2-4-T: Choc Brewing Wheat Ale & Rogue Black IPA

1. Choc Brewing Wheat Ale

I was confused when I saw this beer in my last "beer of the month" package because of the name of the brewery. On the label on the right, for instance, I feel like the placement of the text needs to be swapped. A first glance looked like "1919" was the brewery and "Choc Beer" was the style. Apparently, "choc" comes from a recipe handed down from Native Americans to Italian immigrants. What I DO like about the label is that it includes back story on the brewery, but only a chapter. Apparently, they have six beers in a series, each of which has a different chapter on the brewery. Anyway, on to the beer, an American wheat. As you can see in the picture, the beer is pretty opaque for a wheat beer, which is what I like. Not only is it unfiltered, but it's also bottle-conditioned for full flavor. And it definitely has some nice flavor for a basic wheat beer. This is just a basic style done well, which would make a great warm weather beer as well as a sessionable beer. I would absolutely drink this over any of the mass-marketed Blue Moons, Shock Tops or Hoegaardens.

Overall Rating: B+

2. Rogue Dad's Little Helper Black IPA

Well call me predictable but I'd try anything new that Rogue put on the shelves. Oh, Rogue Funky Cheese Ale? Yeah, I'll buy that. Rogue put out a "Dad's Little Helper" before, a malt liquor. Real classy. This time, they jumped on the bandwagon and put out a Black IPA. Having tried a handful of these, I've started ranking my favorites (Avery's New World Porter probably still sits at the top). This one probably falls somewhere in the middle. The level of carbonation was a little strong, I thought, for the style, but I think the combination of malts could have used a boost in flavor. It needed some extra oomph (technical beer industry word) to make it darker, bolder and smoother. The hoppiness was there, but that also could have used some oomph. Not my favorite from Rogue, but I'll always be loyal.

Overall Rating: B

2-4-T: Dogfish Head-Sony Collaborations

1. Dogfish Head Bitches Brew

Famously featured on the controversially short-lived show on the Discovery Channel, this beer from Dogfish Head was a collaboration with Sony Legacy Recordings in honor of the 40th anniversary of the innovative album from Miles Davis. Bitches Brew was a game-changing album, starting the jazz fusion movement. The fusion idea was what inspired the recipe for this beer, combining about 75% imperial stout with 1/4 of honey beer with gesho root. The only bad thing about drinking this beer was the thought in the back of my head that, once it's gone, I almost definitely will not ever get to drink it again. Trying to live in the moment, with my friend Rob, while listening to a bit of the Bitches Brew album, I soon realized this was one of the most solid high-ABV stouts I've ever had. The portion of honey beer was very faint in the taste but it's clear that it balanced the beer out and made it very smooth. Aside from the great taste, the smoothness and creamy mouthfeel of the beer are really what made it stand out. I think Miles Davis would be proud.

Overall Rating: A

2. Dogfish Head Hellhound on My Ale

This beer was the second collaboration between Dogfish Head and Sony Legacy Recordings. It celebrated the 100th birthday of the legendary blues musician Robert Johnson. Though I wasn't as familiar with Robert Johnson as Miles Davis, I figured I would suck it up and try the beer anyway because I'm dedicated. The description of the beer was right up my alley: a "super-hoppy" ale, hitting 100 IBU (the maximum number of bittering units), using centennial hops. Robert Johnson's mentor was a man by the name of Blind Lemon Jefferson, so they used lemon peel and flesh to intensify the citrus of the hops. So basically a really intense imperial IPA. Call me crazy, but I think this beer was a little too intense for me. I got a lot more of the underlying bready malt flavor than the hops, which wouldn't surprise me if I had aged this beer for a while and the hoppiness had settled, but this beer was just released last month. I struggled to find the lemon citrus flavor because it was masked by a harsh alcohol taste. It was drinkable but a little heavy for my taste. But considering the name, I suppose that's appropriate.

Overall Rating: B

2-4-T: The Bruery Mischief & Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S.

1. The Bruery Mischief

As a young man that grew up with a spotless record, never having come even close to any semblance of trouble, it was difficult for me to connect with the name of this beer from The Bruery, one of my favorite U.S. breweries. But I drank it anyway. I gotta say that I'm not big on the golden ale style. I find that too much carbonation is unpleasant. Although this beer was pretty bubbly, it may be the exception to that exception. I mean look at that head and you can see the bubbles in the bottle, but this beer was fantastic, great for a nice summer day. There was nothing out of the ordinary in terms of the flavor. The typical zesty grapefruit, sour notes and hoppy taste were there, but the key was that they all came through in an excellent balance. Can a beer be really crisp and really smooth at the same time? Apparently. And wow...this beer is 8.5%? Could have fooled me...

Overall Rating: A-

2. Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher

B.O.R.I.S. = Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout. Every word in that acronym alone would entice me to buy a beer, but this also had a "2008 GABF (Great American Beer Festival) Gold Medal" sticker on the neck. So uhh...yea...ring it up. I've never had anything from Hoppin' Frog out of Ohio so this seemed like a good starting point. I'll preface this by saying that I hope there was something wrong with this beer (contaminated by sunlight, bad batch, etc.), because this sure as hell didn't taste like a gold medal winner to me. The mouthfeel was all wrong - as you can see, there was barely any head. I've tasted hints of soy sauce in beer before, but it seemed a little excessive in this one. Above all, however, was the extremely strong and unpleasant bitterness in this beer. I know that sounds odd because I love bitter beer and in a beer like this, the bitter chocolate taste can be great. But it wasn't in this one. It dominated the beer and lingered in the aftertaste. I'm definitely going to try another bottle of this in hopes that this was a fluke...but until then...yes, B.O.R.I.S., you indeed did crush me.

Overall Rating: C-

3-4-T: Brewdog Beers

I'm reviewing Brewdog not twice...but thrice...this evening with 3 beers I've had from these whacky Scots recently...enjoy.

1. Brewdog Avery Brown Dredge

Well I've touched upon the extreme angle that Brewdog has in their line of beers before and it's clearly evident in this...pilsner? Ok, maybe this isn't one of their craziest beers, but Brewdog does have a baseline of regular beers such as an amber ale, IPA and fruity ale. This beer, a limited release, is a step above, an imperial pilsner at 7.5%. I mentioned it last week when reviewing the very same style brewed by Dogfish Head: I like to see what breweries that produce extreme beers can do with a basic style. Overall, this pilsner definitely didn't disappoint. It had some very robust hoppy bitterness right off the bat from the smell to the initial taste to the finish. The level of flavor wasn't what bothered me but rather the actual taste was just a bit off. I found it a little too sharp - peppery, grassy and a somewhat harsh carbonation. It wasn't unpleasant, just a tad off for me. It didn't slow me down from finishing it though. I'll take it over any pilsner...except Dogfish Head's My Antonia. :)

Overall Rating: B+

2. Brewdog Paradox Smokehead

Brewdog aged this imperial stout in a number (17?) of different types of whisky casks. This one used Smokehead whisky casks. I've never had Smokehead whisky, but it's an Islay scotch that's apparently heavy on the peat. It definitely comes through in the beer. The smell of smoky peat will paralyze you...which could be good or bad depending on how you feel about smoky peat. Personally, I love it. The only thing that I hesitate about with scotch-aged beer is that some of them just absorb the scotch flavor, which overpowers the flavor of the beer, resulting in what kind of tastes like watered down scotch. Although the scotch flavor and aroma is dominant in this beer, you can still taste some underlying chocolate malt. The only thing I can critique about this beer is the mouthfeel. As you can see in the picture, there's not really any head on this beer. I think salts in the scotch thin it out a little too much. I'm not looking for a nitro-like Guinness creamy mouthfeel but a little bit thicker would be nice.

Overall Rating: A-

3. Brewdog Tokio

In my notebook when tasting this beer, I wrote down, "This beer isn't f'in around." This is one of the strongest beers I've had at 18.2% ABV. So no...it's not f'in around. [Side note: I do have a bottle of Brewdog's Tactical Nuclear Penguin, their 32% beer...I'm saving that one for a rainy day] This beer is definitely one of the most interesting ones I've ever had, mostly due to the ingredients used in the stout: jasmine and cranberries. I could definitely taste the cranberries in this beer. First off, there was a surprising amount of head considering how strong this beer is. There was a copious amount of sweet alcohol and dark fruit on the nose with a gorgeous reddish hue. The dominant flavor I got from this beer was a sweet cranberry taste with a strong alcohol warmth. The sweet alcohol taste transitions into a nice oaky finish. This is far from an everyday beer...maybe a "once a year" beer...that you share with a friend. But it packs a LOT of flavor. And it's a good thing I cracked it open because the best before date was 12/14/19.

Overall Rating: A-