Apr 01 2009
Big Beer Tuesday
Tuesday evening, I headed over to the Boat Guy’s place for another night of food, beer, and some time spent sitting outside by the fire. Before heading over to his place, I stopped off at the local packie and grabbed a few interesting looking beers for us to try. It turned out into a big night…big dinner, a big fire, and big beers.
Dinner was steak AND chicken on the grill plus BIG piles of baked beans and green beans. The fire started out as a brush-disposal sytem for the Boat Guy’s earlier yard cleanup, then switched over to a perfect combo of pine boards and maple logs. The perfect combo for a hot, bright, comfy fire to sit around and drink beer.
The first beer we cracked into was the Chocolate Stout from Rogue Brewery in Oregon. The bottle didn’t list the ABV, just the degrees Plato (which was 15, btw). I’m not sure how to convert.
As we poured the beer from the 22 ounce bottle into our frosted glasses, it was really good looking beer…dark, thick and rich looking with a thick, foamy white head.
I was surprised by just how much chocolate flavor this beer had. This is not a “chocolate as in we used a chocolate malt” type of chocolate, this is a “this beer has a bunch of chocolate in it” type of chocolate.
The rich chocolately taste is complimented by a nice touch of hopiness. The beer has an IBU rating of 69, so it’s not a really strong hop flavor, but is a nice counterbalance to the sweetness of the chocolate.
Overall, I found it to be a very nice beer. We had it first, but I think this beer would be a great dessert beer. I could see sitting down and sipping on this after a nice meal. It’d be like a beer and dessert all in one!
The second beer we broke out was Sam Adams’ Imperial Stout. Like the Imperial White we reviewed last month, this beer is part of Sam Adams’ Imperial Series, a group of beers brewed to be full of flavor and high in alcohol. The Stout packs a 9.2% ABV, so it fits the bill.
This beer lived up to the billing on taste, as well…a little sweet, a little malty, thick and rich with a high alcohol taste at the finish. The alcohol flavor isn’t overpowering, though, allowing the drinker to appreciate the smooth mouth feel and rich texture of the stout.
So, I’ve now tried two of the Sam Adams Imperial Series so far, and I have enjoyed both. I look forward to trying the other two beers in the series, the Double Bock and Pilsner. I’ll be interested to find out how the Imperial Series is selling. While imperial beers probably aren’t as commercially viable as, say, their seasonal beers, I bet there is a market out there to support them. Kudos to Sam Adams for taking the risk…I hope it works out for them. I bet a few people who wouldn’t be willing to try an imperial from another company might try one from Sam, just as someone who might not try a craft beer from another company might try a Sam Adams. In both cases, the whole world of craft beer wins if more people are introduced to the beauty of quality beer.
The final beer we tried was the biggest of them all. I saw it at the packie, and grabbed it. They’d literally just gotten it in that day, and it wasn’t even in the computer yet. I had to stand there for five minutes while they went through their invoices to find out how much to charge me for it. The verdict? $14.99 for a four pack. Ouch. Nobody said being a beer snob was cheap.
The high-priced beer was from the Dogfish Head Brewing Company of Milton, Deleware. Dogfish makes some great beers, and their 60, 90, and 120 minute IPA’s are well known among hop heads.
This beer was the Palo Santo Marron, a Brown Ale that packs a staggering 12% ABV. The bottle actually refers to it as a “Malt Beverage aged on Santo Wood”.
From Dogfish’s website:
An unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this beer comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood from which these tanks were crafted. Palo Santo means “holy tree” and it’s wood has been used in South American wine-making communities.
This is a big beer. You sip it, you savor, you repeat. It has a great malty taste with a touch of sweetness and hints of caramel and vanilla. Oh, yeah, and a pretty sizable alcohol wallop. Not in a bad way, but wow…you know you’re drinking a strong beer.
I found this tidbit to be interesting about the vessels the beer is brewed in:
At 10,000 gallons, our Palo Tank is the largest wooden brewing vessel built in America since before Prohibition (and we have two same-sized Oak tanks right next to it).
If you’re feeling adventurous, and you don’t mind the higher price, I’d recommend this beer. Boat Guy had a good point…he said he’d like to try this one again before having any other beers or food. We decided that’s what we’d do with the other two bottles in the four pack. Next time we get together and sit around the fire, we’ll do just that. If we come up with any more comments on the beer, I’ll be sure to share them.
