TLDR Beer Club

[ScottieK]

Last night, my gf and I attended a five course dinner at Turtle Mountain Brewing Co. in Rio Rancho, NM. The dinner was a promotional event for Stone Brewing Co. from San Diego. I’ve seen their beers mentioned throughout this thread, so I’m probably not breaking any new ground here. Each course was prepared by TMBC’s head chef and paired with a beer from Stone. At $50 a plate, I was expecting some excellent food and brew. One of the head marketers from Stone, a guy named Arlen, was at the event to talk about the beers, the history of Stone, and to answer any questions we had. TMBC makes some great brews also (like a molasses porter), and their head brewer was in attendance, as was the head brewer from Tractor Brewing Co. in Los Lunas, NM.

Before we started, Arlen talked about how Stone got started. Their thing is making beers with a lot of flavor. They are designed to challenge your palate, not to be popular with everyone in America. They freely admit that they go to the Great American Beer Festival and don’t win medals. They are actually proud of that. Stone is definitely anti-big beer and all about being a unique microbrewery. Anyways, on to the dinner! I’ll concentrate on the beers, but the food was pretty damned good too.

First course – Stone Pale Ale with sun-dried tomato and fennel salad

This was a good choice to start the evening. It is a flavorful Pale Ale, more robust than Bass. It has a good balance of hops and malt flavors, with a deep amber or copper tone. It’s not a typical pale ale…I wouldn’t make a black and tan out of it, because it might actually clash with the Guinness. It looks and drinks more like an Amber. This is the first beer that Stone started brewing, and they consider it one of their flagship beers. The salad was made with a Stone Pale Ale dressing, and had just sun-dried tomatoes, fennel, celery, and onions in it. No lettuce or spinach. They went pretty well together, or maybe I just like sun-dried tomatoes. Pale Ale – 4/5.

Second Course – Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale with green chile and cherry beef ribs

Arrogant Bastard doesn’t taste like any other beer I’ve ever had. Arlen asked us what fruit flavor profile this beer has, and someone said “grapefruit.” “That’s right!” This ale has all kinds of different flavors, and it is a little tart like a grapefruit. Others at the table suggested banana and raspberry. It’s a very dark copper, almost brown, and has some hops to it. The closest thing I can compare it to is a dubbel or trippel with a lot of kick and more pronounced fruit flavors. It has an ABV of 7.2%, and you can taste that alcohol. I enjoyed the glass they gave me, but I don’t think I could drink this all the time. Arlen said they submitted this beer at the GABF in some category (it really doesn’t fit into one), and a judge wrote on the comment card “too much flavor.” You got that right. The beef ribs were huge, a meal all by themselves. The sauce combined spicy green chile with the sweet-tartness of cherries and really complemented the beer. They may have even put some of the beer in the sauce as well. Arrogant Bastard – 3.5/5.

Third Course – Stone IPA with cinnamon and nutmeg-roasted game hen, rice, and vegetables

The Stone IPA is the first Stone beer I ever had. Stone brews an anniversary IPA every year, and this is their first anniversary IPA. My friend turned me on to hoppy beers, and this one fits the bill. Arlen mentioned that Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. introduced Cascade hops to the California market, and that Cascade hops is what most California brewing companies use. Not Stone. They use Centennial and Columbus hops for this IPA, and they dry-hop it for two weeks. It comes in at 77 IBU’s and 6.9% ABV, but you can’t really taste the alcohol over the hop profile. If you like IPA’s, this one is awesome. Hops seems to be all the rage nowadays, but this one isn’t too hoppy. The game hen was also a meal by itself, and paired well with the beer. The smell reminded me of Thanksgiving. Stone IPA – 4.5/5.

Fourth Course – Stone Ruination IPA with goat cheese and pear pizza

Arlen told us that for each anniversary IPA, they doubled the hops from the previous year…until it got so hoppy that it would actually clog the tanks. Ruination IPA is a blend of their second, third, and fourth anniversary IPA’s. Three hops profiles combined into one beer. It is one of the hoppiest things I have ever had, more hoppy than Hazed and Infused. You can smell the hops just floating up from this thing, very floral. The only beer I’ve had that is hoppier than Ruination is something called “Hop God” at Il Vicino and maybe a couple barley wines. Ruination has over 100 IBU’s and 7.7% ABV, and it will knock you on your butt. It does have a little more malt than the regular IPA, but it’s no match for the additional hops. I like hoppy beers, but this is too hoppy for me to have more than one or two. Out of four people at my table, only two of us could finish this one. The pizza was interesting…it had goat cheese, pears, and roasted macadamia nuts on it, but I didn’t see how it went with the beer. Ruination IPA – 3.5/5. It’s a good beer, just too hoppy for my tastes.

Fifth Course – Stone Smoked Porter with porter crème brulee

I love porters, and I love scotch. So what happens when Stone blends the two? Although this porter has the usual coffee and chocolate tones, it also has peaty and smoky flavors you might find in a scotch like Bowmore. This comes from a peat-smoked specialty malt that they use in the brew. It only has an ABV of 5.9%, and it’s something I could knock back a couple of on a cold winter night. Like all of Stone’s brews, this one is packed with flavor. It is an odd combination, but it works out somehow. It’s also got the dark mahogany or even black color, dark tan head, and a great mouthfeel. I chewed it like the guy on the Sam Adams commercials. The crème brulee was excellent and had a little flavor and color from the porter. They complemented each other very well. Stone Smoked Porter – 4/5.

We had a great time and ate way too much. My only wish was that they had let us sample some of their other beers, like the Anniversary Ale, Vertical Epic, or the Imperial Stout, instead of giving us two IPAs. But the five beers we had are the ones they brew year-round, and the others are special releases. You can check them all out on the website. They should be available in 21 states for purchase by the bottle or six-pack, and I can find the IPA, Arrogant Bastard, and occasionally the Smoked Porter on tap in some bars around Albuquerque. Overall, I recommend anything from Stone Brewing, but be prepared for a jolt to your taste buds.

http://www.stonebrew.com/

ScottieK

[MrWookie]

Excellent trip report.

[kidcolin]

Cool trip report Scottie. I agree with you though.. that beer selection is suspect. Ruination, Arrogant Bastard, and the IPA are all hop bombs. Would've been nice to see some more variety. That being said I like all those beers a lot, so I wouldn't complain too much.

[MrWookie]

I don't think people here are drinking enough beer. Regardless, tonight's review is the Benchwarmer Porter from the Cooperstown Brewing Co. This brewery has a lot to live up to, as Cooperstown is also the home of Ommegang, one of my favorite US breweries. Their line up (har har) is a little more traditional, though, and they're all named after baseball. I paid $1.89 for one 12 oz, so this is on the cheaper side. The ABV is not specified.



(I took the pic of the bottle after I'd already poured it into my glass.) The beer pours with much, much more head than I've come to expect from porters. It was foaming at the top of the bottle even after I opened it. It's again on the lighter side for porters, but not as disappointingly light as, say, the Yuengling.



The smell is a little different from some porters. It doesn't smell as much of coffee or hops. There's a little bit of vanilla and wood. The taste, though, it a little more traditional. The coffee is there, but still subdued compared to some. There's a little creaminess to it, and some of the bubbly sharpness from the high level of carbonation. The vanilla comes though a little, too, and it's nice and malty. It's very light on the hops. I'm going to give this beer [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. It's not my favorite porter, but it's pretty reasonable, esp. for the price.

[MrWookie]

To follow up on the above review, tonight I'll review the Strike Out Stout. This was the same price, $1.89.



The beer pours with a LOT of head. Like, uncontrollable, overflowing head. Not the usual dense stout head, either. More like cheap beer that's improperly tapped.



It smells slightly of coffee, but there's not a whole lot there. The taste, well, sucks. This is another hollow, empty beer. The porter is more robust than the stout, wtf? Don't bother with this one, folks. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and a half [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Strike Out, indeed.

[MrWookie]

Tonight, I'll review the last beer from Allagash that I bought my last trip out, their Grand Cru. I paid $9.35 for a four pack; this is not cheap beer. It weighs in at a somewhat mild 7%, though. This is much weaker than Avery's Grand Cru.



The beer pours a nice cloudy amber color with a modest head. It's a little darker than the triple, but it's a fair bit lighter than Avery's. Honestly, I'm not really sure what it means to be a Grand Cru, so I can't comment which brewer got it "right."



The aroma is malty and yeasty with a little bit of apricot. The flavor is pretty mild. It's not nearly as bold as the Avery, which bore some resemblance to an English-style barley wine, where as this is more like a milder, somewhat darker Belgian trippel. I'm going to award this beer [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]. It's good, but it's seeming like Allagash's quality is going down as their beer gets darker. Their white, their trippel, and the Curieux are all-stars, the Grand Cru doesn't live up to it, and the Dubbel is lower still. I can't recommend buying this beer. Nearly $10 for just a four pack of 3.5 beer doesn't cut it. There are better ways to spend your money.

[steelcmg]

This past Saturday me and a few friends attended the Philly beer fest. I was very excited for this since it was the first beer fest in Philly in a very long time. The event took place at the navy yard in one of the warehouses. There where alot of people there probably to many. The over all set up of the place was not very good which made it very crowded. The warehouse was a rectangular shape and most of the well known beers where stationed in the middle. So it was almost impossible to move around. One thing I really disliked about the event where all the college kids that attended just to get really wasted.

There where alot of very good beers there and I am a huge fan of darker beers. One of the beers that stood out to me is from a local brewery in Philly called Dock Street they brought back a beer they have not made in a few years. The "Illuminator" The beer is a dark walnut color and has a tan head. The beer had a light hop aroma with a scent of caramel. It had a nice malty flavor with a caramel and fruitiness taste. Very drinkable.

Another local was Independence Brew Pub's "Imperial Stout" This beer was very very dark in color with a nice brown head. It had a nice aroma to it sweet and malty. This had a really good taste to it not overwhelming in alcohol and bitterness like other Imperial Stouts. I was very surprised with this beer and think it was one of my favorites at the show.

Overall i was very pleased to have tried this beer and look forward to purchasing it in the future. There where also alot of other great beers there but these 2 where completely new to me.

Next trip report will be sometime next week after I attend the AC beer fest.

[MrWookie]

All,

It looks like I've finally exhausted the supply of all the un-reviewed beer I've purchased since the end of January [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]. Hopefully some of the rest of you (thanks steelcmg!) can fill in while I polish off the rest of the six packs and before I can justify dropping another hundo or two restocking at Beers of the World.

[blackize]

Went to DuClaw in Arundel Mills Mall a week ago and just now getting around to writing up the report.

Their IPA has a sweet floral smell. The taste isn't much different. It has a bite of hops which is largely overpowered by the sweetness of the brew. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 1/4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Their American Wheat had no discernible smell and was a very hollow beer. The malt is really the only taste here and it's not very good. Tastes a lot like Budweiser Select. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] .5[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Their APA was a bit better. I don't remember much about the nose of it, but the taste is a bit bitter with hops with an understated sweetness. Overall pretty well balanced. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Their porter smells of coffee. Tastes of chocolate and coffee. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Their stout was more impressive. Smells fruity with a hint of alcohol. It tastes like raspberry balanced with chocolate and even a little bit of coffee. [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img][img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 3/4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[kidcolin]

I've got a bunch coming. No need to fear.