North Coast Brewing Company Old Stock Ale 2011

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is North Coast Brewing Company Old Stock Ale 2011. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts I’m a big fan of North Coast Brewing Company and you can find at least two or three of their beers in my beer fridge at any given time. At $12.99 a four pack Old Stock Ale hadn’t made it into the fridge in years past, but I gave in…for the sake of reviewing and I’m SO glad I did!

From the North Coast Brewing Company website: “Like a fine port, Old Stock Ale is intended to be laid down. With an original gravity of over 1.100 and a generous hopping rate, Old Stock Ale is well-designed to round-out and mellow with age. It's brewed with classic Maris Otter malt and Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops, all imported from England.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours an amazing and lovely dark amber with a slim head and sticky lacing.

Aroma: Dark fruits (figs, plums, dark cherries and raisins), caramel and roasted malts and toffee. I can smell the warmth and it smells like Heaven.

Taste: Flavor just like the scents – dark fruits, bourbon vanilla, roasted and caramel malts with a warm and wonderful alcohol finish. This beer is sweet and has a warm brandy-like or port wine back note to it.

Overall: The high alcohol content (11.9% ABV) and the price make me reconsider drinking more than one of these at a time. Like the finest wines this beer is to be appreciated. It is incredibly drinkable. I plan to stockpile some for aging so I can enjoy the attributes I’ve only heard about. My hope is that I can actually allow them to age…the beer is so dang good right now I may have to hide it.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey