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)

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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

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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.

Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Beer Name: 120 Minute

Beer Style: Imperial IPA

Abv.: 18%

Serving Glassware: Tulip, Pint, Snifter

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

Local Availability: N/A

Pairings: Dessert (Angel Cake, Blueberry Pie)

2.bp.blogspot.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A/4.5

Appearance:4.5

Aroma: 4.5

Taste: 4.5

Mouthfeel: 4.5

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: B+/3.86

Mike's Description

2011 Poured into a Chimay Chalice

Appearance - Burnt orange/slightly brownish/amber earthy tones. About a half inch of head that fades very fast leaving slight lace on the chalice. Nice caution sign logo on the cap.

Aroma - Smells strongly of hops, alcohol, and honey primarily. A lot of malt is there and some fruits are present as well such as raisins and honeydew.

Taste - The hops are definitely there...I mean "continually hopped over a 120 minute boil" and "dry-hopped everyday for a month"...you're going to taste hops. Surprisingly, I had much hoppier beers...I don't want to say the hops are weak, but there are many other things I taste in the forefront aside from hops such as ALCOHOL and honey. At 18% abv., no amount of hops will defeat the alcohol. Some other minute flavors as well such as the aforementioned fruits.

Mouthfeel - Again, surprisingly for what I would consider a triple ipa (even though it says double), there are pretty much no hops in the aftertaste...they barely linger whatsoever. The honey and fruit sweetness, however, are what tarry in the mouth. The alcohol lasts as well.

Drinkability - This is a fantastic beer. Well worth the price and the wait. As far as what everyone says..."it does not at all resemble 60 or 90 minute"...pretty true. Surprisingly this beer is much less hop-forward than even the 60 minute, never mind the 90 minute, and it is also much sweeter and has way more of a noticeable alcohol character. I have also heard about as many positive reviews as I have negative. I have a feeling that many of the negative reviews are due to the fact that most expect it to be a hop-bomb that completely blows away 90 minute ipa...this is far from the case, but it is definitely a great beer that it worthy of the hype...I just wish it was easier to access. If I had to compare this to another beer in terms of similarities...none really come to mind, but this beer is more similar to a Belgian Tripel or even a Barleywine (sweeter styles)...definitely not comparable to any other DIPAs. This beer is closer to mead than a DIPA in my opinion.

Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company

Beer Name: Blushing Monk

Beer Style: Fruit Beer

Abv.: 12.3%

Serving Glassware: Tulip, Flute, Wine Glass

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

Local Availability: Very limited (found mine at T&V)

Pairings: Dessert (Vanilla Ice Cream, Cheese Cake)

www.mustlovebeer.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A+/4.58

Appearance:4

Aroma: 5

Taste: 4.5

Mouthfeel: 4.5

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A-/4.15

Mike's Description

Thanks to Steve for enjoying and splitting the cost of this rare beer with me in Cape Cod (the reason I was not able to make an entry last wednesday)!  This may be the only time I ever try this beer due to its rarity and expensive price (~$18).

Appearance- Whoaaa...very...red. It appears similar to cranberry juice, but carbonated. 1/4" pink head dissipates quickly leaving faint lacing on the wine glass.

Aroma- Pure raspberries...the smell makes me a little uneasy about its potential sweetness...hopefully not jolly rancher juice. Zero hop presentation and slightly malty. Some cherry is present here as well.

Taste- Fantastic...if a raspberry beer is what you're looking for. Not as sweet as it smells, but definitely a sweet beer. Since the sweetness does not drown out the other characteristics as I thought it might, the complex Belgian notes can be deciphered. Some cotton candy and cherry are here too.

Mouthfeel- The raspberry lingers in the aftertaste along with a minute cherry character. Not too strong like most fruited beverages and the alcohol is completely masked.

Drinkability- Great beer if a steeped raspberry character is what you're searching for...not at all overdone. If you prefer a Lindemans extremely sweet and syrupy beer, this one is probably not for you.