Quick Sip 003. Woodchuck Hard Cider Winter

Thought I'd try something outside the norm for me, so I spent the Holidays enjoying hard ciders and Apple ales.
I've had Woodchuck Hard Cider before, but this is the first time I've had their Winter seasonal.

In short, it has a great flavor and, like the regular brand, it is crisp but that being overly sweet.The mild 5% alcohol content does not contribute any bitterness or alcohol taste. It has a little more depth of flavor than their regular drink. The label says there is a hint of vanilla -- I am not sure I agree with that, but there's definitely a dry after taste that is pleasing.
As a light alternative to beer, I would recommend this any time.
My score: 7.5 out of 10

028. Stone 14 Emperial IPA

From the people who bring us Arrogant Bastard comes this brew with an attitude: Stone 14 Emperial IPA. There was some satisfaction to be found in this bottle, but few surprises. This is an IPA: Imperial Pale Ale -- the kind made with stronger hops and a higher alcohol content so it would better survive the long arduous trip beteen England her colonies in India (you did read that article I mentioned last week from Seattle Weekly about the differences between pale ales and IPAs, right?).

An IPA with all British ingredients,
including a different malt and
brewers salts.

I need to be up front and tell you that I've had this beer in storage for a while now, so perhaps this review is unfair (and possibly irrelevant, as this was an anniversary brew that is no longer available -- but I popped the top, so I might as well muster the energy to continue. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it. This beer is marked with a production date of June 2010, but beneath it there is the admonishment to "CONSUME FRESH or age in the hull of a seafaring vessel for a year or more." Since this was safely tucked in a box behind my bar (out of the light and never too hot nor too cold), I don't feel like a churlish lout for drinking it in May 2012.

And, my worries aside, I don't think this beer fared ill from its long storage. When I opened it the brew smelled fresh and -- even at armslength -- pungent and alive with aroma that announced its presence. I could definitely smell the hops and, of course, I worried that I was headed toward some Hops Whore's orgasmic experience... but that was not the case.

Yes, the hops are there -- and in abundance, but they seem to be working together to release strong citrus notes with what I think might be a hint of wildflowers in the end -- that would be in both aroma and taste. Some might call this an earthy tone, but not me. Earthy -- to me -- implies a stronger body than I'm getting here. This is definitely lighter and makes me think of that field where Julie Andrews was singing to those hills.

Colorwise, this is a nice beer with a sort of yellow/amber/honey color. The head was very impressive: birght white and thick with a foamy white appearance that could really give many a British beer a run for its money.


The Sweet Spot
This beer has a high alcohol content: 8.9% (that's what it says on the bottle, but some online sources cite it at 8.3%). As such, the warmer it gets, the more bitter it gets. I was halfway through the bottle (a healthy 1 pt 6 oz) and had to put it back in the refrigerator to re-chill it. I found the sweet spot for this beer is between 45 - 55 degrees.

NOTE: If you ever encounter an IPA that's too bitter to drink (and you're too selfish to share or too cheap to toss it), chill it in the freezer until it's around 35 - 38 degrees and you'll find that most of the bittnerness will subside enough to make it drinkable. The flavor you get will be based more on the other elements in the beer, particularly the citrus and flowers you might find suggested by the hops. (Yes, I over-chilled this glass in the freezer, but it wamed up with no discernable damage to the flavor or aroma).

Even with the ale properly re-chilled, the hops bitterness grew on my tongue as I continued to drink it. This is an unfortunate byproduct of all IPA's and hop-heavy beers that I've encountered thus far.


From the Label:

"We went to England this past spring as self-styled “IPA Hunters” on a mission to learn more about the confusing and often contradictory history of India Pale Ale – to look for some certainty where those before us have found mostly mystery and mercantilism. While our success in this pursuit is open to debate, there can be no question that we returned home inspired by the ghosts of Burton and by the experience of poring over 150-year old brewer’s logs handwritten in (India?) ink. Stone Brewing Co., after all, traces its lineage back to the British Empire’s brewing history: we make ales, and all of our original offerings used traditional British styles as a jumping-off point. If this seems a roundabout way of letting you know that, yes, we are in fact brewing another IPA to mark our Anniversary, well, so be it.


This one however, promises to be different! From the imported white malt to the “Burtonised” water to the rare yeast strain to the most pungent hops Kent has to offer, we used all British ingredients to brew our “Emperial” IPA.* While we may have brewed Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA with our own distinctively modern, San Diego-style touch, what good is history if you can’t rewrite it to suit your tastes?


In this case, our tastes called for highly intemperate quantities of Target, East Kent Goldings, and Boadicea hops, bestowing upon this dry-bodied ale a powerfully spicy, earthy aroma. On the palate, peppery hops assert themselves early and often, with malt sweetness making a brief appearance before being beaten back by a long, complex, and decisively bitter finish. What better way to contemplate the fate of empires past, present, and future?


*Um, except for our filtered Colorado River water, of course."

Closing Time
By the way, I don't recall where I got it or what I paid. I suspect it was at Spec's Liquor or Central Market here in Houston, and I think I paid between $6 - $9 for it. Since this was a limited release from the Stone Brewing Co., I guess that really doesn't matter, does it? And is there a hint of orange in there? As the bitterness grew, I thought I detected a taste (almost an under-taste) of orange zest. Not the orange itself, but the zest.

Or maybe I've been watching too mutch Food Network.

I also got more of the yeast (or as some people call it, the biscuit taste) the more I drank. I also got a bit of a buzz. After all, this is a 22-ounce bottle with 8.9% ABV. That ain't too shabby to polish off on my own as I'm typing this up (Rule #2: Write while you drink but edit while you're sober). As IPAs go, I kind of liked this one. It wasn't so strong that I couldn't appreciate what they were trying to do (those guys at Stone seem to know what they're doing). Even if this were available year-round, it wouldn't make my favorite's list -- but I suspect I would be in the minority. I think fans of strong IPAs would enjoy this a lot more than I do.

In short, this is a good IPA. I just don't happen to care a lot for IPAs.


Thoughts from the bottom of the glass:
Color: Golden yellow
Aroma: Strong scent of hops -- and I mean strong
Hops: Strong but not abusive -- hints of citrus and other wild florals
Head: Strong, white and foamy
Lace: Ssaturnal (i.e. strong rings around the glass)
Carbonation: Medium/Strong
Temprature Sweet Spot: Keep under 55 degrees!
ABV: 8.3% or 8.9%
My Ratings:
  As an IPA 8 out of 10
  As a beer I like 6.5 out of 10


Other Reviews Worth a Sip:
The fine fellows over at the Beer Advocate had nice things to say about this hops-heavy brew:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/59369

Info from the Brewer's blog is really interesting, by the way. This beer has all British ingredients (which is very different for this brewer). I suggest watching the short video at their site for more info about this: http://blog.stonebrew.com/?p=1834

024. Suffering through Sisyphus 2011

I'm not even 100% sure I should be reviewing this beverage, because it is a "Barleywine Stye Ale." But, I drank it and, like the figure of Greek mythology, suffered for my sins, so I'll write it up for you.

Sisyphus 2011 Bareywine Style Ale by the Real Brewing Co. in Blanco, Texas was one of the worst things I've had in ages. For a few minutes, I actually thought my taste buds were going to pull out a knife and declare war on my mouth. It was ghastly.

I'm not even completely sure what I hated about it, as the flavors were so harsh that it was hard to isolate them while I drank it. The aroma was stringent, but there were some intriguing elements in it. I detected hops, alcohol, and a few distant citrus notes. Very distant, hidden under a certain earthiness that I must attribute to the barley.

The pour was very disappointing: even an agressive pour failed to get any head at all out of it. The color was pretty, though -- a nice deep brown with hints of gold and copper. It had a crisp, clean look to it and the carbonation was at a steady, medium flow. Appearance-wise, it looked like a winner. But, aas, appearances are deceiving.

Here''s what it says on their Website:

Intense and warming, Sisyphus was Real Ale's first seasonal product. A healthy portion of hops balances the rich toffee undertones of the malt. Weighing in around 11% ABV, Sisyphus Barleywine is not for the faint of heart - makes a great nightcap!

Photo courtesy of the Untapped Web Site

What is a bareywine? For that bit of info I scoured the Internet and the dusty shelves of my public library, even going on a road trip to find a scholar rumored to live near the Stoneheng model near Ingram, Texas... okay, I looked it up on Wikipedia:

Barley wine or Barleywine is a beer style of strong ale originating in England. The first beer to be marketed as Barley Wine was Bass No. 1 Ale, around 1870... A barley wine typically reaches an alcohol strength of 8 to 12% by volume and is brewed from specific gravities as high as 1.120. It is called a barley wine because it can be as strong as wine; but since it is made from grain rather than fruit, it is, in fact, a beer.

That bit of info got me wondering if, perhaps, it was the strong flavors of barley and a harsh alcohol content that made my mouth pucker. Since this is listed as having 10% alcohol, that could very wel be the case. If I could have read that on their poorly designed label (metalic green on metalic silver makes it almost impossibe to read), I might have gone into this with fair warning to expect something this harsh and disappointing.

Now, to be fair, I've never had barley wine before. For all I know this could be the best barley wine on earth. That being said, I still don't like it. I have no opinion on whether this is a well crafted representative of this type of ale, but I do have an opinion about whether I would drink this again, and the answer is a heartfelt NO.

Thoughts from the bottom of the glass:
Color: Crisp brown, clean & glear with hints of copper and gold
Aroma: Bitter with strong barley and hops, overpowered by alcohol
Hops: Okay, but not remarkable for their flavor
Head: None
Lace: None
Carbonation: Medium-sized bubbles that lasted a long time
Temperature Sweet Spot: 55 -59 degrees
ABV: 11%
My Rating: 1 out of 10



Other reviews worth a sip
I am in complete disagreement with the fine folks over at the Beer Advocate. Most of those guys really liked this.
This guy also liked it: http://www.intoxico.net/2012/02/sisyphus-2008-and-2011-barleywine-by.html
The guys over at Untapped seemed to like it, too: http://untappd.com/beer/106225/photos

I'm definitely in the minority on this one, folks, but I'm very firm in my review. I didn't like this and I don't think it warrants a second sip. In fact, the second sip itself was painful. I actually forced myself to drink it all at a variety of temperatures and it just never resonated with me. In a word, Yuck.

The only reason I did not add it to my "Nightmare Brews!" list (upper right of this page) is because this is a limited edition and it's a barleywine, so the chances of being assaulted by this again are slim to none.