Guinness Draught

Guinness Draught

Serving Type: 14.9oz (WTF Guinness...)
Style: Dry Irish Stout
ABV: 4.2%

In the spirit of St. Patrick's Day I thought I'd go ahead and review the most recognizable beer from Ireland. Plus I had a few left from my festivities.

Cracked the can open and almost blasted cold stout all over my hands but some quick thinking with some tissues saved a mess. This brew is really cool to pour, the tan head mixes uninhibitedly with the dark stout color of the liquid to make a very nice khaki color that swirls and dances like a lava lamp. Really cool looking brew.

This stuff smells like a bread factory. Maybe some biscuity notes but this stuff smells like pure nourishing baked grain. Like I could drink nothing but Guinness for a week and be completely nourished and satisfied. The head is about one finger and just stays around forever, a constant reminder of the turmoil caused when the beer was first poured.

Now taste is where I start to lose interest. It just does not taste like I want it to. The flavor seems flat and simple. It almost is like drinking water with some mild sweetness from the malt and maybe the slightest bit of bitter hop flavor. It's like the bubbly violence at the start sapped all the flavor out of this brew. I'm also noticing a slight burnt flavor at the end that doesn't really stay in my mouth too long, and isn't unpleasant.

However, as bland as this brew is, I can see the appeal of drinking this with some mates at the local pub for a long evening, since the ABV isn't too high and it's so bready and nourishing. I've also had some amazing chili that used all guinness as a substitute to water that was the best I've ever had.

Final Grade: B-
-Pretty bland stout that makes up for it's shortcomings somewhat by it's drinkability and interesting bubbly nature. I feel that this recipe with some injected flavor could be really good, maybe some chocolate or stronger malt flavor. I kind of enjoyed drinking it.

Stone Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Stone Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Serving Type: 22oz Bomber
Style: Stout
ABV: 9.2%

Pours Black, like motor oil. I poured it pretty vigorously and there is little to no foamy head to speak of. The aroma of this brew strikes me as more vanilla-ey than chocolate inspired. Smells almost faintly sweet.

First sip is a blast of creamy smoothness that coats my mouth in the flavors of this beer. Creamy malty delicousness. The chocolate flavor mixes in well with the main malty flavors, and leaves a nice mellow bitter flavor at the end. Just like any good semi-sweet chocolate. There is also an almost bourbon heat that lingers along with the bitterness, which reminds you of the potent ABV of this beast.

As strong as all the flavors are in this brew, they all balance each other very well. The sweet maltiness and chocolate flavor contrasts well with the bitterness and heat at the end. I wish I had a better grasp of all the complex flavors that I'm tasting here, because I know there is something I'm missing in there. Maybe some subtle coffee notes. Mmmm, this beer is so good...

There is still a nice heat in the back of my throat even a few minutes after taking a sip. As I look down my glass while sipping, I can see that the brew has a hard time letting go from the side of the glass. I think wine afficianatos would say that this means it's got a high alcohol content, which it does. After drinking most of the bomber I would reccomend that you split this with a friend, as I'm having a bit of trouble finishing this one on my own.

Final Grade: A-
-Really complex and delicious strong stout. The more you sip at this beer the more flavors you discover. May be a bit too much to those who aren't used to high gravity dark beer, but it's right up my alley. High marks for flavor.

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale

Beer Post 2:

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale

Serving Type: 550ml Bottle
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 5.00%

Beer comes out a nice deep brown color, really pleasing to look at. This beer is already making my mouth water in anticipation. Poured into my trusty New Belgium snifter to get a good whiff of the aroma. Definite nutty character to the nose mixed with some rich roasty maltiness, mmmm...

First sip translates some of the rich aroma to the palate. Real nice earthy flavor that dissipates into a very mild bitterness at the end. This bitterness serves as a nice accent to the main flavors of the brew and doesn't hang around in the back of my throat too long. As the beer warms more of the the rich malty sweetness comes out and further works with the rich walnut flavor that I'm getting. Damn, why have I been drinking beer ice cold for so long? Most beer is just so more much complex and tasty once it's had some time to sit for awhile. Of course I wouldn't do this to a nice hoppy IPA, or others similar to that style.

This beer is just so comfortable and agreeable, makes me want to cozy up next to a big fireplace in a pub somewhere in Britain with some close friends. Drinking this brew also makes me want to try some of Samuel Smith's other offerings, as my local Haggen has an impressive selection from this brewer. The label says this brewery was established in 1758, sweet!

This is probably one of my favorite low gravity beers (gravity usually means alcohol content), as I tend to prefer darker and stronger ales to the lighter lagers and pilsners. This is pretty much exactly what I wanted after a hard day of ripping fresh powder lines at Mt. Hood Meadows.

Final Grade: A-
-Really tasty brown ale that scores high marks in taste, aroma, and drinkability. Would be a great introduction beer to someone who has been drinking Budweiser for too long.

Full Sail Imperial Porter

First Beer Post:

Full Sail Imperial Porter

Serving Type: 22oz Bomber
Style: Imperial Porter
ABV: 7.5%

Looked at beer advocate's way of organizing a review and it made sense. Progression of Look->Smell->Taste->Drinkability makes sense to me so I'll use that to start things out.

Beer comes out looking very creamy and thick...almost like I'm pouring a darker version of half and half into my glass. Very dark, cant even see through the stuff though I'm not surprised because this is pretty common for the style. Not much head even though I poured the stuff pretty vigorously.

Smells of burnt grain almost, and as I press the drink against my lips this translates into a similar taste. Also getting some hints of smokey flavor and scent. This is kind of hard, since I've never really considered analyzing a beer so throughly...haha. Hopefully I'll get better as I keep writing.

Ahh, this beer is really opening up now that it's warmed for a second. More of the sweet malty flavors come out and balance out the brew very nicely. Thick mouthfeel, the flavors linger in the mouth for a bit after sipping gently.

There is the burnt flavor that lingers in the mouth a bit too long for my taste. Not sure if I enjoy this, but it might contribute to the flavor of the beer for some.

Halfway through the brew and I'm certainly feeling the high ABV. Only a slight alcoholic burn in the back of my throat after a robust quaff, so it's quite drinkable. After conferring with my better half (Lilli) she agrees on the burnt flavor I mentioned earlier.

I can't help but wish this was black butte. Especially the more potent Black Butte XX I embibed in limited edition one cold early fall night with my roomate Jesse. That stuff was amazing, easily the top five beers I've enjoyed. This beer is not that beer.

So, to sum up: Pretty decent beer, but feels like it's only meeting me halfway. The beer is sylvester stallone, reaching out to me (that random chick) at the start of cliffhanger.

FINAL GRADE: C+
-Give it a try if you're a fan of the style, but five bucks for a bomber is better spent elsewhere.

w00t

Alrighty,

I've wanted to catalog all of the different kinds of beer that I have had, and figured that this would probably be the most interesting way to do it. I considered starting to write reviews on beeradvocate.com but I felt that was slightly impersonal and much too numerical in it's categorization.

I've decided to rate beers on a F- to A+ scale, which is something I'm intimately familiar with due to my 16 years of schooling (holy crap has it really been 16?). This will likely evolve as I find better and more interesting ways to express my emotions over a single brew.

Why beer? I went to college in Fort Collins at CSU. New Belgium, Odells, Boulder Brewing, Laughing Dog, to name a few local(ish) favorites. It's amazing how quickly my beer palate matured in that area.
Freshman Year: McCormicks Vodka->Keystone Light->Budweiser
Sophmore Year: Fat Tire and other New Belgium Brews. The year I discovered the microbrew. Mmmmm...
Junior Year: Started branching out and trying porters, stouts, brown ales, all sorts of fun tasty stuff.
Senior Year: Being able to buy my own beer helped me browse and choose with leisure. I tried the Abyss for the first time this year and was completely blown away with what beer could be.

Now I believe I have a completely open mind about beer, ready to try the hoppiest of IPA's to the Maltiest of Stouts. So let's pop a top together and down something delicious.

Warning: Some blog posts might contain nothing about beer at all, and will simply be insights into my own life. You have been warned.

CHEERS!