Someday Sour Ales/Lambics Will Make a Comeback!

When people think beer the first few characteristics that come to mind is something bitter, watery, and/or awkward. To my knowledge most individuals are brainwashed to think beers are either Budweiser or an IPA. Sour ales IMO are a long forgotten beer, and they have been on my favorites for a while (I somewhat moved on from stouts/porters). Anyways, I was at Bevmo the other day I wanted an ale brewed with fruit that had some tart notes for my pleasure. Bought this...Liefman Cuvee Brut Cherry. 

I drank this pretty fast, and didn't do my usual sit down study on this beer. Anyways this beer was close to excellent. Everything about it was balanced; cherry notes were not overwhelming, carbonation was balanced, mouthfeel was perfect, and the finish left you wanting more! If all you drink are IPAs then you are missing out! Dig deep on those Bevmo shelves! 

If you happen to be into craft beer; I would suggest to drink this beer. Drink it, and add it to your resume. 

Last but not least...: Stone Vertical Epic 12/12/12

Sad truth is I had this beer months later after all the hype (if there was any in the Bay Area). Definitely a very unique beer whose story came to end with this particular brew (if you buy the bottle read it and you will understand). Anyways this beer is limited so get it while you still can. If you are the Bay Area check out your local BevMo's. Best enjoyed by a fire on a cold night, but you can do what I did, and just watch season one of Community that works too.

Appearance: Well you wouldn't expect a dark black ale pouring, but that is exactly what poured. After the pour a weak, but delicious mocha colored head was produced. 

Aroma: When this bottle says it was produced with spices it was not lying. I got all sorts of cinnamon, vanilla spice, and layers chai beneath it all. There were probably other aromas present that I cannot label personally at the moment. Great smell, and probably one of the best smelling beers I have had in a lifetime. 

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, not to overwhelming an thick on the pallet. Some light froth as well. Very balanced.

Taste: This is a dark ale, not a stout or porter or an IPA. In all honesty I feel this is in a class of its own. The closest beers that resemble this brew are those disgusting pumpkin beers that come out during fall, but this is so much better. Like the smell the taste produces various spices, with slight malty undertones. I felt this was a dry beer. All the spices had a strong presence, so I didn't really sense hops or malts. Like I said I felt this beer was in a class of its own. The taste should definitely be enjoyed next to a fire on a cold night. 

Overall: Very unique beer IMO. This beer has spice on spice on spice. Not a pairing expert, but I would love to have this beer with a nice dessert (as in almost anything except cake an ice cream). Stop reading, and go find this beer while you can. You may not like it, but it is an experience.

Review: Mikkeller Milk Stout

If you happen to be staring at this beer right now please don't hesitate to buy it. Mikkeller is a pretty big name, but at the same time it really isn't talked too much about like Dogfish Head. I've had probably around 3 beers or so by Mikkeller, each an every brew came correct.

Appearance: This brew had a very thick luscious light chai colored head, which is normal for a stout. The head was well over an inch (good stuff), and retained pretty long. The head smothers the glass, and retains a lot of stickiness (something I stared at for a while). Very dense black beer. No light penetrates. I'm really in love with this. 

Aroma: First impression is a dark chocolate bar high in cocoa. Slight sweet berry but very subtle. Some creamy sensations. 

Mouthfeel: The milk stout definitely had a unique mouthfeel. It had this very milky frothy feeling to it. It did remind me of milk but not in a bad way. Reminded of champagne qualities. The mouthfeel was definitely experimental compared to most beers that I have had. 

Taste: The taste leaves you with maltiness on your tongue. The beginning has a start of a very mild trappist styled beer (single). This mild robust flavor profile with malt, coffee, and dark cocoa. This stout was balanced. You dont get overwhelmed. There aren't really hops present. This stout is perfect. The finish is nice. There are lingering flavors of coffee,  and robust malty undertones. The strength of a stout kicks in the finish. So it is balanced, but towards the end you will get a good kick of flavor. Milk is just a name, so don't be intimidated by it.

Overall: This beer woke up my senses. Very smooth stout I would say. One of my favorites in a long time. I would recommend this one to anyone. I haven't felt this excited drinking a beer (excluding Russian Rivers) since the Brouwerij De Musketeers Troubadour (maybe a few other ones). 

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Grocery Store Beer: Deschutes Hophenge IPA

So usually I always review beers that are out of most individuals way (somewhat). I decided to pick one out of your average grocery store. What's better than reviewing a great beer, a beer you can almost pick up anywhere without visiting any sort of bottle shop.

First thoughts on this beer was that it would be interesting. The label is very down to earth, and friendly...if that makes sense? Deschutes is like Lagunitas, which is like Dogfish, but neither can be Dogfish. This is probably my second Deschutes in a lifetime. My first being their Black Butte Porter, which is ridiculously one of the best porters that I can remember trying. Anyways...

Aroma: This brew has your typical hoppy aromas. I get the usual grapefruit, but underneath that is a lacing of some lemon which was nice. The grapefruit aroma wasn't so much bitter as it was smooth.

Appearance: I'm use to seeing some pretty transparent IPAs, but this wasn't so much transparent, and crystal clear. This brew had the normal amber gold color, but slightly darker look to it. The head was this white latte like foam, and looked beautiful...Didn't last too long though...

Mouthfeel: Had the consistency of a soda a day later after it has been opened (all about preference).

Taste: Like the smell it gave my pallet a taste of grapefruit, a cut of lemon, and of course some array of over ripened tropical fruit. What killed me the most is that the 10% alcohol presence revealed itself. When tasting the finish you will not forget the presence of alcohol. On another note this felt like an IPA throughout the entire lifetime of the flavor, because there wasn't much malt presence. I would have like to seen a slight malt presence. Like I said the presence of the alcohol makes the drink fall apart, but hey some people wouldn't mind.

Overall:Overall: Not a bad ipa, but not too impressed. Alcohol dominance killed it. Other people would argue that this a great beer. If your not studying your beer than most of this wouldn't even come to mind. All in all definitely an interesting beer. I've probably mentioned this before, but if you run into Green Flash's IPA try it. If you want a more maltier IPA then go for Lagunita's IPA.