Have you been wondering what to spend your beer money on? I’ve got notes on lots of beer I’ve tasted in the last several months, but haven’t had time to post any reviews. Here are a few examples that any true connoisseur should find tasty and worthy. Please read responsibly!
8 Buffalo: Beachwood Brewing, Long Beach CA. 12% ABV
This beer is a bourbon barrel aged Imperial Russian Stout. It’s released seasonally, and should be available soon (this review is based upon a bottle I aged at Mac’s for several months). It is available in 22 oz. bombers.
8 Buffalo pours pitch black with a ¼” cocoa head that immediately fades to a thin ring. The aroma is vanilla, oak, and bourbon with chocolate notes. The flavor is strong chocolate, roasty, sweet, vanilla and fades to toffee and bitter cocoa. There is a lingering bittersweet chocolate in the aftertaste.
This stout has a thick mouth feel and heavy body with a low carbonation level. The alcohol, although 12%, is not noticeable in the flavor, but immediately produces a nice warming sensation. The effects are also felt right away.
As this beer warms, the foam ring around the perimeter increases to about ¼” and thin film develops across the top. The aroma becomes a bit sweeter, and the alcohol becomes slightly noticeable. The flavor develops a bit more bitter chocolate with less vanilla. The bourbon barrel aging becomes less noticeable and the aftertaste sweetens.
This is an excellent beer – very complex. I can highly recommend this one to those who appreciate Imperial Stouts and/or bourbon barrel aged ales.C
Mocha Machine: Beachwood Brewing, Long Beach, CA. 9.2% ABV.
This is Beachwood’s Imperial Porter with coffee and chocolate. This is brewed on a rotating basis, so it’s not always available, yet is not too hard to find. I sampled this from a 22 oz. bomber.
Mocha Machine pours black with a ¼” tan head that lasts forever. The aroma is MOCHA – sweet, coffee, vanilla. The flavor is also mocha, semi-sweet coffee, chocolate and vanilla. It fades to a pleasant coffee aftertaste that lingers.
No hoppiness or bitterness is detected, but it’s not overly sweet or out of balance. The coffee is front and center, but is not unpleasant or bitter. It’s very good. I would describe it like an iced coffee, slightly sweetened. Very well done, Beachwood!
Consecration: Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa, CA. 10% ABV.
I’ve never had anything bad from Russian River Brewing. This is no exception. Consecration is a sour dark ale aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with black currants added.
Consecration pours a clear mahogany brown with a fizzy cream-colored head that fades immediately. It is very highly carbonated (it’s bottle conditioned in a Belgian style bottle with cork and wire cage). Only a slight ring persists around the perimeter during the session.
The aroma is TART, tart and more tart – cherries with some sweet notes. The flavor is sweet black cherry for a brief moment, then a tart attack. Red wine, currents and plum flavors are noted. Did I mention that it’s sour? There’s no way you’re going to miss the brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and pediococcus added to the aging barrel. The aftertaste is tartness with some wine and a dry finish.
The carbonation level is high on the tongue, and Consecration has a medium to light body. The alcohol is not at all noted in the flavor, but the effect sure is noticeable. After 1/3 of a glass, it kicks in with a nice warming buzz.
I had this on tap at Russian River, and have had it more than once from a 12 oz. bottle. Consecration is excellent, and I highly recommend it. Caveat: if you don’t like sour beers, you won’t like this one, so don’t waste your money or torture yourself – leave it for those who appreciate the style.
7TH Anniversary: Black Market Brewing, Temecula, CA. 12.3% ABV.
As the name states, this is Black Market’s 7th anniversary release. It’s an Imperial Stout, aged in bourbon barrels and blended. I’ve had this bottle for a while, so I presume the 8th anniversary version will be released soon (if it’s not already available).
7TH Anniversary pours dark brown with a ½” tan head that fades after about a minute to a very substantial ring. The aroma is sweet, vanilla, oak, chocolate, nuts, brown sugar and some alcohol. The flavor is chocolate, vanilla, dark fruit, coconut and sweet cherry. It’s quite sweet, and the high alcohol content is well hidden.
The aftertaste is vanilla, coconut and oak – in other words, bourbon barrel. The throat warms after swallowing, and while enjoying the strong vanilla and milk chocolate aftertaste. The body is very viscous, thick, heavy and velvety smooth.
This is a dessert beer. Obviously with this much alcohol, it’s sipped (not guzzled). As it warms, the aroma becomes sweeter and more brown sugar is noted. Some very pleasant bitterness creeps in to the flavor at the back of the palate and the aftertaste is not quite as sweet.
7TH Anniversary is a very good beer. I currently have another bottle (a 22 oz. bomber) aging in the cellar and will consume it sometime in the future – it should age very nicely.
Well, there you have it; three dark beers (two imperial stouts and one imperial porter) and a sour for your (reading) consumption. I can highly recommend all four of these beers, but Consecration is the most unique of the bunch. If you like sour beers, there is no reason why you wouldn’t love it. If you don’t like sour beers, or haven’t really tried them, this would be a good one to cut your teeth on – start with a really good example of the style and it might just win you over right away. I should warn you, however, fizzy yellow beer drinkers need to stay away from these. They are much too complex for your tastes. Leave these beers to the big boys!
Sláinte!