75/100) Founder's Backstage Series

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Dissenter, Blushing Monk, reDANKulous

Founder's normal fare is already something I can consider a safe bet on any occasion. This time I amassed a couple of their rarer fare, bottles that were part of their backstage series. They were all seasonal and harder to find that I expected. I also have to apologize for the wonky photo. Something Redankulous has crept into it. Just when I was going to give up and post only about two beers, I found myself a third.

Dissenter) Nay? Nay! Nay I say. Lagers are not for me. And, then for such dissenters like myself, Founder's came along and made an Imperial Pale Lager which is a hopped up stronger lager. This one had light citrus hops, a touch of bitterness on the finish, and smooth malty characteristics that gave it body. It's probably one of first lagers that I've rather liked, albeit it is an imperial one, and a rather robust one at that. I am not a dissenter over this beer. Excellent. ☆☆☆☆

Blushing Monk) The Blushing Monk is essentially an imperial Rübæus. If you haven't had a Rübæus before, you are missing out. If you haven't had a Blushing Monk though, you're really missing out. I suppose that is unless you dislike raspberries, because both are the epitome of what a raspberry beer can be. You get fresh berries on the nose and through to the finish. It was lovely, and I want another. ☆☆☆☆☆

reDANKulous) First of all, the name is awesome. I just wish the font reflected the emphasis that Founder's official spelling does. DANK is the only part of it that should be capitalized. The bottle confuses this by having all the letters uppercase, but I suppose at least "dank" is a font size or two larger. Regardless, this was a crazy IPA. The pine resin hop punch lingers and lingers, but before you reach that you have to wade through a misted jungle of tropical hop flavors and earthy malts. If only the 60s weren't so lacking in beer this unusual, I might describe this beer as a bottle-shaped time capsule back to beaded curtains and shaggy carpets. ☆☆☆☆

74/100) Samuel Smiths (Dark Beers)

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Taddy Porter, Imperial Stout, Yorkshire Stingo

Samuel Smith's is most well-known for its organic and fruit-based beers, but did you know they made stouts, porters, and barrel-aged ales? Not only are the bottles classy, but the beers are quite good and affordable. Quite affordable. 

Taddy Porter) An unusual porter that at first spiked on my tongue with an astringency in the finish that I wasn't sure I liked. It was light and somewhat uninspiring at first. Because of that, Taddy wasn't the kind of porter that I expected to like, but I did. The flavors grew and though it was not creamy, thick, or sweet, the smoothness to that ale and the dry finish won me over.  ☆☆☆☆

Imperial Stout) Engine oil dark at only a 7% ABV, this beer surprised me before I even opened it. A little sweeter than I expected with a backdrop that touched off reminders of soft candies and powdered sugar. The finish was not harsh, like a Russian Imperial, but not really smooth either. The middle and linger boasted lots of spices and dark fruits, and while clearly a malt-heavy stout the usual malt flavors were rather muted. Instead if I could I'd classify this as an herbal stout. ☆☆☆

Yorkshire Stingo) Molasses and sorghum syrupy touches rested in the backdrop on this one. It finished very dry and perhaps because of that, the nose was subtle to nonexistent. The middle had a bit of raisin or dates. Honestly, one of the more unassuming aged ales I've had. Despite it's strong ABV, the flavors were light and slow. A nice change of pace from my heavy usual fare. ☆☆☆☆

73/100) Mexican Inspirations

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Oculto, Cocoa Mole, El Mole Ocho

I'm not sure when the craze started, but a growing abundance of tequila-touched or Mexican-flavor oriented beers have started appearing. While most of us know or have experienced tequila, Moles (pronounced Mow-laze) can be a bit of an unknown. They manifest as dark sauces that vary in flavor from spicy and smokey to bitter and sweet, but all go very well with Mexican food or even Tex-Mex. I rather like moles so I am stoked to see that flavor profile is being set into beers.  

Also who could forget? Tomorrow's Halloween! What better way to celebrate than with a Dia de Los Muertos themed beer? Check out these one's from last year: Dia de Los Muertos Beers 

Oculto) First of all, this beer is not "craft." At best it is pseudo-craft, because its being produced by an offshoot of Anheuser-Busch. Doesn't mean it's not potentially worth a shot, but I just had to find out why practically overnight this beer spread all across the nation. When you're an InBev beer, you get all the perks of distribution that their massive company has to offer.

Oculto means "Hidden" in English. This drink is.. odd. I get the agave qualities, but there is too much tequila flavor. Truthfully, I'm still debating whether or not "tequila flavor" is an appropriate description. However, I can't say "the tequila" since there was no tequila in this beer. I had a lot of trouble drinking this one enough so that I can say I did not like it. I even added a splash of lime juice to fix that. It changed to tasting a bit like a Corona. I can't say that was an improvement. Funny thing is that I really wanted to like this one too. The bottle has some wicked ribbing and a cool day-of-the-dead skull. I didn't though. ☆  

Cocoa Mole) had lovely chocolate touches and a subtle burn on the finish. Even a bit of smokiness from the chipotle came through. The bottle's art though confused me. It's Day of the Dead-ish, yes, but that's not what baffled me. Why the odd color scheme? If anybody knows why, let me know. I couldn't figure it out. Regardless of the external oddness, the internal contents were excellent. I bet this one would go great with chips and salsa while I've got my legs kicked back watching a movie or a game. ☆☆☆☆

El Mole Ocho) First off, there is no El Mole Siete, Seis or any other permutation in Spanish. There is only this one, err eight?
As to the actual beer, it was very similar to the Cocoa Mole with a solid balance of heat, spices, and smoke. Something was different though that made me like this one better. I think it was the more robust chocolate, or some spice that might have been clove. However, this one looked amazing when poured into a glass. The golden amber's waters swirled below a wispy smoke of trailing foam. I'm adding this beer to my "must have on hand" list. ☆☆☆☆☆

72/100) Stone W00T

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Chai-Spiced, HiFi+LoFi Mixtape, W00tstout

My Birthday was this week and these seemed like the most appropriate beers to celebrate my further aging into wackiness. How often do you find a chai-spiced stout after all? That one's odd enough, but the Hifi+LoFi Mixtape is a combination of barrel aged and a young un-aged ale. And finally, you have the crazy collaboration with Wil Wheaton, the Stone's Farking Wheaton W00tstout! W00t!

Chai-Spiced Imperial Russian Stout) The chai spices were in the aroma, the finish, and hover in the linger. They succeeded in making exactly what they set out to make, but I am not sure if I really want it. I'd like to mix it with a dairy liquor to see if it can become a chai milk tea. Soy milk didn't work all that well. I am unfortunately allergic to dairy so I couldn't actually try anything beyond the soy milk I had on hand. I hope someone will experiment further! ☆☆☆☆

HiFi+LoFi Mixtape) had an aroma of mahogany. To combine my friend's thoughts on this beer: It's like "licking furniture, but I like it." This beer seemed confused like a barrel got varnished and then grew a crazy hair. The bitterness was low, but the finish remained moderately boozy. This "MidFi" if you will, was an interesting experience, but probably not again for me. ☆☆☆

W00tstout) was extremely easy drinking for all that ABV. The booziness only crept into the backdrop as it warmed up. The finish has just enough harshness that I think it would be a lot better with a little age on it. The chocolate and wheat combination came through as it warmed, but remained muddled against a faint unremarkable aroma when it was cold. Somehow the combination of it all reminded me of liquefied chocolate wafer sticks. Yum! I'll be socking a bottle away for a while (6-12 months) and looking forward to how it smooths out. W00t! ☆☆☆☆

71/100) Smokestack Chocolates

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Chocolate Ale, Imperial Stout Coffee, Imperial Stout Aztec Chocolate

October is pretty much the opposite time of year for Valentine's day so this line-up of Chocolate beers didn't work as any sort of romantic gift or wooing attempt. However, I suggest you keep them in mind for next year. If you have someone awesome who like beer, perhaps a chocolate beer or two is in order.

Chocolate Ale) First of all, throw out all your ideas as to what happens when chocolate and beer collide. This ale was a whopping 9% ABV but as clear and as light in color as an amber. The initial even tasted like an ale, but the finish had bittersweet chocolate overtones. They vanished as soon as they arrived, and the linger was short. I could see myself having this on a consistent basis. ☆☆☆☆

Imperial Stout Coffee Ale) As expected, the taste was somewhat similar to the normal Imperial Stout X. I presume that would be obvious, but if you could remove the coffee flavors, the two would be identical. Boulevard didn't skimp on their coffee, so instead of adding an astringency and harshness, the coffee brought touches of mellow smoothness. Rich and pleasant, I liked this one more than the Aztec one that follows, but just less than the normal version. However, as might be my one complaint about Boulevard, they make a decent imperial coffee stout. I just want something more crazy is all especially when splurging on a larger bottle. Regardless, I just need to remember that coffee in beer still imparts caffeine. I couldn't sleep until about two in the morning after this. Oops. ☆☆☆

Imperial Stout Aztec Chocolate Ale) Again, the taste was similar to the normal Imperial Stout X. I can only guess that the addition of the Aztec chocolate made this one a bit sweeter, but in exchange it softened the richness of the normal version. I wasn't enamored with this one. It's still a decent representation of the style, it just played safe when that wasn't necessary. I am making it sound bad, but I really enjoyed it. It just wasn't bowling me over with over-the-top impact. ☆☆☆

70/100) Ovila

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Abbey Saison, Abbey Quad, Barrel Aged Dubbel

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, better known for their IPAs, pale ales, and other american-style craft beers, is behind the Ovila line of Abbey style ales. All are made through collaboration with the the Abbey of New Clairvoux in California. They are better known for their wines so they tend to supply the occasional ingredients, barrels, and space from what I understand.

Abbey Saison) had a brown sugar syrupy like background. The first time I had this the finish was a bit a more peppery, but my guess is that age subdues that over time. I really liked the funk that came out. The saison aspects, probably because of the added mandarin, smacked more of light citrus and orange. ☆☆☆☆

Abbey Quad) First of all, this belgian style had the appropriate thick mouth feel. I got the dark fruits more in the middle as it warmed up, and the subtle plum remained in the finish's backdrop even before that. It wasn't all harsh, but it wasn't polished smooth. The booziness peeked out of the backdrop, but didn't stick around as my taste buds adjusted. This Ovila quad was a rather enjoyable US made Quad. ☆☆☆☆

Barrel Aged Dubbel) This beer had a pretty hefty price tag on it. However, it was worth it. The malts balanced out nicely with the two barrel types used. The bourbon barrels gave this dubbel's finish just a tinge of vanilla, but the red wine barrels effects were more strongly felt. The molasses of the dubbel converged with the after effects of wine resulting in an unusual sweetened dark fruits combination. Usually these barrel-aged types come across as hot which means the alcohol dominates the linger, but this one avoided that. I consider it a winner. ☆☆☆☆☆

69/100) Zipline Barrel Aged Rum

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Farmhouse Pale, Barrel Aged Black IPA, IRA

Zipline Brewing Co is really growing on me. Their barrel-aged beers and Limited Series are quite fun. And while I don't review it here, I recommend their Limited Series Double IPA for anyone who wants a solid hopped beer. Drink Local!

Farmhouse Pale) It's light but has a lot of funky belgian yeast attributues going on in the middle and finish. The linger even changes over time. The only thing that sets it off negatively from other Belgian pale ales was that it lacks the rich mouth feel. I can't confirm right now, but I also suspect that it is filtered because I've never seen such a clear Belgian style, which may account for the clean mouth feel. And despite that disparity with my ideal Belgian fare, this is possibly my favorite Zipline beer or at least a near pair for their Kölsch. ☆☆☆☆

Barrel Aged Black IPA) It's had a good half a year on it now. And while I've had it a couple times at events or on tap, this was my first time having it fresh from a bottle. My first reaction was that it is amazing with yummy burnt sugar characteristics and a rich backdrop, but then I was slightly bummed. The booziness didn't dissipate like I had hoped. On the finish, it just built becoming more and more strongly pronounced as I consumed more. There was, of course, little hop presence as one would expect from a barrel-aged black IPA. What the aging left was a fairly barrel heavy, boozied backdrop, smoothed out beer. I rather approve of it. ☆☆☆☆

IRA) What is it that makes an India Red Ale, an India Red Ale? Simply, you take the amped up hoppiness levels of an IPA and you combine that with the colors and background flavor touches that an amber would have. And voila! You have an IRA. Zipline's IRA does nothing wrong, but it came across as a bit monotone to me. Although, as I have said before, bitter-focuse beers are not exactly my thing. This one poured a nice rusty amber and left my taste buds a bit hop-singed. If that's your thing, check it out! ☆☆☆