Underdark Release: February 1, 2014 (Intuition Ale Works)

Intuition Ale Works is gearing up for their annual release of Underdark, an Imperial bourbon-barrel aged stout. The release will be on Saturday, February 1, though members of their Mug Club will have the opportunity to buy bottles of Underdark the night before.

Before we get into the details of the event, let's make sure we know what Underdark is...

Legends tell of the Underdark, a vast dark and dangerous place where few brave souls have journeyed, and from which even fewer have returned. Journeying through the unforgiving terrain where cruel creatures lurk within the dark caves is not for the faint of heart, and neither is this drink. It is for the brave who journey fearlessly into the dark void to battle true darkness. Let the mead halls forever echo with the sounds of praise for the warriors who dared travel the Underdark.

Bottles will go on sale at 12pm on Saturday, and Intuition will be shutting down King Street, creating a block party for the event. There is a 2 bottle limit, and sales are cash only ($15/bottle). So, you'll want to arrive early and stop at the ATM on the way.

To make the event even more exciting, Intuition will be serving Underdark on tap along with a limited quantity from last year's batch to allow folks to conduct a side-by-side tasting of the two releases.

There will also be guest beers on tap and local food trucks to keep the party going. Intuition Ale Works is located at 720 King Street. The event is from 12pm-9pm with parking along the street.

7venth Sun Root Down Stout

Brewery: 7venth Sun Brewing Co.
Location: Dunedin, FL
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 8.3%

7venth Sun is a young brewery that held its grand opening less than two years ago. However, with the owners having past experience working for breweries like Anheuser-Busch, Sweetwater, and Cigar City, there's no shortage of beer knowledge and brewing credentials. Oh yeah, and to up the ante, all their servers are certified cicerones! 

I visited 7venth Sun over the Thanksgiving Holiday for their bottle release of Root Down Stout. I was fortunate enough to meet up with a good friend, Alan (@SuwanneeRefugee) who was the one who originally tipped me off about the release. I've said it before, but if there's one thing I love about the craft beer culture more than the beer, it's the people. Good beer is almost always accompanied by good people. Now back to the beer...

This particular bottle is labeled no. 289/500. Root Down Stout is an Imperial Stout brewed with sweet potato and spices aged on vanilla bean. The label is simple, but appealing. There's an "indie" vibe about the design that screams "Drink Local." I appreciate that.

The pour is black with a tan head that keeps its retention.

The aroma is strong coffee, caramel, and allspice.

The taste is full of coffee--bold and dark roasted. The coffee is followed by a creamy sweetness (possibly from the sweet potatoes) and a spicy finish. The more I sipped on this beer to find the sweet potato and vanilla, the more I got lost in the roastiness of the coffee. There's a slight acidic aftertaste (probably from the coffee) and a mild kick from the booze. But as much as I tried, I couldn't taste the sweet potatoes or vanilla.

This is a full bodied beer. No doubt about it. The mouthfeel is very creamy, almost frothy, at times. This is your thickest, darkest, boldest latte at its best.

Overall: I think this would do well to sit for a year in the cellar. The flavor profile is nice as it is, but I would like to see the various layers become more apparent on the palate. I really didn't detect the sweet potato because the coffee and spices are so overpowering at this point. Cellaring would do this beer good.

Cheers!

Grasslands Tally-Ho! CaraRye Amber (First Batch)

Brewery:  Grasslands Brewery
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Style: Amber
ABV: 6.2%

Look out Tallahassee! Grasslands Brewery is set to open sometime in 2014 and my prediction is that they will shift the Tally craft beer culture once they do. Grasslands is an environmentally-friendly brewery that uses organic and locally grown ingredients whenever possible

Today, I am reviewing Tally-Ho! CaraRye Amber, which I received through the Grasshoppers Club (more on that later). Tally-Ho! CaraRye Amber is brewed entirely with Tallahassee-grown Cascade hops, caramelized malt and rye.

Here are my tasting notes...

Tally-Ho! CaraRye pours a murky amber with a slight head that fades quickly. This is definitely on the darker side of amber ales and resembles more a brown ale.

The nose is incredibly full. I get a lot of malt, caramel, and candied fruits. I also pick up a spiced scent from the rye, but everything is overshadowed by the intense malt aromas.

The flavors of Tally-Ho! CaraRye are surprisingly complex based on what I was getting from the nose. Yes, this beer has a strong malt flavor profile, but it's eloquently balanced by subtle citrus notes and a very rye finish. You can almost pinpoint where the various malt, hops, and rye flavors pop incrementally along the palate. The front is an explosion of caramel-malt-sweetness and, as the beer travels towards the back, there's a quick burst of hop-citrus followed by a dry-and-slightly-bitter finish. The aftertaste is a mix of sticky caramel and spicy rye.

I'll be honest--this is a tough beer to describe in terms of flavors. At first, I wanted to say this is a malt-forward amber, but that would not be doing justice to the cascade hop and rye flavors that really complete this beer. Tally-Ho! CaraRye almost reminds me of New Belgium Fat Tire, if Fat Tire wasn't watery and lacking complexity.

Tally-Ho! CaraRye Amber is a medium bodied beer that goes down smoothly. Very drinkable. Knowing that this a variation of what Grasslands is trying to go with for their flagship, I get the sense that they're going to create a lot of craft beer converts. I particularly appreciate this beer because it doesn't quite fit as an amber ale, nor can it be labeled as a rye. It's sweet. It's spicy. It's dry. It's fresh.

I am already a huge advocate for this brewery and I've only had one of their beers. I like what the brewery is doing in terms of creating "Earth first ales." I like the commitment to using organic and locally grown ingredients. I appreciate the personal emails and messages I receive from the brewery as one of the members of the Grasshoppers Club. There was even a personal message that came with my beer today which expressed gratitude for being a supporter of their brewery. The letter provided detailed information about the beer I was about to consume and the story behind it. It's rare to come across a business that dedicates so much time and energy to building a rapport with local supporters.

I have no doubt that Grasslands Brewery will do quite well when the doors open in 2014. And you can be sure that I'll make the two hour drive for the grand opening.

Interested in becoming a Grasshopper?

If you're interested in getting your hands on any of Grasslands' brews before 2014, register for their Grasshoppers Club which is your ticket in to getting exclusive releases from the brewery before they open. As a Grasshopper, you'll be eligible to enter the monthly lottery drawings to sample beer and provide critical feedback that may contribute to the final product. You can also check out Grasslands on Twitter and Facebook for more information.

Cheers!

Divine Reserve 12

Brewery:  Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
Location: Houston, TX 
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 10%
Price: Unknown (Given as gift)

I received this bottle from @discipleofhops and need to give him a huge shout-out for sending me some Saint Arnold love.

I have reviewed a couple of Saint Arnold's brews and have mentioned the impact this brewery has had on the beer scene in Houston. The Divine Reserve series has had its own impact on the city as its not uncommon to hear of thousands of people calling off of work during the Divine Reserve releases. These are special release-single batch beers that usually sell out within hours of stores opening. Thus, waiting until after work to buy this beer just isn't a plan for success.

DR12 is an old ale recipe that actually came out of a 2011 homebrew competition. It pours an amber color with a slight white head.

The aroma is full of warm spices and there's a hint of funk on the nose. If I didn't know the style, I would almost think this is a farmhouse ale given given the spicy notes. Still, there is a malt backbone in the aroma that makes sense with this style.

The taste is not what I expected. The body is quite malty. Syrupy even. There are strong notes of molasses and caramel that are nicely balanced by a Belgian profile on the finish. My guess is Saint Arnold used a Belgian yeast strand in this beer. As this beer warms, there's a candied cherry  finish with a  sherry/boozy aftertaste.

Overall, this is a good beer, but isn't what I would expect from an old ale. This one seems a little more experimental to cleanly fit the old ale label. And while I think this is one of the weaker releases from the series, it's still work picking up if you have a chance to do so.

Saint Arnold Sailing Santa

Brewery:  Saint Arnold Brewing Co.
Location: Houston, TX

Style: American IPA/Blend
ABV: 7%
Price: Unknown (Given as gift)

Texas' oldest craft brewery, Saint Arnold has literally helped define Houston's craft beer scene. In fact, Saint Arnold is what I refer to as my personal gateway brewery. I owe my craft beer allegiance to this brewery. I am forever a fan and advocate of this brewery!

I moved to Houston right out of college in 2007 and "craft beer" was not anywhere on my radar. Once settled, there were two Texas breweries that I took a liking to: Shiner and Saint Arnold. Both have important places in my beer journey, but I credit the latter for my love of craft beer.

Unfortunately, craft beer can be expensive and I was just a budding professional on a humble teacher's salary. Luckily, Saint Arnold held affordable $5 brewery tours every Saturday (the brewery has since moved locations, grown significantly, and now holds daily brewery tours for $7). It was at these tours that I began learning about hand-crafted beer; and it was there, in the middle of their brewery tour, standing beside a few hundred pounds of barley, that I became a born-again beer drinker.

Now that we've gone down memory lane and tears have all but dried on my cheeks, let's get to today's review.

Image taken from saintarnold.com

Sailing Santa is a seasonal blend of their Elissa (IPA) and Christmas Ale. The beer pours a nice copper/amber color. The head thins quickly and leaves a minimal lacing around the glass.

The aroma is a great blend of sweet malts and earthy hops. Given that Saint Arnold has labeled this beer as an IPA, I would say the aroma is a bit incongruent to the typical aroma of an IPA.

This beer is malt-forward. Again, I think it's mislabeled. The taste and aromatic profile fit more as a winter warmer in my opinion. The front flavors are all malt, caramel, toffee, and maybe a little maple syrup. The hop profile from the Elissa IPA portion of the blend are mild and subtle. Pine sneaks in towards the finish of this, which is also a tad dry. I do pick up on the cinnamon that was apparently added to the 2012 version. It's a pleasant flavor that lingers nicely.

Overall, this is a solid winter beer, but it's just not an IPA. I understand that Saint Arnold wants to capitalize on the blend which uses Elissa IPA, but it disappoints if being compared to true IPAs. Style aside, this is an enjoyable blend that's highly drinkable and perfect for the season. As I said above, this reminds me more of an earthy winter warmer. I appreciate the subtle hops in this beer, but the prevailing flavors are the heavier malt profiles and warming spices.

Sweetwater Dank Tank The Gimp 2013

Brewery:  Sweetwater Brewing Co.
Location: Atlanta, GA
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 10.3%
Price: $7.99/22oz

The Dank Tank Series is an experimental series in which this Atlanta brewery stretches its creative mind and taps into a fun, creative, and riskier side of brewing. I appreciate the Dank Tank Series because these beers are exactly the type of products every beer geek fantasizes his or her own brewery producing. These beers are crazy and cool. The Dank Tank is full of strange and intriguing concoctions that, if nothing else, are imaginative, providing a memorable beer-experience for consumers.

 Here's how the brewery describes the series:

A series of rarely release beers from the dark side of our brewers souls.  These one hitters are only released a few times are year and are in very short supply so get em while the getting is good.

If nothing else, the bottle is fun and worth to add to the collection. Here's the caption on the bottle:

The Gimp A love story! A wide open Old Ale, The Gimp gags up Alc.10.3% by Vol. and is bred to be stashed in a Dank dark cellar only to be brought out for your most “special” guests! This full-bodied Gimp gives off sweet scents of caramel and toffee and, as legend has it, warm sensations of malt balanced by low voltage doses of hops delivering a SHOCKER you’ll actually want to receive. Don’t keep The Gimp’s leash too tight, as he will mellow with age and become more experienced the longer he stays locked up in the cellar. Bring out The Gimp!

The Gimp pours a dark brown with deep amber tints when held to the light. The aroma is full of caramel, dark fruits, and burnt sugars. I also pick up some alcohol tones, but it's not profound enough to distinguish exactly what it is.

That's not the case in the flavor. There's an alcohol bite that comes with this beer. The flavor profile starts off with lots of fig and other dark fruits along with caramel and malt. But as I said, the booze is strong. There's an earthy-alcoholic dryness that dominates the palate. After a sip, my lips feel sticky and my throat dry.

This beer almost reminds me of a barleywine (due to the dark fruit flavors, booze, and burnt sugars) but it's way too dry and bitter to be one.

I'm not sure how I feel about this to be honest. The heat from the alcohol is a little too strong for me right now. I think this needs some time in the cellar to let the booze mellow and allow the other flavors to come forward more prominently. If you're going to try this, do yourself a favor and grab an extra bottle or two and store it away in your cellar (or as I call it, the master closet). I think this is going to be a winner in a year or so. For now, it's an interesting take on a difficult style. But in my opinion, it hasn't reached its peak yet.

One last thing. I am always conscious of the price of beer, which is why I list the price at the top of each of my beer reviews. Some people think the price doesn't matter. I guess they make more money than me. Price definitely matters.

As I stated in my post, "The Cost of Craft Beer," I don't appreciate breweries that hike prices on special releases simply because they are "special." Dank Tank The Gimp is affordable despite being a rare and limited release. So, if anyone from Sweetwater is reading this, thanks for brewing a limited-release beer that doesn't limit my budget.

Cheers!

Cigar City Jai Alai vs White Oak-Aged Jai Alai

 Brewery: Cigar City Brewing
Location: Tampa, FL
Style: IPA
ABV: 7.5%
Price: $10.99/6pk (Jai Alai) $9.99/4pk (White Oak Aged Jai Alai)

With the recent release of White Oak Aged Jai Alai, I have been itching to pair it with the regular release and share my notes and critiques of each. Also, this was just a good excuse for me to pour myself two beers simultaneously without looking like I have a drinking problem.

Most importantly, I am excited to record my thoughts on how much Jai Alai changes after being aged on the white oak. I have always loved Jai Alai by itself and am curious to see how the white oak variation compares.

We'll start with the regular release of Jai Alai.

Jai Alai pours an orangish-red hue with a strong head that remains in the glass and puts out a pretty good lacing.


The aroma is beautiful. Lots of grapefruit and lemon with a malt sweetness underneath. This is exactly what I imagine a citrus farm smelling like as you walk through the rows of fruit-bearing trees (I've never been to a citrus farms, but that's how I imagine them).

The flavor comes at you with a stinging sharpness from the hops. There's no doubting this is an IPA and Cigar City doesn't shy away from the bitterness. Once Jai Alai passes the front of the palate, there is a subtle yet distinct malt-sweetness that quickly fades in a dry and bitter finish. After a couple sips, I noticed that the beer started to taste sweeter. It's almost as if my taste-buds adjusted.

Now we move to the White Oak Jai Alai:

The White Oak-Aged Jai Alai pours a cloudy yellow with hints of amber.

The aroma is dominated by the oak. The citrus notes still come forward, but they are mellowed in comparison and a bit more complex. There's a nice scent of vanilla that comes through on this as well. There's a lot going on, but I really like how this one smells.

What a great flavor! The body is much creamier than the regular version of Jai Alai. Like most IPAs after they've been aged, the citrus/hops are mild and balanced by a malted sweetness. The hops are not nearly as prolific as the regular release, but the flavors are balanced and enjoyable. The vanilla finish is nice. Smooth. And unlike other beers that have been oaked, there's not a smokiness that comes through prevalently with other beers (see Oaked Arrogant Bastard).

Which Do I Prefer?

Tasting these together really presents a nice opportunity to pick up on the different complexities in each beer, and analyze the affect of aging Jai Alai on the white oak. Cigar City pulls both off excellently. Each variation offers something unique to patrons looking for something bitter, hoppy, and complex to satisfy the palate.

Although I think it's probably a bit silly to name one a "winner" over the other, if I had to choose, I would go with the regular Jai Alai over the aged version. When fresh, Jai Alai is a superb IPA with a wonderful citrus profile that's simply exceptional.

But as I said, it's silly to name one a winner because they are both great beers; each presents a unique beer-tasting experience for the consumer. If you have a chance to taste both, I recommend you trying these together and see for yourself how the oak changes the flavor profile of the original.

Bold City Roxy's Finest Imperial Cream Ale

Brewery: Bold City Brewery
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Style: Imperial Cream Ale
ABV: 10.1%
Price: $10/4pk

Jacksonville's craft beer scene has exploded in the last few years, thanks in large part to Bold City for introducing quality hand-crafted beer to North Floridians. Since Bold City opened its doors just a few years ago, Jacksonville has experienced a nice increase in the number of breweries, beer bars, and stores--and the beer scene has only just begun! Bold City has been, and still is, the foundation of Jacksonville's craft beer identity.

Roxy's Finest Imperial Cream Ale was released in four packs of 12 ounce bottles. This is a treat for locals because the brewery mainly sells only bombers and 12 packs. So this smaller package is a welcomed sight for people who don't want to commit to a 12-pack or are scared off by bombers.

Roxy's Finest pours a nice and hazy golden hue. The aroma is lacking--there's just not much there. There's a faint smell of yeast and alcohol, but it's not all that arousing.

The taste is full of booze. It actually took me a few sips to distinguish anything beyond the mildly sweet alcohol flavor. Once I was able to move past the booze, I got hints of banana, yeast, and malt, but the flavor profile is pretty one-dimensional and way too boozy. The mouthfeel is quite syrupy, which is to be expected with a cream ale. Unfortunately, the taste isn't desirable enough for me to want my mouth coated with syrup of this flavor.



This imperial cream ale is pretty much a stronger version of their Killer Whale Cream Ale. The profiles are nearly identical; the imperial simply has more of everything. So, if you are a fan of Killer Whale, you'll probably enjoy this. Sadly, I am not a fan of either.

I appreciate what Bold City has attempted with Roxy's Finest Imperial Cream Ale. I like that they are venturing out and experimenting with what they already have. And despite my tasting notes, I will never tell a brewery to shy away from high gravity beers. Bold City is certainly going in the right direction; this one just didn't do it for me. Regardless, Bold City has become a local staple and I look forward to trying whatever concoctions they come up with in the future.

Westvleteren XII US Release: Gone before it was ever Released?

Westvleteren XII is regarded by many as being the best beer on this planet. It has a perfect 100 rating on both beeradvocate.com and ratebeer.com. It has been voted as the #1 beer by several beer and consumer polls. This Belgian Abbey is brewed by monks (literally) and has been making the world's highest rated beer since 1940.
Westvleteren XII has never reached American soil (legally) until now. Less than 8000 six packs, or gift packs (each six pack will include two souvenir glasses), have been distributed to the US and many of these gift packs will be sold at the chain, Total Wine and More for a whopping $85--many believe this is actually a good deal.
As the news spread, many people jumped with joy in anticipating. I imagine beernerds around the country were shouting, "The Westies are coming! The Westies are coming!" No longer do little boys and girls need to hope for a beer trade with Santa. On December 12, anyone who stands in line at their local TWM at least has a shot at purchasing their own six pack of the Holy (again, literally) juice. At least that's what everyone was told.
After announcing TWM would be selling the beer in 9 states on 12.12.12, some stores actually sold some of the gift packs early. Beerstreetjournal.com reported that several Total Wine stores sold the gift packs on December 1st--nearly two weeks early! This has upset many and left others wondering whether the stores will even have any to sell on the 12th.
Like I have seen so many times, this looks like a classic case of store employees taking cases home for themselves and selling the rest to their friends. It's another example of a highly anticipated beer release going out to the people on the inside, leaving the average folk like you and me left with our hearts broken and mouths watering.