Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout

First saw this at the Wine and Cheese by TCC in Plainfield. I immediately bought a bottle. Then when Jen and I went back the next day, we sat and enjoyed breakfast outside in accompaniment of another bottle, just so I could know what I was in for. Reviewed Wednesday Afternoon after a late night at the brewery til 3:30 AM.


Appearance: The head stood at a 1/2" as shown in the picture. Its consistency was an assortment of fine and medium sized bubbles with a beige to brown cream color. The beer is predominantly black, but with a faint clear brown red transparency when held to very bright light.

Aroma: The scent is mildly roasted with a subtle mineral aroma, more than likely derived from the oyster shells. Similarly,  I also get, and not surprisingly even a brief note of that seafood stench (stench in this case is not something that is overwhelming or even easy to pick out, but still a present character)
Taste: The flavor is actually quite surprisingly palatable. An ideal stout flavor, reminiscent of roast and chocolate, and even a malty toastiness. However what is present in this stout as opposed to other normative varieties is the calcium flavor - a result of the strong presence of the CaCO3 (Calcium Carbonate) present in the shells. Definitely a beer with a relatively higher pH than others. The carbonation does a minor hit to the flavor up front, but what comes about is a soothing chocolate roast presence towards the end. The finish and on into the aftertaste continues to encapsulate this flavor.
Mouthfeel: The body is smooth and rich, while the mouthfeel takes on a slight chalkiness. If it was my guess, I'd say they also (in addition to Oyster shells) used a heavy dose of the CaCO3. Carbonation is high up front and minorly dries the palate aside for the glutton slickness residing on the roof of the mouth.
Overall Impression: The best impression I've had to a typical stout I've found yet. My stereotype to these beers usually is defined by my expectation that if a brewery uses a unique ingredient, they'll amp up the body and alcohol, but Flying Dog did a fantastic representation of a far-out brew that remains extremely palatable and drinkable. I'm getting a six-pack of this when I see it, and you should too. The more I think about it, Flying Dog easily makes it up there with my top 5 breweries. They were there when I first started getting into craft beer, when I PR'd in my races (See Barley Wine) and continue to impress me.

Woody Creek White

Drank while watching Melancholie at our house on the project with a few friends Sunday night. Picked up from Binny's in Plainfield over Easter weekend. Thanks Papa Misewicz!

Appearance: It is a nice hazy golden yellow hue with a little bit of yeast settlement in the bottom of the glass. An off-white, frothy head leave traces of lacing on the side of the glass. Disappears after time.
Aroma: The aroma has a lot of spice throughout: coriander and clove are the main contributors. Combined with the presence of earthy and estery tones. Not much of a hop characteristic in the aroma.
Taste: Light-tasting. There's a bit of lemon zest followed by spiciness from coriander and clove. Body is made up of a wheat malt base complemented by a semi-tart finish. Some lingering lemony bitterness mixed with a light citrus hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel:Fairly clean and creamy texture that helps it go down smoothly. Lighter body and fairly refreshing.
Overall Impression: It was very drinkable and I enjoyed the strong presence of spice, zest and semi-tartness to balance the wheat malt flavors. I hope we get more of this in the QC for the summer. If I have to make the trip to Chicago, so be it.

Old Scratch Amber Lager

This was one of the first beers that got me really interested in craft beer. I'd like to thank Joe Murphy for that. But, I'd like to also thank Joey Waldorf for getting me this beer to review! Enjoyed Friday evening before watching a marathon's worth of Dexter episodes while sipping on a hybrid cross of Great River's Big Cock IPA and Roller Dam Red.

Appearance: Crystal clear with a brilliant amber color. The head starts of soapy consistency, but poor retention leaves a cascaded foam across the surface of the beer. There isn't much happening within as carbonation looks to be absent.
Aroma: Malt forward with a grainy profile. Subtle yeast aromatics complement the caramel/bready backbone of this beer. Unfortunately this beer comes off as a bit oxidized.
Taste: Flavor is an interesting cross between a grainy malt bill and dry leaves. The oxidation really comes through here and almost overwhelms the rest of the malt. Caramel is predominant present with a slight butterscotch finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a surprising carbonation from the look of the beer, one that sizzles the surface of the tongue. Not as smooth as I'd like, going down.
Overall Impression: It's too bad there was a lot of stuff wrong with this beer. I feel the need to create a category of "Re-Do" beers - aka one's not properly preserved on the shelves, or poorly handled. Oh well.


70/100

Snake Dog IPA

Tasted Tuesday afternoon after a workout on the track. Thanks to Joey Waldorf for picking this up over the weekend for a get together at my house.

Appearance: Copper colored with again a rich orange hue. The head has outstanding retention featuring a soapy foam complete with peaks and all. Lacing is wet, yet styrafoamed to the sides of the glass. Minute haze runs throughout the beer with carbonation remaining visible.
Aroma: There remains prominent a large pine nose complemented with a mild fruity undertone of peaches. Perhaps a subtle bready malt base, though falling under layers of aromatic hop features.
Taste:Between sip one and three, the beer changes. At first sip I find a estery plum sensation. Sip two emerges with the caramel bread malt base. Finally, by the third sip the palate adjusts and the deciduous pine flavors completely take over the beers flavor profile. Overall it effectively maintains a very neutral bitterness, with the occasional estery undertone emerging here and there, specifically representative of grapefruit, mango and even a trace of vininess. Alcohol is certainly present in the finish, and equally complimented with a mild grassy aftertaste. As the beer warms, more of the hop flavor transforms into a mellow yet appreciative orange zest bittersweetness.
Mouthfeel: Smooth textured with a medium body. The carbonation is soft against to tongue so as to not really burn/spike the palate when the bitterness or alcohol come through. Cloying on the roof of the mouth while finishing dry and resinous.
Overall Impression: A decent IPA. I enjoyed experiencing how the flavors really developed in this beer. From first sip, to the point where the beer warmed up, everything progressed in a positive manner. Definitely a beer not to judge from first taste. Complex and bursting with hops, while retaining a malt base to back it up.


85/100

Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale

Tasted Sunday evening after making a huge Shepherds Pie dish for dinner, made from completely organic ingredients. Thanks to Joey Waldorf for bringing over the Flying dog craft pack last night for a small alumni get together.

Appearance: Set atop the beer resides a frothy white head with a partial soapy consistency. The beer is generally cloudy, yet transparency isn't entirely inhibited. Looks very still in the glass. Lacing is wet, but sticky.

Aroma: More of the malt comes through in the aroma, so there may not have been a substantial addition of aromatic hops late in the boil. Bready to say the least with a note of diacetyl.

Taste: Foretaste is light, but sweet with a character of basic pale malt. Not entirely clean tasting. Less of a citrus flavor in the flavor, and more of a neutral bitterness. I wish this beer maintained more of the fruity hop flavors I tend to value in pale ales. Astringent towards the end, complete with more of a harsher grassiness. Nevertheless, the malt still comes through at the very end. I think I'd say the water was a bit heavier when brewing this beer because it tends to showcase more of a metallic, mineral flavor.
Mouthfeel: Higher carbonation helps loosen up an otherwise medium bodied beer. As it fizzles the tongue, the carbonation helps disperse a lot of the mouth drying bitterness to completely leave the palate refreshed but dry.
Overall Impression: Certainly on the bitter side, but lackluster in the complexities of the hop profile. The malt really came through a lot more in this beer than I'd necessarily want. Classic, sure. Recommendable, that's debatable.


77/100

Gonzo Imperial Porter

This has been been sitting as the remainder of the Canis Major 4 pack I bought earlier this summer. Tasted this with a simple meal of buckwheat soba noodles and roasted pestle ground sesame seeds with water crackers and cheese following practice

Appearance: Pour was a deep black brown, which eternally exhibited itself pitch black in the glass. A strong sustained brown head that only dissipated into a film across the liquid/air barrier. Lacing is immediately apparent against the glass
Aroma: The epitome of roasted malt, if it was anything but, this would be a confusing and lost smell, but fortunately the beer boast a roasted woody bourbon aroma with an alcohol zip to finish.
Taste: A mild malt sweetness to start that incidentally merges into an all out slap to the tongue choked full or roasted malt flavors. Chocolate is another primary contributor to the flavor, releasing milky, but bittersweet undertones to the palate. The woody oak undertones also make their appearance at the end with an outstanding boozy like finish that ultimately completes the beer. Perhaps it can be said that there is some coffee flavors, but to my definition and experience, it's surely rampant with roasted malt. Hopping melds well into the finish, almost establishing itself as non-existent, but only to reveal a perfect balance and foundational support. Roasted flavors remain on the palate after each sip
Mouthfeel: Full body with a creamy texture. Not tacky at all, and doesn't leave the mouth dry. Definitely a filling beer. Minimal carbonation, but just enough to expose some underlying flavors. For the first time, I can legitimately say that this beer has an oily texture to it.
Overall Impression: A fantastic porter at that. Perhaps too overwhelming on the roasted malt, but still exhibits a nice transition between each palatable flavor, by which I cannot complain. Delicately smooth, with a perfect alcohol content to round out the finish.


88/100

Horn Dog Barley Wine

Tried this in a micro-snifter with Jen the night before the Conference race (aka my last XC race of college), while watching Friday. I'll credit this for doing so well.

Appearance: Coppered amber color with touches of deep varnished red. A clean white/beige bubbly head. Entirely turbid, yet still maintaining a visible carbonation.

Aroma: Very phenolic to the nose with a bit of spiciness at the nose. Banana is prominent with a pepper finishing overtone.

Taste: The taste is even more phenolic with the complementary assistance, if not encouraging alcohol finish. Banana and dried fruit vapors leave the mouth dry. Gradually, I start to discover the aftertaste reveals much more of the barley malt that was used to produce this behemoth. I notice caramel and toasted bread with a bit of chocolaty bitterness. Banana esters become more apparent towards the end of the tasting. Hop profile is quite grassy.

Mouthfeel: Heavy and body is robust and reminiscent of thick malt syrup. Carbonation melds into the boozy finish.

Overall Impression: This reminds me of an imperial IPA I brewed this summer that I wasn't really a fan of, and this tells why. It was more like a barley wine! I'm still awkward with barley wines. It's still a flavor my palate is infrequently exposed to. Therefore I cannot provide accurate grading against very few I have had. Nevertheless if you like big boozy beers, this is it!

74/100

Kerberos Tripel

Thanks Jeff Rice (My Stepfather) for getting me this about 5 months ago. It was part of the Canis Major 4 pack of Flying Dog specials. Pretty rare, I haven't found these anywhere else. Jen and I split the 12 Oz bottle last night for a session tasting, and that it was. The others will be put up soon.

Appearance: A soft golden straw color. Uniformly hazy with a strong visible carbonation. There wasn't any head to this, but very bubbly.

Aroma:  This beer exhibited a rich effervescent profile of fruit and yeast with a sourdough bread-like toasted sweetness. The aromatics were reminiscent of Dogfish Heads Aprihop or Magic Hat #9 and therefore revealed a great apricot Ester smell.

Taste: Very boozy upon first taste. This is similar to my Mead (I've been aging for six months) with a somewhat medicinal citric acid tartness. Wheat malts make themselves very apparent with light toasted notes and wheat like citrus. The beer has a subtle straw taste combined with honey undertones. The yeast provide much of the characteristic of this beer, of Belgian origin with a high gravity tolerance. The hops in this beer make it seem lagered and crispy at the finish. Hallertau or Saaz? Malt is lighter and delicate. As the beer continues, the hot finish dissipates, revealing a mellow, but more apparent bouquet of floral fruit flavors.

Mouthfeel: The texture and body of this beer are light. Carbonation is strong, giving a zip on the tongue as the alcohol gives its final word to a crisp and refreshing end. Both delicate and forgiving. Slight dry end, but more associated with an invigorating cleanliness at the end.

Overall Impression: Definitely a session ale to be formally enjoyed whenever one can find it. But by mid glass you want infinite amounts of it because its so drinkable. Definitely something different from the usual IPA and Stouts.

93/100

In-Heat Wheat

The last of the 6 pack. Evening to celebrate a grueling day of spilling my brains on the page.

Appearance: Light straw yellow with a chalky textured look. I got all the dregs out of the bottom so it is quite cloudy. There is a slight foam film across the top.

Aroma: Yeasty with notes of sour dough and predominantly citrus spicing. Orange peel exposes itself as well.

Taste: Very light and fruity. More similar to an orange juice than most Hefeweisens. Banana and clove make their usual appearance, but this one is slightly more sweeter than the rest. There is a spicy finish from the clove and perhaps some other adjuncts... maybe nutmeg?

Mouthfeel: Light carbonation that fizzles the tongue if left for too long. Body is surprisingly thick and robust. Still very refreshing

Overall Impression: Just about the best Hefeweisen I've come across. I'm not really a fan of them in hindsight, but nevertheless it is still quite tasty and fruitful. Very refreshing and thirst quenching.


T1 3/21/10: 88/100
T2 10/14/10: 86/100

Double Dog Double Pale Ale

These next few posts will feature brews that were sampled at Brew Ha Ha. Tim and I brought a loaf of bread, cheese, and water to cleanse our palates while we enjoyed 4 hours of tasting.

Appearance: Coppered with an orange tint. White foamy head.

Aroma: The aroma is rich and malty with strong caramel overtones.

Taste: Wooden flavors and hints of yeast. There is a potent toasted bread note to it that parallels a sweet brown sugar finish. I'm also finding notes of rye that adds to a spicy/hot, slight warrior-like hop finish.

Mouthfeel: Is lighter than expected yet still medium-light carbonation. Similar to a barley wine, finishes boozy, slightly burnt, and coffee notes.

Overall Impression: Another good beer from Flying Dog, definitely worth checking out.

91/100

K-9 Cruiser Winter Ale

A little out of season, but I'm in my winter ale craving phase at the moment. So I'll drink what I want!

Bought as a single from Binny's in Plainfield. Enjoyed after practice following a 10 miler. Poured in a Pilsner glass for shits and giggles.

Appearance: Strong frothy head that remained quite sustainable throughout the tasting. Deep mahogany glowing amber that reflects light gold but shows a rich flavor. By the end I realize the head retention is stellar. it is maintained the entire tasting and the lacing is amazingly uniformed with a level every 2 mm.

Aroma: Strong and potent like a barley wine, yet fruity at its nose. I take in the aroma of boiled raisins in particular that nevertheless complements its overwhelming (a good thing) caramel hotness. .

Taste: I find myself experiencing peach as well followed by some extremely unique barrel aged woodiness or nut flavoring. Initially raisins come through at the foretaste, which may perhaps be confused with dates/figs. Following up, there are wood-like/bourbon notes which then transition into a highly emphasized "hotness." There are subtle hints of sweet caramely fruitiness alongside an equally paralleled malted biscuitiness (A word? I think so!).

Mouthfeel: Slightly tacky, but who cares! Smooth and nutty that has big body and an equal texture.

Overall Impression: This is a finely made beer even to be enjoyed in the dead of summer (as long as there is air-conditioning)

Note: Interestingly the website says that this beer is 7.4% ABV, yet my label is 6.4%... must be a time difference...

91/100