Well, that’s just not right.

It’s been 14 reviews since my last stout. That’s gotta be some sort of personal record. Sure there was a lone porter in the mix, but that doesn’t really count, no matter how tasty it was.

At any rate, this Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout was one of several beers that I purchased at Kybecca in Fredericksburg last month. I’ve only ever had one other product from this Norwegian brewer and I loved it, so expectations for this Russian Imperial Stout were high.

Appearance

This Imperial Stout pours black as night with a one finger, rich brown head.

Aroma

The nose is filled with heaps of chocolate and roasted coffee with light vanilla and licorice notes. There isn’t much of a hint of the 9% ABV this beer carries. Smells smooth.

Taste

Ooooh. This is tasty. Nøgne Ø have themselves a rich, full flavored stout with a thick and viscous mouthfeel that finishes dry and chewy. The earthy, roasted malt delivers more coffee character than it does chocolate. There’s a nice bit of roasted malt bitterness in the dry finish. Still not much of an alcohol presence in a beer this big.

Overall

I love the roast and chocolate nature to this brew. It’s got a great balance and smoothness that makes it dangerously drinkable. This is definitely what I needed after all the IPAs and Pale Ales I’ve been drinking this Summer. I’ll need to set up another run to the store to get more for the colder months later this year.

Rating: 4/5

I really wanted to start off with the stout, but ended up sampling the brews in what I hope was a more logical order. First up is the seasonal Summer Wheat Beer, a beer that’s “…brewed with 40% wheat and a touch of rye malt…”

Appearance

This brew pours a slightly hazy pale yellow in color with a thin white cap.

Aroma

Smells like your standard wheat brew with a telltale wheat graininess along with some lemon zest, light banana and clove.

Taste

The taste is really subtle. The aroma is light, but the flavors seem even lighter. The beer has a bready malt and wheat base with some faint lemon notes. The banana and clove are more apparent in the profile, but still rather subdued. The mouthfeel is crisp with good carbonation making for a pretty refreshing brew. More spices and wheat character come out in the finish. At 4.5% ABV this one is quite drinkable if you’re in the mood for a hefeweisen-like brew.

Rating: 2.5/5

Next up is the 5.68% ABV Kolsch Style Ale. Of the two lighter beers, I found this one more enjoyable.

Appearance

The beer pours a clean and clear light golden amber in color with a small amount of white head.

Aroma

Smells darn good with plenty of biscuity malt and a light sweetness. It’s brewed with Galena and Mt. Hood Hallertau hops, but the nose only reveals the slightest hop presence.

Taste

I actually liked this one a good deal. It’s clean, refreshing and goes down smooth. I’d personally like to see some more of a hop presence in the flavor profile though. The beer has plenty of malt sweetness and a biscuity character and there are a bit more hops present than on the nose, but they are subtle and only really show up in the lingering finish.

Rating: 3/5

And finally we have the Dundee Stout which, as should come as no surprise, I found to be my favorite of the three beers (though that Kolsch style was darn tasty).

Appearance

The stout pours a dark, dark brown with a small light tan head that faded to a few bubbles around the edge of the glass.

Aroma

It’s got a pretty good nose on it with plenty of roasted malt and a slight char. There’s a touch of chocolate and black coffee in there as well.

Taste

This brew is a light and easy drinking stout with enough roasted malt character and a little chocolate to keep it flavorful. It’s got a nice roasted coffee flavor, as well. The finish on the beer has a bit of a hop bitterness that works well with the primary flavors. It’s also the strongest of the three beers coming in at 5.8% ABV, but there’s not a hint of the alcohol in the taste.

Rating: 3/5

Overall

All in all, I’d say that the three beers were pretty good in their own right. I preferred the Kolsch Style and Stout to the Summer Wheat, but that’s more due to my own personal preferences. I can see the wheat beer serving its purpose chilled in a glass on a hot summer day as would the Kolsch. The stout is so easy drinking and light that I could enjoy a pint of that just about any time of year.

As I mentioned the other day, I’m pretty sure I made out better than my wife at her birthday dinner with a bottle of Saison du Buff. Well, my luck hadn’t run out with one of the last two bottles in the place.

I’m a big fan of Founders Breakfast Stout, but their Kentucky variety has eluded me for quite some time — that is until this past Monday night. Was my agony of so many close calls with the brew in the past washed away with this single bottle? You’re damned right it was. In fact, I’m going to give this bad boy the first (I think) perfect score on the site.

Appearance

KBS pours black as night and thick. There wasn’t a hint of a head after the pour, but I was able to rouse a little foam with a quick swirl of the glass — even then it was a thin layer of brown.

Aroma

I think I just died and have gone to heaven. This beer smells amazing. The bourbon (a result of the beer aging for a year in retired barrels) is the first thing that hits your nose, but it’s not aggressive as in, say, Allagash’s Curieux. It’s gentlemanly (if you will), smooth and backed by dark chocolates, espresso, roasted malt, a little vanilla and a touch of molasses.

Taste

The beer starts off with plenty of dark coffee, dark chocolates and a nice roast that’s all quickly followed by the smooth bourbon character. Again, it’s not just slapped in there. The bourbon notes are complimentary to everything that’s going on within the dark abyss in my glass. KBS has a thick, viscous mouthfeel and a warming (11% ABV), lingering finish that leaves a lasting bourbon afterglow. There’s a light bitterness in the mix as well that helps compliment the sweeter aspect of the beer.

Overall

This is without a doubt the most well balanced bourbon barrel aged anything I’ve ever had. It’s super rich, smooth and so well constructed that the flavors come together like a well practiced symphony of deliciousness. I know that sounds grandiose, but I’m hard pressed to describe just how well everything comes together through the short lifespan this beer had in my hands. I am satiated, albeit temporarily, in my quest to find this beer, but I will continue the search for it among beer shelves. I must have more.

Rating: 5/5

Athough, now I’m having trouble concentrating on work.

Here’s a little more on each beer:

Dundee Summer Wheat:
An American-style wheat beer that is brewed with 40% wheat and a touch of rye malt to produce a refreshingly unique flavor. Aroma hops, fruity esters and a thick, creamy head top off this summer classic ABV: 4.5%

Dundee Kolsch-style Ale:
A clean, crisp ale, Kolsch-style Ale is fermented and aged cold for a crisp, refreshing taste. This beer owes its light hop finish to the addition of the noble German Hallertau hops, and its full-bodied flavor to Dundee’s proprietary, top-fermenting ale yeast. ABV: 5.68% IBU: 10.5

Dundee Stout:
A smooth and classic sweet stout. This dark rich brew is a combination of roasted malts and hops that bring the chocolate and coffee flavors to life. ABV: 5.8% IBU: 15

The wife and I celebrated our 11th anniversary a couple of weekends ago and I wanted to find a brew with which to commemorate the occasion that we both had never had before and something I thought we both would enjoy. As fate would have it, I happened along a bottle of Ommegang’s Chocolate Indulgence just the day before we were to drop off the kid at the grandparents and make our escape for a quiet evening out.

I knew we’d be going out to dinner and all that good stuff so I figured this Belgian inspired stout (brewed with imported Belgian chocolate) would serve as the perfect post-meal dessert brew. We both enjoyed it, but both also agreed that we wouldn’t call it an indulgence.

Appearance

The stout pours a dark, dark brown (almost black) in color with a thin ring of lacing around the edge of the glass.

Aroma

It smells darn good with a good deal of rich chocolates, espresso and a familiar Belgian yeast presence.

Taste

This is where the “indulgence” part of the beer should really hit you, but it doesn’t. Sure the beer has a decent espresso, roast, and chocolate profile, but I was expecting something much fuller and much richer. The chocolates take a bit of a backseat to the roasted malt, which I don’t mind, but the name of the brew is a bit misleading as a result. The mouthfeel was certainly on the lighter side with a pleasant bitter coffee character to the finish.

Overall

I had been looking for a bottle of this for quite some time and was truly happy to finally have found one, and for such a special occasion, as well. The Belgian presence in Chocolate Indulgence was noticeable and blended nicely with the roasted malt, but, I just wish it had been a little more decadent and fuller — something along the lines of Souther Tier’s Mokah perhaps. All in all, it’s a tasty brew that I’m sure I will probably buy again.

Rating: 3.5/5

Every now and again I get a little nostalgic and peruse the older posts here on The Barley Blog. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon a review of Pike Brewing’s Entire — a beer that I was unbelievably lucky enough to sample.

I’m not sure if it was fate or just odd timing, but last week I strolled into Total Wine to find a well placed Pike display, showcasing this XXXXX Stout among several other of the brewery’s products. Having loved the Entire I greedily snatched what few bottles of the stout they had as well as one or two of the other tasty treats available.

I was curious to see how one of the building blocks of Entire stacked up against that wonderful blend. Let’s just say, I wasn’t disappointed in the least.

Appearance

Just like Entire, XXXXX Stout pours black with a rich, milk chocolate colored head.

Aroma

The nose is full of rich chocolates, roasted coffee and toasted malt. The 7% ABV barely makes an appearance amongst the roasty character of aroma.

Taste

Now, this is a damn good stout. The full mouthfeel is rich and smooth. There’s a good deal of roasted coffee and chocolates up front with a pleasant, lingering bitterness in the finish. There’s a touch of a char on the roasted malt that only adds to the robust nature of the brew. Again, there isn’t much heat from the alcohol which makes this one dangerously drinkable.

Overall

Like I said before, this is damn tasty. It has just about everything I want, nay, need from a stout. I love the semi sweet chocolates mixing with the roasted, half smoked cigar char as well as the lingering bitterness. I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay away from the other couple of bottles for any prolonged period of time.

Rating: 4/5

Like each and everyone one of you out there, I’ve been eagerly anticipating this four beer 30th Anniversary series from Sierra Nevada like my life depended on it.

There was only one problem. As word got out that it was in stores and as the jealous rage within me built up after each subsequent review that I read, it was looking grim for my chance at tasting the first in the line of celebratory beers. I just couldn’t find it any where close to home.

Luckily, a coworker of mine (whom has only recently seen the craft beer light) happened upon a couple of bottles, one of which he graciously gave to me. It’s good to have friends. Ironically, as fate would have it, the very next day I was able to snag myself a few bottles for storing. I guess the timing was right.

Appearance

Fritz and Ken’s Ale pours a near black with a light tan head that faded very slowly, leaving a decent lacing on the glass.

Aroma

This brew smells damned good. The nose is full of roasted malt and coffee with a nice helping of chocolate. The nature of the aroma leans more toward the smokier end of the roast spectrum, but isn’t quite in the burnt/charred region. The higher ABV (9.2%) is detectable upon further whiffs, but it’s subtle.

Taste

The taste of this beer lives up nicely to the welcoming nose it presented. Along with the roasted character that carries more of a smokey char than the nose is a subtle bitterness that’s delicate in nature that blends in nicely with the chocolate notes. The mouthfeel is pretty full and smooth. I love the finish on this beer as the coffee and roast profile lingers wonderfully. This is a much more earthy stout than some of the sweeter stuff I’ve been drinking lately.

Overall

When I think of a stout, I don’t normally associate Sierra Nevada with the style, but after enjoying this anniversary beer, I really hope they do more work in the stout area. The earthier more roasted tones the beer carries make for a fairly complex yet smooth drinking beer. I’m also really intrigued to see how this one ages. I’ve got three more bottles that I’ve put aside, but might pick up a couple more to enjoy while the beer is young.

Rating: 4.5/5

After hearing about more distribution issues for this Michigan brewery, I didn’t think I’d ever see a bottle of their 9000 batch commemorative brew. I enjoyed the hell out of the company’s Batch 8000 (a big, spicy, Witbier) and was super stoked to see this latest celebration ale on the shelves during a recent run to Total Wine.

Batch 9000 is a bit departure from the previous release in the Batch series. Categorized as an imperial stout, Batch 9000 is a big, rich, deep and layered brew that was darn good fresh, but I really can’t wait to see how this one does with a little time in the basement.

Appearance

Batch 9000 poured into my snifter a dark, dark reddish brown with a mahogany edge when held to the light. What little head developed was light tan in color and faded almost instantly to nothing.

Aroma

This is one of the more impressively smelling beers I’ve had in a while. It is definitely sweet. There is a good deal of molasses up front with a light licorice mixed in. I pick up a good deal of dark fruits (mostly raisin), as well as some oakiness and accompanying vanilla notes. The alcohol didn’t make too much of a presence until the beer had time to warm in the glass, but even then it wasn’t overpowering even for 12.5% ABV.

Taste

Whoa. There is a bunch going on within this brew. It starts off sweet with toasted malt and molasses transitioning to dark fruits and a lingering licorice. The finish has a pleasant amount of hop bitterness to essentially help balance out the sweetness of the beer. Batch 9000 is fairly syrupy and thick, coating your mouth with hand crafted goodness. The higher alcohol content does make an appearance more so as the beer sits in the glass longer, but it’s never too prominent, only leaving a warming trail to your belly.

Overall

I loved Batch 8000, but I think I’m more excited over the possibilities of this one after sitting in the basement for an extended time. While #8000 was light, fruity and spicy, this latest batch is rich, smooth and definitely a sipper.

Rating: 4/5

I actually had this bottle of BrewDog’s Paradox Islay in mid-December, but completely forgot to give it a proper post. Not only is this the first time I’ve had this beer, but it’s also my first BrewDog product. It’s somewhat hard to come by in my area, but it’s slowly making headway.

After enjoying this bottle after a day of shoveling snow, I’ve talked to a few folks that couldn’t stand it — the major complaint being that it wasn’t even drinkable. I can see that, but if you’ve ever been able to successfully handle a snifter of Laphroaig, then this one should be a breeze. Well… an iodine soaked, peaty bluster, really.

Appearance

Pouring a near black in the snifter, this brew had a thin, quickly disappearing tan head.

Aroma

You can definitely tell that it’s been aged in scotch barrels. The peaty nature of the brew wafts from the glass quickly followed by plenty of alcohol heat. Scotch is the dominate character of the nose, but there’s also an oaky woodiness, subtle chocolates and coffee in the background.

Taste

This is definitely a sipping beer. It starts off with a huge peat and scotch character that is pretty damned strong and imposing. The stout aspect of this beer is there, but it definitely takes a back seat to the characteristics that the barrel aging has imparted on it. The coffee and chocolate make more of an appearance in the finish. Mouthfeel-wise, it’s a bit on the thin side for a stout, but then again, I’d argue that this has just about left the style all together. It’s very intense, very flavorful and proved to be just what the doctor ordered as a reward for shoveling so much snow.

Overall

I knew going into this beer that it was a big departure from most barrel aged stouts that I’ve had in the past, but I wasn’t expecting anything nearly as intense as this. It’s got a very aggressive scotch character to it that can be quite off-putting for those not used to such a peaty flavor. I, however, loved it! I don’t know if I could drink it regularly, but as far as a once a year treat goes, it’s perfect. The only thing that could have made the experience any better would have been the addition of a robust cigar.

Rating: 4/5

I saw this one on the shelves of Total Wine a couple of weeks ago and, being a big fan of Troegs Brewing, immediately added a bottle to the cart. Plus, I like skulls so any time a beer label has a skull worked into the design in one way or another, I’m a sucker to buy.

Appearance

Java Head pours a dark, dark brown with a light tan head that faded pretty slowly.

Aroma

I get a good dose of piny hops up front with a light chocolate. The coffee is very subtle in the nose.

Taste

Much like the nose, the coffee in this one is very light, hiding more in the finish of the brew with a slight hop bitterness. The up front flavor is dominated by a little cocoa and piny hop combination that’s quite interesting. This one is nice and creamy with a smooth mouthfeel.

Overall

This was certainly a different take on a coffee infused stout. I’m used to getting much more of a coffee punch in the flavor and felt it was a bit too mild in this one. I did enjoy the hop presence mixing with the cocoa and coffee, however. Overall, not a bad brew. I’ll have to get another bottle to see how it does with some cellaring.

Rating: 3/5