Santa’s Little Helper
March 4, 2010 by justin · Leave a Comment
Codeine and beer, what a combo! Well, its official, I have bronchitis. There are two good things about this:
- The antibiotic should kick it and I will be back to my self in no time
- I got to (actually my doctor kinda insisted) cancel all of my meetings and stay home. (note to all of you I was supposed to meet with, sorry)
So what beer do I choose when I’m high on codeine to begin with? Port Brewings Santa’s Little Helper. Mother, you will remember that this is the last one I tried when we visited Port Brewing over Christmas. Funny enough, I was about as buzzed then as I am now (last time it was all the beer samples, a lot more fun than cherry cough syrup).
Anyway, this is one of my favorite stouts. It is thick and of an oil like consistency and colour, beautiful. Some viscus beers just kinda roll down your throat like cough syrup, not this one, it isn’t bad thick, it is good thick. It dances with flavour in your mouth and though it is chocolaty and has oat undertones it is beer first and foremost, remember the raspberry fiasco last night? Though I am not big on hangovers, or over-imbibing for that matter, I can see how this beer has earned the nickname, “Satan’s Little Hangover“. 9.5% ABV I’m just going to slowly sip this one.
Oh, and don’t worry, I planned ahead and had the cough syrup MUCH earlier in the day.
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.”
Stone Imperial Russian Stout
So I stayed home all day in an attempt to get better. This afternoon I thought, “what would Tim Ferris do?” and guess what? He has a post on his blog about 4 anti-common cold cocktails. Tim Ferris is a “life hacker” who I greatly respect. His suggestion… an ancient ginger and orange mixture. So as I sat here and watched Michael Jackson’s This is It, I drank my ginger orange mixture. I actually feel better. Placebo? maybe, but who cares right?
Now that my sinuses are clear, at least temporarily, my sweet tooth kicked in something fierce. I picked up some yummy looking cinnamon rolls at the store so I warm one up to go with my Imperial Russian Stout, from Stone Brewery in my hometown, the hop head capital of the worlds, San Diego. Go North County!!
The slightly bitter yet malty sweet and dry stout is perfect with the over the top sweetness of the cinnamon bun. The cinnamon bun is buttery and the stout is dry. WOW, what a combo. The stout is soft and chocolaty, in a slightly bitter way, good bitter. There is a reason that this is one of the top beers of the decade, cause it rocks! After last nights shit-storm of a beer, this is a blissful happy beer night for me.
The nutty aroma meets the chocolate roasted malt and yeast all together. The key in this beer is “all together”. That is what sets this beer apart from the rest, all of the amazingness is done “together”, in balance and harmony. This is a great beer, and an awesome stout, I am not alone in this opinion. The Hedonist thinks so, and so does the Beer Critic (though he is no longer reviewing beer).
God bless the ales!