#261 Homebrew - Coffee Stout

This is a batch of homebrew beer I made a few weeks ago, this is an extract batch and one of my last. I don't have the exact recipe but it is something like 3.5 pounds of dry malt extract, 1 pound of chocolate malt, 1.5 pounds of honey, an ounce of cascade of bittering and an ounce of cascade for flavor using WLP-0001 California ale yeast. This batch was kegged and is currently being transported in 500 miles in the trunk of the car.

This beer has a light coffee aroma with a hint of dark malt. The color is a dark brown with a bit of light passing through the edges. The head is very thick with good retention, the beer is shook up from travel which is effecting the head.

The tastes starts sweet and malty with some coffee flavors. The flavors quickly drys out, and has lots of coffee flavor. There is some slight floral hop flavors and plenty of bitterness. The bitterness is from the hops, some malt tannin, and the coffee. The mouthfeel is thin and well carbonated. The finish is dry with a coffee flavor.

I am really happy with this beer, it is easy to drink and has a great coffee flavor. As a stout I think this beer needs more malt flavors, I think this might be helped with all grain brewing. I would like a little less bitterness, but it will be hard with the coffee addition.

#259 Avery - Maharaja Imperial IPA

The Maharaja is an Avery seasonal available in the summer. This bottle is was bottle February 2007 so this is likely last years batch. Being an imperial IPA there is plenty of hops and alcohol to allow this beer to keep for a long time.

This beer has a strong hop aroma with citrus fruit and pine notes. The color is a dark amber with a lot of hazy. The head is very thick sticking above the rim of the glass and with great retention lasting for a long time.

There is a lot of hop flavors in this beer, fruity orange and pineapple flavors mixed with grassy pine notes. The bitterness is not over the top, keeping this beer easy to drink. The malt flavors are sweet and well balanced against the hops. The mouthfeel is thick with good carbonation. The finish is hoppy and sweet with fruit notes.

This is a wonderful beer, good hop flavors and well balanced against the malt. A beer like this reminds me how much I enjoy hop flavors.

#258 Arcadia Ales - London Porter

This beer has a strong roasted aroma, almost smoky, like food cooked over open fire. There is also a hint of molasses or syrup aroma. The color is black, with no light getting through. The head is thin with a light brown color.

The taste is rich with roasted malt flavors. The roasted smoky aroma is clear in the taste. There is also plenty sweetness with syrup flavors. There is a little hot alcohol taste, could be fusal alcohol since this is only a 7.2% beer. The mouthfeel medium with plenty of carbonation. The finish is sweet with a hint of roast.

This is a really good beer. I like the additional smoke flavor giving the beer more depth that other porters. Very tasty beer.

#257 Flying Dog - Kerberos Tripel

This is the latest beer in Flying Dog's Canis Major Series, a series made up of higher proof "Big Beers". This is the fourth beer allows Flying Dog to start marketing and selling all four beers in a 4 pack. I again got this beer mailed directly from Flying Dog.

This beer's aroma has some fruity esters with some Belgian clove spice notes. The color is an amber with some hazy keeping the beer hard to see through. The foam is very low, just a hint around the edges.

The taste is sweet with some honey flavors. The Belgian spice flavors are strong, almost biting in strength. There are some fruity esters closely related to apple. This beer is well carbonate with a smooth full mouthfeel. The finish drys out leaving some biting spice flavors.

This is a fine basic Tripel. Little to dry on the finish and I really enjoy the banana flavors that are missing in this beer, but really that's just splitting hairs.

#256 Red Hook - Black Hook

Red Hook Brewery is known as one of the first craft breweries that Anheuser-Busch had part ownership of. Currently AB only has 25% ownership and handles distribution through their large distribution and trucking network.

There is only a slight chocolate aroma with a hint of lager chalky smell, but a very light aroma. The color is black like the name implies but some light gets though with red highlights. The foam pours thick and has good retention.

The taste is dry with grainy malt flavors. The chalky lager aroma is present in the taste, blending with the dry chocolate taste. There is a slight tannin based bitterness that seems to fit with the other flavors. The mouthfeel is thin as porters tend to be. The finish is dry with some bitterness.

I am not a big fan of this beer. Too dry with too much tannin flavors. There are a lot better porters on the market.

#255 O'Fallon - Goat's Breath Bock

This beer was in the St. Louis market years ago contract brewed by the owner of O'Fallon brewery before the brewery was opened. The Goat's Breath name has returned to a different recipe beer.

This beer has a strong malt aroma, with fresh bread and toast flavors. The color is a dark brown with some red highlights, very clear. There is little to no head to the beer, just a light ring around the edge.

The taste is malty sweet, with grain and toast flavors. The sweet flavors come across like molasses or syrup thick and sweet. There is a slight tannin flavor, but it is not overpowering. There is not much bitterness or hop flavors, a common trait for the style. The mouthfeel is thicker and smooth. The finish is malty with syrup flavors.

This is an fine beer, good malt flavors and a smooth mouthfeel. I would rather have O'fallon's 5 day IPA but I love the 5 Day.

#254 Spoetzl Brewing - Shiner Bock

Spoetzl Brewing is the oldest independent brewery in Texas, brewing since 1909. The company is celebrating there heritage with some limited release beer the last few years. The Shiner line of beer is very popular in Texas.

The aroma is chalky, common aroma for lagers, with a hint of malt. The color is a light brown, and clear, similar to the appearance of the glass bottle. The head pours medium but does not last long.

The taste is dry with not sign of sweetness. There is some caramel flavor and a light toast taste from the malt. There is some bitterness but not hop flavor. The mouthfeel is thin, and well carbonated. The finish is dry with a chalky taste.

This is not a great beer, but it is a drinkable beer. There just is not much flavor to this beer.

#253 Boulder Beer - Single Track Copper Ale

Boulder Beer is Colorado's first Microbrewery opened in 1979 by two Colorado University Professors, receiving the 43rd brewing license issued in the United States. Today Colorado is known for a number of Microbreweries Fly Dog, Left Hand, New Belgium and many others.

There is a hint of honey on the nose of the beer, otherwise this beer has no aroma. The color is a light orange little lighter than what is normally called copper. The beer is very clear like looking through glass with a light tint. The head pours thick and has a decent retention.

This beer has a bitter taste with no hop flavor to back it up. There is a hint of sweetness that is quickly covered by the strange bitter taste. The mouthfeel is very thin, and watery. The finish is bitter and unpleasant.

This is not a good beer it is watery with a bitter taste and not hops. THis is made by Colorado's first microbrewery, I am glad the other breweries came along.

#252 Left Hand - Haystack Wheat

This is the last Left Hand beer I have right now. So far I've found Left Hand to be a fine brewery making beers that can be enjoyed everyday. Always well balanced and not over the top with flavor.

This beer has a spicy clove aroma with some banana esters, very Belgian like characteristics. The color is a light brown with a ton of sediment floating around. There is not much head, which is surprising for a wheat beer.

The taste is starts with some tart citrus flavors and banana esters. There is plenty of spicy clove and coriander flavors in this wheat beer. Some malty grain notes are also coming through. The mouthfeel is full and smooth with effervescent carbonation. This beer finishes dry with lemon notes.

This is a fine example of a wheat beer. Nice banana flavors with some spice and very drinkable.

#251 Left Hand - Milk Stout

A milk stout is a stout sweetened with lactose a sugar derived from milk. The lactose is used because it is a non-fermentable sugar and the yeast will not eat it.

The aroma is has a heavy roast malt flavor with coffee and a light burn toast. The color is black with just a little light shining through. The head pours thick and has good retention.

The taste is very sweet, different than the normal mat sweetness this is a more candy like sweetness. There is a coffee but it is second to the sweetness. The taste is a lot like a cup of coffee with a lot of sugar and a little milk. There is no noticeable hop flavors of bitterness, all like covered by the lactose sweetness. The mouthfeel is very smooth making the beer easy to drink. The finish is sweet with some coffee flavors.

I've never had a milk stout before, and I really like this. The taste is different and I really enjoy the smooth mouthfeel.

#250 Left Hand - Juju Ginger

Another beer from Left Hand, this time a spice beer. There are not many spice beers on the market, this on is even referenced in the BJCP as an example of a spice beer.

There is a pronounced ginger aroma, like bag of crystallized ginger. The color is a gold of dark yellow, and quite clear. There is no head to the beer, I guess ginger does not improve head retention.

The ginger flavor is surprisingly light just a hint of ginger is a basic beer. There is a little sweetness, with a light malt flavor, overall a very simple beer. No flavors over power this beer, and ginger is the main flavor. The mouthfeel is light and thin. The finish is clean with a hint of ginger.

This is really a basic beer with a dash of ginger. Without the ginger there would be nothing to this beer. This would make a great lawn mower beer.

#249 Left Hand - Black Jack Porter

Left Hand brewery recently started distribution in St. Louis. Over the next few days I'll be reviewing Left Hand's offerings.

The aroma is very rich and malty with some hazelnut and roast grain notes. The color is black as the name implies. The head pours thick with good retention lasting a long time keeping the beer covered.

The taste is sweet with caramel and chocolate flavors. There is a hint of roast coffee and some nutty tastes. Some hop floral flavors are coming through ever so slightly. The mouthfeel is appropriately thin for a porter. The finish is sweet with a hint of roast.

This is a really tasty porter, there are a lot of well balanced flavors. I could enjoy this beer everyday.

#248 Sierra Nevada - Bigfoot Barleywine 2008

Sierra Nevada has released their Bigfoot Barleywine for the last 25 years. This is a limited seasonal release.

There is a strong floral hop aroma to this beer, with citrus and pine notes. The color is a medium brown with red highlights and pretty clear. The head pours thick with good retention, keeping the beer covered in foam for a long time.

There is a strong malt profile, with lots of grain and biscuit flavors. There is some mild sweetness with a caramel taste. There is also a lot of hops with grass and pine flavors being predominate. This is a 9.6% beer and the alcohol taste is clear and sharp, hitting against the sharp hop bitterness. This beer has a medium body with good carbonation. The finish is bitter and sharp.

I think the bitterness and alcohol flavors are mixing poorly making this beer a little hard to drink. I've had a few from this batch already and didn't notice this, but I wasn't pay as much attention. Since this is a barleywine I think letting the beer age for a year might really help mellow out the taste. This is more of a malty IPA than a barleywine.

#246 Morgan Street - St. Louis Dark Lager

May 8-10th was the St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival, an outdoor festival to celebrate brewing is St. Louis. Anheuser-Busch, Schlafly, Morgan Street, and Square One all made the same St. Louis Dark Lager as a festival beer. A festival beer made by a home brewer was also servered which I blogged a few weeks ago. The St. Louis Dark Lager is believed to be a common beer server in the St. Louis area before prohibition.

The aroma is malty with some brown sugar notes. The color is light brown or copper and clear. The head is medium with good retention, but coming off a jockey box and a huge CO2 system head can be a tricky thing.

There are amber malt flavors with some caramel notes. A subtle fruit flavor is present giving the beer a lights overall flavor. There is also a dry tannin flavor that might be normal for beers made over a hundred years ago.

Overall this is an acceptable beer. Perfectly drinkable just nothing that great. After sampling 4 dark lagers in a row and I can say I am not a fan of the style.

#245 Dogfish Head - Raison D'Être

Raison D'Être loosely translates from French to "Reason to Life". This is brewed with Belgian sugars and raisins using a Belgian style yeast.

There is very little aroma to this beer, just some hints of grain. The color is a light brown / mahogany that is very clear. The head pours medium and actively bubbles until it is gone leaving just a thin head of foam.

This is beer starts with a touch of sweetness, but drys out quickly. There is some malt grain flavor, and a little caramel and brown sugar taste. There is an aged beer, wine cellar earthiness flavor accenting the other flavors, similar to the J.W. Lees Harvest beers. There is a medium body and mouthfeel with plenty of carbonation. The finish is dry with the wine cellar taste.

I do not think very much of this beer. It's brewed with a plenty of sugars and a strong yeast resulting in light sweet flavors but a overall dry beer.

#244 Dogfish Head - Indian Brown Ale

More beer from Dongfish Head. This is an Indian Brown Ale not a reconized bjcp style but a hybrid style of a brown ale and an IPA ending with a highly hopped malty beer.

This beer has a rich dark malt aroma with coffee and molasses characteristics. There is a slight hint of hop aroma, with some floral citrus notes. The appearance is a very dark brown with just a bit of light shining through. The head is thick with moderate retention.

The taste is malty and sweet with a brown sugar flavor. There is a very slight taste a tannins and leather, coming from all the dark malt. The hops come through with a floral, grassy flavor and some mild bitterness. There is a slight alcohol taste in this beer, it is 7.2% so it is not completely surprising. The mouthfeel is full giving the dark beer some body behind it. The finish is sweet with hints of dark malt and bitterness.

This is a great beer, lots of flavors and easy to drink. Dogfish Head can get carried away making good beers that are too over the top. This be is flavorful and balanced, good everyday drinking beer, just be careful of the 7.2%.

#243 Buffalo Bill's - Orange Blossom Cream Ale

Cream Ale's are the Ale style of the American Light Lager. Using similar recipe use substituting Ale yeast of Lager yeast. There are not many commonly available examples of cream ales.

This beer has a pronounced orange, citrus and floral aroma, smells like orange sherbet. The aroma also has a hint of sweet corn aroma, common with commercial Light Lagers. The color is a a light yellow and very clear. The head pours thick and very active foaming away with big bubbles until it is all gone after just a short time.

The taste is sweet starting with a strong citrus orange taste. There is also some floral almost tea flavors. The corn aroma is present in the taste as Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS), the DMS is expected for the cream ale style of beer. The mouthfeel is medium and well carbonated. The finish is dry with some floral orange and DMS flavors.

I am torn, I dislike the DMS so much it almost ruins the beer for me, but the orange is wonderful. I guess I don't like cream ales since the DMS is an expected flavor.

#242 Barley Island - Black Majic Java Stout

Barley Island brewing is a brewpub based company based out of Noblesville Indiana. Barley Island is a small company only making 2000 barrel annually or 84000 gallons, I am surprised to find such a small place distributing to stores in Kentucky where I got this bottle.

This beer has a strong coffee aroma, like smelling ground coffee. The color is black as can be without any light passing through. The head is this with good retention keeping a good inch of foam long after the beer is initially poured.

The beer taste malty and sweet. There is a chocolate and roasted coffee taste that could be from actual coffee or just lots of roasted malt. This is a hint of floral hops adding some bitterness to the beer. The mouthfeel is very thin. The finish is sweet with some coffee taste.

This is fine beer very drinkable. The coffee flavor tastes a little like stale coffee instead of fresh brewed coffee. The hops are just not blending well with the coffee taste. I've had better coffee stouts.

#241 Unibroue - 17

The second beer in the Unibroue anniversary beer vertical

This beer has a malty chocolate smell with a hint of Belgian spice. The color is a medium brown and very cloudy, can just barely see through the glass. The foam is thick with moderate retention, keeping the beer well covered in foam.

The taste is sweet with chocolate and candy flavors. There beer drys out and has plenty of bitterness making the tongue water. There is a little earthy taste to the beer. There is some slight spice flavors. The mouthfeel is full with plenty of carbonation. The finish is dry with some spice notes.

This is a completely different beer from the 16. More dark malt, less spice flavors, more bitterness. Two very different beers. I like the 17 more, I think this is a more unique beer with good flavors of chocolate and spice. The 16 reminded me a lot of other Unibroue beers and was unimaginative.

#240 Unibroue - 16

This beer is made to celebrate Unibroue's 16th anniversary. I also have the Unibroue 17 to drink at midnight and compare the two.

The smell is fruity with some Belgian spice characteristics. The color is a pale brown with some red hues, the beer is very cloudy. The head pours medium and has some retention keeping the top of the beer covered.

The beer start with some malt sweetness with a light honey taste. The fruit aroma is just a slight hint of fruit tastes. The Belgian spice flavors of cloves and coriander are pronounced and balanced against the malt sweetness. The mouthfeel is medium, not as full as some Belgian style beers. The finish has some spice flavors.

This is a good beer. Lots of flavors all blending well. I am excited to try the 17. I wonder how different the two will be. Each year might use a unique recipe and the two beers will be vastly different.

#239 Great Lakes Brewing Co. - Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

The Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship on the great lakes until 1970's. On November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fizgerald sank suddenly, without sending any distress signals, in 530 feet of water. I've spent time on the great lakes and the size of the boats used on lake in the interior of the country is always surprising, would only expect boat this big only on the open ocean.

The aroma is roasty with coffee and chocolate notes. The color is black as can be, not light passing through this one. The head is thin, just barely covering the glass.

The taste is malty and dry. There is dark roast malt flavors with the taste of grain. The coffee aroma is weaker in the taste, just some hints of coffee. There is a pronounced tannin flavor making the beer a bit harsh. There is not any noticeable hop flavor, the bitterness could be from the tannins or the hops. The mouthfeel is thin as normal for a porter. The finish is dry and roasty.

This is an ok beer. I don't really like the tannin flavors, I prefer coffee flavors from a porter.

#238 Dogfish Head - Black and Blue

Another limited release beer with odd additions. This one uses Blackberries and Blueberry puree with a belgian-style Strong ale.

This beer has a fruity smell with a hint of wild bacteria funk. There is a deep red color, almost maroon, with some fine particles of sediment floating around. The head is thin, just barely showing on the edges of the glass, not uncommon for fruit beers.

The beer tastes sweet like syrup. There is some fruit flavors, but they are not very strong. The wild bacteria funk is a weak taste, but present with some tart notes. The mouthfeel is full adding to the syrup taste and feel. The finish is sweet with a hint of tartness.

This beer is only ok. I would guess the brewery making this beer might have expected more fruit flavors. The over all taste is just sweet, and the fruit does not come through. It's hard to know how a limited release fruit beer will turn out, often fruit flavors are lost in fermentation.