Old Stock 2: Review Boogaloo

North Coast Brewing Co.

in a shameful review from earlier in the summer, Big Love disgustingly wrote about North Coast's Old Stock Ale while he was drunk! disgraceful. I thought that I would revisit this beer and provide a level-headed opinion not tainted by pints upon pints of "..I looove you, man" juice. (I'm guessing that typing the words man and juice together will accidentally bring a few unsuspecting Google searchers to this site. if so .... hi, new friends! there's plenty more innuendo in our other reviews, so stay a spell!) well, I thought that I would be able to sample this with a fresh mind, but I'm pretty sure I was drunk by the third sip. I had to photograph this beer beside my hardbar bottles as at 12% ABV, it seemed appropriate. 12%?! I'm a little shocked that it was only 12%. I could smell the alcohol in this one from across my apartment. granted, my apartment isn't very big, but it's no yurt.

the 2008 Old Stock Ale poured the colour of iced tea with deep, deep orange hues. the head went away instantly and this bottle had little to no carbonation. I've read other reviews of this beer, including Big Love's, stating that the carbonation was very lively, so I'm not sure what's up with this. the aroma was straight up rum! very sweet with a very hot smell of alcohol. just taking a whiff of this one instantly relieved my headache. I was a bit startled when that alcoholic heat didn't come through as strong in the taste, in fact the Old Stock was very smooth. big sweet fruits (hi again, accidental Googlers!) were delivered at first and finished with some sour ones. I tasted plum, grapefruit, honey, vanilla, and some wood. as the beer warmed up, the ratio of these taste began to change. at room temperature, the wood tastes really dominated. although I loved this beer overall, I have to admit that I tossed the final two sips down the drain as I the woodiness was too much for me (I know, I know).

this beer is not going to be for everyone. at 12%, it's not really sessionable nor an easy-drinker. from watching documentaries on the Discovery Channel, I gather that Old Stock Ale is the beer equivalent of an African safari or a trip to India, more of an adventure than a holiday.

A-

60 minute IPA

Dogfish Head

A Haiku Revu:

Sweet caramel malt
Nuts and hops, yes nuts and hops
Over the top? No.

A-

Palo Santo Marron

Dogfish Head

The aged among us will remember that blind taste testing was all the rage in 'real' advertisements for all sorts of stupid consumer goods in the Eighties. For instance, we were always hearing that nine out of ten people preferred the taste of Pepsi over Coke, or vice versa if the ad was for Coca Cola. The idea, I guess, was that, in our blindness, the unbiased truth could be uncovered.

When deebag approached me about doing a blind review for the Tippler, I immediately expected a trick--was he going to give me Budweiser and, without my preconceptions, I would like it, and therefore be exposed as a fraud? Then who would ever trust my opinion again? My reputation as a fine and discerning critic would be destroyed before it was made!

I wasn't too sure, but, as it turns out, when someone puts a beer in front of me, my uncertainties are easily squashed by my lust for that sweet, sweet barley nectar, and I agreed instantly.

This beer was particularly intriguing to me because it was blackness personified; I held it up to the light and felt as if I was witnessing an eclipse. By some sort of sorcery, it seemed to absorb colour and deny light. It as a little scary, actually, but I was reassured that this was indeed beer by the brew's thick brown head.

Before I put my nose anywhere near the rim of my glass, I could smell the smokey, chocolaty aroma of this beer and, especially, the strong scent of alcohol. It smelled more like brandy than beer, really. I braced myself for an intense tasting experience.

It was indeed a strong beer. Tasting started with a very, very sweet malt, with aspects of vanilla, caramel, and over-ripe fruits (plums or cherries perhaps).
Then up came the alcohol (and oh how it comes!). Lastly, as one would expect, came the hops--not too strong, but big enough to complicate the deep sweetness of the malt and the heat of the alcohol. Such strong elements make for a long aftertaste, to be sure, and I felt like I was still chewing this beer for minutes after tasting.

I was pretty sure this wasn't Budweiser, and was not the least bit surprised when deebag revealed it as Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron which, at 12% alcohol, must be marketed and sold as malt liquor in the U.S. The Palo Santo Marron has an interesting origin, which you can read about here, if you are so inclined.

This is a superb beer; powerful and intense, with all sorts of things to taste. It is definitely not for everyone, but it is for me, so I recommend it highly.

A

take one down, pass it around...

I went a bit crazy last weekend at BC Liquor's massive signature store. this lil' deebag has a lot of work ahead of him.

I got 99 problems, but a beer ain't one

Brooklyn Brewery

I didn't plan on this being a 9/11 tribute beer, but while watching tonight's live Jay-Z benefit concert, the headliner asked the crowd before Brooklyn: Go Hard, "is Brooklyn in the house? is Brooklyn in the MFing house?". the crowd cheered to reveal that Brooklyn was indeed in the MFing house and to my surprise, Brooklyn was also in my MFing house too - in the form of Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout. I have kept this lone bottle in my fridge since last winter and finally all things pointed towards drinking it. I should denote that I generally love stouts. for me, the two best things about fall and winter are sweaters and stouts. so, I may be a bit biased in my opinion. that being said, let's look at this bottle.

this stout poured like most, extremely dark with a thick 1" head. the head wasn't as fluffy as say a Guinness, but it performed the same, in that it lasted the duration of the tasting. the aroma came off a bit sweeter than expected. there are, of course, chocolate notes along with some burnt coffee, plums, and caramel. with the colour of used motor oil and an ABV of 10% (!!), this imperial-style stout may send liver shivers to some, but I couldn't wait to put pint glass to mouth. the deep roasted malts hit you first, then the malts sweeten up for a second and there's a nice little bitterness at the finish. I definitely tasted coffee and some chocolate, but the finish left a Marmite taste with me (a good thing, in my books). I'm guessing that there is a huge amount of hops used in the brewing process to counteract the heavy roast malts, but it never feels that way. I liked the overall balance of tastes at play in this one and made this as smooth an imperial stout as I have had (even at 10%). a visit to the Brooklyn Brewery has now been added to my Brooklyn to-do list after first going to Williamsburg to make fun of hipsters and then seeing a Mos Def show in his home borough.

A

I should mention that in addition to this being a great beer, it is of exceptional value too. I picked up this 355ml bottle at a BC liquor store for $2.75. if you break that down into a price to alcohol ratio (and the Scottish side of me will), it is the same price as the cheapest beer sold in BC.

www.thejudicioustippler.com

telling people that your blog is called The Judicious Tippler is sometimes countered with, "The Whatlicious Whatler?". getting the blogspot web address stuck in their mindbox is even more difficult. so, we've made it a tiny bit more concise. although, you can still find us at thejudicioustippler.blogspot.com, we nabbed the dot com URL and you can also find us at thejudicioustippler.com. tell your friends!

Pelican Brewery's Doryman's Dark Ale

Pelican Pub & Brewery

the Tippler is switching up gears for this review as this will be our first blind beer tasting. friend of the Tippler and knit knut, Kat, was given a glass of Doryman's Dark Ale by Oregon's Pelican Brewery and was asked to share her opinions of it. it goes as follows.

Disclosure: I watched a handful of YouTube videos featuring baby orangutans before I sampled this beer. The footage of a six-month old ape clasping a French bulldog might have skewed the results in a positive direction.

Orangutans or no orangutans, I like brown ales, so I was pleased when Deebag poured me a dark beer, slightly darker and more opaque than Coca-Cola. There was a half-centimeter of dense yellowish head, which quickly thinned.

The beer was barely carbonated, with a pleasant smooth mouthfeel. Taking a sip, I instantly identified the dominant flavour as “beer”, with hints of caramel. The taste was full but faded quickly and cleanly to hops. The hoppy aftertaste faded quickly as well. This rich but mellow beverage is a great pick for early fall nights, when the nights are getting cooler and beer isn’t all about cooling off.

Fire up the YouTube! I would like some more orangutan videos and another glass of whatever this was!

A-

He'Brew Re'View

Shmaltz Brewing Company

my volunteer duties for this year's Vancouver International Film Festival led me to the Fraser Valley this weekend. while making a stop in Abbotsford (a/k/a Biblevania), I decided to check out the selection of beer at one of their liquor stores. to my extreme surprise, amongst the ho-hum offerings were 6-packs of New York's He'Brew Genesis Ale. not to my surprise, these 6-packs were covered in dust - this may be "the chosen beer", but obviously not by Abbotsfordians.

the Genesis Ale pours a clear dark orange and brown colour. the bubbles are not very lively and produce little head. for the head that is there, it dissipates quickly. the aroma is very bready (in this case, I'll go with bagely). there is something sour in the mix that pleasingly reminds me of a Belgian double or triple. the pleasant bageliness is backed up in the taste (although a little thin) but is quickly erased by the heaviness of the hops. the hops really coat your tongue with bitterness for a spell, but as more sips go down, the less the hops stay out to play. the shtick of the beer's name and packaging give this one some bonus points, but ultimately this is a highly drinkable beer that lacks a good malt to hop balance.

B