Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Beer Name: 30th Anniversary Jack & Ken's Ale

Beer Style: Barleywine

Abv.: 10.2%

Serving Glassware: Pint, Snifter

Serving Temp.: 50-55 deg. F. (BeerAdvocate.com)

Packaging: 22oz bottles

Price: ~$10

Availability: Limited

Pairings: Dessert (Blueberry/Cherry Pie), Chocolate

www.3.bp.blogspot.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: B/3.5

Appearance: 3

Aroma: 4

Taste: 4

Mouthfeel: 3.5

Drinkability: 4

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A-/4.09

Mike's Description

Appearance - Blood-red beer with 1/4" khaki-colored head. Decent retention and lace.

Aroma - Very hot with a strong malt backbone. Some chocolate comes through as well as fruit, namely raisin and some slight strawberry.

Taste - Alcohol burn is definitely felt, but the elements that were present in minute levels from the aroma are more pronounced. The chocolate, raisin, and strawberry are all more obvious and cherry, plum, and grape join the fray as well. Some hops come through to balance-out the malt and fruit sweetness nicely.

Mouthfeel - Malty and hoppy aftertaste with some coffee notes to end the story.

Drinkability - This is a great barleywine (one of my favs). It isn't as good as Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot, but I'd buy it again and I am definitely happy I decided to age it.

Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Brouwerij De Ranke

Beer Name: XX Bitter

Beer Style: Belgian IPA

Abv.: 6.2%

Serving Glassware: Tulip, Chalice

Serving Temp.: 40-45 deg. F. (BeerAdvocate.com)

Packaging: 4-pk 330 mL bottles, 750 mL bottle

Price: ~$13 (750 mL)

Availability: Year Round

Pairings: Cheese (Bleu, Goat), Salad

www.beerohbeer.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A/4.35

Appearance: 4.5

Aroma: 4

Taste: 4.5

Mouthfeel: 4

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A-/4.11

Mike's Description
Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a 4 oz sampling glass at a beer tasting my friends and I had.


Appearance - Large amount of frothy white head that resembles ice cream. This beer is extremely carbonated from bottle fermentation and there is plenty of lace to go around. The beer itself is a pale yellowish color with some burnt orange tones.

Aroma - Very bitter esters with a funky musty aroma. Seems similar to a saison with respect to the farmhouse aromas. Belgian yeast is definitely there with some green apple, pear, and a peppery spiciness to tie everything together.


Taste - Slightly sweeter and more fruity than the aromas. Apples are more dominant, but the beer is still very bitter. Belgian spices and yeast are just as robust. This brew is lacking in malt character, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't.

Mouthfeel - Dry beer with a hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. Light to medium-bodied with Belgian spices to give it a nice background.

Drinkability - In my opinion, this beer has the perfect amount of bitterness despite being named "XX Bitter". The bitterness is there, but it doesn't overpower any of the other unique facets such as the Belgian yeast strain, complex mix of spices (I won't even pretend that I know these), and overall funky saison-like character. According to my co-worker (who is friends with the Shelton Brothers), they both quit their jobs and starting importing Belgian beers after tasting De Ranke XX Bitter...thank you Sheltons!

Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Brouwerij St. Bernardus

Beer Name: Tripel

Beer Style: Tripel

Abv.: 8.0% 

Serving Glassware: Chalice

Serving Temp.: 45-50 deg. F. (BeerAdvocate.com)

Packaging: 750 mL bottle, 4-pk 12 oz bottles

Price: ~$10 (750 mL), ~$12 (12 oz)

Availability: Year Round

Pairings: Dessert (Angel Cake), Fruit (Peach)

farm6.static.flickr.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A/4.43

Appearance: 4

Aroma: 4.5

Taste: 4.5

Mouthfeel: 4

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A-/4.24

Mike's Description

Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a Chimay chalice...

Appearance - Pours with an inch of snow-white head and a bouquet of lace. Moderate head retention that lasts through roughly half the experience. Golden opaque tone.

Aroma - Strong and complex floral notes with characteristic Belgian spices ever-present. Slight hop bitterness, but the malty sweetness, that Tripels are famous for, balances the aromas out nicely.

Taste - The floral facet of this ale is present in the taste as well and the distinct Belgian spices are much more pronounced. The unique bottle-fermented yeast strain that Abbey Ales are celebrated for provides a solid backbone for this dessert-like beer.

Mouthfeel - The complex spices involved provide most of the lingering aftertaste that Belgian beer connoisseurs crave along with the supporting characteristic Belgian yeast. Some fruit lingers as well...mainly peach and maybe some raisin.

Drinkability - St. Bernardus satiates yet again! Aside from this Tripel, I've also had their Quad (Abt. 12), which is my favorite beer of all time. This beer comes close and is a perfect Tripel, in my opinion, followed by Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde. Highly recommended for those that appreciate sweeter dessert-style beers.

Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery (CO)

Beer Name: Ten FIDY

Beer Style: Russian Imperial Stout

Abv.: 10.5% (TEN FIDY!!!!!)

Serving Glassware: Pint, Snifter

Serving Temp.: 50-55 deg. F. (BeerAdvocate.com)

Packaging: 4-pk cans

Price: ~$15

Local Availability: Seasonal (Spring)

Pairings: Chocolate Anything

3.bp.blogspot.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A+/4.58

Appearance:5

Aroma: 4.5

Taste: 4.5

Mouthfeel: 5

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A/4.26

Mike's Description

Appearance - Pours an extremely viscous black motor oil. This is without a doubt the thickest and darkest beer I've ever seen. Tan/khaki half-inch head with moderate retention. Some minor lacing prevalent on the pint glass, but nothing to brag about. Love the name and graphics on the can and the fact that it is indeed served in a can to keep light from skunking the beer. Sweet way to express the abv.

Aroma - Milk chocolate and roasted malt come through with a sweet and smokey characteristic.

Taste -  The milk chocolate seems somewhat darker concerning the taste and the smokey roasted malts are very up-front. Some hop bitterness is there as well, but only in miniscule amounts. The alcohol is dominant, but it's hard to mask at 10.5% (Ten Fidy!).

Mouthfeel - Feels like it appears, viscous like motor oil. The sweet and thick beer coats the entire tongue in a pleasant milk chocolate layer.

Drinkability - This beer dominates the style. Everything about it is wonderful except that I would only drink one at time for inebriation purposes and because of how thick and filling it is. This is definitely a chilly-night brew.