Tag Archives: Ale

Samuel Adams Thirteenth Hour

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For the second beer in my Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection series, I’m trying out Thirteenth Hour. It’s called “A Dark Belgian-Style Stout with Notes of Spice, Coffee, Chocolate, & Oak.” So, what does that actually mean? There’s a bit of oak in the nose, with some traditional Belgian fruit. The middle is mostly Belgian strong dark ale, with cherries, plums, prunes, and a bit of brown sugar, but then some stout flavors start to come through in the finish…Chocolate and coffee, and a big kick of vanilla from the oak. There’s still tart fruit all the way to the very end so you never forget this is predominately a Belgian, but the malty notes of a big English stout are a fun twist and they blend well; this is a nicely executed beer. The 9.0% ABV is more typical of a Belgian Strong Dark ale than a stout, and it hides nicely and is never boozy. This is another very nice beer.

I give it a 4.3 out of 5.

Samuel Adams New World

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To start a short series on Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection, tonight we have New World, a barrel aged, bottle conditioned golden Belgian Tripel. To give it additional earthiness, some Samuel Adams Kosmic Mother Funk is blended in during finishing. This is not a Belgian beer in name only, or some far out interpretation of the style. Belgian yeast and traditional Belgian barrel aging processes have been used to turn out an authentic and well executed beer. The nose is yeasty with sweet and sour fruit. The middle is packed with apricot, mango, pineapple with a spicy backdrop. It fades to a rich buttery finish, with some of the vanilla from the oak starting to come forward. The promised sourness never really takes the stage. It isn’t entirely absent, but the sweetness and spice definitely dominate this ale. The body is medium to heavy, and the alcohol is a robust 10% ABV, which is to be expected from an aged ale. I love the Belgian styles and while this isn’t one of my all time favorites, it’s a very nice beer.

I give it a 4.2 out of 5.

Southern Tier Compass

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Compass, by New York’s Southern Tier Brewing Company, is an Imperial Sparkling American Pale Ale. Oh, and it’s bottle conditioned, and brewed with rose hips. So, it has a lot going on, to say the least. The nose is predominantly citrus with lemon and grapefruit, and it has a floral note that Southern Tier tells me is rose hips, but that I associate with honeysuckle, and a slight undertone of tropical fruit, specifically pineapple. The middle is creamy and buttery, with more tropical fruit and a bit of citrus. Southern Tier promises some bitterness, but I’m not tasting much at all. A tiny hint of citrus rind/pine in the finish, perhaps, which is also where the carbonation makes its presence felt. The body is medium, and the alcohol is a healthy imperial-level 9.0% ABV. I really like Southern Tier, but in honesty this one wasn’t one of my favorites. It’s good, but not great.

I give it a 3.8 out of 5.

Fuller’s London Porter

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Tonight I’m back to a porter, and this is one of the classics of the style. Fuller’s London Porter The nose has roasted malt, and a hint of raisins. The middle has coffee and a bit of cocoa, and the finish has some bitter herb notes balancing the molasses sweetness of the malt. When I think of a porter, this is what I think of. The body is medium to heavy, and the alcohol is a light 5.4% ABV.

I give it a 4.6 out of 5.

Dogfish Head Olde School

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In my quest to try as many Dogfish Head beers as I can find, I’ve managed to get my hands on a four-pack of Olde School barleywine-style ale. Barely. One of the local bottle shops here in Charlotte posted on Twitter that they had gotten a couple of cases in that day, and when I showed up roughly two hours after the tweet was posted, they had one solitary four-pack left, so I made it mine. So what is it, exactly? It’s a barleywine-style ale, as I’ve already mentioned. Specifically, it’s a big, fruity barleywine-style ale. And I do mean big. And fruity. The fruitiness comes from the fact that it’s brewed with figs and dates, which, quite frankly, are a perfect match for a barleywine-style ale and make for a lovely winter beverage. The bigishness comes from an absolutely whopping 15% ABV, which makes this legally the most potent beer the nanny-state government of North Carolina will allow to be sold here. The nose is rich with fig and plum notes, and even the alcohol comes through, which is pretty unusual for a beer. The body is heavy weight, and the middle is syrupy and sweet with flavors of raisins and dates, and brown sugar. The finish is sweet and warming as the alcohol comes back through again. I like a good barleywine-style ale, but I generally don’t love them. This however, is an outstanding beer and can even reasonably stand in the stead of a stiffer drink on a cold winter’s night.

I give it a 4.7 out of 5

Rodenbach 2011 Vintage Oak Aged Ale

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And the hits just keep on comin’. Brouwerij RODENBACH selects a single oak cask of their Flanders Red Sour Ale that, after having matured for two years, has produced the best beer, and bottles and labels the beer that comes out of this cask as their “Vintage” for year. In the case of 2011, this is cask number 95. The nose is floral with honey and faint wild yeast, the middle is tart with cherries and strong plum flavor. The finish is sweet, with the sugars coming back to the fore and tamping down the tartness, but the flavors of cherries, plums, and green apple are still consistent and dominant. The oak is quite subtle, and I suspect is responsible more for maturing the flavors that already exist in this intensely flavored sour than for adding new flavors of its own, though there are tiny hints of vanilla in the finish. This is not a particularly big beer at 7.0% ABV, or a heavy one, but it is exceptional. It should be on every sour lovers list.

I give it a 4.9 out of 5.

Allagash Curieux

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So Allagash is one of my new favorite breweries, and Curieux is a perfect example of why. They’ve started with an excellent-in-its-own-right Tripel Ale, and aged it to perfection in Jim Beam bourbon barrels, then blended with fresh Tripel Ale. Because of that last step, this is not one of the many bourbon barrel ales that come out of the process harsh and boozy, packing a punch but not a lot of sophistication. The nose is light and fruity with banana, peach, a hint of pineapple and vanilla. The middle has some heat from the copious alcohol (this beer is 11% ABV) and notes of coconut, banana, and papaya. The finish has a spicy pepper bite that mellows into a soft vanilla on the back of the tongue. This is a medium weight beer, so the body is not particularly heavy but it’s still advisable to use a snifter or other glass that will allow you to appreciate a smaller pour due to the 11% ABV alcohol level. This is an amazing beer, and it’s available year-round, so if you can find Allagash in your area, look for this one.

I give it a 4.9 out of 5.

Moylan’s Hop Craic XXXX IPA

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Moylan’s Brewing Company of Novato, California is a specialist in big beers, be they Imperial IPAs, Scotch Ales, or Barleywine-style ales. (Among others.) However, they felt they hadn’t taken the Imperial IPA theme quite far enough, and perhaps to rectify that, a Quadruple IPA might be in order. Thus, we have Hop Craic, a American Quadruple IPA. This is a massive IPA in every measure. It’s got a heavy body, the alcohol is a stout 10.4% ABV, and the hop notes are huge and balanced with strong malt flavors. The nose is strongly orange citrus but with a bit of molasses in the background. The middle bursts with lemon and orange, followed by pine, but then transitions into a heavily malty finish with notes of toasted grain and packed with brown sugar and syrup. The end of the finish is burned toast and pine. It’s exceptionally well balanced for such a powerful beer, and I’m enjoying it immensely.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

Dogfish Head Rosabi

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dogfish-head-rosabi

Rosabi is an Imperial Pale Ale from Dogfish Head with, as the name suggests, wasabi as the off-centered ingredient. It starts with a big sticky head that hangs around for a bit. The nose has a bit of pine, grain, and citrus, and wasabi hits your nostrils faintly right at the end as the other scents are fading. The middle is a big chewy Imperial Pale Ale, with citrus and honey, fading to pine and rind in the finish. The coup de grâce, however, right at the tail end, is strong wasabi. It’s not particularly hot, but that unmistakably pungent flavor is in full force and it strengthens as the beer warms. The body is medium to heavy, and the alcohol is 8.0 ABV, so it lives up to the “Imperial” billing quite well. It’s a bit of a oddity, and certainly not an every day beer, but it’s worth a try, especially for those of you who love wasabi as much as I do.

I give it a 3.9 out of 5.

Wychwood Hobgoblin

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wychwood-hobgoblin

Hobgoblin called “A Dark English Ale” is an ESB (Extra Special Bitter) from Wychwood Brewery of Oxfordshire, England. I don’t review a lot of ESBs, but it’s a classic style and a wonderful introduction to traditional English ales. The nose on this one is faint, with just a bit of grain and figs. The middle has caramel and orange notes, fading to a nutty finish that has some bitterness that turns to sweet molasses right at the end. Ultimately this is a nice classic ESB, and very enjoyable.

I give it a 4 out of 5.