Brews and Blues Beer and Smokin’ Blues

Big Bear Black Stout

Brewery: Bear Republic
Where: Healdsburg, California
Beer: Big Bear Black Stout
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
IBU: 68
ABV: 8.1%

It's been a while since I have had a good stout, so I decided to pick up a couple samples for my trials.  Yesterday, I was by Gail's Hops and Grapes and snagged this bomber of Bear Republic's Big Bear Black Stout.  This beer poured with the expected rich black color and was followed by a creamy tan-colored head that left beautiful lacing on the glass as I worked my way through this monster.  The initial aroma consisted of roasted coffee and some caramel notes with some very mild but subdued hop character.  This beer has a fantastically sweet malty character with very little presence of the 68 IBU provided by the hops in this recipe.  The hops only seem to be present in the mildly roasted and bitter after taste of this huge beer. 

My next homebrew is gonna be a beer of this style, but I'm shooting for the upper end of the alcohol scale.  I'm hoping to dial mine in around 11% and also push the IBU up to around 90.  It's gonna be the biggest beer I have brewed to date with a 21.5 lb grain bill and a pound of molasses to finish it off.  I hope to brew this upcoming beast before the weekend is over.  I'm not sure exactly which day I will get to brew yet.... we'll see...

Rogue XS Imperial Stout

Here we are at #100. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity this year to taste 100 new beers. I wanted #100 to be special, and I'm quite excited to have been able to locate a bottle of the Rogue XS Imperial Stout (2008) on a trip to Charlotte yesterday afternoon. This was not my original pick for my 100th beer, but when I found this one yesterday, it replaced my other option in a heartbeat.  I have been impressed with my experiences this year with Rogue's beers.  The Imperial Stout is one I have been looking for without any luck, and when I spotted this one, I bought it right away.  It was the last bottle available at the location where I found it. 

This beer poured a deep black color with a chocolate tan colored thick and foamy head.  The aroma of roasted barley was dominant.  Being an imperial stout at 11% ABV, I decided to let this one warm up to 55° before really digging in, and I believe it was a good decision.  The alcohol is not evident on the tongue and the rich full-bodied roasted malt blast has an intriguing velvety mouth feel created by the addition of the rolled oats in this brew.  I still can't seem to find anything negative to say about Rogue Ales.  In my humble opinion, this imperial stout is as good as any and a standard to which others should be held.  I'm possibly biased by my love of stouts and clouded by the fact that this one is half empty at this point in my writing ;)

I don't know if anyone at Rogue ever sees what I write, but I'd love to make a suggestion for a future XS beer.  One of my favorite Rogue Ales is the Dead Guy.  The Double Dead Guy is pretty good too.  I think someone should craft a new XS called DeadGuy³ for those of use who teeter on the brink of our mortal existence :)

Cheers and check back for my next post where I'll choose my 10 overall favorite beers from the first 100...

Siberian Night Imperial Stout

Here's another catch from the mixed sixer wall at the World Market... Thirsty Dog Brewing Company's Siberian Night Imperial Stout.  My last trip to the World Market produced a couple new faces on the shelf, and this is one I hadn't seen there before.  I haven't had an imperial stout in a while so I decided to give this one a try.  Imperial stouts, by nature, are rather high in alcohol, and this one is no different at 9.7% ABV. 

This beer poured the expected coffee black color with a rather rich and dark head that maintained itself very well through the entire drink.  The roasted malts in this beer are rather dominant in the flavor and the IBU rating of 58 indicates the hop punch provided by this beer.  This beer, as with many like it, seems to be best consumed at 55°-58°.  At this temperature, the alcohol flavor subsides and the malts and hops really stand up and shout.  The roasted flavor of this stout is above average.  From the bottle:

Imperial Stouts are by far the "GRAND - DADDY" of all stouts.  They are very, very dark and rich, with a deep-roasted, satisfying flavor.  Siberian Night is made in this tradition.  It is creamy and full-bodied, with a complex character from generous amounts of roasted, toasted, and caramel malts.  For those who demand flavor, this is the perfect libation. 

This is a beer you should check out for sure :)

Clipper City – Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout

This is the first really warm day we have had this spring. I just finished mowing the yard and decided to sit down with a beer and cool off. It's 85 degrees outside and I worked up a little sweat in the yard. Oddly enough, I didn't decide to have a nice refreshing summertime beer. I wanted to try the Heavy Seas Peg Leg Imperial Stout by Clipper City Brewing Company.

From the website:

A dry imperial stout with rich black color and aromas of roasted coffee, molasses, dark chocolate, toffee and caramel.  Rich, powerful, and lingering.

ABV: Approximately 8%

This is one of the richer imperial stouts I have tried lately, but I'm coming into a time of year where I won't drink a lot of stouts and porters.  I still have a few left in my sampling stash, but I probably won't start buying these again until the fall.  I love stouts and porters, but to me, these are cold weather drinks for the most part.  I like lighter colored beers in the summer months that aren't so heavy in the glass.  Some of these stouts and porters are like a meal in a glass :)