Sierra Nevada Narwhal imperial stout

It would seem I’m late to the party on Narwhal, Sierra Nevada’s imperial stout. I’d never had this beloved brew until recently. Shame on me.

Emerging from the depths of oblivion, I finally know what everyone’s talked about with this brew, which sits at 93 on Beer Advocate.

Fittingly, the beer pours a midnight black, matching the dark chasms where its mysterious namesake dwells in the ocean. Deep aromas of dark chocolate and Chocolate malt dominate the nose of Narwhal, piercing through residual scents of vanilla cream, roasted coffee and figs. At 10.2 percent, it’s hard to ignore a warm, boozy bite at the end of each sniff. Cinnamon, charred wood and bittersweet cocoa nibs send you on your way home.

The beer offers a very dry mouthfeel and has a hard bitterness to it, no doubt aided by the use of high-alpha acid Magnum hops in the bittering process. English-bred Challenger hops are also used and are perfect for this type of UK-inspired dark ale with just a peep of earthy spiciness. Chocolate, Carafa and Caramel malts make for a bakeshop collection of tastes – think sweet rolls and freshly-made bread. While sweet caramel dances across every sip, there’s plenty of baked bread tastes and every sip finished with flavors of dark chocolate and roasted grain.

I’m keeping this on my radar for next year’s version.

Narwhal stats:

• Malt: Two-row Pale, Caramel, Chocolate, Honey, Carafa and roasted barley
• Hops: Magnum and Challenger
• Adjuncts/additives: N/A
• ABV: 10.2 percent
• Brewery: Sierra Nevada of Chico, California

+Bryan Roth
“Don’t drink to get drunk. Drink to enjoy life.” — Jack Kerouac

Leinenkugel Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout

It took me a long time to realize Leinenkugel made more than Sunset Wheat. I had just never seen anything other than the witbier-like brew in stores. I’m pretty glad that’s changed.

Yes, I know Leinenkugel is owned by SABMiller … and yes, I know Leinenkugel brews are more “crafty” than “craft.” But I’ll be damned if I didn’t just about fall in love with the Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout, which has an 86 on Beer Advocate.

I had a sample of this beer before during last summer’s trip to Milwaukee (including a barrel-aged version) and thought it was pretty good. Well, this year’s stout – bottled and all – was really good.

Stone Brewing / Iron Fist / Ken Schmidt Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout

If eating an Andes mint isn’t sufficient, this collaborative effort will allow you to drink it just fine. The Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout is utterly coated in a profile of chocolate and mint, but never entirely veers toward candy status thanks to a 9.6 percent ABV.

Smells of fresh mint are only slightly muddled by passing aromas of chocolate malt and cocoa, which are enhanced in the brew with natural additives. The flavor moves in reverse order, allowing this malt-forward brew to really showcase a dark chocolate taste before a sweet menthol-mint nips at the tongue. The finish of each gulp brought on a dryness of roasted grains that reminded me of Guinness.

Just when it seemed too late, a boozy warmth jumped into the fray, melting the chocolate and mint away with a pleasant heat of alcohol made sweet by the residual adjunct flavoring. This is an after-dinner treat wrapped in beer (bottle) clothing.

+Bryan Roth

Westbrook Brewing/Evil Twin Mini Growler

Be still my beating heart, I think I’m in love.

Not to be held against The Missus, but I’ve taken up a brief tryst with someone else who has captured my attention. Westbrook Brewing, which gave me liquid bliss of a Citra Rye pale ale and amazing farmhouse saison, has hit an absolute home run with Mini Growler imperial stout, a collaboration with Evil Twin. It’s got a 90 on Beer Advocate.

This brew is nothing short of impressive.

New Belgium Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout

Whereas Wolaver’s Altra Gracia coffee porter played up the coffee to the highest degree, New Belgium has hit the mark once again with its Lips of Faith series. Even though Wolaver’s brew was probably perfect for someone who loves coffee and may not be crazy about beer, I could see New Belgium’s Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout hitting the mark with just about anyone.

The brewery’s Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout offers much more balance – indicated by the name – and comes across as one of the better coffee-infused beers I’ve had. It’s currently got an 85 on Beer Advocate.

Why might this be a good ying to the yang of a Starbuck’s Venti, Non-Fat, No Foam, chai tea latte? Let’s get wired and hit the jump.

Mother Earth Silent Night

Note: Here’s a stocking stuffer-sized review for the holiday season.

Having been bottled just weeks ago, the bourbon heat of Silent Night offered a generous kick in its smell, although its warming effects on each sip were welcome. Black as coal hidden under the tree from the “naughty” list, touches of molasses and coffee strain to break through.

The flavor features hints of caramel and vanilla subdued by a pleasant chocolate sweetness which tries to offset the harsher liquor characteristics until the beer warms toward room temperature, really allowing the malt of this imperial stout to shine. While not for the faintest palates, you’re rewarded with a unique holiday experience perfectly attuned to the cold nights of the winter season.

+Bryan Roth

Sam Adams Five Crown Imperial Stout

In the battle between chocolate and booze, neither is a victor but everybody wins.

Such is the theme of Sam Adams Five Crown Imperial Stout, an excellent entry into the beer company’s Longshot homebrew competition line. It’s got an 85 on Beer Advocate.

This beer may kick your ass, but that’s a good thing. From the start, you have a great idea of what you’re getting with it. Five Crown pours midnight black with next to no head. A lighthouse isn’t sufficient to see through this beer.

Take a whiff and you find a wide range of aromas, including chocolate, raisin, fig and vanilla cream. And the booze. At 8.9 percent, this beer is nothing to sneeze at, but don’t let that number fool you. My impression was that this high-alcohol beer doesn’t smell like one, thanks to its heavy malt characteristic. The roasted grain gives Five Crown a great sweet counterbalance to the alcohol that even varied from one smell/sip to the next. You can have you cake and eat it too.

Which is a perfect segue into the flavor, which I found to be just as complex. Just like the beer’s aroma, the chocolate of the malt and alcohol flavor end up in a tango on your tongue, dancing around and leaving you with just a touch of bitter as it goes down. (That was dramatic, wasn’t it?) What surprised me the most was a trick played on my taste buds – some kind of remnant of berry. Is it the blend of chocolate and sweet malt? I don’t know, but it’s delicious.

I want to say there were some coffee-like aspects to this beer, but none that stood out worth noting. It’s just chocolate and booze slugging away at each other.

Hit the jump for my “Rate That Beer” sheet.

Out of town – Milwaukee (Part 2: The New Glarusing)

While I have no visual documentation regarding New Glarus, I can assure you any photo would involve me in the fetal position, crying tears of joy while yelling “mmmMMMMmmm” and patting my stomach. New Glarus is not available outside of Wisconsin, with the exception of one beautiful, fleeting moment I found it at the World Beer Festvial-Durham a couple years ago.

They had a java creme brulee stout and Simcoe-based double IPA. It was like an angel pissing on my tongue.

This was a big reason for my excitement of traversing the Wisconsin beer scene, which also included a stop at the Milwaukee Brew Fest. First, some quick thoughts on a few of the six New Glarus beers I tried…

Spotted Cow: How cool is it that a brewery has a farmhouse ale as one of its staple beers? So cool. Not to mention it’s a staple beer that’s conditioned in 12-ounce bottles. I never would think the average drinker would buy enough of this to warrant a year-round run, but it works for me. It pours clear and has a nice, easy funk smell to it that is certainly light enough to please any. It doesn’t come across as sour as Jolly Pumpkin’s Weizen Bam, which had just a little sourness that I consider easy-going. The taste hardly had any sour flavor and came across as crisp and smooth. Like sunshine on my tongue.

Moon Man: This is perhaps my favorite pale ale ever. Being a fan of hoppy beers, this falls perfectly in line with what I’d want from a hopped-up pale ale. It’s got a great smell of hop resin and a flavor that starts pretty calm and finishes with a pine quality. It’s well balanced enough for most beer drinkers, although I fear it might scare off some who want their pale ales to lack any powerful flavors. Well, who needs them anyway? I’ll take Moon Man.

Chocolate Abbey: It’s a dessert beer as far as I’m concerned. Some time ago I wouldn’t have thought a Belgian beer would brew well with chocolate, but by now, why wouldn’t it? While Belgian yeast give the beer it’s usual Belgian ester flavor, there was barely any fruit notes at all. The sweetness of the fruit/esters stayed and mixed well with the chocolate, creating a beer that quickly becomes a chocolatey wonder. The body is light, the flavor is thick. An interesting combination.

Milwaukee Brew Fest “taster”

As for the beer festival – also a win. You know it’s going to be a good time when there are never any lines for the Porta Potties. Also, this was the “taster” glass they give you…

‘Sconsin does it right. Some quick thoughts on great beers after the jump.

He’Brew’s Jewbelation 15

I needed something with a kick to get me through the Duke-UNC game last week, so I went with He’Brew’s Jewbelation 15. At 15 percent ABV, it’s kind of a steal for the $8 paid for it. Most craft brews at that high gravity would be about twice that much. To wit, it’s got a 90 on Beer Advocate.

While the alcohol flavor takes something away, what this is at its core is just a super malt bomb. The premise of the beer is its brewed with 15 malts and 15 hops, but I’d love to know the quantity and recipe timing for those hops because they don’t show up at all. If anything, I suppose this would fall under the category of an imperial stout, although the chocolate tones you’d normally get from that kind of beer aren’t terribly present with this one. Maybe a barleywine too? A specific categorization is hard to come by. Along with the malt, there could be some molasses and sugar, although not in a really sweet way.

Between the alcohol content and flavor profile, it reminded me slightly of a toned down World Wide Stout.