A Pint Half Full

Received a bottle from my friend, Joel, of this dark beer since he was having trouble finishing. Not a good sign. This beer was featured in the Washington Post's Beer Madness in the porter style (or other dark beer style) bracket. It went up against another porter - Breckinridge Vanilla Porter (which I also got from Joel!) - and lost! What is this? A beloved DFH beer losing in the first round of THE beer tournament AND my friend can't finish it! Signs point to a beer that just isn't that great or I just can't handle with my hop-biased palate.

My last foray into dark DFH beers was the World Wide Stout and that was a tough one foe me. It was too high in alcohol, had too strong a licorice taste that bordered on crude oil and I couldn't take it even by sipping. The Palo Santo Marron is like the little brother to the stout, with a more subtle flavor profile and I think more balanced flavor. Its aged in old Paraguayan wood barrels as the label indicates and you can taste the wood in the beer in the aftertaste. Upfront, there are notes of caramel, vanilla, and some dark cherry. The 12% alcohol level balances the beer, cutting through the sweetness. Overall pretty good, definitely a sipper and for the adventurous!

I've been loving Avery Brewing when I tried some of their more 'extreme' beers (ones with tons of malt or tons of hops) at Galaxy Hut, Rustico, and other bars in the DC Metro area.  They just make beers with robust flavor that are quite easy to drink.  So I dropped by the Total Wine store and looked at some of their more 'normal' offerings and was in the mood for something smooth and warming, yet more on the sweet, malty side.

This beer reminded me of a better Newcastle.  Stronger toffee and chocolate notes with a more upfront bitterness but definitely balanced and very drinkable.  Super smooth that just hit the spot for a chilly day.  Just really indicative of the brown ale style and a standout for me.  Doggy!

This is a beer I've heard so much about due to its unique blend of cherry ale and Belgian quadrupel ale. At a whopping 9.8% alcohol level and complex mix of flavors, this beer is not for the weak. Let it warm up a bit after the pour to get the flavors well blended and you will experience something unique and good tasting. I don't say great because you can't escape the heavy alcohol taste which can mask some of the wonderful mix of caramel malt, Belgian yeast and spice flavor with a splash of cherry (no not like Dr Pepper - more subtle). Its truly unique; drink it while you're in a bold mood. The label art also rules.

Yes... it has been too long. What can I say - I'm really lazy. But I got this thing called a smartphone a few months ago, it takes pics, has a blogging app, and I'm on it all the time so there are no excuses anymore (for now). I haven't stopped trying out new beers so I have a little backlog of things to talk about. Without further adieu, HOPTIMUM.

The Total Wine store limit this to one per customer. That plus the label art had me at hello. The guy's head is a HOP.

Tasted tons of crisp pine hop and grapefruit followed by a touch of biscuit sweetness. Not as extreme as I thought it'd be but met the hop fix I was looking for. Find it and drink.

It's September which means Fall is here (who cares if it's still 90 degrees outside, September means FALL!!!)  and along with that comes your Octoberfest and Pumpkin beers.  The Sam Adams Octoberfest was released last week and DFH Punkin Ale released today.  Be on the lookout for these two offerings as well as the other seasonals.

I partook in the Sam Adams Octoberfest last week at my fantasy football draft out of a bottle.  I think it'd taste better in a glass but it did have an odd taste to it.  It had a bit of the natural pumpkin flavor with a rush of sweet malt at the front of the drink and then just kind of faded.  I was a bit disappointed with it but will have to reserve judgement until I have it in a glass.  I'd say it's a little better than last year's however.

I was fortunate to attend the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale release party at the Fairfax, VA branch of the DFH Alehouse and had some fresh Punkin Ale by the pint.  I must say that it is more subtle and balanced in its flavor profile than last year's; balancing the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugars very well whereas last year's was a bit more on the sweet side.  Definitely pick up a 4-pack if you find it and like pumpkin beers.  Enjoy!

I've been on a dark beer kick as of late in search of new flavors.  More specifically, beers with dark fruit flavors - figs, cherries, mixed with chocolate and coffee.  Dark beers I've tried seem to have less hop bitterness and more emphasis on malt and spice complexity.  Harder to find in your typical beer store but really cool when you find it.  The two beers I describe in this post are a bit of opposites - the first is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale and the other is an Imperial Stout.  Granted they are two different styles but one has a really nice balance while the other just breaks you down into a trembling mess.

The Lost Abbey Ten Commandments - Flavor profile of dark cherries, dark chocolate with a smooth and slick mouthfeel.  Great balance between that sweetness and hop flavor.  Just blends together so well.  The beer tastes like a dessert.  A bit of alcoholic warmth coats the throat as you drink it but I thought the alcohol taste was hardly noticeable and masked by other flavors.  This one makes me want to try more of this style of beers.


Dogfish Head World Wide Stout - Looking forward to it since it's a Dogfish Head Stout but what a disaster!  Waaaay too strong alcohol wise and tastes like licorice or paint thinner.  I tried to choke it down but just was not feeling it.  Strong strong dark cherries and really high alcohol content.  As it warmed, the alcohol came to the forefront and dominated any flavor profile.  Sorry DFH.  Go try Old Rasputin Imperial Stout for what this style should taste like.

Summer is well underway, along with barbecues, pool parties, beach parties, and all the "summer" edition brews that accompany these occasions.  Typically light in alcohol content, crisp, and refreshing, summer styles are made for long summer days and nights, hanging out with friends.   Seems like the first summer beers come out mid-May and circulate until around August timeframe.  Believe it or not, beyond the normal mass produced fodder you'll find from A-B, Miller, and Coors, smaller breweries like Bell's or Magic Hat release some stuff especially for the summer too.  This year, I sampled a few summer beers from some other breweries and I can say that though they are better balanced and cleaner tasting, they are not all that great either!  But I'm going to rank the ones I did try so here are the 5 beers I've tried so far:

5.  Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale - Syrupy like when you mix honey with water.  That's all I could taste and could not get over in this beer.  Yuck.

4.  Samuel Adams Summer Ale - They equated summer beer with citrus.  Way too much lemon zest that made this almost sour and too tangy for me.  The tang hangs around and left this film in my mouth that's not good for the summer obviously.  Still sticking to the Boston Lager.

3.  Sierra Nevada Summerfest - Clear, clean taste but minimal flavor.  Notes of grassy, piney hops if you really look for it.  Very effervescent which helps the refreshment factor but overall a little bland!  A little yeasty in the aftertaste.  Harmless fun.

2.  Bell's Oberon - Nice light medium body and hints of orange sweetness.  Some peppery notes.  Thirst quenching.  Not bad and fits into the summer style well.

1.  Magic Hat Wacko - Best of the bunch.  Seriously, it's berry colored.  The taste had hint of cherries which I loved rather than the typical citrus hints.  Nice malt backbone and would be pleasant on any summer day.

Try picking some of these up and let me know what you think.