Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Narwhal Imperial Stout (2013 Ed.)

Hey readers. Perhaps you feel my beer reviews have been a bit repetitive. I know they've felt a bit redundant to me. I'm a metal connoisseur but a relative amateur in the world of beer. That said, it's silly of me to repeat the same basic set of terms for these reviews while I'm going all over the place with my music reviews. A good brewer has just as much artistic integrity and passion as any musician, so I'm going to try to spice my beer reviews up a bit in honor of the fine folks who have committed themselves to their craft.

Narwhal strikes me as a great beer to use for a renewed attempt at writing great reviews, because it's a fantastic take on one of my favorite styles of beer. The aroma's rich and textured, with multiple accents playing off each other. There aren't any peculiar or groundbreaking changes on the typical imperial stout formula, but this is a very well made beer in that it's a full experience. The liquid is thinner and the flavor is smoother than I would have anticipated, making for a surprisingly easy sipping dark beer despite its heavy nose and ten percent alcohol content. Grab a four-pack of this at your favorite beer retailer--it's Sierra Nevada so it should be pretty widely available.

Recent Drinks

Here we are again with another week's worth of drinks. Last week it seems I was big on lighter beers and this week I ended up with a relatively heavy and dark selection. My semester in college ends in about ten days, so expect to see a few more beer posts and definitely more consistency in my musical updates. As always, thanks for joining in on the fun and feel free to recommend some good drinks!

Troubador Magma (The Musketeers)
With a nose like a creamsicle and a large frothy head, this beer has all the appearances of a delicious beer float of some sort. However, this peculiarly mixed Belgian triple IPA is far more refreshing than such a description would convey. This drink has light elements of citrus and tropical fruit thanks to a marvelous pairing of hops and Belgian yeast. I'm not sure what makes this drink so compelling, but it's smooth and perfect on a warm spring evening.

Old Heathen Imperial Stout (Weyerbacher)
As I often do when picking new beers, I completely ignored any relevant descriptors such as style, IBU, or flavor characteristics. When I looked at this beer, I saw that it was called Old Heathen and it had a dude who looks like Garm on the label. To be perfectly honest, this beer rules either way. Whether it's because everything about this beer is as traditionally black metal as a beer can get or if it's because this is just an incredibly well made imperial stout, it's fantastic either way. Pours as dark as you'd expect, with delicious chocolate notes in nose and taste and a surprisingly smooth flavor for an imperial stout. Definitely a good one to show someone who is new to imperial stouts yet has enjoyed the stout style in the past.

Storm King Imperial Stout (Victory)
Victory shows up again in my list due to their accessibility and consistent quality. Storm King's long been a favorite of mine but it's probably been the better part of a year since I've had it. No idea why, since this is an imperial stout with a remarkable level of bite. The head on this beer is nice and thick while the drink is bitter and dark in all the best ways. A perfect beer when locked in on a stormy night, or even just good casual drinking for those of us who like our beers dark and intense. I've heard that the special edition Dark Intrigue is also perfect, but I've yet to run across a bottle of it at a time when I've had the financial ability to justify purchasing it. Grab this guy if you like it heavy and grab its big brother if you're feeling particularly feisty.

Hunahpu's Imperial Stout (Cigar City Brewing Company)

I never thought I'd get to write a review of the legendary Hunahpu from Cigar City, but my roommate was lucky enough to obtain a bottle for household sharing. This beer is released one day each year for the public's consumption, and the crowds come in from all around the country. Last year I remember speaking to folks who had traveled down from New York, and I somehow I doubt they had the farthest journey. Blessed with a near-perfect track record with ratings of 100 from pretty much every beer resource, this drink's growing legend seems intent on competing with Pliny the Elder. Regardless, when this showed up in my home, I knew I had to try it.

Hunahpu pours dark, heavy, and with one of the thickest and darkest heads I've ever seen. This beer isn't just a stout, this is a stout for people who like it dark and heavy. In other words, this is possibly one of the most worthy brews featured here. The chocolate aroma is intoxicating, just in case the 11% alcohol isn't high enough. The smoothness of the beer masks the heaviness well, although a heavily roasted flavor lingers on the back of my palate as I swallow each sip. Obviously this beer is being shared between four people right now, and it's still strong enough for each of us. While it tastes good enough to hoard, it's strong enough and worthy of sharing. I doubt most of you will have the opportunity this year, but keep an eye on Cigar City's website and make travel plans for Hunahpu's Day 2014. I promise it'll be worth it.

Imperial Stout (Moa Brewing Company)

To be honest, I'm surprised by this beer. Moa's a brewery based in New Zealand, a nation that I haven't exactly become acquainted with in terms of beer. After reviewing Blood of the Moon last week, I decided that if New Zealand's musical community was surprisingly awesome, perhaps their brews would be equally impressive. My hunch was absolutely correct.

Aged in oak pinot noir barrels, this beer has all of the bite one tends to expect from an imperial stout, with a noticeable hint of pinot's rich, dry sweetness. While it's unlikely you'll ever see a wine review in here (I can't really afford a thirty dollar per bottle habit), I do enjoy a good bottle or glass in my time, so it's nice to see pinot noir fused with a stout. Marrying two of my favorite alcoholic substances is something I often think of, but I've not experienced very many successful executions. Liquor barrels often make for good beers, but I can't think of another wine barrel aged beer that I've consumed in recent days. Inclusion of wine aside, even adventurous drinkers and lovers of stouts will enjoy this rich, fulfilling drink. It's got enough taste to set itself apart from the pack, yet enough of the trademarks of a good imperial stout to sit firmly with folks who aren't looking for something completely off the wall.

This beer is in stock pretty much year round, so I urge you readers to go find yourself a bottle wherever you're able. This may be my first beer from New Zealand, but I don't anticipate it will be my last. International readers, please send me information about some of your favorite local beers. I'd love to start documenting communities that are generally unheard of. Thanks for reading, cheers!

Beer Review: Clown Shoes' Chocolate Sombrero Imperial Stout

Every now and then, a beer comes to me with a recommendation from a friend rather than something I've found on a whim. This beer is absolutely one of those. This is the first beer I've had from Clown Shoes, and it definitely fulfills the reputation my friends have given it. My friend Frank recommended the Vampire Killer, which has moved even higher on my list, but this bottle was given to my partner as a birthday gift, so this dark and delicious brew is my introduction to the massive talent that is Clown Shoes.

First off, I'm a total sucker for dark beers, so I'm both predisposed to liking this and also preemptively jaded on the style. If a chocolate stout is poorly done, I'm going to notice it. This beer is not poorly done. It's incredibly delicious. This beer pours dark and beautifully with a very thin brown head. The aroma is appropriately heavy on the chocolate, but a sip of the beer provides a slightly more complex experience. If you've ever had a Mexican-style hot chocolate, you know what they're aiming for here. For the most part, they succeed. Of course this isn't nearly as sweet and syrupy, but this does good justice to its goal as far as beers can go. In addition to chocolate, this beer has ancho chilies, vanilla, and cinnamon thrown into the mix. They all combine relatively smoothly, with the lightly spicy aspects playing nicely at the back of my throat after each sip. It's a delightful experience and is proving to be richer of an experience than I anticipated.

For a brewery I hadn't even heard of before I started this blog, Clown Shoes have thoroughly impressed me with this stellar stout beer. I'll definitely be revisiting this one, and I couldn't be happier that I've got such generous friends. Expect another Clown Shoes review from me soon. They're on my radar now.

Beer Review: Dogfish Head's Miles Davis Bitches Brew

Today's review focuses on a beer that holds great memories as well as great flavor. Without focusing too much on my personal experience, I can honestly say that every word contained here is based just as much on the quality of the drink as it is on my personal associations with this beer. It was the first beer I purchased for my partner on the eve of her 21st birthday, and it happened to be one of the finer beers either of us had tried. Every October, we make a point to get at least one bottle so that we can enjoy this well crafted beer and continue our annual tradition.

As for the beer itself, this is one dark, intense experience in which you can really get lost. This beer pours as black and thick as night with a moderately foamy, dark brown head. Initially crafted to honor the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis' landmark album, this beer tastes as bold and exciting as Miles' music must have been back in 1970 when the world wasn't quite as accustomed to such sounds. This beer is three parts imperial stout and one part honey beer with gesho root, and while the initial flavor is purely bitter and dark like the stout would have you believe, there's the subtle sweetness in the aftertaste and a smoothness of drinking that most imperial stouts don't provide. As with many imperial stouts, the aroma and flavor are heavy with cocoa and coffee flavors, but there really is so much more to this beer than that.

I also need to mention the addition of gesho here. I'm not going to lie and pretend I was familiar with it before doing my research for this review, but I'm fascinated with its inclusion in this beer. Gesho is a plant that grows in Ethiopia and is often used similarly to hops, in order to create a mead-like drink brewed with honey. This exotic and bold experiment is a perfect example of Dogfish Head's legendary commitment to providing drinkable and unique beers to the average American drinker. Much like the album Bitches Brew introduced many unsuspecting folks to wilder and more electric sounds than the average jazz album, (myself included), this beer will hopefully introduce dark beer drinkers to sweeter and smoother tastes and will hopefully introduce fans of lighter beers to the vast potential of the stout. This beer will be leaving stores soon, so rush out and grab a bottle or three. It's perfect. It's worth it. And if for some reason you aren't into jazz music or haven't heard the album this beer is named after, give it a chance and you may be surprised. Even this extreme metal geek can't help but spin this album on occasion. Sit back, pour yourself a glass, and get lost in the darkness of this beer and the beauty of this album.