December 20 - Boulevard Brewing Dark Truth Stout

Last Wednesday, I spoke of another Boulevard Brewing Company beer that I had sitting and waiting for me.  Well, the time has come to give that one a whirl.

Tonight, we're enjoying Dark Truth Stout from Boulevard.  After putting the finishing touches on my competition sweater for tomorrow, with a lot of assistance from my wife, it's finally time to sit down and polish this off, but not too quickly of course.  Clocking in at a big 9.7% ABV I better hit the brakes and take some time to enjoy it since, like I mentioned before, these things are hard to come by. 

Not too much of a back story or narration tonight, so let's just get right down to it, shall we?

A dark stout for sure, this poured an opaque black color with a creamy tan head at the top that stuck around throughout.  I've switched my go-to glass lately from my trusty tulip to my splinter glass.  I seem to get good results, especially with some head retention here too.

There was a slightly smoky alcohol aroma with this brew that peeled back layers of chocolate, plums and maybe even raisins.  As for the taste, it was definitely lighter than expected on my palate with some medium carbonation.  The beer starts off sweet, changes to bitter coffee, and finishes with a dry and smoky residual taste on the palate. 

There's a whole lot going on in this bottle for sure.  Lots of complex flavors layers upon themselves along with a complex aroma.  Give this one a whirl if you come across it and enjoy the dark, sipping stouts.  I think you'll enjoy it! 

A solid 3.75 out of 5 tonight! 

December 19 - Siren Craft Brewing/Stillwater - Smoke Signals

You'll see...I apologize in advance

The ugly Christmas sweater is coming together nicely.  I had some help from a co-worker to fabricate some of it today.  It appears it will have a functional train after all!  I also just got home from purchasing more knick-knacks to add to the décor for Thursday's unveiling.  I'll be sure to post it numerous places so you can see it.  Only a video may do this thing justice.

Progress so far...this will be suspended from my sweater

In any event, I need some sleep tonight so I reached for the lightest thing in the fridge tonight (4.4%) that appears to be a collaboration by Siren Craft Brew from Berkshire, England and Stillwater Artisanal from Baltimore, MD called Smoke Signals.  If you click on the Stillwater link and flashing lights make you feel sick, you've been warned.  It made my eyes hurt seeing the page for a few seconds.  There is an interesting backstory there that you can read, but I don't have the time tonight.  Maybe I'll go back and read it another day.

I picked tonight's choice up about a year ago in New York at Halftime Beverage in Mamaroneck.  A buddy and I took a 4 hour ride up there only to get some beers that we couldn't find at home and pack back up and return.  We probably spent a legitimate 2 hours in this place.  It was pretty cool, and pretty big!  I was looking at the homebrew equipment and accidentally broke a graduated cylinder, but since we purchased so much beer, they let it slide.

(L to R) - My haul, a bottle of Utopias that stayed on the shelf at nearly $300, and the aisles of beer!

Right at the checkout counter, this particular beer caught my eye.  It was probably a little too pricey at the time, but a smoked sour wheat beer sounded too strange not to try.  I had just gotten my feet wet with some other sour beers, plus I always have been a sucker for a Rauchbier or other smoked choices.  I figured, "what the hell?  It can't possibly be awful at that price point, right?"

I read up on this beer while I was drinking it and it appears it's along the style of a Gose, more appropriately called a Lichtenhainer.  If you care, you can read about it here.  Also, these guys used Brett to ferment out this light ABV brew.  It definitely gets some funkiness from the bacteria here, for sure.

I could beef up on some beer style history here, but maybe another time.

As for the beer, it poured a hazy golden with a nice head of larger bubbles on the top.  Now for the kicker...

It smelled like a Band-Aid.  I mean it wasn't a Band-Aid or made with them, of course.  It was probably the combination of sour, smoke and citrusy hops, but my brain stuck with Band-Aid.  I couldn't get my mind off it the entire time I drank this 22oz. glass.  There is, again, some definite funkiness coming from the Brett along with a taste of sour lemon and lime with just a hint of smoke. 

For the record, I'm not a scholar on beers made with Brett yeast, but I'd definitely like to expand my palate.  As for this beer, in the future, I'd pass on it if I were you.  It's a combination worth trying if you're up for a sour, smoked wheat beer, but you still can't get past the Band-Aid, can you? 

Believe it or not, I'll still give this a 3 out of 5 since I think the brewers got exactly what they wanted to out of this beer.  With what I've seen here online tonight while drinking this beer and writing this blog post up, it seems they're spot on.  It's not something I'd seek out again, but at the same time, I'd try another sour smoked beer, just not this one.

December 18 - Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (2012)

This is a hard pill for me to swallow.  Back in 2012 I purchased a bottle of beer from my local bottle shop, Bottleworks, after finally finding the "holy grail of beers", at least in my own mind.  It was pricey, at $15 for a 12oz bottle, but I had been looking for this beer forever and just couldn't find it unless I wanted to drop over $200 on a case.

Thankfully, just a few weeks ago, PA has passed legislation to allow local distributors to break open cases and sell things in smaller quantities.  I'll definitely try something that is more expensive as long as I can get a bottle or 4 at a time.  No one in their right mind can justify dropping that much on a case.  If you can, you're a better person than me.

Me either...do you man!

In any event, this bottle has been sitting in my beer room and has since made it's way downstairs to cellar at 50-ish degree temperatures in the basement.  My brother-in-law has busted my chops about having this and still not drinking it, especially after 4 years.

Yeah...he feels the same way

Well, tonight is the annual cookie baking extravaganza at our place.  The ladies take care of the cooking baking while my brother-in-law and I sample some beers.  I figure it's time to pop the top and see what 4 years of aging has done to this 18% ABV behemoth.

Funny enough, 2 years ago, while visiting the DFH brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, DE, my wife, her sister and husband (again my brother-in-law) got a chance, sans children, to have dinner together outside on their patio.  When the waitress came to take our order, my brother-in-law asked the waitress "what did Sam have in his secret stash?"  We all kinda looked at him like, "what the hell are you talking about?"  When the waitress told him that she would check and come back to report I looked at him a certain kind of way...

What just happened?????

Sure enough she came back with a vintage bottle of 2014 120 minute IPA.  It was 2015 at the time, so it had some time to develop in the bottle.  Later that week, my wife and I had the opportunity to re-visit the brewpub for IPA day and their release of he 2015 version of 120 minute IPA.  Right off the line and into the keg isn't the way to go for this beer to be honest.  At 18-21% (best part was they weren't too sure!) it was OK, but the flavors in the year-old aged version were soooooo much better.  Very malty and bitter with lack of underlying flavors if I remember correctly.

OK, enough back story and build up.  Onto the beer!

As to be expected, there were some floating yeasties here in this translucent, hazy golden brew.  There was some awesome lacing the entire way through.  I think anyway...I shared 4 ounces with my brother in law and my wife polished off a good chunk of my glass seen below.

The aroma was just simply a sweet caramel that, if possible, smelled super viscous and thick-syrupy.  It almost reminded me of the DFH 75 minute cask IPA that they bottle with almost a maple syrupy sweet smell.  As for the taste, for an IPA, things have considerably mellowed out here and there was a balance of sorts, but there was virtually no hop presence whatsoever.  This was a nice and mellow, 18%+ beer with a mild alcohol bite with a ton of sweetness to go around.  The caramel sweetness punches you in the face!

Definitely worth the wait, but I probably should have enjoyed it a year or two ago to get some of that IPA hop profile that I enjoy.  However, I still rate this as high as possible at a 5 out of 5!  I'd tell you to pick this up, but according to Untappd (for obvious reasons) it's no longer in production.  In the future, pick up the 120 minute IPA and, if possible, do a vertical tasting, year by year.  You may have to invest some money in that, but if you're up for it, have at it!

December 17 - Pizza Boy Sunny Side Up

Well, it's been a week since my wife and I made the trip to Al's of Hampden/Pizza boy in Enola.  If you read the blog last week, we had an IPA called Spandex, Glitter, and Egos while Richard Simmons blew up your Facebook feed for some god-awful reason.  Take the time to read up on that trip for sure, because this will be a short review.  I don't want to rehash that trip yet again and I know you are pressed for time late in December.

So, as you already know if you read last week, we also brought home a crowler of #67 on the big board.  Number 67 was Sunny Side Up, and is Pizza Boy's 9.5% Imperial Stout made with fresh roasted coffee from Little Amps Coffee Roasters in Harrisburg.  I've had this beer before, on numerous occasions but have yet had the ability to review it here for one of the 25 Beers of Christmas. 

Haven't reviewed it yet...rules have been followed Walter

Since I had this filled a week ago, I had a funny feeling that something here would be sacrificed.  I wasn't sure what, but I was sure to soon find out.  The crowler appeared to have some decent pressure in it yet with just a simple squeeze.  I poured this beer into my rarely used Sunny Side Up clear coffee cup from Al's.  The beer poured a deep, dark brown, but as it hit the cup it was definitely as black as could be. 

One thing here that appears to be lost is the aroma due to a loss of head in the beer.  I tried a few different glasses to make sure I used the proper glassware for the job, but the aroma wasn't as powerful as I remember.  It's OK...it still tasted phenomenal! 

What I did get from the aroma was a sweet coffee with some dry baker's chocolate.  The aroma turned to an all coffee one as it warmed up a bit.  As for the taste, we have here a roasted, creamy, smooth, chocolate coffee beer suitable for the cold nights of winter to kick things up a notch.

Without blinking an eye, this is another must try if you're OK with coffee and beer in the same beverage choice.  I don't get down to Al's often, but when I do, I make sure to have either my emergency growler filled or, now, have a crowler filled to enjoy when I get home. 

4 Egg Yolks out of 5 tonight for sure!

December 16 - Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout (2016)

Another late night for blogging.  This time it was due to returning an ugly Christmas sweater to Target because the LED light pack didn't work.  Hey, I got a day's worth of use out of it for free!

On my way home, I also decided to swing by Michael's and see what they had to craft my 2016 competition sweater for work.  When I got there, I found that their Christmas stuff was 70% off!  Not to give too much away, but my entry this year may or may not have a functional train attached to it.

In any event, back to the reason you're really here, and that's for the beer.  Tonight, reviewing quickly the 2016 version of Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout.  It had to be a few years ago, but I found this at my local distributor before I had a palate and saw the 10% ABV with a $40 price tag and I was sold, regardless of what I was drinking.  I enjoyed it back then and hope to again tonight. 

It appears that they've brewed this Russian Imperial Stout since 1994 and recommend cellaring to see how flavors change.  

To be expected from any RIS, this poured an opaque, jet black color with a creamy brown head at the top.  The aroma was a heavy chocolate malt and coffee with fruity notes to add to it.  I couldn't decide between whether I smelled cherry or raspberry so let's call it both.  

This beer was beyond flavorful.  With a thick and roasted malt backbone this beer had some bitter chocolate, almost like a baker's chocolate. Again I have to mention the cherry/raspberry fruity combo.   In addition to everything else, this was a creamy beer to drink.  Lastly, even as a 10% sipping beer to warm things up, because there was a slight alcohol bite to it, this thing still went down a little too easy.

I'd recommend sipping at this thing.  It lasted me for well over an hour, but at the same time I could have a few of these to make for a quick night just because it was so darn flavorful.  I don't remember it being this good a few years back, but maybe that's because I had no idea what I was doing.

Fake it til' you make it! 

If you slightly enjoy the Russian Imperial Stout and can stand the heavy chocolate and malt flavors, I highly recommend you find this beer.  If even just a regular stout is your thing, you need to seek this out.  I get nothing for this plug, but I'll buy the remainder of your 4 pack if you don't like it.  

4.5 out of 5 for this RIS tonight!  Find it!

December 15 - Evil Genius O'Doyle Rules Almost IPA

Don't worry, I didn't forget about you.  It's definitely late, I'll give you that.  Just sitting down now to use my computer for some fun, decompressing writing as opposed to planning some lessons for tomorrow.  I hope my laptop battery holds up...

Tonight, I'm not really feeling a beer, but I decided to give it a go anyway.  I reached for something I know in an IPA and something lighter (5.5% here) in ABV.  I need me some sleep.  This should help slightly.  

From Evil Genius out of Philly tonight, we're trying their O'Doyle Rules Almost IPA.  This particular brew comes in at the higher scale of a session IPA.  If you're unaware of the session IPA style, check it out if you have the time.  Again, basically, a lighter ABV version of the IPA.  

Nah...just kidding...I did my beer homework!

These guys have some crazy names for their beer that usually (not always) originate from various pop culture references.  "Stacy's Mom IPA" is what I believe to be a reference to the song by Fountains of Wayne, "Shut up, Meg Farmhouse IPA" a credit to Family Guy, and "Santa!! I know him! Festive Saison" a clear homage to the Christmas movie Elf.

The choice tonight cannot be mistaken for anything other than a Billy Madison inspired beer.

These guys made it easy to add photos tonight 

The beer poured a hazy golden color with a nice off-white head that stuck around long enough to finish this one.  The aroma was strictly an earthy grapefruit one since this beer was dry hopped with citra and amarillo hops.

The flavor was pretty straight forward for me in that it was a slightly less bitter than expected grapefruit.  The hops in this are just perfect for a hophead as well as someone who's not too into hops at all.  The bitterness is here, but if you're a grapefruit or citrus fan who doesn't like overly bitter beers, you may want to give this one a shot if you're trying to find that IPA that you like.  I know lots of folks who say this, so take note!

A pretty solid choice tonight, all things considered.  I like what these guys do with their stuff and it appears they're starting to get some more options out there for us consumers here in central PA.  Next year, be sure to pick up their chocolate pumpkin porter, Trick or Treat.  Another solid choice if you're a pumpkin season beer fan.

4 out of 5 O'Doyle's agree...solid brew!

December 14 - Boulevard Brewing Company Snow and Tell

We're over halfway through the month and it's only the second installment of Winter Warmer Wednesday.  If you're new here, each Wednesday, I try and review something winter-themed like the winter warmer style.  Tonight, we're taking a closer look at Snow and Tell from Boulevard Brewing out of Kansas City, Missouri.  A buddy of mine, via Twitter one day, recommended I try their Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale.  I didn't get the chance to do so until my wife ran in the Boston Marathon last past year in April.  While feeding our faces at a local seafood joint, I thoroughly enjoyed it!  

Solid advice in
Boston!

Shameful that we can't get any of this stuff back home...until recently!  Yet again, my local bottle shop came through and started carrying some of their stuff.  I have another Boulevard brew waiting in the fridge for later this month, Dark Truth Stout.

This particular beer, my wife found at one of our local grocery stores and made a 6 pack for me for absolutely no good reason.  I'm a sucker for a cool label, if I haven't told you before and I guess she was too since this was pretty unique!

So, as you can see, we have here an Oak Aged Scotch Ale.  The scotch ale style/wee heavy isn't something that I know a ton about, but I am a fan of Old Chub from Oskar Blues.  I dig the malty profile of the ones that I've had and I'm intrigued to see how the oak will mingle with the scotch ale.  

The color of this beer was a pretty clean looking deep caramel brown that had a very creamy tannish-white head to it that was retained throughout.  The aroma was definitely sweet caramel malt along with some toasted bread and just a touch of smokiness, I assume from the oak.

I was excited to get down to business here since the label talks about this being a "complex beer perfectly suited for the season."  There was some malt here, but not a huge one like I expected.  The beer is only 6.3%, which comes in just at the lower range of the style.  It was a malt forward sip that had a mild hop bitterness that was almost non-existent.  Again, there was just a slight hint of smoke on the very back end of the beer.  

Swing and a miss...

Honestly, I was expecting more, even from a low ABV scotch ale.  There wasn't complexity here for me and to be honest there wasn't a whole lot of flavor to write home about.  I did have a friend on Untappd rate this earlier last week and it didn't receive a stellar rating from him.  The rest of the community rated it a 3.592/5.  I'm going to go with a 3 out of 5 here.  It's drinkable enough and light enough in ABV to have a few, but there's no way I'd seek this out and purchase more than one at a time.  Honestly, probably won't even do that again, unfortunately.