Grand Teton Bitch Creek Extra Special Brown.

Yet another sleeper of a beer I've been putting off buying. I did enjoy that Sweetgrass APA well enough, after all. This second offering from Grand Teton, endearingly name Bitch Creek, is also labeled with an ESB. In passing, I had always assumed this was a standard "ESB", an extra special bitter, but upon closer inspection, it is a brown, not a bitter. I will say I already knocked off a bottle of it before this one. I have to say, this is a pretty luscious brown ale. The nose is warm and inviting, very bready. It reminds me of the iconic, to me, scene of the stack of simple meat and white bread sandwiches (FUCK YEAH SANDWICHES) with the percolator of hot, black coffee. But I digress.

If I had to relate this taste with one other thing in the world, it would be a cafe au lait from Cafe du Monde. The rich, roasted malts essential to the brown ale come on just strong enough to lend a bitterness, with a minor impression of dry (clean) dirt around the edges. As it reminds of cafe au lait, there is a richness that is analogous to adding cream (real, not non-dairy, powdered or otherwise flammable substances), leveling off those sharp peaks.

This is a well-balanced beer. Strong character but without too much bulk. It carries some girth, unlike a Newcastle, but not so low and heavy as strong stout. The carbing reminds me of my homebrew nut brown ale, whatever that may mean to you. Because it's a pretty tasty brown ale, I will forgive it for not being a nut brown ale and failing miserably. I'm going to bet this goes with some smoked cheeses and fresh bread. It would probably also be good with or in some stew-y/roasted beef.

• Appearance: Nearly opaque brown, slight tint of red against a light. Light brown head which fades.
• Smell: Warm, bready aroma with minor coffee notes.
• Taste: A solid coffee based with roasted malts. The darkness is not overdone, and it comes off as slightly 'cafe au lait'. Very pleasant.
• Mouthfeel: Not so light as Newcastle. It has some substance but keeps its distance form stout territory. Carbing is fairly full with a mild bite for a brown ale.
• Drinkability and Overall: 6%ABV, slightly beyond session level, but a few won't hurt you. Decent enough brown ale, of which there are far too few.

Eel River IPA.

I've been knocking off bottles of this this week, and I'm finally getting around to writing this up. Today is 110914, by the way. I remember actually kind of digging this when I first had it. Now that I'm winding down to the end of this 6-pack, my enthusiasm has somewhat tempered. That being said, here I am, nearly at the end of this 6-pack. This is an IPA, albeit, a slightly fizzy, watered-down one. It is nothing spectacular, excels in nothing. It tastes exactly like a watered down IPA. A flimsy hop presence with a whimper of bittering. While this bottle seems a little off compared to the previous ones, the core is still the same. It is a weak IPA, but at least it knows what it's trying to be.

• Appearance: A bit darker than typical, no head retention.
• Smell: Slightly metallic.
• Taste: A rather watered-down IPA. Not in the sense of being mild, but literally tasting watered down. The components are there but just faint.
• Mouthfeel: A bit too fizzy but otherwise easy drinking.
• Drinkability and Overall: It's not a terrible beer, but it's one that you're not going to pay attention to while you drink it.

Uinta Dubhe Imperial Black IPA.

Picked up a 4-pack of this black IPA from Uinta, mostly off a recommendation from a WF beer tasting I happened to encounter tonight. Of note, this is form Uinta. Also, of note, it's a black IPA (that doesn't even make sense). I didn't notice until I went to open one that there's fuzzy spots on the bottles that look suspiciously like mold. And this beer is brewed with hemp seed. And there's lots of Mormons in Utah. I'm tripping balls.

This is an off-hand, first-taste review because I'm already deep one DHF 90, it's 11:20PM and I'm not sleepy. I'm not going to lie, this has a some serious herbal taste to it. Impulsively, I must say that I kind of like this beer. First, this is the first imperial black IPA/dark Cascadian I've seen. I'm going to say the gravity boost (gravitic boosters, obs upgrade, #broodwar) up to imperial really helps fill out the profile on this. I got to talk shop with some folk at the tasting and was enlightened.

Tangent: So what's in a black IPA/dark Cascadian? And why would you ever want to drink something with a self-contradictory name? So the intent was to have a beer, hoppy like an IPA, but full and rich like...a black ale or a bock. So instead of hop bouquet, you get a toastier, maltier, more seasoned beer that still retains a hop core. Sometimes you want the hops but you want the darker malts too. Interesting.

So with that in mind, I will see if I can dissect this and still enjoy it. It is certainly malty, profile is along the lines of a dark toast, grilled in the pan with butter. The hop bitter is certainly there, much more so than any other black IPA I've had. This could actually be an IPA except for the fact that it's black (no racist). The hemp seed brings a very unique finish that is bitter in both a different and complementary way to the hopping. There is a strong herbal character that kind of reminds me of this box of hemp gummy candies I ate once in high school.

I have to say, my initial impressions are rather positive. It's both an adventurous and interesting tasting beer; maybe slightly gimmicky but it pays off. I don't think I would want to sit down and drink too many of these those, especially at 9.2%ABV, but it's certainly worth trying. I do wonder how often I might say that I have a hankering for this one, as it's very much a standalone beer.

• Appearance:
• Smell:
• Taste:
• Mouthfeel:
• Drinkability and Overall:

Uinta Punk'n.

Yes, it is already pumpkin beer season. Southern Tier releases their Pumking in August, which will not elude me this year. Pumpkin beers crack me up because they are generally reviled but breweries still put them out every season. It's very much a early holiday season staple like fruit cake and Cosby sweaters that are too ugly even to be ironically hip. I happened to come across this one last week. This is my first beer from Uinta, a renewable-y-powered brewery in Salt Lake City, UT, though not the first time I've seen a beer from Uinta. I haven't made up my mind whether or not to pick up some of their anniversary barley wine. Anyway, as per my expectations of and experience from my semi-epic, semi-fail (accidentally typed 'semi-fail, semi-fail' originally; maybe how I really feel about that...) pumpkin beer tasting from last year, I'm both a little excited and setting low expectations for this one. After all, this is a pumpkin beer from a new brewery and not an East coast brewery. Then again, most pumpkin beers are pretty bad.

It poured fairly typically, amber-y, orange-brown, and had a little head, which is leaving a little lacing. Carbing is bit sharp but maybe it goes with season. Initially, I thought the taste was a little bland, maybe a slightly squash-y amber. A few sips in, it is still a squashy amber, but all the complexity is on the back end. The unseasoned pumpkin flavor (read: not sweet) intensifies enough to be known and lends a little bit of creaminess. The spice profile is fairly mild and front-loaded, though I get a strong nutmeg impression at the very end.

I do like the mouthfeel on this one. It's just full enough to keep you satisfied in the colder weather but not so much so that you couldn't drink more than one or with dessert. Not being too sweet, I'd think it'd go pretty damn well with a slice of pumpkin or pecan pie. Given its flavor, it's definitely a limited seasonal drinker though. I don't think I'd be interested once December is in swing and the stronger red ales, Scotch ales, and wee heavies come out. I also have to wonder how this would stack up against the other, more versatile autumn seasonals (Goose Island's Harvest Ale comes to mind). Unlike the wee heavies and their ilk, this is a lightweight beer at only 4%ABV, for better or worse. Overall, it's not a bad drinker. Not foul, not offensive. It's average. I'd call that a win for this style.

• Appearance: Orange-brown amber, small head with a little lacing.
• Smell: Mild canned pumpkin aroma. Not cloying.
• Taste: Fairly mild until the finish. Not as sweet as the smell belies, it's more on the squash-side than dessert-side of pumpkin.
• Mouthfeel: Slightly heavier than an amber, a good fit for the intended season. Carb seems high, but it lends an appreciable crispness.
• Drinkability and Overall: 4%ABV. A mild, balanced pumpkin ale. Not a bad choice for the season, but very much a seasonal beer.

Moyaln's Hopsickle Imperial Triple Hoppy Ale.

The hoppier cousin to that ambiguously double IPA, brewed with Tomahawk, Chinook, and Anthanum hops. Immediately after breaking the seal, I was greeted with a delicious hoppy aroma, fragrant, fruity, and not stale or pellet-y. That's a really good sign. A slightly dark amber with a persistent head. Even better. First taste was rich, hoppy, complex, long-lasting. There is just a slight sweetness up front to prepare your palate for the hop roll out. Dark, grassy, weedy, but still crisp and distinct. What's remarkable is the balance in this hop bomb. Nothing is blown out; nothing is stale. It's downright refreshing. The finish is exceptionally clean, no residue. I wish I knew what the IBU rating is because I'm only going to be more impressed if they pulled this off at 80-90+.

Hands down, this beer is superior in all ways to its little brother. Everything is right about this beer. I would love to pair it against a Southern Tier Unearthly (which reminds me: I should compile a list of my top IPAs). I'm not sure how I would pair it, but I think it goes pretty damn well on its own. I'm eating it with some sweet potato chips from Food Should Taste Good, and I like the combination. The chips themselves are mild but superbly crunchy; I find the combination of a strong-willed beer and a texture of a silently strong chip to be enlightening. At 9.2%ABV, it is no session beer, certainly, but I wouldn't mind treating it like one.

• Appearance: Dark, slightly hazy amber, thin but persistent head with heavy curtains.
• Smell: Sweet, floral and fruit fragrance, hoppy and grassy. Fresh.
• Taste: Strong hop backbone with plenty of complexity, just a touch of sweetness. Crisp and refreshing, fresh. Very well balanced both between malts and hops and in the hop profile. Lingering hop bitter but does not overstay its welcome.
• Mouthfeel: Slightly low on the carb, but perfect for the flavor. Clean finish and without heavy resin.
• Drinkability and Overall: 9.2%ABV but it covers itself well.

Bison Honey Basil.

I suppose this is a seasonal from Bison that I saw in the store the other day. Brewed with honey and basil, it sounded like an interesting combination. I decided to use a goblet because I thought it would help capture the basil a bit better, but I was surprised by how dark this poured. I wasn't expecting that, but I guess I didn't know what ale they were using here. The color is a really nice, clear, vibrant red-orange that catches the light very well. The taste is interesting, to say the least. A mild malty punch up front but it evaporates really quickly and dries out. Maybe that's the effect of brewing with honey. In tasting my experimental batches of mead, I found that champagne yeast can ferment a lot of that sugar and end up with a pretty dry product. The finish has a slightly spicy, herbal tone, and that must be the basil. Overall, it's a very subtle, mild beer that requires some big draws and a swish to pull out some of the flavors.

It takes some amount of effort to enjoy this beer, and for that reason, I wouldn't say it's a very good session beer. Plus, the honey gives it a boost up to 6%ABV. For solo drinking beers, there's certainly more satisfying brews.

• Appearance: Clear, red-orange, no head.
• Smell: Slightly malty, mild spicy (like chiles) honey
• Taste: Short-lived malt, mild honey, cool basil on the finish
• Mouthfeel: Very low carb, dry, round and hollow.
• Drinkability and Overall: Very easy drinker but too mild to go with anything. Falls into the class of beers worth trying once but not much more than that.

Angels Creek Syrah 2008.

I accidentally picked up a syrah instead of a PS a while ago. So here it is. From Lodi 2008, I think it should be pretty good. Extra jammy, strawberry, blueberry. Very tender and luscious. Tannins are relaxed but still around. Not as bold as a big BBQ zin.