Avery – Mephistopheles’ Stout (2006)
Dec0
a devilishly strong stout
When I chose this stout, I was going off of a few things I know I like. Firstly, I love darks, and stouts are one of my favorite. Second, I’ve had a few Avery beers, and usually they have a way of putting a spin on a beer that’s a little bit different, a little better. Finally, I wanted a nicer, more expensive beer, to have with a nice meal. Oh, and I have a history of drinking beers with Demon heads on them, but that’s a different story.
So when I was at my local bottled beer retailer, Bottleworks, and I saw the red foiled, shiny stout, I thought I would give it a whirl. Little did I know, this devious brew was going to give me a whirl!
What I didn’t take note of, is that this beer has a 16.03% alcohol by volume. Once again I remind you, this is not a tipple or IPA, but a stout. I opened and it poured nicely, with a beautiful rich and dark head. However on first sip, Mephistopheles informed me why this was his stout. The first sip is almost antiseptic in nature. The malted barley and hops were not meant to be bent and twisted to this high of an ABV. The after taste is barely recognizable, like fine vodka. I’m drinking it straight out the refrigerator, and even at this cold, I can smell the mouthwash aroma.
I decided to finish my meal, and let this beast sit. Perhaps patience will dominate it.
15 min later, the brew is losing its alcoholic punch, and the Stout is coming out to let its self be know. It still needs to still a bit longer.
I’ve finished my meal, cleaned the dishes, and I look across the room, at this dominating stout, and give in, and decide to finish it. The alcohol flavor has passed as much as it is going to. What’s left is one of the strongest stout flavors I’ve ever imbibed. There is almost an oaky finish, while maintaining a velvety smooth texture. I like it, but I know that this beer is my better. I doubt I will finish it within the hour. Avery has twisted this stout into a demon, only those strong enough should attempt to drink.
The Good: When you get to it, it’s got a super flavorful body. Very Stouty, very smooth.
The Bad: Huge ABV. “This is going to hurt” kind of ABV.
The Evil: Meph’s Stout is 100% evil. it makes you want to drink it, and punishes you the whole way.
Hair of the Dog – Adam
Dec0
Look even dogs want a piece of Adam!
Today I am drinking Adam from Hair of the Dog. It is labeled as a “hearty old world ale” whatever that means but really it is a Pilsner malt. I can tell you that it is a refreshing beer but a bit sharp at first but nowhere close to an IPA. It does not taste like it is packing a 10% alcohol punch with it though which is good and dangerous all at the same time 
. When it first hits your tongue it tastes a little sweet but not over powering and as it sits in your mouth the hops become more prominent. I have let it sit out on my desk after opening it for a good fifteen minutes and it seems to get better as it gets a tad bit warmer. When I took my first swig right out of the fridge it was a bit more bitter than it is now. Since this is an ale and slightly lighter of a beer serving it at around 50-60 degrees is probably best, a bit warmer and it would probably be gross.
I could imagine having this beer on a hot summer evening while bbq’ing up some burgers or ribs. Bummer it is 40 degrees outside and raining! I will have to keep this ale in my brain for when summer finally rolls around and I throw some burgers on the barbie.
Good: Crisp beer and refreshing!Packs a punch that you don’t notice until you are half way through the bottle.
Bad: Not too much flavor and not very “deep”, it doesn’t leave a huge impression compared to other beers I have tried.
Cheers!
Rogue – Old Crustacean
Dec0
Today I am drinking the Old Crustacean from Rogue brewery. The Old Crustacean is actually a barely wine and not a beer but it is in the same category and is usually sold in the same area so it works out . This current bottle was actually produced in 1998 so it is 10 years old which is a first for me. I poured the drink into a glass and it came out smoothly and had a red tint to it. Drinking it is rather smooth but had a hint of bitterness to it. On the bottle it says that it rates at 120 IBU I would imagine that having aged for 10 years it has mellowed out the drink quite a bit.
Over all it has a sharp but earthy flavor to it and it isn’t as “alcoholy” as other barely wines that I have had. Since I can’t compare this Old Crustacean to newer vintages I am going to take a stab in a dark and say that the years have over all mellowed this barely wine so it is more approachable. As a disclaimer I tend not to like barely wines even though I try them every few months to see if my tastes have changed at all and it usually ends in the same result, “blah, I can barely drink this.” So, for me to say that this bottle is approachable should carry a little bit of weight to it .
As a summary:
Good: Very approachable barely wine at a decent price, that is if you can find one that has been aged for 9-10 years . It is smooth with a hint of bitterness and some earthy tones along with small hints of sweetness.
Bad: Hard to find but over all not too much bad to say about it.
Note: I bought this bottle at bottleworks on 45th Ave in Seattle. They had a few other bottles there so if you want to try it I would suggest going there.
Dogfish Head – 120 Minute IPA
Dec1
Not for the faint of heart
On first sip I am not sure if I am drinking a barely wine or a damn strong beer. But I know in my heart this is the strongest beer I have ever had, bar none. To give you some background I saw this beer and I was like “wow, $10 a bottle what is the deal with that?” So, I grabbed the bottle and as I was checking out the bottle was turned around and a custom label had been added that said this “20% Alc. by Vol.” In my mind all I just said was “WTF!?” Now this is a beer that has one purpose to punish the drinker and to give him something to talk about. It punishes the drinker in many ways: the pocket book, the liver and your gut. This beer has a whopping 450 calories, that is a meal in itself!
Besides the freaking high-ass alcohol content it was surprisingly not that bitter. The dogfish site (link below) says that this beer has 120 IBUs which would be crazy. But it isn’t that bad I think there are a few possibilities for this:
- My IBU rate-o-meter is messed up
- The alcohol neutralizes the bitterness
- I got a bum bottle of beer
I am thinking that it is number two, the high alcohol content over powers any bitterness that this beer might have. Once again this is a beer that I find I have to drink slowly. I just can’t imagine chugging this beer or even drinking it semi-quickly. Case in point my sexy girlfriend finished a belgian triple by the time I had about 1/8 of the bottle. Overall I think this beer was made for one purpose, bragging rights. Overall it is a pretty good beer you can definitely taste the alcohol but it is not past the point of being undrinkable. My only wish is that I bought another bottle so I can save it for a few years since this beer is supposed to be good for aging.
Port Townsend – Nitro American Oak Scotch Ale
Dec0
Today I am drinking with a soon to be author here at this site for his birthday. The first beer I am drinking is the port townsend Nitro American Oak Scotch Ale. It is pretty decent and smooth, it has a woody taste and almost has a caramel type sweetness to it. It is interesting for an ale it is rich and a bit more stouty than I would expect from an ale. It helps that is a nitro which gives it more richness than normal.
Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock
Dec0
Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock
For the very first beer I am going to write about the Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock which is a “very special” edition beer. I hope so because it is a bit more expensive than I normally spend on beer. Running at $17 for a bottle that gives you just under two pints is not exactly a daily beer for most people. Since, I am not even close to Bill Gates status this was a nice treat for me and pushed me over the edge to actually get this blog started . Enough with the sentimental B.S. what can I say about this beer?
The beer is a dark beer go figure, right? Considering it is a chocolate bock and not labeled something like a lager. Needless to say it is a very smooth beer and actually does taste a little bit like chocolate. It isn’t “hoppy” at all and something that I have been sipping on for about an hour and have still been enjoying it. This is not a beer you drink quickly though. I tried to drink it quickly just for a test and was overwhelmed by the sweet chocolaty flavor. If you don’t like any sweetness in your beer than I would not suggest this beer at all.
Overall I like this beer and I might get it again but it is not something I would buy often and it is not an every day drinking beer for me. Despite the price it gets pretty sweet and I don’t think I would like that on a daily or even weekly basis. If you have tried this beer let me know what you think about it.
Hola!
Dec0
Welcome to the newest beer review blog on the interweb! This review site will be ran by me (Mike) and a few of my friends. We all like beer and like to try new kinds. This won’t be your stuffy type of beer review site it will just be our thoughts on different beers and brewing events. If you like our writing and review style, that is awesome if you want to give us some feedback that is cool too. If you want more “scientific” reviews well I am sure you can find them else where. Well enough babbling onto my first review.
I hope to hear from someone some year .