes to fruition.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average here. If this is the new standard to pair with Japanese food, then color me impressed (and throw out your Tsingtao). I could see myself drinking this beer with sushi, Japanese cuisine, and even with some Oktoberfest German foods. This beer won't hold up to the myriad of super hoppy and super malty beers out there, but it's a really good Dark Lager-style Ale. I admit, I think the Pacman yeast sucks when Rogue uses it in some of their beers, but for this beer it works. Also, this one is selling for a very reasonable price...I paid 6 or 7 dollars for my bomber. Maybe Rogue is taking a hint?  

Random Thought: Remember folks, you should never compare apples to oranges.