#BEERacketology 2012: The Final Pour; A Four Pack of Breweries Remain, VOTE NOW 41

Bells, Toppling Goliath, Russian River, and Surly made the Final Pour, it’s up to you to decide who makes it to the championship of BEERacketology.

Four breweries are left standing just weeks months after the start of our inaugural BEERacketology…thing… And here they are:

THE FAVORITE:  #1 seed Bells Brewery out of The Krakken region.
THE UNDERDOG:   #12 seed Toppling Goliath out of the DrunkHulk region.
THE WILDCARD:  #2 seed Russian River out of the #Flenker2012 region.
THE DIAPER DANDY: #2 seed Surly Brewing out of the Quick and Dirty region.

Here’s how we will break down this round.    We’ll take a beer from each brewery and give you our feedback on it, as well as other random shit thrown in.  Voting ends late Wednesday night.

SEMI-FINAL #1: Bell’s (MetsFanVI) vs. Toppling Goliath (Morehouse)

Bell’s Expedition Stout

by MetsFanVI

We’re down to the the Final Four. To no one’s surprise, Bell’s emerged from the Krakken Region as the winner. It came in as the #1 seed and was never really tested, beating Tyrenan, Oskar Blues, Anchor and Firestone Walker in the first four rounds.

So now I have the challenge of writing about a brewery that everyone knows and loves. Rather than trying to go through all their beers, I thought I’d review a particular beer they make. Bell’s is known for their stouts. They make a bunch of different kinds, most of which are highly rated. Expedition Stout is Larry Bell’s take on the imperial stout style. From their web site, it’s described as:

One of the earliest examples of the Russian Imperial Stout in the United States, offers immensely complex flavors crafted specifically with vintage aging in mind, as its profile will continue to mature and develop over the years. A huge malt body is matched to a heady blend of chocolate, dark fruits, and other aromas. Intensely bitter in its early months, the flavors will slowly meld and grow in depth as the beer ages.

Vintage aging, huh? Lucky for you*, it just so happens I have a few bottles stashed away in the cellar. I bought these at a special Bell’s release at John’s Grocery the summer Iowa moved out of the dark ages and lifted the ABV limits on beer. One of the cool things about Bell’s is they used to put a date code on their bottles which you could enter on their web site to see when the beer was bottled. Now they put a straight date on their so you don’t even need to look ip. Either way, these bottles are code 9384. According to the Bell’s site, this batch was bottled on October 15, 2009. Whoa. I kind of forgot about this beer. Let’s see what 2.5 years of of cellaring does to it!

Expedition Stout is a 10.5% ABV beer. That’s pretty much in range for the style. One of the things I like about it is it doesn’t taste like a giant beer. There is a little heat there but just enough to keep you on your toes. I also like that it comes in a 12-oz bottle. I’m not a fan of bigger beers coming in bombers, although I know that seems to be the norm. A 12-oz bottle allows you to drink one and not be a wreck or try a couple of different beers in the same night. Bombers don’t lend themselves anything more than “one and done.”

Poured into my official Brew Maniacs tulip (thanks Spank!), the Expo gave a very thin 1/8″ head that hung around just long enough for a quick picture. The smell is very sweet, almost syrupy, which is pretty typical for the style. You need a ton of malt to get this kind of body into a beer. The initial taste tells me this beer is way too cold. I get a little sweetness up front which gives way to a nice smooth roasty taste. Either way, I need to let this sit out for a little to warm up and let some of the favors come out. I’ll be back in a bit…

Are you still here? Good. The Expo has warmed up a bit and, as I suspected, it’s really starting to show its soul. Unlike a lot of imperial stouts these days, Expo is not barrel aged nor does it have any “extras” like coffee added it to. It’s just malt, hops, yeast and water. But, that combination leads to some remarkable flavors. You get bitter coffee and chocolate. Even a little bit of black pepper, but not enough to be distracting. There’s also figs and raisens. The age has really mellowed this beer and taken some of the body out of it. There is almost no alcohol flavor present. It really doesn’t have any “legs” in the glass either.

In keeping with a theme, I drank it with some “vintage” Girl Scout cookies. I found a box of Shout-Outs in the back of the pantry that my wife guessed were from last year. Shout-Outs are a “Belgian-style caramelized cookie” and they paired with the beer very nicely. I would have liked to try some Girl Scout Lemonades with the Expo, though. I saw on some beer show’s chef pairing Expo with a lemon-based dessert. I thought that odd but all the tasters raved about it. Alas, apparently my wife doesn’t hoard Lemonades so Shout-Outs it was.

Overall, this is just a fantastic beer. Two and half years may put it past its prime. But, it certainly makes it a much more drinkable beer. It’s not as aggressive and attention-grabbing. It just seems to be missing that extra something something it has in its youth. Either way, I’d still put it up against any of the hard to find imperial stouts. Despite its ubiquity, this is a must-try beer. Beer Advocate readers give it a 93.** Rate Beer readers give it a 100 both for style and overall. So don’t take my word for it. Just go try this beer. But, I suspect if you’re reading this blog, you already have.

 

* Actually, it’s lucky for me as I get to drink it. You just get to read about it.

** Interestingly, though, the owners at BA only give it a 65. But that review is from 2003 and their big complaint was lack of carbonation. I’m not sure I’d knock 30 points off an imperial stout for low carbonation. But then I don’t have a beer review site. Oh, wait. Yes I do. The hell with them.

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Golden Nugget: Damn near my last beer on this earthly plane

By Morehouse

 

The weather radar on my phone looked like an axe murder.

The red flowed over the orange and yellow with some genial splotches of green. OK, it looked like an axe murder of ET. Either way, it was not good. It was the storm system of the century of the day. It was bad in Oklahoma, it was bad in a place called Thurman, Iowa, yet another Iowa town I’m just hearing about for all the wrong (weather) reasons. And it started to swirl into bad in North Liberty.

It was a celebration of entrepreneurial-ship. We met up with good friends who happen to be sponsors for our podcast. We were the No. 10 podcast in the country last week, according to iTunes. In the age of gagging media, it’s something. My colleague and I love doing it, so we jumped at the chance to meet up with Brian and Dan, great guys who are damn funny.

I figured bad weather, so I drove the 2002 Highlander to the spring game, knowing we’d meet up at Red’s Alehouse in North Liberty. Dan drove a new car. He heard the word “hail” and sweat started to form on his upper lip.

Lightning burst. Serious and fierce lightning. The power flickered. The gentleman owner of Red’s popped into the back room. His voice was maybe on low-level alert, calmly giving everyone directions to the basement. Michael sat across the table. We know what’s in Red’s basement. It has one of the finest beer collections in our area. We were good with this and started checking to see how many brews our jackets might be able to mule out.

Then, it got serious. The bloody murder on my phone was digitizing on the big screen TV via a local station. The weather lady was sitting down, so how bad could it be? What’s that sound? The North Liberty tornado bell or horn or party favor belted out the warning. Lights flickered again.

Our waitress was undaunted. She made her round, ignoring the weather warning, and asked if we were good. No, we weren’t good. I was out of beer.

The lacing of my second Golden Nugget from Toppling Goliath held to the sides of my pint glass. The lights went out for a second, not a good sign. I am not an alarmist. I’ve been through tornados. Well, not actually in a tornado, but I’ve been around them a few times, once a few years ago here and way back in my early newspaper days in southern Minnesota.

Goddamnit, if I’m going to go out, I’m going to go out with Toppling Goliath and Golden Nugget. I totally ignored the waitress’s cleavage (hey, my life was flickering before my eyes at this point) and asked for a Golden Nugget.

I don’t know if the Toppling Goliath folks consider G Nugg their flagship, but it’s a strong statement.

Citrus, floral, just want you want out of an IPA. It’s a simply glorious rush of orange and lemon at first, with the lemon being a strong opening statement. The hop profile ranks up with all the IPAs that you know and love. Yes, I’m looking at you, Ruination, and you, HopSlam, and, YES, you, Dreadnaught. Yes, Dreadnaught, you!

It’s 6.8 percent. It’s also about as good as it gets for an introduction, at least for me, to golden nugget hops. Hop aroma launches out of the glass. Fruity with a bit of the bitter. Just a wonderful hoppy burst. Easy to drink. Blows a lot of the name IPAs out of the water. Right there with my faves (mentioned above).

My usual spot for G Nugg is Parlor City in Cedar Rapids. I’ve been meeting there with Sparky, the Brewmaniacs actual brewer, for the last few weeks. Here’s what got my attention: Last Thursday, we were there and Sparky had a G Nugg and then something else and for the next beer said, “I’m not making that mistake again, I’m going back to the Golden Nugget. I’m stuck on that beer.” This got my attention because Sparky is a curmudgeon’s curmudgeon. He thinks Ebenezer Scrooge was more than fair with his clerk mule Bob Cratchit.

And he loves G Nugg.

Back to Saturday night.

The rain replaced oxygen outside. I’m pretty sure goddamn frogs were falling out of the sky. The nice waitress — if tornado bells don’t make this woman flinch, we need to party — brought my Golden Nugget. The lights went out for just a second. The tornado horn/bell continued. Is there a more harrowing sound for midwesterners? Can nature conjure anything more insidious than a night tornado?

Michael was on the ropes. Soon, his wonderful wife, Jen, would pick him up. Smart move on so many levels. Brian was downing whiskey and laughing his ass off. Dan worried about his car. I tried to get Scott hooked on the G Nugg, but he’s not quite ready for the happiness. I’ll get him there.

The lighting snapped like a lockerroom towel on a bare ass. I stole a look up to the heavens.

This much, these few minutes with this wonderful, brilliant beer, you damn well better let me have this, no matter how much I’ll have to pay for it later.

Hey, we made it through another one. I’m going to consider Golden Nugget tornado repellent.

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SEMI-FINAL #2: Russian River (Flenker) vs. Surly (storminspank)

The Sours, Oh the Sours!

By Flenker

Consecration – the act of dedication to the service & worship of a deity.  Yes, it’s a tired cliche to use a definition, but that sounds about right for my feelings towards Russian River.  The first beer of theirs that I had was Pliny the Elder.  When I saw it, I freaked the hell out.  I did the same when I found it on tap when I was in Denver.  Not that I “worship” them, but I can say with confidence that they’re one of my top 5 breweries, if not #1.  So, you might say I’m pleased to see them make it this far, and even more pleased to have an excuse to pop open a bottle I’ve had a little while and review it.

Russian River’s Consecration is an ale aged in oak barrels with currants added.  It says so right on the label.  It also says it’s a sour ale, barrel aged 4 to 6 months, then lists all the good bugs that are in it – Brettanomyces, Saccharomyces, Pediococcus, and Lactobacillus.  If just reading those names doesn’t get your mouth watering, then I don’t think you have any hope.

It pours a dark red, almost brown.  Very small head to it, but it could have been the way I poured.  Lots o’ little bubbles clinging to the side of the glass.  The black currants are there in the nose, as is the sour.  O the sour.  There’s even some chocolate hanging out in the back.  Hey chocolate!  I hope you’re ready to party!

Initially, it’s light on the tongue, and then BOOM you’re soured.  It’s a puckerer.  Mouth waterer.  I love it when that happens.  Again, the black currants are there in the taste, and the chocolate comes out a little more.  And all of the funkiness you’d expect from a beer aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.  A little bit of the oak is present, but it takes 2nd (or 3rd) stage to everything else.  This isn’t the sourest beer I’ve had, but it’s up there on the list.  I think it has more “funk” than straight-up “sour,” if you know what I mean.  Horse blankety.  Not one to slam, that’s for sure.  It’s a sipper.  I think as it warms, more of the funk comes out.  The bottle mentions a tobacco taste, but I’m not getting it. Maybe at the far, far end, but it’s a stretch.

Russian River has a neat bottle log section on their site, much like Bell’s.  My bottle is labeld as batch 004×4 – brewed March 25, 2009, and bottled February 5, 2010.  I wish I had a few bottles from different runs to taste and compare.  I love doing that stuff.

This beer.  So good.  And a good representation of the barrel aged beers Russian River makes.  I’ve yet to try them all, so I can’t say it’s my favorite.  Actually, I think I can definitively say it’s not my favorite, as I liked Sanctification more.  Still, that’s like saying I like carnitas tacos more than I like adobada tacos.  Either way, I win.  This is a borderline A/A+ beer, world class all the way.
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Surly you can’t be serious. I am serious and don’t call me Surly

By Spank

So my favorite Surly isn’t in season right now, that sucks.  So I guess I’ll have to drink multiple Surly beers to make up for it.  I didn’t feel like typing, so instead I made an elementary-school quality video of some Surly brews.  Watch it if you want.  I feature Abrasive Ale and Furious although after I finished the video I realized I didn’t talk a whole hell of a lot about the beers themselves.  I rambled like a prepubescent teen (cracking voice and all).

For the record, here’s my complete review of Surly Wet (my favorite Surly beer) from last year:
SURLY WET IS SO GOOD IT MAKES WHITE T-SHIRTS BEG FOR IT

The long and short on Surly Brewing:

GOOD:  Their beer, their sense of community/volunteering, their attitude
BAD:  Their supply, their distribution,  their attitude

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