Category: Beer Reviews

The Abyss is Deschutes Brewing annual Imperial Stout that they have been making since 2006.  This past Monday, BitterCreek Ale House had a party celebrating the release of this years edition.  To make it interesting, they had it on tap.  To make it more interesting they also had the last 3 editions on tap as well.  So, for the $12 fee they set you up with a 5oz glass of each vintage ’10 – ’13 so you can taste them side by side. But wait…that’s not all, you also get a nifty Deschutes snifter…to HAVE !

     Abyss is a top notch beer, rated near the very top at both major online beer rating databases.  When it was new back in 2006, I managed to pick up a case off that and the following years vintage and have been cracking one open at the rate of 1 or two every several months.  I would say the earliest ones are not necessarily getting any better and are likely past their prime, but it is fun to blow the dust off of a 7 year old bottle and impress a few friends sometimes.

     Interestingly, the 2009 batch had “infection” issues that were well publicized in the beer “nerdiverse” and a few years ago a gathering that I attended had a ’06-’11 vertical and it was a consensus that the ’09 edition had issues.  Deschutes’ own blog talked about this problem and it was also reported and noticed by many that that years Mirror Mirror barley-wine also shared some of that same misfortune cross contamination with some wild yeast being used in the brewery. Well, when you try to experiment and go cutting edge and make interesting trail-blazing beer, sometimes…yeast happens.

     At BitterCreek, the flight was brought out in some long stem glasses, and I must say that my greatest fear at that point was when I saw my server come out with 2 glasses in each hand, wondering if he may have lost track for a moment and incorrectly told me which glass had which vintage in it.

        It also occurred to me a really mean joke would have been to bring them all out to a real beer snob and line them up and say “I’m pretty sure this is the oldest one…or no wait..maybe this one.”  It was all I could do to try to wait a few minutes to let them warm up a tad.  I thought the 2010, the oldest of the 4 was head and shoulders above the rest of them.  11-13 all were sharp, fairly hot and had a strong bite.  The 10 was soft, mellow, muted and silky smooth.  That effect on the older one was what I sort of expected, but I was very surprised how it dramatically dropped off, or increased, how ever you want to look at it, between ’11 and ’10.

I was also encouraged at the substantial turnout that was there.  It was 1:30 when I started and the tables were more than half full and most of them had the Abyss line up on them.  In attendance for this late lunch soiree were such local beer nerd notables as @beerpoet and @chillman2 among others.  Certainly as evening approached, that place would pack out full of folks wanting to get a side by side taste of how one of the countries better accessible Imperial Stouts ages over a few years.   BitterCreek has already blurted out on their facebook page that they are now planning a 5 year vertical next year.

My calendar is marked.

Now, before you get any Starland Vocal Band thoughts let me just say that having a flexible schedule, allows me to visit my favorite and oft-visited bottle-shop/bar, Brewforia Beer Market during times of the day when most folks are at work watching the clock waiting until 5PM.   Today is one of those days.  My favorite seat, one with a power outlet nearby lets me, with respect to Timothy Leary,  plug in, turn on and tune in.

Sipping a pint of RedHook Mud Slinger, a “Spring Ale” that I am not sure if it is 10 months late…or 2 months early.  As I drink it down a bit more, I think is is more likely the former.   A brown ale, with a bit of brown sugar and vanilla but both are faded quite a bit and it and it is not much special anymore.  If it was to begin with.

My trip out here today did have an underlying motive however…  This past month was the annual release of Big Sky Brewing’s “Ivan the Terrible” imperial stout.  I have not had this one before and this years batch is 10%ABV and is one of the beers that I have been most anticipating lately.   According to the label on the bottle I have now, there are only 3800 bottles produced of it this year. Mine is #482.  Limited release beers are a good thing, mostly I suppose.

I love Big Sky Brewing.   They are small, out of the way, practically “Outpost Charlie” or “Ice Station Zebra” if you will, in Missoula, MT.  Their production is small but the last few years they have really been pushing the envelope of big or extreme beers. Old Bluehair, Beer de Noel and Heavy Horse Scotch are good examples.

Limited quantity creates more attention, more speculation, a bigger blip on the craft beer radar.  But as a bit of  beer nerd, they are a bad thing sometimes as it means that I can’t get another bottle after the few weeks it is around, until next year.

This “Ivan” is going to be good I’m sure.  These kinds of beers generally do well in a basement or cellar for a few months to a few years.  Sometimes more.  I would prefer to wait a while to drink this one as I bet it will only get better.

….thinking about it is working up an appetite though….

Every year, many micro-brewers produce something that they are especially proud of, something that is eagerly awaited and often bragged about by the fortunate few who have had it either on tap on bottled.  Showing up at a party or a beer tasting with a bottle of this, is akin to being the guy that drives up to the 20yr High School reunion in the BMW.

Deschutes,  has one of these…It’s called the Abyss.  While technically not a “MicroBrewery”,  as they produce several times the 15,000 barrel output that defines the upper limit of a brewery than can be called “Micro”, Deschutes is/are still considered an outfit that adheres  to the craftbeer standard and philosophy of adjunct free, quality ingredients meaning exclusively Barley, Water, Hops and Yeast, and (relatively) small batches .   In a way, an extension of the German Reinheitsgebot law Germany passed in the 16th century that specified strict requirements on what could be called “Beer”.

Abyss, an imperial stout that was first made in 2006 and since then made itself known as a top tier Imperial Stout in the country.  Certainly in the west.   There are a dozen or so “Impys” that belong in the discussion of some of the best in the country.  Stone, Oskar Blues, 3 Floyds, Alesmith, Bells, and several others, all are worth mentioning in this stable.

I am having an Abyss as I type this and it is the first time I have had it on tap in a couple years at least.   I have a few bottles of the ’06 and ’07 stashed in my “cellar” but on tap is the best way to truly experience the subtleties of what the brewer intended.   My oft mentioned fvorite beer outlet, Brewforia Beer Market put his little gem on its tap line earlier today and my day-timer was immediately adjusted to allow for this window of opportunity.

At first I was concerend that the tap would run out any minute so I orderd a snifter of it right away, and drank it witha friend rather quickly and as it was quite cold, some of the subtle complexity was lost on my haste.   Later on my second one of the night, I was able to let it warm up a bit, since a littel closer to room temperature is better to experance the full flavor profile of this beer.

Abyss is moderately sweet, plenty bitter and rather smokey.  Licorice and to a lesser extent, molasses are up front and a nice smokey almost fireplace or campfire soot and smokiness is a main player as well.   Carbonation is rather lively for the style, as Imperial Stouts are typically a little on the soft side.  A bit of a Tootsie Roll calng card is left behind as the soothing sting of semi-sweet chocolate sizzles the palatte on the way down.

There are lots of very good beers in this style, some of which I have mentioned earlier.  Abyss is near and dear to my heart as a Deschutes fan and a PNW native, and I am always glad to see it come out each winter.   It is very tempting to secure another case of this years edition but at the 13-14$ per bottle price tag that it demands these days, that is a little hard to do.  I still have several from the ’06 edition that still have the 5.99$ price tag on them.  That in itself is evidence to the skyrocketing popularity that this beer since it’s inception and elite craft beer in general has come to in this country.

Trying a new beer tonight.  Avery “Old Jubilation”  touted as a winter seasonal and classified as a English Strong Ale it came to me in a very full pint glass.  Clear and a deep mahogany with a small light tan head I was glad to see that I had at least 14 or so to enjoy after a couple of 8oz snifters earlier of some other brews.

Malty and a little sweet.  Kind of like a light Barley Wine or a hoppy/bitter Scottish Ale it is a “Winter Warmer” if you will.   It has a little of a papery chalky trailer at the end, but it is pleasant and a nice end-cap to my evening of beer tasting and blogging.   At 8% it is pretty hefty even though the ABV  doesn’t come through very strongly.   The rather robust malty profile offsets this enough to balance the beer.

Avery, at least in my impression has a rep for being daring and adventurous. Consider the several high gravity beers that it regularly produces.  Samael’s, Mephistopheles, The Beast, all are good for impressing your beer nerd poser friends that spout off “beers can’t be made over X percent alcohol.  As a homebrewer, I can attest taht depending on the variety of yeast that is used and the mount of sugars in the pre-fermented sugars an ABV of 10-12 is not a problem and with some special techniques somewhere around 16-18 can be achieved.   The second beer I ever made was about 13.5% and a few bottles that are still around after 3 and a half years, got some pretty positive reviews from some fellow home-brewers recently.

This Avery beer is pretty good, malty, a little sweet, fairly strong and satisfying.  A good, “sit by the fire” brew and I bet that is pretty close to what the brewer had intended.  As it warms up a bit, I am picking up the acohol a bit but am not put off by it.

Decent.

4 Months ago I wrote about a beer I was trying that was made by a new local brewer. Crescent Brewing, out of Nampa, ID. Then it was an Amber, and had it not been for the nearly flat carbonation and a possible slight infection, it would have been decent. I have not tried it again since, but I will as I don’t want to give either of my 2 readers a poorly researched or premature conclusion.
Today, I am at Brewforia Beer Market and on one of their 9 taps I see..l.ow and behold another “Crescent” beer. A Scotch Ale. This style is commonly named and referred to as a “wee heavy”. Typically Scotch Ales are fairly dark, brown, softly carbonated and have a malty somewhat sweet character. Often they are a bit high on the ABV, frequently 6-8%. Not to be confused with “Scottish Ales” which are not called “wee heavy” and have a more moderate alcohol level.

The Crescent example is definitely malty and a little on the sweet side per the style. Also lightly hopped. 15-25 IBUs or so I’d say. It is carbonated softly, like it should but there always seems to be a little film of superfine bubbles on the top. I Love that. It’s a little smokey and peaty, with some caramel notes as well. Lots of toasted malt and a creamy soft palate. I am much more impressed with this than I was the Amber a few months ago. Partly I think due to the flaws I saw in the last one happened after it was brewed.
This one is rich, filling, malty and just…nice. I wish I had time to have another.
I am excited to see further efforts from Crescent Brewery.

Over the years I have neglected my modest beer cellar to the point that I have lost track of what I have.  Commercial brews, some that I intended to save and age a bit, others I planned on trading to other beer nerds.  Homebrews that weren’t that great but couldn’t bring myself to throw out (not that they weren’t likely to get any better sitting in my basement for a year or more) and other odds and ends.

I recorded everything I found on a simple spreadsheet and came a cross a few gems that I was pleasantly surprised by, and lots others…not so much.  For instance, a 2004 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine.  Legendary for how it ages gracefully, and a  Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic that also is legendary…for how terrible when it was new…over 5 years ago.

Part of this organizational “shake-down” is to throw out some losers, drink some tweeners and continue saving the gems.  this Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Ale is of unknown vintage but probably around 2005 as that was when I was at my peak of buying regional brews for trades and cellaring.

RateBeer lists it as a “Spice/Herb/Vegetable” beer meaning it has some unusual flavorings that can be anything from Coriander, to Spruce tips.

It opens with a disappointingly subtle “hiss”, I hope it has not last much of its intended carbonation.  Pours  a slightly hazy moderate to light mahogany with a distinctly yellowish tan head.  Aroma is a very nice malty caramel with some cinnamon and milk chocolate. Actually very nice.  If there was any hoppiness when it was fresh, it is long gone now.  Flavor is not unpleasant, remember my expectations are far from lofty here.  Soft fairly sweet malt flavors, a little woody and earthy some very mild notes of apple-butter and caramel.  Carbonation is moderate and likely at the intended level.  Finishes with a slight brown paper bag that may be due to the accumulated oxidation that had to have been taking place while it sat on my shelf in the basement since G.W. was re-elected.

All in all, not that bad considering the deck that was stacked against it.  I’ll probably finish it, and move on to the next mystery.

Goose Island is a brewer in Chicago, IL hat makes some really great stuff.  their Bourbon Country Stout is a favorite of mine and is highly regarded among craft beer nerds like myself.  I have had 9 or so Goose Island brews and have enjoyed all of them,  With the possible exception of their Christmas Ale which I dint quite get and the Pils which again just didn’t do it for me.

Today I am having one of the Belgians that they make, called Matilda.   I have had it before at Brewforia, when it was on tap there and enjoyed it, but his time it is in a 12oz bottle.   It pours a nice orange peach color with a very small short lived head, settling quickly to a ring around the edge of the glass.  A soft mild fruity aroma of apples, pears and a fairly pungent bite.   Light malt medley of some of the similar pale fruits in the aroma.  A little peppery, fairly sweet and the typical Belgian yeast character is moderate.  More bitter at the end that I expected.  the commercial description says  that it is profusely hopped.  Maybe that extra hop bitterness is what I am picking up that is throwing me off a little.  I wouldn’t say that this is a classic Belgian, but one that has been Americanized a bit.

I expect examples of the style to be more light wispy, spritzy and less up front bitterness. Still I am not opposed to creative tweaks and artistic license.  There are several Belgian Sub-Styles, Belgian Strong, Belgian Dubel, Belgian Strong etc, this one is just “Belgian”.  I guess in a way that means you cant say it is not to style when it is in a bit of a catch-all sub genre.  Orval is the classic and highly rated example of this style.   I’ll have to have one of those to compare with this.

I am still a big fan of Goose Island though.

Having missed the previous nights “Epic” dinner at Brewforia, I stopped by the next afternoon, I suppose looking for leftovers. Not literally leftovers but maybe one or two of the special beers they had last night that might still be on tap.  But, no such luck.  I spotted a few bottles from the Utah brewer in the cooler, including the one I was most interested in “Brainless on Peaches”. Epic doesn’t give out much details on this particular offering and ratebeer.com calls it simply a “Fruit Beer”.   But at $15 per 22oz bottle, I may wait until I can share/split it with someone.

As it is, I settled for something they had on tap called Tail Waggin’ Double White made by GrandTeton Brewing, out of Victor, Idaho.  This one happened to be the Chardonnay Barrel aged version.  Technically a “Wit Beer” named for the white or pale color and is a style that originated about 400 years ago.  Belgian wits have a more fruity yeast flavor and this one is pretty true to that classification.  Light and tart with some of that Chardonnay wine flavor coming through as well.  Light bodied and tangy.  Very nice and refreshing, in no small part due to the very lively carbonation it has.  I would be interested to compare the non barreled version of this one, side by side.

That Peach beer is looking even better now…may have to sell off a few baseball cards on ebay…

-cheers