Pisgah Valdez

While at Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria in Asheville for my bachelor party, I ordered a glass of Pizgah Valdez. The beer pours a black color with a thin filmy tan head. The aroma is strong and consists of fresh coffee and roasted malts. While simple and not multidimensional, the aroma was wonderful. The taste is straight coffee with a solid chocolate backbone, a hint of vanilla, and toasted malts. A light caramel splash is left behind on the tongue a spot of coffee that recurs. The alcohol content is 6.8% ABV. I was more than impressed at this wonderful coffee-infused imperial stout and the freshness of the coffee flavors absolutely made the beer.

Catawba Valley Firewater IPA

On our first stop in Asheville for my bachelor party, I ordered a glass of Catawba Valley Firewater IPA at Barley Taproom and Pizzeria. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy off-white head. The aroma consists of lemon, tangerine, orange, and pine. The taste is bitter and biting with a healthy dose of of hops. The hops yield flavors of pine, lemon, and orange. There is a dry finish with grass and butterscotch that lingers behind. The alcohol content is 5.2% ABV. Overall, I thought this beer was a little unbalanced and mostly just bitter and dry without capitalizing on the full impact of the hops. It fell short of being great, but was decent enough of a beer to still enjoy.

Jackie O's Cellar Cuvee 5

Another beer I received in a beer trade with the Beer Club 4 Men was Jackie O’s Cellar Cuvee 5. The beer pours a black color with a thin bubbly tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, raisin, fig, caramel, toasted malts, maple syrup, and oak. The taste is smooth and sweet with lots of maple syrup on the front end. A dark chocolate bitterness balances with some fig and raisin. Oak dryness and a bourbon sweetness accompanied by dry brandy comes out in the finish. The alcohol content is 9.0% ABV. I thought the mixing of an amber ale and an oatmeal stout after aging in barrels provided an amazing blend and complex liquid on my palate that kept me on my toes throughout the experience.

The Bruery Smoking Wood

In a beer trade with the Beer Club 4 Men, I received a battle of The Bruery Smoking Wood. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head that leaves lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of smoke, rye, oak, chocolate, and coffee. The taste is bold and robust with a wonderful rye and whiskey flavor all built upon a solid chocolate and caramel backbone. Hints of coffee and smoke peek through with a dry pepper spice on finish with oak accents. The alcohol content is 10% ABV. The backbone holds up to the whiskey flavor and I was surprised as to how much smoke was on the nose but not on the palate. Overall, this is a wonderful with the perfect amount of all flavors.

Crooked Stave Bourbon Barrel Sentience Wild Quadrupel

I ordered a bottle of Crooked Stave Bourbon Barrel Sentience Wild Quadrupel with my Cellar Reserve membership. The beer pours a dark brown color with almost no head. There are a few off-white colored bubbles, but that is about it. The aroma consists of bourbon, cherry, raisin, fig, and oak. The taste is lightly sour and puckering on the front end with some cherry and raspberry flavors. A sweet vanilla and bourbon flavor kicks in strongly with dry bourbon finish. Some fig and raisin peeks through, and then an oak after taste lingers for a while. The alcohol content is 11.5% ABV. The bourbon barrel aging of this beer is phenomenal and adds a touch of sweetness and plenty of dryness to an already tart and sour beer. It all comes together so well because the beer has such a strong backbone.

Pizza Boy Brewing Simcoe SamuRYE

Another beer I ordered at Al’s of Hampden was the Pizza Boy Brewing Simcoe SamuRYE. The beer pours a dark amber color with a bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma consists of sweet grapefruit, tangerine, orange, lemon, passion fruit, and rye. The taste is dry with grapefruit, tangerine, orange, and passion fruit. A bite of rye comes out with other hints of green pepper. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I was a little bit surprised by the pepper flavors that came with this beer, but I think the rye and citrus flavors were able to balance everything and play well together.

Pizza Boy Brewing Punk'in Disorderly

I ordered a glass of Pizza Boy Brewing Punk’in Disorderly on a recent visit. The beer pours an amber color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma consists of pumpkin, caramel, and nutmeg. The taste is smooth and sweet with pumpkin, lots of caramel, and pilsner malt. There is a light dry hop finish with pepper and hints of nutmeg and allspice. Overall I noticed very little cinnamon which kept the beer from drying out the mouth. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. I liked the lack of cinnamon spice in this beer, as I thought it allowed the other spices and pumpkin to shine, and even a slight hop accent.

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.

Green Flash Double Stout Black Ale

My buddy Adam brought over a bottle of Green Flash Double Stout Black Ale to share. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan colored head that leaves a thin lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of chocolate, vanilla, toasted malts, and caramel. The taste is smooth and chocolaty with a bold flavor. Some toasted malts come into play with a dry finish that has a touch of caramel and vanilla. The alcohol content is 8.8% ABV. This was a wonderful stout with robust chocolate flavors and a nice, dry finish with plenty of toasted malts.

Jester King Gotlandsbricka

With the October shipment from the Michael Jackson Rare Beer Club, I received a bottle of Jester King Gotlandsbricka. The aroma consists of bacon, smoke, lemon, pepper, and grass. The taste is bold and smoky with some barbeque, and bacon flavors. Hints of lemon, pepper, hay, and grass peek through before a charcoal grill arrives and takes over the finish. The alcohol content is 6.6% ABV. I’m not quite sure how I felt about a smoked malt pilsner, but it was definitely interesting. It would make sense if it was the traditional drink of the Vikings as it will put some hair on your chest.