Beer Tasting September 2011

Saturday evening Laura and I hosted our second beer tasting party. Thank you to everyone who came out! We really enjoyed spending time with you, chatting, and sampling brews.

The picture above shows everything that was shared.

Top Row; Left To Right
1) mdvatab - Home Brew - American Pale Wheat
2) Bell's - The Oracle - American Double / Imperial IPA
3) Kuhnhenn Brewing Company - Bourbon Barrel Fourth Dementia - Old Ale
4) Deschutes Brewery - Hop In The Dark Cascadian Dark Ale - American Black Ale
5) Cigar City Brewing - Hunahpu's Imperial Stout - American Double / Imperial Stout
6) Avery Brewing Company - Maharaja - American Double / Imperial IPA
7) mdvatab - Home Brew - American Stout
8) Founders - Backwoods Bastard - Scotch Ale

Bottom Row; Left To Right
1) Great Lakes Brewing Company - Burning River - American Pale Ale
2) Three Floyds - Zombie Dust - American Pale Ale
3) Another Zombie Dust
4) Half Acre Beer Company - Daisy Cutter - American Pale Ale
5) Another Daisy Cutter
6) Maui Brewing Co. - CoCoNut Porter - American Porter
7) Another CoCoNut Porter
8) Founders - Porter - American Porter
9) Great Lakes Brewing Company - Edmund Fitzgerald Porter - American Porter
10) Deschutes Brewery - Black Butte Porter - American Porter
11) Nøgne Ø - Det Kompromissløse Bryggeri A/S - Porter - American Porter
12) Three Floyds - Amon Amarth / Ragnarok - American Porter

Not pictured:
Deschutes Brewery - The Abyss - American Double / Imperial Stout

Pale And Porters
With a general theme of Pales & Porters it was fun to compare a variety of American Pale Ales and Porters to see how they stacked up. For me, Zombie Dust was the clear winner of the APA's but Porters wasn't as cut and dry. While I really liked trying some new Porters alongside some old favorites, the Edmund Fitzgerald continues to be one of my favorites. The CoCoNut and Nogne variations were both very good and I will seek them out again.

Everything Else
We got to sample a couple of great Double IPA's in The Oracle and Maharaja. Mark brought out a couple home brews which were tasty and fun to try. Laura and I both have a special place for all things aged in bourbon barrels and we both loved the Kuhnhenn and Hunahpu's. The final sampling was a bottle of The Abyss which was unfortunately infected, but enjoyable to try nonetheless.

Thank you to everyone who brought beer. Your generosity was much appreciated!

Eis Igian,
Randall and Laura

Jaded

Jaded by Stillwater Artisanal Ales
Style / abv: Belgian Strong Dark Ale / 10%
Source / Temp: 11.2oz bottle / 55 deg
Glass: Medium Sized Snifter

Appearance: Even though I poured fairly gently, the brew still poured with a thick tan head. The body is a medium brown with dark orange tones.

Aroma: I pick up sour plum, grapes and what seems to be dry white wine..

Taste: This starts with a very sweet and smooth red grape and plum front, a fairly spicy middle, and slight dry grain (maybe wheat?) finish. That doesn't really do it justice... this is a pretty complex brew and I'm having a difficult time nailing it down. It is reminiscent of a sweeter Rochefort 8.

Drinkability: This ale is just a little thicker than water with medium carbonation. This is a very enjoyable and at 10% abv, surprisingly drinkable beer.

Notes:
There is a noticeable alcohol warmth but I really don't taste it. After letting the brew warm a bit, the scent of alcohol is much more noticeable.

With the plethora of available Belgian Ales, I haven't felt much draw to try American takes on Belgian classics. After giving this brew a chance, it is apparent that I have been missing out. While I will always enjoy St. Bernardus, Rochefort, Westmalle and the like, Jaded is proof once again that the American brewers can come up with great variations of any style. The only real shame here is that this particular ale was only brewed once with no immediate plan to brew it again.

I give Jaded 8.5 out of 10.

Eis Igian,
Randall

Beer in Dayton, Ohio

I wanted to write a quick post about a few of the great places in the Dayton, Ohio area to pick up amazing beer.  Many people have heard the name Arrow Wine, but few have paid attention my two preferences; Centerville Carry Out at 725 and 48 and Belmont Party Supply off of Smithville and Watervliet Ave.  I like Arrow Wine, I really do, but....they have a more kindred spirit for those 'wine' folks.  I'm not against the wine brethren, but they seem to receive preferential treatment in selection and focus as the name of the store is Arrow 'Wine.'  The name Centerville Carry Out and Belmont Party Supply aren't exactly all encompassing either, but at least they're not purposely picking favorites.

Names and preferences aside, I just love Centerville Carry Out and Belmont Party Supply.  They are small locally owned stores that have amazing selections to keep me browsing for more than what should be 5 minutes when I visit from Houston, TX.

Keep up the great work guys, we'll see you in Dayton, Ohio soon for some great selections we just can't get down here in ol' Texas :)

"Broma Theon"

-charles