Millstream Brewing - Back Road Stout

Tonight I'm drinking Back Road Stout from Millstream Brewing in Amana, Iowa.  Last week, Steve reviewed their Weizenbock, which turned out to be a winner.  Back Road Stout is another gift brew that Steve brought back from the great state of Iowa.  It's an oatmeal stout with a grain bill that includes a whopping 10% oatmeal - that means this will likely have a thick, creamy texture.  By the way, before March 2010, Iowa brewers weren't allowed to brew beers over 5% alcohol....but this ridiculous law was reversed and now brewers can produce beers up to 12%.  This is Millstream's first high gravity beer (at 6.7%) since this silly legislation was corrected.

Bottled in November 2011.  The beer is dark brownish black, with a thin layer of dark tan head that recedes quickly.  The smell is robust - chocolate roast, coffee, caramel/toffee sweetness, and most of all, it's NUTTY.  The flavor starts off with strong roasty malts, bitter dark chocolate.  Thick and chewy.  Baking chocolate, more sweetness, then comes some more intense coffee flavors.  Slightly burnt barley also comes in towards the end.  Did I mention this beer is thick and chewy?

Overall Rating:  Great oatmeal stout!  Sweetness prevails throughout, but the slight bitterness and alcohol warmth in the background keep things balanced.  This would make a good dessert beer.  A-

Millstream Brewing - Weizenbock

Tonight I'm drinking a freshly brewed batch of Weizenbock from Millstream Brewing in Amana, IA.  This is another brew I picked up while I was visiting the inlaws last weekend.  The "Brewmasters Collection" label on the four pack immediately caught my attention while I was sifting through Millstreams numerous other offerings.  Little did I know at the time that this was a brand new beer, just hitting the shelves a few days prior to my arrival.  A recent tweet of theirs said they were bottling this Weizenbock on November 8th.  Common knowledge of the style suggests the best way to drink a Weizenbock is straight from the bottling line.  The fresher the better.  Although, 15 days later ain't bad either.

The first thing that takes me back about this brew is the appearance.  The color is a murky, brownish hue.  Not something that I would have anticipated.  It is in line with the BJCP style guidelines for a Weizenbock, but I think this is a bit on the extreme side of cloudy.  The lack of foam retention is also a little disappointing.  However, you will quickly forget about these fallacies after you take your first sip.  The aromas are a nice combination of banana, clove, yeasty bread and a touch of caramel.  These aromas continue straight through to the flavors which are just as potent.  The "weizen" flavors of banana and clove are more bold in the flavor than the aroma.  A nice mild carbonation helps to keep this brew from being overly cloying since any hop bitterness that may have been added is nowhere to be found.  The 8.5% ABV is only noticeable as a slight tingling feeling on the tongue.

Overall - Once you get past the appearance, you will find a solid Weizenbock that is full of flavor.  All the normal suspects are present: banana, clove, bready caramel and yeast are all easily discernable.  While this may not stack up against a fresh Weizenbock from Germany, it certainly does the style justice.  And to find this quality of beer in the middle of the Midwest is certainly a luxury few have.  Unless, of course, you live in Iowa.  In which case you should be as happy as a pig in... well... you know what.

Peace Tree Brewing - Blonde Fatale

This last weekend I was in Iowa visiting the inlaws. My wife, being the wonderful person that she is, allowed me to scoop up a big pile of Iowa beers during our stay. I was able to snag up four different brews from three different breweries at one store. Each beer I purchased is not available in MN, so I was very excited to get my grubby, Iowa-beer deprived hands all over these bottles. The first of the four that I'll be reviewing is a Belgian Golden Strong from Peace Tree Brewing.

I love these stubby little bottles! The artwork is pretty cool too.

Peace Tree is located in Knoxville, IA.  They opened their doors, well, I have no idea to be honest.  The page on their site that is supposed to bless us with their rich, historical story is down.  Don't worry, though.  I know exactly what I need to do to get this crucial tidbit of information.  To the Googlez!!! 2009, that's the year they opened their doors.  Thank you Googlez.  Due to IA beer laws at the time of their inception, Peace Tree was only able to brew beer below a certain ABV percentage.  4.9% was the limit, I believe.  After much lobbying and a couple free cases of beer, the IA beer brewers were able to get this outdated law overturned and open the doors for Iowa brewers to brew higher ABV beers.  In celebration, Peace Tree decided to brew Blonde Fatale.  This sneaky blonde Belgian was such a huge hit that they decided to make it a winter seasonal.

This ale is a stupendously clear golden pale color.  Its appearance is accentuated by numerous columns of carbonation bubbles speeding to the top of my pilsner glass where a huge billowing foam... wait a second, WTF happened to the foam??? It's gone! Or, more accurately, it never was. I'm a bit surprised since Belgian ales tend to produce a metric shit-ton of foam. Nonetheless, I pressed forward and took a sip. The flavors are very delicate. You'd miss half of them if you powered through the bottle without a second thought. The light, Belgian yeast fruitiness is present but quickly disappears into a subtle sweet malt and lightly toasted bread flavor. Hints of hops are there but hardly discernable. Some bitterness shows up towards the end but is quickly phased out by additional sweetness and a pleasant alcohol warmth.

Overall - I can definitely see why they added this brew to their annual line-up.  It's a very tasty and devious beer.  The alcohol is nowhere to be found other than in the warming sensation you get in your cheeks.  The flavors are full but light.  Take notice of your first few sips to really appreciate everything going on in this Belgian blonde.  And definitely drink it at cellar temp (48F) to get the full bouquet of flavors.  I'm happy I grabbed this sixer out of the four others I had to chose from.  I'll be buying more from Peace Tree next time I'm in Iowa.


P.S. - GO CYCLONES!  Yes, I know it's five days later.  But it was seriously the best... damn... game... ever!  Besides, how can I write about an Iowa beer without mentioning the best football team in the state?!