New Beer Weekend #15

Feliz Dia de los Muertos!!! Love that glass. And that sounds like the perfect drink for the holiday. Definitely on my list now.

 

Last new beer (and last beer) of the weekend is Skookum's Deep Color, a barrel aged old ale clocking in at 11.5% abv.

12oz bottle served in a tulip. Don't see a date on it. Don't remember for sure where I got it.

Pours very dark brown (not quite black) with almost no head at all. On close inspection, there is a little bit of active carbonation, but not a lot. Smell is raisins, dates, booze and a little vanilla and oak but not a lot. Sticky toffee pudding.

Taste is more dates, lots of dates, a little toffee, less booze, caramel and maybe butterscotch, very sweet.

Mouthfeel is thick, smooth, still. Overall, really nice beer.

 

I was grilling a steak last night on the Weber kettle, and that beer was the PERFECT accompaniment for outdoor grilling on a chilly evening. Can't believe I've not had it before - when I saw it in the beer store and was checking BA to see how I'd rated it, I refreshed my browser like 8 times when it revealed I'd never had it.

I was truly flummoxed.

 

Congrats. I'm glad you had such a big beer to cap your huge day.

 

One more alcohol beverage for time, I’m bending the rules a little with posting a hard seltzer. This seems like a fun novelty drink from Westbrook so I hope being from such a respected brewery that it is okay. Thank you @Dragginballs76 for this fun drink.

Right away I’m surprised that the color is almost light beer like instead of clear, head is fast fading. The nose is pretty much pumpkin spice/pumpkin pie, almost pumpkin ale like in a good way. Not bad, pumpkin spice/pumpkin pie flavors are still there but watered down compared the nose hints of the lactose but not overwhelming. Overall I’m not sure how to rate hard seltzer since I really don’t seek them out but this is honestly more enjoyable than I thought it would be, actually seems they tried hard to make this drinkable and not just a fun novelty.


Cheers!

 

Welcome aboard. Glad to have you.

 

That sounds absolutely unique AND amazing.

 

Good to hear you're doing well, Dave. And with all of your time "off" I'll bet you have the keenest senses to really pull every characteristic out of that beer. Thank goodness it was a good'un. That would be a bummer to pop a drain pour.

 

I'll need to get a can for the 23rd.

 

It's hard for me to follow your logic, but it feels a little off for me. Perhaps you are overcomplicating it. English brewers never brewed "Baltic porter" (I'm referring to the term) as far as I know. The style description on BA claims the opposite, but I'd love to know what that's based on. They brewed porter/stout, exported it, and other countries started to brew it too. The brewers near the Baltic sea brewed porter and stout. Many of those brewers eventually shifted to a bottom fermenting yeast for the job (which isn't terribly unique in the beer world). I'm assuming that "Baltic porter" is a retroactive label that really exists in a post-Michael Jackson beer world that wants to have that distinction, but I could be very wrong about that.

 

Ha. You got that right. I made a beef and bean chili today.

 

BA definition sir:

Porter - Baltic
Porters of the late 1700's were quite strong compared to today’'s standards, easily surpassing 7 percent alcohol by volume. Some English brewers made a stronger, more robust version, to be shipped across the North Sea that they dubbed a Baltic Porter. In general, the style'’s dark brown color covered up cloudiness and the smoky, roasted brown malts and bitter tastes masked brewing imperfections. Historically, the addition of stale ale also lent a pleasant acidic flavor to the style, which made it quite popular. These issues were quite important given that most breweries at the time were getting away from pub brewing and opening up production facilities that could ship beer across the world.

ABV: 7.0–10.0% | IBU: 25–45 | Glassware: Pint Glass (or Becker, Nonic, Tumbler)

I was basing my logic also on some definitions and history from other sources.
https://learn.kegerator.com/baltic-porter/

It seems the difference in definition is whether you consider the high abv porter brewed in England that was originally shipped to the Baltics a real "Baltic Porter", or at some other time in history after that, maybe before or when the Baltic brewers themselves started brewing it, with lager yeast. I think it's safe to say high abv bottom-fermented porters brewed in the Baltic countries/region were Baltic Porters, even in the 1800's. Of course, all styles and definitions were eventually created and worked upon to differentiate each style.

 

I'm just trying to help. Not sure why you're pointing me to those sources. (I don't put any stock in the BA story at the moment.) The English brewed "Russian stout." Countries around the Baltic sea copied them and eventually became flexible in their approach (as all brewers do). Today we call those continental beers "Baltic porters."

 

I'm just trying to help too. The sources may have a part of history stored in them. I copied the BA definition because you said it says the opposite of what I mentioned. I think the main reason why the Baltic Porter is higher abv is because those countries are colder, and maybe because of the cold and refrigeration around the time of their porter brewing they decided to ferment them cold and use the new found lager yeast in some places. I like to think that higher abv and occasional use of lager yeast and cold fermenting is what differentiates the Baltic Porter from the other styles of porter like Imperial Porter. Since it all started with ale yeast though, like I was originally saying I agree with you that Baltic Porters can also use top fermenting ale yeast.

 

Miscommunication. It's the opposite of what I was claiming.

 

Congrats on what sounds like an epic last day! That beer sounds and looks pretty righteous, as does that bottle opener.

 

Thank you very much.

Strange thing is it is more than just a clean palate, it's a... different palate. I know that sounds crazy, but I did some reading, and there is evidence to show that diet is strongly related to mentality and personality. A complete change of diet and lifestyle can lead to a different personality. I'm me, but I'm a different me now. Like I said, sounds crazy, but my palate is cleaner, and better. And different.

The second best thing, just behind a great ability to taste, is getting a good buzz from 12 oz. of beer!

 

So you’re saying you’re a cheap date now.

 

Yeah, man, women can get into my pants way easier now. Too bad. I'm done with women after 2 wives and too many girlfriends. I'm the cheapest date possible, it's almost embarrassing to catch that kind of buzz from one beer. Looking forward to my next one in a couple weeks!