Port Brewing Old Viscocity

Beer: Port Brewing Old Viscosity
Brewery Location: San Marcos, CA
Beer Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 10%


I've had several offerings from Port/Lost Abbey brewing and this is one that I've not been able to get a hold of from them. The good news is that they are now distributing a large selection of their line-up to Chicago now, so if you are in the area their beers are well worth checking out. I just got this one in trade this past week.

The "American Strong Ale" is just a catch all category here and it doesn't really fit into any particular style. The beer used 20% of the blend has been aged in bourbon barrels.

Appearance: This beer pours a very deep and dark brown color with a very small dark brown head on it.
Smell: The nose starts out with plenty of sweet molasses, licorice, chocolate, and smokey charred oak. The aroma is quite sweet and as the beer warmed toffee and caramel are very present.
Taste: The flavor profile starts out with a blast roasted malt and dark cherries. The finish has plenty of bourbon, anise, and even some coffee lingering in the background.
Mouthfeel: It is very thick and chewy with the alcohol very apparent in the mouthfeel, but at 10% that is to be expected.
Drinkability: I wouldn't reach for this very often, but this sipper is nice if you like bourbon barrel aged type beers.

I personally wasn't a big fan of this beer. The alcohol and bourbon overtook most of the other flavors and the complexity of this beer didn't shine through as well as it should have. I am curious if some age on this beer would mellow out those flavors a little bit, and then I think this beer would be a real winner. I tend to vary more on the side of balance when it comes to bourbon barrel aged beers. If that is your thing though you will enjoy this beer a great deal.

Cheers!
Matt

Double Bastard 2007

Beer: Stone's Double Bastard Ale 2007
Brewery Location: Escondido, CA
Beer Style: American Strong Ale
Serving Style: Bottle
ABV: 10%



I hope that all that read this blog have been introduced to one of the best breweries in the country and that is Stone Brewing Co. They continue to pump out amazing craft beer year after year and several times a year some special brews come out. Their winter release is Double Bastard. Double bastard is a beefed up version of their flagship beer: Arrogant Bastard. I've had a bottle of the 2006 stashed in my beer collection and haven't yet opened it. This year I grabbed multiple bottles and am going to age them over the years and see how the flavor will change for comparison, but I just had to have at least one right away.

I really like Stone's bottles. Great artwork on them and then the silk screening must be fairly costly, but the beer is still at a reasonable price. I picked this up at Party Pak for 7.99 a bottle. Just a few years ago you could pick this up for 4.99, but Stone's bombers still tend to be reasonable around 4.99 to 7.99 a bottle. They were on sale at the Sunflower Market in Broadripple a few weeks ago for 3.99 a bottle.

This beer pours a deep dark mahogany brown with rusted red accents into my chalice. It has a thin tan head that quickly disappeared with little to no lacing to speak of on the glass. The nose is already a workout on the senses. The smell is dominated by sweet malt and dark fruits coming through. The scent of alcohol and pineapple is present as well about mid-chalice. Sugary malt, pine, dark fruit, and a touch of citrus run across my palate. There is a great deal going on with this beer. Rich malted tones and a smoky caramel are the most dominant flavors to me in this beer. I served this beer at cellar temp and still somehow this beer tends to gain more life the warmer it gets. The sweetness of the malt and bitterness of the hops is very well balanced and well made. The taste is in your face the whole time and in no way subtle, but the balance is really a nice surprise. This beer is a very nice sipper and coats the mouth and tongue very well with it's stickiness. After finishing the bomber I don't really want another one right now and I wouldn't drink this beer with a meal most likely. It is very heavy and quite filling. I know the American strong ale category is a bit of made up category to fill a large variety of beers that craft brewers are making, but the flavors on this beer actually reminded me of a good barleywine.

This is a pretty great offering from Stone. It's absolutely a big beer and will be enjoyed by people that like those types of beers. I know some of my non-beer geek friends have told me they have hated some of the beers that I really love, so if you are drinking "fizzy yellow beer" (as Stone would say it) don't start with this beer. Craft beer lovers should pick this up and give it a try.

Cheers!
Matt

Three Floyd's Alpha Khan

Beer: Three Floyd's Alpha Khan
Brewery Location: Munster, IN
Beer Style: American Strong Ale
Serving Style: On-tap
ABV: 7.5%


This was my first beer on my trip to FFF's this weekend. It was presented in an imperial pint glass with two fingers of white head sitting on top of a nice amber hued body. The lacing was very strong on this beer as I got deeper into it. The smell is all hops with heavy scents of pine and a slight spice scent I can't really put my finger on. I like it, but I am not sure what scent it is. The taste is really striking. Caramel malty sweetness upfront followed by a hop bite heavy on the grapefruit and pine flavor. The flavor profile is perfect and very well balanced. The mouthfeel is smooth and creamy with very light carbonation. This went perfect with my sandwich and it was very thirst quenching. As far as I know you can only get this at the brewpub. That is a real shame for me. This would probably replace my standard in my fridge if it did. I think this beer would be good just about anytime at all.

This is an exceptional beer from FFF's. I just hope they will start bottling it in the very near future.

4.5 out of 5.
Cheers!
Matt