One good De Struise deserves another (aka the day I tried Black Albert)

After a lovely afternoon of planning to commit malicious acts with electrified stringed instruments with an old friend, a fine meal at 23rd street brewery, and listening to my favorite band from junior high and high school cracked way up on the entertainment center, I am feeling indulgent.

That's right, folks: BLACK ALBERT!

I won't bore you with many details about the brewery (see the previous post) but I will provide some quick stats for those of you wanting to really geek out on this one.

Black Albert Stat Sheet:

• 100+ IBUS (not that it is particularly bitter, it just is needed to balance the malt)
• 160 EBC (Guinness is not dark beer, this is dark beer)
• 13% abv (that's right, it is in wine territory)

I am giddy.

The top pops off, and drops to the floor. A pause in music and the clack of WoW enthralled roommates keyboards ceases. A faint hiss issues forth, and the sound of light metal on linoleum can be heard.

Let it be noted that light does not pass through this liquid, it slowly crawls through, only to be trapped and die.. It is not the blackest beer I have ever seen, but its opacity, and visually apparent viscosity is unsurpassed. A slight ring of dark cocoa sticks to the sides of the glass, making sure you know that the sugar content in this one is enough to put you into a coma.

The nose is boozy, and thick with chocolate nibs, Belgian yeast esthers, dark fruit, roasted malt, vanilla, and even a woody cognac note. I am actually a bit surprised that there isn't a bit more going on in the nose. My bottle is at appropriate serving temp, so this must be it. Perhaps I am a bit stuffed up...

Oh. I get it now. There isn't a whole lot going, but what is going on is just so damn well done that it more than makes up for it. All the notes of the nose follow, blended seamlessly. This puts me in the mind of a half and half of GI Bourbon County Stout (sans the strong bourbon character) and Rochefort 10 blended. Deliciously roasty, and the 13% abv doesn't really come out at all, other than providing a nice warming sensation, which is welcome considering the current 19 degree temperature.

While this isn't quite what I had it built up to be in my mind, it truly is a treat. You do not run into such a pleasing hybridization/new style that often, and when it is executed well, the result is quite rewarding. This is a must try.

De Struise Pannepot Fisherman's Ale 2006

Here we go. This bottle is around 3 years old, and I could not be more excited about that fact.

De Struise Brouwers Breakdown:

• All beers brewed at the Deca brewery, in Woesten, Belgium. The brewery is only a few short kilometers from the Westvleteren Abbey and St. Bernadus. Great neighbors.
• Founded as a partnership between Urbain Cotteau, Carlo Grootaert, Phil Driessens and Peter Braem.
• Strong relationship with Ebenezer's Pub in Lowell, Maine. One of the breweries classics, Black Albert (dubbed a Royal Belgian Stout) was first brewed just for the pub.
• Dedicated to advancing the Belgian art, their beers cover the spectrum from nearly extinct Belgian styles to forward thinking, revolutionary ales.

Any who, I'm thirsty after writing that, so it is time to crack this bottle open.

Even as the bottle cap is hissing off, the aroma is already quite forward. This is going to be a treat. Pours into my New Belgium balloon a dark ruddy brown. Nearly opaque, with only glints of ruby showing though when held to the light. The head is modest, but long lasting, and whenever I go to take a sip, there are myriad sheets of lacing left along the curve of the glass. This is the type of beer that will end up being an incredibly nerdy wallpaper...

The nose is overwhelming. Dark, ripe fruits, apples, bread, sweet malts, dark candi sugar, and layer upon layer of spice leap out of the glass. I can smell the glass in the living room from the kitchen. If it would not make me a complete alcoholic, I would like to smell like this all the time.

The taste follows in kind, with a rich vein of molasses running down the center of palate. The fruits provide their own contrast, bringing dark and luscious flavors as well as crisp notes of apples. The complex yeast notes bring spice, as well as a soft bready character. I cannot place all of the spices in this, but their effect is magical. I just want to crawl into this glass and float around for a good long while.

You cannot make a beer in this style any better. I have nothing else to say, other than that I am thoroughly excited that there is a bottle of the 2007 in the fridge upstairs.

Troegs Scratch #15 - Oatmeal Stout

Woo, long hiatus. Insomnia of the most extreme order dictates that, hey, I should have a beer. This one has been hanging around in the cellar for about a month, and at 6% abv, it is not one that I plan on aging.

For a little background information-

• Oatmeal Stouts hail from the UK, but are now a commonly available style in the USA, with many fine imported and domestically brewed examples available.
• The addition of oats to the mash creates a creamy texture, as well as adding a subtle, well, oatmeal sweetness. Imagine pouring very dark, bittersweet hot chocolate and coffee into your morning oatmeal (that you almost burned), and then shaving some English hops over the top. Except not gross...
• Readily available examples of the style: Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout, Goose Island Oatmeal Stout, St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout.

This evenings (mornings) offering pours a rich brown, which is in fact several shades lighter than many other entries in the style. The head is foamy, with rather large bubbles making up the cap. Screw the tight Guinness head, this is pretty! There are flecks of lacing around my Left Hand chalice, but not much of note.

The nose is of the expected grain sweetness, with the roasted character bringing about notes of coffee. The hop character is present (as it will usually be, particularly in American examples) with an earthy character of freshly tilled flower beds. An ever so slight metallic tone sounds as well, but it is not unpleasant.

Jumping into the first sip, I am met with something that strikes me as almost sitting between a bigger brown ale and an oatmeal stout. The flavors are rich, but perhaps not as roasty as others are. Excellent malt character lends slightly burnt caramel, toffee, fresh toast. The oats lend a milky sweetness that transforms the coffee character of the nose into mocha. The hops gently settle on the mid palate, providing an earthy support for the rest of the flavors to build upon.

Quite an excellent beer. Nothing extreme or over the top here, but that is a welcome change of pace from my recent diet of imperial, sour, barrel aged, double hopped, triple fermented, demon possessed beers. This sticks around with a touch of burnt marshmallow on the finish, that trails away for quite awhile. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, and the carbonation stops just short of getting in the way.

Again, the characteristics of an American Brown ale present in this beer keep it from being perhaps the hallmark of the style that say Samuel Smiths is, it is a well made beer worth seeking out.

Kasteel Rouge

WOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This one is a bit of a celebration after winning the Deadwood Derby. I tried this at the Worldwide tasting a few months back, and it is now available on a regular basis.

This one pours a dark red/pink. The head is an off pink, with a thick, one inch head. The retention is decent, leaving a nice foam cap. However, there is little to no lacing.

The smell is cherry, cherry, cherry. Cherry juice, cherry flesh, cherry everything!! There is some sweetness present, but not as much as you might expect with that much fruit in the nose. This really doesn't smell like beer. I am definitely in the mood for this. Haha, I have a homemade chocolate chip cookie to pair with this.

CHERRIES!!!! The flavor is cherry after cherry. There is a pleasant balance struck here between tart qualities and the underlying sweetness. I really could see serving this in place of a sparkling wine as a celebratory drink. Great with sweets, and I could honestly see this working well with a main course as well. The alcohol is not present in the least, which is impressive at 8%. This one hits the spot.

The mouth feel is slightly viscous, and pleasantly tingly. This avoids the sweet trap that many beers of this style can fall into. 93/100. It might just be the timing, but this beer is wonderful

Rogue St. Rogue Red (Dry Hopped Edition)

Woo. The second go of the evening. This is my first American style beer from an American brewery in a while. I am honestly looking forward to a little less subtlety. Knowing Rogue, I will not be disappointed.

This pours a cloudy ruby-brown. Nice, every so slightly reddish head on this one. A moderate retention, and a bit of lacing, but nothing really to mention on that front.

The smell is leading with grapefruit notes from the hops. There is a good chunk of malt that follows. Some biscuit is going on, as well as a touch of darker caramel. I am looking forward to having a strong malt bill, particularly after the previous beer.

The taste is citric hops up front. Nice depth here, as the hops fall into the malt and start to mingle into the caramel and toffee notes. Some pine is also apparent. Delightful. If only I had a hearty cut of beef to go with this, life would be perfect. Quite the easy drinker, considering the full flavor.

The mouth feel is pleasantly full. While not the most complex beer in the world, this was full flavored and enjoyable. 88/100.

Urthel Hop-It

This is my first sampling of a modest, but high quality haul from my most recent trip to Lukas. Got to talking to one (the?) manager, and he showed off a bit, and brought out their last six pack of HopSlam and their last bottle of the new O'Fallon Whiskey Barrel (Pappy Van Winkle 23 Year) Aged Smoked Porter.

Immediately upon popping the top of this one, I'm getting grassy hops. There is something bitter in the nose that makes me think citrus seeds. Think accidentally biting down on a lemon seed from a glass of water with a lemon wedge. Biting. Very little malt coming through. I get the feeling there will only be enough malt present to cushion the presumably massive hop profile in this beer.

This is an absolutely beautiful beer. A hazy golden rod body with an ivory head that stretches about 2 fingers up. Impressive retention, and there is still a half finger of head by the end of this glass. Lacing is absolutely plastered to the walls of the glass, with impressive lacing trailing all the way to the finish.

I am honestly not a huge fan of this flavor. This is bitter, biting, citric (more lemon than the American grapefruit) and ever so slightly bready. This isn't as big as many hop-bombs, but the flavors here are all focused on the hops. I'm guessing pilsner malts, as they provide nothing but the slightest inkling of balance. No malt flavor. If these hops were my thing, I think I would be in heaven, but they aren't, so I'm not. I am impressed that there is no, and I repeat no, alcohol in the taste. For a beer that is 9.5% that is surprising. The finish on this is also incredibly dry. Perhaps I am too atuned to American DIPA's that have a bit of sweetness to them, but this dry hop bomb just isn't doing it for me.

Mouthfeel is perfect on this, slightly effervescent, and surprisingly light (relatively). Again, this is an incredibly well crafted beer, but the flavors that the brewer goes for here simply are not my favorite. This is a matter of observing art that is simply not to ones taste. 85/100, with the only major deduction being on the flavor, and that is only from personal preference. There are no defects here. I would highly recommend trying this, as if this style is your thing, this will be bliss in a bottle.

Avery and Russian River's Collaboration not Litigation Ale

Alright, I'm hesitant to dive into another Avery. The chance for a miss with their beers has been pretty high, at least by my tastes. However, the opportunity to try something from RR is enticing. We shall see.

The pour is a coppery caramel, with a fluffy off white/tan head. Decent retention, and some moderate lacing. Looks promising.

The nose is enticing. Scents of dark fleshed fruits (figs, etc.), candi sugar, cocoa, caramel, and toffee. There is a bit of yeasty breadiness going on as well, with some minimal hops hanging out in the dark corners of the nose. At the tail end there is a touch of something sour.

Taste follows with fruits, chocolate, caramel. The bready character comes out a bit more. The sourness comes out right before the finish, and adds an interesting balance. The finish is surprisingly bitter. This doesn't give much of a hop bitterness, but more just a straight bitter taste. Odd. What surprises me the most here is that the flavor is not particularly full. The tastes are all apparent, but all are somewhat light. This is not a particularly heavy beer. The alcohol content is completely hidden.

Mouthfeel is slightly sticky, but again, lighter than expected. Decent carbonation keeps the beer lively on the tongue.

Overall, not bad, in fact, and there is nothing negative going on here. However, nothing particularly grabs me. 87/100.