TLDR Beer Club

[MrWookie]

Tonight's beer review is Middle Ages Kilt Tilter. This is a Scotch ale that weighs in at a hefty 9% ABV. I paid $5.39 for a 22 oz.



The beer pours a nice dark brown color that's clear, not cloudy. The head is minimal, which is typical for this style of beer.



The beer smells sweet, and slightly fruity. I think it's cherries that I smell. Tasting it, the beer is pretty sweet, and the malt is rich. The complexity is very nice. There's a cool smoky flavor in the finish. This beer isn't quite as bold as some, but the depth of flavor is exceptional. Cherry, raisin, grain, smoke: a great assortment. This beer might not be as bold as some, but it's got a great mix of flavors that are hard to get from other styles of beer. I'm going to award it an impressive [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. I raise my glass to Middle Ages for this one.

[MaxxDaddy]

Tonight I decided to try another Bell's stout. As if you guys didn't notice, I'm a big fan of dark beer. After being bowled over by Kalamazoo stout, my spirits were high. I give you their sweet stout: Bell's Special Double Cream Stout



Poured a nice brown/black with a thin layer of bubble tan head. At first the aroma seemed somewhat muted, but that was probably because it was too cold. As it warmed up, the beer revealed it's lovely sweet coffee and milky aroma, with chocolate creeping in there at times. Unfortunately, the taste didn't quite follow through. I had to really swirl it around for a while before I could get a real definitive taste. Beforehand, it didn't really have much of a taste, maybe a faint milkiness at best. After doing so, there was a bit of coffee and malty sweetness. I let it warm up some more, but it didn't do much good. What it did do however, was accentuate the finish, which also ended up being very good. It was way more pronounced, yielding a delicious sweet coffee flavor without too much bitterness. Sorry hopheads, but you'd be hard-pressed to find any hops in this brew. Based on the aroma I had high hopes for this one, but the taste just didn't deliver. Perhaps I should've waited longer for it to warm up. On the bright side, the finish was almost certainly the best aspect of this beer, suitable for all tastes (unless you're really averse to coffee). I just hope I got a subpar batch. So I'll be optimistic and give this beer 3.25 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[Skjonne]

Spy,

As an American residing in Eire, maybe you can help me with this one:

Recently I tried Rogue's Kell's Irish Style Lager

A very smooth pale beer with notes of fruit, yeast (!) og a bit of hops. If it wasn't called 'Lager' I've would have guessed it was top-fermented

But to my question: WTF is 'Irish Style Lager'????? I've been to Ireland twice and I have yet to meet a local Lager. Stouts and red ales are what the irish brew. How can an American brewery claim to brew a style that doesn't exist (anymore?)??

[mosuavea]

[ QUOTE ]
mosuavea,

I'm glad you enjoyed your selection. A beer like the Double Bastard takes some getting used to. It's not a beer I'd give to a novice drinker who wants to try good stuff. I'd encourage you to come back to it in a couple months after you've tried some more pale ales, IPAs, and ESBs (red ales). I think the most surprising thing in your review is that you said the DFH 90 and the Old Rasputin were similar beers. DFH 90 is an imperial IPA, reddish brown in color, and tastes strongly of hops and malt. The Old Rasputin from North Coast is an imperial stout, jet black and tastes of coffee, caramel, etc. Now, if you actually had Great Divide's Old Ruffian, that'd make more sense. That's a barley wine, and has many of the same flavors and colors of the DFH 90. I'm trying to think what other mix up might make sense here, but I think that's the most likely. If it was the Old Ruffian from the same guys who put out the Yeti, then I'm glad you liked it. It's probably my favorite barely wine that I've had, and it's just behind the DFH 90 and the oaked bastard as my favorite way to get my hop fix.

How many hearts for the Weihenstephaner?


[/ QUOTE ]

I would say [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Good beer, not great like the chimay.

I could definitely be wrong in what I am recalling from DFH and Old Rasputin. I definitely had the Old Rasputin that had the coffee and caramel taste as well as a black color, so it wasn't that I had the wrong beer, it could be that I just don't remember exactly what I was having since I did the review 4 days later [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Guess that just means I will have to pick up more and go a little more in depth in my observations.

Its tough not reviewing a beer immediately after drinking it since you forget the exacts, especially if its your first encounter.

[RunDownHouse]

Skjonne,

From Rogues website, Kell's is a Czech Pils (at least they say that's the yeast they use, the grain looks in line too) for an Irish pub in the US named Kell's. So its more like (Kell's Irish) Lager than (Kell's) Irish Lager. I guess.

[MrWookie]

For my next review, I'm back to Ayinger, this time their Ur-Weisse. This is apparently a Dunkelweizen. I paid $3.65 for a half liter of 5.8% ABV beer.



The beer pours somewhat lighter than most dunkels, but it's still nice and heady.



I can smell the fruit and cloves as I'm pouring it. Apple, pear, and banana all come through in the smell. Sipping, I'd say this is the best dunkel I've had so far. Its fruity flavor comes through better than the Weihenstephaner or the Julius Echter. It's not as malty or sweet as the Aventinus, but it's a different kind of beer. This is a little lighter and a little fruitier. I'm going to give this beer a [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] rating. This beer lives up to their Maertzen. I might prefer the Aventinus a little overall, but if I'm going for something a little less sweet and a little less alcoholic, this is a great option. I strongly encourage weizen lovers to check this one out.

[kidcolin]

Hey y'all,

I picked up a few beers tonight. A Samuel Smith Imperial Stout, Unibroue's 15th Anniversary beer, and Mad River Brewing Co.'s John Barleycorn Barleywine.

Tonight's review is of the Barleywine. This is my very first Barleywine, so I don't have much to compare it against. I wanted to take pics but my batteries died. This is also from 30 minutes ago, but this beer got me sorta drunk so it's not the best.

I found a new store in town that sells singles, so I picked up the 12oz. for $2.19, so it's not cheap. It's organic, apparently. It packs a 9.5% ABV punch.

To be honest, I'm having a hard time reviewing it. Part of that might be due to the polish sausage, sauerkraut, and swiss sandwich I started eating along with it. The beer poured a dark amber with tones of red. It had a medium head, maybe about 1.5-2 fingers.

Upon sipping, it had a nice dry hop flavor, with a good balance of malt. Slightly after swallowing a bitter aftertaste came through, which I liked. As I progressed into the beer, I realized that the finish had a decent amount of alcohol flavor come through. Again, I like this.

I don't want to blow my wad on this beer, due to my inexperience with barleywines, but I'm intrigued. I give this beer a solid [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. I might pick up a six pack of this stuff next time. I'll look through this thread for some other barleywines.

Also, suggestions on serving temps for the imperial stout, please.

[Spy Dog]

[ QUOTE ]
Spy,

As an American residing in Eire, maybe you can help me with this one:

Recently I tried Rogue's Kell's Irish Style Lager

A very smooth pale beer with notes of fruit, yeast (!) og a bit of hops. If it wasn't called 'Lager' I've would have guessed it was top-fermented

But to my question: WTF is 'Irish Style Lager'????? I've been to Ireland twice and I have yet to meet a local Lager. Stouts and red ales are what the irish brew. How can an American brewery claim to brew a style that doesn't exist (anymore?)??

[/ QUOTE ]

Not really sure. Harp is the best known Irish lager and it wouldn't be classified as an 'Irish Lager'. It's really just a pale lager in the same mold as Heineken.

There are only a handful of microbreweries here and to my knowledge the Porterhouse is the only one that brews lagers. They also brew the best stouts in Ireland.

[kidcolin]

Tonights alcoholic endeavor involves Unibroue's 15. It came in a 750 ml corked and caged bottle that I paid $8.39 for. It packs a 10% ABV punch. I had to look up on Beer Advocate what style it was. It's classified as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale there.






Upon opening, the cork popped pretty aggressively, and a citrusy smell came through. I orignally though grapefruit, but it wasn't quite that.. more orangey. I don't own a chalice, so I poured it into my Party Poker pint glass [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]. It pours a hazy orange, with an aggressive head. The head didn't last long, as the pictures suggest. It dissipated quickly, leaving little lace. To be honest, it's a bit like champaign. Very bubbly.

Upon tasting, again I was reminded of champaign! Interesting. Not exactly what I was expecting. Some of the citrus flavor comes through, again with hints of orange and apple even. Maybe even a little pear. The alcohol was evident, though not overwhelming or distracting. The aftertaste wasn't much of anything.. maybe a bit of malt flavor, accompanied by some wheat undertones. At first, I was rather underwhelmed with this beer. After drinking about half the glass, I started chomping into my second Polish sausage, sauerkraut, and swiss sandwich in 2 nights. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I finished the first glass with my meal. Actually, I felt the beer's carbonation was a bit much and was filling me up prematurely.

I then poured the second pint. As the beer warmed up, I found myself enjoying it more and more. The fruit flavors came through a bit more, as well as the malt. The aftertaste got a bit more pronounced. Also, I was getting buzzed rather quickly! It tasted better balanced now, with specific stages in the taste. The fruity, bubbly taste came through in the beginning of the sip, followed by the malt, alcohol and hint of wheat flavors that came with the finish.

At the end of the bottle, some yeast came through in the pour, which I actually like. I finished it off, rather enjoying the whole experience, but I still think the beer drank a little heavier than I would've liked for its style. I feel a bit bloated [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img].

I award this beer [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. I think it's pretty good, but it's not cheap, so I expected a bit more. If I found it on tap so I could order a single chalice, I'd gladly purchase it, but I won't be buying another 22 oz.'er. Still, I'm glad I gave it a shot, and I encourage you to, too.

[The X-Factor]

Well done kidcolin! I look forward to having the pleasure of trying this beer someday.