Resonant Constellation

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but I recently had an opportunity that is a perfect way to get started again. Before I begin, however, I must provide a bit of background.

A while ago, I had an excellent beer by Port Brewing called Old Viscosity. I loved this beer, in fact, at the time it was my third favorite that I’d ever had (only behind Chimay Blue Grand Reserve and Rochefort 10). I went to ratebeer.com, my favorite beer rating and information site to write a short review:

Pours very dark, nothing too special about the aroma, pretty standard decent beer. The proof, of course, is in the drinking. Roasted coffee beans are certainly present, a bit of yeast, something I can only describe as “scotch-like” smokiness, licorice, a bit of earthy oak, and a nice creamy note to top it off.

I also gave the beer a score of 4.1/5.0, which is extremely high for that site (most beers never get over 4.0-I gave Milwaukee’s Best a 0.5, which is as low as you can go). Imagine my elation when I discovered that there was another version of this beer called Older Viscosity. It is the same beer, but aged in Oak Bourbon Barrels for 6 months. It is the top rated currently available beer in its category (American Strong Ales). Of course, it is also relatively rare. I remember saying “I really wish I could get that, but I’ll probably never see it.”

Imagine my surprise when I walked into a local beer and pizza furnishing establishment, 1702, for lunch with my friend Chris. I spotted the words “Older Viscosity” scrawled up on their extensive “On Tap” boards. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I asked our waitress;

“Do you really have Older Viscosity?”
“Yes.”
“On tap?!”
“Yes!”
“Well, then, I’ll have to get that.”

It was a short wait, and when I got the glass, I was not disappointed. Here is my review from ratebeer:

On tap at 1702 in Tucson. Quite a bit like Old Viscosity, but the oak is definitely present, lending very smooth hints of vanilla to the already present espresso beans, toffee, caramel, copious amounts of chocolate, burbon, roasted malt, and perhaps a few hints of darker fruits, such as plum. It pours BLACK with a nice amount of brown head. How much more black could it be, you ask? None. None more black. The aroma is alluringly of licorice, chocolate, and malts, and the texture is extremely thick and rather smooth. Definitely gets better as it approaches room temperature, and is probably best just below room temperature. This beer was unbelievable.

This is probably the best beer I have ever had, and remember, I’ve had at least 98 different varieties to date. I give it a score of 4.6/5.0, or a 92%. There are a few cautionary notes, however. The next day, upon hearing my ravings about it, my good friend and neighbor, Pete, went to 1702 to try it himself. Apparently he didn’t like it. This, aside from being heresy, is evidence that Pete just hasn’t developed a palate for beer. What an unfortunate person. However, it is evidence that not everybody will like it. Also, this beer is 12% alcohol by volume, so it packs quite a punch. To say the least, I was…affected…quite a bit, despite having half of a medium pizza to chase it down. Still, if you somehow are lucky enough to stumble across it, I highly recommend getting a bottle or glass, especially if you are a beer lover.

Well, I’d like to get this in early (as opposed to last month) and fortunately I’ve recently had an excellent beer. This is Port Brewing’s “Old Viscosity,” an American Strong Ale. Port Brewing is also owned by Lost Abbey, one of who’s beers I’ve reviewed before. Though the Lost Abbey was very good, this was much better. Old Viscosity is also surpassed by the so-called Older Viscosity which is the same beer aged in Burbon Barrels for six months. I’ve never had the Older variant, but it sounds intriguing.

Old Viscosity pours very dark with a nice brown head. There’s nothing too special about the aroma, pretty standard decent beer-a little bready yeast, maybe some fruits, licorice in small measure. The proof, of course, is in the drinking. Roasted coffee beans are instantly present, a bit of the aforementioned yeast, something I can only describe as “scotch-like” smokiness, licorice, a bit of earthy oak, and a nice creamy note to top it off.

Of course, this beer is most notable not for the flavor, but for the palate-how it feels. Creamy and smooth are the first impressions, but as you let it move back along the tongue, it takes on a wonderfully chewy presence, much like well-kneaded bread. This beer is extremely present.

Scoring:
Aroma: 7/10
Appearance:4/5
Flavor:8/10
Palate:5/5
Overall:17/20
Score: 82/100

Okay, my March beer review is a little late, but well worth it. This month saw many great beers imbibed, including Dechutes Brewery’s Hop Trip, Newcastle Brown, and Delirium Nocturnum. The beer I chose, however, for this month’s review is the Rochefort Trappist 10 °C.  This is an abbey Quadrupel brewed by the monks of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy near the town of Rochefort.  15 monks live at the abbey and produce the beer through their incredibly secretive process.

Now to the beer itself: it has a dark brown hazy appearance with a substantial light brown head. The head took a while to fade and left nice lacing. The aroma is very complex with hints of various sweets, dried fruits, yeast, and a bit of alcohol. Flavor follows suit, but is much more intense with pronounced fruits and perhaps a hint of licorice. I’ve had other beers this complex, but none are nearly as well balanced as this-they just do it right.  In some respects, drinking this beer is like taking a huge bite out of a wonderfully moist fruitcake, but a fruitcake better than any fruitcake you’ve ever had-the One Fruitcake to Rule Them All.

My rating:
Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavor: 8/10
Palate: 5/5
Overall Impression: 17/20
Final Score: 84/100

This is one of those few beers that I get to drink out of my trappist glass, so even before I poured it I was excited. What drew me to this particular beer out of the (probably) hundreds of other nearby at my local beer store was the fact that it is brewed with rasins. Well, this was so novel I HAD to try it, even if I had no idea how that would taste.

The bottle is quite large and is corked instead of the usual metal crimped caps that beer has. It took a little work to get the cork out, but when I did, the scent clarified the experience immediately: RASINS! They are omnipresent in this beer as a strident forward note. Because of this, this is a rather sweet beer; some may consider it a dessert beer. The rest of the beer certainly follows this impression, but before we get to taste, let’s consider the looks:

Lost Abbey Judgment Day in my Chimay Trappist Glass. Not quite sacrilege...

The beer pours very dark with very little head (this might be bad pouring on my part, but I’ve been getting pretty good as of late, so this is getting less likely). The nose, while dominated by rasins, is also accented by other dark fruits and hops.

This beer is almost shockingly fruity. In the first sip, I tasted pear, strawberry, and a hint of plum. As the beer warmed a bit, I began to taste caramel malts and just the barest suggestion of melon. Overall, it is very creamy and at just the right amount of carbonation to take advantage of this.

So, if you’re in the mood for a very sweet, fruity beer, give Judgment day a whirl. Just be careful, at 11% ABV it has a hidden kick!

Score:
Aroma:7/10
Appearance:4/5
Flavor:8/10
Palate:4/5
Overall:15/20

Final Score:3.8/5.0

Well, I thought for a while about how to start this blog, and I came to the conclusion that jumping right in would be best, so without further ado, I shall jump right in to what I hope will be a regular feature here, my beer of the month.

Recently I started a new project, something which I do often.  The goal of this project is to come to a more complete understanding and full appreciation of beer as an art form.  I have tried many excellent beers since I made this resolution, including one which I would describe as purely heavenly, but for this review I’ll choose the beer which I’ve had most recently: Dechutes Brewery’s Inversion India Pale Ale.

This beer had me absolutely mystified the first time I tried it.  I couldn’t figure out the flavor throughout the entire bottle.  The next day I tried again, this time fully chilled in a cold glass and the flavor became clear on the first sip: grapefruit.  Overriding the bitterness of the hops is a strident note of grapefruit juice, as if the truck from the brewery collided suddenly and violently with a truck from the grapefruit orchard (do grapefruits grow in orchards?).  Once this paradigm shifting realization took place, the entire beer suddenly became clear, all the flavors slipped into place.  The extreme hoppy goodness was accentuated by a slight hint of citrus and just a tiny bit of caramel.

Aesthetically, this beer smells almost exactly as it tastes, enormous booming grapefruit and very bitter hops.  It pours a beautiful coppery red color with a fine yellow foam on top which fades slowly to nice lacing on top of the beer.  In my experience, this beer was best at a very cold temperature served in a chilled mug (note: not my English Pint glass, not my Chimay glass, my Star Trek: The Experience mug.  Nerds: represent).  This somehow helped to accentuate the flavors.  In some beers, I’ve found a perfect blend of flavors is best, but this is the first where I’ve found it best if all of the flavors are completely separate, to be enjoyed on their own.

So, my final rating, broken down:

Aroma: 7/10

Appearance: 4/5

Flavor: 7/10

Palate: 4/5

Overall Impression: 14/20

TOTAL SCORE: 3.6/5.0

If anybody in Tucson is wondering where they can get this beer, I got this at the incredible alcohol emporium, BevMo.  I must say, a store which is a quarter beer is nearing one of my favorite places on Earth.  They also have whiskey, which is a definite plus.  After I run through the selection of worthy beers at my grocery store (this excludes all versions of Miller, anything with light in the name, and the so-called “Milwaukee’s Best.”  If this is the best they have to offer, I will never go there), I’ll have to start in at the big game over at BevMo.

Well, that seems to be it for today.  Perhaps next time I’ll have a CD review to do.