Millbock Something Dark

At Al’s of Hampden, I ordered a glass of Millbock Brewing Something Dark. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head. The aroma consists of smoke, charcoal, bacon, caramel, and chocolate. The taste is dry and very smoky with lots of charcoal and tobacco all sitting upon a solid chocolate background. A dry finish with pepper spice and wood hints,linger for a while and bring back the smoky taste. The alcohol content is 7.5% ABV. Make no mistake about it, this beer is smoky through and through. I loved how it was like drinking a campfire or a grill, but also had some tobacco flavors to make you think you may have been eating a cigar.

Troegs Scratch 80- Belgian Brown Ale

As per my normal protocol, I stopped in to the Troegs tasting room to order a glass of Scratch 80- Belgian Brown Ale. The beer pours a dark amber color with a bubbly cream colored head. The aroma consists of caramel, chocolate, fig, date, and apricot. The taste is sweet with caramel, fig, and date before a dry chocolate and grassy finish. A Belgian yeast after taste lingers a bit with an earthy accent. The alcohol content is 7.2%. I thought that Troegs has offered a very nice Belgian Brown that would make some monks very proud. A great balance of dark fruits and an earthy spiciness danced on the tongue and made for a wonderful experience.

Crooked Stave Ocvlvs Dexter

Another beer I received as part of my Crooked Stave Cellar Reserve membership was the Ocvlvs Dexter. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head that recedes rapidly and leaves specs on lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of hay, horse blanket, barnyard funk, lemon, grass, pepper, and wheat. The taste is tart and sour with lemon on the front end and plenty of vinegar. Some hay and earthiness peek through with hints of wheat and a peppery and oaky finish. A lemon Jolly Rancher after taste lingers on the tongue. The alcohol content is 8.9% ABV. This was a wonderfully sour and tart beer with an almost candy-like flavor that was extremely similar to a Jolly Rancher.

Shipyard Blue Fin Stout

For International Stout Day, I opened a bottle of Shipyard Blue Fin Stout. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, toasted malts, cardboard, and coffee. The taste is chocolaty with plenty of burnt flavor. There is some toasted malts and a hint of coffee. The finish is dry and roasty. The alcohol content is 4.7% ABV. This was a moderately good dry stout with some roasted flavors. I would drink this beer again, but wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

Crooked Stave Sentience Wild Quadrupel Aged in Cognac Barrels

With my Cellar Reserve membership from Crooked Stave, I ordered a bottle of Sentience Wild Quadrupel aged in cognac barrels. The beer pours a brown color with a very thin and bubbly off-white colored head that last milliseconds. The aroma consists of strong cognac, oak, cherry, raisin, fig, and date. The taste is sour and tart with cherry and vinegar on the front end before strong cognac flavor take over. A raisin, fig, and date sweetness provides some backbone before and oaky and vinegary finish that actually makes the mouth water for more. It has a relatively flat mouthfeel. The alcohol content is 11.5% ABV. This was a wonderful blend of flavors from the sour and tart to the sweet and fruity, all bridged by strong but not overpowering cognac and oak flavors. This is a must try for sour lovers.

To Ol Sans Frontiere

As part of the October shipment from the Michael Jackson Rare Beer of the Month Club, I received a bottle of To Ol Sans Frontiere. The beer pours an amber color with a lofty and frothy white colored head that leaves a lacing on the glass. The aroma consists grass, lemon, hay, and barnyard funk. The taste is spicy with pepper and lemon on the front end with a drying hay and grassy finish. A bit of caramel lingers afterwards with the Belgian yeast sweetness. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This was a wonderful Belgian Ale with a nice spiciness and hints of fruitiness from the yeast. I absolutely loved this beer and would drink it again.