Parabola
September 11, 2011 by justin · Leave a Comment
Parabola is a VERY Tasty Imperial stout from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.! Beware though, 12.5% ABV! Smooth, dark, just wow.
The Dogfather
January 16, 2011 by justin · Leave a Comment
I know, I say “Dogfather” and you automatically think of the infomercial dog trainer dude. No, I’m talking about Laughing Dog Brewing’s Imperial Stout. This stout is as dark as my black lab but not as sweet. At 11% ABV it is heavier than my dog as well. A slightly roasted flavour is present but it is too thin and bubbly in the mouthfeel for me and a bit, could be less carbonated for sure. The aroma is very full, chocolate, almonds, fennel, coffee. The alcohol is nicely hidden. Not bad at all.
PS Yes that is my street in the background, hard to tell its a road with all that snow on it!
Péché Mortel (Imperial Stout Au Cafe)
January 16, 2011 by justin · Leave a Comment
It is winter, there is 26_ inches of snow on the ground and big solid stouts and porters are my favorite in this season, well and in general. The beautiful Péché Mortel (Imperial Stout Au Cafe) from Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel in Quebec, Canada is perfect for such a snowy day. Seriously and amazing beer. At 9.5% ABV you can sip this one instead of desert.
It is sweet, rich, and linda like an amazing chocolate truffle, you know, the ones that melt in your mouth? It’s like that. I think this is what Peter drinks in heaven.
12 Days of Christmas – Santa’s Little Helper
December 24, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
On the eleventh day of Christmas…
One of my favorite beers of all time is Santa’s Little Helper. Port Brewery kicks ass and this is the best of the best. I needed Santa’s Helper to paint my kitchen. This Bourbon Barrel-aged Imperial Stout is rich, deep solid, just seriously amazing. There is so much going on here that it blows your mind. Last year I got wasted on this on a Sunday morning with my mom at the brewery. It was a total hoot and a half.
I would love to drink this all day long all year long. If I could function I would 
Do you like my grey paint in the background?
Stoudt’s Fat Dog
December 11, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Beer Geek Breakfast
July 22, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Seriously, what do beer geeks drink for breakfast? THIS BEER!
Breakfast is a American Double / Imperial Stout. As you can see, in my geeky pantone coffee mug, this beer is dark. just like my coffee. So as you see in the picture, I am a geek. Yes, I drink my coffee, and in this case beer, in a color coded graphic designer geek mug. Yes, I eat with a spork, because they are the best tool to eat with. Yes, I drink beer with breakfast food. If you are a beer lover, you should try Mikkeller’s Beer Geek Breakfast too!
Fermentedly Challenged brings to light something I had not realized about this amazing Danish brewery. “Mikkeller is essentially a gypsy brewery from Denmark. What makes this a gypsy brewery is that they go around to various other breweries and make batches of their beer remotely. So while the brewers are based in Denmark, their beers can be literally made from anywhere.”
Mikkeller hits a 6 with this Oatmeal Coffee stout. Just read the style, “oatmeal” “coffee” sounds like breakfast to me. Ok, so beyond the geekery, this is a great beer. Nice tan head and the aroma jumps off my mug. The aroma is actually kinda fennel and sweet. The coffee notes are more in the flavour and the mouthfeel is just like coffee. There is a heartyness and a crispness to the mouthfeel. With 7.5%ABV, this is a big morning beer, watch yourself, you have a full day ahead of you.
Perfectly paired with my eggs and toast. This is a hearty breakfast beer, deep and strong.
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FYI… I am looking actively for Beer Geek Brunch Weasel, made with the infamous Kopi Luwak coffee, coffee made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. If anyone has seen it or has a bottle, let me know! We can do brunch!
I get much of my geek shwag from http://thinkgeek.com, tell the monkey’s the “Beer Geek, dude” sent you.
30th Anniversary – Fritz And Ken’s Ale
June 24, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
For Sierra Nevada’s 30th Anniversary they decided to collaborate with other top brewers to create a line of fine ales. The spirit of collaboration is realized in this amazing brew by Fritz Maytag, of Anchor Brewing Company, and Ken Grossman, of Sierra Nevada. Two of the founding fathers of American craft beer together, can’t be bad can it.
This Imperial Stout couldn’t get any darker, black as used motor oil and cushioned with a big dirty tan head this is one dark beer. The aroma of toasted barley is very earthy. There is also a presence of dark burnt chocolate. This is not a sweet stout, it is a dry bitter stout. The mouthfeel is smooth and dry. Fairly viscus but light as well. The finish is dry.
Very nice beer, well done oh honorable brewers.
BrewDog Paradox Macallan
June 11, 2010 by justin · 2 Comments
I have been saving my bottle of BrewDog Paradox Macallan for a special occasion and the first night back at the new Mezze Bistro and Bar was just such an occasion. Now called “Cocktails with justin” (instead of LGBTQ cocktail hour), we had a great time at the new beautiful restaurant. Nancy and the Mezze crew have done a wonderful job at renovating an already beautiful space. The menu has not changed but the atmosphere has. The new location lets so much light in and the new bar has a beautiful view of Sheep Hill. I went for dinner with some friends the other night and we sat on the amazing deck for our meal. This is truly a treasure. Go try it out!
Anyway, I digress.
I brought the BrewDog Paradox Macallan to share with everyone. My friend Paige, lover of dark beers, was thrilled. At 10%ABV some of my “still working” friends had to take it easy here. The Paradox Macallan is part of teh Paradox line from BrewDog. What they do is age their Imperial Stout, I assume the RipTide I tried last night, in whisky barrels. In this case, 1987 Macallan barrels, a single malt Scotch whisky, produced at Macallan Distillery near Easter Elchies House, at Craigellachie in the Speyside region. What happens as the beer ages is magical. According to BrewDog, “The ageing process infuses all the Whisky flavours and emblazons the casks journey deep into our smooth robust stout, resulting in an unrivalled taste adventure for the lucky human who gets their paws on the finished masterpiece”
This beer is supposed to be served a bit on the warm side (for most Americans that is) so I took it out of my fridge about a half hour before I left the house. It poured, into our little tasting glasses with a bigger head than last nights RipTide and a bit darker. The edges seemed to loose their redish hue a bit. This is batch 11 of the Paradox series and it is more complex than their standard Imperial as well, from the cask aging I would assume. There is more wood, less smoked peat flavour. Old world fruit, figs and pomegranates (yes a we tang made me think of the red juicy seeded fruit). Chocolate is the big star here, not sweet but smooth. A dessert beer for sure, yummy!
At $11 a bottle I think it is well worth it for special occasions. You can store this for a while (it is already over 2 years old), so save it.
I had an after beer dessert, Strawberry and Rhubarb Crisp with my vanilla gelato on the side, YUM!!
If you find any other ones in this series, you can send them my way!!!
Rip Tide
June 11, 2010 by justin · 2 Comments
I just love beers with surf names. Reminds me of my surfing days, the BrewDog Rip Tide goes with this surf theme. According to Wikipedia, “A rip current, or riptide, is a strong channel of water flowing seaward from near the shore, typically through the surf line, and can occur on any shore that has breaking waves [...] Rip currents are a source of danger for people in ocean and lake surf. They can be extremely dangerous, dragging swimmers away from the beach. Death by drowning comes following exhaustion while fighting the river or ocean current.” If BrewDog thinks you might get swept away by this stout and get slapped around a bit they are right. Sweep me away baby, and slap me.
This Imperial Stout, that means a double big stout, is 8%ABV. Like most of the BrewDog beers there is a smoky peat flavour to it. I like the peat, it is odd and good. This stout is rather thin for my taste. It pours a beautiful dark almost black colour with a mahogany edge. Almost no head due to the really low carbonation (watching the following video I wonder where the head they get comes from, huh? maybe I should find another bottle and give it another go?).
There is a lot going on here, all of their beers are complex. Some hints of berries. It is not sweet, more bittersweet chocolate, very dry. Nice!
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy
April 6, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Well I had a beer crisis! 10:35pm do you know where your beer is? I went to grab a beer and there was nothing new on the shelf. AAAAHhhhh…. Spirit Shop closes at 11, I run down the road and realize my debt card is in my pants at home! It’s all ok though I had a credit card on me and grabbed an Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, in a can of course.
Came home and though the beer was still to cold from the cooler I poured away. The temperature meant that I didn’t get much of a head (it is usually a bit more than you see in the picture). This imperial stout pours blacked than the M-dog and thick as he can be sometime. There is nothing light about this beer. Seriously, it is one of the thickest beers I’ve had, and liked. The smoky chocolate carmel malty goodness hits you over the head. You don’t even need to put your nose near the glass and you smell this one.
With such a high ABV (their website says 10.5% but both Beer Advocate and the can and this website say the ABV is 9.5%) you would think that the alcohol would be a stronger oder. It is presant, don’t get me wrong, but not ver strong.
The body is full and the flavour is dry and sweet with a molasses touch to it. The dryness balances out the sweetness and there is a slight hoppy edge to it. This is a GREAT beer! Crisis averted, bliss experienced.