Sunday night.. one of your favorite bands is going on a 'farewell tour'.. you're going to the show with a fellow beer geek. It's at a dive bar. OF COURSE YOU HAVE CRAFT BEERS BEFOREHAND!!
Revolution Brewing Company - Anti-Hero IPA
a 6.5% ABV 70 IBU IPA. Gorgeously clear amber/orange pour, solid head, the nose.. woooo baby! Dank, floral, slightly piney.. but almost ALL hops, barely any malt aroma. But in the body/taste, the first thing to hit the a lighter, sweet cracker/caramel hop body. But this is only 1/10th of the body.. barely worth noting.. such huge, crisp, clean hops notes in the taste. Floral, piney.. and a butt-load of dank hop flavors just bombard your palate, but never dominate. This is so unbalancedly balanced that it's just downright crazy. An amazing IPA!
- - 8 Hops!
Saucony Creek Brewing Company - Captain Pumpkin's Maple Mistress
a 9.5% Imperial Pumpkin beer. One of 2 beers sent to me by a trader in PA, the brewery is owned by a retired X-Games BMXer. Now I love pumpkin beers, but they have to be good AND unique, which are few and far between, for me to enjoy them. This is actually both! A rich mahogany pour, the spice and vanilla pour from the nose. It smells sweet, earthy, and spicy. The spice is subdued, there's more sweet potato/yam than pumpkin notes.. and a ton of brown sugar sweetness. This is very nice, especially for a first-time brew.
- - 7 Hops
Saucony Creek Brewing Company - Chocolate Cherry Schnicklefritz Stout
an 8.0% ABV 20 IBU Milk Stout. The 2nd of 2 beers send to me, this intrigued me more, so I saved it for second. Just what you'd expect.. a rich brown pour and light brown head. Heavy lactose nose with milk chocolate and just a hint of tart cherry. A very luxuriant and silky stout, the lactose works very well in this, unlike most milk Stouts. It's not overly sweet as the bright, tart cherry notes come in and cut through the lactose. The tartness starts to creep in on the finish of the beer with darker chocolate/cacao overtaking the sweeter milk chocolate.
- - 8 Hops!
Prairie Artisan Ales - Prairie BOMB!
a 14.0% Imperial Stout aged on coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and ancho chilies. 14% and this ain't even barrel aged.. goddamn! (clearly the blue wax version) huge espresso and dark chocolate notes on the notes with subtle sweetness - vanilla. Not much spice here at all. There's only a very faint bit of heat from the chilies in the body.. this is more prevalent early on, before the vanilla sweetness and coffee notes take over as the beer warms. Super thick and slick, this is still a bit hot from the booze. I'm sure with some age that'll fade and the chili spice may come through more. Regardless, this is fantastic. Would love to compare to Hunaphu at some point.. if I can ever land one!
- - 9 Hops!