Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

Brewer: Great Divide

Style: Imperial Stout

Tasting notes: (1003) On draft @ Mekong. Complex mix of roasty malt and chocolate with undertone of oak. Upgraded from 5 glasses. (0707) Sweet malt up front w/ hint of vanilla, alcohol burn, and burnt bite at end. (Too) easy drinking.

Top 100: 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, 25 November 2008, and 24 May 2009.

Rating: 6 glasses

Saisonnière

Brewer: Urthel

Style: Saison

Tasting notes: (1008) On tap @ Mekong. Nice, easy drinking w/ an interesting dry funky finish. May rate 5 glasses.

Rating: 4 glasses

Elwood Thompson Fresh Farmhouse Ale

Brewer: Blue and Gray

Style: Saison

Tasting notes: (1003) An odd collection of fruit, funk and sour flavors. OK w/ food.

Rating: 2 glasses.

Noble Pils

Brewer: Samuel Adams

Style: Pilsner

Tasting notes: (1003) Pleasant. I wanted more hops.

Rating: 3 glasses.

Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout

Brewer: Bluegrass

Style: Imperial Stout

Tasting notes: (1008) On draft @ Joe's Inn. Too much bourbon and vanilla. Overbearing. Downgraded from 4 glasses and then from 3 a few days later. (1003) On draft @ Joe's Inn. Ditto. (0608) A pint at CAH. A good stout with vanilla with a touch of bourbon. The bourbon grows as the beer warms. Very (too?) smooth, not a sipper and the alcohol was totally hidden. I wanted more bite and body.

Rating: 2 glasses.

IPA

Brewer: Lagunitas

Style: IPA

Tasting notes: (1003) Cask ale @ Mekong. Crisp, clean, and hoppy. Rates at least a 5. Let's split the difference and go 3 to 4. (0805) Downgraded to 3. (0709) A bottle @ Mekong. Sweet malt, spicy hops. Pleasant and good w food.

Rating: 4 glasses.

Brown Sugga' (cask)

Brewer: Lagunitas

Style: Strong Ale

Tasting notes: (1003) Cask @ Mekong. Very nice, muted, balanced, and complex.

Rating: 5 glasses.

Cappuccino Stout

Brewer: Lagunitas

Style: Stout

Tasting notes: (1003) Cask ale @ Mekong. Very nice stout, with nice dose of coffee. Rates at least 5. Let's split the difference and go 3 to 4. (0810) A bottle in Harrisonburg. Coffee! A little one dimensional and a tiche thin.

Rating: 4 glasses.

10

Brewer: Trappistes Rochefort

Style: Quadruple

Tasting notes: (1002) A 1 mn 4 mn old bottle. Complex and quaffable. Luxuriant mouthfeel. Wonderfully balanced.

Previous review.

Top 100: 29 December 2005, 10 March 2007, and 5 March 2009.

Rating: 7 glasses.

Old Viscosity

Brewer: Port

Style: Strong Ale

Tasting notes: (1003) A bottle purchased 1 yr and 11 mn ago. Baltic Porter and muted Arrogant Bastard. Downgraded from 5 glasses. (0806) A bottle purchased 2 mn ago. A mixture of Baltic Porter and Arrogant Bastard. Lots of coffee, especially when cold, w/ a hoppy finish. Better when cold - was thinking about 6 glasses. A sipper as it warms. A charcoal bite emerges as it warms. Alcohol blast throughout. Bourbon is present but subdued.

Rating: 4 glasses.

Siberian Night

Brewer: Thirsty Dog

Style: Imperial Stout

Tasting notes: (1003) A 1 yr. 11. mn old bottle. Bittersweet chocolate w/ a hint of soy. May be better fresh. (1002) A 1 yr 10 mn old bottle. A disappointment. A tiche of soy, some sour, some bitter chocolate. Downgraded from 7 glasses. This serving would rate at most 4 glasses but I dropped the rating to 5 based on previous tastings. Click here for previous review.

Top 100: 29 December 2005 and 10 March 2007. (Not 10 April 2009.)

Rating: 5 glasses

Hottenroth Berliner Weisse

Brewer: Bruery

Style: Berliner Weissbier

Tasting notes: (1001) Lemon-lime tartness and refreshment.

Rating: 3 glasses

Solid Rotation

I am thinking keeping a small stock of three beers on hand. The three beers are: Sierra Nevada Stout, Starr Hill The Love, and Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA. Each of these is reasonably priced and a good example of the style. The diversity of styles and flavors would let me find something to match almost any occasion or food.

I would plan to supplement my standards with some occasional treats and seasonal releases. Some highlights would include: Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, Founders Imperial Stout, Bigfoot, Hibernation Ale, and a variety of Belgian ales, sours, and gueze.

The Love

Brewer: Starr Hill

Style: Hefeweizen

Tasting notes: (1008) Very nice - slight banana and clove. May rate 5 glasses. (1005) Last of 2 6's. Good but downgraded from 5 glasses. (1002) On draft @ Joes's Inn. Would be 6 glasses if not for Weihenstephaner. (1001) Lemony fruit, a tiche of cloves and a touch of banana. Refreshing. May be overrated at 5 glasses but fond memories from my first tasting and drinkability push it up from 4.

Comment: The Love was the hit at a beer festival I attended a few summers ago.

Rating: 4 glasses.

Imperial Stout

Brewer: Founders

Style: Imperial Stout

Tasting notes: (1308) A number of bottles over the last couple of years. The beer is wonderful but I am downgrading from 7 glasses. Maybe my taste for big imperial stouts is diminishing. (1102) A fresh bottle ($3/bottle). Very nice. Smoke, chocolate, and hops w/ alcohol breath, (1001) A 1-yr. old bottle.
Wow! A little chocolate milkshake, a little chocolate syrup, some charcoal, a hint of bourbon, a wonderful mouthfeel and hoppy, smokey, charcoal bite. Wonderfully balanced and the alcohol is totally hidden.

Rating: 6 glasses.

Golden Ale

Brewer: Legend

Style: IPA (?)

Tasting notes: (1010) On draft @ Joe's Inn. A bit of pale malts followed by some harsh hops. Not sure if the glass was worth the happy hour price. (0903) On draft @ Joe's Inns. A tiche sweet, w/ a funny finish. I wondered if the line was clean. Not much hop. May rate a 2.

Comment: The Legend web site does not list Golden Ale. It lists Golden IPA and Pale Ale. A poll on the web site lists Golden Ale and Pale Ale - I guessed Golden Ale = Golden IPA.

Rating: 1 glass.

Aventinus Weizen Eisbock

Brewer: Schneider

Style: Eisbock

Tasting notes: (1001) Complex. Aventinus on steroids? Baked apples w/ cloves and nutneg followed occassionally by an alcohol blast? Upgraded from 5 glasses for being a great example of the style. (0811) Sweet apple cider w/ a touch of clove and nutmeg. More than sippable. Downgraded from 6 glasses. (0604) Sweet prunes and alcohol. A class of 1.

Comment: Eisbock formed by freezing the beer and removing some of the water, thereby concentratinng the flavors and alcohol. I read once that it was discovered when beer was shipped via railcars and drinkers noticed differences in the winter.

Rating: 6 glasses.

Baltic Porter

Brewer: Smuttynose

Style: Baltic Porter

Tasting notes: (1001) Figs and prunes and slightly smokey bite. (0803) Sweet chocolate, coffee, figs, prunes, and alcohol blast.

Comment: This bottle had aged some. I think just under two years.

Rating: 6 glasses

Shakespeare Stout

Brewer: Rogue

Style: Stout

Tasting notes: (1001) Ditto. as previous review. Nice smokey bite at end.

Comments: Downgraded from 6 glasses; it doesn't seem as "full" or "thick" as I remember it.

Top 100: 29 December 2005 and 10 March 2007. (Not on 3 August 2009.)

Rating: 5 glasses.

Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale

Brewer: Sierra Nevada

Style: Barleywine

Tasting notes: (1103) A fresh, 2011, bottle. Malty and long bitter finish. Hops were strong but not overpowering. The sensation of biting into a grapefruit with lots of pith emerged as I drank the beer. (1101) A 2010 bottles about 1 year ago. Yummy caramel and honey and subdued bitterness and long bitter aftertaste. (1101) A 2006 bottle cellared almost 5 years. Marvelous sweet barley malt followed by pungent yet restrained piney hop bite. A tiche of chocolate in the malt? Is the chocolate sherry? Best beer ever? (1003) My favorite beer? (1003) A fresh 2010 bottle. What's for dessert? (1001) A fresh 2010 bottle. Smoother than I remember w/ a bite that grows. Fantastic. (1001) A 2006 bottle cellared for almost 4 years. Marvelous sweet barley malt followed by pungent yet restrained piney hop bite. A tiche of chocolate in the malt? Previous Review.

Comment: The beer is getting better and better with age.

Top 100: 29 December 2005 but not 10 March 2007 or 26 September 2009.

Rating: 7 glasses