Incredulous Owl by Meg Lyman

Gouache on ACEO

$30 – e-mail to purchase

So apparently owls are now a thing. Not sure how long it will last, but they’ve been all over the stores – as earrings, on shirts, as stuffed animals, on towels, in artwork – you name it. I think it’s partially because the owl shape lends itself to stylization and is still instantly recognizable. Here are a few examples:

There is a brewery in Japan, Hitachino Nest, that has an adorable owl as its mascot. I posted about their Hitachino Stout several years ago, and just recently tried their Sweet Stout, which is a milk stout. Delicious, as milk stouts usually are.

Isn’t it cute?

Because of all this owl hype, I thought now would be a good time to finally do the tribute to the Hitachino owl I’ve been wanting to do. I used the opportunity to try a new color scheme, using flat colors and dry brushing. It was a fun experiement!

Weyerbacher Old Heathen Imperial Stout is a really good beer. I am fond of imperial stouts – they’re delicious – but you can’t drink too many at a time because they’re quite rich. This one is smooth and fairly sweet, with a hint of fruity. There’s a bit of a bright bite to it, and a pleasing aftertaste. I recommend!

It’s a mouthful!

This one is deep and sweet with a mild tangy aftertaste. It comes in a gigantic bottle that will keep you happy all night. Or all morning – the Great Divide website suggests pairing this beer with eggs Benedict, hash browns, cheesecake, and creme brulee.

Since the Bears didn’t even come close to the playoffs this year, I was a bit bored while watching the playoffs at the bar, and used the opportunity to try several new dark winter brews on tap. They were all delicious. Dark beers go well with cold weather and football, which are two of the very few things I like about winter.

The first was Fort Collins Brewery Chocolate Stout. It was pretty tasty, as chocolate stouts go. It did not, however, taste at all like chocolate. It was smooth with a hint of sweet up front, and a sour aftertaste. It didn’t have much bitter flavor either, so I can’t even say it tasted like cocoa… but despite that, it was a good pick.

I give it a 7.5 / 10.

My sister and her fiancée just moved into town. Woohoo! He used to live near Akron, and brought along this local stout for me.  :D  From the interestingly-named Hoppin’ Frog Brewery, it was, specifically, the barrel-aged version of their Oatmeal-Imperial Stout.

It’s quite smooth. There’s not much head, but it bubbles some in your mouth. The taste is very sweet, such that I can’t drink it very fast… it’s definitely a sipper. There is a hint of fruit, and you can really taste the whiskey flavor of the barrels in which it was aged. There is a lingering, slightly bitter aftertaste, reminiscent of the aftertaste from a sugary drink (like soda).

Overall, very good and unique! I give it an 8.5.

Duck-Rabbit Brewery is a specialist in dark beers. Little else is needed to win over my heart. I’ve tried a few of their brews and liked them all.

Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout is only the second milk stout I’ve tried… and it makes me think that milk stout is my favorite kind of beer, ever. It’s sweet, but not as sweet as Left Hand’s milk stout. There is a bit of a sour aftertaste that is reminiscent of chocolate. It’s very drinkable for a heavy stout and I like it so much, I think I’ll go have another right now.

Whatever.

But they did have one new stout: Ten Fidy from Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado. (If you check out their page, they also make Old Chub, a Scottish ale which sits in my fridge waiting to be taste-tested.) It’s only available in cans or on tap. I bought one can for a dear price of $4, but it was tasty enough that I tried it on tap at a Taco Mac.

It’s a nice dark stout. It has very little carbonation – in fact, it was so almost flat that it was just… weird. A bit like drinking Kahlua straight. It’s smooth and a bit tangy, with a sweetness like dark chocolate (although there’s only a hint of actual chocolate taste) and the aftertaste is quite bitter. On tap, it’s smoother and less bitter.

Ratings:
Can: 8.5
On tap: 9

Ratings:
M: 8
N: 8.5

Unsurprisingly, it’s very much like Guinness… but with more flavor. I am sorry if you’re a Guinness fan, but it’s so very bland that it’s easy for a stout to improve on it. That said, it’s a good “drinking” beer, although I got fairly toasted on St. Patty’s Day and had the worst Guinness hangover ever on Tuesday.

Anyway, Beamish has a tiny tang and bite, which make it a little more bitter than Guinness, but just as smooth and creamy. A tasty alternative and another salute to Irish beermongery.

Ratings:
M: 7.5
N: 7.5

It is yummy, sweet, and chocolately with a long (but good!) aftertaste. It has absolutely no bitterness. And it was bad for hangovers. I think most dark beers are. I recommend it anyway.

Rating: 9.5