Thursday, January 29, 2009

Another 2-Beer Night

Beer: Weisse

Brewer: Scheidner

Style: Hefeweizen

Tasting notes: (2) Lemony and wheaty w/ a small hole in the flavor. (1) Pleasant darker hefe. Very subdued and smooth.

Rating: Good




Beer: Expedition Stout

Brewer: Bells

Style: Imperial Stout

Tasting notes: (8) Another disappointment. Nice chocolate smell at first. Then a taste like cardboard soaked in soy sauce appears. Both disappointments were brewed on 1 Feb 2007. Perhaps the batch is bad? Removed from my top-10ish list. (7) A disappointment. Unsalted soy flavor and hot. Oxidation? No longer a favorite. (6) Malty mix of milk and bittersweet chocolate Alcohol peeked out. Went great w/ chocolate dessert and was a delightful after-dinner sipper. Back to being a favorite. (5) Big malt with touch of chocolate and a long bitter hop finish. Back to a top10ish beer but not a favorite. (4) A 2006-07 bottle. Yummy!!!. Charcoal milkshake with coffee and hops. Alcohol is present but subdued. One of my absolute favorite beers. (3) 2007-08 bottle. When cold a charcoal milkshake. Then a little hot. With more warming a sour/bitter hop bite at finish emerged. Emily described it as rich". I suspect it will be fantastic with some age. In my Top-10ish list. Would be one of may favorite beers except it is too hot. (2) Yummy - THICK, dark malt, dark fruit, charcoal, burnt chocolate, and a little alcohol burn. The perfect stout? (1) Black as old motor oil and twice as thick.

Comments: My rating for this beer has traditionally bounced between one of my all-time favorites and being in my top-10ish list. Two consecutive disappointments have led to a severe downgrade in the rating.

Dates on which reviewers at Beeradvocate.com rated the beer as one of the top 100 beers on the planet: 29 December 2005 and 10 March 2007. (Not on 30 January 2009.)
Rating: Recommended with qualification.

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