Monsters’ Park & Xocoveza Charred

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It’s that time of the year when dark beers are plentiful and satisfying.  Here are reviews of two more dark beauties, both loaded with flavor and character.  Please read responsibly.

Monsters’ Park: Modern Times Beer, San Diego, CA.  12% ABV.
Modern Times Beer in San Diego makes one of my favorite coffee stouts, Black House.  Monsters’ Park is their Imperial Stout, and it is definitely a monster compared to Black House.  The description on the label states, “Monsters’ Park is a hulking, cantankerous imperial stout sporting a brawny malt bill and a dry, lingering finish.”

Monsters’ Park pours black with a 3/4″ cocoa colored head that faded rapidly but left a nice ring around the top edge that remained throughout the entire session.  The aroma is semi-sweet dark chocolate.  The flavor is sweet coffee with a little chocolate.  The chocolate lingers on the tongue, then fades to a slight sweetness, typical of imperial stouts.  This sweetness, however, is well balanced with hops.

The body and mouthfeel is thick, but the CO2 peel helps to mitigate the thickness just a bit.  There is a nice lingering semi-sweet chocolate note in the aftertaste.  Although it’s 12% ABV, it is not the least bit boozy or hot.  In fact, it is a deceptively smooth, easy drinking stout; but watch out, it will kick your butt!  As it warms, the alcohol aroma appears, but it’s not overwhelming.  At 60° F or above, there is more coffee, more chocolate, and more booze – in other words, more flavor and aroma.  I recommend you let this one warm up to 55° – 60° before drinking; it’s well worth it!

I sampled Monsters’ Park from a 22 oz. bomber I purchased at Total Wine for $12.99.  It’s worth the price, but I’m not sure it’s still available (I sampled it in November – sorry for the delay in posting the review).

Xocoveza Charred (2015 Series): Stone Brewing, Escondido, CA.  10% ABV.
Have I ever mentioned I like Stone beers?  This is another good one.  Xocoveza Mocha Stout is a Christmas Season beer that Stone releases each year.  It’s a stout described (by Stone) as, “an insanely delicious take on Mexican hot chocolate brewed with cocoa, coffee, chile peppers, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.”  Xocoveza Charred is the same beer aged for 3 months in bourbon barrels.

Xocoveza Charred is pitch black with a 1/4″ light cocoa colored head that faded very rapidly to a ring around the edge.  The aroma is sweet, vanilla and oak.  The flavor is a little bit of chocolate, and a little coffee.  Vanilla is evident mid palate, but fades to a sweet chocolate, with vanilla notes lingering.  The oak/vanilla notes are very subdued and could stand some extra emphasis.  This beer features a medium body, but would benefit from additional mouth feel.

Although this is a bourbon barrel aged beer, the vanilla and oak flavors are not pronounced enough.  However, those flavors overwhelm the spiciness of the original Xocoveza Mocha Stout, which is a little disappointing.  This iteration looses the cinnamon/nutmeg and pepper notes that are so evident in the original version, which is too bad.  Since the barrel aging cut down on the spiciness of the original, the vanilla/coconut flavors derived from the bourbon barrel need to be more pronounced to compensate for the loss.

Xocoveza Charred is a very good beer, but does not have the flavor intensity of the original Xocoveza Mocha Stout.  Knowing what the original tastes like, I was a little disappointed because the spices are lost to the barrel.  The original is an excellent beer; barrel aging should improve/intensify the flavor and complexity, but in this case it actually detracts.  Too bad; maybe it should be aged in the barrel for a longer period of time.

I sampled this beer from a 500 ML corked bottle, which I received as a gift from my father for Christmas.  Thanks, Dad!

So what about these two beers?  I can recommend both, as they are high quality, flavorful examples.  Monsters’ Park is an excellent Imperial Stout and worth the cost, if it’s still available (I haven’t seen it around lately).  Xocoveza Charred is very good, but not as good as the original underlying base beer, Xocoveza Mocha Stout.  Charred sells for $18.99 for a 500 ML bottle at Total Wine; the original Xocoveza Mocha Stout is $15.99 for a six pack (12 oz. bottles).  Like I said, Xocoveza Charred is very good, but for the money I recommend the original Xocoveza – you won’t be disappointed (unless you like only fizzy yellow beer).

Slainte!

Tart Cherry Stout & Fyodor’s Classic

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Happy New Year to one and all from Mac’s Brew Pub.  I’m looking forward to a 2016 filled with good beer and brewing.  I’ve been drinking a lot of big dark beers for the last couple of months.  Here are my thoughts on a couple of Imperial Stouts I recently tasted.  Please read responsibly.

Tart Cherry Stout (Smokestack Series): Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO.  11% ABV.
Tart Cherry Stout is a Special Release Ale in the Smokestack Series of beers from Boulevard Brewing.  Their Smokestack series is a, “. . . special collection of bigger, bolder, more complex brews,” typically with a higher alcohol content than Boulevard’s core brands.  Tart Cherry Stout is an Imperial Stout fermented with tart cherries, and bottle conditioned.

They beer pours black as midnight with a huge dark tan head.  It is well carbonated (due to the bottle conditioning) and though the head subsided, it remained throughout the session, as did the effervescence.  It has much more carbonation than a typical Imperial Stout.

The aroma has a slight note of cherry, but it’s not tart.  The flavor features cherry and tartness along with chocolate notes.  The high carbonation thins out the texture/mouth feel.  Tartness lingers on the tongue, but it’s not overwhelming.  The aftertaste is also cherry, which rapidly fades to a tart and bitter sensation before the cherry returns and lingers.

Tart Cherry Stout is a nice cherry chocolate stout.  It’s 11% ABV, but there is absolutely no booziness.  However, the high carbonation level detracts from the Imperial Stout experience.  With a beer this big, I expect something thick and chewy with a little bit of alcohol bite.  The high carbonation thins out the body and cuts down on the residual sweetness expected from a big Imperial Stout.  You definitely need to let this one warm up to 60° F for drinking – it will cut down the carbonation and increase the body.  It also increases the cherry flavor, which is not necessary.

I purchased this beer at Costco for $10.99.  It comes in a corked 750 ML bottle that popped like a bottle of champagne when opened.

Fyodor’s Classic (2015 Series): Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA.  13% ABV.
This is another bourbon barrel aged offering from Stone Brewing in San Diego, but it’s not just another Stone beer.  It is the 2014 version of Stone’s Imperial Russian Stout aged for seven months in Kentucky Bourbon barrels.  I love Stone’s IRS, but this beer towers over the non-aged version.

Fyodor’s Classic is pitch black and creates a 1/2″ cocoa colored head when poured into a tulip glass.  The head fades rapidly to a thin ring along the perimeter, which left no lacing during the session.

The aroma is sweet vanilla, coconut, bourbon, chocolate and raisin.  the initial flavor sensation is sweet, with a CO2 bite on the tongue.  This swiftly transitions to a slightly sweet cocoa, then to coconut/vanilla (from the bourbon barrel), and finally to a very pleasant semi-sweet dark chocolate and coffee that lingers for quite awhile.

Fyodor’s Classic is well carbonated, but retains a thick, chewy mouthfeel and body, yet it’s not too sweet.  In spite of the high alcohol content (13%), there is no booziness noted, even as it warms.  However, the alcohol immediately starts warming the throat and belly, with warming to the rest of the body right behind..

Fyodor’s Classic is a world class beer.  The aftertaste is where this one really excels.  The taste magically transitions from one flavor to the next, but that transition is so slow and seamless there is no definitive point where one can say, “that’s exactly where it changed.”  This beer is unbelievably complex and wonderful.

I purchased this 500 ML corked bottle of Fyodor’s Classic several months ago at Total Wine for $18.99.  It is a limited edition, but because it’s expensive, it is still available.

I can recommend both of these beers.  Although Tart Cherry Stout is very good, I will not purchase another bottle.  It is definitely worth the price ($10.99 if you can still get it at Costco), but I prefer Imperial Stouts with a little more sweetness, viscosity and body.  Fyodor’s Classic, as previously mentioned, is a top notch beer.  It is worth the hefty price tag ($18.99 per bottle at Total Wine) and is sure to be a treat to any Imperial Stout connoisseur.  The usual caveat applies to both of these beers: fizzy yellow beer drinkers – don’t bother.

Slainte!