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 5/5/13

I know this post's a bit delayed, but with finals week I was drinking a bit less than usual. Now that I'm on the eve of my last final of the semester, things are finally returning to full swing. I'm about to raise a glass here in my own home, but first here's a recap of some drinks I've enjoyed in the past couple weeks.

Stone Smoked Porter (Stone Brewing Company)
For the uninitiated, Stone is not a brewery known for their subtlety. The fact that this beer doesn't pour straight out of the bottle breathing fire is surprising, yet that's not to say that this drink isn't intense. Indeed, with a creamy smokiness more akin to actual wood smoke than the barbecue type of flavor that many other smoked porters carry, this beer is not for the novice drinker. What you'll find here is a dense, delicious, and frothy beer that you can sip slowly on a long night spent in quiet reflection or in the company of good friends. Regardless of the setting, this is definitely one of the better smoked porters out there, period. Grab a bottle and treat yourself properly.

Camp Braggot Ghost Stories (Cigar City/B. Nektar Meadery)
To call this collaborative brew "interesting" or "creative" would be doing it a disservice. The beer pours far darker than I would have anticipated, with an almost fruity nose and a full foamy head. The marshmallow characteristic that is so often associated with this beer is absolutely present, but less so than I had expected. Instead, this is a well-rounded, albeit very sweet, dark and delicious beer. The honey flavor is strong, but not so strong that I would advise non-mead drinkers away from it. Instead, view this as an intriguing and successful experiment in the art of brewing. I'd be delighted to see this one again, although knowing Cigar City's affinity for limited run beers, I doubt it will be any time soon.

Xingu Black Beer
Xingu seems to be a one-beer kinda brewery, so no need to list who makes it. This one caught my eye because my semester's ending and I seem to desire things that are foreign or otherwise "exotic" right now. Clearly my subconscious wants a vacation. With this in mind, I thought to myself that I'd never had a Brazilian beer before. Now I have. It's surprisingly smooth for being a darker beer, yet it's not too light on the palate either. If I wanted something I could sip on for hours, I'd go for this. It's dark without being unpleasant on a hot day.

Dragonhead Stout (Orkney)
This one was purchased based on the label and the fact that I haven't had many Scottish beers. I mean, I love stouts, and it's got a warship or something on it. The beer doesn't disappoint either. It's thick and heavy as crude oil yet the 4%ABV means you can sit with a couple of them in a row without it knocking you out. A really good stout for the times when you might want a smooth yet heavy drink that sits in your stomach like a small meal.

Whiskey Drinker

Greetings readers. Some of you may have noticed that my beer reviews have been slightly less popular than my music reviews. While I'm not eager for popularity necessarily, the popularity of a post does reflect the interests of my readers. With this in mind, I'm changing the nature of my beer-related posts yet again. Unless I experience something quite interesting, I'm going to round up the beers I consumed in any given week with a brief description. This spares me the trouble of writing lengthy reviews for every drink I have and it spares my readers a series of beer posts when it's obvious that most of us are here almost exclusively for extreme music. I'm not sure if this will always be a Sunday thing, but I'm eager to get this started and I think it'll be good fun for all of us. That said, here's what I've been drinking this week.

Evander Brown Ale (Cigar City)

This one has a beautiful caramel body with a thin, almost nonexistent head. The aroma is rather subtle, but the flavor here reminds me of a blunter, more spiced version of the pumpkin beers that show up in the fall. The pumpkin itself is absent, but nutmeg and cinnamon are absolutely dominant flavors in this thin and delicious brown ale. The aftertaste settles in with a light cocoa flavor, somewhat reminiscent of some darker beers I've enjoyed recently from these guys. I'm not always into things that remind me of pie, but this is worth checking out if you're into the style.

Zinneke Belgian Style Stout (Smuttynose)

This beer is ridiculous. It's like somebody made it just for me. I'm not a big whiskey drinker, but bourbon barrel beers just really seem to do it for me. The sweetness of the Belgian yeasts plays nicely with the bitterness of the whiskey barrel as they blend smoothly into a really well-rounded and tasty stout. It's dark, heady, and refreshing. Some people only drink stuff like this in cold weather, but I'm sitting on my sunny porch and loving life right now. Highly recommended, as most Smuttynose Big Beer Series release are.

Positive Contact (Dogfish Head)
This beer is a collaborative effort with and a tribute to rapper Del The Funky Homosapien. While hip-hop and related genres aren't my specialty, I feel the man's legendary status is well-earned and this beer does proper justice. A light and smooth drinker with surprising spice and sweetness from a pairing of cider and cayenne flavors (among many others). Perfect for warm evenings spent in the company of friends. I listened to a tape by No Pleasure in Life while drinking this, but the song this was named after makes quite a good soundtrack too.

Oak Aged Mocha Stout (Peak Organic Brewing Company)

Peak Organic Brewing Company is one of those breweries that has long been on my radar yet never in my fridge, cabinet, or stomach for some reason. Today I decided to change that. While my diet as a whole isn't organic or wholly healthy and environmentally conscious, I try to seek out organic options and I figured this would be as good a place as any to begin my first organic beer review. Although I'm an equal opportunity imbiber, I am often most comfortable when dealing with dark, heavy beers, so I decided that the oak aged mocha stout would be a fantastic introduction to this brewery, and I feel that this was the right decision.

While the beer tastes far more strongly of coffee than chocolate, there is a slight sweetness to offset the bitter hints that come with each sip. Something tells me that the chocolate involved here is a bit darker than the average mocha syrup one might find at a corporate coffee chain. For me, the bitterness is welcome, but for folks wary of the darkness of stouts, this might not be the best introduction to the style. Instead, what Peak have presented is a full-bodied, well crafted coffee stout with a few other subtle characteristics that are quite pleasing to my palate. The alcohol content sits high at 8.4% yet hardly bites the tongue in any way other than the typical intensity of such a beverage. I don't feel this drink is quite as heavy as many similar peers, but to me that isn't much of an issue. Instead, the smoothness adds to the seductive beauty and danger of this fantastic drink.

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.

Year End Extravaganza: Review of Cigar City's Moat Water

As we wrap up the year's festivities this evening, it's time to raise a toast of sorts to the things that make our lives better. I can't think of a better way to do so than with a beer honoring the Skate Park of Tampa's 20 year anniversary, which falls in 2013. Even though Cigar City is far younger than the Skate Park, they've crafted a very mature beer for this special occasion. It's a dark, delicious stout, with smoky hints of vanilla and dark coffee melting into a smooth maple finish. The legend behind this beer is that there's a drainage ditch behind the Skate Park lovingly referred to as "the moat." A liter of the water from the infamous moat was taken back to the brewery where it was mixed in with the batch of beer, providing the name (and a sense of dread) to this delicious beer. While the drink sounds dangerous, welcoming in a new year with a small and delicious risk is quite suitable and appropriate. Drink safely and in good health. Here's to another year of stellar beers and music!