Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Troegs Craft Brewery

Beer Name: Perpetual IPA

Beer Style: IPA

Abv.: 7.5%

Serving Glassware: Pint, Tulip

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

Packaging: 22oz Bottles

Price: ~$7

Availability: Limited

Pairings: Caesar Salad (What I had!), Meat (Steak, Burgers)

www.farm7.static.flickr.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A/4.47

Appearance: 4

Aroma: 4.5

Taste: 4.5

Mouthfeel: 4.5

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: A-/4.16

Mike's Description

Thanks to Steve for this awesome beer!


Appearance - Golden crisp translucent brew that looks nothing like any IPA I've seen before. Its lighter color is almost representative of a pilsner. About 2 inches of frothy white head that lasts throughout the session and tons of lacing on the Stella glass.

Aroma - Lots of hop character right up front, almost like a DIPA. The bitterness is prevalent, but there are a lot of nice fruity esters present as well. You can tell a wide variety of hops along with dry-hopping and hopbacking are incorporated into this beer.

Taste - Tons of hop-character right away with a surprising malt background as well to balance it out. Citrusy tones fill in any gaps and add a nice touch. Full of flavor for an IPA.

Mouthfeel - Bitter and citrusy hop notes linger along with the sweeter malt backbone for a seriously drinkable beer...this bottle is almost gone.

Drinkability - This may be the most robust IPA i've ever had because of the elaborate flavor, dominant hop character, and abv. If someone told me that it was a DIPA, I'd believe it. The most surprising aspect of this beer to me is that it looks nothing like an IPA. It's very clean, clear, and crisp like a pilsner with no sediment whatsoever. You wouldn't expect such a bland-looking beer to deliver this much flavor...highly recommend it!

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!