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Beer Review: Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary - Charlie, Fred And Ken's Bock

Look

Clear gold in colour, with a medium head that fades, leaving no lacing.

Smell

Very subtle aroma, a little bit of sweetness, and some spicy/floral hops.

Taste

Toasted malt, and some caramel. Not much hop flavour, but some bitterness.

Feel

Smooth and creamy, with some alcohol as it warms up. Finishes quite dry.

Drink

Quite drinkable for a biggish beer (8.3%). I could drink a lot of this
beer, but wasn't expecting a session beer.

I was a bit surprised by this beer. I thought it was good, but I was
expecting to be blown away. I regret not getting Fritz and Ken's ale.

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Beer Review: Hair of the Dog - Fred

 

Fred is a Golden Special Ale, weighing in at 10% ABV. My bottle was from batch 79. I should have tasted it from a wine glass (not a lot of options when you are in a hotel room!).

Look

Fred is amber/gold in colour, and pours with a thin but creamy head. It left some lacing. It looks like there is very little carbonation - just one or two streams of bubbles.

Smell

There are some beers that I can happily just smell for a while before taking a sip, and this was one of them. The aroma is mainly sweetness and malt. There is also some fruitiness, and a hint of alcohol.

Taste

The malty sweetness carries through, particularly the candy sugar flavour. In the middle I taste some dark fruit, and some hops - not enough for any real bitterness to come through. It finishes with more sweetness, and some alcohol warmth.

Feel

This beer is full bodied, and has medium/low carbonation. Some alcohol warmth comes through.

Drink

Definitely a sipper! The high alcohol and sugar content mean that this is a beer to be savoured. Enjoyable from start to finish.

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Beer Review: Rogue Yellow Snow IPA

Look

Rogue's Yellow Snow is pale gold in colour, and is a little cloudy. It pours with with a frothy off-white head, and leaves lacing.

The bottle is really nice - I love the Rogue brand, particularly the 
look of the label being printed directly on the glass, and also the imagery they use.

Smell

Up front, I get citrus and piney hop aromas. Sweet malt and caramel follows, along with the pac-man yeast.

Taste

The malt flavours flow through from the aroma, but hops are not far behind. When they arrive, the citrus fruit flavour hits first, quickly followed by the fresh, dry bitterness. This is the flavour that lingers long after each sip. I love Amarillo hops :)

Feel

Crisp and fresh, with a dry, resinous finish. Yellow Snow is medium bodied, and leaves a delicious residual hop flavour.

Drink

This is a great example of the American IPA. A great beer (and style) if you love hops, as I do. It is not a balanced beer - the hops dominate, and the malt supports. I find it quite drinkable, and could easily have a few of these :)

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Beer Review: Maui Brewing Co CoCoNut PorTeR

Look

Deep brown and opaque, with only a slight redness when held up to a light. This beer pours with a low brown head, and only leaves some lacing.

Smell

Chocolate and roast grains, some vanilla, and a hint of toasted coconut.

Taste

The coconut flavour is present from start to finish, but is quite subtle. Chocolate and coffee come through more strongly. There is some hop flavour, but not a lot. I think the CoCoNut is quite sweet for a porter.

Feel

Medium body and medium carbonation, velvety smooth - due in part to the coconut oils. Carbonation adds some sharpness, but it is not unpleasant.

Drink

This is a really drinkable porter. On a cold winter night I think this could be quite a dangerous one. It is deceptive at 5.7% ABV.

It went really well with the dark chocolate coated macadamia nuts :)

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Beer Review: Deschutes The Abyss

Look

This beer is black - no other word describes it. Holding it up to a bright light, it is still completely opaque. It has a brown head, and leaves some lacing. I really like the brand that Dechutes have built for this beer. The label and the wax seal made it feel very special.

Smell

I had sourness, a hint of bourbon, some chocolate, and quite a bit of oak in the aroma of this beer. Also some molasses and fruitiness.

Taste

The flavour profile starts with a big oak taste and lots of sweetness, followed by cocoa, coffee, and molasses. I also had some alcohol warmth, and could taste the bourbon from start to finish. The finish is quite burnt, a mix of coffee and roast malts.

Feel

Very smooth, thanks to the bourbon and oak aging. The body of this beer is not just 'full', it is better described as thick or syrupy. As I mentioned, I got quite a bit of alcohol warmth, which was not unexpected for a beer which is 11% ABV.

Drink

Quite drinkable, but I couldn't have more than a glass or two. This is the sort of beer that I could savour for a few hours (especially as it comes in a nice big bottle).

This was the 2009 vintage, which is not designed to be consumed until November 2010 - I think that by then it will be a very different beer. If you can, I strongly recommend tasting this beer.

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