Avery - Hog Heaven

Tonight I'm drinking Hog Heaven from Avery Brewing.  This is an American Barley Wine that ensures its hop presence won't go unnoticed.  An aggressive dose of dry hopping is going to make those hop aromas explode out of the bottle.  If you want to make an American version of a beer, add more hops.  It'll get the job done every time.

Duns reviewed this brew back in May.  While he loved the aromas, he found the overall brew to lack any cohesive direction.  We love Avery here at TWoBC (pronounced Tuh-whoa-buk in case you were wondering).  We have 13 Avery reviews between Duns and I.  Their extensive line-up makes it easy for us to find a new beer every time we get to the beer store.  One of these days we'll get through every beer they have to offer.  Just don't expect that to be anytime soon...

104 IBUs, 9.4% ABV, flying pigs through a garden of hop cones... on paper, this is exactly what any hop head should want in an American Barley Wine.  Flying hoppy pigs!!!  Sunburst orange and crystal clear with a few fingers of bright white foam capping this beauty off.  The aromas are a mix of citrus a vegetation.  Fresh cut grass, citrus zest, lemon rind with a smattering of toasted bread and malty sweetness.  The alcohol isn't even noticeable in the aroma.  It's definitely there in the taste, though.  But not oppressive, just warming and drying in the finish.  The hops are the real star here.  An assertive bitter bite takes a hold of your palate and doesn't relent. A wave of flavors quickly rush in to provide a semblance of balance.  Grapefruit, white grapes, more cut grass, light caramel and just a hint of bittersweet chocolate (not sure where that came from) round out this bold barely wine.

Overall - This is a barley wine that you should drink right away.  Don't age it!  Avery says you should, and you could, but you shouldn't.  The hops are the star of the show, no doubt about it.  There are plenty of big hop aromas and flavors that would be lost if you aged the bottle for longer than a few months.  This brew isn't for the faint of heart either.  It's like drinking concentrated hop juice with a dash of malt.  Very well brewed.  Something I'll be drinking again soon.

New Belgium - Trippel

Holy jumpin' Jesus balls its hot out today!  In MN our heat index is 111 degrees and the actual temperature is 97 last I checked.  The humidity index is somewhere in the 80s... if it weren't for my cars a/c I would have most likely turned into a melted, semi-congealed puddle during my commute home.  Its days like these where I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to swig down a cold craft beer at the end of the work day.

For our review this evening we are revisiting New Belgium Brewing.  Dunz and I have reviewed four of their other beers and have had mixed reviews thus far.  This brewery is most notably known for their Fat Tire Ale and 1554 Enlightened Black Ale.  Recently, within the past year or so, New Belgium released their Explorer series.  This series is a line-up of beer designed to take you across four completely different flavor profiles.  The other three within the series are the Ranger IPA, Morthership Wit and Abbey Ale.

New Belgium's Trippel is a very clear beer.  Side by side in a pint glass it could easily be mistaken for a slightly darker Pilsner.  However, the flavor profile couldn't be more different.  This 7.8% ABV Belgian brew starts off with a very floral aroma.  Lots of fruity esters with a hint of booze and lemongrass.  It certainly smells the part.  The flavors play right into the aroma with an additional malty sweetness and crisp mouthfeel.  The Belgian yeasty characteristics are present but not overdone.  A clean finish with a breath of soft alcohol finishes off the experience.

Overall - This is a good entry level brew for those who have yet to experience the wonderful world of Belgian beer.  The flavors are mild yet easy to discern.  Everything is clean and pleasant to drink.  A nice Belgian brew for beginners and aficionados alike!

Estes Park Renegade IPA

This is a beer that came to me with the shipment of Avery brews from Colorado.  My Uncle is awesome and surprised me with a couple bottles from Estes Park Brewery.  This is a small but well-known CO brewery that's been around since 1993 - it started as a 4.25 Barrel brewhouse!  Over time they've won lots of awards for their beers, so I'm excited to have an opportunity to try one of them! 

Renegade IPA is one of those award winning brews, winning Silver in the 2003 World Beer Championship.  They use over 3 lbs of hops per barrel, which is music to mine ears.  The main hops used are Amarillo and Cascade in the kettle, with Cascades used again in the dry-hopping.

This beer is going into my ale glass, a very dark, hazy brown color with little yeast chunks floating around the bottom of the glass.  Doesn't look like this beer is filtered.  A rough pour yields just a thin layer of off-white head that vanishes quickly.  The aroma is a combination of strong florals, and light tropical fruits of pineapple/mango.  It really reminds me of handsoap...but not in a negative way.  In fact, it probably only reminds me of handsoap because I've been pavlovian conditioned to wash my hands all the time.  Thanks Mom.

The flavor starts off with a light citrus hoppiness - tart unsweetened grapefruits and unripe oranges.  The malts in the background morph the beer into an earthy, herbal zone that definitely adds a chewy factor to the experience.  Sweet biscuits dominate the malt backbone, brings a nice balance against the hop profile.  There is also a funky flavor that is definitely brought by the yeast sediment that adds extra tart and bite to the palate.  The mouthfeel is full and thick, quite heavy for an IPA. 

Overall Rating:  This is reminiscent of one of Steve and I's IPA homebrews - the color, the sediment, the raw flavors, this has all the characteristics of a delicious homebrew.  Easy drinker, and probably a great replenishment beverage after a day on the slopes of the Rockies. 

Great Divide - Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

Tonights review brings us to a beer that I just recently reviewed in its original form.  Great Divide's Yeti Imperial Stout is a beer that I found to be a bit on the sweet side for my liking.  With the knowledge that Great Divide had different versions of this beer I knew it would be a great opportunity for me to compare their standard Yeti (no, not this kind of Yeti, thank you Google images!) to one infused with oak, espresso, or both.  I chose the both this time around since I enjoy my imperial stouts to be bolder and roastier than most.  I figured two additional ingredients were better than one...

To start, I poured this Yeti into my large mug.  I tried to pour it perfectly, right up to the top, and failed.  I quickly cleaned up my mess, said a prayer to the beer gods to ask for forgiveness, and went about my business. I could smell the aroma of the espresso right away, without even putting my nose near it.  A bold, dark chocolate and coffee aroma wafts out of my mug.  Its very inviting but not overbearing.  I can still smell a bit of the residual sweetness that comes along with the original Yeti.  I'm hoping this sweetness is more subdued in the flavor.

Wow... forget about sweetness.  Lets talk about espresso!  Thats the very first flavor you will notice as you take your initial sip.  A slightly bitter oakiness backfills in for support of the espresso while the original Yeti brew provides a base of dark chocolate and roasted malt.  The finish is very smooth... actually its extremely smooth.  Hardly a hint of alcohol warmth as it easily makes its way down your throat.  Medium to low carbonation accentuates the silky mouthfeel and allows the primary flavors of roasted espresso and dark chocolate to play their part.  Hints of vanilla start to show up as it warms.  The bitter nature of the espresso and roasted malts also starts to play a bigger role as I near the halfway point of the bottle.

Overall 5.2/6.0 - I definitely liked this one better than the original Yeti.  This beer was also bottled on Feb 12th, 2010 which I'm sure has helped mellow out these flavors.  I wouldn't want to try this straight off the line.  The year of age definitely did it good as opposed to the year of age on the original Yeti where it just further accentuated the sweetness.  You should definitely be a fan of espresso if you are going to enjoy this beer.  If you aren't then give the oak aged Yeti a try.  After this experience, I know Ill be grabbing a bottle.

Odell's - Mountain Standard Double Black IPA

Odell's Brewery was founded back in 1989 in an old converted grain elevator in Fort Collins, CO.  They were just the 2nd microbrewery to open in Colorado....which means they were among the first innovators to start the mega-wave of craft breweries that have started up in the state over the last decade.  Odell's only recently began distributing their beer in MN, so over the last year I've tasted many of their beers and become a firm believer in their ability to brew deliciousness.  I don't have a lot of experience with Black IPAs, but....if it's hoppy enough, there's a very good chance I'll like it, so I'm going to give this Mountain Standard Black IPA a try. 

This brew comes in a nice looking dark bottle with a little description of the brew on the label (pictured below).  The cork pops with a small wallop, doesn't rocket off like those weaponized bottles of champagne.  I'm pouring into a pint glass - the beer pours a dark brown/black and immediately billows turbo-charged tan colored head.  The head is a meringue texture, very sticky and it doesn't want to receed.  Once it finally does, it hangs around in small chunks that never really go away.

The nose is full of pine, grapefruit, and a bit of roasty dark chocolate - not overwhelming or fumey like some IPA's, probably because the roasted malts help to mellow it down.  The first taste is full of piney, bitter hops right away, followed by a roasted character that is intriguing.  The malt profile almost reminds me of a Schwarzbier - roasty/bready and also much lighter than a porter/stout.   It really plays well with the hop profile, which is not in the 'Hop Bomb' category, but a nice sturdy american hop profile.  There is a tiny singe of alcohol on the tail end of the drink, but nothing indicates this is 9.5% ABV.  The body of this brew is medium, with a relatively heavy amount of carbonation and a nice crispyness. 

Overall Rating (4.9 out of 6.0)  I really enjoyed this brew - I was happy to get both hops and roasted malts in the same drink.  The beer has already disappeared, and I hardly even realized it....yes this is incredibly drinkable.  And by the way, don't drink one of these if you need to drive anywhere.  It's a sneaky ninja alcohol hammer!

Avery - Old Jubilation Ale

During this frigid Minnesota winter I cant help but review these seasonal brews. Most of what breweries are releasing right now are their stouts and old ales. That means you folks who enjoy your nice, malty brews are in luck! Don't worry hop heads, there are some delicious American style barleywines that have yet to be released this season. Stay tuned for those reviews in January.

Continuing with our winter seasonal review trend today we dive into Avery's Old Jubilation Ale. One of the BJCP's recommended beers for the Old Ale style in the Strong Ale category. This mahogany colored ale has a sweet, nutty, slight hazelnut aroma. Almost like a nut brown ale. This one will be more complex as it warms. The wife claims to smell toffee. I'll believe her for now. My first taste brings a solid malt presence with a hint of alcohol on the way down. The bottle says "cellarable for 3+ years". I'm sure with some age this old ale will lose that alcohol taste and be replaced with a smooth, creamy finish. Some of the initial flavors you would expect of an old ale have some trouble breaking through the 8.3% ABV. However, it is possible to tell those flavors are present. Just not as prominent as I would expect. A couple more sips and some more warmth confirm my initial thoughts; sweet malt and toffee (I can taste it now...) with a mild bitter and alcoholic finish to dry out the early sweetness.

Overall, this is a 3.0/6 for now. I think this one has potential. Ill be keeping the three I have left and placing them to the side for another year and see how it has matured. Its worth picking up a six pack now to see the difference between a young and an aged old ale. I have no doubt this will age gracefully. Unfortunately there is no bottling date printed on the bottle to keep track of the release year. But thats nothing a sharpie cant fix! if you pick this up, drink one now and take a few notes for yourself, stick it with the remaining bottles, and read them next year to see if your thoughts have changed. Its a fun experiment in beer tasting!

A little background on the style of the old ale if you are curious... historically referred to as the breweries stock ale, this beer style was aged at the brewery to blend with their comparably lighter beer that they served at their pub. Because of the time this beer was kept at the brewery you typically found age related characteristics with these beers like oxidation or even sour notes if kept improperly. A variation of this beer that is a relative new comer to the beer scene is the winter warmer style. Typically a larger ABV with the addition of more malt and at times holiday spices to make for a bolder. more festive beer if done right.