Rod and Jess’ Blog

The oak aged brother of Great Divide’s Imperial Stout

This is a beer that Jess and I were able to try cask conditioned at GABF last year and we were big fans of it.  I picked up a bottle at the Goose a few weeks back, curious how it would taste from a bottle.

The nose on this one at first spikes up as alcohol, but quickly melts into the surrounding aromas to create more of a bourbon and oak scent.  Roasted malts, vanilla, a hint of espresso and chocolate milk all mix in to create the type of experience you would expect in an imperial stout.

At first taste, the alcohol definition sticks out in this one, making sure you are aware of the 9.5% ABV (perhaps even appearing stronger).  A few years of age on the Oak Aged Yeti might mellow this out.  Chocolate and bourbon are the predominate flavors, which are balanced fairly well.  This is a very heavy beer that fills the mouth with a thick, creamy consistency.  If anyone has every told you Guinness is so thick you could cut it with a fork and a knife, they’ve never had an Imperial Stout.  Great Divide’s take on the style comes across a bit stronger on the hops than most other breweries.  After the swallow, a bitter, piney hop flavor remains even after the roasted malts have cleared away.

Overall, I like the flavor of this beer but I think the alcohol is a bit too strong to drink it right away.  A year in the basement would make this a very tasty stout.

Oh sour beers, how awesome you are.  The jolly fellows over at Hoosier Beer Geek brought Struise Pannepot to our attention and we had to chance to pick up a few bottles on a big Kahn’s trip a month or two back.  Sitting next to the Pannepot was another beer by Struise, creatively titled Struiselensis.  The bottle was nothing eye-grabbing, but combining the Struise brewery with the words “sour ale” had me sold.

This beer has a nice golden amber color and a very subtle rapid fizziness.  The mouthfeel is that of a light champagne.  The trademark sour ale yeasty aroma with a major dose of funk has shown up for this party.  If you’ve never had a sour ale before, these things can be a bit hard to explain.  The taste is quite tart, yet extremely balanced.  It fills the mouth with sour citrus notes, grapefruit, lemon, maybe a hint of lime.  White grapes, pear and apples and cider vinegar balance out the sour flavors with a refreshing sweetness.  After each swallow, the mouth and throat are left with a nice slight puckered feeling.

I would say this holds its own among lambics and guezes and I would gladly drink it again.  Jess agreed with me that its flavor profile is eeriely reminiscent of another beer we’ve had.  We’re going to take a shot in the dark and guess that beer is Frank Boon’s Geuze.  Feel free to conduct your own experiments.

I originally mentioned Oerbier was brewed by the Oerbier brewery, which is wrong.  I have edited my post to correctly note the brewery as De Dolle Brouwers.

Here’s a few notes on the beer we tried tonight, as well as one we had a few weeks back.

Oerbier

The signature beer from the De Dolle Brouwers brewery.

Rod: The nose brings out cherries, roasted malt and alcohol.  The body has a very fizzy sharpness that is common of some Belgian breweries and I don’t particularly care for.  The flavor is somewhat complex, composed of cherries, plums, raisins, caramel, toffee, brown sugar and alcohol.  There is an underlying tartness and a lingering alcohol sensation in the dry finish that hints at the strength of this beer, contrary to its light, fizzy body.  Overall, it definitely has a flavor to be savored, by the fizzy body is off putting.

Jess: This beer is quite lackluster when you first try it due to it being too cold.  I’d recommend letting it warm up a little before tasting it.  The beer has a lot of malted flavors and a hint of the belgian candi sugar, but just a hint.  There’s also a very fruity flavor that tends to end in an alcoholic aftertaste.  I think my tastebuds might not be up to par as I’m coming down with the sniffles.

Trader Joe’s 2007 Vintage Ale

The Vintage Ale from a few weeks back.

Rod: The nose is somewhat watery and has the characteristics of a traditional Belgian dubbel, composed of orange, burnt sugar and Belgian yeast.  The body reminds me a lot of Brian Boru, though slightly more brown.  A subtle fizz is noticeable and the first taste sets up the impression that this is a pretty basic Belgian brown ale.  The alcohol weakens the flavor profile slightly and the finish is watery.  After I had finished half of the beer I warmed up to it a bit and decided that I did enjoy it as a very cost effective Belgian.  It sort of reminds me of the style that Terrible is brewed in, but without all the complexity that makes Terrible delicious.  That could also be my poor memory.  We have another aging in the basement so we’ll see what time does to the flavor profile.

Jess:  Raisins and a hint of citrus come through in the nose.  The first taste is bubbly with a high gravity and warming notes.  At second taste it becomes reminiscent of Raison d’Etre without the ick, but not very complex for a Belgian.  It finishes like it is missing half of the flavor.  I guess it’s a good Belgian intro for the Miller Lite club.