Palo Alto Brewing Company Cool Beanz Coffee Porter

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Palo Alto Brewing Company Cool Beanz Coffee Porter. 

Commercial description: “Cool Beanz Coffee Porter is an easy drinking porter with a balanced yet notably coffee focused beer. We brew this beer with our local Coffee Roaster Philz Coffee. The Philz roast we use, Philtered Soul, is roasted with hazelnuts and lends a nice nutty roundness to the beer.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a dark reddish brown with a decent off-white head and slight lacing.

Aroma: Huge coffee nose, chocolate and hazelnuts.

Taste: Chocolate, coffee, roasted malts and hazelnuts. Tastes like an adult coffee drink.

Overall: I have to say this is the best way to drink coffee.  Palo Alto Brewing Company Cool Beanz Coffee Porter, weighing it at 6% ABV, is delicious.  This will be yet another beer I’m going to want to keep around. I highly recommend this one!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Triple Voodoo Brewing Witopia

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Triple Voodoo Brewing Witopia. 

Commercial description: “Witopia is a Belgian style Witbier brewed with a generous portion of wheat and spiced with coriander and orange peel. This beer is fruity, refreshing and has a nice earthy tone.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a cloudy golden orange with a nice white head and decent lacing.

Aroma: Wheat, banana, cloves, Belgian yeast, citrus and coriander.

Taste: Nice mix of wheat and malts, citrus, coriander, cloves, banana, spices and Belgian yeast.

Overall: Nice, light and balanced well, Triple Voodoo Brewing Witopia is a very drinkable offering.  At 5.5% ABV this is another pleasant beer from a brewery that has continued to please with their releases. I would most certainly pick this one up again.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

The Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout

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

Tonight’s featured beer is The Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout. 

From The Lost Abbey website: “The history of the bible and religion is indeed the struggle of good vs. evil. Our Serpent’s Stout recognizes the evil of the dark side that we all struggle with.

This is a massively thick and opaque beer that begs the saints to join the sinners in their path to a black existence.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours pitch black with a large mocha head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Roasted malts, coffee, dark chocolate, molasses and vanilla.

Taste: Rich dark chocolate, roasted malts, coffee, caramel, toffee and vanilla.

Overall: Exceptional and complex, The Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout is everything I was hoping it would be.  At 10.5% ABV this is easily one of the best stouts on the market.  As usual, The Lost Abbey does it again (as if I had any doubt).

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Stone Brewing Company Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Stone Brewing Company Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale. 

From the Stone Brewing Company website: “This is an aggressive beer. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory --- maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you’re mouthing your words as you read this.

Too many strive towards complacency as a goal. We grow up thinking that the ability to become complacent is the equivalence of success in life. True Arrogant Bastards know that this could not be further from the truth. The real beauty, richness and depth in life can only be found if the journey through life itself is looked upon as a constant chance to learn, live and find life’s passion. Passion threatens the complacent, and fills them with fear. Fear of the new, the deep and the different. We, on the other hand, seek it out. Endlessly, joyously...and aggressively. To this end we bring you the “OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale.” Another reward for those seeking new sources of passion, and another point of dissension for those who are not.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a dark reddish brown with a light beige head and good lacing.

Aroma: Pine and citrus hops, sweet caramel malts and beer soaked oak.

Taste: Pine, citrus, sweet caramel malts, vanilla and very well oaked. Delicious!

Overall: I really enjoy Stone beers and Stone Brewing Company Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale is yet another reason to bow down to their greatness.  I had a chance to have this on tap last summer.  This is another great Bastard to contend with the rest.  The addition of the oak really brings additional character to an already exceptional beer.  At 7.2% ABV enjoy a couple.  You deserve it!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

The Bruery 5 Golden Rings Belgian Style Golden Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is The Bruery 5 Golden Rings Belgian Style Golden Ale. 

From The Bruery website: “5 Golden Rings is the 5th verse in our ‘12 Days of Christmas’ winter seasonal ale series. The only golden ale in the bunch, we spiced up the natural pause in the classic song with cinnamon, allspice and ginger along with the delicious sweet and tangy flavor of pineapple. The resulting ale is a true holiday treat that can be enjoyed fresh or cellared until 2019, when 12 Drummers Drumming will be released.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours orange with a dense white head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Huge pineapple aroma, cloves, spices, Belgian yeast and sugar.

Taste: Giant flavor! Belgian yeast, cloves, pineapple, sweet malt, nutmeg and a faint banana taste.

Overall: Sweet and remarkably balanced, The Bruery 5 Golden Rings Belgian Style Golden Ale is a stellar beer.  At 11.5% ABV the alcohol is apparent, but not in a bad way. This is so easy to drink I’m going to need to pick up some more – some for now and some for cellaring.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV Abt 12

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV Abt 12. 

From the St.Bernardus website:” The St.Bernardus Abt 12 is the pride of our stable, the nec plus ultra of our brewery. Abbey ale brewed in the classic 'Quadrupel' style of Belgium's best Abbey Ales. Dark with a full, ivory-colored head. It has a fruity aroma, full of complex flavours and excels because of its long bittersweet finish with a hoppy bite. (10.0% ABV) Worldwide seen as one of the best beers in the world. It's a very balanced beer, with a full-bodied taste and a perfect equilibrium between malty, bitter and sweet. One of the original recipes from the days of license-brewing for the Trappist monks of Westvleteren (see history)”.

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a reddish brown with a huge off-white head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Dark fruits, banana, Belgian yeast and candi sugar, brown sugar, molasses, spices, bready malts, cocoa and honey.

Taste: Dark fruits, sweet caramel and roasted malts, banana, Belgian yeast and candi sugar, citrus, chocolate, molasses and spices.  There’s so much going on with this one I could probably keep writing about all of the flavors hitting my palate!

Overall: I now understand the hype about St.Bernardus Abt 12.  This 10% ABV Belgian Quadrupel is astounding.  Highly drinkable, the alcohol is barely detectible.  I recommend picking some up and trying this one for yourself.  This really is one of the finest beers around.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Unibroue Trois Pistoles Belgian Strong Dark Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Unibroue Trois Pistoles Belgian Strong Dark Ale. 

From the Unibroue website:” Trois Pistoles (Three Coins) is named after a small village of Quebec. Founded over 300 years ago, Trois Pistoles gave birth to several legends, including one about the Black Horse. It involved a local bishop who conjured up a good devil (appearing in the form of bridled black steed) to haul large brick stones to construct a new church. When someone accidentally removed the bridle, the black horse suddenly vanished just as the last remaining stone was to be set. This stone is still missing, as can be seen when visiting the local church.” 

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a dark brown with a large cream colored head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Roasted malts, chocolate, dried dark fruits, spices and rum.

Taste: Dark fruits, sweet and roasted malts, chocolate, spices and hints of molasses.

Overall: Smooth and exceptional, Unibroue Trois Pistoles Belgian Strong Dark Ale is complex and very drinkable.  At 9% ABV this might not be something you’ll drink a lot of, but you’ll want to.  The alcohol is well hidden by the incredible flavors.  Pick some up…you’ll be glad you did!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Oakland Brewing Company Sticky Zipper IPA

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Oakland Brewing Company Sticky Zipper IPA.  I like seeing new local beers when I go shopping and so when I found this one I gladly picked it up.

Commercial description: “"Sticky Zipper is all about our passion for the hop. American 2-row, crystal and Munich malts create a smooth and ...solid base for the hope to come. Prodigious amounts of late addition and dry hopping with cascade and falconer's flight provide a balanced bitterness with huge hop aroma and flavor - with notes of citrus, pine, and lemon zest - all without the tooth-enamel-stripping bitterness found in other IPAs....Cheers!" 

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a clear orange with a large white head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Nice mix of citrus and pine hops, sweet caramel and biscuit malts.

Taste: Sweet caramel malts with a touch of biscuit malts, citrus and pine hop bitterness.

Overall: Very drinkable, Oakland Brewing Company Sticky Zipper IPA is nicely balanced.  Solid hop profile and malt backend, I’d pick this 7.4% ABV offering up again.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

Ballast Point Brewing Company Victory At Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Ballast Point Brewing Company Victory At Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter. 

Commercial description: “Two of the world’s oldest beverages join forces to conquer your palate. Victory at Sea embodies the art of masterful brewing by infusing a velvety Imperial Porter with pure vanilla flavor and specially-selected, hand roasted coffee. The addition of cold brewed coffee to the beer lends a subtle roasted flavor to this robust imperial porter, blending perfectly with rich vanilla and caramel undertones. By uniting two San Diego brewing traditions, Caffe Calabria freshly brewed coffee and Ballast Point beer, we have successfully created an artisanal masterpiece.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours black with a tan head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Coffee, chocolate and vanilla.  This beer smells amazing!

Taste: WOW!  Chocolate, vanilla, roasted and sweet malts and coffee. This is one of the best tasting beers I’ve ever had.

Overall: I’m a huge fan of Porters and Ballast Point Brewing Company Victory At Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter is probably one of the best Porters, let alone beers, I’ve ever had. The flavor of this 10% ABV beer is over the top good and the alcohol is hardly detectable.  This is a beer to seek, purchase and keep around at all times.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey