PNW Stouts

Nah, let's leave Obsidian alone, as a great example of how good a beer can be without having to have Imperial level ABVs, or barrel aging.

 

FYI
BA Ten fidy just dropped. Bought a few cans at Johns Market. They only got a few cases. Saraveza also got some and I assume most bottle shops got a small allotment. $13 for the “stovepipe” can, which is 19oz . Only got one can last year and it was phenomenal and wished I had bought more.

 

**If you're not cool with 10 Barrel, you can stop reading here**

Stopped by the pub last night and stumbled upon one of my favorite beers of 2017. Walden's World is an Oatmeal Stout with cherries aged in pinot noir barrels. The kicker? It's 4.8%.

 

This years Ada County from Woodland Empire is shaping up to be a killer too. Had some from the tank, and from the first run of cans. Will be in 16 oz. cans soon....

 

This years Abyss Rum version was, not well received in my group. Way too much Rum, very little Abyss. Maybe a good amount of aging still required.

 

After spending a week in Nebraska for the holidays and not seeing a single brewery doing a seasonal barrel aged stout, I'd like to remind everyone just how lucky we are.

 

I stayed away. Not sure why all of these Rum BA beers are popping up, but Im not sure I have had one yet that Ive liked.

and the Rum BA Breakside beer Beachcomber is probably the single worst beer i have had in many years

 

I agree. I liked it but think it'll be better next year. Haven't tried tequila yet but I expect the same. I might just sit on that one for a year and not even try it fresh.

 

Have you tried Santiam Pirate? I agree that Rum barrels just don’t seem to work with beer as well as others, and Pirate is not necessarily a 5-star beer, but it is quite good AND readily available AND a reasonable price.

 

Undoubtedly true, but their relatively temperate and forgiving winters make it a wash, eh? #GodBlessTheHeartland...Good folks there under some harsh conditions. Salt of the Earth, they be...

I loved this one, too, even if I would've personally preferred, based on my exotic spice allegiance, cinnamon to cardamom. Or slightly less cardamom, anyway, because it was borderline overdone. Interestingly, I think the dates on the "new" cans suggested this was packaged back in May, which leads me to believe (if those dates are to be believed) they let it sit for a while to mellow out. Unless I'm totally mistaken (which I often am). But it's an impressive beer regardless. To be that thick, dark, rich, and flavorful at that ABV is a notable accomplishment. There's gotta be some crazy alchemy going on in that malt bill...

And I entirely agree with your assessment of 1,000 Years of Silence. Not a bad effort at all, but an underwhelming one from a top local brewery. It was priced half in line with Abraxas (but only half, because that is one uniquely expensive beer), and totally out of line with Xocoveza (yes, I know a brewery as large as Stone can sell that beer in 6-packs more cheaply), but not really in the ballpark of either, judged by all the key metrics.

But it's okay. The news you bring that they'll be canning From Astoria with Love as part of their regular line-up, at what will presumably be a good value, is more than adequate recompense. As has been said more than once before, really good imperial stouts in agreeable and affordable formats remain one of the most conspicuous shortcomings of our market. This, surely, will be one more step towards correcting that.

 

FWIW, I am currently drinking a (much vaunted) Christmas Bomb! by Prairie. Very nice brew (no damn carb though), and I know I'm a bit hard to impress, but, so many beer mentioned in this thread are so much better than this. Maybe I just can't taste the hype? Wutevz. It's a pleasant enough brew on a crappy NW night, but.......

 

I recently tried Baerlic's Collusion, a Russian imperial stout with Dulce de Leche. It tasted like two different beers (one sweet, one roasty) that were mixed in a glass and didn't have anything to say to each other.

I also tried Fort George's 1000 Years of Silence, and you can add my name to the list of underwhelmed folks. The level of heat was good, but the spicing was disappointingly timid.

pFriem's BA imperial Stout is very nice this year.

Wander's BA Earlybird is so good I went out and snagged a second bottle. Lovely stuff.

 

Hush now!

 

Abraxas and Christmas Bomb are at the top end of that style IMO. Basically read nothing good about 1000 years so I passed on bottles, would try it if I saw it on tap.

 

I think this has already been mentioned but this year pfriem bourbon barrel stout is much better than last years.