Modern Times Beer City Of The Dead Stout

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Modern Times Beer City Of The Dead Stout. I picked this bottle up at The Wine Club in San Jose (here). They have a small craft beer section, but they have an incredible selection.  If you're anywhere near The Wine Club go visit them and tell 'em Mark from NorCal Beer Blog sent you!

From the Modern Times Beer website: “City of the Dead is a big, full-bodied stout with lots of chocolate undernotes dominated by the bourbon barrel aged coffee. The beer is dosed at 1 pound per barrel, and has a distinctly rich, bourbon coffee aroma and flavor. As the beer warms, the bright bourbon aroma settles in and the coffee base really shines. This is the first commercially bottled barrel aged coffee beer in the world (that we know of!)”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours black with a dense brown head and lots of lacing.

Aroma: Dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, caramel, roasted malt, toffee, some oak and bourbon.

Taste: Dark chocolate, coffee, toffee, vanilla, caramel, roasted malt, some oak and bourbon.

Overall: Rich, creamy and easy to drink, Modern Times Beer City Of The Dead Stout is enjoyable.  This 7.5% ABV offering is certainly worth a try. 

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)

Prairie Artisan Ales Funky Gold Amarillo - A Dry-Hopped Sour Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Prairie Artisan Ales Funky Gold Amarillo - A Dry-Hopped Sour Ale.

From the Prairie Artisan Ales website: “Funky Gold Amarillo is the second beer in our dry-hopped sour ale series. We took our sour golden ale, Gold, and gave it a heavy dosing of Amarillo hops. The result is a beer that is a mix of tropical fruit and Prairie funk. Notes of peach, orange, white wine, and citrusy brett can be found in the flavor and aroma.”

Let’s get started!

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

Aroma: Citrus, stone fruits, tropical fruit, funky Brett, earthy and a bit floral.

Taste: Tropical fruit, citrus, white wine, Brett funk, sour and a bit grassy.

Overall: Complex and refreshing, Prairie Artisan Ales Funky Gold Amarillo - A Dry-Hopped Sour Ale is delicious. This 7.5% ABV offering is fruity, dry and light and well worth a try.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)

Abita Brewing Company Bourbon Street Imperial Stout

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Abita Brewing Company Bourbon Street Imperial Stout - Ale Aged In Bourbon Barrels.  I picked this bottle up at The Wine Club in San Jose (here). They have a small craft beer section, but they have an incredible selection.  If you're anywhere near The Wine Club go visit them and tell 'em Mark from NorCal Beer Blog sent you!

From the Abita Brewing Company website: “Bourbon Street Stout is an Imperial Stout that is aged in small batch bourbon barrels. Our Imperial Stout is brewed with a combination of pale, caramel, chocolate and roasted malts. Oats are also added to give the beer a fuller and sweeter taste. The roasted malts give the beer its dark color as well as its intense flavor and aroma. After fermentation the beer is cold aged for 6 weeks. This is necessary for all of the flavors of the malt and hops to balance and produce a very smooth flavor.

After the cold aging the beer is transferred into the bourbon barrels. It is then aged for another 8 weeks to absorb all of the flavors from the barrels. The result is a stout that brings out the roasted flavors from the malt and the warming toasted, vanilla, and bourbon flavors.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a dark brown with a dense tan head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Chocolate, vanilla, roasted malt, coconut, bourbon, caramel and some oak.

Taste: Flavors follow the aroma with chocolate, roasted malt, bourbon, coconut, vanilla, toffee and oak.

Overall: Lighter in body than most of the bourbon barrel aged Stouts I drink, Abita Brewing Company Bourbon Street Imperial Stout was good. This 10% ABV offering is something I’d recommend trying now, not cellaring.  Not as chewy or thick as most, I enjoyed the flavors and the ease of drinking.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)

Stillwater Artisanal Gose Gone Wild German Style Sour Wheat Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Stillwater Artisanal Gose Gone Wild German Style Sour Wheat Ale.

From the Stillwater Artisanal website: “It's no secret that we like to party, and sometimes it gets wild. So we took Westbrook's refreshing Gose and cranked up the volume a bit, adding a massive dose of Citra & Amarillo hops, then fermented it with various strains of Brettanomyces.. go Westbrook, it's your birthday, get funky!!”

Let’s get started!

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

Aroma: Citrus, tropical fruits, grass, Brett funk, pale malt and earthy.

Taste: Sour citrus, stone fruits, tropical and melon flavors, wheat, pale malt, funky and a touch of salt.

Overall: Refreshing, sour and light, Stillwater Artisanal Gose Gone Wild German Style Sour Wheat Ale is impressive.  This 4.3% ABV offering is delicious and well worth grabbing if you’re a fan of the style.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)

Port Brewing Company Wipe Out IPA

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Port Brewing Company Wipe Out IPA.

From the Port Brewing Company website: “Brewed to celebrate anyone and everyone who has ever paddled out into the best wave of the day, only to blow it and Wipeout in a blaze of glory.

Our version of a West Coast Style IPA brewed with a measure of heavy handed San Diego dry-hopping resulting in an aroma bursting with fresh hop notes including Apricots and citrus rinds. A crisp, dry and very refreshing IPA with resonating hop character and a finish of grassy hop notes.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours orange with a large off-white foamy head and lots of lacing.

Aroma: Citrus, tropical and stone fruit hop notes with toasted and caramel malt notes.

Taste: Tropical, citrus and grassy hop flavors, toasted bread and caramel malts to sweeten and balance nicely.

Overall: Crisp and juicy, Port Brewing Company Wipe Out IPA is a solid IPA.  This 7% ABV offering is a delicious West Coast IPA and one I’d suggest trying.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)

Shipyard Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Scotch Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Shipyard Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Scotch Ale - bottle No. 02052.

From the Shipyard Brewing Company website: “Our award-winning, limited release Bourbon Barrel Aged ales are carefully cellar-aged in small batches in decanted bourbon barrels at our brewery in Portland, Maine.  Aged over 100 days.  Unlimited shelf life.  Recommended serving temperature is 55 degrees Fahrenheit in brandy-style stemware.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours dark brown with a mocha colored head and lots of spotty lacing.

Aroma: Boozy – bourbon, vanilla, caramel, roasted malts, toffee, dark fruits, some peat, chocolate, oak and coffee.

Taste: Malty – caramel, roasted, chocolate and toffee, bourbon, vanilla, dark fruits and a slight bit of peat and oak.

Overall: A big beer, Shipyard Brewing Company Bourbon Barrel Aged Double Scotch Ale is very good.  This 10.1% ABV offering is a delicious barrel-aged sipper.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)

Anderson Valley Brewing Keebarlin' Pale Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Anderson Valley Brewing Keebarlin' Pale Ale.

From the Anderson Valley Brewing website: “Brewed with 100% Columbus hops and loaded with hop flavor and aroma, Keebarlin’ Pale Ale takes aim at what a session beer should be.  The use of Caracrystal® Wheat malt imparts subtle caramel and smooth dark toast flavors to perfectly balance the earthy, herbal hop profile.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a clear golden color with a large white head and lots of lacing.

Aroma: Citrus – grapefruit, orange and lemon, floral, sweet bready and light caramel malts.

Taste: Caramel malt and bready backbone supported nicely by citrus (grapefruit, lemon, orange), floral and grassy hop notes.

Overall: Crisp and balanced, Anderson Valley Brewing Keebarlin' Pale Ale is a nice session Pale Ale. At 4.2% ABV this is an easy to drink beverage.  I like it!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)

Hawai'i Nui Brewing Kaua'i Golden Ale

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Hawai'i Nui Brewing Kaua'i Golden Ale.

From the Hawai'i Nui Brewing website: “Bright. Tropical. Refreshing. When youʻre thirsty, look no further than Kauaʻi Golden Ale. Cool off after a day of outdoor activities with the island-style ale inspired by the dramatic golden sands of Hawaii. Gently balanced with a delicate citrus aroma. Light-bodied craft beer with a classic hop aroma and dry finish. Try it with sushi, sashimi and poke.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a bright yellow color with a white head and nice lacing.

Aroma: Lightly toasted grainy malts, slight caramel, citrus and tropical hop notes.

Taste: Malts upfront, lightly toasted and caramel, slight tropical and citrus hops.

Overall: Light and easy drinking, Hawai'i Nui Brewing Kaua'i Golden Ale is nice.  This 4.9% ABV offering was brought back for me from Hawaii so I’m sure I got this as fresh as possible and I enjoyed it!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)

Community Beer Company Barrel-Aged Legion Russian Imperial Stout

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

Tonight’s featured beer is Community Beer Company Barrel-Aged Legion Russian Imperial Stout.  I picked up this bottle at Lonestar Beverages (here) in Carrollton, TX.

From the Community Beer Company website: “We're big fans of barrel-aged beer.  So, we're excited to release the first beer in our Barrel-Aged Series, Barrel-Aged Legion Russian Imperial Stout!

DESCRIPTION:

This is the first our our Barrel-Aged Series, which takes a selection of our beers and ages them in some of the finest barrels available. The possibilities for creativity are endless, and our brewers dream big! Individual wooden barrels impart distinctly different flavors: vanilla, coconut, honey and toast, as well as any contribution from the barrels’ previous contents. As a craft brewery, we love the varying nuances imparted by each of these amazing barrels, and strive to make each release in this series a unique one!

In this batch, we have aged Legion – our popular Russian Imperial Stout – in a variety of bourbon and whiskey barrels. The result is a beautiful marriage of the beer, barrel and spirit, contributing flavors of toffee, vanilla and candied fruits, all mingling with roasty, smooth Legion.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours dark brown, nearly black with a mocha colored head and spotty lacing.

Aroma: Chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, dark fudge and dark roasted malt.

Taste: Bourbon, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, oak, dark fruits, toffee, caramel, dark roasted malt and a slight tasted of honey.

Overall: A little creamy and certainly smooth, Community Beer Company Barrel-Aged Legion Russian Imperial Stout is well-crafted.  This 12% ABV offering is well worth a try for fans of the style.  I’m glad I brought a few home.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

If you haven’t already, please like the NorCal Beer Blog on Facebook (here)