Double Black Stout with Coffee
February 27, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Batch: 08-0410 (Brewed on October 9, 2008)
Well, a beer from RedHook would have coffee now wouldn’t it. For those of you who don’t know RedHook was co-founded by the Starbucks co-founder Gordon Bowker. There is a great artical about all the pots Bowker has his hand in in the March 8, 2008 Seattle Times.
I am not a big RedHook fan, ideologically, since they sold their soul to the devil, 34% Anheuser-Busch, in 2004. Which then means as of 2008 it is Anheuser-Busch InBev. Of course it is more complicated than that cause they are also part of Widmer Brothers, as of 2003 which is also an Anheuser-Busch brand. Know what you drink by looking at the Anheuser-Busch site to start. So, this is a bad thing, IMHO, because the AB-InBev goal, according to their site is, “Anheuser-Busch InBev’s dream is to become the best beer company in the world measured by profitability.” To measure your success by profitability, not flavour or quality, is a problem for the beer world.
Off Soap-Box!
The Double Black Stout is a limited release beer. It was originally created in 1995, but Redhook stopped making it in 2000. Then, in 2008, they brought it back as a limited release.
The aroma is malty with… you guessed it, coffee. Smells great. Many people have stressed the coffee part. True, it has coffee in the aroma and flavour. There is also a hint of toffee and chocolate. As an imperial stout is true to style, full bodied with a good mouthfeel. It is not creamy, it is big. There is a bitterness, almost like bitter chocolate, in the aftertaste.
A few days ago The blog “Life is beer-Beer is life” summed it up well, “If Red Hook would utilize these kinds of beers on a more regular basis, I might proffer more respect and recommendations. As it stands though, their regular line-up definitely disappoints so if you are a flavorholic and beer quaffer extraordinaire like me, just stick to the special one-off releases. You’ll have better luck there as I did with their db (Double Black) Stout with Coffee.”
The Vermonster
February 26, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
What is a Vermonster anyway?
According to Wikipedia: A Vermonster is a large ice cream sundae made by Ben and Jerry’s. The name is a portmanteauVermont (the company’s home state) and monster (indicating large size). It consists of standard sundae ingredients, but in such amounts as to (excessively) feed four people. It contains the following:
- Twenty scoops of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream
- 4 ladles of hot fudge
- Whipped cream
- 3 cookies
- A choice of 4 toppings
- brownies
- 4 bananas
- According to a Travel Channel show highlighting extreme foods (October, 2009), the Vermonster has 14,000 calories and 500 grams of fat.
The Vermonster is frequently used in fundraising efforts, where teams pay to compete against other teams in a race to complete the Vermonster. Even finishing a Vermonster is a feat; the attempt is an event and it often requires more than one person.
OR, It is a BIG BEER!! The Rock Art Brewery’s Vermonster is a BIG FUN beer, also quite strong on the alcohol level (as I’m getting a little buzzed as I write this).
Jason at the Beer Basement, a blog I typically like and agree with, said that there was no head, well I had head, look at the picture! Dude, what were you pouring? He was correct about everything else, and cellaring this baby is a fine idea.
So, the hops overpower the malts. Interesting that the advertising of the beer talks more about malts than hops. This is a problem, you know I keep talking about the balance of beers. This beer is not balanced. It is a barleywine, it is supposed to be strong, and it is.
Well, try it, you might like it.
Also, just so you know, the Vermonster was under legal attack. Seriously Rock Art was sued! They won (settled), POWER TO THE PEOPLE! but the issues of trademarks are a big problem. Rock Art has stepped up to the movement of trademark reform. They are fighting against big corporations stepping on the “little people”
Sixpoint Righteous Rye
February 25, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
It’s Thursday night, LGBT night at Mezze. Had great fun hanging at Mezze with some friends and drinking the fine Sixpoint Righteous Rye. Mezze is a big fan of Sixpoint, out of Brooklyn, NY, and this is one of the staples that they keep on tap. The Righteous Rye is a fine little bitter ale.
It pours a nice redish colour with a little creamy head. The aroma is very bready and toasty. Seriously smells like toasted rye bread. The rye comes through as a little spicey kick to this beer. The hops are also fairly strong in a grassy floral way. I don’t think this beer is balanced though. The hops and bread are just a bit off. That might be the rye part, I don’t often drink rye beers and when I do I am not a big fan.
While I was at the bar I also had some wonderful sourdough bread and a fine olive platter.
Beautiful night, beautiful friends, beautiful beer.
McNeill’s My New Invention IPA
February 24, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Big beer, big movie. I just got home, 11pm, after spending a few hours chillin’ with some loyal readers, and well I really need to drink a beer! (Well, I only “need to” to fulfill this commitment) So in my box of “beers to try” I grabbed out the lowest ABV, McNeill’s My New Invention IPA (actually, the ABV is not listed and all the others say 9% or 10%). Ray McNeill is one of my favorite brewers. The brewery is over in Brattleboro, VT and Ray consistently brews good high quality beers.
The aroma on this is what I would expect from an american IPA, hop-diddy-hop. Some grapefruit and grass. Then I sip it and as always, Ray surprises me. The flavour is kinda malty, sweet, not what I expected. Subtler than I expected, nice! Then all of that hop expectation, kicks you in the end pow-boom! WOW, there are hops in my beer.
So, Im gonna cut this short, off to watch District 9 on the telly (trying to see more Oscar® nominated films than my mom) and I will sip away on this fine ale. Well done Ray.
Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale
February 23, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Well, dinner was supposed to be at my dear friends home in the valley. However, SNOW happened and I had to turn around. Trust me it was a good idea. Our 1″-2″ dusting turned into many inches of heavy wet snow. I will save the beautiful stout I picked out for this evening, for another night. Already excited about not cooking I ended up at Mezze in Williamstown with an amazing DJ/Religion Professor for a fine meal and conversation. Since I clearly frequent Mezze often I am drinking through my beer selection rather quickly. Tonight I told the bartender to “just pick something” and what a fine ale he chose. Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale.
Poured from a 12oz bottle into a funky little 12oz glass, this beer had a small head and is a beautiful brown-amber colour. The toasty malts come through with some sweetness, (butterscotch?) in the aroma. A fine malty ale with just the right balance of hops to keep it crisp. Throughout there are some nice fruit notes. Dates? Prunes?
I drank this beer with a similarly amazing meal. Herb chicken, brussels sprouts (small, cute and tasty!), and a cube of potatoes au gratin. The brown ale was a delight with this meal.
If you are a dog fan, I am! You will thoroughly enjoy the Old Brown Dog Pinup page at Smuttynose.com. Marcos is sad that it is so “brown dog” focused. Many of his friends are brown dogs and he relates well with dogs of this fur colour. Well, Marcos is agreeable with most dogs! Pictured here is Olive the dog this ale was named after.
What a swell all purpose beer. Seriously can not go wrong here. Also, if you are into styles, this is a truly fine brown ale! Score!
Rock Art Stump Jumper
February 22, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Came home late tonight with some finger food. Sausage, cheddar cheese, bagel chips and fig orange spread. All together with this beautiful stout. Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville, VT brews some good stuff, this stout is one of their good brews.
It pours a nice thick black with a big foaming tan head. The toasted malt is sweet and you can smell it a mile away. The coffee tones are faint in the aroma but really come out in the flavour.
Matthew Nadeau, according to Vermont Guides, enjoys developing recipes for his beers. “I love to cook,” he says. “I use a little of this, a little of that, but by doing that you learn to know when to add a certain amount of a certain ingredient to get a certain result.” In the end, it comes down to math formulas, he says, “and you start hammering out the numbers to get the weights, how many pounds of this grain, that grain, how much hops, and then you brew this beer, ferment it, age it and try it.”
This tasty beverage is perfect with my extra-sharp cheddar and sausage.
Dogfish Head 120min IPA
February 21, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Well, I’m glad I left this one for its own day. at 18%ABV there is not much else I can drink. The 120 IBU is clear. It is so bitter it is smooth. The mouthfeel is slightly syrupy. Pours with a small head and a golden colour. It is really a beautiful glass of beer.
The 120 is a lot sweeter than I anticipated. That said, I like it! I liked the 60 and 90 better but this is good. I expected a stronger alcohol aroma and taste but that is not the case.
Brian on 97 bottles mentions fall leaves. That is spot on. I was having trouble putting my finger on that part of the aroma. I was thinking dew in the morning. wet grass? roses, peach and mint.
Sam from Dogfish says that it is the world’s strongest IPA. It used to be around 20%ABV and now they brought it down to 18% (that’s what I am drinking tonight) cause Dogfish, and others, felt that it was not balanced best at 20%.
I am nursing this one while watching the Coen brothers A Serious Man. Good movie, good beer. Both are serious. Great pairing!
P90X
No, it’s not a beer.
I decided that if I’m committing to drink all this beer I should step up my workout routine. I have been lifting weights for a few years now but recently I have been slacking off. When I was in Dallas I was watching TV one morning (I don’t get TV channels at home so I kinda overdo it when I’m away) and I saw an infomercial for P90X. I did some research online (see these: Robgetsripped, P90X Reviews, Bodybuilding.com ) and found that most people like it. For me I realized that I needed something that will keep me committed to a schedule because just working out by myself I always quit too early. Then, cause I need even more to keep me in check, I decided last night that I should start mentioning it every once and a while here.
Today was just my second day doing the workouts and I am keeping up pretty well. They are hour long workouts. I think it is worth it and will help me from gaining weight from all of the beer I am drinking.
The only thing is that I should have bought it on Amazon. I am so impulsive that I paid more (not much… but more, by calling the silly infomercial number). FYI… I am not an employee of P90X or Team Beachbody, I am just a beer drinker trying this workout out.
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P90X Extreme Home Fitness Workout Program – 13 DVDs, Nutrition Guide, Exercise Planner |
Howl Black Lager
February 20, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
So sorry to disappoint. I know, I was supposed to be talking about the Dogfish Head 120min IPA. However, tonight I went to a potluck at a friends house and I brought Howl Black Lager from Magic Hat with me and so I’ve been drinking that and honestly the 120 needs space of its own. Tomorrow, I promise.
The Howl Black Lager is only the second Magic Hat beer that I really like. Their beers are good, don’t get me wrong, but they are so fruity. When I first saw it I thought of Allen Ginsberg’s poem Howl. I wondered if there was a connection. Maybe I am the only one finding literary connections with Magic Hat’s most recent brews. The other Magic Hat beer that I like is Wacko (hard to find right now as it is a summer seasonal). Wacko is coloured by beets and of course I immediately thought of one of my favorite books, Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. The missing ingredient being found in this Magic Hat beer and Tom Robbins writing style being truly wacko. But, I don’t think that they were thinking of either of Ginsberg or Robbins when they were brewing.
This schwarzbier does pour black but not really “as night” like they say. The aroma is of toasted malts with hints of coco and hops. The lacing is be-a-u-ti-ful. The lager is light in body and crisp. The flavour is malty with hints of coffee and charcoal and a grassy bitter hop finish. Very drinkable, unlike most Magic Hat beers, in my opinion. Jinx, the beer Howl replaced, was one of my least favorite beers so I am just delighted.
So drink this beer and humour me, listen to Allen read his poem Howl while you are at it.
Dogfish Head 90min Imperial IPA
February 20, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Day 2 of the minute IPA’s. Again, Thank you Spirit Shop of Williamstown for supporting this site!
Dogfish Head’s 90min Imperial IPA, is an Imperial IPA, also called a double IPA. This means that it is an IPAx2. Or Beer Advocate says “an IPA on steroids” The Imperial bit comes from “Russian Imperial Stouts,” strong dark beers in the style that was brewed in the 18th century by Thrale’s brewery in London, England for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia. (see the Wikipedia article to find out more). I think Imperial IPA sounds cooler so I prefer that term. However this is not an English, Indian or Russian beer. Imperial IPA’s are a true American creation.
I was so excited to leave my meeting tonight and rush home to try this one. Don’t get me wrong, I’d had this beer before, but this idea of drinking and examining the three IPA’s, in a row, has really gotten me pumped. I popped the cap and poured this one into my snifter, last night it was dirty and I was lazy so I had the Dogfish Head 60min IPA in the Shaker Pint glass.
Beautiful pour and a nice golden colour. The aroma is very different than last night. Yes, the hops. But different hops? Or, is it just the different timing? This beer has a pine smell to it, and flowers. Last night the 60min had more of a citrus aroma.
The flavour is interesting, in comparison to last night. I can definitely taste the malt in this beer. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth, not as crisp as the 60min. The finish is dry and a bit yeasty. The whole experience leaves my senses on heightened awareness my tongue tingling, my sinuses cleared, and my mouth slightly dry.
One interesting note about this beer series. The 60min IPA has an ABV of 6% and an 60 IBU’s. The 90min IPA has an ABV of 9% and an 90 IBU’s. By the way an IBU is International Bitterness Unit. According to Brew Monkey, It is a number that denotes the bitterness of the beer. The higher the IBU the more bitter the beer. IBU = Ounces of Hops x AA% x Utilization% / Gallons x 1.34
Dogfish Head actually created a special device to hop their beer, the “Me So Hoppy” Watch this little video with Sam from Dogfish Head:
The 90min IPA is considered one of the best IPA’s in the world and always ranked in the top 5 for the Imperial IPA’s. This was the first continually-hopped beer the Delaware brewery made. It takes about a month to make from beginning to end. The 90 Minute IPA has been called the best I.P.A. in America. I am not alone in thinking that this is one great beer.
Note: Jason Mosley on, Mr. Bacon Pants.com, makes a great point, “brewed to be enjoyed not chugged.”