I know I just posted about a Ballast Point beer with a skeleton and his parrot, but here’s another! Victory at Sea is “porter with coffee & vanilla” and it’s pretty much that. Fairly smooth, but it’s an Imperial so it’s not for the lighthearted. I mean, just look at the art!
Also I like it because the title reminds me of this comic. Very NSFW. Please don’t click on it if you’re my Ma.
Wingman Brewers P-51 Porter is local to me. All their beers are aviation themed, so I had to try. This one has a rich aroma and a toasted flavor with a hint of sweet that turns slightly bitter at the end. Smooth.
My dear friend and co-art and -beer conspirator Tony Steele has kindly opined on a beer for us! Thanks, Tony! Go check out his art – it’s perfectly cromulent!
Old Chicago Black Diamond Chocolate Porter by the Boulder Beer Company made specifically for Old Chicago is a treasure. Drained from a unicorn and the beast was better for it. It not only wants you to be happy, it is the president of your fan club. It does a dopamine tango made of love right down your throat dressed in smoky chocolate lingerie and a viking hat. A petition to the company to produce this in the non pizza world would be a grand thing. Stop short of eating the glass. I love you Old Chicago Black Diamond Chocolate Porter and I want to have beer babies with you.
It’s time for another guest post from Tentacle Toast!
This is one of my favorites from year to year. The 2012 batch is probably the best it’s ever been, & I’ve been a long time fan! This year the ABV is lower than in past vintages that I can recall (9.2%), which I think actually allows the wholesome flavor (not even going to mention “notes” or “hints,” just down-right yummy goodness…in my opinion, the existential dark beer experience) to soak more readily into the tongue. Plus now it comes in 6 instead of 4-packs!
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we found ourselves in Savannah, GA, drinking locally brewed beer at the Moon River Brewery. We tried several, but the only dark one was their Captain’s Porter. I love beer fresh from the tap.
This porter was sweetish at first, but had a very sour aftertaste. It was not complex at all, which made it sort of boring. The hint of chocolate flavor was slightly redeeming.
Ratings:
M: 7
N: 5
This week, I bring you Anchor Porter. I’ve had it several times before, but just got around to ranking it.
It has a little initial sweetness, but afterwards is overwhelming savory, almost like peppered beef jerky. But strangely, the aftertaste is sweet again. It’s an interesting effect. It isn’t tangy or too bubbly, and doesn’t kick you in the teeth. Decent overall, but nothing to write home about.
Ratings:
M: 6
Okocim Porter from Poland rocks my socks. It is rich and smooth and has none of the usual bitterness of porters. Some are strong and powerful and smack your teeth, but this isn’t; it’s agreeable, gentlemanly, and you could take it home to Mom. It tastes more like a stout than a porter. It’s sweet, delicious, and fragrant, with a hint of honey and little aftertaste.
M: 9.5
N: 9
My short absence has not been idle – I was on beer vacation! It was planned as a regular family reunion, but unexpectedly turned into a beer vacation, which is perfectly fine with me.
Day 1: Meet with Casey Klahn of The Colorist, who has the most beautiful backyard ever. Got to see some of his originals and his awesome new studio-in-progress. He has cute kids and gave me beer. Thumbs up!
Walnut Brewery Old Elk Brown Ale: a nice red beer, tastier by far than Killian’s. Ratings for a non-dark beer… M: 7 N: 6.5
Day 2: Family reunion in beautiful Leavenworth, WA. Found out that I have the same birthday as this handsome fellow, my great-great-grandfather the horse-wrangler.
Also found out that I’m related to an excellent botanical artist, Catherine Watters. My family rocks.
Leavenworth is a Bavarian Village, and has tons of good beer on tap. Here’s what we drank:
Big Sky Brewery Moose Drool Brown Ale: chocolatey, mild, complex, and dark for an ale. On tap at Gustav’s, which makes kick-ass cheeseburgers. Non-dark beer ratings… M: 9 N: 8.5
Boundary Bay Imperial Oatmeal Stout: served room temp, it’s dessert-sweet and rich, like a mild black russian. On tap at Ducks and Drakes. M: 9 N: 9
Elysian Perseus Porter: complex, better than Guinness. On tap at I forget which beer garden. M: 7 N: 7.5
Hales Brewery Sleeping Maiden Porter: deep, rich, tasty. On tap at, and made exclusively for, Gustav’s. M: 7.5 N: 7
Deschutes Brewery Black Butte Porter: smooth and mild, a typical porter. On tap at Gustav’s. M: 8 N: 7
Day 3: Drove to Dayton, WA to visit my grandmother, a 96-year-old firecracker with a 20-year-old sense of humor. Visit Palouse Falls. Successfully take photos without falling in.
Day 4: Visited Little Goose Dam and its fish ladder. I’ve never seen salmon so big.
Day 5: Dinner at Skye Book & Brew in Dayton. It’s an awesome little mix of cafe, coffee shop, and bookstore. Their brewmaster makes excellent beer that is only available on tap at this restaurant. They have $1 pints on Monday night. ONE DOLLAR. I love this place.
S. McTaggart Scottish Ale: dark, complex, and earthy with a hint of cocoa. Non-dark beer ratings… M: 9 N:9
Pataha Creek Porter: light for a porter, smooth, complex, and bitter. M: 7.5 N: 7
Tucannon Honey Wheat: not dark beer at all, but Grandmother liked it, so I had to try. Sweet and tasty.
Startin Starveout Stout: I had this on my last trip to Dayton, and it was delicious. They aren’t making it right now. Shame.
Day 6: Pick wild blackberries. Dinner at the Weinhard Cafe. Awesome food.
Deschutes Brewery Obsidian Stout: full, smooth, thick, nutty, and sweet. M: 9 N: 8.5
Day 7: Had beer on tap at Squatters Pub Brewery in the Salt Lake City airport while waiting on a layover.
Squatters Polygamy Porter: mild, smooth, with a small bite. M: 7 N: 5
Squatters Captain Bastard’s Oatmeal Stout: complex but verrry bitter and sour, smells like coffee. M: 6 N: 5
That’s it! Hope you enjoyed my beer vacation as much as I did.
This week, I purchased a pint of Hooker Imperial Porter. Both the label and the link (which apparently hasn’t been updated in two years) say that it is “full bodied, sweet, with a caramel flavor and a coffee-like taste.” I’d say that description is fairly accurate – caramel was the first flavor I tasted. However, they forgot to mention the aftertaste, which is sour and quickly takes over the sweetness.
The bottle also says “Adds holiday warmth and cheer to any beer lover’s winter.” Ha. It is as refreshing as a dark beer can be, and isn’t too bad in the Georgia summer heat. And one last note – I do know how to pour beer, but this one dumped it head over the side of the glass and I had to wait quite a while for it to go down. This may or may not be related to my technique, but I assure you that my clumsy pouring did not contribute to the problems I mentioned in last week’s post.
Rating:
M: 8
N: out of town
This week, instead of beer ratings, y’all get a warning and a question. When it happened once, I asked the liquor store (and stumped them). When it happened again, I turn to you for answers.
Twice we’ve bought organic beer that was possessed. Two separate occasions, two different breweries. We’d open the bottle, but as soon as the beer reached our mouths, it turned to complete fizz. All air, no liquid. Same if we poured it in a glass – it turned completely to foam. Let it sit for half an hour, and there’d be half an inch of totally flat beer in a glass that had been brimming full of foam.
Both times, the blight affected the entire six-pack. Both times, we’ve had the beer several times before and it was fine. The first occasion was several months ago, and it was Bison Chocolate Stout. The second time was last weekend, with Butte Creek Organic Porter. It wasn’t as bad as the Bison, but still difficult to drink. Beer is much less enjoyable when you have to concentrate on each sip or end up with fizz up your nose and a shirt covered in beer fluff.
So… if you but these organic beers, beware… and does anyone know what the freakin’ heck is going on? Unless you have ideas, I’m going on the presumption that these beers are possessed.