Day 71 (10/3/2011): Black Albert by De Struise Brouwers

I'm still not sure what to think about this one. It's a huge beer in a little bottle that happens to be on the RateBeer Top 100 and cost me $10 for an itty-bitty 11.2oz bottle. Between the last two characteristics, this beer had a lot to live up to from the word 'go'.

The smell is largely dark fruit (mostly raisins, figs, and black cherries), almost Quad-like, some chocolate, roasted malts, and brown sugar/molasses. It smells a lot like a big stout mixed with a big quadrupel, which makes sense considering it's brewed by a Belgian brewery. The taste is kind of the the smell flipped on its head. The roast and chocolate are out in front here, with the fruit bringing up the rear. It's still there, of course, but just not as dominating as in the smell. The roast imparts an almost smoky essence to the beer, which is odd, but actually not a negative here. At 13%, there is pretty much no hiding the booze, but it isn't too overwhelming, just a tad hot. The body is medium, which is a little lighter than I would like in a big stout like this, but the carbonation is just about right.

Verdict? Good, but not $10 a bottle good or Top 100 good. The two Belgian-style stouts I've tried  (this and Allagash Black), I haven't been super impressed with. It seems like the dark fruit and yeast flavors, in my opinion, overwhelm most of the rest of the taste. If I wanted a beer that tasted like this, I'd buy a lot cheaper quad. Despite, this, it is a unique beer and one you should at least try once if you have the chance. You'll just have to decide for yourself if you like it more than I do. I give Black Albert by De Struise Brouwers a B+.

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

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 43 (9/5/2011): Parabola by Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

43 days into this "A Beer a Day" experiment and I've had some really good beers. I've awarded a fair number of A's and an even larger number of A-'s and B+'s, all of which were very enjoyable beers. The A's were great beers, but lacked that extra "oomph" to absolutely blow me away. Some were on the verge, but none did it until now.

I got a bottle of Firestone Walker's Parabola through a friend a couple months back and was saving it for a special occasion. While in DC last week, I found a whole shelf full of them at Connecticut Avenue Wine and Liquor Deli and picked one up to bring back home. I could have my cake and eat (or drink) it, too. I had a bottle to try whenever I wanted and still had one put away to share on a special day. And thank goodness for that.

Parabola is a big beer. You don't even need to taste or smell it to find that out. At 12.5%, it's not even eligible to be sold in Ohio even if FW decided to distribute here. It spends twelve months barrel aging, which gives it an amazing, balanced complexity.

It is a pitch black beer with a very small mocha head that is gone almost immediately after the pouring stops. There's not much lacing; only small marks where carbonation flung small bubbles onto the side of the glass. The barrel aging is immediately evident on the nose, lending bourbon and vanilla notes. You also get a lot of bittersweet chocolate and figs/raisins. Alot of times a barrel aged beer can be overwhelmed by what was in the barrel before the beer, but in this case the bourbon melds perfectly with the other aspects of the smell. Amazingly, there is very little booziness to the scent. Strangely enough, it almost smells meaty. I'm not sure how to describe it in a way that's not disgusting, but it wasn't at all.

The taste is sweet, creamy milk chocolate balanced against a significant, but not overdone roastiness. The bourbon and oak is here again, adding vanilla and caramel, but like the nose it is masterfully blended with the other tastes. There is a bit of hops on the finish, but nothing that distracts from the pure awesomeness of the rest of the flavors. This is an absolutely terrific tasting beer.

The mouthfeel is thick and almost syrupy, which is to be expected with this large of a beer. It is most certainly a sipper and you would probably be wiser than I to split a bottle with a good friend. The carbonation is low, but present and suits it perfectly.

This is easily the best stout I have ever had the pleasure to drink before and I'm not certain that it's not the best beer overall that I've tried. This is a big, bold beer, but everything manages to remain balanced in it. This is definitely a beer to savor and think about while you're drinking. There is so much going on with it that you'll want to drink it slowly and let it warm up a bit to get a full appreciation of its smell and flavor. I can not even begin to explain how happy I am to have another bottle of this stashed away. I'll be in DC again next week and just might have to go grab another if they're still stocked. It's just that good. I give Parabola by Firestone Walker Brewing Co. an A+ and my highest recommendations.

Style: Russian imperial stout
ABV: 12.5%
IBU: 82
Beer Advocate: A
Ratebeer: 100/98

Purchased at Connecticut Avenue Wine and Liquor Deli (Washington, DC) for $16.99 a bomber.

Day 16 (8/9/11) Siberian Night Imperial Stout by Thirsty Dog Brewing Company

I've always seen this on the shelves, but never grabbed on before. Price discrepancy aside (see below), the are a pretty darn good deal for a single bottle of such a high ABV beer, so I decided to give it a try.

Siberian Night, as the name implies, pours a deep, deep color. It's an almost black body, but not quite, with a finger of tannish-mocha head. The smell is of heavily roasted, almost to the point of charred grains, with a backing of coffee, chocolate, and dark fruits. The magnitude of the roastiness is a bit odd and almost threatens to overwhelm all of the other scents.

The first thing I notice in the flavor is the earthy, roasted malts. It tastes like I would expect charred wood to. Not particularly pleasant, as it imparts a bitter flavor to the beer. In addition to the roast, there is also some coffee, a little chocolate, and the tiniest bit of hops. All of the bitterness I get in this beer is from the roasted malts, not the hops.

The carbonation is medium-low; pretty much spot on for an imperial stout. It has a medium body and a smooth feel. There is a little burn from the booziness, but not much from almost 10%.

There's not much that really separates itself from the pack other than its earthy, charred taste/smell (bad) and its smooth mouthfeel (good). It is a good value, especially in the imperial stout style, but I wouldn't put it higher than other reasonable priced beers of the same style like Old Rasputin. If you're a fan of big, not particularly sweet stouts, this might be up your alley, but it didn't really do it for me. I give Siberian Night by Thirsty Dog Brewing Company a B-.

Style: Russian Imperial stout
ABV: 9.7%
IBU: 58
Beer Advocate: A-/B
Ratebee: 100/98

Purchased at Party Source for $2.05 a single. Four packs are also available, strangely enough, for $11.49. Somehow it is significantly cheaper to buy singles than a four pack? That doesn't make much sense. This beer is available in both Ohio and Kentucky.