Stone - Enjoy By 9.13.13

Stone's "Enjoy By" is a double IPA that they have released to alleviate a single problem: deteriorating hop quality.  As we all know some beers are able to be aged if kept properly and that aging can alter the flavor of the beer.  This can often yield some pleasing results and sometimes can do more harm than good.  Hoppy beers and those with high alcohol content are often good candidates for aging as both of those qualities were originally popularized thanks to their powers of preservation.  However, while hops may act as a preservative, the qualities that we all love that hops imbue to beer tend to fade rapidly as the hopped beer ages.  In rare instances, this can work out, but more often than not it is less desirable and a far cry from the original intent of the brewer.

The deterioration has implications in aging, but also on the shelves.  How do you know if your IPA or other hop dependent beers are fresh?  How do you know you're getting the best tasting, least decayed, brewer-intended flavors?  Stone provides an answer to this problem with their "Enjoy By" series.  Other brewers simply use "brewed on" dates on their bottles or cans, but Stone is definitely putting their dates front and center in an attempt to promise drinkers a fresh, tasty, hoppy experience.  If you were buying a hoppy beer, wouldn't one of the factors to consider be the freshness of the brew?  Stone hopes so.  Time to see what they're offering.  Though with an IPA from Stone, a consistent maker of hop heavy styles, one can generally count on high quality.  I wanted to drink one as close to the date as possible to have it at its "worst" and see how it holds up.  Let's pour!

Aroma 12/12

It's got almost every hoppy aroma that I can think of short of wood, pepper, and herb.  First sniffs are beautiful and sweet, full of pineapple, pine, sweet sticky caramel malts, and grape fruit.  As the drink warms more grassy and musty notes arrive and they grow more noticeable to tame the amazing initial aroma.  It only grows to a moderate intensity, blending with the sweetness for balance, but not covering or overtaking it.

Appearance 3/3

When first poured, the beer is capped with a peach pastel colored head that slowly fades to ivory shades as the beer trapped within is drawn to its brothers below.  That beer pours a golden orange shade that is screaming for fall to arrive.  It is a slightly hazed beer in an earthy tangerine hue.  The colored head won me over.

Flavor 17/20

Not what I was expecting.  Given the nose of this beer, I anticipated a nice sweet introduction full of those sugary caramel malts and a grove's worth of citrus.  In the words of the venerable Judge Smails, "You'll get nothing and like it!"  The malts at the beginning were neutral at best or completely destroyed by the mothership of hop bitterness that just landed on my tongue.  OK, so maybe it's not the mothership, but it's enough to destroy any other flavors and it looks like it's headed for the White House.  Maybe a splash of citrus survives this resin onslaught, but little else.  I wrote down earlier that I could find a semblance of the caramel, but I may have been drinking at the time.  All there is now is a distant citrus, plentiful black pepper, and lots of bitter of the back of my tongue.  Oddly, the finish shows some malt!  The beer's body clearly indicates that Stone didn't skimp on adding malt, but you're hard pressed to find much of it in the flavor.  The finish instantly ends the black pepper flavors and continues the bitter.  This doesn't even give the illusion of balance, even if the caramel and alcohol heat do become slightly more present as the beer warms.

Mouthfeel 5/5

Body is great for a DIPA, big without being a chore to drink.  Peppery tingles remain on the tongue for some time after swallowing and carbonation is spot on perfect for a beer of this size - it permits for texture while largely staying out of the picture.  This beer is 9.4% ABV and is camouflaged but can be detected in a few of the exhales when you take a break between sips.

Overall Impression 6/10

One dimensional beers just don't win me over.  Now, I will say that I have had other Stone "Enjoy By" dates both on draught and in bottles and I recall enjoying those more than I did this.  The aroma was incredible, the mouthfeel was spot on for a DIPA, the ABV well hidden, and the appearance was solid.  The flavor was the only thing that I felt was not on par for Stone's normally superior performance in the realm of Americanized IPAs.

Total 43/50

Of course my first thought is, "Did I let it get to close to the 'enjoy by' date?  Should I have drank it earlier?"  Maybe.  However, if Stone says it's good for another 2 days, then they'd know better that I would.  Besides, isn't that what this whole beer is about: making sure the beer is fresh and providing a date with which you shoul expect a lower quality?  In their defense, I suppose I drank it toward the tail end of its optimum freshness, but I also suppose that I still expected excellence inside of that date.  Granted, excellence was not far off.  In fact, in every category where flavor was not a factor this beer received perfect marks!  However, the hop bitterness seized control like an ambitious despot and cruelly subjugated its inferiors.  Do the hops play nicer in fresher batches?  Undoubtedly.  However, this beer just goes to show exactly what it sets out to: fresher is better.  If this is it close to its worst, you know it's worth picking up earlier from that date.  For those that like bitter beer, you could  even pick this up after the date on its bottle, otherwise don't expect a lot beyond the bitter of an otherwise fantastic DIPA.

Deschutes - Hop Henge Experimental IPA

This is a beer I know nothing about before tasting it.  While that might not make for very interesting reading or back story, it should provide for a very honest and unbiased review.  We just started getting Deschutes in the area within the last four months or so and I am definitely OK with that.  I don't buy sixers that often and since the selection of Deschutes we have thus far is primarily six packs I have not been picking up a whole lot of it.  I've also had all the current varieties thus far and choose to focus on new experiences.  However, when I saw this bomber which was both new and from Deschutes I had to snag it.  Besides, try and tell me that the label art doesn't look promising.  Hops are spilling forth from bags from bags!  It's a veritable monument to hops, right?  Let's pour!

Bottle gives no brewed date, but reads "Best by 08/27/13"

Aroma 11/12

A promising beginning shows plenty of citrus aromas with pineapple and grapefruit leading the way.  Floral notes are not too far behind, but resin seems distant at this point.  The caramel sweetness is present and doing its best to mingle with the hops, but its definitely second fiddle.  After the beer warms it opens up beautifully.  A rich honey note steps in to dance with the hops, which remain strong, and the piney resin begins to kick things up a notch.

Appearance 3/3

This bright beer's transparency really helps showcase the honey and pumpkin hues.  The head was particularly pleasing in texture, size, and retention.  A creamy color to match the wet, creamy looking texture as bubbles breached the surface everywhere they could.

Flavor 18/20

I had to wait until my taste buds acclimate before I could truly get a handle on everything that was going on in this bottle.  There are a pair of large flavors at work and its hard to hear anything else of the din of those two oafs.  Largely the huge caramel malts are fighting the hop pine flavors tooth and nail, but behind that are some solid flavors as well.  In fact, the caramel flavors are apparently in a tag team with some biscuity malts that take over because the sweetness seems to die away rather quickly.  The beginning shows us brief splashes of the aroma's citrus before it is almost immediately washed away by the two larger flavors.  Those two gorillas give make for a backbone thick with caramel sugars, pine, resin, and... no that's about it.  Hopheads should love the finish particularly as it gives the tingle of  hop acids, alcohol warmth, and spicy black pepper before it begrudgingly sticks and slides down your throat.  The aftertaste is what one should expect in a strong IPA with plenty of bitter resin, a persistent pepper, and a slight drying effect despite the plentiful malts.  Not the biggest IPA I've ever had, but definitely enough to satisfy those seeking their daily ration of humulus lupulus.

Mouthfeel 4/5

My first note on this was "thick."  It was accurate.  All the malts required to balance the "henge's-worth" of hops result in a big body beer that stumbles and bumbles its way across your taste buds.  The carbonation is spot on and leaves most of the tingly sensations to the resin, peppery hops, and a warmth that seems to only make an appearance in the finish and aftertaste; an interesting trick in a 10.9% ABV brew.

What a great sight!

Overall Impression 8/10

The amounts of flavor in this beer are certainly to be reckoned with.  I also appreciate the body and the fact that the beer somehow maintains a perfect level of carbonation regardless of how warm it gets in the glass.  The transition of flavor from sweet (brief citrus & caramel) to bitter (biscuit, resin, pine, grapefruit's bitter) is also an interesting characteristic to which one should pay attention.

Total 44/50

I'm trying really hard not to be fickle or hypocritical.  On one hand, I often criticize beers for not "bringing the thunder" when it comes to flavor.  This beer certainly does bring with it some substantial flavor, but brings it with all the nuance and tact of a bowling ball.  It's just... asserts itself with flavor.   Again, flavor is good!  I'll never fault a beer for having flavor, I just want to taste more than just the splatting of ingredients on my tongue.  Sure, I tasted several different flavors, I just  really had to search for them behind the giants in the way.  The imagery of a paintball being fired on the tongue refuses to leave me.  Not because this beer was so over-the-top intense, but because it basically all came at once until you get to the finish.  SMACK!  Where was the chance for flavors to develop on the tongue?  I don't know.  The more I type the more I sound to myself like a whiny idiot.  Maybe this is what happens when an amateur tries to put into words the subjective notion of flavor.

TL;DR:  Good beer.  Lots of flavor.  Expect a car wreck of hops in your mouth, but not a wide spectrum of flavor.

Founders - Breakfast Stout (2012)

Ahhh, the first blog of a New Year.  A clean slate on which to begin and a new archive point in the right hand column.  It didn't take long for me to decide how to begin the new year of Sud Savant.  Maybe it was the desire to start the year strong or maybe it was simply all the "New Year's Baby" images floating around, but I knew I had to start the new year with a bottle of "the baby."  I'm referring of course to Founders' Breakfast Stout.

For those that don't know, Founders' Breakfast Stout is one of the premier go-to stouts brewed in America today.  You should be able to find a 4-pack for around $10 and it is worth every penny.  Its label lists it as a "double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout," and if that doesn't get your tastebuds all hot and bothered then I don't know what will.  In case that doesn't sound amazballs enough, Founders also makes special varieties of Breakfast Stout called Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS) and Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS).  CBS is another imperial stout, but it is aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels.  KBS is somewhat the more sought after of the two and it is cave aged in oak bourbon barrels for one year.  If you see either of those beers you should never hesitate to pick them up because their availability is extremely limited and they are without question some of the finest stouts available.

For those that do know, I hope that this review can accurately put into words the sensations when drinking this national favorite.  This beer was bottled on 08/02/2012.  Let's pour!

Who could say "no" to those eyes?

Aroma 11/12

When served at a temperature colder than what is ideal, the beer has rich aromas only of coffee and a roast so dark you'd swear it was charred.  Slowly but surely, the sweetness begins to creep out as the beer approaches a proper serving temperature.  Chocolate tones are first and are especially sneaky since they had blended so well with the abundant coffee.  Then the beer simply begins to open up; aromas become larger and richer, a bit of warmth can be detected, and a bit of that lactose-like sweetness from the oatmeal all come forward and waft zealously from the glass.  You can smell this thing from across the table.  It's not like a mocha, that would be too light for this beer.  It's more like someone poured melted dark chocolate into your double shot of espresso.  Not complex, but it is beautiful.

Appearance 3/3

It's black.  Plain and simple.  Sure you might get a glimmer of a cola brown if you hold it right next to a light bulb, but for the most part it is an opaque, black hole of a beer.  The head was disappointingly small, but makes up for it by being a tan color with earthy red tones - almost as if cinnamon were part of this beer.

Flavor 19/20

Strong roast flavors begin this beer and then quickly meld into the chocolate and coffee storm that is raging inside this beer.  All dark flavors, all the time.  Darkest chocolate battles black espresso for supremacy of your taste buds and it is brilliant.  Lots of roast is present as well and adds a lovely smokiness to the whole.  A bit of a salty note is present when holding the beer in the mouth which I'm assuming is from one of the coffee varieties.  The blend as a whole is remarkably rich, fudge-y, bitter, and harmoniously blended.  The finish is a splash of pure coffee and a vibrant, albeit lesser, chocolate as it makes its way down the throat.  The aftertaste lingers as much as real coffee would, remaining bitter and inducing fears of future bad "coffee breath."  Oh, and the 8.3% ABV?  Invisible, unless you slurp.

Mouthfeel 5/5

Wonderfully smooth, but without falling into the trap of most stouts of being almost non-carbonated.  Quite the contrary, this stout has a level of carbonation that makes it much more lively that most stouts, yet does not distract in the mouthfeel nor butt heads with the smoothness inherent when using a ton of malts.  Also, I can't get over how the alcohol in this beer is completely camouflaged.  Well done!

Overall Impression 9/10

Truly, a first rate stout: delicious, big, well made, well blended, and deserving of its national acclaim.  Thankfully, this brew is not as hard to get a hold of as its big brothers.  This is not the biggest, baddest stout attainable, but should certainly be viewed as a treat whenever it is consumed.  

Total 47/50

I know, I know... some of you may find this rating a bit low.  In fact, most of the folks at BeerAdvocate and RateBeer would certainly find this score low as that FBS currently rates a 99 and 100 on those sites, respectively.  However, if one gives a perfect score to this beer, what are you supposed to give its big brothers, the CBS and KBS, which are even more highly regarded (even if that may be partially tied to their rarity)?  This is an excellent score for an excellent beer, but it is also given with a strong consideration to other contenders in the style.  It's actually quite the accolade to be compared to other amazing beers that are brewed on a much smaller scale.  FBS is one of the best widely distributed stouts in America.  Period.

Double Dead Guy vs. Double Bastard

I've had this review idea in my mind for sometime now and today it finally comes to fruition!  This is a battle of the big boys and I hope my palate is ready for it!  In this corrrnneeerrrr....

Double Dead Guy Ale

Brewer: Rogue Ales

Hometown: Newport, OR

Vintage: 2011 Release (May 2011)

Style: Strong Ale (evolved from Dead Guy Ale, a maibock)

IBU: 72

ABV: 9.0%

Plato: 19.8

SRM: 25

Pedigree: 

2010 Australian International Beer Awards - Gold
2010 World Beer Championships - Gold (Best of 2010)
2010 BrewNZ - Silver
2009 Australian International Beer Awards - Silver
2009 World Beer Championships - Gold (Best of 2009)
2008 World Beer Championships - Silver

Aaaand in the opposite corner...

Double Bastard Ale

Brewer: Stone Brewing Co.

Hometown: Escondido, CA

Vintage: 2011 Release (Oct 17, 2011)

Style: American Strong Ale (evolved from Arrogant Bastard, another ASA)

IBU: Listed as "Classified"

ABV: 10.5% ABV

Plato: N/A

SRM: N/A (but 40-42 based on observation)

Pedigree:

For guys that are so "arrogant," I had a hard time finding many awards for this one.  Of course, the truly arrogant sense their own importance and do not rely on that bestowed by others. :)

2005 Great American Beer Festival - Silver

As much as I wanted to utilize branded glassware in this write-up, I did not have glassware of each brand that would have kept this as fair a review as possible. Thus, I'll be using the tasting glasses that I bought when out visiting Port City Brewing in Alexandria, VA. I am insanely anxious for this slugfest to begin. Let's pour! First up...

Double Dead Guy

Aroma 9/12

The beer shows promises of authenticity by beginning with notes of straw, sweet caramel, and a bit of booze.  Roasted notes evolve slowly and eventually lead to stronger versions of the previously mentioned scents.  The caramel becomes richer and brings the complementary booziness right along with it.  All the malts even let some brighter hop notes to peek out in the forms of green apples, a lesser resin, and some citrus.  There may even be a hint of spice, but it is too faint to say definitively.  This all translates into a rather bittersweet medley with an interesting fruit/citrus overtone.

Appearance 3/3

Superior size and retention in the head, which has a nice bisque color that sits handsomely on top of a beer with any number of hues.  Those that come to mind quickly are: reddish-copper, canned beets, sunset orange, and some deceptive dark purple shades.  The beer is translucent which enables both the great colors yet still lets the light in to play with them.  It even has some nice lacing!

Flavor /20

What a neat citrus splash on the tip of the tongue before the drinker was given more of the "bitter" from the "bittersweet" from the aroma!  Soon, the roast and graininess of the malts kicks in to dull the sweetness a bit, but it is quickly overruled by the lighter caramel and the strong fruity esters.  I was a bit hesitant writing "apples" in the aroma, but after tasting it I stand by that 100%.  The backbone is largely a slightly darkened caramel and the sweet fruit, but has a great boozy quality that, much like the aroma, always complements and never oversteps its bounds.  The finish is a reprisal of the grainy malt with a strengthened bitter that still manages to show off the roast and some alcohol heat.  In case that last sentence didn't give you a hint, there's a lot going on here.  The aftertaste lingers with the warming effect of alcohol, but also with the graininess from the finish. Eventually, it simply becomes bitter and urges the next mouthful.

Mouthfeel 5/5

This beer is a "double" that ups the ante on flavor, but doesn't make the beer too heavy in that endeavor.  On the contrary, this beer enjoys a moderate-full body, ample carbonation to keep things refreshing, but a silky smooth mouthfeel.  Once this beer sits in the mouth, it practically glides over your tongue.  A swish or two might yield a little foam, but for the most part you can count on this beer being both pleasantly bubbly early on, as well as very silky for the style.  A very nice contrast to have within the same bottle.

Overall Impression 9/10

I'm impressed at the various levels of complexity in this beer.  The aroma has 3 nice scents going on, the appearance features a wide range of colors, the flavor has at least 5 different components, the alcohol is used remarkably well, and even the mouthfeel changes in the course of one sip to be different things at different times.  Is it as robust as most brewers make their doubles?  Not really, but there's so much brewing prowess in this bottle it's hard to hold that against it.  In other words, with this much control exhibited over so many minute details, do you really believe that this beer isn't exactly the way that Rogue wanted it?  If they wanted it stronger, they'd have made it that way.

Total 44/50

The score seems a bit low for how much I enjoy this beer, but the lower score in the aroma seemed to hurt it the most.  Not that the aroma is bad, but it is seemingly simple compared to the complexity inherent in the rest of this brew.  I have a feeling that in the battle between this two beers, that Double Dead Guy is going to be the smaller, more agile, more technical fighter whose sheer study of the art, talent, and skill are going to make this fight go the distance.

And now...

Double Bastard

Aroma 11/12

Now THIS smells like a double!  It is so rich and dark smelling with gobs of molasses just wafting out to shake your hand with the sometimes uncomfortable assumed familiarity of a "How the hell are ya?!"  Even with that strong malt aroma, the hops are still easily detectable and only get stronger as the beer warms.  They start out clean and fresh with a light citrus, which teams up oddly well with a little booze that's present.  A moderate roast makes a cameo and then things truly begins to come together.  The bouquet as a whole is boozy, rich with a molasses that is made brighter by the citrus hops that will not be subdued.  As this was their 2011 release, I can only imagine what it would be like fresh.

Appearance 3/3

Another great looking brew!  This beer pours darker than the Double Dead Guy with shades light brown, magenta, ruby, some rather indescribable red/purple combinations.  This is very striking in color!  The head is beige, moderate in longevity, leaves little lacing, and is supplemented around the edges of the glass by tiny columns of carbonation.  The beer appears living and moving with this constant ascension.

Flavor 19/20

This is not a beer that tiptoes around with nuance and subtlety.  Immediately, your taste buds are being bludgeoned by big heavy malts!  Brown sugars abound, caramel flows freely, a suggestion of raisins & dark fruits is hard to ignore, alcohol is camouflaged yet present, and a diminished resin shows up from time to time.  There are no rising and falling flavors to detect.  This is a bull rush and you're in the way.  The finish is more of the resin, but with a fully revealed alcohol heat and a sticky feeling thanks to the sweet fruits that refuse to go away without a fight.  The aftertaste allows all the other flavors to fall away save for a medicinal bitter that lingers long after the beer has been swallowed.  This is a slap of flavors on the tongue!

Mouthfeel 4/5

In case, the last paragraph left any doubt this is a big, big beer.  The mouthfeel is full bodied and smooth even though Stone makes a feint at lightening it with a fairly aggressive carbonation.  Thankfully, that prickly carbonation dies before the halfway point in the 1 Pt. 6 oz. bottle, and we're left with a big beer that's still light on its feet.  This is just about the perfect amount of carbonation to have in a big beer.  The alcohol warmth is a tad more aggressive than I would prefer.  It's not out of line by any means, in fact big beers often carry a strong warmth with them, but that doesn't mean that the alcohol couldn't have been incorporated more into the beer instead of contributing on its own.

Overall Impression 10/10

I love it!  This is big beer and everything about it is designed as such.  The aroma is strong (albeit fairly simple), the flavor is a monster, the appearance is gorgeous, and the mouthfeel means some serious business.    If you enjoy doubles or imperials, this beer is right up your alley.  It's robust nature carries it in every category

Total 47/50

This is truly an annual release to be sought out and celebrated.  It defies most other beers on the shelf and is a really nice surprise.  Yes, even though you expect big, full flavored beers when you drink a Stone, be prepared to be surprised.  It's big, sweet, warm, and smooth, but still drinks easier than I'd expect and leaves a great lingering bitter.  This was definitely the bruiser out of the two beers evaluated.  Its fight stratagem is clearly brute strength and a relentless attack.  Thankfully, that strength is also remarkably tasty.

And the winner, by a judge's score of 44 to 47 is...

In the end the tasty flavors, complexity, and high technical brewing of Rogue's Double Dead Guy weren't enough to defeat the huge/delicious flavors and "big beer" feel of Stone's Double Bastard.  Each one definitely has their place and respective bragging rights.  Rogue's aroma was more complex, but Stone's was much richer.  Rogue's head was superior overall and laced better, but Stone's carbonation in the glass made the beer seem alive.  And these type of comparisons go on and on.  Which makes me think that the victory could go to either beer depending on how your mood strikes you.  Perhaps another day, I might've found the Double Bastard overpowering and clumsy.  Perhaps, like today, I found that the Double Dead Guy just didn't have enough "oomph" to really knock me out.  Overall, Rogue provides a sweeter, more drinkable, less boozy experience that is easier to let beginners sample because each flavor can be more easily detected.  Stone, on the other hand, provides a darker, boozier, stronger, richer, more lingering brew that might be too abrasive to those you're to proselytize into the world of craft beer.  They're both excellent beers, but like Highlanders... there can be only one.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have two bottles to finish.