Day 84: 03.25.10 Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken's Ale

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Chico, California


30th Anniversary: Fritz & Ken's Ale


Style: American Double/Imperial Stout
Availability: Limited - Brewed Once
Format: 750ml
ABV: 9.2%


Bottle text & Info:
for full details visit here!                


Tasting Notes:
Pours brown to black as expected with a nice two inch head that recedes slowly. Slight bitter chocolate with cocoa finishing with dry coffee notes. Medium to heavy mouthfeel with some cream, smoke, and lingering burnt coffee notes. Only knock on this is that the flavors occasionally come across muted and the mouthfeel light. I liked the toasty, dry finish however, and at under $10 a bomber. it's well worth grabbing a couple (one for now, one for the cellar.) High fives to Sierra for the top notch packaging. Happy Birthday Sierra!

Day 67: 03.08.10 Weyerbacher Heresy

Weyerbacher Brewing Co.
Easton, Pennsylvania


Heresy


Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Availabillity: Limited - February Release
Format: 12oz - 4pk
ABV: 8.0%


Bottle text & Info:
"This is an incredibly intriguing ale is made by aging our Old Heathen Imperial Stout in oak barrels that were used for making fine Kentucky bourbon!  The result is an extraordinary, dark, and mysterious stout whose very essence has been enhanced.  The aroma is filled with vanilla, cocoa, and roasted coffee beans.  This silky-smooth brew has notes of oak, whiskey, roasted barley and vanilla that meld together on the tongue to create an incredible sensation.  Heresy is released in February."


Tasting Notes: 
Pours engine oil black with a mocha colored, half inch head that shows great retention. Smells of roasted barley and a hint of vanilla, sort of predictable, sort of unspectacular. Begins with a swell of sweet caramel and vanilla that unexpectedly gives way to some pretty substantial bourbon notes that dominate through a dry, roasty, coffee-note ridden finale. So the bourbon notes saved this one for me. It's the primary reason I found this so enjoyable. A great Imperial stout that was an enjoyable sipper. I would have really liked to see a heavier body and perhaps a stronger bite on the end of this one. This seemed a bit thin and muted, but all in all - this one had some nice qualities and is a great change of pace stout for RIS fans.

Day 64: 03.05.10 BrewDog Tokyo*

BrewDog Ltd.

Fraserburgh, Scotland


Tokyo*


Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Availability: Limited
Format: 330ml
ABV: 18.2%
IBUs: 90
Malts: Maris Otter, Dark Crystal, Caramalt, Chocolate Malt, Roast Barley
Hops: Galena
Twist: Brewed with Jasmine and Cranberries. Dry-Hopped then aged on oak chips.  
Batch: 002


Bottle text & Info: 
"The irony of existentialism, the parody of being and the inherent contradictions of post-modernism, all so delicately conveyed by the blocky, pixelated arcade action have all been painstakingly recreated in this bottles contents. This imperial stout is brewed with copious amounts of speciality malts, jasmine and cranberries. After fermentation we then dry-hop this killer stout with a bucketload of our favourite hops before carefully ageing the beer on French toasted oak chips. It is all about moderation. Everything in moderation, including moderation itself. What logically follows is that you must, from time, have excess. This beer is for those times."

check out the video blog on tokyo here!

Tasting Notes:

Alright fellow beer turds. we have a treat tonight. Don't even ask me where i got this. i won't tell you, other than to say in the words of one the greatest bands ever (OneRepublic) "i've got all the right friends in all the right places." Let's get into this. 18.2% abv. yikes! This beer is commonly known as the tokyo stout. for some reason the guys at BrewDog were feeling particularly illiterate i guess, cause this beer here has 'tokio' boldly printed across the front of it. Anyways, on to the good stuff. Predictably pours a brownish black showing a mocha colored head that has good retention and clings to the glass. Plenty booze on the nose as well as that crazy soy sauce smell ales that have met significant barrel aging get. Some chocolate hidden in the back. Mouthfeel is nice and creamy with some tingling alcohol that burns nicely on the way down. talk about warming. whoa. Some nice roasted malts notes that intermingle with chocolate and vanilla notes. The cranberries and the jasmine are hidden way in the back of this one although sweet cherry/cranberry notes build with each sip. Pretty freakin sweet. The alcohol on creates a bite and some heat that brings you back for another sip, however, the sweetness builds and I find myself beginning to wince a little bit with each sip nearing the end of the session. Perhaps some more carbonation would make this a bit more drinkable. Surprisingly enough, the alcohol is less than bothersome, and it has the legs of a great RIS, but it just gets too sweet for me. Still glad I got to try this guy. A lot of people say this drinks quite similar to Dogfish's World Wide Stout. Aging you ask? um. yes. best by date says you're good as long as you drink it before December 14th, 2019.