Beer Log: November, 2012

Nov. 5: Tonight’s Beer: Kona’s: Koko Brown (part of Aloha Series): Just revisiting. Brown beer brewed with toasted coconut and natural flavor. This is a very tasty brew – almost a dessert beer. It has a very frothy, lacey head that is a nice light tan. It has the pleasant sweetness combined with a  toasty flavor that all good browns have, but it also has a sweet toastyness as well that tastes like toasted coconut. And it works brilliantly! The aftertaste maintains the toasted malty flavor long after the sip is gone. Quite satisfying. I realize that I’m drinking this the night before the 2012 election. I wonder if choosing a Hawaiian brown is an omen. Cheers, Mr. President!

Nov. 7: Tonight’s Beer: Kona’s: Wailua Wheat: Brewed with Passion fruit. Aloha Series. Light golden color with light frothy head and sweet scent. The passion fruit flavor is subtle and blends well. There is very little hoppiness so the fruit and sweetness from the malt share the attention from the taste buds. It is a very light flavor with a nice bright, sharp fruity character. Excellent summer beach beer. No listing of ABV or IBU.

Nov. 8: Tonight’s Beer: Lagunitas’: Brown Shugga’: (Sweet Release). This is the annual holiday season release from Lagunitas. It uses brown sugar to supplement the malt syrup and the result is a very sweet and strong beer. I’d tried it a few years back and it was one of the earliest of the high alcohol beers I’d tried, and it packed a wallop. Well, in fact, it still does, but now I’m at least prepared for it. The color is a deep brown caramel and the head is thick and creamy. There is a hint of pine in the scent, appropriate for a cold weather brew. The flavor is sweet, yet earthy. The alcohol flavor also comes through, but unlike many strong beers that have a bourbon-like character, this one is more like brandy. The hops are a piney, earthy, bitter that compliments the sweet. Definitely a sipper, not a chugger. Excellent winter treat. But at 9.9% ABV, pace yourself. 51.1 IBU.

Nov. 16: Tonight’s Beer: Jolly Pumpkin’s: Maricaibo Especial (bottle). I tried this one on tap in February. Now with a bottle of the Maricaibo to see how it differs. It is a nice light brown color – not quite an amber since it doesn’t have the red hue, but it has a similar look, just brown. The head has a nice creamy look to it, but is very light and dissolves quickly on the tongue. The foam has a nice tart quality to it, almost like fermented raisons. There is a tart, orange flavor – subtle and sweet. I stand by the description of the beer as a brown sour. 7.5% ABV. I don’t get the same hint of the earthiness from the cacao that I got when I tried it on tap, but I do pick up a hint of the cinnamon. It is very subtle and comes out more as the sip subsides. The initial taste is very much the sour and orange, but as that mellows on the tongue it lets some to the hint of cinnamon peek through.

Nov. 20: Tonight’s Beer: Stone’s: Double Bastard (2012 Release): This year’s is a bit more of a dark amber hue and is crystal clear, and with more of a head. Even stronger at 11.2% ABV. I’d describe it in similar superlatives to the 2011, but there is more of an alcohol flavor this year. It’s not overwhelming, but it is more distinct than last year’s. But, the sweet, caramel, hoppy experience is most certainly back! There also is a citrus-sour flavor that morphs into an earthy burnt caramel. The aftertaste is all bitter.

Nov. 21: Tonight’s Beer: Sierra Nevada’s: Narwhal Imperial Stout: It’s nice to see Sierra Nevada putting some effort into darker beers since most of what they do tends to riff on their Pale Ale. But, they do have one of the better porters on the market and they have a very good stout. But, with the explosion of the beer market, they have done little to develop newer beers on the darker side, so I was very excited to try this one. It is very deeply dark with a thick dark tan head. The aroma gives off a strong scent of coffee and black licorice and the flavor follows. The opening is tart yet sweet with a hint of molasses flavor. The licorice flavor is a very mild influence deep in the interior of the sip. The residual flavor is dark and roasted and bitter with a strong aftertaste of roasted coffee. The label tries to sell the flavor as “baker’s cocoa and dark roasted coffee”. The coffee is definitely there, but I don’t pick up a cocoa flavor. Yet I do pick up on the blackstrap molasses and licorice notes. Either way, this is a most welcome offering from Sierra Nevada. And at a sneaky 10.2% ABV, one to approach with caution.

Nov. 23: Tonight’s Beer: Deschutes’: The Stoic: Excellent Quadrupel. Well balanced between the hops and malt. Bright citrus flavor, very complex, yet approachable. (2/15/2012). I had tried this initially on tap at Harry’s during SF Beer Week. So, now I have a whole bottle. The description on the bottle lists it as a “Belgian Styled Quad of Stiffing Depth and Complexity”. It is brewed with Pomegranate. 16.5% was aged in oak wine barrels; 16.5% was aged in oak rye whiskey barrels. The pour sets up a golden-orange bright highly carbonated beer with a frothy-lacey head. Amid the bubbles are bits of the settled yeast that came with the pour. The scent is sweet and yeasty. The taste has a fruity sweetness that is slightly tart. There is a limited hop presence, so the malts, yeast and fruit do the heavy lifting. I stand by my first impression – complex, yet approachable. And, at 11% ABV, definitely a sipper. The sweetness also makes it so that you wouldn’t want to drink it quickly – definitely a sipper.

Nov. 25: tonight’s Beer: 2011 Stone Double Bastard: OK, just cracked last year’s and I am confirmed that the 2011 was vastly superior – smoother, more caramel flavor and a better balance of hops. And no hint of alcohol – just smooth, tasty wonderfulness.

Nov. 26: Tonight’s Beer: Dogfish Head’s: Chicory Stout: Brewed with roasted chicory and Mexican coffee. It has a deep blackness and a light tan head. The flavor in the foam is of a burnt wood. Not that I’ve ever tasted burnt wood. But, if burnt wood smells like it tastes, than this is what it would taste like. Now I’ve confused myself. No matter. I stand by my declaration about the burnt wood flavor in the head. Great. Now the foam is virtually gone. A quick sip brings a similar burnt flavor, but with the traditional stout sour backdrop. There is a coffee flavor in the mix as well between the burnt wood and the sour. The closest style I can relate it to is a smoked porter, though this is less of a heavy smoky flavor than with other smoked dark beers. Perhaps it is the chicory moderating the flavor. I’ll assume it is. There is also a nice coffee flavor in the aftertaste. Yep, much deliciousness and very full flavor for a modest 5.2% ABV.

Nov. 29: Tonight’s Beer: New Belgium’s: Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout: (Part of Lips of Faith Series): The coffee aroma coming off the rich, creamy foam is the first thing I was struck by. The dark black color is what one expects, and this one fulfills. The foam is light and airy and full of coffee flavor.  I was very very excited about this beer – after all a good stout with coffee or chocolate is always a welcome sight and taste. The lure of both coffee and chocolate was quite a draw. While the first sip was tasty, it was less than I was hoping for in this beer. The flavor was not as robust and full as I was expecting in an imperial stout. It has a nice dark roasted flavor and the coffee presence is distinctly there, somehow the end result is less than a sum of the parts. Part of it is that the alcohol flavor comes through overly much, particularly toward the end of the sip. It leaves almost a vodka-like aftertaste. The bitterness is more toward the astringent residue of stale coffee than the rich roasted maltiness that I want in a stout. Great bottle design, concept, color and foam. Rest is disappointing. 9% ABV.