Day 80 (10/12/2011): Either by Cigar City Brewing Company

I was sure what to think of this one before drinking it or after. I wasn't familiar with the "black ale" style and I'm still not sure what qualifies something as one. It seems almost a catch-all style like "strong ale". I suppose you should expect these sorts of wacky things from collaborations; this one between Cigar City and Hill Farmstead.

It smells like a slightly hopped mix of a Belgian quad and an imperial stout. It had the dark fruit of the quad and the malty sweetness and roast of the stout, both on top of a layer of wood. It was bizarre, but not terrible. The taste was the same: dark fruits, sweet milk chocolate, coffee, and caramel with a small bit of hop notes. The alcohol is moderately present, but not overwhelming. The body isn't as big as you would expect or hope for from a 10+% beer, but it is medium, at least. The carbonation is just a tad under medium, though the creaminess of it makes it seems lower.

I actually quite enjoyed this beer, despite how I make it sound in the review. The flavors actually work together quite well. I could have used a little more body on it, but that's not a huge deal. The problem is: I like imperial stouts and I like quads for what they are. Both have remarkable qualities that, when added together, seem to lose the best of each. This one is worth a try, though, and I would love to get ahold of the rest of the bottles from this series. I give Either by Cigar City Brewing Company a B+.

Style: American black ale
Beer Advocate: B+
Ratebeer: 99/100

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 78 (10/10/2011): Devious Imperial Pumpkin by Fegley's Brew Works

Another pumpkin ale, this one from Fegley's Brew Works, Pennsylvania brewery I had never heard of before. This imperial pumpkin ale has the highest ABV of any I have tried so far, clocking in at 9%.

In both the smell and taste, this is on the higher end of the spice spectrum, with cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg making their presence known right up front. I don't get much else from the taste other than the spices, a good bit of caramel malt sweetness, and a tad of the alcohol. Not much pumpkin flavor here. The alcohol also provides a slight burn in the mouthfeel, which is magnified by higher than expected carbonation and a thinnish body. I sort of expected a bigger-bodied beer than this.

This isn't bad by any means, but I think it's probably at the bottom of the pack in terms of pumpkin ales I've tried so far. I could definitely go for more pumpkin flavor in it, along with a bigger body and less carbonation. Despite these flaws, it's not a bad beer; it's just that there are probably better choices readily available no matter where you live. I give Devious Imperial Pumpkin by Fegley's Brew Works a B-.

Style: Pumpkin ale
Beer Advocate: B
Ratebeer: 64/74

Day 77 (10/9/2011): Super awesome beer tasting!

Thanks to a couple of awesome acquaintances, I got to try some amazing beers while watching the Packers keep their undefeated season going forward on Sunday night. Here's a quick roundup, relatively in chronological order, of what was opened that wonderful night.

Thank God this was opened early, because I did not want to forget a thing about it. Aged in Pappy Van Winkle barrels for 24 months, this is an amazing beer. The smell is like you have your face right in some of the best bourbon barrels in the world. The barrel characteristics overwhelm almost everything, wiping out any sort of bitterness while imparting amazing sweet caramel and vanilla notes. Drink this slow, drink it with friends, and enjoy every minute of it. Remember, it's not being bottled again.

The next up was Deliverance, a strong ale from Lost Abbey. This suffered terribly from following Rare, which is amazing considering that Deliverance is a RateBeer Top 100 beer. It is a mix of a stout (Serpent's Stout) and a strong ale (Angel's Share), so it's somewhat all over the place. Not a stout, but with stout characteristics. I'm glad I got to try it, but knowing Lost Abbey's prices, I don't think I would buy a bottle.

Next, we popped a can of Heady Topper by the Alchemist Pub & Brewery. For as much hype as this has got recently, it is worth every little bit of it. Super hoppy, but perfectly balanced. I will be pursuing more of this for sure.

Cantillon! It's not often that I get to drink these, so this was a special treat. It is probably one of the top five best sours I've ever had. The cherries are there in abundance along with a good amount of oak and, of course, a great deal of funky sourness. Very, very delicious.

Rounding things up was the bottle I brought, Cigar City Marshal Zhukov's, a big imperial stout. This was like a chocolate milkshake: sweet, thick, and (of course) chocolate-y. I really, really enjoyed this one even though it was the nightcap. I'll be grabbing another bottle of this so I can taste it as the front of the lineup and not the end.

What a night! Luckily I had Columbus Day off of work, so everything worked out just fine. That would have been a rough day at work. I want to thank the friends who allowed me to tag along and open all of these bottles with my poor soul. I really appreciate them and all of their awesome beers. Great friends with great taste, for sure.

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 75 (10/7/2011): Grapefruit Jungle by Sun King Brewing Company

The hops continue!After Zombie Dust and White Rajah, I'm onto Grapefruit Jungle. A buddy picked some of this up at the brewery a week or so ago and graciously offered me a can. Very nice of him, considering it was more than $4.00 a can.

There is most certainly grapefruit on the nose, along with a slight sweetness. It's not super hoppy, but it's fragrant enough to warrant the name of the beer. The taste is grapefruit hops and s pale malt sweetness, but not much else. The malt backbone is definitely solid, there is no doubt about that. Both carbonation and body is medium; just about right for what it is.

I think this really suffers from following those two world class hoppy beers. While Grapefruit Jungle is a good beer, it doesn't have the complexity or balance of the other two. At a more reasonable price, I would happily drink this if it was available to me in Cincinnati (it's not, of course), but at more than $15.00 for a four-pack, it's just not doable. There are just too many good IPAs out there to pay that much. Despite that, I give Grapefruit Jungle by Sun King Brewing Company a B+.

Style: American IPA
Beer Advocate: A
Ratebeer: No Score (requires more ratings)

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