Day 79 (10/11/2011): Wynona's Big Brown Ale by Voodoo Brewing Company

I'm not a fan of brown ales. I just can't get into them. My favorite is probably Sierra Nevada's Tumbler, mostly because the roastiness of it is more subdued than most.

Wynona's Brown Ale is not subdued in any manner. It is roasty, boozy, and well-hopped. It is certainly not your English grandfather's brown ale. That is for sure. The smell is roasted malts, a nuttiness, and caramel, with a slight whiff of hops. The hops hit your palette first, bittering things out before is fades into a sweet, nutty malt finish. There isn't a ton of complexity in the flavor. I was hoping for a little coffee or chocolate, but if it's there, it's subtle. The carbonation is about right: just under medium, with a tad bit too thin of a body. The alcohol is somewhat present with a little burn, but it's not bad.

For a brown ale, this isn't bad. There's still a ton of beers I would drink first (including Tumbler), but I was able to finish the whole bomber, so it can't be that bad, right? I give Wynona's Big Brown Ale by Voodoo Brewing Company a B.

Style:: American brown ale
Beer Advocate: B+
Ratebeer: 91/96

Day 76 (10/8/2011) Baltic Porter by Uncommon Brewers

I've never heard of this brewery before, but I'm enough of a fan of Baltic porters, plus it's brewed with anise. Somewhat interesting.

The smell is somewhat straight forward: roast, coffee, bitter chocolate and, as advertised, some licorice. The taste follows the same lines with a strong roast countered only slightly my malt sweetness. The addition of anise is there, but only just slightly. The roast lends a charred and bitter flavor that I don't much care for and dries it out a bit. The body is thinner than I expected at medium, with a tad higher than medium carbonation.

Overall, nothing too exciting, but not bad by any means. I'd drink it again, but I'm not sure I would seek it out. I give Baltic Porter by Uncommon Brewers a B.

Style: Baltic porter
Beer Advocate: B+/B+
Ratebeer: 94/80

Day 72 (10/4/2011): (512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter by (512) Brewing Company

(Sorry, no bottle photo this time. Too crappy of lighting!)

I never thought I'd get to try this one, but thanks to a new acquaintance who was kind enough to split a bottle with me, here I am!

It pours a brown as close to black as possible, with a large mocha-colored head. The smell is dominated by the barrel, with vanilla and oak making up the most it. There is some roast, dark fruit and sweetness in the background, but it's very slight. The taste is, again, the barrel up front with whiskey, vanilla and oak. Frankly, I don't remember as much of the taste as I normally would because I was having a conversation during it, but I remember that it did taste good. Everything was going well until the mouthfeel. This beer is waaaaaaay overcarbonated. It takes away from everything else that was good before it. It distracts from the flavor immensely. I'd say it's probably one of the most carbonated stouts I've ever tasted.

If it wasn't for the carbonation, this would be a great beer. It's still good, but it doesn't come near some of the better barrel aged stouts and porters out there. I'll try next year's release and see if they get it under control. I sure hope so. I give Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter by (512) Brewing Company a B.

Style: Imperial/strong porter
Beer Advocate: A-
Ratebeer: 98/81

Day 48 (9/10/2011): Black Butte Porter by Deschutes Brewery

I had heard that Black Butte Porter is one of the best American porter out there; on the same level as Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald and Founders Porter. Obviously I'm wanting to get my hands on anything that people claim is the best or darn near it and I was lucky enough to receive a bottle of it recently. Knowing that it was brewed by Deschutes, one of America's best breweries, definitely raised my expectations.

Black Butte pours a dark, dark brown with a couple fingers of very light tan head. The smell is primarily roasty, with dark chocolate, coffee, and a slight hint of hops in the background.

The taste, like the smell, is dominated by the roast. It is almost tart from the roasted malts. There is some sweetness to counter it, but this is definitely roasty. I also get some coffee on the finish, along with some hops, but it all second to the roast. I don't care for this at all. The carbonation is medium and a body that is a tad too thin for a porter.

Overall, I'm not impressed. The taste and smell is one-dimensional with the roastiness overwhelming everything else. I'm not sure if this is an out of the ordinary bottle or what, but I have no idea how people rate this so highly. I just don't get it. I would like to try another bottle of this at some point to see what the deal is. Surely my palette can't be that different from pretty much everyone else's. At this point, however, after trying only one bottle of this, I give Black Butte Porter by Deschutes Brewery a B-.

Style: American Porter
ABV: 5.2%
IBU:
Beer Advocate: A-/A+
Ratebeer: 97/98

Day 37 (8/30/2011) Tallgrass Oasis by Tallgrass Brewing Company

(Excuse the blurriness. Not entirely sure what happened there.)

Oasis is a beer with an identity crisis. Not that this is necessarily bad or anything. It just makes it difficult to rate. Tallgrass admits this, calling the beer a double IPA/ESB. Since I'm not entirely sure what a characteristics a double ESB would have, so I decided to review it as a double IPA.

It pours a dark amber, definitely darker than most double IPAs, with a voluminous off-white head. Had to let it settle down a bit before I topped off the glass. It has a good citrus hop odor, but is balanced well with a substantial earthy caramel maltiness. The taste follows the nose, a good balance of hop bitterness and malt sweetness. It's not particularly complex and isn't going to blow anyone away, but it is tasty. Medium carbonation and body; nothing too surprising here.

I give Tallgrass Oasis by Tallgrass Brewing Company a solid B. I'm not sure what this beer is, but it is good. I'm not sure I would pick up a six pack over the alternatives, but if the price is right I would at least consider it. It's balanced and unoffensive and therefore is not going to change anyone's worldviews on beer, but sometimes you just want something you can put back without giving it a lot of thought.

Style: Double ESB/IPA
ABV: 7.2%
IBU: 93
Beer Advocate: B+
Ratebeer: 93/99

Received from a generous Beer Advocate from Kansas City. I believe this is available in Ohio.

Day 23 (8/16/2011): Radiant Summer Ale by Ninkasi Brewing Company

After the previous day's hop bomb, I definitely needed something a little sweeter and maltier. I decided to go with Ninkasi's summer seasonal, Radiant Ale.

Radiant pours a clear amber with a large, effervescent ivory head. The retention is great considering it was a minute or two before it even considered dying down. The smell is fruity and yeasty, almost like a wheat beer. It smells pretty malty with only a slight grassy hop scent.

The taste is pretty mild, which seems to be typical of summer seasonals that I have tried. It is only slightly sweet, with a bigger hop present than was evident in the scent. A lot of these hops seem to be the bittering variety, which shows up in the dry, bitter finish. It's not overwhelming, but I could have done with it dialed back a bit.

A solid medium carbonation delivers the thin body effectively, while the bitterness slightly puckers the mouth on the finish.

This was a strange beer. It is categorized as an American Pale Ale, but it drinks and smells almost like a hoppy wheat beer. It is very drinkable and would be even more so if it wasn't for the out of nowhere bitter finish. I'd rather drink this than Oberon, regardless, but I don't much care for Oberon. I give Ninkasi Brewing Company's Radiant Summer Ale a B.

Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6%
IBU: 40
Beer Advocate: B
Ratebeer: 86/87

Acquired via a generous Beer Advocate in Oregon. Not distributed out this way.

Day 22 (8/15/2011): Japanese Green Tea IPA by Stone Brewing Co.

I was really, really looking forward to this beer. As soon as I heard of this Stone collaboration, I knew I had to get a bottle as soon as it was released (more details about the collaboration and the beer itself here). It has so many things going for it: a. it's an IPA, b. Stone is brewing it, c. it has green tea in it, and d. it's for a good cause. Can't go wrong, right? Let's see about that.

The first thing you'll notice is that they are some mega floaties in these bottles. I have no idea if it is the tea or hops, but proceed with caution when pouring. Even with a careful pour, the beer is a murky, unfiltered orangish. It has a pretty frothy, though not large, head.

The smell is a hop extravaganza. The first thing that hits you is the scent of tropical fruit, followed by a blast of pine. There is some malt present, but it takes a backseat to the pungency of the hops. Sadly, any green tea smell that may have meant to be there is overwhelmed by this same great odor.

The hops in the nose are all present in the flavor, but balanced a bit better with a substantial malt backbone. It's not balanced by any means, but it's enough to keep it from being one dimensional. It has a nice hoppy dry finish without being overly bitter. The only thing that hurts the flavor for me is a strong booziness that is not particularly well hidden and an almost complete lack of green tea flavor. It's there, but just barely.

The mouthfeel is about typical for an IPA: medium body and carbonation. There is some alcohol burn from the 9.2%.

So what is the verdict? It is definitely an above average double IPA, but it is disappointing that the green tea flavor and smell were so overwhelmed. This had an opportunity to be a very, very creative beer, but the concept just didn't work out in execution. If this beer were 6-7% ABV instead of 9% the green tea might have shined through a bit better, but 9% it is. I'll probably never buy it again, not because it's a bad beer, but because it's $4 for a 12oz bottle. That's not much bag for your buck. I give the Stone-Baird-Ishii Japanese Green Tea IPA a B.

Style: American double/imperial IPA
ABV: 9.2%
IBU: 70
Beer Advocate: B
Ratebeer: 92/83

Picked up at Marty's Hops and Vines for $3.99 a 12oz bottle. Available pretty much everywhere Stone has distribution.