January 15th Tasting Recap

Hello again, everybody! Another monthly tasting has come and gone, and has left many of us with hangovers which we may or may not regret (I don't regret mine, I had a great time!) The full lineup included:

Sam Adams Triple Bock 1997, Darkside Fermentation's Mark of the Yeast, Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve 6-10, Deschutes The Abyss 2010, Deschutes Hop Henge IPA, Stone Imperial Russian Stout 2009, Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2008, Avery The Beast Grand Cru, Avery Mephistopholes Stout, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA 2006 + World Wide Stout 2008 "Heaven and Hell", (512) Pecan Porter growler, Lemonade Joose, Brooklyn Local 1, Xingu Black Beer, New Belgium/Allagash Vrienden, A 3 year old hand-bottled bomber of Live Oak Hefeweizen , Anchor Liberty Ale, and Lagunitas Hop Stoopid.

Thanks especially to the homebrewers and chefs, included Ken's '09 Bourbon barrel Black Orlov RIS and a dry hopped barleywine, and Mark's Saison made with Orval dregs. We were also graced with some of John's delicious bread made with Well's Banana Bread Beer and muffins made with Newcastle Brown Ale




I'll start with my personal favorite- Sam Adams Triple Bock 1997. It comes in a small cobalt blue bottle with a cork. Surprisingly, the cork was still intact, which, from what I've heard, is what commonly ruins this beer- a crumbled, dissolved cork floating in the bottle. Lucky for us, this bottle was cellared properly. When I poured some out, a sort of scum was visible on the inside of the bottle that resembled coagulated blood. Not a good sign.



The Triple Bock poured a viscous black that coated the inside of the tasting glass with a layer of brown residue. "Look, I don't know what the hell this stuff is but it's worth trying once" I tell myself as I force myself to take a whiff. What else, but a chocolatey soy sauce smell. More soy than chocolate, though. Much more. First, I note my initial disgust with the soy sauce attack on my palate, but after forcing a few sips down my throat, I began to enjoy the raw sweet chocolatey thing happening below the Kikkoman. I still haven't made my mind up on the Triple Bock, but I still have half of the bottle left and plenty of tiny sips to help me decide.

Darkside Fermentation's Mark of the Yeast is always a favorite. This was the spiciest bottle I've had to date. Sweetness of raisins and sage abound. I'm not sure what yarrow, elderberries, or wormwood taste like, but i'm sure it's all in there, swimming in a sea of deliciousness.

The scavenger hunt for Deschutes The Abyss 2010 was fun, and probably worth the effort on the part of Jason, who drove through the rain to Bee Caves and back just to pick up two bottles. Bourbon booziness, dark roasty flavors, wood, dark licorice, leather, some chocolate and vanilla notes as well. If you didn't get to get any this week, chances are you missed your window. Only 70 cases hit Austin and they went fast. I've heard of some retailers holding back a case to open in a couple of weeks, so you might just get lucky and stumble upon some.






Saint Arnold's Divine Reserve 6 and 9 were my favorites of the lineup. I don't normally like pumpkin spice beers, but this one was great. It's a lot more mellow than when it was fresh, the spice compliments the beer rather than compete with it.

Deschutes Hop Henge IPA called itself an 'Experimental IPA', though I have no idea what that means. After a little research, I've found that Deschutes dry hops this in a barrel to give it extra strong aroma. It's not a bad IPA at all, but not nearly as strange or groundbreaking as the label would have me believe.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA 2006 + World Wide Stout 2008 "Heaven and Hell" was very interesting, to say the least. Booziness-check. Bitterness-check. Roastiness-check. Somewhat confusing to the palate, and somewhat of a challenge, this is a black and tan to be reckoned with.

Lemonade Joose tasted like lemonade and alcohol. What else? Andrew chugged half the can and we poured the rest on the curb for our dead homies. That's about the only thing this stuff is good for-pouring on curbs.

The 3 year old hand-bottled bomber of Live Oak Hefeweizen was a unique and interesting treat, though to call it flavorful or 'good' would be a misrepresentation. There was nothing really horrible about it besides the fact that it's old and has lost everything that makes Live Oak Hefe magical. Steven liked it though, and he finished the whole bottle.


There were lots of new faces, which is always a good thing, as we try to build and grow our craft beer community through...what else? Drinking good beer. Thanks everyone for attending the tastings and for reading my silly beer blog. Until next month, drink beer, have fun, and drive safe! (And not necessarily in that order) See you next time!