Bilbo's Beer Tasting report card #3

Bilbo here!
So, this week we had a tasting of high gravity beers. I am not sure on the science of how this works, or exactly what it means, but what it boils down to is that these beers are all high in alcohol content. The 15 beers this week range from 8% to 11.73%. An easy week to get pretty buzzed. Also this week I began to institute a star rating for the beers for easy reference. The scale is based on 1-5 with 5 being something I would definitely go out and buy and drink often to 3 being very average to 1 being awful. So with that all in mind, let us begin.

1. St. Bernardus Abt. 12 - ***1/2 This was a very bubbly and somewhat sweet Belgian ale. It had a big of a dry finish and was overall a very pleasant Belgian. Would probably be rated a little higher if I was more of a fan of Belgians, but this was nice.

2. Konings Hoeven Quadrupel - *** This ale suffers for tasting a bit wheaty to me, even though it is the same style as the previous sample. But overall somewhat similar to the first one but less bubbly. Ok.

3. Urthel Samaranth Quadrium - **1/2 This one is the third quadrupel in a row and the weakest of the three. It is by no means awful, but it is a little sharper and less pleasant than the first two with a return of the carbonation of the first.

4. Avery Salvation Belgian-Style golden Ale - **1/2 Light pale ale's aren't really too exciting to me, and this was no exception. It was both a little bitter and a little sharp in the taste to be a pleasant drink. Nothing special here.

5. Moylan's Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale -**** I have not had too many scotch ales, so I have not really fully formed an opinion about them, but this ones was definitely good. There was both a slightly sweet smell and taste with just a bit of bite in the end to keep it from being too sweet. Generally a sold Ale that I could definitely enjoy drinking again.

6. Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine-Style Ale - ** I have not been too impressed by the American barleywines and the next several samples did little to change my mind. This had a strong grapefruit smell and taste and little to recommend it.

7. Marin Brewing Old Dipsea Barleywine Style Ale - *1/2 The strongest notion of this ale that I have is its smell. It smells strongly of barley, which is understandable, but I didn't find it that pleasant, and neither was the taste.

8. Green Flash Barleywine Style Ale - ** A slight improvement over the last one, and really a combination of the previous two. It had the barley and the grapefruit, but not quite as strongly as each of the others had them individually. Again, not impressed with the American Barleywine.

9. Ballast Point Dorado Double I.P.A. - **1/2 While this ale had that seemingly very common grapefruit taste, it was a sweeter more pink grapefruit taste in this case. Overall, this made it a more pleasant drink, but not something I could get really excited over. Just fine.

10. Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter - *** This porter was quite dark and chocolaty. In fact, were I not told it was a porter, I would guess it was a fairly standard micro brew stout. While I don't really prefer that chocolate flavor, it wasn't too bad in this. Perfectly fine drink.

11. Avery the Czar Imperial Stout - ***1/2 For a strong stout, this was remarkably light and nicely sweet. You would think with an ABV of 11.73% that the alcohol would be more noticeable, but it wasn't which makes this kind of a dangerous beer if you aren't careful. That being said, I don't think this is the kind of stout you can really put away. It would be nice for a bottle or so, or to share the 22 oz bottle between two people and then move on to something lighter.

12. JW Lees Harvest Ale - Aged in Sherry Casks - *** Now we enter into a bit of an experiment. The final four samples are all the same ale, just aged in different casks and this allows them to take on the characteristics of those alcohols that had fermented in said casks. This one was in a sherry cask and it is quite sweet like sherry. I found it fairly pleasant, but I can see it being too sweet for others.

13. JW Lees Harvest Ale - Aged in Calvados Casks - **1/2 This one is very similar to the previous one, however it is slightly less sweet, and for some reason, I just didn't quite like it as much. Hard to pinpoint just what it was. Just not quite as good.

14. JW Lees Harvest Ale - Aged in Port Casks - ***1/2 This one was also quite like the sherry one albeit also less sweet. But the subtleties just pushed this one a little higher for me. Really, these first 3 are all very similar with just slightly different levels of sweetness and the characteristics of the liquors. All good in their own way, but they will strike everyone a little different I think.

15. JW Lees Harvest Ale - Aged in Lagavulin Casks - **** Of the four, this one is distinctly different. It is very very smoky from the cask it was aged in. Not really sweet at all. And really quite surprising and enjoyable. All of these last 4 are very expensive at $9 for a 9.3oz bottle. But they are certainly interesting and different.

Ok, that is it for this week. A sometimes strange and surprising week, but often quite pleasant. Next week something simple. Lagers!

Bilbo.