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Good luck guys!

Virtually impossible to see through, this stout is everything I could hope for. A dark tan head, malty aroma, coffee undertones and a smooth taste make this my ideal stout. While other beer review sites rate this lower, I think it deserved better. I would definitely buy this bomber again. If I can get up to Fort Collins here soon, I would like to taste the nitro version of this beer. I cannot imagine it getting much smoother.

I really like the Fort Collins Brewery. They are delivering drinkable beers that have great character and taste. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on their new Brewer’s Lunchbox. It’s a mixed 12-pack of their most popular brews. I can only wish they would throw a Double Chocolate Stout in there.

On to the review.  I didn’t really know what to expect from this beer as my only background is the Sawtooth Ale which Chainsaw is based off of.  I do like that brew.  This beer though, had a dark ruby hue and I poured mine with the glass flat to emphasize the head.  I couldn’t really place the aroma, but something smelled sweet to me.  It was the same with the tasting.  I didn’t get the bitterness as much as others have who had reviewed this beer, but I definitely had a sweet taste on the finish.  Almost like those champagne-filled chocolate bottles you find as gifts.  Maybe this was the bitterness everyone talked about and I just wasn’t recognizing it.

 I must admit, for a “big beer” and the price, I expected more.  This one just didn’t do it for me.  It wasn’t bad.  Probably a “B” if I had to grade it.

That’s the word that comes to mind when tasting the Old Ruffian Barley Wine from Great Divide Brewing Co. (Denver, CO). I picked up a 22-oz. bomber bottle from my local liquor store and boy was this one a doozy.

This beer poured dark amber in color with an off-white frothy head.  The aroma was very piney.  The hops apparent.  I thought the hop taste was extremely balanced with this beer from start to finish and there was very little hint of the alcohol content for me.  It’s amazing considering the 10.2% ABV!  However, I would suggest only having one of these in a sitting (a sitting being defined as a 3 – 4 hour block).  The alcohol definitely hit me afterward.

This beer is definitely one of the better brews I’ve had in a long time.  Not surprisingly, this beer has won several awards throughout the years, including the Gold Medal for best Barley Wine at the Great American Beer Festival in 2006 among others.

I would definitely recommend picking up a couple of these bottles if you can find them and break it out when you want to show off some of the best Colorado has to offer.

Let’s get down to the issue with this brew. I was totally expecting a hoppy, over-the-top IPA with this beer and I didn’t think it tasted like it at all. Maybe it was the day or what I was eating (Spinach Ravioli in olive oil). Who knows!? This beer poured a dark, amber color with a limited, tan head that dissipated rather quickly. I swear the aroma on this reminded me of pineapple. More like the syrupy juice that comes in canned pineapples though.

Tasting is where I got totally thrown off by this beer. I was expecting bitter, but it came away very smooth and smokey tasting. There was a slight alcohol burn after swallow, but not really noticeable considering the 10% alcohol content. I waited on tasting the beer for about ten minutes, then I really let it warm up after about 20 minutes and it came off the same way. Very strange.

All-in-all, not too bad considering I kept thinking I was going to try a loaded IPA. It was a nice refresher on the warm day we had though.

My beer poured a coppery-brown color. It was darker than a golden beer, but not dark brown. The beer was very hazy; not at all clear and the head was light colored and fluffy. I could not place the aroma after the initial pour. To me, it smelled fruity, like dried grapes…raisins perhaps. My first thoughts upon tasting was that it was surprisingly sweet, but ended with a very strong alcohol burn. I kept thinking that this beer is going to be hard to finish, but as it warmed up (or was it me that was warming up with the 8.72% alcohol content), it become increasingly smooth and easy to drink. I definitely liked it better when it was warmer. Overall, I would recommend letting this beer sit for about 10-15 minutes before drinking it. Good nonetheless.

On a side note, all the profits from their “joint venture” are funding an educational trip to Belgium for the two of them and their friends from Port Brewing (San Marcos, CA), Dogfish Head Brewing (Milton, DE) and Allagash Brewing (Portland, ME). They’re referring to it as their “pilgrimage”. Who knows, maybe their “pilgrimage” will lead them to their ultimate “Salvation”.

Cheers!

My little three week science experiment came to its pinnacle today. I got a beginner’s brewing kit from my parents this past Christmas. The fine folks over at Brew at Home hooked them up with one of their Standard Homebrewing Kits that included a recipe for an Amber Ale.

I jumped right into the process three weeks ago. I had no idea what wort was. What malt extract was. So on and so forth. Good thing there was some instructions included with the kit or I would have just ended up with some flavored water at this point. One of the valuable lessons I learned is to have a better way to cool down the wort after the boil. I followed the instructions Brew at Home provided about pouring the wort into approximately three gallons of cold water in my bottling bucket before transferring to the fermenter, but the wort was still too hot. It took for way too long for the wort to cool down so I could “pitch the yeast”. Next time, I will be prepared with some sort of ice-bath to cool the stock pot down before I add it to the bottling bucket or fermenter. I will also go buy some sort of filter for transferring the wort as well. Although it didn’t come into play as much on this batch, I have a feeling it will if I advance in styles or difficulty.

One other thing I will forever remember is to utilize the bottle filler and hydrometer. I know. I know. I wasn’t thinking the process through. I was honestly too hyped up during the process that I didn’t realize I had the equipment to bottle better than the instruction provided and I didn’t take readings with the hydrometer, so I have no idea what the alcohol content is. Again, I had beginner instructions, so I think they just wanted me to get through the major steps in the process first.

So that leads up to the big day of reckoning. Tasting. After two weeks of letting my brew “bottle condition”, I tasted some. My wife wanted me to try first just in case it was not safe for consumption. I’m glad I took one for the team. This batch was definitely drinkable. The bottles I tried poured with a small head. They were lightly aromatic and had a dark copper color. The beer wasn’t very hoppy and was pretty sweet. The good news is that I didn’t drop dead after drinking it. At least initially anyway…

So what’s next? For one thing, I have to drink a lot of beer. Approximately 45 bottles left. I’m not sure if I want to pass around this batch, but may force my parents and sister to try some. I will probably go for another beginner kit beer just to try to get the handle on the process one or two more times and then I may try a little more advanced recipe. I need to get a few batches under my belt before I take on my brother in-law, Kevin, in a homebrew showdown!

Cheers.

The match ups were:

Ska Brewering Co.’s True Blonde Ale (Durango, CO) vs. Boulder Beer Co.’s Sundance Amber Ale (Boulder, CO)

In this match up between the two lighter ales, the True Blonde Ale represented the Packers and the, Sundance Amber Ale was the Giants. The True Blonde Ale fought hard, but in the end it’s light color and taste with hints of honey couldn’t win out with the nutty flavored and slight bitter amber from Boulder Beer. Winner – Sundance Amber Ale

Avery Brewing’s New World Porter (Boulder, CO) vs. Odell Brewing Co.’s Extra Special Red (Fort Collins, CO)

The other match up pitted New World Porter, aka the Patriots in this NFL analogy, versus the Extra Special Red, representing the Charges. Extra Special Red has the pizazz, the big names (i.e., “oldest known recipe for Beer”, Egyptians), and supposedly can pacify angry goddesses to save the world from destruction (read as “can calm down Phillip Rivers and his tantrums so they don’t implode) . The beer is a dark tan/ruby color and has a sweet aroma. According to the website, they thought the recipe needed some more hops. Well, I think it needs some more hops to offset the malty sweetness. It was not bitter enough for me.

That being said, the New World Porter came into the match up just like the Patriots. Nothing overly fancy, but this dry-hopped, black porter just goes about its business. Its chocolate overtones just lull you into submission. In a good way though. The match up came down to the wire, but in the end the Porter squeaked it out over the Extra Special Red. Winner: New World Porter

So who would win the match up between the New World Porter (Patriots)and the Sundance Amber Ale (Giants)? I think we both know who would win? Hint – it’s in the title.

Disagree?

Illinois

We stopped at one of our new favorite beer bars, the Firkin, in Libertyville, IL. This is where we sampled Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s (Cleveland, OH) Christmas Ale, I believe a beer called Affligem de Noel, Three Floyds Brewing Co.’s (Munster, IN) Alpha Klaus and a couple others that we just plain lost track of the names.

Since we were limited on time we didn’t have time to go to Mickey Finn’s Brewery in Libertyville to utilize the AHA membership I got my brother-in- law, but next time it is a must. I missed out on their Santa’s Magic. We did, however, get to sample some of the new homebrew the brother-in-law concocted. He kept down playing it, but it was actually pretty good. He just has to come up with a name for it. He’s starting to really get into home brewing, so hopefully he will find the AHA membership useful when it comes to getting tips from the Tech Talk forums and events. Now we have to get him out for the Great American Beer Festival next October!

Wisconsin

The cold really started to kick in here and I feel like I let my father-in-law down a bit as I wasn’t able to go to both the breweries he wanted to go to. He took us to New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, WI. It is home to the Spotted Cow brew. I think we definitely found the jewel of Wisconsin breweries with this short trip outside Madison. This midsize brewery has won several awards for both the brewery itself and the beers inside. They were a hit at this year’s GABF with their Belgian-style fruit beers they brought (we definitely left home with a few of these bottles). These beers recently won gold medals by Rate Beer as Best beers in the United States and the World respectively. The tour of the brewery was great as well. The only downside is that we could only get to try three of their brews for the tasting. We bought a sampler twelve pack, so we didn’t feel like we were left hanging. You can even make your own six pack sampler, if you desire. This brewery only distributes in Wisconsin which is a bummer for us in Colorado. If you’re ever in Wisconsin definitely pick some up and visit the brewery.

They also spoiled me with a couple other gifts that I will definitely be writing about in the coming month. The only downside was that my father-in-law really wanted to try the Capital Brewery in Middleton, WI. I just wasn’t up to it; the only thing that sounded good to drink where a few Emergen-C packets. However, like Mickey Finn’s in Libertyville, we definitely have something on the agenda for the next time I’m visiting the in-laws.

All in all, I did end up being a bit of the “party-pooper” having the cold, but we really want to thank both families for putting us up for the week and we hope that we helped expand their horizons a bit when it comes to craft beers.

Thanks again for everything.

Cheers!