Loba-Lantern

~ lobablanca

Little break from all the drinking that’s been going on here at the lair. I carved a pumpkin last night. I haven’t carved a pumpkin in a very long time. Too long. I used to love doing this every year (remember, Halloween is my favorite holiday). So when I learned that there would be a pumpkin decorating contest at work, I decided that I would get back to something that used to make me incredibly happy.

I need a little extra happy right now.

Truth be told, I don’t even mind if I don’t win anything for this little cutie. I had a blast carving him. This was also the first time I’ve ever used linoleum cutters for the task. Not bad for my first go, eh?

I snapped a couple photos of my wolfy pumpkin with a candle, but they came out incredibly dark (duh, right?). Therefore, forgive the graininess of this photo, which I had to take into PhotoShop for some level adjustments:

Even though it’s early, Happy Howloween, denizens. Hope you all get your scare on in the best ways possible.

Darktober 25: Stovepipe Porter

~ LobaBlanca

Brewer: Otter Creek Brewing Company
Location: Middlebury, Vermont
Type: American Porter
ABV: 4.4%

Dropping down from Canada, we land at the shores of Vermont’s Otter Creek for some of their Stovepipe Porter.

Ruby-tinted blackness with a smudge of carbonation, this porter delivers familiar albeit slightly floral smells but comes in slightly drier, slightly more bitter than many of the other porters to have made a Darktober appearance. Although not nearly as bitter as Boxcar’s Pumpkin Porter, Stovepipe definitely does not tickle the sweet senses of your palate in any way.

I also detected a stronger hops presence in this porter, which might have accentuated the dry, bitter flavor profile. While deducting points from my personal enjoyment scale, I think that this porter strikes a nice balance between the malts and hops that could appeal to the more hoppy minded beer drinker. Of course, I could be completely off on this assumption. It would not be the first time.

Not a terrible beer, but definitely not a stand-out. If I’ve shown anything this month, there is no dearth of exceptional choices for dark beer drinkers. Why, then, would I choose a middle-of-the-road beer if I could choose a better option?

Darktober 23: Bitches Brew

~ lobablanca

Brewer: Dogfish Head
Location: Milton, Delaware
Type: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 9%

And now we jump from Colorado back to home base…or close to home base, at least, with Delaware’s Dogfish Head. I honestly wasn’t expecting to revisit DFH this Darktober. Then I was broadsided by their Bitches Brew.

First, I’m going to let Sam Calagione, DFH’s founder, explain why he created this brew, in honor of the same-titled Miles Davis album:

Calagione was drawn to the alchemical spirits in Bitches Brew right out of college, acquiring a copy of the album “within months of the first time I brewed a batch of homebrew in my apartment in New York City. I listened to it when I was writing my Dogfish business plan. I wanted Dogfish Head to be a maniacally inventive and creative brewery, analog beer for the digital age. You could say that my dream was to have Dogfish Head, in some small way, stand for the same thing in the beer world that Bitches Brew stands for in the jazz world. You can imagine how excited we are to be doing this project 17 years after I wrote that business plan.”

One more quote (both from this Huffington Post article), explaining the multiple fermentation process used for Bitches Brew:

“We just did the test batch our pub. It is a threaded beer which means multiple primary fermentations […] and then you blend them together from multiple threads. It is a blend of Tej, which is the native African beer which is actually honey beer. They use gesho root because hops don’t grow in Africa and gesho is the bittering component that counterbalances the sweetness of the honey. That’s one thread. Three threads is an imperial stout with Muscovado sugar. Post-fermentation, we’ll blend those together to make Bitches’ Brew and that will come out in August.”

Why the quotes? Because I think it’s important to understand how special this beer is to DFH…which, in turn, I hope helps you all understand how devastatingly delicious this beer was when I drank it.

Again, I was lucky to drink this one fresh from the tap. I suspect, however, that this is also one I should buy bottled for some aging fun. If it’s this stunning fresh, I suspect it turns into an orgasmically bodacious beer when aged for a few years.

Yes, I did just write that.

Again, I’m trying very hard not to hype this beer. I don’t want to damage its standing with any of you by building it up higher than it should be. However, I can tell you this: The flavors of this Imperial stout almost perfectly match my preferences and even expand them to levels I hadn’t expected. It is a gorgeous brew, rich and intense with balancing notes of bitter, sweet, hoppy (or gesho) and malted. Let it linger in your mouth for a while and savor the taste rotation: dark chocolate, molasses, summertime honeysuckle, wintertime fire, soft spring rainfall, crisp autumnal earthiness.

Even better, let it warm for a while in your glass and return for deeper yet noticeably mellowed flavors surfacing from the darkness.

I’m sure a bottle is going to be predictably prohibitively priced. This is a DFH specialty. However, I’m going to vote that this one is worth it, denizens. It steps up to that edge of kitschy experimentation that DFH has sidled up to many times before, but this time they don’t tumble over into the abyss. This time, they stand their ground quite well.

Darktober 22: Yeti Imperial Stout

~ LobaBlanca

Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Company
Location: Denver, Colorado
Type: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 9.5%

Bit of a change of plans this week, denizens. I did a little bit of extracurricular drinking this past weekend, and I discovered a couple of beers that I decided were “must mentions” here for Darktober. This, unfortunately, means that I am bumping a couple of others from my pre-planned path. It also means a bit of back-stepping in our eastward journey. You don’t mind, though…do you?

Very well then. Allons-y!

And back we go to Colorado. This time, we’re visiting Denver’s Great Divide Brewing Company for something very exciting: a bona fide Yeti sighting! Well…a sighting of Great Divide’s Yeti Imperial Stout.

Full disclosure: I had this beauty on tap, which means the only way I could have gotten a better experience with this one would be for me to travel to Denver and dive into one of the Yeti vats. I’ve no idea what this one is like from the bottle, but I can tell you this: If you love Imperial stouts, it is a MUST to try if you find it on tap.

From bistre depths rises a russet-tinged outline of froth, but nothing more. Yeti is still, quiet in its waiting. Inhale and receive a nose of malty, roasted, cocoa-covered decadence. You’ve found the chocolate factory, Charlie, and it’s hiding inside a brewery. Supremely indulgent mouth feel, like liquid velvet, and a miasma of flavor complexity that might very well threaten to short out your taste buds.

Yeti is a beautiful brew, denizens: heavy, thick, deeply fragrant, dangerously flavored, with hardly a tinge of alcohol in the taste whatsoever. This is how high ABV beers do it properly. That other mythical brew could take some notes from Great Divide’s mysterious mascot.

The Yeti line extends far beyond just this one Imperial stout. Great Divide also offers Yeti in Oak Aged, Chocolate Oak Aged, Espresso Oak Aged, and Barrel Aged. I have to tell you, all those sound amazing. Plus, knowing that they are built upon the astoundingly intense foundation of this Imperial stout, I can only imagine how breathtaking they must be. Here’s hoping I can have a few more Yeti spottings in my imminent future…

Darktober 20: Dragon’s Milk Oak Barrel Ale

~ lobablanca

Brewer: New Holland Brewing Company
Location: Holland, Michigan
Type: American Stout
ABV: 10%

This is my year, denizens. Did you know that? At least according to the Chinese Zodiac. See, I’m a dragon. Dragons, therefore, are always welcome here at the lair…especially ones that come in stout form. Thus today’s visit from Michigan’s New Holland Dragon’s Milk.

This one poured as dark and still as Loch Ness under a new moon. Barely a burble of carbonation beneath the moderate layer of bubbles. Also? Hardly any nose whatsoever. I thought for a moment or two that there was something wrong with my sniffer. I spent several moments, desperately trying to detect something more than the faintest traces of…anything. This mythical beastie, however, is not quick to surface from its murky depths.

Initial, cautious sip and…BAM.

Sweet, merciful brewmaster, this beer BURNS. And not in a spicy, happy, flavorful way. More of a “this is more of a hard liquor than a beer” kind of way. You’ll notice that the ABV on Dragon’s Milk is 10 percent. If I didn’t know better, I would think that this is, therefore, how such a high ABV beer is supposed to taste. However, remember back in my Dogfish Head review, I mentioned liking their 18-percent ABV World Wide Stout? I know better. High ABV beers can be incredibly flavorful, rich, and exciting rather than tasting solely of alcohol. High ABV beers also do not have to feel like they’re leaving behind esophageal burns as you drink them.

Is this why the beer is called “Dragon’s Milk”? Because it makes you feel like you’ve just suckled at the teat of a fire-breathing beastie? Do dragons even have teats? Aren’t they reptiles? WTF?

More important beer review question: What type of barrels are used to age this? Were they formerly used to age something like bourbon? Because that might help to explain the burn. Yet New Holland makes no mention of this on their site. I did finally find an article on SLASH/FOOD that confirms this beer is indeed aged in former bourbon barrels. That’s kind of something I would think the brewery would want to tout somewhere.

You know me. I have no problem with the comforting burn of the hard stuff. I would like a little warning first though…at least enough time to switch the dial to somewhere in between BEER and LIQUOR. I absolutely was not expecting this beer to be more like J

Darktober 19: Harvest Pumpkin Ale

~ lobablanca

Brewer: Blue Moon Brewing Company
Location: Golden, Colorado
Type: Pumpkin Ale
ABV: 5.7%

Slipping backward in our eastbound trek, once more to Colorado, for this week’s seasonal brew. Remember, in my Red Banshee review, how I said I wasn’t going to take a swipe at Colorado’s Mega-Beer…right now?

Welcome to “right now.”

So, one of the other universally present, universally recognized American beermakers is MillerCoors. It used to be just Miller and just Coors, with one in Wisconsin and one in Colorado. It’s a long, convoluted story about how it evolved into now Chicago-based MillerCoors, but this company now encompasses lots of recognizable North American beers, including the Miller and Coors products (der), Canada’s Molson products, Keystone, Pabst, Schlitz, Stroh, National Bohemian, Zima (dear prophets, do they still make Zima?)…and Blue Moon.

That’s right, Blue Moon Brewing Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of MillerCoors, brought in under the Coors umbrella. The parent company almost never associates itself with Blue Moon, claiming they want the company to stand on its own merits. Personally, I’ve always felt that it’s because they want people to believe that Blue Moon is just a regular old craft brewery whose eerily reaching global presence is attributable to the wildly tasty beers they make.

Can you tell that I’m not really a disciple of any of these notions?

Do I think that Blue Moon is a terrible brewer? No. Do I think they’re good enough to be so globally accessible as a “craft brewery”? Mmm, not really. No matter how hush-hush MillerCoors is to the general public about their affiliation with Blue Moon, the affiliation still exists. And Blue Moon definitely benefits in ways that real craft breweries do not. Does this make me biased against them because they have special access to “Daddy’s money” and accompanying resources?

Yes. Yes, it does. What can I say? I’m always one to root for the underdogs rather than the pampered purebreds.

So, anyway, Blue Moon. “Craft brewers.” With a really big backer. They do tend to enjoy dabbling in a diverse line of flavored beers, including specialty releases like Agave Blonde, Caramel Apple Spiced, Valencia Amber, Raspberry Cream, and Peanut Butter ales. Never tried any of those, but I’ve had their Summer Honey Wheat, Winter Abbey, and Belgian White ales. I bet you can automatically tell what one of my other issues is with them, can’t you? Lots and lots of light-colored beers…not necessarily heavily hopped, but definitely not the PANTONE chip I seek in my beer color wheel. Again, not terrible beers, just not to my liking.

However, I was offered a single of their Harvest Pumpkin Ale, which I happily accepted…because I’m sometimes not a total hard-ass in my dismissal of things based on previous experiences.

Sometimes.

Gorgeous pumpkin-colored pour topped by a satisfying dollop of creamy foam form an instant and lovely visual association, and allow a clear view of the constant chains of effervescence linking ever upward through the body of this beer. The nose and taste offer hints of cinnamon, clove, and all-spice, but are ultimately overwhelmed by an incredible nutmeg presence.

Seriously, this is one nutmeg-worshipping brew. I don’t mind nutmeg in small doses, especially when paired with the other traditional pumpkin pie spices, but I definitely consider it to be a spice to be used sparingly. Otherwise, it’s way too intense, almost to the point of painful. Kind of like the taste of this ale. A little dab’ll do ya, indeed.

Blue Moon would do well to keep this fact in mind the next time they brew a batch of this seasonal beer.

Darktober 18: Big Eddy Baltic Porter

~ LobaBlanca

Brewer: Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company
Location: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
Type: Baltic Porter
ABV: 8.5%

Let’s stick in the Central Zone a bit longer, shall we? And let’s have a call-back to the Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager collaboration between Louisiana and Wisconsin breweries by trailing upward from Louisiana’s Abita to Wisconsin’s Leinenkugel Brewing Company.

CRAZY DARKTOBER PRE-PLANNING IS CRAZY.

So Leinenkugel. I’ve actually had a bit of experience with this brewer thanks to an introduction to their Summer Shandy by my cousin with the mad culinary skills. The idea of beer brewed with lemonade wouldn’t have been a natural selection for me, but I trust her flavor choices enough that I was willing to venture outside my comfort zone. It’s a delightfully light and refreshing beer, surprisingly non-cloying, and perfect for an outdoor barbecue on a bright, cloudless summer day.

[Loba Tangent: I’m getting the sneaking suspicion from these Darktober reviews that I’m more of a fruit-flavored beer fan than I thought. This slightly disturbs me.]

This level of satisfaction was all I needed to give further consideration to other Leinenkugel offerings. Finding a Baltic porter from this brewer was a pleasant surprise…probably because I’ve only seen their lighter offerings. Their Summer Shandy, Honey Weiss, and Berry Weiss beers are always in ample supply, but I’d never seen one of their darker offerings until this year. That’s when I met Big Eddy.

Actually, “Big Eddy” is the name of their special series of beers brewed with water from nearby Big Eddy Spring, once dubbed “the purest water in the world” (although they don’t say who dubbed it that). The series comprises mostly dark offerings that all sound like exactly my kind of collection.

Baltic porters, like Imperial stouts, are meant to be bigger, bolder flavors than their everyday counterparts. Big Eddy’s take is, indeed, a Superman to the average Clark Kent porters (damn, I’m just hitting all the dorky planning jokes!). The nose is large and intensely fragrant, even if the head barely made an effort to appear for the pouring of this thick, dark brew. What surprised me about this one, however, is the truth behind the bottle’s description:

A rich, malty brew with toffee, port, and chocolate notes and a dark fruit finish.

Most of the time, I kind of feel like my taste buds are broken, because I just don’t seem to taste whatever the brewers (or copy writers) are tasting. This time? Not so sure on the toffee, but if I had to ping this porter as borrowing its intense flavors from some other alcoholic offering? It would absolutely be port. I was astonished, in fact, by how heavily inspired by traditional port flavors this beer is. There are also strong notes of dried figs and a slightly harsh, pungent undercurrent that I couldn’t quite identify as any particular flavor…just the subtlest suggestion of a piquant darkness flowing beneath it all.

The flavors need a bit of settling into before you feel truly comfortable with Big Eddy, but they do become agreeable after a time. Warmth emboldens the flavors, so letting this one set for a while isn’t necessarily a bad idea. However, the strange astringent edge of this porter sharpens as well.

I’m not sure if I would seek out this particular Big Eddy brew again, but I also wouldn’t pass it over if I ever found it on tap. I bet it’s a beast when it’s fresh. I’m also definitely interested enough that I will be keeping my eyes open for more Big Eddy offerings, or even one of Leinenkugel’s other dark beers.

Darktober 17: TURBODOG

~ lobablanca

Brewer: Abita Brewing Company
Location: Abita Springs, Louisiana
Type: English Brown Ale
ABV: 5.6%

From Mountain to Central, and back once more to Louisiana. I strongly debated whether or not to review this beer since I have had it several times before and I am trying to get in as many new beer experiences as possible this month. However, I simply couldn’t resist sharing my joy, not only over this particular beer but also over this particular brewery. Besides, the beer is definitely dark and was part of one of my recent single-beer shopping sprees. It qualifies, dammit!

So it is that I present to you Abita’s TURBODOG. You all know me well enough by this point that I’m not even going to lie on this one: I originally chose this beer for the name. Sucker for a dog-themed beer, indeed. Truthfully, though, one does not not choose an Abita beer at some point when one is in New Orleans. Talk about universal presence! In this instance, however, Abita is deserving of a healthy dose of Big Easy Love. Their beers have always been fresh, flavorful, full-bodied, and more than able to hold their own when paired with the boldness of Nawlins cuisine.

My first exposure to TURBODOG in the Crescent City, in fact, came about when I ordered it along with a half-dozen chargrilled oysters and a some chicken and andouille gumbo at ACME Oyster House. TURBODOG’s chocolate, chicory sensuality paired beautifully with the buttery smoked herbal notes of the oysters as well as the spiced elegance of the gumbo.

On its own, however, is a slightly different experience. A coffee-colored pour with ruby highlights and butterscotch foam, take your first whiff and? Willamette hops, my friends. Yes, that’s right. Willamette hops. I think I might have been even more inclined to notice their presence because of yesterday’s full-on exposure to them. However, I have always noted a hoppy hint to TURBODOG. Thankfully, though, it is indeed only a hint. Strong enough to detect it if you’re sensitive to the taste or smell, but mild enough that it doesn’t impede the malted sweetness or dark bread, roasted cacao, or nutty sibilance of other flavors.

It’s really not until Abita’s 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog that the hops take a more central appearance in the flavor profile, which was definitely a disappointment for me. However, other Abita beers I have tried, including their raspberry and strawberry beers, have been surprising winners. I’ve mentioned before that fruit-flavored beers are a sticky wicket for me. However, I must say that Abita’s strawberry seasonal brew in particular was jaw-droppingly delicious (and on a sultry afternoon pairs beautifully with a fresh shrimp Po Boy). Right now is the season for Abita’s pecan harvest ale, which I wouldn’t mind tracking down at all.

Back to TURBODOG. With a mellow mouth feel and pleasing palate, this is quite an easy brew to drink. For me, though, this is definitely another beer that begs to be paired with food, rather than drunk alone. Then again, maybe this is just me speaking from my pleasant Abita and food pairing experiences in New Orleans. I do know, however, that I was surprised by how subdued my response was to TURBODOG when finally drinking it on its own. Guess this means another reason to return to New Orleans. Gotta feed my TURBODOG love…

Darktober 16: Red Banshee

~ lobablanca

Brewer: The Fort Collins Brewery
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Type: American Amber/Red Lager
ABV: 5.3%

Shifting time zones from Pacific to Mountain, we journey to Colorado. I know what some of you are thinking right now, but, no, I’m not going to take a swipe at that other Mega-Beer conglomerate the way I’ve been doing with Anheuser-Busch.

At least not right now.

Today, it’s all about The Fort Collins Brewery. Actually, though, there are quite a few awesome craft breweries located in Colorado, including the ever-more-omnipresent New Belgium, Breckenridge, and (one of my personal favorites) Left Hand Brewing. In fact, if I still had that bottle-aged milk stout from Left Hand in my reserve, this review would be all about that. Damn that too-tasty-to-resist-any-longer beer.

Instead, I give you the Red Banshee. For full disclosure, I originally purchased this beer because of the name. Really, though, how could I not? It’s like it was named specifically for me (or after me, depending on whom you ask)! Sometimes, I truly am a slave to marketing.

Pouring the Red Banshee into my Green Lantern glass (because sometimes I’m also really this silly in my planning) revealed a color more similar to a rusty carmine, with a fallow head that left a rather intense lacing down the inside of the glass.

[Loba Tangent: Ah, this is one that I haven’t mentioned yet this Darktober: lacing. It’s what beer nerds call the residue that the frothy head leaves along the inside of the glass as you drink your beer. I haven’t really dwelt on this term before now because it hasn’t really been a noteworthy thing with the other beers I’ve reviewed. However, Red Banshee’s tightly packed cushion of bubbles left an amazing trail of lacing all over this glass. Thus, this tangent.]

The moment the bouquet hit me, I knew that I was probably about to make a mistake in drinking or reviewing this beer. Recusing myself would have been the better option. Why? I could smell the hops…and very little else. Heavy hops presence is like kryptonite to me, and it’s probably one of the primary things that kept me from exploring the beer scene sooner. I’m not really sure what I find so unpleasant about heavy-handed hoppiness, but it’s probably the flip side of the response that non-dark fans have to those bitter, heavy brews I cherish so much.

Red Banshee simply glows with hoppy aromas. It’s by no means the hoppiest beer I’ve ever had…in fact I’m sure that hops fans would probably consider this a very mild contender. This red lager is brewed with Willamette hops, which is a variety grown in Oregon’s Willamette Valley (and you thought we’d left Oregon). and possesses a distinctly floral profile overtop the expected botanical bitterness.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t really pick up on any other flavors beyond these floral ones, but I can say that this was surprisingly smooth in its hoppy impact. I’ve had some hoppy beers that have fairly felt like the hops were leaving behind a trail of taste bud devastation. Red Banshee is a graceful, more refined tartness that is easy to adjust to as your taste buds get acquainted to her somewhat pungent presence.

I wish I could provide a more detailed review for Red Banshee, but as a non-disciple of Hopism, I’m afraid I’m a bit out of my league. However, I do think that it’s a beer worth giving a try if you are a true believer. As for me, I’ve seen a couple other Fort Collins offerings, including a chocolate stout, a double chocolate stout, and a double chocolate coffee Imperial stout, that I most definitely would not mind trying. Maybe next time, I’ll look a little further than the beer name before making my purchase 😉