Day 74 ( 10/6/2011): White Rajah by The Brew Kettle

I'm going to preface this review by going big: in my opinion, this is possibly the best Ohio-brewed beer that is widely distributed. If not the best beer in general, it is certainly the best Ohio-brewed IPA and it's not even a close competition.

On the back of the bottle it states that malts will take a back seat. They are not kidding. This is your prototypical West Coast IPA, except that it's better than most West Coast IPAs that are actually brewed on the West Coast instead of Strongsville, Ohio. Its smell and taste both err on the side of citrus fruits rather than the floral hops found in Midwest/East Coast IPAs. In addition to the grapefruit and other citrus fruits, there is a slight caramel sweetness there, but it does indeed take a back seat to the fresh,earthy, spicy hops. The taste is fruitiness up from with a slight sweetness that fades into a bitter finish. It's almost like chewing on a grapefruit wedge with a bit of sugar on it. Both the body and carbonation are appropriate from the style and contribute to a very refreshing experience.

I could not be happier that I am going to be able to buy six packs of this going forward. The Brew Kettle really surprised me with this offering. I haven't really enjoyed anything else from them in the past, but this is just phenomenal. It's one of the best West Coast IPAs I've had the pleasure of drinking, locally distributed, and is pretty affordable (just over $10 for a six-pack). If production keeps up with demand, TBK is going to have a very good thing going for it for a very long time. Kudos to them for putting out such an awesome product. Other area breweries should  take notice. I give White Rajah by The Brew Kettle an A.

Style: American IPA
Beer Advocate: A
Ratebeer: 97/96

Day 73 (10/5/2011): Zombie Dust by Three Floyds Brewing Company

Ever since Three Floyds decided to bottle its super-popular citra hops-based pale ale, the crowd has been going wild. As you can see from the ratings on the two sites (an A on BA and it being in the 99.947th percentile of all pale ales on RB), people seem to think its a great beer. Since it's not widely distributed, I didn't think I would be able to get any of its any time soon, but a local Beer Advocate made my dreams come true. He did note that he thought it has fallen off a bit since he had purchased it a month ago, but I didn't think it would be so old that the quality would be significantly decreased.

The smell is great, even after a month of fading. The citra hops are the most distinct feature, bringing (duh) citrus fruits: grapefruit and citrus peel. You can tell it is not a hop bomb, though, as the malts shine through with a slight sweetness and some caramel. The taste is much like the smell, but a tad bit more balanced. The citrus mixes with the malt sweetness to make an almost candy-tasting flavor that fades into a dry-er hop bitterness in the finish. It's a hop forward beer, but not overwhelmingly so. The body and carbonation are both on the dot perfect for the style. Maybe a tad lighter than medium on the body and a tad higher than medium for the carbonation.

I would put this in my top 2 of American pale ales that I've ever drank before, tied with Alpha King (also Three Floyds). These guys definitely know how to make a pale ale. Amazing balance without being boring, the use of citra hops puts this thing over the top. Here's to hoping that, with Three Floyds now in Ohio, I can get my hands on a fresher six pack of it. I don't think it's being distributed out of the brewery currently, but here's to hoping, right? Even with it being a month old, I give Zombie Dust by Three Floyds Brewing Company an A.

Style: American pale ale
Beer Advocate: A
Ratebeer: 99/100

Day 65 (9/27/2011): Bourbon Barrel Porter by Williamsburg AleWerks

One of my favorite things about vacation is getting to try new things I wouldn't normally have access to at home. This means food, attractions, views, and yes, beer. Beer distribution is so crazy that you never know what you're going to find when you head to a state outside your own. Early on in this vacation in South Carolina, I headed to the store to figure out what local/regional stuff I could get my hands on. One bottle that intrigued me was a bourbon barrel porter from Williamsburg AleWerks. I had never heard of the brewery before, but it had a good score on both sites and I'm a sucker for barrel aged beers, so I picked one up to try.

I am very, very glad I did. This might be one of the best surprises I've had since I got into craft beers. Most stellar beers I get to try I expect to be stellar because of the hype behind them. It's not often that I ahold of an amazing beer that I've never heard of before.

The smell of this beer is tremendous. It's very rich, with a chocolate, almost fudge-like scent mingling with your porter-necessary roast. The barrel treatment is what brings this beer to the next level. It imparts a complex scent of vanilla, oak, coconut, and, of course, bourbon. It fits in with the rest of the scents perfectly, never overwhelming the base beer's characteristics. The taste, though still outstanding, isn't quite as rich as the smell. The low carb'ed, somewhat thick body carries a moderately sweet, bourbony goodness, with a solid roast in the finish. The alcohol is present just enough to add a warming characteristic, but it's not hot or too boozy.

I think the best thing I can say for this beer is that I'm going back to get more bottles to bring home. At $7.99 for a great barrel aged imperial beer, this is a hell of a deal. In my opinion, it's not as good as Parabola, but it's also half the price of it. Overall, outstanding. Kudos to a brewery I've never even heard of before putting out a beer of this caliber. I guess hype isn't everything after all.

Style: Imperial/strong porter
Beer Advocate: A-
Ratebeer: 99/92

Day 63 (9/25/2011): B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher by Hoppin' Frog Brewery

Context: Vacation. That's all that matters. Pretty much any beer tastes passable while I'm staying on the beach.

Beer: As an Ohio beer, I've been meaning to try this one forever. Strangely enough, I found it and found it in South Carolina and found it cheaper than Ohio. Beer distribution and pricing makes no sense. Being on the Ratebeer top 100 list, this one had something to live up to and boy did it ever.

The smell of this is chocolate, coffee, and slight roasted malts. The oats are also there, but it's very slight. The taste is much the same, but it comes in waves. It's sweet and creamy up front, with the chocolate, vanilla, and malt sweetness dominating. A slight bitter roast complemented by the coffee flavor finishes things up, balancing up the front of the flavor. Definitely one of the most balanced imperial stouts I've ever tasted. A little more sweet than roast, but that's the way I like it. The feel of this is amazing. The carbonation is pretty low and, with the oats, it makes for one of the most amazingly creamy beers I've ever drank in my life. Very, very impressive.

Kudos to this beer for hitting it on all fronts.It doesn't have the wow factor of some other really big, barrel aged stouts, but it does everything an oatmeal stout does pretty much perfectly. I can not wait to try the barrel aged version of it. I'm not sure how much it will improve it, but I'm willing to find out. I give B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher by Hoppin' Frog Brewery an A.

Style: Russian imperial stout
Beer Advocate: A/A-
Ratebeer: 100/97

Day 58 (9/20/2011): Sierra Nevada Stout

Context: An uneventful day at work, a good run, and I finally got time to rack the American wheat I've had sitting in the primary forever onto some mango. Overall, I can't say there's much to complain about.

Beer: Sierra Nevada continues to impress. This one smells like chocolate and roasted malts. Perhaps a little coffee. The taste of this is wonderful and only improves as the beer warms. Like the nose, you get a good deal of chocolate; to a lesser degree, roast; and to an even lesser degree; coffee. It finishes with a slight earthiness which must be the hops. In a pleasant surprise, this stout is actually much more full-bodied than I expected. It's not syrupy or anything, but the body has a weight to it which more than balances the medium carbonation.

This is another outstanding offering from Sierra Nevada. I would put it in my top five non-imperial stouts that I have tried before. Just like their brown ale, Tumbler, there is nothing which jumps out at you and grabs your attention, but it is still undoubtedly enjoyable. In the world of the tortoise and the hare, where the latter consists of expensive, mega-hyped, barrel aged, >10% imperial stouts, Sierra Nevada keeps chugging along with a steady, workmanship-like approach to brewing and selling high-quality, low-price beers. Frankly, I'm ecstatic that I can run to pretty much any reputable beer store (and most grocery stores) in the country and pick up a six pack of this. I give Sierra Nevada Stout an A.

Style: American Stout
Beer Advocate: A-/A+
Ratebeer: 95/94

Day 38 (8/31/2011): The Oracle by Bell's Brewery

I was amazed to find some singles of these about a week after they were bottles up at Bell's earlier in August. Not only does it have an extremely limited distribution, but I found them for $2.99 a bottle! I only picked up a couple of them - one for myself and one for a trading partner - leaving the rest for whoever was lucky to find them. It was very, very difficult not to buy all of them that were there.

This is the much less talked about double IPA brother (or sister) to Hopslam. While everyone clamors for the latter, many don't even know the former exists. It seems far more of a limited release, so that might have something to do with it. What I found was that The Oracle is just as impressive (if nor more so, depending on your tastes) as Hopsmal, though it is an entirely different offering of the same style.

The Oracle pours a beautiful clear orange with a short, maybe one finger tall effervescent white head. It recedes quickly, leaving a slight bubbly layer on top of the body. The smell is hops, hops, hops. I get a ton of pine with a slight whiff of citrus-grapefruit. More pine - leff citrus and fruit than Hopslam. There is some sweetness, but this doesn't smell like a balanced beer, which here smells wonderful.

In a pleasant surprise, this beer ends up tasting magically balanced, despite the smell. There is a lot of grapefruit hoppiness up front, balanced with a strong malt backbone which never lets the hops get out of control. The only bitterness in this beer is in a pine finish. Usually I can't stand bitter finishes, but the sweetness stays on your tongue through it, tempering the bite a bit. Even though this is a 10% beer, there is hardyly any booze in the taste or on the tongue/throat They did a great job hiding the high ABV. If anything, it adds a nice spiciness to the flavor, reminiscent of a rye addition. This is certainly a big beer, but it drinks well with medium carbonation and body.

Boy, do I wish this was more readily available. I think I might actually like it more than Hopslam, though admittedly it's been since early this year since I've had a bottle of it. I would love it if they were released more closely together so I could do a side by side comparison without one of them being significantly older than the other. Which you will like is largely dependent on your tastes: this is definitely a more of a West Coast IPA with a lot of pine and resiny hops. Hopslam is more malt forward, with grapefruit and sweetness dominating the taste. You owe it to yourself to try both, though, if at all posible. I give The Oracle by Bell's Brewery an A.

(P.S. Keystone in Covington tapped a keg of this last night. If you're lucky and it hasn't kicked yet, you can go grab yourself a pint of it)

Style: American double/imperial IPA
ABV: 10%
IBU: ?
Beer Advocate: A-
Ratebeer: 100/99

Picked up from the Root Cellar in Kenwood for $2.99 a bargain. It is obviously distributed in Cincinnati, but if you're trying to find a bottle now, you're probably looking too late.

Day 26 (8/19/2011): Pannepot by De Struise Brouwers

Pannepot has been a beer I have wanted to try for quite some time now. I've never actually seen it at the store, though, and never traded for it, so it's been sort of out of sight, out of mind. Being the #30 beer on the Ratebeer Top 100 of 2011, I definitely knew I had to try it.

In a stroke of luck, I found it and a few bottlers of Bell's Oracle at a bottle shop out in the 'burbs after a round of furniture shopping (fun, right?). I popped it open to enjoy that same night.

The 11.2oz bottle pours a inch of light brown head over a dark, dark brown body. The smell is everything you could ever want from a dark Belgian beer: a complex mix of raisins and figs, vanilla, and an almost spicy cider taste. You can smell the booze, which isn't surprising considering how young the beer is and the 10% ABV.

This is a powerful tasting beer. There is so much going on, all of it perfectly melded together. The dark fruits are the most obvious taste, with a molasses or brown sugar sweetness. You can also taste a mild bit of spices; maybe cinnamon and/or anise. There is a good bit of alcohol in the taste, as well.

This is both medium bodied and carbonated and has a bit of burn from the 10%.

This is an absolutely tremendous Belgian beer. I think it might be tied for my favorite dark Belgian ale with Rochefort 10, another which blew me away. I would love to try a bottle with a few more years of age on it to see if the booze mellowed out a bit. That would make it pretty much perfect.

I give Pannepot by De Struise Brouwers an A. Two thumbs up!

Style: Quadrupel
ABV: 10%
IBU: ?
Beer Advocate: A
Ratebeer: 100/100

Day 19 (8/12/11): Consecration by Russian River Brewing

 

 

Sadly, this is the last Russian River sour I have left from a box I received a while back. I really wanted to try the whole line up as an introduction to sours and I have to say: I really enjoyed them.

Consecration is another Ratebeer top 100 selection. It is brewed with Brett and other wild yeasts, so it has the sour funk that is shares with the rest of the line up. It is also aged in American oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with currants, so that is a change of pace from the rest. Barrel aged, yes, but in a different kind of barrel.

Consecration pours a relatively clear red-brown with a thin bubbly head. It leaves good lacing on the glass while dying down and being drank. The nose, like the rest of the Russian River sours, it a funky sour smell first, followed by a red vinegar, some red wine, and a bit of alcohol. This is the first time I could smell the booze on one of the sours, but at 10% it's no surprise.

The taste is first tart, funky, Brett-y vinegar. It has a sourness up front which is pretty balanced with a slight bit of sweetness. You do get some cherries, cranberries (I'm guessing this is the currants) and a tiny bit of oakiness. Not much of the wine flavors from the barrels shine through, though. There is a lot of flavor here, but not so much that it is over the top (aka: Supplication).

The mouthfeel is much like the others in the lineup: high, tingly carbonation, a medium (but bordering on light) body, and no burn from the booze. At 10%, the fact that you can't feel any of the alcohol is quite amazing.

I give Consecration by Russian River Brewing an A.

I have to say that I have been very impressed with every one of the sours from Russian River. All of them were outstanding, but if I had to rank them it would probably be (in ascending order of preference) Sanctification, Supplication, Consecration, and Temptation. I would drink any of them any day of the week, but boy would I love a few cases of Temptation. Definitely one of the best beers I have ever has the pleasure of trying.

Not only that, but they have really turned me on to sours. I thought the concept of them was weird at first, but I am slowly starting to understand the appeal. I even crave the sourness of them sometimes, which is strange considering what I usually crave is a nice, big alcohol stout on the sweet side. In fact, I just just picked up a sour ale the other day. Not that I'm giving up my old ways or anything; I picked up a bottle of Southern Tier Creme Brulee at the same time.

Style: American wild/sour ale
ABV: 10%
IBU: ?
Beer Advocate: A
Ratebeer: 100/99 

Acquired via a trade through a Beer Advocate in California. Sorry Cincinnati, none to be found here.

Day 12 (8/5/2011): Temptation by Russian River Brewing Company

After my previous two Russian River reviews, I was really, really looking forward to the next one. Like Sanctification, Temptation is a sour blonde ale brewed with wild yeast. Unlike Sanctification, however, Temptation is barrel aged. Specifically, they are aged in chardonnay barrels. I have never had a wine aged beer, so this one will be a new experience to me.

Temptation pours a beautiful almost-transparent golden color, with a fluffy white head that leaves a pretty much good lacing as it slowly dissipates. The smell the funky citrus smell that is shared with Sanctification, but that's where the similarities end. The effects of the barrel aging is obvious here, with heavy scents of white grapes and oak. A wonderful combination overall.

The taste. Oh, the taste. I could drink this all day if I had the availability and the money. The refreshing tartness brought on by the Brett is paired with the slight fruitiness and oakiness of the barrels, creating an almost perfect taste.  Russian River has pretty much mastered the balance of being tart without having to take an antacid right after having a bottle.

The carbonation is medium; seems a little higher than Sanctification. It is pretty dry throughout, but does have a touch of sweetness. The alcohol is pretty much nonexistent here. There is a lot going on, but none of it is booziness.

Another hit by Russian River. I complained about the lack of complexity of Sanctification and then Temptation hits it out of the park by upping up the game with the chardonnay barrel aging. I wasn't sure what to expect with this beer, particularly because I don't care for chardonnay (or white wine in general), but Temptation got it right. I give Temptation by Russian River Brewing Company an A.

In other awesome news, I got a bunch of new beer to review today! Coming soon...

Style: American wild/sour ale
ABV: 7.25%
IBU: ?
Beer Advocate: A/A
Ratebeer: 100/99 

Acquired in a trade from a Beer Advocate from California. Sorry Cincinnati folks, not distributed here!

Day 6 (7/30/2011): Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier

This will be another quick one. I'm off to a beer event in an hour. Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it later this week.

Yesterday, I decided I needed a season appropriate beer. Something refreshing, but still substantial. Luckily I had grabbed a bottle of hefeweizen earlier in the week. When I think hefeweizen, Weihenstephaner is what I think of. Despite this, strangely enough, I've never actually tried it. Part of that is that I'm not a huge hefeweizen fan and part of that is that I just don't drink enough beer imported from outside the United States.

Pouring from this bottle, the first thing I noticed is how nice it looks. It is a pale, cloudy honey color, with a brilliant, billowing white head. It took me a while to pour the bottle since the head was so large, and the picture below was after I had got most of the bottle into the cup.

The smell is great; tons of bananas and cloves, with pale malts. This is definitely the classic smell I look for in a hefeweizen.

The taste is an explosion of the different smells, with the bananas and slight spiciness of the cloves from the Belgian yeast taking over. It's a substantial taste without being overpowering. I'm sure it opens up even more as it warms, but I enjoyed it so much that there was no danger of it getting warm. It was gone well before then.

Medium carbonation that somehow seems low. A really smooth drinking beer. I wouldn't mind drinking this all day (or night).

This is probably the perfect summer beer. The crispness, great taste, and  relatively low ABV makes this an amazing choice. It is great tasting and, at the same time, accessible for those new craft beer drinkers who don't want a 100 IBU hop bomb or a 15% imperial stout. The next time you're out grilling, pass your buddy a bottle of this instead of a Bud Light. They might not care for it, but then again, they might. And if not, you can always finish the bottle for them. The brewery which makes this beer has been operated for almost 1,000 (!!!) years, so they have the recipe pretty much perfected by now.

I give Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier an A rating. It is probably the best Hefeweizen in the world (or at least the best I've tried). A great beer  which is cheap, widely available, and seasonally appropriate. I need to find this on draft.

Style: Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.4%
IBU: ?
Beer Advocate: A/A+
Ratebeer: Source: 99/100

Purchased from Party Source for $2.00 a single. Six packs also available for just under $10 apiece. This is a pretty common import, so you should be able to find it in most places.

Day 4 (7/28/2011): Péché Mortel by Brasserie Dieu Du Cel

I'm going to keep this one short because, hey, it's Friday and I really don't want to be sitting in front of my computer. I've been meaning to try this one for quite some time and as a Ratebeer top 100 beer, I had hopes. It was actually just as good, if not better, than I had hoped it would be.

It poured your typical imperial stout black as night, with about a half inch of tannish foamy head. The smells were largely chocolate, charred grains (without smelling burnt), and as you expect from a coffee stout, very, very strong scents of good, freshly ground coffee beans. It's actually brewed with fair trade coffee, which will please those of you with soft hearts. I was more so interested in the beer, but it's a nice addition.

The taste is espresso, but not overwhelmingly so. It's just the perfect amount and it melds great with the sweetness and chocolate taste of the beer. The hops are there, but don't take over, only providing a slight bitteering finish. I like my stouts on the sweeter side, so all of this is the perfect combination.

It is definitely low carbonation and somewhat thick, but it's not the sipper that you would expect. The 9.5% ABV is pretty much completely hidden, with no burn at all.

This is a great beer and it deserves every bit of the acclaim it receives. Every bit of the flavor is perfectly balanced, but if are more of a fan of drier stouts, you might not like this as much as I did. Overall, I don't think I could ask any more of this beer. It's a bit pricy for a little less than twelve ounce bottle, but you're paying for quality.

I give Péché Mortel by Brasserie Dieu Du Cel an A rating. Unlike the last beer reviewed, this one is available in the Cincinnati area, so you don't have an excuse not to try it.

With that, I am signing out an picking out a beer to drink. I'll see you tomorrow with a review of it!

Style: Imperial stout

ABV: 9.5%

IBU: ?

Beer Advocate: A/A+

Ratebeer: 100/98

Acquired via a trade from a Beer Advocate in California. Thanks! I've seen this available in Cincinnati, I believe at Dutch's. I'm sure you can find it elsewhere, though.

Day 3 (7/27/2011): Blind Pig IPA by Russian River Brewing Company

 

So after a rough start to the reviewing, I decided I needed to drink something I knew I would enjoy. After a good beer haul I received from California earlier in the week, I knew exactly what I wanted to try. Blind Pig is the little brother of Pliny the Elder, the world class double IPA from Russian River. I've tried the latter on a couple occasions, but never the former. Does Blind Pig live up to the hype built up from Russian River's other beers? I hoped so.

Cracking the bottle, I could smell the citrus pungency of the hops before I even pour it into my glass. Into the glass, the smell gets even more complex with scents of tropical fruits and pine. It definitely smells like a hop bomb. The color is a pale orange, crystal clear, with a little under an inch of bright white head.

The taste surprises me, but this time in a good way. The complex hop scent is here in the taste, but balanced perfectly with a solid pale malt profile. It's got all the hoppiness you could want without being bitter at all; I'm impressed. Hops up front and the malts finish the show with a pleasant slight sweetness. Carbonation isn't as intense as I'm used to, but between that and the medium body, this makes for one of the smoothest IPAs I've ever had the pleasure of drinking.

So does Blind Pig live up to the rest of the Russian River family of beers, the ratings on both beer sites, and its annual inclusion on the Ratebeer Top 100 list? That answer is a unequivocal 'Yes'. This is easily one of the best IPAs I have ever drank before. It manages to achieve the difficult task of being complex enough for the serious craft beer drinker, while at the same time not being too intense for those just getting into this wonderful world.

A beer doesn't always have to be expensive, >10% ABV, super hoppy, or barrel aged to be good. Some of the best beer is the stuff you wouldn't mind drinking every day. If Blind Pig was distributed here, I would probably always have a few bottles of it in my fridge. In fact, as an everyday beer (in my opinion), it easily surpasses Pliny the Elder. It's just that solid.

So, for the first time, A Beer a Day has success. I give Blind Pig IPA by Russian River Brewing Company an A. If you are ever in California or anywhere else this is distributed, you owe it to yourself to grab a few bottles.

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: ?

Beer Advocate: A

Ratebeer: 100/100

Acquired via a trade from a very generous Beer Advocate from California.