101 North Brewing Company Naughty Aud Imperial Stout

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

Tonight’s featured beer is 101 North Brewing Company Naughty Aud Imperial Stout.  I enjoyed this beer during SF Beer Week and was happy to see it at California Craft Beer (here) in Fremont.

From the 101 North Brewing Company website: “Black as the moonless night, Naughty Aud Imperial Stout boasts a profusion of complexity in flavor and aroma possessed by few other styles of ale. A sturdy crosshatch of molasses, mocha and caramel malt imbued with soft, luminescent aromas of smoked bourbon and vanilla.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance:  Pours black with a large mocha colored head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Scents of mocha, coffee, roasted malts, vanilla and a slight bourbon aroma.

Taste: Caramel, roasted and chocolate malts, vanilla, coffee, molasses and a touch of bourbon which could be a carryover from the nose.

Overall: I enjoyed 101 North Brewing Company Naughty Aud Imperial Stout during SF Beer Week and I enjoyed this bottle quite a bit.  I plan on picking up another one of these 8.5% ABV offerings soon.  Very enjoyable!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Backstreet Brewery Tomahawk Double IPA

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Backstreet Brewery Tomahawk Double IPA. I picked this bottle up in Palm Desert. 

From the Backstreet Brewery website: “This style originated in San Diego, California and has since swept the nation. An all-around heavy hitting beer in which the high IBUs, alcohol and extremely dry finish deliver a serious “Hop Chop” across the palette. With nearly three pounds of hops per barrel, Tomahawk DIPA may put some hair on your head or possibly the opposite. Dry hopped with Mosaic, Wakatu and Waimea hops.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a hazy copper color with a thin off-white head and splotchy lacing.

Aroma: Grapefruit and other citrus aromas, some tropical and pine and sweet malts.

Taste: Sweet and biscuit malts, grapefruit/citrus hops and slight pine and tropical hop flavors.

Overall: Backstreet Brewery Tomahawk Double IPA has a nice hop/malt balance and at 9.2% ABV is not boozy at all. 

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Firestone Walker Brewing Company Velvet Merkin Bourbon Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Firestone Walker Brewing Company Velvet Merkin Bourbon Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout.  I acquired this bottle at Caps & Taps in Dublin. As I’ve said many times before, please visit local shops and support them.  The guys at Caps & Taps (here) are really cool and if you go in there tell ‘em you heard about them here.

From the Firestone Walker Brewing Company website: “Our decadent Oatmeal Stout lovingly aged in Bourbon barrels.  Beautiful chocolate, espresso and vanilla-bourbon aromas hold your nose hostage.  Rich dark chocolate truffle, bourbon and espresso create a dangerously smooth and incredibly drinkable barrel aged Oatmeal Stout.  Hoarding tendencies may occur.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours black with a nice tan colored head and lots of thick spots of lacing.

Aroma: Chocolate, vanilla, oak, coconut, toasted oats, roasted malt and just a slight bourbon scent.

Taste: Toasted oatmeal, quite cookie like, chocolate, caramel, oak, vanilla, roasted malt and just a touch of bourbon.

Overall: Since I knew I loved Firestone Walker Brewing Company Velvet Merlin I knew I’d enjoy Firestone Walker Brewing Company Velvet Merkin Bourbon Barrel Aged Oatmeal Stout.  This 8.5% ABV offering tastes great and smells excellent.  It is lower in alcohol than their other bourbon barrel aged beers, but still worth picking up and trying.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Black Hand Chocolate Milk Stout

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Black Hand Chocolate Milk Stout - Stout brewed with Cacao Nibs.

Commercial description: “The Black Hand lures you in with its dark, smooth character, taking you prisoner with its creamy sweetness. Without warning, this milk stout seizes your senses with aromas of rich chocolate malts and roasted cacao nibs and holds on for a lingering finish.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours very dark brown with a sizeable tan colored head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Roasted and sweet malts, chocolate, lactose and vanilla.

Taste: Chocolate, roasted, sweet and slightly charred malts, creamy and milky lactose and more chocolate in the finish.

Overall: Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Black Hand Chocolate Milk Stout is delicious and delivers loads of chocolate milk Stout goodness.  This 6.9% ABV offering is very drinkable – not overly sweet, but balanced enough to leave you wanting more.  Well done!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Anchor Brewing Company IPA

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Anchor Brewing Company IPA.  I picked up this bottle at Plaza Bottle Shop in San Leandro (here). Not only is this the closest bottle shop to where I live, but they’ll let you buy a single 12 ounce bottle so for my review purposes it is excellent.  They also carry (and get in) special beers before many of the other local bottle shops. If you find yourself in San Leandro, check this place out!

From the Anchor Brewing Company website: “The California Gold Rush lured thousands west to "see the elephant," a 19th-century metaphor for the hopeful but risky pursuit of happiness, adventure, and fortune. As early as 1849, India Pale Ale - prepared by British brewers for export to India by adding dry hops to barrels of hoppy ale - was also heading west, from England around the Horn to San Francisco. Thirsty ‘49ers savored the best imported IPAs, but it wasn’t until 1975 that Anchor, Americas' original craft brewery, pioneered the revival of dry-hopped handmade ales. Now, that tradition fast-forwards to an adventurous new brew: Anchor IPA™.

Anchor IPA™ is made with 2-row barley malt and fresh whole-cone hops, its bright amber color, distinctively complex aroma, spiky bitterness, malty depth, and clean finish unite to create a uniquely flavorful, memorable, and timeless craft IPA.

The elephant you see on Anchor IPA™ was hand-drawn by our label artist, James Stitt. To "see the elephant" was a popular 19th-century expression that originated with a tale that predates the California Gold Rush.

There once lived a farmer who had heard of elephants but had never seen one. He longed for the day when he might catch a glimpse of this rare, exotic creature. When the circus came to town, he loaded his wagon with fresh produce and headed to market. On the way, just as he'd hoped, he came across the circus parade, nobly led by an enormous elephant. The farmer was ecstatic, but his horses were terrified. They reared and bucked, overturning his wagon and scattering its precious contents in the road. "I don’t give a hoot," exclaimed the farmer. "I have seen the elephant!"

The elephant became the universal symbol of the Gold Rush, as evidenced by the journals, letters, and sketchbooks of the forty-niners. Whether or not they struck it rich in the diggings, those plucky pioneers would forever treasure their California adventure as the defining moment of their lives. Have you seen the elephant?”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a clear and dark amber color with a huge khaki head and lots of lacing.

Aroma: Citrus, tropical and pine hop scents with caramel malts for balance.

Taste: Tropical up front, followed by caramel and toasted malts and finished with more tropical, citrus and slight pine hop notes.

Overall: Easy drinking and enjoyable, Anchor Brewing Company IPA drinks like a hoppy English IPA as opposed to a standard West Coast IPA.  This 6.5% ABV offering is certainly worth a try.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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The Great Northern Brewing Company Wheatfish Wheat Lager

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

Tonight’s featured beer is The Great Northern Brewing Company Wheatfish Wheat Lager.

From The Great Northern Brewing Company website: “Combining the best aspects of three major types of beer, Wheatfish is brewed like a German wheat beer, cold-fermented, aged like a lager, & hopped (three separate additions of cascade hops), like an American ale. The wheat contributes a full body & light spiciness. The hops give citrus hints & the finish is crisp & smooth. Low in bitterness & very drinkable.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a hazy golden color with a nice white head and thick lacing.

Aroma: Wheat, Lager yeast, hints of citrus, clove, banana and vanilla.

Taste: Wheat, bready malts, mild spice and just a touch of citrus and yeast.

Overall: Balanced and extremely drinkable, The Great Northern Brewing Company Wheatfish Wheat Lager is very good.  This 4.7% ABV offering is enjoyable and well worth seeking out.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Knee Deep Brewing Company Hoparillo Triple IPA

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Knee Deep Brewing Company Hoparillo Triple IPA.  I picked this bottle up in Fremont, CA at California Craft Beer (here). I’m a big fan of Knee Deep Brewing Company and the minute one of their new offerings hit the shelves I’m all over it.

From the Knee Deep Brewing Company website: “Triple IPA brewed and dry hopped with large amounts of Citra, Mosaic and Amarillo hops that delivers exploding tropical fruit and citrus aromas and flavor. Intense hop aromas that are sure to stimulate your olfactory receptors.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a clear, light bronze color with a thick foamy cream colored head and soapy lacing.

Aroma: Citrus, tropical, and floral hop scents, caramel, roasted and biscuit malts balanced the nose.

Taste: Grapefruit, mango, peach, orange and light pine hops balanced exceptionally with sweet caramel, biscuit and honey malts.

Overall: Easy to drink, smooth and delicious, Knee Deep Brewing Company Hoparillo Triple IPA is yet another winner from this brewery.  This 11.1% ABV offering doesn’t drink like a high ABV beer at all.  Dangerous and absolutely worth picking up!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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The Grand Canyon Brewing Company Horseshoe Bend Pale Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is The Grand Canyon Brewing Company Horseshoe Bend Pale Ale.

From The Grand Canyon Brewing Company website: “Our Pale Ale has a deep amber color and an exceptionally full-bodied, complex character. Large quantities of premium Cascade hops gives our Pale Ale its fragrant bouquet and spicy character.

The Grand Canyon’s burnt orange cliffs are stained with long curtains of dark desert varnish. These colors, along with the green river and blue sky – dazzle the senses, and the Colorado, itself shimmering in the sunlight 1,100 feet below the overlook is nothing short of hypnotic.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a medium orange color with no head and scattered lacing.

Aroma: Caramel and biscuit malts, floral, herbal and citrus hops in the nose.

Taste: Flavor follows the nose with biscuit and caramel malts, slight citrus, spicy and herbal hops – very mildly bitter and mostly sweet.

Overall: Refreshing and crisp, The Grand Canyon Brewing Company Horseshoe Bend Pale Ale is malt forward and drinkable.  This 5.5% ABV offering is something to pick up if you’re looking for something that offers easy drinking and low hop bitterness.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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Madison River Brewing Company Irresistible Amber Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Madison River Brewing Company Irresistible Amber Ale.

From the Madison River Brewing Company website: “This amber is created with the use of choice hops and a unique blend of specialty malts to produce a rich and tasty brew.  It is especially...”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a copper color with a slight beige head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Caramel, bready and biscuit malts, citrus and earthy hops.

Taste: Sweet caramel, biscuit and bready malts (following the nose), nutty, brown sugary and a nice hop spice and bitterness in the finish.

Overall: Enjoyable and balanced, Madison River Brewing Company Irresistible Amber Ale is a solid Amber Ale.  At 5.5% ABV this is a nice refreshing beer.  Ambers don’t tend to be “go to” beers for me, but fans of the style will enjoy this one (as I did).

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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