Review #7 - Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Posted by: Stonecipher

Mar. 6, 2011

The Dogfish Head Burton Baton has been much more difficult to track down than I initially suspected.  Here in Illinois, as is the case in 36 other states, Dogfish Head products are pretty easy to find, but given that the Burton Baton is not brewed year-round out there in Delaware, it can be a challenge to locate.

Fortunately, Binny’s Beverage Depot is an incredible resource and my local Binny’s happened to have one 4-pack left last week.  This was particularly good news considering that a couple weeks ago I lost the one bottle of it that I had been able to get my hands on.  As it turned out, that loss was actually a gain.  Rather than having just the one bottle, I was able to have a few extras to enjoy while I was not writing about them.  The reason I have this blog is because I thoroughly enjoy writing about beer, but sometimes it is nice to just sit back and enjoy one without thinking too much about it.  Plus, rather than stealing a sip or two from me, my girlfriend was able to steal an entire beer for herself. 

On to the review:

ABV: 10%

IBUs: 70

Brewery Location: Milton, Delaware

Style: American Double IPA (Blended with an English-style Old Ale)

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.14 – Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.25 - Excellent

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1,189/11^th

Brewery Description: Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Bottled On: NA

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) I poured the Burton Baton from its 12oz. bottle into a snifter and found it to be a fairly standard (for a DIPA), but still good-looking deep, mildly opaque copper color.  A small, slightly creamy head rested on top, but it didn’t last long.  Within seconds it was completely gone, which did seem to negatively impact the smell.  As expected with the lack of head retention, not much lacing was evident, although a few scattered wisps of foam remained as evidence that a beer had recently been enjoyed in the snifter.

SMELL:  (3.5 out of 5) Speaking of the snifter, it is an absolute must for this beer.  The aroma is complex and should be appreciated to its fullest and the snifter provides plenty of surface area while simultaneously directing the aroma right into the nose.  Sweet smells of vanilla, malt and some citrus lead the way, but hints of oak and hops lurk in the background.  Had the strength of the aroma lasted a bit longer than it did I would have been able to give this beer higher marks in the smell category.  Unfortunately, though, my first sniff was by far the best and as soon as the head vanished the smell seemed to go with it. 

TASTE:  (4.5 out of 5) A strong, malty, vanilla and citrusy sweetness completely dominates each sip of the Burton Baton, but if close attention is paid to the taste, there is also a very intense hop flavor that might be missed by some.  It’s like drinking good bourbon in the respect that the strong alcohol flavors often fool people into thinking that it isn’t as sweet as it really is.  The Baton is sort of the opposite; the sweetness hides the bitter, hoppy flavor.  There are plenty of DIPAs (Hopslam immediately comes to mind) that would be good for introducing a non-hop head to the style, but the Dogfish Head Burton Baton might be the perfect beer in this respect.  The hop flavor is a large part of what makes it so impressively tasty, but unless you are really focusing on that in particular it is very easy to not notice what it is.  This is getting to be a long-winded description of the taste, though, so to get back on track notes of pine and citrus are also detectable in this very delicious Double IPA.  A slightly bitter aftertaste also leaves the palate craving the next sweet sip.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4.5 out of 5) The Burton Baton has the rare combination of having both a smooth, creamy and oily feel while still possessing some strong sparkle and carbonation.

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) This is an absurdly easy beer to drink, at least for the first one.  I have not attempted to drink two in one sitting before, but I’m not 100% sure that I would want to.  It sits like a rich dessert would.  The palate craves more, but the stomach might disagree.  One of these days, though, when I have some Burton Baton around again, I’m sure my palate will win out and we’ll see how it goes then.

DRAWBACKS:  My biggest problem with this beer was the lack of head retention and lacing.  The head retention would not have been such a big problem if it had not impacted the nose so strongly.  In terms of the lacing, I know I tend to knit pick about it, but I like my beer to please all of my senses and strong lacing is a large part of what pleases my sense of sight. 

SOUND:  The Burton Baton is a very smooth, pleasant and accessible beer, but at the same time it is extraordinarily complex, lively and full bodied.  It also happens to be rare, at least compared to many other Dogfish Head products.  These characteristics reminded me of a very smooth, easy to listen to, yet still very complex song by a group called the Whatnauts.  The song is called “Help is on the Way” from their album, “The Whatnauts on the Rocks” and was released in 1972.  I usually try to include  a link to the song I am referencing in the sound section, but iTunes doesn’t carry it.  So you’ll have to do a little digging yourself, but in the mean time you can at least check the group out with one of their hit singles called “Livin’ My Life”.

Review #6 - Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe IPA

Posted by: Stonecipher

Feb. 26, 2011

Finally!  The Weyerbacher’s Double Simcoe IPA is here!  Not all of it, but most of it. 

After a bunch of setbacks and two separate incidents in two different states resulting in bottles being broken, two of the four in the 4-pack arrived safely here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights World Headquarters in Evanston, IL.

So, as I embark on my first ever home brewing journey this afternoon I thought I would spend some of the downtime I have writing the Double Simcoe review.

Also, a special thanks to ‘nevins’ over at Beer Advocate for getting these bottles to me, this is the first beer on The List acquired by trade and I’m very excited.  First, as usual though, some quick facts about the beer:

ABV: 9%

IBUs: 153

Brewery Location: Easton, Pennsylvania

Style: American Double IPA

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.13 – Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.2 - Excellent

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1,009/12^th

Brewery Description: Weyerbacher’s Double Simcoe IPA

Bottled On: NA

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) The Weyerbacher’s Double Simcoe IPA pours a nice, deep, reddish-brown that is cloudy and opaque.  A bubbly and very clean three-quarter inch head rests on top of the snifter housing the contents of the 12 oz. bottle it was poured from.  Retention on the head is not impressive and what little lacing was apparent early on in the glass slid away by the end. 

SMELL:  (4.0 out of 5) There has been some debate as to what type of aroma Simcoe hops produce, some have said fruity, others woody, and still more have said piney.  To me, however, there is no doubt about it; the aroma is heavily piney and very enticing.  A touch of orange and other citrus smells makes its way into the nose here, but the pine is in charge.  This is a good smelling beer and would have been a higher rating if it was a little more intense.

TASTE:  (4.5 out of 5) In terms of flavor, Simcoe hops are known for their bitter qualities and Weyerbacher’s certainly made sure that this 100% Simcoe hopped brew did not disappoint on that front.  This a beautifully balanced beer with just enough malt to make it go down smooth, but not so much that it takes away at all from the bitterness.  In addition to the malty hoppiness, the Double Simcoe also provides a hint of grapefruit in the citrus department; the orange from the nose is completely obliterated by the flavor, but the orange first, grapefruit second makes for a delicious combo.  This is a bitter beer, but it is not harsh at all and that makes it very accessible to those who may not be huge hop heads. 

MOUTHFEEL:  (3.0 out of 5) The Double Simcoe is smooth and a bit oily, which I am generally not a huge fan of, but the oily feel actually works to make this beer go down a bit easier.  Still, I prefer more sparkle in my beer and while the feel is not bad at all, it is somewhat of a let down.

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) Considering that all 153 IBUs are very apparent in this beer it is an incredibly easy beer to drink.  While some Double IPAs, like Bell’s Hopslam are good for introducing beginners to the style, this might be more of an intermediate beer, for someone who is starting to develop a palate, but isn’t quite sure how much bitter they can handle.  A highly drinkable, bitter DIPA is not always easy to find, but the Double Simcoe nailed it for me.

DRAWBACKS:  In the two most important categories, taste and smell, the Double Simcoe IPA gets very high marks.  I was disappointed in the appearance and feel, however.  Although I already acknowledged that oily and less carbonated feel helped this beer go down easier, I don’t mind the slighter greater challenge to the palate that comes with some extra sparkle.  Additionally, the lack of head retention and lacing was a disappointment.  It may seem like a little thing, but seeing those rings and arches around the glass as the beer slowly disappears is a thing of beauty and excitement for a craft beer drinker and that was missed in this experience.

SOUND:  Pretention Alert!  Yep, as always in the sound category, my snooty taste in beer meets my snooty taste in music – and The Double Simcoe reminded me of one of my favorite groups for a very specific reason.  Jurassic 5 is an underground hip-hop group from Southern California (As a side note, one of their MCs, the very friendly Chali Tuna, is originally from Chicago) that has had more commercial success than many other groups of their ilk.  J5 has had their videos played on MTV, they’ve collaborated with Dave Matthews and both their 3^rd and 4^th albums, “Power in Numbers” and “Feedback” made it to the #15 spot on Billboard’s Top 200.

The point is, Jurassic 5 produces some very high quality hip-hop, but they have also had a good deal of success in mainstream pop/rap circles.  So they end up being the one good, underground hip-hop group that people with mediocre to bad taste actually enjoy.  The Double Simcoe IPA struck me as the type of beer that someone who thinks Harp and Bass are the epitome of fine beer would be able to tolerate and even brag to their friends about liking.  In other words, someone could slip this into their line-up, not fully explain what it was and they would end up inadvertently becoming craft beer advocates. 

In that same respect, I have met dozens of people who treated Jurassic 5 that way, in particular, the title track from their 2000 album “Quality Control”.  In case you have missed it for the past 11 years, check it out on iTunes here: 

The Mystery of the Missing Burton Baton – A Short (and True) Story About the Three Beers I Didn’t Get to Drink this Week.

Posted by: Stonecipher

Feb. 18, 2011

It has been a tough week here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  If all had gone well, we would have had three more of the Top 20 DIPAs reviewed and checked off the list, bringing us close to the halfway point.  Instead, the beer universe was against us and we are still stuck at #5.

I’ll begin with the worst news of all – the beer that went MIA and is now presumed dead.  As some of you may have read, we were in Nashville, TN over the past weekend.  While we were there we actually began the trip with a bit of good beer luck when we found some Oskar Blues Gordon Ale, one of the Top 20 that is not readily available here in Illinois.  That, however, is where our luck ended. 

When we got back from the bar that night we decided to throw the one bottle of beer that we had brought with us in the hotel room’s refrigerator.  That bottle was a Dogfish Head Burton Baton, which comes in at #11 on The List with 1,176 reviews.  The plan was to take advantage of some of the downtime I was hoping to have to review it and cross it off the list.  Unfortunately, I never ended up having too much downtime in the hotel room.  So, I never got around to it.

When we arrived back in Evanston on Monday, I asked my girlfriend where the beer was.  She thought it was in one of our bags.  Turns out it wasn’t.  I thought maybe I had left it in her refrigerator.  Turns out I had not.  Then she suggested maybe it was in my fridge.  Nope.  The trunk of the car?  No dice.  Was it rolling around in the back seat?  Negative.  We could just not figure out where it had vanished to. 

Finally, last night, while sitting at one of our local hangouts and sampling a few of Goose Island’s high-end sours, it hit me.  I turned to my girlfriend and said “I know where the beer is.”

“Where!?!” She replied.

“It’s in the hotel fridge.” 

And with that, the mystery of the missing Burton Baton was solved.

Of course, the Burton Baton would have been Beer #6 on The List, but what about the other two, #7 and #8?  Well, number seven, was supposed to have been the Weyerbacher Double Simcoe.  Many of you read about that last week.  Due to some minor technical difficulties, however, it looks like the Double Simcoe may not arrive until sometime this weekend… if I am lucky.  By the way, none of this was the fault of my trading partner; it was the middle man who totally dropped the ball on this one.  Said middle man has promised to straighten things out quickly, but we shall see.  Hopefully, there is a swift and happy conclusion to this story.

As for number eight, well, this one was simply a case of false advertising.  OK, maybe not false, but at the very least it was lazy advertising. 

Two nights ago, we planned to take my mother and my aunt to see Les Mis in the City.  On the way we picked out a nice restaurant called Erwin on Chicago’s North Side.  After picking it out I went on line to see if they had much of a beer list.  I was not very hopeful, but I figured there would at least be a standard Goose Island brew or two and maybe another craft selection.  As it turned out though, their beer selection was very impressive, I would even say inspired.  Of the 17 available bottles, only Amstel Light and Kaliber Non-Alcohol were non-craft selections.  If you click here and scroll down you can see just how impressive it is – Lagunitas, Two Brothers, Left Hand, even Ska! 

Sure enough, the Avery Maharaja was listed as well, and in fact, still is.  Shortly after we arrived, however, the waiter informed us that they have not had any in stock in quite some time.  I should have known better, Maharaja is not an easy beer to find and it is only brewed a few times a year (I believe three), but still, it was heartbreaking.  Plus, in all fairness, I probably would not have reviewed a beer in that setting, but still, I thought I was going to have a crack at a rare treat.  So Erwin, I appreciate the amazing salmon we had, the delicious burger I tried and whatever that delicious bean spread was that came out with the bread before the meal, but please do me a favor and take the Maharaja off of your online beer list.  Or, wait, better yet, get some Maharaja and let me know when you do so that I can come back.

The good news from all of this is that it shouldn’t take too long to get all of these beers back into my possession and reviewed.  Dogfish Head is distributed here in Chicago, so even though the Burton Baton is a tough find, I’m sure I can track it down.  Avery is also distributed here, but even if it continues to hide from me in Illinois, I will be in Boulder in late March and I will be sure to stop at the brewery then.  As for the Double Simcoe, well, it could show up any time between now and Wednesday and if not, well, I’ll have another topic for a blog post. 

Enjoy your weekend everyone, and remember, just say no to Bud, Miller-Coors.  Say yes to good, American craft beer!

Thunder Snow Night = Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale Review

When the winter weather is miserable, most people get snow days, but as a bartender, on Tuesday I got a snow night – and to top it off, it was no ordinary snow night, it was a thunder snow night!  I figured a thunder snow night would be the perfect time to review Moylan’s Hopsickle Imperial IPA.  As was the case with my review of FFF Dreadnaught and with Great Divide’s Hercules, I had tasted this beer in the past, but I did not do a proper review.

The first time I tried the Hopsickle, I split a 22oz. bomber with my roommate and my girlfriend and it was very good.  This time, however, I made an effort drink the entire bottle and my results were drastically different.  Maybe this was a beer built for sharing, either way; here are some quick facts about the Moylan’s Hopsickle:

ABV: 9.2%

IBUs: 100+

Brewery Location: Novato, California

Style: American Double IPA

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.14 – Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: C-/2.7 – Not Worthy

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 782/20^th

Brewery Description: Moylan’s Brewery

Bottled On: No date on Moylan’s

APPEARANCE:  What first struck me about the Moylan’s Hopickle Imperial Ale was its haziness; it was a very cloudy and opaque orange color.  My pour was fairly aggressive, but it did not produce much of a head – just an eighth of an in or so and it settled down right away.  Head retention is not Hopsickle’s strength.

SMELL:  Just like the look, orange was the most noticeable characteristic of the nose.  It dominates the aromas as hops and other citrus flavors linger in the background. 

TASTE: The Hopsickle is a distinct departure from the previous DIPAs I’ve reviewed here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  Rather than the usual sweetness, this one is all about the hoppy bitterness.  There is some balance early in the sip, when the beer hits the tongue a mild malt flavor is present before giving way to a wave of orange that lasts until the hop bomb explodes.  It is about half way through the sip that the orange flavor suddenly disappears and a tongue-ripping bitterness assaults the palate.  The assault is just straight-forward, bitter hops and lasts all the way through to the aftertaste.  As the beer goes down it seems to be taking taste buds with it. 

MOUTHFEEL:  As I mentioned above, the Moylan’s Hopsickle seems to be ripping the taste buds out as it goes down.  It is extraordinarily dry on the back end and it leaves the palate begging for something to quench its thirst.  After cycling through from the back end of one sip to the back end of another a few times water needed to be introduced to the equation, at least in my case it did.

OVERALL:  This is the perfect illustration of why one needs to finish an entire serving of beer when it is being reviewed.  That first experience I had with Hopsickle was completely different than the last one.  The hop explosion I experienced in the seven ounce pour was fantastic, just like the first third or so of this particular bottle.  After that, however, it just went too far for my taste.  I genuinely appreciate a brewery making an effort to satisfy the true, bitter, hop craving of many DIPA fans out there, but when the second half of the beer cannot be tasted, it ceases to make sense. 

DRAWBACKS:  I feel that I’ve already been fairly tough on Moylan’s for this one, so rather than rehashing what I didn’t like about the beer I will simply recommend that you split a bomber with a friend or two.  It is certainly worth trying and who knows, some people may like to have their taste buds ripped to pieces, I know I like to have mine pushed to the limits.  To sum it up though, like Hunter S. Thompson said “The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”  Well, the Hopsickle has taught me where the edge of my hop tolerance is, something I never really thought I would figure out.

SOUND:  This beer brought to mind my college days when I was a DJ on our campus station and I was deeply involved in the college music scene.  The Hopsickle is one of those bands/songs that all the cool kids know, and are supposed to love, but in reality isn’t that pleasant to listen to.  You can respect the effort, musical talent and complex production that went into the song, but sometimes complexity doesn’t equal beautiful.

Just to provide a little balance here at the end of this piece, I do have to say that many of the other beers I have tried from Moylan’s are outstanding.  Don’t let this piece discourage you from checking picking up a bomber or two from Novato sometime.

Review #3 - Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

Posted by: Stonecipher

Jan. 31, 2011

Last night I was very happy to be sitting down with a large glass of beer after racking my brain all day with class and work.  Like the Dreadnaught, I have tried Great Divide’s Hercules Double IPA in the past, but I did not review it.  I remember enjoying it, but I was also eating at one of my very favorite restaurants in Chicago, Bad Apple on Lincoln, just kitty corner from the Half Acre Beer Company – home of Daisy Cutter Pale Ale.  It’s always tough to tell if the burgers or the beer is better there, the selection of both is phenomenal, but I digress. 

Here are some basics for the Great Divide Hercules Double IPA –

ABV: 10%

IBUs: 85

Brewery Location: Denver, Colorado

Style: American Double IPA

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.2 – Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.9 – Very Good

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1,184/10^th

Brewery Description: Great Divide Brewing Company

Bottled On: July 1, 2011

By the way, you’ll notice the Avery Brewing Company glass, a Colorado glass for a Colorado beer.  Haven’t been to the Great Divide Brewery yet, but may be making the trip when I’m in Denver and Boulder in March.  That also may have to be the time I review Avery’s Maharaja – One of my all-time favorites that just so happens to be in the Top 20.

So, with the weather getting increasingly worse here in the Chicago Area, I sat down last night to sample the Great Divide Hercules Double IPA and here’s what I found:

APPEARANCE:  Poured a hazy, medium copper into the Avery pint glass.  A decent looking, fluffy white head dissipated rather quickly.  The Hercules is a good looking beer, but there is nothing particularly notable about the appearance.  One thing that was interesting is that this beer did break the streak of my Double IPAs only lacing on the left and right sides of the glass.  The Hercules had a more typical lacing pattern, with big thin rings lining the opposite side of the glass from top to bottom. 

SMELL:  The first word that came to mind when I sniffed the Hercules was intense.  And that’s just the way I like my beers.  The strong, piney hop smell steals the show, but there are also hints of grassy and citrus aromas.  Great Divide certainly knows how to create an appetite and excitement for a hop head.

TASTE:  The first sip was a little bit of a letdown.  I was expecting a bitter hop bomb, but instead tasted more sweet malt flavors.  That wasn’t a terrible thing, just unexpected.  As the beer began to warm, however, the bitter hoppy flavor became more apparent and the sweetness was relegated to the background as a balancing agent.  Hints of citrus, mostly lemon, came through at the tail end of the sip as the bitterness emerged for the aftertaste.

MOUTHFEEL:  If I remember correctly it was Barq’s whose motto was “Barq’s has Bite”.  Well, Hercules has bite, particularly if you hold it on the tongue for a couple of seconds.  The carbonations digs into the tongue, but strangely the rest of the palate seems to get more of a pleasant mouth coating sensation at the same time.  This combination seems to be responsible for making the aftertaste exceptionally strong, an unusual, but excellent feel. 

OVERALL:  This is a somewhat erratic and funky beer.  In my last review I described the Three Floyds Dreadnaught as a roller coaster ride, and the Hercules is the same in some ways, except that the roller coaster is old, rattling and extremely shaky.  For the roller coaster connoisseur, my guess is that the rattle and shake might add to the excitement, but for a rookie, it might be terrifying.  I thoroughly enjoyed this beer, but I can see how it would frighten some light beer drinkers away in a hurry. 

DRAWBACKS:  Once again, the roller coast ride was both a plus and a minus.  The Hercules is a very complex beer and with complexity comes a variety of tastes, smells and feels.  The likelihood that one beer drinker will love all of these is fairly low, so as the odds would have it, there were a few characteristics that didn’t quite do it for me.  One was the appearance.  I do believe appearance is the toughest category to screw up (I mean how often do you look at a beer and say to yourself “Well, I just don’t want to drink that”?), but the Hercules did leave something to be desired as far as its appearance went.  Additionally, the early sips were too sweet for me.  I understand the need to balance the hops out with some malt, but it took longer than I wanted for the correct balance to appear. 

SOUND:  This was a tough one, but I have to go with Miles Davis’s “Bitches Brew”.  What can be grating and, well, downright scary to the untrained ear can also be a thing of beauty to a jazz aficionado.  The Hercules is going to be a classic that must be respected, but may not be fully enjoyed or appreciated by everyone, just like Miles in 1970.

Three Floyds (FFF) Dreadnaught

Posted by: Stonecipher

Jan. 28, 2011

The first time I tried the Dreadnaught from Three Floyds I was not impressed.  I split a bomber with a friend at our local beer bar and my expectations were very high.  I had been drinking a little bit before hand and I was more focused on the conversation than the beer, so I know it didn’t really get a fair shake from me.  So let’s see how this goes.  By the way, in the picture, you will notice, my local pint glass – it was specially selected to house this local beer.  So, without further ado, here is my review of Three Floyds Dreadnaught Double IPA:

APPEARANCE:  The Dreadnaught poured a very pale, almost straw-like color and had a pretty, but fairly thin, maybe a quarter of an inch, head resting on top.  The bubbles were almost uniformly tiny, but as it is sitting here and the head is fading away a few larger bubbles have randomly appeared.  Very pretty, full and foamy lacing lines both the left and right side of the glass, but not the side I am drinking from or the opposite side.  I noticed the same thing with the Hopslam and I am now wondering if this is a typical characteristic of a Double IPA.

SMELL:  It smells a lot like the Hopslam I reviewed last time, only less intense.  Honey and caramel are the most noticeable aromatic qualities.  Three Floyds claims on the bottle that the beer “has an opening salvo of mango, peach and citrus hop aromas”, and while the citrus and mango are noticeable, my nose was incapable of finding any peach.  Interesting, but the lack of peach didn’t upset me to much.

TASTE:  A very complex beer.  The first sip begins with a complete departure from the nose when a hoppy and bitter flavor attacks the palate.  The honey, caramel and pine from the nose, however, are not far behind as they show up briefly mid-sip.  As the sweetness fades away the pine flavor remains, but it becomes bitterer.  Yep, that is the correct word, bitterer, which seems unusual, just like the bitter pine flavor at the end of this sip.  The aftertaste is very bitter and tastes almost like someone just dragged a hop across the tongue. 

MOUTHFEEL:  Just like the taste, the mouthfeel of the Dreadnaught is very complex as well.  At first it seems like be very thin and flat, without a whole lot of carbonation, but at the very end of the sip it not only tastes like someone dragged a hop cone across the tongue, but it also feels that way.  The beer seems to bite at the end.  Interesting and pretty cool feel, it is certainly not the typical mouthfeel. 

OVERALL:  I am very happy I gave this beer a second try.  The first time the conditions were not right and I wasn’t in a situation where I could focus on and appreciate its complexity.  Also, maybe I had a bad bottle, who knows?  The point is, this is a very finely crafted, complex and unique beer.  Three Floyds should be congratulated for every beer they brew, but the Dreadnaught is special even by their high standards.  That said, this is a beer for professionals, unlike the Hopslam, this is not the beer you give to someone to introduce them to the style.  Dreadnaught is only for the grownups at the table. 

DRAWBACKS:  Part of what I liked about this beer was the roller coaster ride it took the palate on, but at the same time, some of the transitions were a little too abrupt.  To cram in as much complexity as they did in this beer, I suppose it requires some quick changes though.  Other nitpicky issues – the color was not very appetizing, the nose could have been slightly more intense and I would have liked more sparkle at the front of the sip. 

SOUND:  This one is a no-brianer.  I was talking to a friend of mine last night who knows how to play Stevie Wonder’s Superstition on the drums and we were discussing just how complex it is on many levels.  If the Three Floyds was a musician it would be Stevie Wonder and the Dreadnaught would be Superstition. 

OK, I wanted to save the stats for last on this one, since I was kind of writing “live” and didn’t want to ruin the “how did it turn out?” surprise for everyone, so here you go:

ABV: 9.5%

IBUs: 100

Brewery Location: Munster, Indiana

Style: Double IPA

Beer Advocate Average Rating: A/4.39 – Outstanding

My Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.2 – Excellent

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1212/8^th

Brewery Description: Three Floyds Brewing Company

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Bell's Brewery Hopslam 2011 Release

Posted by: Stonecipher

Jan. 25, 2011

OK, so with the very first review I'm directly contradicting the name of this blog, oh well.  It's about 3:30 in the afternoon here in Chicago and I have been working on important stuff all day, plus I have this six-pack of fresh Bell's Hopslam in the fridge that is calling my name, so I think it is about that time - time for a Bell's Hopslam from Bell's Brewery.

First, some basic facts:
ABV: 10.0%
IBUs: Somewhere in the range of 69 - 136.  The debate rages on.
Brewery Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Style: Double IPA
Beer Advocate Average Rating: A/4.43 - Outstanding
My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.75 - Exceptional
Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 2,034/3rd
Brewer's Description: Click on the Hopslam thumbnail.

Now, before I dive into this review, it is worth noting that I reviewed this beer last year as well on Beer Advocate and if you click here you'll see my BA review.  My palate was just beginning to become sophisticated enough to understand what I was drinking, but I was too stupid to know that the Hopslam was a DIPA and therefore, pretty high in the ABV department.  Anyhow, I wrote the following review before I re-read the old BA one and it is interesting to see compare the similarities and contradictions.  The one thing that stood out from the first review is the quote I used from a fellow bartender of mine "It's like they tried to fit two beers into that one bottle and somehow they fit."  Perfect description, even for the 2011 release.

Alright, without further ado, the review:

APPEARANCE:  Poured this into a snifter fairly aggressively and I was rewarded with a solid, foamy, quarter-inch thick head.  The bubbles are a mix of large and tiny with the bigger bubbles occupying the area towards the center of the glass.  The brilliant and almost completely clear golden color is reminiscent of the honey flavor that I know is waiting in this glass.  Interesting lacing, it appears to remain only on the left and right side of the glass instead of the opposite side I was drinking from and what remains are foamy pillars that stretch from the top to bottom.

SMELL:  The aroma hits the nose immediately with the Hopslam.  As soon as it is poured out of the bottle a sweet, piney, hoppy and honey smell fills the air.  As I move my nose closer to the glass the honey stands out as the dominating aroma.

TASTE:  Upon the first sip, the first thing that stands out is that this beer is more hoppy than it was last year.  True to its name, the hops slap your palate right up front, but as it sits on the tongue a sweet, honey flavor rises and falls before giving way to a bitter, but slightly piney aftertaste.  It is certainly a dryer beer than last year's release, and that, in my opinion is a good thing.  Bell's Brewery has managed to top near-perfection.

MOUTHFEEL:  Hopslam is very clearly a finely tuned, carefully crafted work of art, and while Bell's nailed the look, smell and taste of this beer, they did not forget about the feel.  My guess is that if this beer made any noise it would sound like Marvin Gaye singing "Inner City Blues".  Anyhow, back to the feel, generally, I like to feel a strong sparkle on my tongue, but the lighter sparkle, combined with an little bit of an oily feel make this beer go down extremely smooth.

OVERALL:  What else can I say about this beer?  I chose to review it first because A). it is in season and is fresh and B). it is one of my all-time favorites.  For 10% this is incredibly easy to drink.  The alcohol is certainly easy to detect, but it is so well balanced with the sweetness and hoppiness that it is easy to see how you can get into trouble with the Hopslam.  Maybe it's for the best that we only get to enjoy this delicious brew for a few months of the year.

DRAWBACKS:  There are not many flaws in this beer and you have to get very nitpicky to come up with any.  That said, the head retention and lacing could be a bit better, although that is not an easy proposition for a 10% DIPA, I understand that.  The only other thing I would change about this beer is that it could use a touch more bite on the mouthfeel.  Like I said, nitpicky.  But that's what you have to be when you're looking for drawbacks to an exceptional, near-perfect beer.

SOUND:  OK, I know beer doesn't produce a sound, but to add a little twist, I'm going to try to match up each beer to what I believe it would sound like if it could talk, sing or play some music.  To be fair, I think many of us have tried to talk to our beer at some point in the past, so hey, don't be too tough on me for this.  As I mentioned before, though, this beer is smooth, savory and sweet all at the same time and that is how I view Marvin Gaye's voice.  Given that Hopslam is one of my favorite beers it is only fitting that it would sound like one of my favorite songs "Inner City Blues".  In case you don't already have this gem in your music collection, here's a link to Marvin's "Gold" album on iTunes: 



Thanks for checking out the review.  Hope you enjoyed it and I hope you can get your hands on some Hopslam sometime soon.  It really is an exceptional beer.  Go ahead and leave a comment, tell me what you think of the blog, the beer or the review.  If you're too shy to do that, send me some Beer Mail on Beer Advocate, the user name is StoneTSR.  Cheers!

Welcome to 20 Beers in 20 Nights

Posted by: Stonecipher

Nov. 11, 2010

Welcome to 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  I love beer, I love to write and of course, I love to write about beer.  So that is what I will do here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights - review 20 beers on 20 different nights.

To be clear, I will not be doing this in 20 consecutive nights, just 20 random nights over the course of the next few months.  If all goes well, and I am still having fun, I will continue with a new project on the blog here, but I may end up wrapping it all up after I have done my 20 reviews.

Which 20 beers will I be reviewing?  Well, since the Double or Imperial India Pale Ale (DIPA) is currently my favorite style, I will be reviewing the Top 20 most reviewed DIPAs on Beer Advocate.  I am located just outside on Chicago, IL, so most of these beers will be obtainable, but I may need some help from the beer community out there with getting my hands on a couple of them.  I am completely willing to make a trade, or to post a link to your site, whatever.  But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For those of you too lazy to go sign up at beeradvcate.com and check out the list, here it is:

1.   90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
2.   Stone Ruination - Stone Brewing
3.   Bell's Hopslam - Bell's Brewery
4.   Pliny the Elder - Russian River (Will need some help finding this one for sure)
5.   Hop Wallup - Victory
6.   120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
7.   Maharaja - Avery Brewing
8.   Dreadnaught IPA - Three Floyds
9.   Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide
10. Hop Stoopid - Lagunitas
11. Burton Baton - Dogfish Head
12. Double Simcoe IPA - Weyerbacher Brewing
13. Maximus - Lagunitas
14. Gordon Ale - Oskar Blues
15. Unearthly - Southern Tier
16. Founders Devil Dancer - Founders
17. YuleSmith (Summer) - AleSmith
18. Double Dog Double Pale Ale - Flying Dog
19. Hopsickle Imperial IPA - Moylan's Brewery
20. Founder's Double Trouble - Founders

So, without further ado, check out Review #1 and please comment.  I would love feedback on the reviews, thoughts on beer and general beer related conversation and humor.  Let's have some fun while I blow off the hundreds of things I should be doing instead!