We're Baaaack!

BACK TO TELL YOU WHAT ALES US

Back a few years ago, when we first started writing this blog, the BOTB Guys tried to meet once a month and taste and review seven (or so) beers that fit some predetermined style - IPA, Stout, Porter, Brown Ale, Blonde, Bitter, Oktoberfest, etc. In the early days we were not all fluent in all styles - in part because the beer scene in the U.S. was still dominated by the mega-brews such as Budweiser, which meant cheaply produced lager and light lager.

But soon we began to learn which ones we were drawn to and which ones we weren't crazy about, such as Sours and overly fruity beers. We also avoided the mega-brews like Bud and Bud Light and pretty much any beer with "Light" or "Lite" as part of its name. It made little sense to spend time drinking seven beers we all disliked. As a result we began coming up with "beer themes."  The theme might be a particular seasonal or a beer with a funny name. It sort of allowed us the freedom to choose a beer that would be enjoyable. Because, seriously, otherwise what would be the point?
Not that every beer we try gets our stamp of approval.

* Just as a reminder: we judge the beers on pour, color, aroma, mouth-feel and taste. We then give it an Overall rating based on a sliding scale from "Leave It On The Shelf" to "I Could Drink That!" to "Can't Get Enough!"  *

In the intervening years, craft beer has exploded - much to our delight. Styles have morphed into sub-styles. IPAs, our personal fave, have split into West Coast, East Coast, No Coast, Grapefruit, Belgian, English, Black, White, Red, Double, Triple, Imperial, and Session. Stouts and Porters and Browns and Ambers and Blondes all have their plethora of sub-genres from traditional to out-there crazy taste combos. The American Craft Beer scene has become a fun wild-west show of styles and flavors. 

However, with 7 Beer Guys and 7 wives, finding a monthly date for a meeting has become more and more difficult due to various family commitments and travel. Particularly travel. We've had a few meetings since the last blog, but often haven't reviewed the beers, just enjoyed them. Meanwhile we've also enjoyed beers from outside the U.S. on various treks beyond our borders.

Below are some highlights from a recent Viking River Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam:

A couple of beers in one of Budapest's Ruin Bars

Budapest craft beer

The original Lowen Brau on the right, brewed in Passau, Germany - way better
beer than the Lowenbrau that was once brewed here - a case of buying the
name and making another meh lager at a premium price.

Kolsch beer from Cologne.

A Dunkel served on the ship.

Found this little beauty in Germany. A brewery called Steam Brau

In Bamberg, Germany, the home of Rauchbier. Good stuff.

Okay, it wasn't all beer, but this is a beer blog and we sailed through the heart of bier country.

We did also saw sights like these as well: 

An actual windMILL. Strangely, no toxic fumes and no dead birds.

This entire family lived in one of those windmills, by the way.

Amsterdam - loosely translated I think it means "city of bikes and houseboats."

Just because.

Alright, so much for the travel brochure. Suffice it to say, regarding beer there is a world of difference between a German lager and the mega-brew lagers that dominated the States for years. 

This month, we decided that revisiting Stouts as a style would be a fun diversion from our usual hoppy brews. We thought it would be good to start with the original Stout - Guinness - and then sort of compare and contrast some Stouts we have not previously reviewed. 

We did have a few"palate cleansers" so to speak. It was important to get our minimum daily requirement of hops. Though we didn't review them, we merely enjoyed. So a quick shout-out to:

 Hopshire Farms Haze in the Hollow New England IPA. It's a terrific hop bomb loaded with Citra, Mosaic, Centennial and Galaxy hops. 

Zero Gravity 40 Theives Double IPA - A big (8%) Juicy Double IPA brewed with Cita, Nelson and Azacca hops. Both of these I'm sure will get a closer examination at a future date.

Woodland Farms 15 Miles Pale Ale - A real tasty old school Pale Ale.

GUINNESS STOUT - (original)

GUINNESS BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Originally - St. James Gate Brewery (Grudlann Gheata Naomh Seamuis) - Guinness Brewing, St. James Gate, Dublin, Ireland, stateside - Halethorpe, MD; STYLE: Stout; ABV: 4.2%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Rich and creamy. Distinctively black. Velvety in its finish. This iconic beer is defined by harmony. Sip after sip, sweet counters bitter as the malt arrives on cue to compliment a base of roasted barley. Just as the unmistakable white head sits flush atop the dark beer, so do the flavors counter and combine perfectly."

COLOR: Obsidian

POUR: Well, Guinness Class, of course

AROMA: Malty, bit of chocolate

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Sweet, malty with strong hints of coffee and chocolate

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I Could Drink This!

COMMENTS: "Forgot how good it is; Take it for granted until you have one every now and again; I remember when it was about the only non-fizzy yellow beer you could buy - if you could find it here; A good beer to start on when comparing stouts; It always tastes the same, you can count on it."

GUNNER'S DAUGHTER

MAST LANDING BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Mast Landing, Westbrook, ME; STYLE: Milk Stout; ABV: 5.5%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Our beautifully aromatic and balanced milk stout with delicious notes of peanut butter, coffee and dark chocolate."

COLOR: Black - perhaps even a bit darker than Guinness

POUR: Close to Guinness Class

AROMA: Dark chocolate

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Chocolate - milk chocolate, quite sweet with a bit of a nutty undertaste - though peanut butter didn't seem that dominant. Mostly sweet milk chocolate.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I could drink this. 

COMMENTS: "Sweet - maybe a little bitter taste would work for me here; Candy bar in a can; A touch sweeter than I like; Nice after-taste; Little bit of malt, I don't really taste the peanut butter, which is fine by me; Throw a little vanilla ice cream in there and you'd have an interesting float."

SPONGE CANDY STOUT

RESURGENCE BREWING CO.

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Resurgence Brewing Co., Buffalo, NY; STYLE: American Stout; ABV: 5.5%

COLOR: Black

POUR: Near Guinness Class though somewhat less, nice lacing

AROMA: Mild sweet aroma, a little bit of cocoa in there

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Burnt sugar, candy, toffee, a little roastiness, sweet, but not overly so

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I Could Drink This! 

COMMENTS: "Somewhat of a watery mouth-feel; A bit more carbonated than the others so far; Sweet and candy taste - not surprising; Not a cloying sweetness, which is surprising based on the name; Grows on you; If you're looking for a unique New York stout - this does it!"

AUTOCRAT COFFEE STOUT

NARRAGANSETT BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Narragansett Brewing, Pawtucket, RI; STYLE: Coffee Stout; ABV: 5.5%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Autocrat Coffee Milk Stout is officially BACK and one swallow will tell you; this is a seasonal beer you do not want to miss! This beer is a unique collaboration between two iconic Rhode Island companies. A custom blend of Narragansett's bittersweet milk Stout with dark, delicious Autocrat Coffee makes for a delightful beer that is more Rhode Island than Roger Williams himself."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Between Decent and Guinness Class - dissipates quickly with light tan lacing

AROMA: Light roasted malt, some coffee in there but it doesn't jump out at the nose

BODY: "Fluid feel on the tongue as opposed to creamy; A little bitter early; A good morning beer!; 'Autocrat - good to the last drip!' A good mowing beer; A swallow will tell you; Fairly light bodied, with some nice malt in there with the coffee."

TASTE: Dark, bold cold coffee, chocolate

OVERALL IMPRESSION: Between "I Could Drink This!" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Fluid feel on the tongue as opposed to creamy; A little bitter early; A good mowing drink; 'Autocrat - good to the last drip'; A swallow will tell you."

BARNEY FLATS OATMEAL STOUT

ANDERSON VALLEY BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, CA; STYLE: Oatmeal Stout; ABV: 5.7%; IBU: 14; MALT: Pale two-Row, Crystal, Roasted Barley, Munich, Chocolate, Oats; HOPS: Columbus, Northern Brewer

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "The deep ebony color, voluptuous mahogany head and bold, roasty flavors in our Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout are what serious beer drinkers expect from this style. Aromas of freshly baked bread, espresso, and dried cherries meld seamlessly with rich toffee flavors and a creamy mouth feel to create an unparalleled drinking experience."

COLOR: Black

POUR: A bit beyond Decent

AROMA: Subtle caramel, malt, a little chocolate

BODY: A bit beyond Medium

TASTE: Sweet toffee, little bit of bitterness, some dark chocolate in there, nice balance of flavors

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I Could Drink This!

COMMENTS: "Taste sticks on the roof of the mouth; Subtle coffee, chocolate and sweet; That's good!: A bubble off plumb compared to the others tonight."

NITRO MILK STOUT

LEFT HAND BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Left Hand Brewing, Longmont, Colorado; STYLE: Milk Stout Nitro; ABV: 6%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Super smooth with soft roastiness and mocha flavors."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Decent effervescent head

AROMA: Not a strong aroma, a bit of chocolate

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Sweet chocolate, coffee, roasted malt

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Between "I could drink this!" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Creamy mouth feel, but not thick; Fullest mouth feel so far; Really good milk stout; Smooth, easy to drink; Effervescent pour; Nice smooth creaminess; Real nice beer." 

SYMPHONY OF STARS OATMEAL STOUT

FOUR QUARTERS BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Four Quarters Brewing, Winooski, VT; STYLE: Oatmeal Stout; ABV: 6%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Flavors of instant coffee, rye bread, dark chocolate, round oatey mouthfeel - something you'd take outside to the porch with the Sunday paper ever so conspicuously just to show your neighbors how cultured you really are...The name is a nod to astronomy, where they use radio telescopes to 'hear' radio waves from all sorts of celestial objects."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Guinness Class with a lasting head

AROMA: Slight malty, bready aroma

BODY: A bit beyond medium

TASTE: Toward the sweet, with malt, bread, coffee, and some dark chocolate

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Between "I could Drink this" and "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "Mustache filling head; Carbonated, more so than some of the others; Very tasty; Subtle aroma; Nice to great after-taste; Balanced between burnt-bitter and sweet; Great label and name; Really good stout - just what you want in an Oatmeal Stout." 

ANTWERPEN STOUT

GUINNESS BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Guinness Brewery, Baltimore, MD; STYLE: Special Export Stout; ABV: 8%

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "This 8% ABV stout has long been a secret pleasure among beer connoisseurs and indeed our Brewers, who value the mouth watering intensity of its roasted malt, smoked wood and dark chocolate notes, not to mention its excellent and seemingly endless finish. Since 1944 we have been exclusively exporting this same special stout from Ireland into Belgium through the vibrant port of Antwerp. This is the first time we're making it available for general release in America."

COLOR: Black with red highlights

POUR: Guinness Class - big, full

AROMA: Malty, a bit smokey

BODY: Medium

TASTE: Dark chocolate, smokey malt, some coffee, sweet but with a nice bitterness as well

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Between "I Could Drink This!" and "Can't Get Enough!" 

COMMENTS: "Red-headed step child of Guinness; Really good!; Kind of like Chinese sweet and sour only sweet and bitter; The alcohol comes through but doesn't overpower; Really complex taste, a lot going on - chocolate, coffee, smoked malt; Very tasty beer."

OLD RASPUTIN

NORTH COAST BREWING

THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: North Coast Brewing, Fort Bragg, CA; STYLE: Russian Imperial Stout; ABV: 9%; IBUs: 75; 2018 World Beer Championships Gold Medal winner; North Coast Brewing was honored as 2019 Best for the World Environment by B Lab.

WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Produced in the tradition of 18th Century English brewers who supplied the court of Russia's Catherine the Great, Old Rasputin seems to develop a cult following wherever it goes. It's a rich, intense brew with big complex flavors and a warming finish. The Old Rasuptin image is a drawing of Rasputin with a phrase in Russian encircling it - A sincere friend is not born instantly."

COLOR: Black

POUR: Guinness Class

AROMA: Sweet, coffee, chocolate

BODY: Between Medium and Full

TASTE: Sweet taste of dark chocolate, coffee, roasted malt, dark fruits, bit of alcohol

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Near "Can't Get Enough!"

COMMENTS: "A quality brewed brew, for sure; Does not taste like a 9% - 'Danger Will Robinson!'; It's like 'You Can't Get Enough!' but you can get enough - a conundrum for sure; Really delicious beer; Nice winter evening with Tolstoy kind of beer." 

CONCLUSIONS

As with any particular style, there are similarities across the board. With a stout that means the presence of coffee, chocolate, and roasted malt in varying degrees. Some have a bit more hops, some are higher in alcohol, some accent the coffee, some the chocolate. You get the idea. So, bottom line, I'd say our favorite was North Coast's Old Rasputin. Maybe Antwerpin came in second. From there, it was a case of personal choice for each guy. All in all a good bunch of Stouts. 

Slante,

The BOTB Guys