#146, Tsunami Stout, Pelican Brewery, Pacific City Oregon

This is the only way I'd ever want to experience a Tsunami...

It pours opaque with a big caramel colored head.

The aroma holds tones of vanilla and caramel.

It has a thick full body, but not too heavy or sticky on the palate. Vanilla and caramel malt appear on the tongue and there is slight bitterness on the sides on the tongue which keeps it lively and not too sticky.

The aftertaste is mild chocolate with vanilla. The hop bitterness keeps the sweetness from dominating. The nice rich malt fades fairly quickly on the palate.

A great stout that is balanced and easy to drink. It is very smooth and surprisingly clean on the the finish!

Cheers!

10,000 Foot Stout, Eske's Brew Pub & Restaurant, Taos New Mexico

Back to the dark beers! Well, if you are ever in Taos, drop by the small but tasty Eske's Brewing Company. We sampled two beers, first, their 10,000 Foot Stout....

It pours opaque with a thin tight head.

The aroma is chocolate with deep roasty malt and mildly sweet.

It has a full body with deep dark chocolate. It is roasty with a building sweetness (cherry). There are oak tones as well...

The aftertaste reveals the bitterness with cherry lingering on the tongue making a slight sour tone appearing at the very end.

Cheers!

Espresso Oak Aged Yeti, Great Divide Brewing Company, Denver Colorado

I enjoyed this one during a trip a bit ago to Colorado. It was my first time in Denver and we instantly migrated to one of my favorite breweries - Great Divide Brewing. On take was this - the Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. This is a stout aged in oak chips with espresso added. A perfect addition to the Christmas in July series....

It pours opaque with a big caramel colored head.

The aroma is deep malt with chocolate tones. Coffee and mild smokiness are also there.

It has a thick full body loaded with chocolate and coffee roastiness. Deep malt residue on the tongue and palate. It lingers with layers of chocolate, coffee, malt and has a slight bitterness in the finish.

The aftertaste is thick alcohol and malt roastiness that carries for awhile.

A big robust beer at 9.5%....

Cheers!

Oat, Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood New York

Our next Christmas in July beer was one I sampled a bit ago - the Oat, an Imperial Oatmeal Stout from Southern Tier brewing. This is an August release, so look for it soon!

It pours opaque with a tight caramel head.

The aroma is big malt with thick molasses and sweet with burnt sugar.

It is a thick full body, sticky molasses right off. At 11%, the alcohol is fairly transparent. It is sugary but has a mild oak that puts some backing on the sweetness and keeps it from being overly sugar dominated.

The aftertaste is thick big molasses - the sweetness is completely rounded off by oak and alcohol - it is definitely a sipper. Enjoy from the 22oz bottle in a snifter. A slow drinker in the late evening, perhaps lounging on the hammock!

Cheers!

Blue Finn Stout, Shipyard Brewing, Portland Maine

Happy 4th of July! Well I'm sure we'll all be out there enjoying our BBQ's and there are plenty of great beers to enjoy with them - The Terminal Gravity ESB, Spring Reign from Ninkasi, Shine Bock, Hop Stoopid from Lagunitas, Independence Hop Ale from Rogue and sooooo many more! Me, I'm going to use this holiday to kick off my "Christmas in July" tasting. Although I am still trying to catch up from May and June's beer tasting adventures which will be interspersed throughout the month, I will use July to taste some of the Barleywines and stouts that I held on reserve... Let's start it off with the Blue Finn Stout from Shipyard. Located in the "other" Portland (Maine) it is available throughout the Northeast in 12oz & 22oz bottles...

It pours opaque with a big caramel colored head.

The aroma is deep chocolate and roasty malt.

It has a big full body with chocolate and sticky mildly smoky notes at the end. Hop bitterness builds near the finish and keeps it lively on the palate. This also helps it from getting too sticky at the end.

The aftertaste is roasty chocolate and malt that hangs around, but again, doesn't get overwhelming.

So you may wonder why you'd want to enjoy a sticky heavy stout or barleywine under these beautiful summer skies? Well, wait until the sun goes down, the stars make their best attempt to shine through the haze of the city or blaze in the country skies. Sit back and sip on one of these upcoming beers and like enjoying a fine bourbon or cognac, take the time to contemplate the complex notes while reflecting on these summer days! For me, it's a great summer additive, a relaxing evening, enjoying friends, warm weather and maybe a little Chet Baker on the stereo...

Cheers!

Yeti Imperial Stout, Great Divide Brewing, Denver Colorado

Beware the Yeti!
I'm not one for warnings, so let's venture forth.....

It pours opaque and thick with a thin caramel colored head.

The aroma is BIG roasted malt with mild vanilla and chocolate tones.

The full body is creamy with big roasty malt. It is fairly smooth for being so thick. There isn't much sweetness in the slight vanilla that arrives in the body of the bear. It manages to stick to the malty hearty side of things. The beer dominates the palate. It is bitter in the finish.

The aftertaste is bitter chocolate - thick and malty.

This is a great imperial stout, I like that it steers clear of the sweetness. There is also an Oak-Aged Yeti that is worth the search. Great Divide has very good distribution and you should be able to find it in both beer stores and finer grocery stores in 6 packs and 22 oz bottles -

Track one down!
Cheers!

Chocolate Stout, Bison Brewery, Berkeley California

Our next beer comes loades with 2-Row, Camel, Chocolate, Roast Barley, and Munich Malts. Bison is an organic brewery from Berkeley, CA. Let's see how these malts taste!

It pours opaque with a tawny tight head.

The aroma is cocoa with a roasty malt.

The taste is roasty malt with a medium body. It thickens as it warms and finishes with big chocolate tones. Dark cocoa and a little coffee develops as you enjoy.

The aftertaste is deep cocoa.

This is a deep dark delicious dessert beer.

Cheers!

12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Stone Brewery, Escondido California

Our next sampling comes from the excellent Stone Brewery. This is a limited release, but has been fairly available at most places I've looked. Let's give it a try....

It pours opaque with a dark brown head

It smells of dark cocoa and mildly sweet. The sweetness is rounded off by a distinct roastiness.

The taste is rich and bitter. It is creamy and the chocolate forms in the body, giving big cocoa notes.There is a little sweetness, but it is cut off by the roasty coffee tones in the end. It finishes chewy and thick.

The aftertaste is biscuity chocolate and slightly bitter. The cocoa takes you straight through.

This is an excellent big bold chocolate taster. It's 9.2% and available in 22oz bottles.

Cheers!

Bourbon County Stout, Goose Island Beer Company, Chicago Illinois

Okay, enough slacking. Let's get down to some real beer sampling. I'm still catching up with myself - a quick evaluation shows that I have about half a dozen beers sampled in my beer notebook that I haven't yet blogged, so I'm trying to hit it each day and drink beers I've already had for a bit. It'll be tough though - some good friends are visiting from Atlanta and well, you gotta take the beer tour (it'll be their first time in Portland). So, we'll see how far I get before I'm back-logged again. The good news is that MyYearInBeer will be on the brewery tour and I will faithfully report back my findings. Enough talk, let's drink.

Our next beer comes from Chicago - let's look past the recent governor troubles to the Goose Island Beer Company. I don't know too much about this brewery and the only beer I've seen of theirs in person, is the Bourbon County Stout. I found mine here in Portland at Belmont Station. A quick look at their website reveals a full line-up of beers and when I make it back to Chicago - I'm definitely going to give 'em a shot. For now, let's see about this stout....

It pours the darkest beer I've ever seen, literally. It's a black hole of beer. I stand at the event horizon wondering how they can get malt to do that....

The aroma is intense. There is big oak & alcohol tones. A mild vanilla sweetness is also present.

It is a big beer. Big Beer. Full body, oak and vanilla sweetness are present from the beginning and expand in the body. It finishes rich with chocolate and smoke. It's definitely a sipper that warms you right up. Indeed, my ears felt warm as I enjoyed the beer. Remarkably, it's not too sticky, instead finishing fairly clean - it doesn't wear you out with it's heaviness. At least not right away. There is a nice arc to the beer: Intense alcohol to sweet to rich to smoky.

The aftertaste is intense chocolate that lingers with a nice smokiness on the breath.

From the website: 11% with 60 IBU's - look for it in 12oz bottles annually around December.

Cheers!

Captain Swain's Extra Stout, Cisco Brewers, Nantucket Massachusetts

Our next beer comes from Nantucket, Massachusetts - from the Cisco Brewers to be exact. Their beers are available throughout the Northeast, but I haven't seen them elsewhere....yet. Let's give it a try....

It pours opaque with a big head.

The aroma is roasty with chocolate and espresso tones.

It is rich with a big malt/chocolate/espresso taste. Very roasty at the end. Fairly heavy and grows increasingly chewy as it warms.

The aftertaste is all roasty and a bit bitter. It leaves a lot of residue and lingers for a long time, dominating the palate with malt.

It's been awhile since I've last wrote, so I am a bit rusty. Brewing went successfully and we ended up making a Black Ale and a Wee Heavy. It is being bottled soon and I can't wait to give it a try!

Cheers!

Oatis, Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene Oregon

My first love in beer was the stout. Although my tastes now lean more toward the hopped-up ales, I am still quite picky about my stouts. Our next comes from the Ninkasi Brewery in Eugene, Oregon. I only recently found out about this brewery since moving to Portland, but I've been impressed by their IPA offerings. Their Oatis is the oatmeal stout...

It pours opaque with a big dark head.

The aroma is sweet malt with both chocolate and vanilla tones.

It is oatmeal stright off, but then is balanced back by the hops in the body. It finishes clean. The Oatis has a full body and is rich, but doesn't get sticky at all. It doesn't leave a thick residue, either. It is roasty and quite creamy. Very easy to drink for a dark beer.

The aftertaste is roasty malt. It lingers for a bit before finishing clean for a stout.

I keep my musings in a notebook and then refer back to my notes when I make the blog post. I tried this beer in late December and quite liked it. A lot. I wrote 5 stars next to it in my book.

It is 7.5% iwth 45 IBUs

I'm not sure what the distribution is like beyond Oregon, but here Ninkasi is available all over...
Drink up...Enjoy!

Cheers!

Allagash Black, Allagash Brewing Company, Portland Maine

As is evident from previous postings, Allagash is hands-down one of my favorite breweries....ever.
This is my first tasting of their Belgium style stout...Let's dive right in...

It pours opaque with a big head.

The aroma is big chocolate malt, very roasty with mild smoke.

The taste is big smooth malt. There is chocolate evident in the full body. I also taste mild coffee.

It finishes roasty and a little smoky. It is a little biscuity at the end and lingers nicely.

If you are looking for a big stout with lots of girth, this is your beer. I thought it delicious, especially with the cold weather out there. It holds to their reputation (in my book) as another great beer.

I've seen Allagash here and there, at Whole Foods and specialty beer stores. I got mine at Belmont Station here in Portland. Their Dubbel and Tripel are usually more common, but I've seen the stout out there. Happy hunting for it and happy drinking it!

Cheers!

Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout, Bluegrass Brewing Company, Louisville KY

It was the first rainy fall day since moving back to the Northwest and such weather dictates tonight's tasting. This is a beer I found on our visit to Kentucky. We happened across the Bluegrass Brewing Company (2 locations in Kentucky - Extremely recommended! Great pizza! Truly great beer! We shared a taster of their beers, but sadly this was pre-blog) and I got a four pack of their special beer at the time: The Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout.

It pours opaque with a caramel colored head.

The smell is of chocolate, malt and mild oak.

The taste is mild chocolate at first. It is malty, but not thick; rather is stays on the clean and smooth side. I get a slight hint of vanilla with a slight sweetness to it. It is not a bitter beer at all. It has a medium body and not as thick as one would expect. As it warms the oak becomes more apparent and the beer thickens a little, but retains it's crispness.

The aftertaste is chocolate, smokey and lingers nicely.

From the four-pack, I learned that this beer is a coordinated effort between the Bluegrass Brewing Company and McLain & Kyne Distillery (Advertised as the "2005 Bourbon of the Year". The stout is brewed in the barrels from the Bourbon batches for up to 90 days.

It is 8% and this is from their website:

Malts: Special Pale, Wheat, Chocolate and English Roast Barley

Hops: Northern Brewer and English East Kent Goldings

I'm not too sure about the availability of BBC beers around the US or even near Kentucky (I never made it to a grocery store to investigate). But if you come across it, indulge!

Cheers!