Bear Republic's Hop Rod Rye

Alright, upped the resolution on my phone's camera, so these pictures should be a little bit clearer. Had a great beer outing this evening at Joe Schmo's in downtown Lawrence. Sipped on Avery's Ellie's Brown (on tap) and a 750 of Boulevard's Long Strange Tripel. Very cool. Good burgers and fries. I am sad there is only one bocce court, but I've been invited down to play a game with just myself and the owner, so I think I'll be able to enjoy it...

Tonights selection comes to me from California via John Monaghan. I'm interested in this one, as I've had many homebrewed rye beers, but only one or two commercial interpretations.

This one pours a crystal clear burnt amber, with a foamy off white cappuccino head. The head drops quickly, but leaves impressive lacing all the way down the glass. I am left with a surprising amount of head clinging to the glass in thick sheets. I will mention the clarity again, as this one is truly impressive. It is like looking through deep red stained glass.

Smell is lots of hops with a good helping of rye. I'm guessing some West Coast varieties are involved here, nice and spicy with a good citrus rind backbone. The rye adds further depth to the spicy character. There some sweet malt coming through here, and I suspect that the malts here are a touch darker than one would associate with an IPA.

Taste is rich, deep, and spicy. The hops and rye come through in equal parts on the tongue. There is a deep bitter quality that is less acidic than it is cocoa powder oriented. The citrus still comes through, but the depth of the malt brings all the flavors forward as a unified front. Superbly balanced. I would be willing to bet this pushes 85+ IBU's, but it really doesn't seem that way. The malt sweetness has a depth you don't see in a lot of IPAs. There is real flavor here, as opposed to just sweetness to counteract the bitter hops. Sublime.

The mouthfeel on this is a bit thicker than your average IPA. I want to do a RyIPA now, just to see if I can match the full body on this one. Quite drinkable for 8% abv. This bomber was too tasty to put down and it made a hasty exit. I look forward to my next opportunity to sample a Bear Republic beer. Overall: 90/100

Boulder's Mojo Risin' DIPA or A Beer for a Stolen Amp

So I just got back from the Jazzhaus with the news that my bass amp wandered off the premise sometime about two weeks ago. In any case, I'm sure Ric will help me figure something out, but it is incredibly frustrating.

In any case, I'm going to have a beer. Something strongish sounds good, and Boulder's Mojo Risin' IPA fits the bill.

This one pours a fitting bright orange, with a great degree of clarity. The head is quite fine and pours about two fingers worth to begin. This calms quickly to a thin fine white cap. Patchy lacing coats the glass to the end, leaving a nice, sticky mess.

Smell is all Amarillo hops. Grapefruit prevails, with something a little harsher, more along the lines of raw, sticky fresh hops. The double dry hopping probably has something to do this. There is a touch of malt sweetness in the nose, but really this is a hop bomb through and through.

Taste is Amarillo. This pushes not even being grapefruit or citrus-y, just damn hoppy. There is an attempt at balance, but not a particularly good one. Still, the hop flavor is sound. This is by no means the hoppiest beer I've had, there just isn't much else to the taste. Good, but one dimensional.

This is an easy drinker, as it doesn't really challenge the palette. The alcohol content, at 10% is well hidden. All in all, not bad, but I'd like to see more depth from a DIPA. Overall: 85/100

Three Floyds Dreadnaught (D?) (T?) IPA

This one is a gift from my friend John Monaghan. I've wanted to try it for quite a while.

Pours a hazy golden amber. A big fluffy head issues forth, but rapidly dissipates into nothing. Seriously, not even a ring. So this one loses points on appearance for that. No lacing. Lovely color, but I've seen bigger beers keep an head and have lacing. Ah, the joys of hop oils.

Smells big. Huge hop presence. Lots of orange peel, grapefruit, and even some straight citrus flesh. Sweet oranges perhaps? Maybe I can even see some tar coming through. I can definitely pick up the booze in the nose as well. Seems very by the books, except, this is THE book.

While the nose was big, the taste is enormous. The flavors all follow the nose. The sweet orange taste manages to balance the insane hop load. The flavor is oily, resinous and penetrating. When i say this is balanced, it is balanced in the sense that you aren't simply drinking hop oil. However, this is a hop bomb. The flavors paired very well with some spicy fajitas I made. Using a couple of splashes of this beer to de-glaze the beef, pepper, and onions really tied it all together.

The mouth feel is huge. I can't think of a non-stout that I've had that felt this big. The flavors stay in the mouth as an oily film. Superb.

Overall, one of the better IPA's I've ever had. Not for everyone though. My roommate Gabe described it as "an old man, who is the best at what he does, but have any idiosyncrasies to make him interesting." Final judgement: 90/100

Boulevard Smokestack Series

Its been a bit since I've written, but I have been sick, made two trips to the ER, had a dose of morphine, and have had some serious insomnia. Work has been good though, and the numbers of converts to the cause of good beer continues to grow. I find that I'm getting back to my roots of talking to customers, and moving them in new directions. Slowly but surely I am educating my employees about the variety that we carry, and hopefully I will not be the only passing on the word of better beer at Mass Beverage.

Also of note: come mid to late February, I will be hosting the first beer tasting at the Eldridge. We'll be pairing cheeses and hors d'ouevres with 5 or 6 Belgian beers for the first round. If it is a success, then Luke and I hope to make it a monthly event. Further details to come.

Last Wednesday I attended a tasting of the new Boulevard Smokestack series at Henry's Upstairs. I got to meet JB, the head of the new division and received an invitation to go check out the new facility. Also, in addition to the four out now, they are getting ready to bottle a quadrupel aged on cherries in whiskey barrels, and after that a brettanomyces inoculated saison.

In any case, on to my notes:

Saison
This one pours a golden straw color with a full, fluffy white head. There is moderate retention, and nice lacing. The nose is spicy, with a distinct tang to it. I'm picking up white pepper, bread, coriander, a bit of fruit. The taste follows in kind, with the tang kicking at full strength. The hops are pleasantly present. The finish is nice and dry. The body is medium light, with good effervescence. Highly drinkable. This was my favorite going into the tasting, though in the end the Tripel came out on top.

Doublewide IPA
This IPA pours a bright burnt orange, with a thick creamy head that settles quickly. Lacing is minimal, and the retention is but a thin layer of foam across the surface of the beer. There is a slight haze to it. The nose is hops, and I am guessing this is Amarillo through and through, or at least it is the predominant hop. There is also a surprising amount of sweetness in the nose. The taste follows in kind. Lots of hop flavor here, but not all that much bitterness. The sweetness of the caramel malts almost seems to over power the hops, which is bizarre for an IPA. Can't say this is very high up my list of IPAs, especially not for $7.49 750mL. The body is medium, and the drinkability is moderate. This was my least favorite of the session.

Long, Strange Tripel
This one was my favorite of the session. The look is of a classic tripel. A gorgeous, fluffy white crown sits atop a golden body that almost glows. The retention on this one is excellent, and the lacing is textbook Belgian. The nose is rich and complex, with bright, fleshy fruits. The taste is heavenly, with apples and pears coming out along with sweet malt. There is a touch of hops at the end, and it is just enough to balance the beer and dry out the finish. This one is superbly balanced and sublimely drinkable. The whole experience is smooth without being dull. Absolutely excellent.

Sixth Glass Quadrupel
Looks like a quad, smells like a quad, sort of tastes like a quad. While I liked this one more than the IPA, it just didn't have the power of so many other quads (Three Philosophers, Rochefort 10, Chimay Blue). Certainly a pretty beer, but the smell and taste just didn't follow through. Alcohol seemed just a touch hot. I'll be interested to see what the barrel aged cherry version of this is like. I'm hoping it will pick up some much needed character.

All in all, the new Smokestack series is a great success. I fully endorse it and look forward to the beers that will continue to come out in this line.