A 22oz bottle, sampled from a pint glass.
Jack D'Or is a saison style ale brewed by Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On their web site, Pretty Things describe themselves as a "gypsy brewery," which seems to mean that they travel a lot and occasionally return to the brewery they rent to brew their beer. An interesting business model, and they are quick to point out that they are not a contract brewery.
According to Ratebeer.com, Jack D'Or is available in the Netherlands, Canada (British Columbia), and the US states of Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington DC
This is an excitable beer! When I cracked the cap, a vigorous hiss warned me that the beer was well-carbonated, but it took me two pours to get any beer in my glass. My first pour resulted in an entire pint of head from about an ounce of beer. On my second attempt I poured still more carefully, but still ended up with a half pint of head (and about a six-pack of irritation).
Jack D'Or is a pretty gold beer with light orange hues, and TONS (dare I say a shitload?) of carbonation expressed by a ridiculous army of bubbles charging toward the top of the glass. My four-finger head took about five minutes to collapse to one finger, leaving plenty of lace sticking to the sides of the glass.
The smell is of honey, cereal grains,hay, lemon, and a hint of apricot, with a touch of white pepper and herbal hops.
At the very first, the taste is similar to the smell, but the quickness is quickly overcome by a sharp bitterness and a challenging sourness.
Medium body with over-abundant and aggressive carbonation.
My tongue took a serious lashing from this beer, and it is not at all appropriate to the style. I took the unusual (for me) step of reading other reviews on Beeradvocate while I was in the middle of sampling this, and a cursory glance didn't reveal any other reviewers who experienced the beer in the same way, so I suspect my bottle was infected. If this beer is meant to be this sour and bitter, it would more appropriately be called an American Wild Ale.
In the end, the only thing I really dislike about the Jack D'Or I sampled is the high carbonation; the other aspects are all characteristics I enjoy in a beer, but not when I'm looking forward to a saison.
Read Beearadvocate reviews of Jack D'or
Read RateBeer.com reviews of Jack D'or
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Goose Island Night Stalker Imperial Stout
22 ounce bottle purchased at Surdyk’s in Minneapolis. Sampled in a large snifter.
According to Ratebeer.com, Night Stalker is available in Denmark and the following US states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Washington DC, and Wisconsin.
A vigorous pour produces a large-bubbled, one-finger head, the color of espresso crema. The body of the beer is impenetrable black. Swirling the glass results in a vinous, viscous coating on the inside of the glass. This beer’s got legs, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, at 11.7% ABV.
This beautiful beer smells of caramel, dark chocolate and coffee, followed by significant hops bouquet. Toffee, brown sugar, and light licorice develop as the beer warms, as well as some alcohol character. By contrast, the hops are less in the nose as the temperature rises.
On the palate, chocolate, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toast, and significant hops bitterness all come into play right off the bat. There is a lot going on here. Coffee flavor becomes more prominent as I progress through the beer and perception of alcohol increases ever so slightly, but hops bitterness decreases notably. Finishes a little on the sweet side, but somewhat balanced by black malt bitterness.
This beer exhibits low carbonation, and proudly makes its presence known, at first thick and viscous, and later by becoming sticky in an almost cola-like way.
Now for the fun part:
After tasting the Night Stalker and loving it, I decided that it was a strong candidate for a treat I haven’t allowed myself in a while: a stout float. So I got out my Alden’s vanilla bean ice cream, carefully slid a few scoops into a half-pint of the stout, and then slowly poured the remainder of the Night Stalker over the top.
Perfect! The vanilla in the ice cream accentuates the coffee in the beer, and the brown sugar becomes straight up molasses. The chocolate comes in to play too, but not as prominently. This was definitely a good beer for my reintroduction to stout floats…. Maybe next time I’ll try chocolate ice cream to see if it accentuates the caramel flavors a little more.
This is a delicious imperial stout, and I recommend it as a sipper for dessert, or a pleasant night cap in the winter. Or, of course, a stout float!
BeerAdvocate reviews of Night Stalker Imperial Stout
ratebeer reviews of Night Stalker Imperial Stout
According to Ratebeer.com, Night Stalker is available in Denmark and the following US states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Washington DC, and Wisconsin.
A vigorous pour produces a large-bubbled, one-finger head, the color of espresso crema. The body of the beer is impenetrable black. Swirling the glass results in a vinous, viscous coating on the inside of the glass. This beer’s got legs, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, at 11.7% ABV.
This beautiful beer smells of caramel, dark chocolate and coffee, followed by significant hops bouquet. Toffee, brown sugar, and light licorice develop as the beer warms, as well as some alcohol character. By contrast, the hops are less in the nose as the temperature rises.
On the palate, chocolate, coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toast, and significant hops bitterness all come into play right off the bat. There is a lot going on here. Coffee flavor becomes more prominent as I progress through the beer and perception of alcohol increases ever so slightly, but hops bitterness decreases notably. Finishes a little on the sweet side, but somewhat balanced by black malt bitterness.
This beer exhibits low carbonation, and proudly makes its presence known, at first thick and viscous, and later by becoming sticky in an almost cola-like way.
Now for the fun part:
After tasting the Night Stalker and loving it, I decided that it was a strong candidate for a treat I haven’t allowed myself in a while: a stout float. So I got out my Alden’s vanilla bean ice cream, carefully slid a few scoops into a half-pint of the stout, and then slowly poured the remainder of the Night Stalker over the top.
Perfect! The vanilla in the ice cream accentuates the coffee in the beer, and the brown sugar becomes straight up molasses. The chocolate comes in to play too, but not as prominently. This was definitely a good beer for my reintroduction to stout floats…. Maybe next time I’ll try chocolate ice cream to see if it accentuates the caramel flavors a little more.
This is a delicious imperial stout, and I recommend it as a sipper for dessert, or a pleasant night cap in the winter. Or, of course, a stout float!
BeerAdvocate reviews of Night Stalker Imperial Stout
ratebeer reviews of Night Stalker Imperial Stout
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Brau Brothers Cream Stout
Brau Brothers Brewing Company
Style: Sweet Stout
Package: Pint glass on draft, Common Roots Cafe in Minneapolis
Rating: Okay
Pours an impenetrable dark brown-black. Two-finger head collapses in about 3 minutes, leaving a thick, cream-colored lace all along the rim of the glass.
Smells roasty and burnt coffeeish, yeasty & bready, with hints of tar and dark fruits.
Bready & yeast in the mouth, followed by some coffee. Finishes toasted rye bread. Long after everything else has faded, dark chocolate aftertaste. I’d say there is a ¾ serving of bitterness here, mainly of the roasted malt variety. No hops flavor to speak of.
The mouthfeel isn’t as creamy as I’d expect from a cream stout. It has medium body but gets sticky pretty fast. It looked full-bodied and creamy when it came to me, and the head was a beautiful off-white pillow, but unfortunately it seems to have lost that character.
Very drinkable – it may actually have gone down a bit too easy. The only obstacle to drinking more than one or two might be how sticky it feels – it’s one of those beers that makes me want to immediately brush my teeth.
This is quite drinkable,, maybe even a little too drinkable. It's got good aroma and flavor for the style, but unfortunately the mouthfeel doesn't measure up at all. It's thin, sticky, and only remarkable for the fact that it isn't at all to style. If Brau Brothers were to improve the mouthfeel, this would be a Solid beer.
From the Brau Brothers Web Site:
Brau Cream Stout is a very approachable version of a traditional, dark beer style. Its first impression is sweet malt instead of bitter roasted malt. Subdued amounts of British hops help to define this traditional English ale. Coffee and chocolate notes are noticeable. Balance is key to this ale, as we aim to make this style consumer-friendly. This is a perfect beer for those who want the flavor of a stout without the dry astringency commonly found in stout.
Read Beeradvocate reviews of Brau Brothers Cream Stout
Read Ratebeer reviews of Brau Brothers Cream Stout
Sunday, July 4, 2010
New Holland Existential Ale
Sampled on tap in a tulip glass at Acadia Cafe, Minneapolis.
Rating: Love at First Sip
According to Rate Beer, Existential Ale is available in Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania; however, I purchased it in Minnesota, and have seen other New Holland beers here, as well.
Poured dark copper with orange hues. A one-finger head collapses to leave a thick, cream-colored coat of lace on the glass.
Smells sweet, of caramel and ceareal malts, with a significant back-up of piny & citrusy hops. In short: delicious.
The beer is a huge, huge burst of malty sweetness in my mouth, followed by some grapefruit and tangerine, and... what's that? Blood orange? Just after the sweets comes a big burst of balancing, but not overdone, bitterness. Light fennel lurks in the finish. As the beer warms, more caramel comes out, accompanied by fresh bread and a hint of dark chocolate. With the warmth also comes significant alcohol flavor.
Medium body with low to moderate carbonation. Initially a pretty nice, somewhat chewy, mouthfeel, but becomes a little syrupy as it warms, and also brings a slight alcohol bite.
All in all, this is a fabulous beer. It's big, satisfyingly malty and bitter enough to slow me down, but not so much in the end that I didn't want more. The stickiness of the malt takes away a bit from the drinkability, but not substantially.
This beer is a good example of how styles collide. BeerAdvocate and Acadia both classify it as an imperial IPA. Rate Beer classifies it as a barley wine. Personally, I'm all-in with the barley wine classification, for the simple reason that the flavor profile is all barley wine, and in my opinion, too malt-heavy to be an imperial IPA. At 10.5% ABV, it's certainly strong enough to be a barley wine, too!
Read BeerAdvocate reviews of this beer.
Read Rate Beer reviews of this beer.
Rating: Love at First Sip
According to Rate Beer, Existential Ale is available in Illinois, Michigan, and Pennsylvania; however, I purchased it in Minnesota, and have seen other New Holland beers here, as well.
Poured dark copper with orange hues. A one-finger head collapses to leave a thick, cream-colored coat of lace on the glass.
Smells sweet, of caramel and ceareal malts, with a significant back-up of piny & citrusy hops. In short: delicious.
The beer is a huge, huge burst of malty sweetness in my mouth, followed by some grapefruit and tangerine, and... what's that? Blood orange? Just after the sweets comes a big burst of balancing, but not overdone, bitterness. Light fennel lurks in the finish. As the beer warms, more caramel comes out, accompanied by fresh bread and a hint of dark chocolate. With the warmth also comes significant alcohol flavor.
Medium body with low to moderate carbonation. Initially a pretty nice, somewhat chewy, mouthfeel, but becomes a little syrupy as it warms, and also brings a slight alcohol bite.
All in all, this is a fabulous beer. It's big, satisfyingly malty and bitter enough to slow me down, but not so much in the end that I didn't want more. The stickiness of the malt takes away a bit from the drinkability, but not substantially.
This beer is a good example of how styles collide. BeerAdvocate and Acadia both classify it as an imperial IPA. Rate Beer classifies it as a barley wine. Personally, I'm all-in with the barley wine classification, for the simple reason that the flavor profile is all barley wine, and in my opinion, too malt-heavy to be an imperial IPA. At 10.5% ABV, it's certainly strong enough to be a barley wine, too!
Read BeerAdvocate reviews of this beer.
Read Rate Beer reviews of this beer.
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