#163: The Roundup

I've been using that same old 'student-money-saving-for-holiday' excuse for a while now, but finally there seems some respite to the stinginess. Even still, the Howling Gale Ale stash remains, but over the weekend I celebrated my 21st birthday, and that calls for a bit more adventure in the beer stakes...

It started off with Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA. At 7.1% ABV, we seem to be heading into DIPA territory, but there's no suggestion of booze in the aroma at all. Instead it's a treat of pineapple and grapefruit with a nice spike of lemon zest. The taste remains on this bright side of things, with just a litttle honey and caramel to counterbalance the lively, resinous bitterness and spicy clove notes. As lovely as it is and as effective as it is in letting the hops shine, the question of "Is it worth the price?" remains.

Next up was Schneider Weisse Meine Blonde Weisse (Tap 1). The Original is hard to beat, and when the Blonde lends refreshing notes of lemongrass to the expected citrus fruits and spice layout of a Schneider Hefe, things are a little more exciting. It's still full bodied and fully flavoured, but a tad lighter on the palate, allowing for yet more quaffing than it's big brother.

The Porterhouse was the venue for an after-dinner drink on Thursday, which put me right in the middle of their Belgian Beer Festival. Unfortunately, we were a bit too late to enjoy some waffles, but there'll be plenty of that on the agenda in Brussels. Instead, I tried a Westmalle Dubbel from the keg. Need I say that it was sweet, full bodied and loaded with chocolate and dark fruits? No. But I do have to admit that like the St Bernardus Abt 12 or Gouden Carolus Classic from the keg, a great deal of the subtlety and delicacy that makes this kind of beer special is lost. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the three aforementioned beers taste a bit too similar for my liking when served cold on tap. Still, a worthy beer it remains.

Franciscan Well

The next night found us (accidentally but on purpose) at the official launch of Black's Kinsale Pale Ale in the Franciscan Well. I thoroughly enjoyed the bottled version I had a short while back, and the draught version is a perfect companion. The Citra works wonders here while never overpowering the soft malt backbone or the rest of the fruity peel and juicy hop character. A real treat, and one of my favourite Irish beers of the minute.

Saturday night was all about bottles, and after the mandatory Howling Gale, it was on to a Schneider Weisse Meine Kristall. My first ever example of the style, Tap 2 has the soft banana and spice notes of a Hefeweizen, backed up by a sweet biscuity malt not unlike that of a good pale lager. However, as I approached the end of the glass, I felt more and more that I missed the Unser Original in all its thick, dark and full-bodied glory. Drinkable and suitable for a sunny Cork evening, but far from special.

The final bottle of the birthday celebration had to be special, and so it was almost with reluctance that I took my last Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout from the cellardrobe. This bottle, from 2011, was as good as any. I have to confess that I don't think there's a great deal of flavour development to be witnessed by ageing this for a year or two, but it certainly helps in toning down the alcohol burn to allow you to enjoy the thick chocolate and intense coffee flavours in all their smooth glory.

So there we have it, a complete compendium of the weekend's beer compiled for your comprehension.

#140: The Destrier Celebrates

To celebrate the Destrier's first birthday, I had a number of ideas. The first was to re-evaluate Sam Adams Boston Lager, the first ever beer I took notes on, and subsequently, the first beer written about on the blog. Unfortunately (and rather weirdly) it was nowhere to be found. The second idea was similar - revisit my favourite beers of the past year, namely St. Bernardus Abt 12, Piraat and Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout. The first two are currently on tap at the Abbot's Ale House, so there's my weekend planned. The third idea was to try something new, something that I've been wanting to try for a long time. Initially it was a lambic beer, but the recent arrival of Orval to the shelves of the Abbot's decided it for me. It would be that last* and most elusive Trappist brewery. 

Orval pours a hazy amber with a bright head, darker than I'd expected. The aroma first produces a soft, sticky, candied citrus fruit sweetness with highlights of sour lemon sorbet. It's earthy, herbal and even a little bit medicinal underneath. So far so good. Strangely enough, the complexity promised on the aroma doesn't seem to be all there on the palate. There's a grainy, farmhouse-like bread malt backbone and a very light hop bitterness that lingers long after the finish, but the real star of the show is the spicy character in the middle. It's what makes the beer great as opposed to good. Feeling a little underwhelmed by the taste, I decided to bring out some cheese and crackers - the first responders for any beery incidents. This brought out a nutty almond note in the flavour of the Orval, and the whole experience was more enjoyable for it.

Am I missing out on something here? Were my expectations too high? It was served at cellar temperature, as per the label's suggestion, and it was about as fresh as it could have been at just three months old. 

Perhaps that's the problem - age. Luckily, I have another bottle set aside for cellaring.

Another beer I have for cellaring is the Winter 11-12 bottling of Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout, one of my big finds of the year. However, I want to see how that tastes in another year or so, so I procured a fresh bottle for the occasion.

This Black Chocolate Stout is absolutely gorgeous. The thick dark chocolate malts and light hop character are there on the aroma as per usual, but the taste is certainly different from last year's, with strong roasted coffee notes and liquorice aplenty. Really, it's absolutely delicious. The malted biscuit opening is like the inside of a Malteser, while the dark chocolate bitterness lingers long after each sip.

I strongly recommend this beer, and for me, it is the chocolate stout to beat, as well as my number one Russian Imperial Stout.

*Correction: Second to last, I forgot about Engelszell in Austria

#67: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

This is the big one. Piraat, Rochefort 10 and St Bernardus Abt 12 were all occupying the prestigious spaces of my Top 3 Beers, and it was no surprise as the Strong Belgian and Quadrupel ales were pretty much my favourite styles. Hefeweizens and IPAs were on the next step down, followed by lagers and bitters, with stouts and porters occupying the lowest rung of my preferred beer-style ladder. This is the way it would have stayed, if not for Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout. From the very first sip of this beer, I knew I now had a Top 4. Not only that, I had my opinion of stouts and porters blown to shreds and reassembled somewhere much closer to the top of that imaginary ladder. Since then, most of the beer I've bought to explore has been stout or porter, and much of it has been the Black Chocolate Stout. It's affordable and readily available despite being a seasonal brew, making it the perfect one to collect and age at 10% ABV. That's what I do, I buy it to put it away, then I can't resist the urge to open it, so I buy some more to replace it. It's a vicious cycle. So, there's my own storm of hype, let's see how my notes look.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout pours absolutely pitch black with a dark tan head that retains a film throughout. The aroma is gorgeous, and very potent to say the least. The first thing I get on the nose is rich dark chocolate mousse, with sweet toffee and caramel malt notes and an overall sticky, woody quality. The taste brings forth woody chocolate and maple syrup, and it completely coats the mouth - very intense. Dark quad-like fruit flavours follow up, before dark chocolate sweetness and a syrupy alcohol heat signs off. While there's absolutely no bitterness to the beer, there may be hints of hops in the aroma, with very light herbal or medicinal qualities fighting for breath beneath the heavy chocolate malt. The mouthfeel is incredibly thick and smooth, and it would make for a beautiful winter warmer - I just love the way you can kind of feel the heat in your nostrils when exhaling after a sup. I'll definitely be aging this, though I can't imagine it getting much better than it already is.

This is a beautiful beer, and I must insist you try it.