1001 Beers

Beer No: 80
Page No: 892
Category: Specialty

Today's my stout party and I was going to wait until after to review one of the stouts I'm having, but I just couldn't wait until 3pm to have a beer, so during the England / USA match, I popped open Port Brewing's Hop-15 and enjoyed it during the first half.  In about an hour, the stout party begins and I can't wait to try all the different beers.  I'm giving everyone a rating book from 33 Beers.com and we'll be having a blind tasting of the Barrel Aged beers, and, if successful, another blind tasting of another select few beers.  Should be a great time.  Pictures should follow tomorrow.

As for the World Cup, I was up at 4:30am this morning and watched all three games.  I loved South Korea's counter-attacks, and though the US got lucky with their one goal, they had many chances, so I think the 1-1 outcome was fair, and the correct outcome.  I look forward to their next game and I'm just waiting now on Germany to play.

As an aside, this is a great article, busting the top 5 myths of "casual" beer drinkers (share with your friends who prefer the ice cold mugs and no head on their beer):

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/beer/beer-experts-mythbust-the-top/index.php

And finally, the beer list:

Barrel Aged:
BrewDog Paradox (whiskey)
North Coast Old Rasputin XII (bourbon)
Haand Bryggeriet Norwegian Porter (aquavit)
Deschutes Abyss 2009 (bourbon)
The Bruery Black Tuesday (bourbon)

Smoked:
Alaskan Smoked Porter (2004)
Alaskan Smoked Porter (2009)
Stone Smoked Porter

Coffee Stouts:
Alesmith Speedway Stout (2005) x2
Alesmith Speedway Stout (2009)
Norrebro Bryghus La Granja Espresso Stout
Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
Requiem Espresso Stout
Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout

More:
Carnegie Stark Porter (2001)
Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout (2009)
Brew Dog Rip Tide
Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout
Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel
Norrebro Bryghus Skargaards Porter
Mikkeller Black
Nogne O Imperial Stout
Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Stout
Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
Three Floyds Dark Lord (2009)
Victory Storm King (2002) x2
Victory Storm King (2010)
Bear Republic Big Bear Black (pre-2005)
De Dolle Special Extra Export Stout
Sinebrychoff Porter IV
Avery Out of Bounds Stout (pre-2005)
Harvey's Imperial Stout (1999)

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Pizza Port Hop-15 from Port Brewing/Lost Abbey

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 17/20

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Had from bottle June 12, 2010
The last time I had Hop-15, I opened a bottle that was about 6 years old. And, as we all know, hoppy beers don’t like aging, so it was, unfortunately, a drain pour. However, I’ve got a fresh bottle now, and it is pure greatness. The pour is the same as my first rating, a nice orange color with great clarity, no head, no lacing. Aroma is very strong citrus and pine hops. Flavor is heavy hops with just the right amount of malts to balance it out. I drank it slowly, watched World Cup soccer, and enjoyed the weather. It was a perfect beer for the day. If only I had a cold Maharaja to follow...I love this beer. Wish it were available year-round. A perfect amount of hoppy greatness with the right amount of malt sweetness to balance it out. Flavors linger for a long time and just sit perfectly on the tongue.

Had from bottle #111 on Friday, May 16, 2003
Popped the cork and was immediately hit with hops. The aroma is extremely strong and extremely hoppy (as one would guess by the name). The beer pours with a dark brown color - absolutely no head and nice clarity. The flavor is VERY hoppy. Very strong flavoring - definitely a beer to drink slowly. There are some malts to balance the hops, but not enough in my opinion. An enjoyable, slow drinking beer - but just too many hops for my mouth to process - not something you could drink every night.
Original Rating: 8/3/8/3/14 (3.6)

Beer No: 61
Page No: 154
Category: Amber

I'm usually not a fan of barleywines.  I find them excessively malty with a watery/oily texture that just doesn't really go well with what I have come to expect from my beer.  I like some bite with my beer - most notably a nice hoppy bite.  So while 1001 Beers is filled with all sorts of beers in all sorts of categories, I've really been putting off trying any of the barleywines.  But, it was either the Avery Hog Heaven or a Duvel last night and for some reason, I figured a Hog Heaven would hit the spot.

And boy did it.  Not your standard run-of-the-mill barleywine, Avery's Hog Heaven packs a hop wallop with 100+ IBUs and a hoppy nose that will knock you back a step.  Using the Columbus hop - a high-alpha acid hop variety - the pine and citrus aromas and flavors really dominate this barleywine.  Perhaps that's why the label calls it a "Barleywine-style Ale" and not just your standard barleywine.  Whatever you call it, Avery once again delivers a top-of-the-line product here with a malt richness that is balanced well with the hop bite.  I have just one more Avery beer to go in the book, but I'll definitely be going back to their fine ales, as they really have blown me away with their flavors and quality of beers.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Avery Hog Heaven from Avery Brewing Company

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 14/20

Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

Had from bottle from BevMo. Pours cloudy orange with a nice bubbly white/tan head. Aroma is a nice blend of hops and malts with the hops really coming through. Sweet malts are dominant as well in this barleywine. Though I’m not the biggest fan of barleywines, the taste of Avery’s really worked for me. I think the hops really upped the drinkability as the malts don’t dominate the flavors here. Taste is initially bitter from the hops, finishes a bit dry and sweet. A nice ale for those that probably aren’t huge barleywine fans.

Beer No: 40/1001
Page No: 174
Category: Amber

Ahh, Leafer Madness, how can you go wrong.  So obviously a reference to Reefer Madness, cult film of the 1930's.  Oh wait, it's not??

Yeah, somehow, according to 1001 Beers, owner and brewer at Beer Valley, Pete Ricks says that this beer is not named for Reefer Madness.  For some strange reason, I don't believe him.  He states that back when hop prices skyrocketed in 2007, a local hop farmer offered him free hops that were about to be plowed under because some plants had been damaged in a nearby fire.  So he drove out in the middle of the night during a storm and started shoveling hops into garbage bags with a five gallon bucket.  This "madness" brought about the name of the beer.

Still not convinced?  Neither am I.

However, this double IPA does know how to pack a punch and the amount of hops crammed into the beer is madness. I found that I started to enjoy the beer a lot better after it had warmed up a little.  Coming from a 22 oz. bottle, this beer pours with tons of head, so I got almost three pints out of it and I started enjoying it more as I got further into the bottle.  Maybe it was the 9% ABV that was warming me up, or it was the hops seeming to mellow a bit as the beer warmed, allowing more of the other flavors to shine through.  I was a bit mixed on this beer while tasting it initially, thinking the hops were just too much even for a hop-head like me, but it really grew on me and I enjoyed the finish of this fine DIPA.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Beer Valley Leafer Madness Imperial Pale Ale from Beer Valley Brewing Company

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 13/20

Rating: 3.2 / 5.0

22 oz. bottle from Total Wine. Pours orange with excellent lacing and a nice head from start to finish. Very sweet, hoppy aroma. Citrus, grapefruit, pine, and orange. Flavor is heavy on hops - very piney, with undertones of malts and caramel. Mostly hops hops and hops. Beer came together well when it warmed up a bit as the hops seemed to almost mellow a bit and the other flavors were allowed to shine. A very well done DIPA.

Beer No: 36/1001
Page No: 206
Category: Amber

After returning home from Haven Gastropub last night, I wanted to keep the beer flowing, so I broke out this bottle of Midnight Sun's Obliteration VI.  While Obliteration VI isn't in the book of 1001 Beers, Obliteration V is.  These experimental brews from Midnight Sun in Anchorage, Alaska are all brewed with heavy hops and different varieties of hops each time.  So I realize that the Obliteration VI isn't the same as the Obliteration V.  The "V" is brewed with Warrior and Nugget hops with Amarillo added in the dry-hopping stage while "VI" is brewed with Summit, Summit, and Summit hops.  But, I have no idea how I could ever get my hands on the Obliteration V, so VI will have to do for now.  Plus, at $14/bottle, I'm not too keen on trying to find an older bottle with an even bigger mark up (and, Google has no shopping results for "Obliteration V").

Back to the beer.  Weighing in at 95 IBUs, I figured this Double IPA would have a really hoppy nose, but surprisingly, it didn't.  The taste is also pretty toned down as the malts blend well with the summit hops.  But there's just something about this beer that didn't sit right.  It was oily and fizzy and the hops just didn't seem to play well with all the other ingredients.  While tasting it, and noting the single-hop blend, I flashed back to the Shipyard IPA I had a few weeks ago which was all Fuggle hops.  Whereas the Shipyard is a standard product in their lineup, this Obliteration is an experimental beer like most single-hop brews.  And while I found it interesting to get the full flavors of the summit hop, I just don't think it stands up well on its own.  A nice hop mixture could have made something special here, instead we're left with an oily, astringent, bitter DIPA.  At least it's experimental.  But I'll keep trying the series if I can ever find them.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Midnight Sun Obliteration VI from Midnight Sun Brewing Company

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 5/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 10/20

Rating: 2.8 / 5.0

Had from bottle from unknown shop. Pours dark orange with good sized head and nice retention. Not much lacing. Aroma of fruits, malts, and hops. Though not as many hops as I expected. Flavors of pine, citrus, sweets, and bread. Very oily texture, a bit fizzy, not what I was expecting. I’ve had many better DIPAs and those I shared it with were not impressed either.

Beer No: 32/1001
Page No: 529
Category: Blond

Today, Scott and I bottled the second of our two pale ale iterations.  This "American Pale Ale" was brewed using a California Pale yeast strain and it is pretty darn tasty without any carbonation.  Unfortunately, while bottling we found out that our capping machine isn't working as it should.  We got it as a part of an introductory home brew kit a long time ago and we really didn't use it much as we preferred to use 750 ml champagne bottles.  But when we started opening our English Pale Ales and found the caps weren't giving us good seals, I though I just was making mistakes while capping.  But this time, with Scott on the capping machine, it was confirmed, the little hand held machine is broken.  I think I'll probably end up with one of these - since the larger version is used for capping and corking and we already have a floor-standing corking machine.  It'll just have to wait until our next grain order...

So while we bottled our own, I enjoyed this Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA.  All in all, it's a pretty tasty IPA.  It's quite refreshing with a good amount of hops and a nice, crisp finish.  Brewed in beautiful Central California, Firestone Walker has won their fair share of awards, including a gold medal in the World Beer Cup in San Diego, a gold medal at the European Beer Star Awards in Germany, and a gold medal in the Great American Beer Festival in Denver...all within the first year of release.  1001 Beers notes that "brewmaster Matt Brynildson and his crew spent the best part of a year developing the beer."  And it really shows.  A very refreshing and well balanced beer, the hops are definitely in the forefront, but the malts make a nice appearance in the body and it all comes together very well.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 3.9 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine. Pours golden orange with slight head and heavy lacing. Aromas of hops, pine, grapefruit, and citrus. Flavor of tons of hops, nicely balanced with malts. Nice crisp finish with hoppy aftertaste. A new must-have addition for my beer fridge.

Beer No: 29
Page No: 193
Category: Amber

My love for IPAs is no secret and I have enjoyed this Meantime IPA on many occasions in the past.  It's easily one of my favorite IPAs, tying in fact (by rating) with the Alesmith IPA.  In fact, as of this writing, I have ranked only one IPA higher than the Alesmith and the Meantime IPA - Stone's 3rd Anniversary IPA back in 2003 (here are all my IPA ratings).  Reading back through my Stone 3rd Anniversary rating, I think what's notable is that both it and this Meantime IPA don't go out of their way to hit you over the head with hops.  Now, don't get me wrong - the hops are there - and in great amounts, but they are so perfectly balanced with all the other flavors that the whole beer is simply elevated to another level.

The interesting thing about this Meantime IPA is that it's actually meant to be aged for a few years.  I didn't know this, so I'm definitely going to go pick up a bottle and throw it in my beer storage unit.  However, I'll have to be careful on how long it ages because, as evidenced with the Port Brewing Hop 15, things can definitely go wrong if you cellar a heavily-hopped beer for too long.  Also, reading back through the recent reviews of the Stone 3rd Anniversary IPA, the overall rating of the beer has been dragged down by people who stored the beer too long and it's gone bad.  Which is a shame - back when I sampled the 3rd through 5th anniversary IPAs, they were all at their peak.  Fast forward 5, 6, or 7 years later, and what do you expect?  Beers don't last forever, so it's a shame to see an amazing beer like the Stone 3rd Anniversary be in only the 56th percentile of IPAs when it truly was a great beer back in the day.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Meantime India Pale Ale from Meantime

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine & More. I’ve had this beer multiple times in the past and it’s one of my favorite IPAs when I don’t want to get bashed over the head with hops. Pours a dark orange / copper color with a perfectly sized head. The head sticks around for a while and the beer has good lacing. Aroma of hops, grapefruit, orange, and a hint of malts. Mouthfeel is slightly oily with good carbonation and a medium body. Tastes of hops, malts, and citrus. A very, very well balanced beer that ranks up there with almost any other IPA. The hops are not as aggressive as the description states as the IPA offers more of a complex blend of flavors than you’re used to in most highly hopped IPAs.

Beer No: 23/1001
Page No: 636
Category: Dark

The second of the two Sprecher beers in the book, this Black Bavarian is a dark, velvety, malty delight.  I'm usually not a fan of the heavily malted beers that this one was modeled after (e.g. Paulaner Salvator), but this interpretation of a German Schwarzbier balances the malts well with a nice addition of hops.  The chocolate and roasted malt flavors linger after you're done drinking and I was pleasantly surprised by this beer.

I've got just a couple of beers left in the fridge and both are porters, neither of which will go that well with the homemade pizza that is about to be put into the oven.  I think I might go with a second beer from the 1001 today as I'm fairly certain I've got a Pizza Port Hop 15 chilling in my secondary fridge.  There's just something about hops that go well with pizza.  Maybe it's the bready/yeasty crust that balances well with the bitterness of the hops, or maybe I've just grown used to hoppy beers with pizza.  Either way, here's a quick recipe for your own pizza dough.

This recipe is from the awesome My Bread by Jim Lahey.  If you want to start making your own bread, this is the way to go.  No kneading required and I get a perfect loaf every time and the pizza dough is just as easy to make and turns out perfectly.

Enough for 2 13x18 inch pies.

3 3/4 cups bread flour (500g)
2 1/2 tsp instant or other active dry yeast (10g)
3/4 tsp table salt (5g)
3/4 tsp plus a pinch of sugar (~3g)
1 1/3 cups room temp (~72 degrees F) water (300g)
Extra virgin olive oil for the pans

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar.  Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until blended, at least 30 seconds.  Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Oil two 13x18 inch rimmed baking sheets.  Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape half the dough onto an oiled pan in one piece.  Gently pull and stretch the dough across the surface of the pan, and use your hands to press it evenly out to the edges.  If the dough sticks to your fingers, lightly dust it with flour or coat your hands with oil.  Pinch any holes together.  Repeat with the second piece or refrigerate in an oiled plastic bag for 1-2 days or freeze for up to 30 days.

Top however you like.  Bake 25-30 minutes at 500 degrees F (I actually bake 20-25 usually or it burns a bit - just depends on your oven).  I also am trying right now to substitute the pans for a pizza stone I have placed in the oven.  We'll see how that turns out tomorrow.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Sprecher Black Bavarian from Sprecher Brewing Company

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 14/20

Rating: 3.6 / 5.0

Pours dark black with a tan head that disappears quickly. A slight ring lingered around the edge, but for the most part, a creamy beer with little carbonation. Aroma is roasted coffee with hints of chocolate, and not as much smokiness as I was expecting. It’s got just the right amount of hops to balance the heavy malts and the chocolate/roasted malt flavors are delightful. Not as heavy as a porter or stout, this creamy schwarzbier delivers.

Beer No: 20/1001
Page No: 259
Category: Amber

Today I visited both BevMo and Total Wine in search of a specific vintage of scotch.  I knew Total Wine had it, but thought I might get lucky at BevMo and not have to make the trip to Total Wine (though Total Wine really isn't that far away).  Anyways, BevMo didn't have it, Total Wine did, and they also got me to buy 6 more beers in their mixed 6-pack from the list of 1001.  The Shipyard IPA was one I bought today.  I quickly chilled it, and enjoyed with a few more pages from Tasting Beer.

This is my second beer from Shipyard - a mid-size brewery in Portland, Maine.  Previously, I had sampled their XXXX IPA - a much hoppier IPA than their Fuggles IPA.  The XXXX contains Cascade, Warrior, Summit, and Glacier Hops and is dry hopped with Cascade at the end as well.  While the XXXX IPA is hop-overload, the Fuggles is the exact opposite.  A nice blend of the Fuggles hop and malts, the Fuggles IPA is more a pale in my book than an imperial, but either way, it's a tasty beer that has a nice finish and a well-balanced flavor.

1001 Beers notes that most single-hop beers (using only one variety of hops) are usually "experimental beers, so that brewers and beer lovers can enjoy how individual qualities can be realized by a specific hop variety."  For this beer, the Fuggle hop stands well on its own and is an interesting example of a commercially available single-hop beer.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Shipyard Fuggles IPA from Shipyard Brewing Company

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 6/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 12/20

Rating: 3.1 / 5.0

Had from bottle, best by May, 2010, so right on time. Pours a golden yellow with good head that sticks around nicely through the drink. Carbonation is good. Using only Fuggles (hence the name), the aroma has a nice hoppy smell with a good amount of malts and sweetness. The aroma is not overly hoppy as you expect from most IPAs. Similarly, the flavors are not overly hoppy, but well-balanced with some malts at the start and a nice bitter, piney, hoppy finish. If you’re used to an IPA that is heavily hopped and bursting with IBUs, this is not the IPA for you (try the Shipyard XXXX). However, if you like a mellow, nicely balanced IPA (that could be almost a bit more like a pale ale), the Shipyard IPA doesn’t disappoint.

Beer No: 9/1001
Page No: 500
Category: Blond

So today was an interesting day.  I had planned out the exact beer I was going to sample with my leftover lunch from Hollingshead's Deli, but then I got the call.  My crazy cousin needed help as she is completely renovating her new home.  After I skipped out on her on Tuesday due to my slight illness, she knew I couldn't say no, plus - what else would I have done today?  Yeah, nothing.

So I head over there, paint the closet, clean up a few messes in other rooms and I'm about to leave when she says, why don't we just have a beer and then you can take off.  And what are the chances that one of the 1001 beers would be in her fridge?  I'd say 0.01%...it's usually full of water bottles and Heineken.  But there it was, a single Stone Ruination IPA hiding in the back.  Calling my name.  Drink me!  Drink me hoppy head.  So I did, and it was IBU overload and hoppiness to the extreme, but it's a wonderful beer.

It was the perfect beer after a long day of manual labor - well, maybe not the perfect beer - I'm sure some people wouldn't like the shock of hops after working a long day, but for me, awesomeness.  The Ruination IPA came from their 5th anniversary beer after the people at Stone started with an IPA for their 1st anniversary, a double IPA for their 2nd, and so on, getting hoppier for each release.  For the 6th anniversary, they went with a smoked porter, and thus, their 5th anniversary, and hoppiest beer to date, became their new Ruination IPA.

So, given the circumstances, I didn't have proper glassware, I didn't take a picture, and I had no tasting notes, however, the taste of Ruination is so unique and distinctive that rating while drinking isn't necessary.  But, truth be told, I rated this back in December of '09, so there won't be an update to this one.  So, without further ado...

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Stone Ruination IPA from Stone Brewing Co.

Aroma: 9/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavor: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 17/20

Rating: 4.3 / 5.0

Easily among my favorite IPAs. This Stone Brew holds nothing back and hits you again and again with hop flavors. Pours a beautiful golden color with slight lacing and good carbonation, the first and last thing you’ll smell is the wonderfully floral aroma of hops. There really is nothing better with a good steak or on a hot day than a beer as full of flavor and hops as this masterpiece from Stone Brewing.

Beer No: 3/1001
Page No: 471
Category: Blond

Yesterday, we focused on a pale ale (Sierra Nevada) - in my review of the beer, I lamented the fact that the hops were "a bit too disguised within the malts," but then went on to laud the balance between hops and malts.  Any pale ale should be a good balance, while any IPA should definitely be more hops than malt, and the Racer 5 from Bear Republic Brewing is definitely a hop-first beer.

Up front, I stated that my favorite beer styles are those of lambics and gueuzes - I love the sourness of the beers, the wild fermentation, the unpredictability of a perfectly brewed beer.  My second favorite beer is definitely the IPA - be it your standard India Pale Ale, a double IPA, or even a triple IPA.  I just love my hops - which is a stark, and somewhat odd contrast to that of sour beers, but there's just something about the citrus flavors, the pine aromas, and the bitter finish of a hoppy beer that gets my taste buds cheering.

The Racer 5 is one of the two Bear Republic beers in the listing of 1001, the other being a Hop Rod Rye - so it's quite clear that the fine brewers up in northern California love their hops.  A family owned brewery, the Norgroves know their beer, having been named Small Brewing Company of the Year on their 10th anniversary and having won multiple medals at the Great American Beer Festival.  Though 1001 Beers states that the Rocket Red Ale was the original flagship beer of the company, it has quickly been replaced by the Racer 5.  Blending Northwest American hops - Cascade, Columbus, and Chinook - this hoppy beer clocks in at 84 IBUs and is a striking example of what an IPA should be.

As a side note, I used to collect pint glasses and now have a couple hundred of them in storage.  I probably have a Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA glass somewhere in a box and it's a shame I couldn't taste this from the one pint glass made for this beer.  Perhaps a quick run to my storage locker is in order to see if I can pull out a few boxes of pint glasses and match them to upcoming beers...

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Bear Republic Racer 5 from Bear Republic Brewing Co.

Aroma: 7/10
Appearance: 3/5
Flavor: 8/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 3.7 / 5.0

Had from 750ml bottle. Pours a beautiful clear orange hue with a substantial white head which dissipates slowly and leaves behind ample lacing. Aromas of citrus and pine, definitely a hoppy beer. Taste is all hops - bitter, piney, and floral. A wonderful IPA which finishes slightly bitter and without any alcohol aftertaste.

And, just for fun, my original rating of Racer 5 from March 20th, 2003 (almost exactly 7 years ago):

The beer pours with a nice amber/brown appearance and has a great smell of hops and a slight sweetness. The initial taste is hops, hops and more hops - but damn, is it good. A slightly bitter/acidic aftertaste, but nothing bad at all. A great, hoppy beer. Recommended.

I originally rated the beer a 3.6 / 5.0 over 7 years ago, but updated my rating and bumped the aroma up from a 6/10 to 7/10, resulting in the 3.7 / 5.0 rating that it currently holds.