Schlafly - Quadruple Ale

Tonight we are treated with another guest review from our buddy Kasper.  Since he lives in Kansas City, we have tasked him with drinking the local stuff we can't find in Minnesota.  As expected, he was more than willing to oblige.  The local beer scene in the area has been booming, just like many other cities across the country.  Hopefully Kasper will continue to share his beer endeavors with us going forward.  I know I'm enjoying reading about his new experiences!

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I've decided to spend some time hunting down more regional flavors as of late, and my beer journey led me to Schlafly's Quadruple Ale this week.  An assassin of an ale coming in at a weighty 12% ABV.

This one had me giggling all the way home from the liquor store, as I'm always interested to see how different beers handle the ever present issue of an alcoholic burn with such a high ABV.

As I pour the cloudy amber colored ale into my glass, I'm greeted with a thick tan head and a wonderfully fragrant fruity malty apple scent.  This effervescence had me excited for the first sip.

While the beer manages to quite expertly hide the high alcohol content, its taste has me at a loss.  It's very lightly bitter, and the flavor of apples and spice are very heavily present, though lacking sweetness.  It almost verges on a sour rotten apple taste at times, very discouraging, but it does drink similar to a few abbey ales I've had in the past, after it's sufficiently warmed.

Overall - A good beer to knock you on your ass if you aren't careful, especially with its 750ml serving size.  But you are going to have to brave an awkward flavor in order to achieve it.  I would suggest letting the beer warm quite a bit - only a slight chill passed room temperature - as this seems to mellow some of its less desirable characteristics.  Even at that, I can't say I have an urge to drink it again.

Breckenridge Brewery - Small Batch 471 DIPA

Tonight we feature a guest review from our good friend Dave Kasper, who we know simply as Kasper.  Kasper has traditionally been a fan of Keystone Light, with an emphasis on quantity over quality....

Kasper is historically an anti-hop-head, but he's broadened his horizons to include some of the more....hop-nasty...brews in recent months.  He even authored this photoshop masterpiece, highlighting the intense hoppiness of Surly Furious:

Makes me laugh every time

Tonight Kasper will be reviewing a hop-bomb - the Breckenridge Small Batch 471 Double IPA.  This is a big, aggressive IPA with 9.2% alcohol and a mean American hop profile that is available year-round.  Just to put things into context, this is Kasper's recounting of his first experience with this beer - he wasn't planning on reviewing it at the time of drinking...

In my quest to experience the finer points of the hoppy beer world, I have taken it upon myself to pick out beers with big, bold flavors. This visit to the liquor store, I stumbled across Breckenridge Brewery's Small Batch 471 Series Double IPA.  Without any preconceived notions about the beer, it was off the shelf and on it's way home with me!

Absent-mindedly, I poured a glass of this Double IPA and continued about my evening, not paying any real attention to the beer.  Taking the first sip really snapped me back awake... it was amazing!  Holding my glass to the light, I peered into the beautiful deep clear copper color, and began to wonder why I'd never heard of it before.  Each successive sip had me singing this beer's praises.  Until it was gone, and I was left with the sinking sadness knowing that I didn't have anymore.  

The beer is very light on carbonation, and pours with a thin creamy head.  It's scent is a little muttled, but there is a faint fragrant floral scent that permeates it.

On the palate, you are first hit with a full mouth flavor of caramel, sweet malt, and almost fruity hops.  Initially I thought it was going to be too heavy, but the flavor waned and was replaced with a sharp short burst of hoppy bitters.  Intense, vivbrant, then gone, leaving only a lingering taste of caramel.  For a beer with such a heavy bitter bite it doesn't pollute your palate with lingering bitter.  It finishes quite clean.

Overall Rating:  This beer is certainly my favorite imperial IPA, and has actually taken a place in my top ten of all beers. Quite an unexpected surprise. I'm sad that this is the only current offering I can find at my local liquor store, as the other 3 offering in the 471 series really have me intrigued.

Goose Island - Sofie

Tonights review is our first guest review since starting this blog in early December.  With how much my wife puts up with my incessant ranting about good beers, bad beers, brewing beer and so on I figured it was time to give her the opportunity to show her own appreciation for beer.  For the most part, she isn't your standard beer gal.  But she is a great science teacher and has a large affection for the science behind brewing a good beer.  She also knows what she likes and will latch onto a beer when she finds a good one.  We will see if the beer she is reviewing tonight earns her seal of approval!

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Sofie was introduced by Goose Island Brewing last year as the newest member of a series of special edition Belgian-style beers, joining Matilda, Pere Jacques, Juliet, and Fleur.  Sofie has an elegant white label with green and gold calligraphy.

This is a Belgian Style Ale containing a blend of 80% ale and 20% ale aged in wine barrels with orange peel.  The brewer’s notes recommend this beer for people who are fond of Belgian saisons.   Mine was bottled on 4/23/10 (1030, since I’ve been assured this isn’t the batch number I have no idea what it means).

On to the beer geek stuff.  According to the brewer’s notes this is a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale that is 6.5% abv and has 25 ibu’s.  Amarillo hops as well as pilsner and wheat  malts were used.

Alright, on to tasting.

The aroma of this beer is a lemon, orange and wheat. The Amarillo hops used to ferment are very present in the nose.  The beer pours a pale gold color with a good amount of carbonation.

The citrus starts things off with a tartness that isn’t overpowering.   A little apricot is also in the background with distinct wheat flavors adding the slightest bit of sweetness.  This beer has a nice blend of tart and sweet without either flavor overpowering the other.  This beer almost reminds me of a cider.  Before you let that turn you off let me explain.  This beer has a light and refreshing quality that I associate with a cider, without being overly bitter.   As the beer warms, there is a little bit of a spicy character.  The finish is a fruity wheat flavor and the carbonation leaves a nice tingle on the tongue.

*WARNING*  BEER GEEK SCIENCE AHEAD

The brewers made an interesting choice of using Brettanomyces in brewing this beer.  In other beers this “British fungus” is seen as a contaminant because it can impart some off-flavors into the beer.  It is however not an uncommon choice for Belgians and Lambics.    Because this strain of yeast produces acetic acid it adds a bitter taste to the beer that is more sour cherry than bitter like a bittering hop would make it.

In Matilda, Goose Island puts the yeast directly into their barrels used for aging, but I’m not sure if this is true for Sofie as well or not.  This beer won a gold medal at the 2010 Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival.

Since my tasting preferences are far different from the boys my I will withhold applying a rating to this beer and let you try for yourself.