Championship Beer Blogging

Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, 25.4 OZ, 5.5% ABV, $14.99

The Pour: Rich pour, nice tall head in my goblet. Settled relatively quickly.

The Color: Opaque, black/brown, upon first viewing. It was so think, I put a 1.5-million candlepower lantern behind the glass, and I could barely see it. The base tone is actually reddish and the clarity is perfect. No detectable haze whatsoever.

The Nose: Chocolate, malt. I know - shocker, right? Not much else.

The Taste: The first pour resulted in a disappointingly thin mouth-feel. The whole first glass kind of annoyed me. Fifteen bucks for this?! Then I got caught up in a couple things, and the second glass didn't get poured until about 45 minutes later. Much better. I've been savoring this for an hour and a half, and it keeps getting better. Just like last year with the Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence, the lesson is, don't let this get fridge-cold — I'd say no lower than 50 degrees and you'll be fine.

The Verdict: B. A good beer, but not spectacular. Certainly worth a shot, but it is pricey.

Bud Points: 2.33.

Next!

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, 12 OZ, 12% ABV, $3.50
Yeah, yeah, I know, but holy crap this beer is good.

The Pour: Thick and meaty.

The Color: Black as tar, brown head, completely opaque even to that lantern I have.

The Nose: Cardamom, raisins, earth, wood, coffee, caramel, vanilla, and some fruit I can't quite put a name on. This may be the most complex beverage I have ever had.

The Taste: Sweet and tart, very full mouthfeel. All of the aromas carry over into the flavor, and more. Enough hops to provide balance, but sweetness is the dominant sensation. A brandy-like warmth (and alcohol-presence) accompanies each sip as the perfect carbonation tickles your tongue. This is, in all seriousness, an experience.

The Verdict: A+. This is a tough call, but I think I have to make this my new favorite beer, narrowly edging out Péché Mortel. I need to buy a lot of this and age it in the cellar. Meantime, they'd better get their asses in gear and arrange for the next shipment of the palo santo wood. They can never stop making this beer.

Bud Points: 2.40 (4.73 total).

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout, 12 OZ, 9.1% ABV, $2.25

The Pour: Standard thickness in the pour, big head that almost overflowed.

The Color: Again, black as tar, brown head, and completely opaque to 1.5 million candlepower.

The Nose: I'm getting very little out of this. A little molasses, some coffee. Slight vanilla?

The Taste: I don't know, maybe my nose is shot already, but this packs a flavor that the nose just doesn't predict. The perfect balance of malt and bite from the carbonation and hops. Textbook stout of the Imperial variety.

The Verdict: A. Great beer, great value. Makes me want to knock the Sam Chocolate down to a C, just because of the strong disparity in buzz/buck value.

Bud Points: 1.82 (6.55 total).

Sunday beer boredom

So, Bill and I have been brewing for a few years now, and we've always used Warsteiner bottles, because that's one of my favorite winter beers (the Dunkel).

They're a pain in the ass to cap, and that leads to one or two duds per batch, but the last two times we used them we each had to pour out 12+ bad bottles. That's unacceptable.

I since switched to drinking beers using the more common bottle used by Sam Adams, Saranac, Dogfish, and pretty much every other craft brewer. At BJs yesterday, I was looking for a case of Sam Lager, but they only had the mixed Winter case.

Four each of Lager, Winter, Old Fezziwig, Holiday Porter, Cream Stout, and Cranberry Lambic. I didn't really want that, but there was nothing else that interested me, so I figure that would be an interesting beer-blogging experiment, if nothing else, especially on the heels of Toast's little experiment last week. Of course, that was a little unfair, pitting a rookie up against the Master, but still the key point was this: This is a perfect example of what can go wrong when American craft brewers recklessly expand their catalog...

Absofuckinglutely. Every time I see that ad where they ask people how many beers Sam Adams makes, and the answer is 27 or something, I just cringe. At least 20 of those are a waste of time.

So, in short order:
1) Sam Adams Lager - B. The perfect "standard beer." You know that if you walk into the divy-est of dives, with tap after tap of Coors, Coors Light, Michelob, MGD, Bud, Bud Light, you'll at least be able to get Sam in a bottle, if not on tap. And you can enjoy your evening.

2) Old Fezziwig - B-. Darker Sam Adams. A little maltier. OK.

3) Holiday Porter - D. Really? That was a porter?

4) Winter Lager - D. Watery, and a touch of cinnamon. Winter my ass.

5) Cranberry Lambic - F. Putrid fruit juice, with a hint of beer. Never, I repeat never, buy a "lambic" or otherwise fruit-adjuncted beer from an American mass-market brewer. No sense of taste, class, or moderation. Beer for chicks who don't like beer.

6) Cream Stout - B-. Not bad. Creamy and Stouty, as labeled. Just mediocre in its category, that's all.

UPDATE: Fridge, in his drunken-Giant-fan revelry, went and gave the Holiday Porter a 4.

Let me revisit this, in full-blown beer-blogging style:

Sam Adams Holiday Porter, 12 OZ, 5.8% ABV

The Pour: Standard pour, thick head, but very lightly colored for a porter.

The Color: Completely opaque. I held it up to the brightest light I have here in the cave, and see that the base color is reddish.

The Nose: A little burnt toast over malt. A touch of coffee?

The Taste: Again, the burnt toast, with a slightly creamy mouthfeel. A good amount of hop bite, seems out of balance with the style.

The Verdict: C. The second impression worked out a little better, but still, nothing to write home about. Beer. If you handed me one of these, I wouldn't complain. Not what I would want when thinking of a "holiday porter" though.

OK, maybe I was too flip the first time, but I'm still not seeing it.

That's OK, different strokes. But I'm glad I revisited it. And I'll make sure it's the first beer I drink tomorrow before the MNF game, just to see what else I can get out of it.