Beer Tasting – Think Beer

Stone – Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale

It’s Day 12, the final day of the #12BeersOfXmas!

Stone – Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale (8.7%, 1 pint bottle)

It pours dark black, and I mean totally black; no light is coming through this one; and it’s got a light brown head that laces the glass nicely and it’s lightly carbonated.

The aroma is full of tropical fruits and small hints of roasted malt.

The flavour is very reminiscent of the Stone IPA I had last week, delicately balanced tropical fruits, citrus and bitterness, but this time all set against a malt backbone that is more dry and has a hint of roastiness. This is one bloody good beer!

Overall this is a great Black IPA, possibly the best one I’ve ever had, and an awesome way to round off the 12 days!

Dogfish Head – 90 Minute Imperial IPA

It’s Day 11, the penultimate day of the #12BeersOfXmas and it’s time for another big US double IPA.

Dogfish Head – 90 Minute Imperial IPA (9%, 12oz bottle)

This one pours a nice orange colour with a slight hop haze and a lively carbonation.

The aroma is big on the US style citrus and tropical fruit notes – pineapple, mango, passion fruit, lychee – followed by a sweet malty character.

These characters follow on into the flavour of the beer, giving intense citrus and tropical fruits on a good strong malty backbone. It’s also quite full bodied and almost chewy. Each mouthful ends with a strong bitterness and a slight alcohol warmth. There’s a lot going on in this beer!

Overall this is a really good double IPA, not the best I’ve had but still well worth checking out.

Crooked Stave – Hop Savant

It’s Day 10 of the #12BeersOfXmas, only two more to go! Today’s beer can only be described as “different”…

I picked this one up (along with a few others) whilst in New York a month or so ago and I’ve been really looking forward to trying this. It’s made by Crooked Stave, and it’s an American Pale Ale, made with Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe hops, but here’s the twist it’s fermented in oak foeders (they look like barrels) entirely with brettanomyces! This is my first 100% brett beer so here goes…

Crooked Stave – Hop Savant (6.7%, 375ml bottle)

The beer pours a very hazy light straw colour with a small white head that quickly disappeared.

The aroma is very very different – highly acidic, lemony, sweet and with a very faint hint of maltiness, not at all like a “regular” pale ale.

The flavour is very much aligned to the aroma; acidic, slightly sour and light bodied. The only beer I’ve ever had that is similar to this was a Rodenbach in of all places a Fullers pub a few months back – I really quite enjoyed that then, and I’m enjoying this one now. It’s not a beer for gulping down, but one for sipping slowly.

Overall I really quite enjoyed this one. It’s not one I could have every day, or every week even, but every now and then something like this would be lovely!

Brewdog/Mikeller – I Hardcore You

It’s Day 9 of the #12BeersOfXmas! Now it’s time for one of my all-time top beers…

Brewdog/Mikeller – I Hardcore You (9.5%, 330ml)

It pours a light straw colour at the base of the glass leading up to dark orange at the top with a smooth off white head.

The aroma is great, strong hoppy resin notes combined with a small amount of malt and citrus.

The flavour on this is where it really shines, the strong hoppy resin notes from the aroma are present, along with much more citrus and a very good sweet malty backbone and mild bitterness to round it all off. It’s also medium bodied with a medium carbonation level – this is a real pleasure to drink.

Overall this is a great double/imperial IPA and I bloody love it!

Marks and Spencer – Greenwich Smoked Bock

Day 8 of the #12BeersOfXmas is upon us and it’s time for something a bit different…

Marks and Spencer – Greenwich Smoked Bock (6%, 500ml bottle)

This one is brewed for Marks and Spencer’s by Meantime Brewing Co. down in London and is quite a new one in their (M&S’s) range of beers brewed for them by decent british breweries.

The beer pours a dark caramel brown with a good sized off-white head and lively carbonation.

The aroma is really quite subtle, I’m getting hints of malt and smokiness but not a lot else to be honest.

This subtlety however is forgotten when you actually taste the beer – it literally slaps you in the taste buds with caramel, smokiness, toffee, smokiness, malt, smokiness oh, and a little more smokiness. Did I mention the smokiness? The closest thing I can equate the overall character of this beer to is the German smoked cheeses you get in the supermarket, it’s like someone dropped a tonne of those all blended up into the mash tun. That said, it’s not so overpowering (compared to other smoked beers I’ve had in the past) that it’s tough to drink – I’m really enjoying sipping on this one and it’s actually fairly refreshing, just like a bock should be.

Overall, I really quite like this. I didn’t expect this level of smokiness, but as I said before it doesn’t make for a hard going drink. I think I’ll be picking this one up again!

Stone – IPA

It’s Day 7 of the #12BeersOfXmas and it’s another from Stone.

Stone – IPA (6.9%, 12oz bottle)

This one pours a light orange in colour, with a light fluffy white head and medium carbonation.

The aroma is a lot more delicate than I expected – light floral, citrus notes combined with equally light pine and resin, it’s really quite delicate and pleasant.

The delicate nature of the aroma is matched in the flavour also, light orange, grapefruit and other citrus characters backed up by a piney resinous punch and a little bit of biscuity malt. This is much more subtle than the other Stone beers I’ve had in the past, and I have to say it’s better for it – this is a real delight to drink.

This is a fantastic IPA, not at all headline grabbing and extreme, just delicate, well balanced and wonderfully made. If you can get hold of one do it, do it now!

St. Austell – Smugglers Grand Cru

Merry Christmas everybody! It’s Christmas day, which is Day 6 of the #12BeersOfXmas, and it’s time for something I’ve been saving for a while…

St. Austell – Smugglers Grand Cru (11.5%, 750ml bottle)

I’ve had this one stashed away in the back of the cupboard for two years so it’s time to break it out. From the moment the cork was popped the air was filled with the aromas of toffee, vanilla, oak, maltiness and booze; lots and lots of booze. It pours crystal clear, but dark brown in colour and is well carbonated with a persistent off white head; it looks and smells great.

The flavour in this one is complex to say the least, sweet malt, vanilla, toffee, caramel, along with dried fruit characters such as prunes or dates; this is then followed off with a nice boozy alcohol warmth as you would expect with a beer of this strength. It’s medium bodied and well carbonated so this one is a sipper but I have to say it’s delicious.

This isn’t normally the sort of beer I’d go for but for a one off treat, it’s really hitting the spot today – bloody lovely! 🙂

Stone – Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

It’s Day 5 of the #12BeersOfXmas, and it’s time for another beer from Stone.

Stone – Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale (7.2%, 12oz bottle)

The beer pours a dark brown/red colour and is crystal clear with a nice gentle carbonation and a thin white head.

To be honest there’s not really any noticeable aroma coming from this beer, maybe mild hints of vanilla but I’m really struggling with this one.

Thankfully there is a bit more going on in the flavour, hints of toffee, vanilla and caramel but all of these are subdued somewhat by the overpowering and crushing bitterness that follows them – it just seems to mask all of the delicate and subtle flavours that were there before. It’s medium bodied and finishes quite sweet so it’s more of a sipping beer than one to swig.

Overall I’m not overly impressed with this one, it’s ok (and drinkable, I’m not about to pour it out at all) but the harsh bitterness seems to mask everything else that would have been going on in it. Fingers crossed tomorrow should bring something nicer…

Tiny Rebel – The Full Nelson

It’s Day 4 of the #12BeersOfXmas. Today’s entry is one from South Wales.

Tiny Rebel – The Full Nelson (4.8%, 330ml bottle)

This pours light golden in colour with a slight orange hue and a little bit hazy. It’s well carbonated and pours with a small fluffy head.

There’s not much aroma to this one, just very subtle hops and a hint of tropical fruits such as pineapple.

These hoppy and tropical fruit characters are much more pronounced in the taste, and it’s light bodied and really pleasant to drink and reminds me a little bit of Brewdog’s Punk IPA, just more subtle and drinkable.

Overall this is a really nice pale ale, I could happily drink this one again!

Firestone Walker – Double Jack

It’s Day 3 of the #12BeersOfXmas and as it’s Sunday, it’s time to go for something a little stronger and pull out a big US double IPA…

Firestone Walker – Double Jack (9.5%, 12oz bottle)

It pours a light straw colour with a medium/high level of carbonation – look at the size of the head and the bubbles in the photo! That said, the head calmed down very quickly, but still persisted throughout the drink.

The aroma on this beer is wonderful; piney, resinous, sweet malty/toffee notes and a full-on hit of orange peel to round things off.

This complex mix of characters carries on into the flavour too – on the first couple of mouthfuls the orange peel, citrus and strong bitterness are all that your senses can take in. Once your palate acclimatizes itself to these and the beer starts to warm a little you begin to notice even more in this beer; sweet maltiness and hints of biscuit come through and this really rounds it off making each mouthful a delight. The finish is quite sweet, but not cloyingly so, and medium bodied with a medium to high carbonation level – this really helps the flavours sing to be honest.

Overall, this is a great double IPA, it’s complex, full-on and delicious. I’ve had this beer a few times now, but it’s always a bit special. If you can get hold of a fresh example in the UK* you’d be a fool to not have it! 🙂

* The one I had tonight is 5 months old, but it still tastes great.