Full Sail Black Gold Imperial Stout

Full Sail Black Gold Imperial Stout… this is one of the brews i actually ordered from http://www.liquidgratitude.com/, along with my Mirror Mirror… felt like cracking a new bottle tonight, so here you go…

Tasted with Mr. Dave, this one comes at you with a pretty nice nose… possibly the most distiguished feature of the brew… vanilla and oak just as the bottle notes. you can smell the bourbon bottle aging, which is very nice. At first taste, I think this is going to be one for the record books… but it loses its ‘wow’ fast and by the time i was half way through the glass, it had lost a lot of its pizzaz. Still a really nice beer but for the price, I expected it to last a bit longer.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

P.S. I am so ashamed… I accidentally deleted my pics of this one… so sad.  You get the standard pic instead…

Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA

Supposedly “the newest member of the Firestone family”, Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA was the second Firestone Walker brew Mr. Dave, Mrs. Heather, and I decided to try from good ol’ Malt & Vine (not sure who bought this one, tbh).  This little brew comes at you with a 7.5% ABV… not for the faint of heart.  The nose is nice… hoppy and fruity just like it should be.  The body is sharp and bitter with hints of peaches coming through in the aftertaste… the overall finish is clean and crisp, leaving you with a pleasant sensation… like you just walked in from a brisk fall walk to the mailbox… kind of… sort of… anyhow, overall solid for the style and good from start to finish.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Diamond Knot Industrial IPA

I really like these guys…  I like their normal Diamond Knot IPA… I was pretty sure I would like this IPA… I wasn’t wrong.

To sum it all up, same recipe, “25% more grain and twice the hops!” according to their description of the Industrial IPA on their website.  Short and to the point… just the way I like it. 

As far as the taste experience goes, it pours a dark amber color with a big head.  The nose is sweet and hoppy and the body is hoppy, hoppy, hoppy!  Bitter finish on the back of the throat with just a hint of sweetness.  Overall super solid and lives up to my expectations.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

Firestone Walker DBA (Double Barrel Ale)

A bit of a new brewery to our area (as of May 1, 2009), Firestone Walker Brewing Company (based out of CA) came to Malt & Vine the other day and between Mr. Dave and I, we picked up a few bottles.  I can’t remember whos this was but Firestone Walker DBA (Double Barrel Ale) was the first on the list to try.  Reading through their website and watching a few of the videos gave me a pretty good idea that these guys and gals are pretty damn cool… laid back, fun, and have the love of the beer.  A pretty good formula. 

So… how about the beer… in a night of IPAs and Pale Ales, we shouldn’t have tasted this when we did.  Because of the “patented Firestone Union oak barrel brewing system” this brew is super easy and mild… among some strong NW pales, though, that means less in-your-face and almost watered down.  So… this is a mild ale… no doubt about it… i recommend drinking apart from anything hoppy or it will ruin it for you.

I am planning on picking up another bottle to validate/retaste but for now, this hits Middle of the Road.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road (Pending Retaste)

Broughton Ales Black Douglas

On my last trip to Malt & Vine, I actually had the chance to share a bit of my passion/hobby with my wife and she happened to spot this little beauty.  “Have you tried Black Douglas,” she asked as she noted my similarity to the handsome man on the picture…  “Why no, hon… I have not… but I shall try it now on this wonderful summer day,” and so it appeared on the counter and then in my fridge later that afternoon.  Broughton Ales has had one other appearance on the blog with their Broughton Ales Merlin’s Ale and it didn’t do too shabby, so pretty decent hopes that this one would turn out well.

Black Douglas pours a dark ruby color with big head… a resemblence I am used to, actually… the nose is light and malty with hints of hops and the body is malty and spicy with a bitter finish.   It is a Scottish Ale for sure, but dark malt character and the spice puts a slightly different spin on the traditional Scottish Ale, leaving you with a n overall solid impression.  Nice and easy to drink, even…

You should check out their site for some of the history of Black Douglas… he was known to be a powerful knight that put his soul into battle but was finally thwarted in the end.  Good context as you drink this brew peacefully and somewhat in honor of this brave man.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

MacTarnahan’s Summer Grifter IPA

They say a picture is worth a thousand words… well… Mr. Dave leaves me a little speechless in this one, so I guess that picture is well worth it…   This was a good night of tasting… about half way through… and Mr. Dave was in rare form like I would expect.  We (Mr. Dave, Mrs. Heather, and I) drank a bunch of good brews, screwed around a bit, and ultimately had an enjoyable evening. 

As far as this little brew from Mac’s, is really wasn’t bad at all.  The nose is sweet with hints of caramel.  The body is light and hoppy. The finish is smooth and easy.  In those three sentances you have a reason to buy this brew again… overall a great little beer that goes well with any hot summer day. 

On a side note, definition for ‘grifter’ is interesting… makes me think of the carnie folk when the fair comes to town and then I think about drinking one of these brews with some of the carnies while sitting around a burn barrel… then we all get drunk, I pass out, and I wake up without a wallet but with a tattoo of Mr. Dave’s strange face from the picture below on my ass… interesting indeed… 

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Deschutes Red Chair IPA

Deschutes does the body good with one of its latest Bond Street series brews, Red Chair IPA.  Named after the oldest operating ski lift at Mt. Bachelor, OR, this brew has a really cool label and a great flavor to go with it.  Seven varieties of malts combine with some good solid hops to bring a 6.4% ABV beauty from their brewery to you.  The nose is fruity, dusty, and earthy, leading to a clean redish copper color as you peer into the glass.   The front and middle are medium carbonation and slightly bitter with finish being clean and mild as you sip it back.  Better on tap than in the bottle, Eddie’s Trackside in Monroe, WA just so happens to have it available to you if you are in that neck of the woods… Overall a solid IPA that minimizes the bitterness but lets you know it is still and IPA in the end. 

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Elysian Loser

A light copper brew with a medium sized head, Elysian’s Loser is more on the dark end of the spectrum than the light for a pale ale. Sweet and malty in the nose, the body has definite hop characteristics but also lets the malt come through loud and clear. Overall somewhat spicy in the middle with a bitter finish at the back of the throat. A solid brew that is welcome in my fridge any time.

For more information on the brew, including the use of Sorachi Ace Hops, read the article over at examiner.com, Now on Tap at Elysian.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils

I am a big fan of Oskar Blues… ever since my first experience with Oskar Blues Ten FIDY Imperial Stout.  So while I knew that this one was a long shot, in general, I still thought that these guys could pull it off… and they did… but just kind of meh…

Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella Pils is a pretty standard pilsner except this one had a bit of a bitterness to it that I wasn’t expecting (it is 35 IBU)… maybe a bit more hops than normal, me thinks.   The body was malty… nose was sweet and small. Overall not overwhelming and seemed to just try a little to hard.  Their take, for what it is worth:

“Our new canned good is a delicious, small-batch version of the beer that made Pilsen, Czechoslovakia famous. Mama’s is made with hearty amounts of pale malt, German specialty malts, and traditional (Saaz) and 21st century Bavarian hops. It’s the perfect antidote for the watered-down, cornfed versions of pilsner clogging America’s shelves. Our first canned lager, it’s also fermented at cool temperatures with a German yeast. While it’s rich with Czeched-out flavor, Mama’s gentle hopping (about 35 IBUs) and low ABV (just 5.3%) makes it a luxurious but low-dose beer. Look for our Gold Metal Winner on US shelves in March. Sadly, the Feds rejected our “Take Two and Call Us in the Morning” line on the can.”

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Sierra Nevada 12th Release Harvest Ale

Sweet sweet wet hop Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale, hallowed be thine name… thy beer come, down my gullet… to rest in my warmed belly. 

This super-solid brew uses a style of hopping where they don’t dry or turn the hops into rabit food, but they actually bring it fresh from the plant and throw it in their batches of beery goodness.  This gets the most out of the hop and doesn’t allow any of the juices or flavors escape… similar to picking herbs straight out of the herb garden.  In this instance, it does the body good and brings forth an amazing brew that hits you just like it should in all the right places. 

Clean, hoppy nose leads to a refreshing dose of hoppy goodness in the body and finish… really hits throughout the drink, so you don’t have to think about where and when the hops were used, but they are just omnipresent… always with you from soup to nuts.  The nice thing about this brew, though, is that they aren’t trying too hard… at 6.7% ABV, this isn’t some huge hopped up mess like the guy at the gym who is living on ‘roids… no… this brew is ‘roid free and just heavy enough to keep it interesting, but light enough to not question the doping. 

Overall a super solid brew that balances the hops perfectly from start to finish.  Wet hopping FTW!

JBB6 Rating: For the Win