Beer Review: Perennial Artisan Ales - Abraxas

Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 10%

Greetings! Time for an annual post on my very dormant beer blog. Thanks for stopping by. Cracked open a bottle of Abraxas from November 2014 last night and I'm feeling inspired to write about it.

So, with a ridiculous name like Perennial Artisan Ales, they better be packing some serious game to back that up. Turns out they are, and Abraxas is one of their most highly sought after and praised beers. Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Perennial started getting distribution in Washington state in 2014. Happened to come across one of the few bottles of Abraxas to make it here last fall at Downtown Spirits (low key one of best shops in town for occasionally snagging hard to find beers) and snapped it up for the ol' cellar.

I had this on tap a couple times last year and totally loved it, so I've been looking forward to opening this one. Decided to go for it last weekend and it was just awesome. The cinnamon and chili flavor was still very present, but not overpowering. Was a bit worried those flavors would fade, but a year in the bottle seems to leave them very intact. Would be cautious about aging much longer, though.

Definitely has a motor oil quality to the look and mouthfeel and has a fantastic warming finish. Perfect fireside nightcap beer.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

My Thoughts on Bourbon County Brand Stout Beers by Goose Island Beer Co.

Wow, 7 months between posts this time. Awesome! Okay, well I felt compelled to write a bit because I finally tried some of the most hyped beers in the US craft brewing world these days, the Bourbon County Brand Stouts by Goose Island Beer Co. Goose Island made some waves a couple years ago by selling their brand to Anheuser Busch, which is why you can find their standard offerings anywhere Budweiser is sold. But, Goose Island still does plenty of limited batch beers and none of GI's brews are more sought after by nerds than these BCBS fellas. Beer Advocate rates pretty much all the variants at 100, so there you have it.

Bourbon County Brand Stout (2012) - Goose Island Beer Co.
Style: American Double / Imperial Stout
ABV: 15%

Thoughts:  

I found this bottle at Zipp's Liquor in Minneapolis about 2 years ago and muled it back to Seattle where it was aged gracefully in my cellar. I decided a couple weeks ago it was high time to crack it open and see what the fuss was about. As with most aged stouts of this nature, there was basically no head retention or carbonation at this point. Poured dark and thick as motor oil. Typically when you age a high ABV beer, the alcohol flavor tends to get hidden a bit by other flavors or get more mellow in general. Not this bad boy. Hot like moonshine. You could taste every bit of that 15%. The bourbon flavors were fantastic, though. Deep, woody, and chocolatey. 

Rating: 4.25/5

Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout (2013) - Goose Island Beer Co.

Style: American Double / Imperial Stout
ABV: 13%

Thoughts:

I recently turned 31 (boo!) and I celebrated with some friends at the 3rd annual Coffee Beer Fest at the Burgundian. My friend Bobby noticed they had bottles of this hype beast for $15, so he ordered one to share with a few of us at the table. This one definitely justified the hype quite a bit more than the regular BCBS, but maybe that's just because I love coffee beers a lot. Low carbonation and not much head. Similar dark and deep bourbon flavors, but infused with Intelligentsia coffee, a famous fancy-pants coffee roaster from Chicago. Phenomenal beer.

Rating: 4.75/5

Bottom Line:

All right, now that I've finally tried these hyped-up, sought after beers, I feel like I can firmly say that yes, these beers are both great and overrated. The fact is, as a Washington resident, I have access to several local bourbon barrel aged beers that are every bit as good as these, if not better. Fremont Brewing and Reuben's Brews both offer multiple bourbon aged beers that, even in their limited local release, are far, far easier to attain than the BCBS beers. One upper hand that Goose Island has, and it's because of their vast Budweiser-fueled backing, is that they offer these high ABV beers in 12 oz bottles. Having 12 oz of a 15% beer is far, far more manageable than 22 oz of similar gravity, but bottling lines are super expensive so that's the give and take there. Anyways, yes these beers are great, but in general I would rather support smaller Washington brewers than give my money to Anheuser Busch, whom could care less about what I think.

 

Beer Review: Surly Brewing Blakkr Imperial Black Ale

Style: American Black Ale
ABV: 9.99% (get it? 666 upside down whoooaaa!)

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

All right, only took me nearly 5 months to do another post. And hey, it's another Surly beer! My midwestern connection (hi in-laws!) comes through yet again, this time with a collaboration beer between Surly (MN), 3 Floyds (IL), and Real Ale (TX). Apparently all 3 breweries each canned or bottled their own versions of this beer. Now of course with a name like Blakkr and a brewery like Surly with their affinity for devilish imagery, they went full heavy metal with a very hellish can design.

Thoughts: 

So Beer Advocate calls it an American Black Ale and Surly calls it a black IPA on the can. To me, it's definitely hoppy enough to fall under the black IPA category and it is a fantastic one at that. Tons of dark malt, heavy and grainy mouthfeel, and a strong alcohol presence brings it all together for a big punch in the taste buds. Yet another stellar beer from Surly. Big thanks to Jim picking this up and to Nora for bringing it out to Seattle!

Rating: 4.5/5

30th Birthday Brewery Stroll

This post is about 2 months overdue now, but I wanted to just post a few photos from my 30th birthday party. A group of my good friends and I set out to make it to six breweries in the Fremont/Ballard area and we made good on that promise. Here's the proof and some thoughts to go along with it.

We started off on a high note at Fremont Brewing, which never disappoints. Had the new Bonfire session winter ale and the Sister imperial IPA, both are fantastic.

Molly and Bobby with the birthday boy, gettin' pumped

More of the crew

Then we strolled over to the Asgard Tasting Room by Odin Brewing. Not the most mind blowing beers in Seattle and the place doesn't have much character yet as it's still fairly new. But, Thor's Equinox is a great brew.

Cassie and Molly tryin' to get service from the lady bartender who did not care for other ladies it seemed

Next up was the funky ol' Outlander. Hands down one of the oddest brewpubs in Seattle, both in terms of the place itself and the wacky small batch beers they make. For some reason, I really like the place. Only the 2nd time I'd been there since their opening. Had some low ABV ESBs and other English style ales that were awesome.

Us chillin' in the weird upstairs of the Outlander, which is basically some dude's rec room. Note devoted Miami Hurricanes fans Matt and Jess watching the game on their phone

After that, we took a long stroll to Ballard and stopped first right by the Ballard Bridge at the fairly new Peddler Brewing. Guess what, they like bicycles. Details get a bit fuzzy past this point. Beer here is good, though. I like that they try some more diverse styles than a lot of newer breweries.

Joe Shoop bein' all Joe-ic (TM)

Yep

While Jim, Justin, and Cassie (Bless their lil' hearts!) made a side trip to pick up some pizza from Zayda Buddy's for us, the rest of us stroll on to the very new Stoup Brewing. The tap room has a very cool vibe. Feels very Ballard, whatever that may mean. Beers are uncomplicated and very solid. I recall the porter being very good. Keepin' my eye on these guys to see what they put out next.

Just a lil' cool bathroom light fixture selfie at Stoup, don't worry bout it

Then we made it to the final stop, conveniently 2 blocks away. Reuben's Brews! Next to Fremont, they might make my favorite beers in Seattle. We got there just before last call and this is the only photo I snapped. Cannot remember the dog's name but he was adorable and shook my hand.

Dirty Thirty Brewery Stroll accomplished. Thank you to Cassie and all my friends for making it a great birthday.

Rare Midwestern Beer Round-Up: Surly Darkness, Surly Smoke, and New Holland Dragon's Milk

Greetings! Once again, I've returned from a prolonged blogging absence to share some thoughts on beers. Wow, it's been since August? Good grief. Practically missed a whole season. Lots to get caught up on, starting with a bit of a hodge podge post centered around some rare Midwestern beers I've enjoyed lately.

The photo above is the incredible haul I received for my 30th birthday (yuck!) in November from my generous Minnesotan in-laws, The Dufresnes. Jim did the legwork of acquiring the beers and Nora schlepped them out here on one of her regular business trips to Seattle. Huge thank you to both of them. A truly special gift consisting of Surly Darkness, Surly SeVIIn (which I reviewed awhile back here) and 2 bottles of New Holland Dragon's Milk.

Let's get to the reviews!

Surly Brewing Co. - Darkness 2013
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.3%

Thoughts:

Yep, that's a bottle of Surly's ultimate rare beer, Darkness. Yes, that means my father-in-law bought a ticket and stood in what I can only assume was a massive line just for the opportunity to buy a few bottles of this much-hyped monster beer. For that, I salute you, good sir!

Onto the beer. Well, I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've had beer that has score of 100 on Beer Advocate and I gotta say, it fully lived up to the hype. It has that typical Russian imperial stout kind of dry, malty feel to it, but then there's SO MUCH depth more to it. It rolls around your taste buds and just has a party in your mouth. There's chocolate, coffee, maybe some vanilla, and what sort of tastes like chocolate covered fruit in there, too. And the alcohol is hidden very well, even at 10.3%. The only other Russian Imperials that I've had that come close to being this good are Firestone Walker - Parabola and the barrel aged version of Old Rasputin. Darkness takes the top spot, though, no doubt about it.

Rating: 5/5

 

New Holland Brewing Co. - Dragon's Milk
Style: American Imperial Barrel Aged Stout
ABV: 10%

Thoughts:

New Holland is based in Michigan and is one of those hyped Midwest breweries that us West Coasters get jealous about like Founders, Great Lakes, and well, Surly. So I was pumped to try this, especially since it's a barrel aged stout in a 12 oz bottle, which is the perfect amount of a strong beer for when you're just having a beer at home and not looking to bust open a 22 ouncer of some 12% monster beer and fall asleep on the couch by 8:30....ahem. Mr. Dufresne described it as similar to chocolate milk, and that pretty much nails it. Super smooth mouth feel, lots of chocolate, oak, vanilla, and then a big ol' hit of bourbon. Awesome beer.

Rating: 4.25/5

Surly Brewing Co. - Smoke 2012
Style: Baltic Porter
ABV: 8.2%

Thoughts:
I brought this bottle back with me from my trip to Minnesota last December and it aged gracefully for a year in my cellar aka kitchen cabinet. I cracked it open a couple weeks ago and it was worth the wait. Just another fantastically layered and complex beer from Surly. Beer Advocate calls it a Baltic Porter, but it says Lager on the bottle. I'd say it's a mash up of both styles, a modern take on the classic German Rauchbier style. The smoked flavor, which practically tastes like smoked meat, is more of a compliment to the chocolate, roasted malt, and brown sugar flavors that are in the forefront of the beer. As the beer warms a bit in your glass, all these flavors come out even more robustly and the effect is kinda like drinking a delicious porter in front of a campfire while eating maple bacon. Something like that. Great, now I'm hungry.

Rating:  4.5/5

Beer Review: Fremont Brewing Company - SBW #5 Pacific NW Barleywine

Style: American Barleywine
ABV: 9.5%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Might as well just rename this blog ERIC REVIEWS AWESOME FREMONT BEERS, but what can I say? Fremont is my favorite Seattle brewery. On a related note, I just got married to my lovely lady Cassie 2 weeks ago over in West Seattle, and I rented 5 1/6 barrel kegs for the reception. The beer was a huge hit, a combo of the Summer Ale, Interurban IPA, and Universale Pale Ale. And the folks at the brewery were super easy to work with and even gave me 2 free tulip glasses. Anyways, onto the beer!

Thoughts: 

Y'all know I love me some barleywine and this is one of Fremont's first stabs at the style. They brewed a limted amount specially for Seattle Beer Week 5 back in May, but I surprisingly found a bottle of it at Bottleworks a couple weeks ago. It's lighter in color than most barleywines, a nice copper color. Toasty malt and caramel flavors are balanced with quite of bit of hops, but it had almost no head at all. It has just a bit of sweetness, but not overwhelming at all. It cracks me up that they call this a "session" barleywine since it's 9.5% and most barleywines are over 10%, but it is kinda nice to sip on one that won't totally knock you on your ass. If someone had never had a barleywine before, this would be one to try since it's not super sweet, has some hoppiness, and isn't super boozy. But it's pretty scarce at this point so we'll have to wait til next year to see if they brew something like it again.

Rating: 4.25/5

Beer Review: GoodLife Brewing Sweet As! Pacific Ale

Ah, good life, indeed.

Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 6%

Fun Fact About the Brewery:

Hailing from Oregon's other craft beer mecca, Bend, GoodLife Brewing increased their output by over 60% in January 2013 and also began canning a few of their beers. I'm a sucker for pale ales and good beer in cans, so here we are!

Thoughts: Well, since summer is pretty much over at this point, might as well review one more pale ale for old time's sake. This is one fantastically unfiltered and slightly fruity pale ale that just hits your taste buds in all the right spots. Fruity might not be the right word as there's no actual fruit in it, but something about it smells tropical to me. I actually wish the ABV was around 4.5 or 5 because this is the kind of beer that leaves you wanting like 4 or 5 more. It has a lightly bitter, but refreshing finish. Don't let the dumb name throw you, this is a great pale ale. Nice can design and color scheme, too. Grab some for Labor Day and enjoy the last bits of summer before the Northwest grey comes for us all.

Rating: 4.25/5