Beer Review: Double Date

Reviewing the Double Date, a quadrupel aged in Elijah Craigh 12 year old bourbon barrels for 10 months from the Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago, Illinois.

Score: 80

Tap pour served in a snifter glass and enjoyed on 04/08/15.

Appearance: Clear, barleywine-standard caramel brown color. Served with a bubbly ring around the glass of tan head. Minimal lacing/retention. 3.5/5

Smell: Dark fruit, raisin, brown sugar, caramel, and bourbon. Rich, and inviting. 4/5

Taste: Tastes a lot like it smells - a bourbon-spiked mix of dark fruit and caramel/brown sugar notes. Very barleywine-esque, with notes of vanilla oak too. Sadly, the finish is crisp and weak. While I like the flavors present, they come across "watered down" -- like a robust barleywine concentrate cut with too much water. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Very thin bodied, low carbonation (a little undercarbonated). Sweet profile, but not in a Dark Lord kind of way. The wateriness of the brew kills any sort of linger and makes it fall a bit dead on the palate. 1.5/5

Overall: Despite a solid aroma and flavor that drinks like a good barleywine, this brew's watery viscosity and lack of a finish holds it back overall. Definitely worth a pour, but $27 for a bottle seemed awful steep for what it was when something like Nomad Batch #1 is slightly cheaper (and not subject to the hype machine of a sub-500 bottle count, brewpub-only release). Maybe the bottles are better?

Cost: $27 for a 750 ml bottle or $6 for a 5 oz draft pour.

Beer Review: Kiwi Herman

Reviewing Kiwi Herman, a "malt beverage" made with kiwi and strawberry and aged in wine barrels from Alpine Beer Company out of Alpine, California.

Score: 97

January 2015 vintage bottle served in a stemmed 18th Street glass and enjoyed on 03/25/15. Thank you Josh for helping me acquire this brew!

Appearance: Pours a clean, transparent, light honey color with a half finger of fuzzy heady that quickly and totally settles. No lacing or retention. Traditional "golden ale" appearance, more or less. 4/5

Smell: A big blast of freshly cut up strawberry and kiwi on the nose with a bit of lemon zest too. Lovely, bold fruit aroma. No plastic character present in the nose, something I often find to be the case in strawberry sours. 5/5

Taste: A spritzy blast of strawberry-kiwi hits upfront, followed by a tannic white wine flavor and a light oak presence. Rounds out with a little funk on the finish and a hint of a "tonic water" carbonated lime/mineral water flavor too. Really, really lovely. Fruity, complex, with just enough funk to supplement the experience without detracting from the fresh fruit. The funk has a lovely lasting finish as it warms and layers on the palate. A hint of sweet grain on the back half too. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Light bodied with a higher carbonation level that appropriately suits the flavor profile. Finish is a mildly dry, well-balanced. Very mild acidity. Good sourness. 4.75/5

Overall: Easily the best sour I have had from Alpine, and one of the best strawberry sours out there. This one blow Chez out of the water with a bold fruit profile that is neither too acidic or sour, nor too funky. It does not hurt either that I absolutely love strawberries and kiwis. Seek this one out with confidence. Prost!

Cost: $15 for a 500 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Veritas 014

Reviewing the Veritas 014, a wild ale with cherries from The Lost Abbey out of San Marcos, California.

Score: 35

Fall 2014 vintage bottle served in a snifter glass panoramically logo branded with all the "best" macro swill and enjoyed on 03/20/15.

Appearance: Reddish-brown/brownish-red in color, much darker than Veritas 013. Pours a half finger of tan head that settles to a thin coating. Good lacing, solid retention. Murky appearance. 3/5

Smell: Acidic, artificial cherry pie cherry aroma and oak. Has a little syrupy sweetness too. Lots of pedio poo-poo too. 2.5/5

Taste: Sharply acidic and sour cherry upfront, with medicinal cherry, young funk, and wood on the finish. Very "sour brown"/flandersy in character, but more acidic. Some lacto too. Some pedio poo-poo too. Lasting, unpleasant finish. 2/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied, higher carbonation than expected. Quite acidic and tart, with a very, very dry finish. 1.5/5

Overall: What an expensive stinker. Cannot believe this won a medal at FOBAB. Red Poppy is a thousand times better than this beer. We drain-poured most of the bottle, it was so unpleasant.

Cost: $45 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Veritas 013

Reviewing the Veritas 013, a wild ale brewed with peaches and nectarines from The Lost Abbey out of San Marcos, California.

Score: 93

April 2014 vintage bottle served in a Surly Darkness snifter/tulip "chalice" and enjoyed on 03/20/15.

Appearance: *GUSHER ALERT* When the cork was 75% pulled out, it forced itself off the bottle and violently gushed a couple of inches into the air. We lost between 10% and 20% of the bottle near instantaneously, with the bottle making a hot mess all over the table. The color of the beer is a reddish-orange color with a dark core and fade to a yellowish hue atop the brew. Very murky/cloudy appearance. Pours a few fingers of head initially, which settles to a thin layer of off-white head. Good lacing and retention. 3/5

Smell: Soft peach aroma, sweet and sticky sugar notes (honey?), and wood. Very subtle, not as strong or complex as expected, but appealing. 4.25/5

Taste: Sweet peach juice flavor with a good, mild sour bite. Has a robust sweet undertone like a resinous, syrupy fruit flavor. Woody finish with notes of brown sugar on the back half. A little citrus fruit-like flavor on the finish too. Very mild acidity. Very subdued sour profile for a Lost Abbey wild ale; this is nice and refreshing. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Medium body, good carbonation (which is shocking given how it gushed). Mildly dry finish. Mild acidity, nice sweet and sour profile. 4.5/5

Overall: What the beer lacks in complexity it greatly supplements in refreshing drinkability and a well-crafted peach flavor. Hella overpriced, though.

Cost: $45 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Wild Wild Brett Batch 60

Reviewing Wild Wild Brett Batch 60, a dry hopped sour ale from the Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project out of Denver, Colorado.

Score: 96

2013 vintage bottle served in a Kate the Great tulip/snifter and enjoyed on 03/01/15.

Appearance: Pours a clean, orange-copper color with nice glow when held up to light. A thin fizzy off-white layer of head from the pour quickly dissipates. 4/5

Smell: A strong, juicy odor of orange and tangerine citrus explodes from the glass. Notes of lemon, pineapple, a kiss of brett and a mild lacto character too. Really lovely, and reminisce of Dry Hopped L'Brett D'or. The nose is absolutely divine. 5/5

Taste: Like the nose, the taste is loaded with sour citrus flavors and a finish that is heavier on the brett/lacto than what was present in the nose. Notes of pineapple, oranges, peach, and apricot upfront. A little lasting funk on the finish. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, nice carbonation. Very dry finish. A bit sour, but mild on the acidity relative to its profile. 4.5/5

Overall: Now over a year old, the citrus/stone fruit aromatics/flavors of this beer really shine and the buttery diacetyl character that was pungently present fresh is totally gone. Drink 'em if you got 'em.

Cost: $10 for a 375 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Framboise Black

Reviewing Framboise Black, a blend of soured Belgian-style witbiers aged in French oak barrels with black cap raspberries from the Block 15 Brewery & Restaurant out of Corvallis, Oregon.

Score: 97

2014 vintage bottle served in a Revolution Brewing tulip/snifter and enjoyed on 03/01/15. Thank you Danny for sending me this brew!

Appearance: Pours a deep purple color, like grape juice, with a finger of pinkish purple head off the pour that totally settles. Swirling the brew tints the glass slightly purple nicely. The color on this brew is quite interesting. 5/5

Smell: Raspberry jelly and cloves, with a hint of black pepper. 4.75/5

Taste: Raspberry and grape jelly with a little coriander/clove on the finish. Surprisingly simplistic, but tasty as hell. Long lasting flavors. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Thin bodied, appropriately carbonated. Mild acidity, a little sweet, not too sour. 4.25/5

Overall: One of my favorite Block 15 brews -- it tastes like fruit jelly! It is a shame that a good portion of this batch was lost to a flood. Great job on this one Nick!

Cost: $15 for a 375 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Malevolence Chocolate Caliente

Reviewing the Malevolence Chocolate Caliente, a Russian imperial stout brewed with vanilla beans, cacao nibs, cinnamon, Urfa biber chili flakes, and dried Aleppo pepper from Spiteful Brewing out of Chicago, Illinois.

Score: 94

January 2015 bottling. Served in a Hunahpu's snifter and enjoyed on 02/22/15 during the Oscars telecast.

Appearance: First things first: open this beer over the sink. We cracked the cap on a side-stored (but otherwise still) bottle, and this beer began gushing instantaneously. Within 15 seconds, 50% of the bottle was all over the table. Once some of the beer made its way into the glass, it poured a dark chocolate color with nice outer-edge fade and ample foamy khaki head that settles to a thin bubbly ring around the glass. Minimal lacing or retention, but nice browning effect/residuals from swirling. 3.5/5

Smell: The aroma on this beer was quite potent and pleasant (possibly because the kitchen was covered in it). Heavy-handed cinnamon, shortbread cookies, chocolate, and hints of mint and vanilla. Some chili pepper too. Reminds me a lot of Abraxas. 4.5/5

Taste: Lovely mix of cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, sugar cookies with a hint of chocolate too. Nice light but present pepper kick and flavor on the back half. Tastes a lot like the love child of Abraxas and the 2011 vintage of Hunahpu's. Lingering spice and spiciness. Cocoa-mole on the finish too. Quite excellent! Was expecting this to be sour, infected, or off in some way given that it gushed upon opening, so the quality of the flavor was a welcome relief. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and slightly under-carbonated -- which is shocking, given how forcefully this beer gushed upon opening. Nice pepper heat that is present, but not too prominent or overpowering -- kind of like how Space Ghost is but with a little less heat. Lovely spice mix that is balanced despite brown sugar/cinnamon sweetness. 3.5/5

Overall: An excellent beer and real winner from Spiteful, who is making some interesting stuff as a newer Chicago brewery. I've been told this is already being barrel aged, and am interested to see the outcome of that project. I am not sure why this beer explosively gushed upon opening, but friends have since informed me that they have had similar experiences. Open this one over the sink with glasses on the ready, and enjoy. Prost!

Cost: $12.99 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.