New Beer Sunday (week 803)

Speyside Persistence Is Utile, an Imperial Stout by English brewery Cloudwater brewed with coffee and vanilla and aged in Speyside Scotch barrels for 3 months. (10% ABV).

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a medium, frothy, quickly fading head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt, chocolate and a distinct coffee presence, as well as just a hint of vanilla and subtle barrel notes of Scotch and charred oak.

Taste is an excellent balance of roasted, caramel malt and rather distinct notes of roasted black coffee, with spicy cinnamon and cardamon accents, dark, bitter chocolate and lighter dark fruit: fig, raisin and vanilla notes, as well as a rather subtle barrel presence of charred oak and Scotch, with the merest hint of peat coming through. Finishes bittersweet, with a light bitterness and some coffee, vanilla and charred oak lingering in the aftertaste. Velvety mouthfeel with a medium/rich body and low/medium carbonation.

This really shows off that Cloudwater does barrel-aged Stouts just as well as IPAs, although they once again kinda put their own, unique spin on it with a rather subtle barrel presence and mellow overall balance, while still featuring some rich coffee and lighter chocolate, vanilla and dark fruit notes.

I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed with this at first, but it really comes together wonderfully as it warms, with the barrel presence coming out a little more and one really appreciating the sublime balance of sweet and roasted/bitter notes here. One of the few times that I really wish this came in a 750ml rather than a 375ml bottle when it comes to 10%+ Imperial Stouts and the perfect example as to why you cannot review a beer properly from a 3-4oz pour.

 

With scotch barrels, subtly is a virtue.

 

Taxman Brewing Co. -- Exemption - Mezcal Barrel Aged (with a nod of the sombrero to @jkblr for this one)



3.81/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Dark golden body; great carbonation; dense and creamy white head, sticky; rings and patchy sheets of foam cling to the inside of the glass. Little in the smell department; a twinge of malty sweetness at first; a bare minimum of tropical fruit sweetness attempts an appearance after a while. Malty, bready sweetness to begin with; a mild juicy, almost citrus-like taste develops; lime; some booziness shows up towards the finish with a bri ght pineapple-like sweetness. Heavy body; loaded with residual sugars; alcohol warmth; a bit of oak-like dryness near the finish.

I like this beer a lot but am mystified as far as the low-key smell, and that only exudes notes of the grains and none of the citrus peel and coriander it supposedly contains. Well, you can't have everything in a beer. And the appearance, taste and mouthfeel are great. So, what the hey. An overall fine beer...
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Took a nice refreshing shower after a day of heat and humidity...the beer steps up the refreshment factor...

 

I really think that this is what they were going for here, although I can personally rather appreciate a heavily peated Scotch barrel presence.

 

Back at it while making dinner. This one - Celebration Grapes from Urban Artifact - is supposed to blur the lines between beer and wine. They call this one a brut fruit tart ale. Its apparently a co-fermentation of beer wort and grape must resulting in this weird hybrid-esque beer.

Pours a pinkish tinged burnt orange color Completely clear and almost still in appearance. Initially there was a short-lived soda like head - white in color - that appeared, fizzed, then disappeared.

The aroma is closer to wine than beer, but you do get that beer wort smell coming through. Otherwise its mostly notes of fruity grapes, a bit of sugary sweetness as well. Honestly - if I wasn't looking for the beer character in the aroma and was served this blind, I would totally assume it was just a sweet wine.

The taste is odd - its got this strong grape must flavor coming through with a noticeable sweetness but then it has also got this yeasty dough-like flavor coming through as well. Has some tannic qualities from the grape skins that give it a bit of a woody note to the flavor. Clocking in at 12% ABV, you do get a bit of alcohol/heat in the flavor profile. Its an odd mixture - kind of reminds me of a cheap fruit wine you'd get from some roadside winery in rural America- you know the kind. That yeastiness just tastes like someone doesn't really know what they're doing with a wine rather than a wine-beer hybrid.

Feel is smooth with really prickly vibrant carbonation. Kind of hot on the back end leaving a definite warming sensation.

Overall this is an oddball. Its certainly a beer-wine hybrid, but really, it's more wine than beer. I honestly didn't care for this. Like I mentioned, it just kind of came off as a bad cheap fruit wine ... Really glad I got to try it, and I have got one other version to try, but this is one I'll pass on ever having again.

 

The original Todd the Axe Man, an IPA brewed in collaboration between Danish brewery Amager and American brewery Surely (6.5% ABV).

Pours a hazy, deep orange coloration with a small, frothy head. Smells of biscuity malt and grassy, resinous hops, with tropical and lighter citrus notes of mango, pineapple and grapefruit.

Taste is a great balance of biscuity malt and bitter and resinous, yet somewhat sweet and juicy tropical and lighter citrus hops, being dominated by notes of mango, pineapple and pine, with lighter grapefruit, tangerine and a certain grassiness also coming through. Finishes with a medium/strong bitterness and some pineapple, grapefruit and pine lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

This is a rather nice IPA that with a strong WC character, but also a certain NE influence, perhaps not unlike Heady Topper. It's quite bitter and resinous, but also lacks a strong caramel malt backbone and has got a rather hazy look and juicy tropical fruit notes to it, while the mouthfeel is somewhere inbetween a WC and NE IPA. Yet this doesn't feel neither here nor there at all and manages a rather enjoyable balance between the two styles. Pretty awesome brew, actually.

 

Picked a few bottles of this up yesterday and couldn't wait to try it. Poured from fridge temp. Head disappears almost immediately. Otherwise, black as night. Nose is straight up chocolate and marshmallow. Graham crackers, cinnamon, caramel, lactose, maple, and bourbon come through nicely. Wow...just wow. Now the taste - jesus this is insane. One of the best I have had from Bottle Logic. The taste is sweet, but definitely not overly sweet. Marshmallows drenched with chocolate sauce and vanilla. A bit of orange, cherries, bourbon, toffee, maple syrup, and a bit of cookies and cinnamon. Mouthfeel is insanely thick and creamy. This is just phenomenal. This is one of the top beers of my life.

look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

 

It's Judy Garland dancing with a lampshade on her head from 'A Star Is Born'...

 

I'm with ya. I love peated Scotch, and it's a perfect barrel in which to age a stout.

 

Pikes Peak Brewing Co. -- Let's Get It On



3.57/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Coal dark body; thin, soapy tan head. Cocoa and chocolate aroma notes; some roasted grain char; weak intensity. Milk chocolate with a bit acrid bite with alcohol and charred grain. Heavy body; silky and smooth; a tad watery.

This barrel-aged stout is generally good overall. It has a few flaws and isn't as robust or balanced as one might like, but it still has some fine qualities for the style.
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Winding down the evening and probably the final beer while watching '60 Minutes'...Still have to share some fish oil capsules and carrot cake with Rocket the Wonder Dog...if I do have another beer, it'll probably be a Bud Light or (if I have a cold one) an TRVE Lower saison...