It’s been awhile since I posted a beer review.  Here are a couple of brews  you might find worthy.

Sucaba: Firestone Walker Brewing, Paso Robles, CA.  13.3% ABV.

This is the annual Barley Wine style ale offering from Firestone Walker Brewing.  This year it’s 13.3% ABV, and was difficult to find.  Sucaba is not just another Barley Wine, it’s bourbon barrel aged, which gives it that extra special something that sets it apart from all the other Barley Wines.

Sucaba pours an opaque, cloudy brown color with a light beige head that fades rapidly.  The aroma is sweet, vanilla, and a little boozy.  The flavor is slightly bitter up front, then vanilla/coconut and slightly sweet.  There is a nice bourbon aftertaste

This beer has a heavy body with a full, silky mouthfeel.  Warm it up to about 60° F for drinking, and the chocolate, vanilla and coconut flavors will dominate.  On this occasion, I drank the 2015 version from a 22 oz. bomber.  This is an excellent Barley Wine style ale.  Good luck trying to find it, however.  It’s distributed in very limited quantities.  I purchased this bomber at Costco (that’s right, at Costco) in January 2015 for $11.69 and drank it on February 8, 2015.

Sriracha Hot Stout: Rogue Ales, Newport OR.  5.7% ABV.

Sriracha Hot Stout pours black with a 3/4″ cocoa colored head.  The aroma is coffee with some chocolate.  Coffee and dark chocolate is prevalent in the initial flavor, but that rapidly yields to the spicy hot Sriracha.  The hot Sriracha warms the back of the throat and lingers.  It is hotter than most jalapeño beers, but is not unpleasant or overwhelming.  You will not, however, notice anything else in the aftertaste.  There is just a slight chocolate lingering on the palate, but the heat quickly overwhelms it.

Overall, this is a good beer.  I think the underlying stout is ok, but it’s hard to tell because of the heat.  I prefer English style stouts (sweeter, heavier) and those that are high in alcohol/slightly boozy.  My lips were burning slightly while drinking this.  The bottle is a bit of a novelty – 750 ML, opaque red with the Sriracha rooster on the front.  It looks like a huge bottle of Sriracha hot sauce.  I consumed/reviewed this bottle on March 25, 2015.  I think I will get another bottle and age it for awhile to see how the heat holds up.

That’s it for now.  Sucaba is very hard to come by, but Sriracha Hot Stout is widely available at very reasonable prices.  Remember, please read responsibly.  Cheers!