More than just Beer?

So, this is a disturbing trend. I've always felt that scotch was scotch - aged and classy $50 scotch tasted just like plastic jug $10 scotch. And I was okay with this - I'm already a snob about beer, and I'm nursing a slight snobbery about cigars - do I need something else too?

Apparently so. Being here in Scotland, I've been offered the opportunity to try many more scotches than I ever have before. Now, I'm not to the point of differentiating flavors in a big way, or being able to tell you the regions. But I can tell young from an old, cheap from pricey, and generally pick out the overarching taste. Lucky for me, scotch is an *extremely* expensive habit, so I don't see this one continuing. Fingers crossed!

In the meantime, I've had a chance to try two more local beers! Apparently they're both classified as Scotch ales, although they have very different qualities. First is Isle of Skye Brewing Co's Cuillin Black, followed by Orkney Brewing Co's The Red MacGregor.

The Cuillin Black is a bit of an enigma - dark like a stout, with similar flavors, it's much lighter, like a black ale. However, it lacks the classic roasted malts that you expect from black ales or stout - it's flavored with heather honey and oatmeal, both of which really stick out. There are also some nice sweet malts to round it out. It satisfied my craving for dark beer, but was surprisingly light and sweet. Already craving another of these. Also got try a sip of the Cuillin Red, which was full bodied and delicious, but I didn't get a full glass sadly.

The Red MacGregor was similarly impressive. Not a red ale, not by my reckoning anyway, the flavors come out with bready malts matched with an aggressive and grassy hop note. There's also some caramel there, although it gets a little muddled. The hops were a little distracting, but the picture on the bottle of a giant Scotsman swinging a sword more than made up for that. Not my favorite beer, but well worth a try.

Recap time!

So, with finals taking up all my time, I saved all my wonderful beer for a single blog post. Bear with me, this is gonna get a little long.

I wasn't planning to jump into ridiculous beers, but the first weekend of finals, I went home to find out my friends were having a horse racing party. Which race? I don't know! However, I was able to acquire some delicious beers, and branch out a little.

The first was Troeg's Sunshine Pils. This aggressive looking beer seemed like a nice compliment to a hot spring day. And oh it was. Nice and refreshing, with a pleasant hop taste that never overwhelmed the nice lemony citrus. I'm not necessarily a huge pilsner fan, but this was a great beer to sip on a hot day.

I also grabbed Flying Dog's Garde Dog. I've been more and more intrigued with Biere De Garde, a style similar to the Saison. This was a pretty meek version of the style though. Not bad by any means, but a little timid, especially for Flying Dog. A great introduction to the style though for any wary newcomers. It's generically yeasty and spicy, and not a lot more can be said.

I figured I'd be done with beer for a little while at least, crazy me. I had forgotten that I planned to go out for drinks after my first final with Sparrow, Stark, and The Girlfried (aka llama lady aka cat staring at a butterfly aka cutiesaurus rex). I was determined to try this little chic wine bar in Hamden called 13.5%

The place is awesome. I can't even pretend to be snobbish - it was a great mix of classy and relaxed. The food was also ridiculously good. I had stout braised short ribs that literally fell apart and melted in my mouth. Oh god so good. I also had their tiramisu, which was less impressive, but still very tasty.

Mostly though, I was excited to try some beer. I had noticed that they had Evolution's Lucky 7 Porter on tap. I'd been dying to try this for a while, and had even contemplated getting some for the horse racing party, but realized that porter and hot spring days don't mix for most people.

It was delicious, but a little disappointing towards the end. The beer started out as everything I'd ever loved about porters - full flavors of roasted malts, some nice coffee notes, and a little chocolate too, not too bitter and pleasantly light. Mmmm porters. The problem though came after a little while of sipping - maybe it was my excessive hunger, but the beer started to just have a sickly sweet aftertaste. It was just upsetting at the end of a dark, roasty beer to suddenly taste brown sugar everywhere. I feel like I owe this beer another try though, because I've heard so many good things.

What's better than Porter? More Porter! And luckily for me, I'd chosen a hell of a porter to follow up Lucky 7. I got my hands on a probably too expensive but oh so worth it bottle of Rogue's Double Mocha Porter. The taste is boozy, but oh so much coffee/chocolate mix, and roasted malts. I realize that this is how I describe every porter, but c'mon. Until someone does something crazy with the style, that is how you make a delicious porter. This one packs a ridiculous punch of espresso and dark chocolate, satisfying the biggest fan of coffee beer.

And I thought I was done until after finals. I'd had a good week of delicious beers, and was ready to relax until the end of finals. Oh, but I was wrong. I went home for mothers day, with ChefSister and DudeBrah, as well as the rest of the family. What I didn't expect was to be sent out to get beer. Oh, and beer I got.

Started out with a 6 pack of Allagash white, which was absolutely delicious. Allagash white might be my favorite wheat beer, always ridiculously refreshing and surprisingly flavorful. Oh, but that wasn't the end.

No, I was asked to get an oatmeal stout. Oh darn, right? And what did I find there, but a beer I'd been searching for - Rogue's Shakespeare Stout. I know I promised to avoid stouts, but what can I do? It pours a gorgeous black with a cocoa colored head. It's sweet oats and milk chocolate all the way through for this one.

And finally, just when I thought I was done, DudeBrah pulled out the Fordham Scotch Ale, with which to marinate the brats (which was amazing, by the way). I'd had my eye on Fordham's scotch ale for a while, as a big fan of scotch ales. It pours a nice copper brown, and smells all manner of smoke. The taste is standard scotch ale, peat moss, smoke, and some sweet fruits. Really a great example of scotch ales, if not too exciting - think of it as a good mid point.

Finally, last but far from least, I saved a real mad man for my last finals beer. I received from a friend at law school a bottle of Samichlaus. For those who don't know, it's a famous Barleywine that is barrel aged and bottle aged, and is basically a wine among beers.

it pours a gorgeous cherry wood red, with little to no head. The first smell is all alcohol and a cloyingly sweet note of candied sugar and licorice. The taste follows up with a sharp shock of alcohol that warms nicely and tastes of cherries and raisins, and maybe some plum. Not even a hint of hops to be found, but the abundant malts more than make up for it, with a surprisingly sweet (molasses? syrup?) aftertaste despite the booziness.

The beer is a little overpowering at first, but as it warms it settles into a delicious desert of a beer. Not that I've tried it before, but I'd put this up against Port any day of the week for a nice after dinner drink. One is enough though - and then some. At 14% abv, you'll want to sip this one nice and slow.

So yeah. My alcohol infused, ridiculous finals week and a half. Yikes. Glad to be done, sad to see those delicious beers disappear. Until next time!

Beer in a Can???

It's funny - my first beer was definitely from a can. I don't remember what it was, but I'm sure it was some third rate piss water they serve at college frat parties. Mostly, I imagine, because I had it at a college party.

But the last time I had beer in a can? Well, other than the last time I had Oskar Blues, I'm not even sure. Nice beer doesn't come in cans. Nice beer comes in bottles, and almost always in bombers of some sort. Well, I think Oskar blues is trying to change that.

I had their Ten Fidy stout a few months ago at Max's, and I've been dying to try more since then. A multiple award winner, this beer is 8% abv and has rave reviews. The beer, "Old Chub", is their version of a Scottish Ale.

The beer pours a dark brown, with very little head. The smell is smoke and dark chocolate, and I won't lie, it made my mouth water a little.

The first taste is sweet, but with a smoky aftertaste. Dark chocolate is present, with tastes of earthy sweetness, rounded out with a nice smokiness. A smooth maltiness is present, mixing nicely with the sweet and bitter flavors.

This is a seriously tasty beer, good for sipping, and I imagine nice with some sort of steak or chops. Definitely worth a try.

I certainly don't miss the days of Natty Light and Milluake's Best, but Oskar Blues is giving me a reason to try canned beer again.

Series of Sam (2 of 6)

Now, I admit that I like to save the best for last, but I just couldn't resist cracking open one of my favorite beers. It's lost a step or two by comparison to some of the beers I've had since then, but it'll always be a classic.

The first time I had it was at a Superbowl party. My friends had picked up a Sam Adams spring pack, which seemed weird in February. I admit to being a little hesitant at first, but this beer started my appreciation of scotch ales.

Sam Adams Scotch Ale pours a rich amber, without much head. The smell is smokey and rich. The first taste is a an oakiness, followed by tart fruitness and of course delicious smoke. I also swear I can taste some peatiness, but I can't quite pick it out. The best part though, might be the mellow finish.

As scotch ales go, it is a fine exemplar. If you like scotch ales, don't aim too high, but if you're a casual drinker, definitely give this one a try.

Oh My Ommegang

I love Ommegang. I really do. I've had other Belgian beers, and just remain thoroughly unimpressed with most anything else (brewer's art aside). I was enjoying some of their delicious beers today with Mrs. Satan.

I cracked open a Rare Vos, a Belgian amber ale. Sparrow had tried this the week before and really enjoyed it, and I liked the sip or two that I had of it. Really, it's just fantastically drinkable.

It pours with a nice full head, an a light amber color. The smell is strong with fruity notes, maybe peach or orange? The taste though, blew me away. It was smooth and refreshing, but bursting with flavors. There was some lighter fruit, maybe apples or pears, and some darker fruits as well like cherries or plums. There were also spiced and floral notes, although I'm not good enough to discern them.

Really, I was expecting either full flavored or really just enjoyable, since a beer usually excels at one, but this one nailed both. It was delicious to sit and sip with a friend, but I could also imagine this being excellent with a range of meals, from a summer barbecue to a spicy Thai dish.

The bottom line? Try this one.

I also had the luck and joy of getting to try Pratt Street Ale House's Scotch Ale. I've been excited to try this one since it came out. I was worried because I heard how quickly it was selling, but I guess I lucked out.

And damned if it wasn't delicious. Smoky and dark, earthy flavors of peat and malts, with an interesting sweetness that felt like fruits. I'm not sure what, because it didn't taste dark like plums or grapes, nor was it light like an orange or an apple. Maybe some sort of berry, like a raspberry or something similar? There was also a little bitterness, which helped to ground the beer and give it an earthy flavor. Either way, absolutely delicious, and a great example of a Scotch Ale.

And yet, it wasn't even the best beer I had there. I also had the good fortune of asking after their Peeping Tom Porter. It was fantastic. It looked like a stout, but drank like a smoother ale, bursting with the flavor of roasted malts. The flavor profile was really nicely rounded out with chocolate, but mostly highlighted the roasted malts.

The Peeping Tom was easily one of the better porters I've had, managing to have all the flavor of a stout while maintaining the nice lightness and refreshing nature of an ale. Best of all, it didn't try to copy stouts, but created it's own flavor around the roasted malts. Really an excellent beer, which I pity everyone not from Baltimore for not getting to try.

Phew. That's a lot of beer, and there's only more to come. What a pity, right? Until next time!

-The Unabashed Ungourmet

New Horizons

Scotch ale is delicious. It might be second, as a favorite beer, to stouts. It has all the interesting flavors, but is light and refreshing. Mmmmm Scotch Ale.

Needless to say, this is an intro to me trying another such beer. Trying to broaden my horizons, I grabbed a bottle of Moylan's Scotch Ale (passing up a whole laundry list of likely looking stouts, sadly)

Now, I drank this just before watching Memento for the first time, so those who've seen the movie will know what I mean when I say that my memories of the evening are more devoted to the film. It is a real mindfuck.

Anyway, the beer. It pours a beautiful red-amber, with a small head. It smells of smoke and peat, and the taste follows suit. Very smoky flavor, with hints of peat, but also some sort of sweet dark fruit, and a little bit of what I feel like is oakiness. It has a really complex flavor array, so it was sometimes tough to separate them out.

The flavor was very strong, and might not be for everyone. My friend, whom I was drinking it with, applied the term "interesting" and then didn't touch it for the rest of the night.

If you like Scotch Ale's, give this a try; if not, don't bother with this beast of a beer.

More DuClaw goodness

So, as any of you residents know, Baltimore has just been a hellhole this past week. Overcast, with a constant frigid drizzle. It's just been a gross place to live.

To improve on this condition, I decided to have a beer at DuClaw, brighten my spirits a bit.

I started out with a pint of their seasonal Scotch Ale, Twisted Kilt. Now, Sam Adams Scotch Ale is far and away one of the better beers I've had, so I had pretty high expectations. Overall though, I found the taste of alcohol tended to override the other tastes. There were hints of a smoky flavor, and maybe some sort of woody or nutty flavor as well, but they weren't terribly well defined. There was also a sweetness to the beer that was somewhat unsettling. It wasn't a bad beer, but it definitely didn't live up to expectations.

I also tried their nut brown ale, Consecration. That was actually quite tasty, with a powerful flavor of chestnut, or something similar. Nicely enough, it was still refreshing without being heavy, but was richly flavored.

I should side note, I had a sampler of their Oktoberfest seasonal, Mad Bishop. Now, those tiny samplers are hardly enough to really judge a beer, but my impression was favorable. Like many other Oktoberfest beers, there was a rich taste of spices, along with a fairly crisp taste. I've always felt that a good Oktoberfest should remind me of a fall day, and this one certainly seemed to pass the test. I'm going to try it again next weekend, so more on it then, for sure.