So.. sometimes you just have too much beer and need to invite friends over to help, right? Am I the only one with this problem? Hmm.. well yeah, sometimes my stash gets too much for me. And I have to suck up my pride and admit I need help. Help drinking it! So I did just that!
Surly Brewing Co - Coffee Bender
5.5% ABV and 45 IBUs - I sent out a few cans of Heady Topper and got multiple Surly beers in return, which are only distributed in MN. This has a hell of a reputation behind it, so let's see what the fuss is about.
The second the can is cracked it smells like a fuckin coffee house up in hurrrr, up in hurrr! Black-brown like dark roast coffee, this is a heady sonofabitch. There is nothing to the nose but coffee.. pure, unadulterated coffee. It's roasty, smooth.. brown sugar, light caramel. Just wow. I cannot explain the nose. And the taste.. seriously, holy fuck! It's just the best coffee you've ever had, times a thousand, canned, and with alcohol in it. You love beer, right? and coffee? who doesn't?! Well this is the two combined and better than you'd ever expect. It has that caffeinated bite that coffee has, nice roasted carbonation that a solid coffee porter/stout would have but..but.. just better! I can't even.. holy flipping crap.. Hunt this wonderous piece of brewing down.. trade for it, sell your soul, your first-born anything.. just try it! It's splediferous! What the fuck did I just taste.. I can't get over it! Oh my,..
- - 10 Hops!
On to the next one..
I let my friend dictate the beers, so darker beers were on the menu tonight!
Samuel Adams - Thirteenth Hour
A 9.0% ABV 17 IBU Belgian Stout. Referencing the witching hour - 13th hour - and 13 ingredients. Ruby brown/red and a huge tan head. I definitely get the stout.. and Belgian yeast comes through, big time. Coffee, chocolate, fruity/ester-y yeast - it's a nice combination of the two styles. There's a touch of the Kosmic Mother Funk is in there too.. (google it if ya don't know.) It's rich like a stout, but has a great underlying funky tartness attributed to the KMF. It's tart and chocolatey.. coffee, molasses. The tart overwhelms, even after 12+ months in the bottle. The stout definitely plays second fiddle here. Spice, cherries, raisin/fig all come into play here. It's a decent blend of the 2 styles but more 70/30 with the Belgian side. Really good, but a bit off-balance (maybe better fresher?)
- - 7 Hops
Boulevard Brewing / Pretty Things - Collaboration No. 3- Stingo
an 8.5% ABV 35 IBU "stingo" - a long-forgotten British-style beer that is part porter, part sour. A rich brown pour with a nice light tan head, Stingo smells of lovely sweet malts and a tart Belgian yeast. Nutty caramel malts, a touch of alcohol and and estery funk. It borders between a smooth and rich mouthfeel with emphasis on bready and nutty malts. Toffee, whole wheat crackers and a slick, sweet, dark caramel.. there's some coffee and a nice whiskey/bourbon burn. A slightly sour/tart funk flies in at the end and melds with the sweetness very well. The alcohol increases and sour fades as this beer warms a bit.. I'd love to see more people making this style. A great way to cap off the mini beer tasting!
- - 8 Hops!
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