BrewDog/Beavertown Brewery Catherine's Pony

Good evening all. Tonight's beer is Catherine's Pony, an imperial smoked porter collaboration between BrewDog (Fraserburgh, Scotland) and Beavertown Brewery (London, UK). It's been over a month since my last review and I was intending to make the introduction to my first post of 2013 witty and engrossing; however, after a few failed attempts I've decided to give up and jump straight into the proceedings. I reviewed this beer with my good friend Jamie "Bidds" Bidwell (who you may remember from the video reviews I've posted in the past), so I've compiled our thoughts and presented them in the trusty capsule review format for maximum coherency. Enjoy, and I'll make sure my next review comes along sooner! Review after the pic....

ABV: 8.8%

Appearance

Jet black with a ruby hue, thick light brown head that settles to a thin film over the surface of the beer.

Aroma

Elliott: Dark fruits (blackcurrant), lactose sugar, coffee, cocoa powder, roasted malt. Smokiness not intense, milk stout quality, fruitiness adds nice tartness to mix, toasty notes.

Bidds: Rich fruits, light smokiness, faint coffee, dark malt

Taste

Elliott: Smoked malt, aftertaste of coffee (piquant, toasty), smokiness has tartness along sides of the mouth. Flavours linger on in the finish but begin to cloy after a while, alcohol not noticeable. Some burnt sugar, light fruits now and again (raisins, blackcurrant), yeast extract, licorice.

Bidds: Smokiness, not as rich as expecting, coffee present as roasted quality (prior to being brewed), long finish, aftertaste of coffee (more powerful than during drinking), quite an intense experience.

Mouthfeel

Elliott: Slightly thick, moderate carbonation, not immensely drinkable due to smokiness but combination does suit flavour profile.

Bidds: Harshness, light alcoholic burn, similarity to Merlot

Verdict

Elliott: Decent beer; slightly one-dimensional with regards to the piquant smokiness, which becomes overpowering on a couple of occasions, but still an interesting offering despite this. Could do with some more balance to let the subdued porter flavours dilute the smoked malt power. Interested in seeing how this develops and mellows over time. Worth trying once, but I'd choose something like Mikkeller's Beer Geek Bacon or De Molen's Bloed, Zweet & Tranen over this as I personally feel the smoked malt needs the sort of powerful counterbalance you'd find in an imperial stout as opposed to a porter. 

Jamie: Would drink again, but not number one choice. Depends on context; good if you want a beer with a strong kick to it.

Until next time....

Beer Advent Calendar Day 25- St. Bernardus Brouwerij Christmas Ale

Good evening all, and Merry Christmas! I didn't drink that much this time round- in fact, I didn't even get to open the Mikkeller Red/White Christmas magnum that I bought for the family due to mutual fatigue in the aftermath of a titanic dinner- so in lieu of a compilation post I quickly chose something festive from the cellar to bring this year's advent calendar to a fitting conclusion. The offering in question is Christmas Ale, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale from St. Bernardus Brouwerij (Watou, Belgium). Because my family opted for champagne or wine I've got the entire 750ml bottle to myself, so at least I can savour this bad boy for the rest of the evening. Hope everyone had a great day, and I'll be resuming the regular service of sporadic reviewing from tomorrow! Also, let me take the opportunity to thanks anyone who read the blog during 2012, and here's to another year of great beer in 2013. Review after the pic....

Christmas Ale (10.0% ABV) pours a dark brown colour with a thick, creamy white head that maintains itself well throughout the course of drinking. The aroma is rather Christmas-centric, with marzipan, yeasty phenols, blackcurrant, raspberry, allspice and some caramelised sweetness in the background supporting everything. None of the aromas are particularly powerful, but they are balanced very well and don't show any dominance. The Belgian yeast character and candy sugar have their usual complimentary interplay on show, whilst the fruits add a slight tartness to help break up the proceedings. The spice in the background (mainly cinammon and cloves) gives the beer a satisfying Christmas flair without overpowering the other aromas, which can sometimes be a problem with Christmas-oriented offerings. The taste delivers more intensity, with blackcurrant, phenols, caramel, Brett-style funk, marzipan and a noticeable amount of chest-warming alcohol during drinking and in the finish. The fruits deliver a pleasing amount of tartness along the sides of the mouth, which is amplified to some extent by the subtle presence of yeast extract early on in each sip. The phenolic Belgian yeast character works well with the slight sherbety funk, and soon afterwards the sweetness comes through to offset the aforementioned funk and diversify everything. The finish is slightly dry and has a light hop profile, whilst the alcohol burn lingers on long after drinking. The mouthfeel is thick and creamy and the beer is well-carbonated, which compliments the flavours on show and takes away some of the initial power quite nicely. Overall, this is a great beer with a decent Yuletide twang that works well with the fruity sweetness and boozy intensity- definitely recommended!

Until next time....

Beer Advent Calendar Day 24- AleSmith Brewing Company Speedway Stout

Good evening all. After a nice Christmas Eve hanging around in Dartmouth and Bantham, it's now time for the final official 2012 advent calendar post. I'll probably do a post tomorrow compiling all of the beers consumed over the course of Christmas Day, but I consider this to be the true chequered flag review because the bottle came out of a cardboard door that I constructed over a month ago. It's Speedway Stout, an Imperial Stout from AleSmith Brewing Company (California, USA). I had this beer during the summer at The Craft Beer Co. and enjoyed it immensely, so hopefully it'll be as good as I remember! Thanks for coping with the daily posts for another year, and I'll be back tomorrow for the last hurrah. Review after the pics....

Speedway Stout (12.0% ABV) pours a very dark brown colour with a thick brown head that settles to a thin film over the surface of the beer. The aroma is very rich, with slightly astringent coffee, caramelised sugar, cocoa powder, lactose sugar and some dark fruits (particularly blackcurrant) lingering in the background. The coffee is immediately apparent, with that familiar biting quality that it seems to impart when present in large quantities, but the nose soon becomes accustomed to it and allows the other nuances to come through. The sweetness isn't overly intense and coalesces very well with the subtle blackcurrant, whilst the lactose sugar lessens the impact of the other aromas and creates a mocha-like sensation when the roasted aspects of the coffee become more apparent. The taste delivers everything that the aroma promised and more, with coffee, chocolate sauce, yeast extract, caramel, licorice, aniseed, burnt toast, blackcurrant and some booze residing in the background supporting everything. The fruit and coffee come along almost immediately, delivering some tartness along the sides of the mouth that seems to be amplified by the chest-warming power of the alcohol, and once this initial power has subsided there's scope for the darker/burnt flavours to come through in varying degrees. Despite not being barrel-aged, it takes on a bourbon vanilla oak quality midway through drinking, complimenting the darker flavours that are present during the finish. The mouthfeel is on the thick side and the beer is well-carbonated, which helps to offset some of the bitter dimensions during drinking. Overall, this is a great imperial stout with a pleasant amount of coffee, some well-balanced tart flavours and a decent kick of alcohol backing everything up. Not as good as the first time I had it, but still well worth trying if you're a fan of coffee stouts with more Nigel Tufnel-oriented potency.

Until next time....

Beer Advent Calendar Day 23- De Dolle Brouwers Stille Nacht

Good evening all. In what seems like the blink of an eye we're only a couple of days away from the big day, and Day 23's door serendipitously revealed the final bottle that I brought back with me from my Brussels holiday earlier this year- it's Stille Nacht, a Belgian Strong Pale Ale from De Dolle Brouwers (Esen, Belgium). This bad boy has garnered a lot of positive feedback over the years, so when I saw it in De Bier Tempel I knew I had to get a bottle for the festive season; it's also one of the rare Christmas-oriented offerings present in this year's advent calendar. Really looking forward to this one, so let's get straight into the review after the pics....

Stille Nacht (12.0% ABV) pours a hazy amber colour with a short-lived thick white head that settles to a thin film over the surface of the beer. The sediment in the bottle is quite loose and so some of it managed to find its way into the glass despite careful pouring. The aroma can only be described as "Christmas in a glass", with marzipan, candied fruits, candy sugar, light yeasty phenols, toffee apples, cinnamon and some rich sweetness residing in the background. The general aroma is reminiscent of a diluted Quad- the spiciness from the yeast isn't as intense and the candy sugar provides lighter, sweeter fruits. There's also some Brett-style funk in the background that mingles very well with the sweetness and fruitiness, and there may even be some faint citrus fruit hoppiness somewhere in the mix. The alcohol is noticeable to an extent, and can burn the nostrils slightly if the beer is inhaled too deeply. Despite this, it's pretty amazing stuff so far! The taste isn't quite as nuanced but delivers a lot more intensity, with candy sugar, phenols, grapefruit, funk, caramel sweetness, brambles, yeast extract and a decent kick of booze during drinking. The yeast character isn't overpowering and so allows the candy sugar and fruit to come through, whilst the funk creates a slightly effervescent backdrop that compliments the fruity tartness. The alcohol warms the chest quite significantly and doesn't cloy on the palette, making the finish seemingly endless. The mouthfeel is thick and the beer is well-carbonated, which is ideal for the flavours on show and offsets the power of the alcohol. Overall, this is a quintessential Christmas beer with enough alcohol to warm up even the coldest soul, and a panoply of rich sweet fruits that mimics after-dinner pudding perfectly. Highly recommended, this is a truly fantastic beer that I'll definitely be seeking out again next year.

Until next time....

Beer Advent Calendar Day 22- BrewDog Prototype Challenge 2012 Beers

Good evening all. It's time for another series of capsule reviews, as Door 22 revealed the new Prototype Challenge beers from BrewDog (Fraserburgh, Scotland). Following on from last year's selection are three more unusually named offerings, with the purpose being to sample each and vote for the one you'd like to be brewed during 2013. I reviewed one of the 2011 collection during the inaugural advent calendar, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they've managed to come up with this time round. Reviews after the pic....

Nuns With Guns

Style: Pilsner

ABV: 4.2%

Appearance: Pale golden colour, short-lived white head that settles to a thin halo around the inside of the glass.

Aroma: Loads of grapefruit, hints of mango, malty sweetness, some sulfurous notes. Grapefruit smacks the olfactories from the start, has that Helles aroma as opposed to a Pilsner. Has some wet-dog funk to it after the nose has become accustomed to the hops. 

Taste: Biscuit malt, honey sweetness, some light grapefruit in the background during drinking, finish isn't bitter but has some hoppy remnants linger in the aftertaste. Seems like an incomplete lager, too thin and watery and the hops don't offset the sweetness enough.

Mouthfeel: Thin, very light carbonation. Doesn't compliment flavours particularly well.

Verdict: Very imbalanced beer, comes across as a rushed offering. The Imperial Pilsner that made a brief appearance in the bars over the summer was much better, it feels as if they just liquored it back to the appropriate ABV percentage to create this one. Not recommended.

Jack Hammer

Style: IPA

ABV: 7.4%

Appearance: Amber colour, short-lived thick white head that settles to a patchy covering over the surface of the beer.

Aroma: Grapefruit, pine, mango, malty sweetness in the background. Grapefruit very powerful at first, dies down a little bit once the nose has become accustomed to allow the pine to come through. Sweetness very much supportive. Some hints of orange become noticeable after a while.

Taste: Most of the flavour is almost overpowered by the bitterness, this certainly drinks towards those 200 theoretical IBUs! Pine manages to push through everything quite nicely, sense of alcohol (acetone, esters), biscuit malt, hints of tropical fruits but nothing significantly distinguishable. Finish is quite tart and contains some light grapefruit notes. 

Mouthfeel: Thick, decent amount of carbonation, compliments the amplified bitterness.

Verdict: Pretty intense IPA; flavours on the palette need to be more balanced as bitterness virtually eradicates any subtleties except for the resinous characteristics of the hops. Certainly a contender for general release, but it might be wise to dial down the IBUs slightly to allow for a more interesting and varied drinking experience.

Cocoa Psycho

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 10.0%

Appearance: Jet black, thick dark brown head that settles to patchy covering over surface of beer.

Aroma: Cocoa powder, chocolate sauce, freshly roasted coffee, vanilla custard, banana, no sense of the alcohol. Very rich and chocolatey (Rogue Double Chocolate Stout immediately springs to mind), seemingly out-of-place banana smell is very similar to those pick and mix banana sweets, mixes well with the vanilla. Very interesting stuff, smells like a pudding/dessert.

Taste: Coffee, chocolate, caramel, custard, tartness during drinking that continues on into the finish, which is quite dry and has some toasty notes from the malt. Yeast extract, coffee, burnt sugar and slight oak flavour discernible through retro-olfaction, flavours aren't as intense or varied as the aromas. Aftertaste is primarily roasted malt and light grapefruit. Drinks very easily, although potential for the flavours to cloy means it's definitely worth sipping. 

Mouthfeel: Thick, moderate carbonation, works well with the richer flavours.

Verdict: Not so sure about this one; aroma showed a lot of promise but on the palette it can be quite unbalanced, and drinks more like a flavoured milk stout than an imperial stout. Has the potential to be a great beer, but the taste needs to deliver what the aroma suggests!

Overall winner- Jack Hammer- it's got the best combination of a sensible ABV percentage and a decent flavour profile, but it needs to be dialled down slightly to make it worth spending money on in a bar. BrewDog are definitely still capable of making very drinkable IPAs, as evidenced with the Hoppy Christmas that I had last night, so they should probably forego the mindset of trying to brew unnecessarily bitter beers and just create something palatable. Last year's Prototypes were all about reasoned, plausible beers (so much so that the majority were repackaged and sold throughout 2012), but this year's series smacks of excess and one-upmanship, and none were particularly impressive in the end. What a difference a year makes!

Until next time....

Beer Advent Calendar Day 21- Brouwerij de Molen Bloed, Zweet & Tranen

Good evening all. Thankfully the world is still relatively intact, so you can all celebrate the lack of the apocalypse by reading my thoughts on another beer from Brouwerij de Molen (Bodegraven, Netherlands). Tonight it's the turn of Bloed, Zweet & Tranen, a smoked stout that's been brewed with a plethora of malts including peated and Bamberger, adding an interesting spin to the usual dark flavours one would associate with a stout. I've had a couple of beers in this style before, so I'm looking forward to adding another from one of my favourite European breweries. Review after the pics....

Bloed, Zweet & Tranen (8.2% ABV) pours a ruby-tinged black colour with a lively off-white head that settles to a centimetre of foam over the surface of the beer. Straight off the bat the aroma is very reminiscent of brine/pimento olives, which seems to be a combination of the smoked malt qualities and the coffee notes from the roasted malt. Once this initial power has died down the two components become more distinguishable, allowing some chocolate and caramel sweetness to come through in the process. The meaty smokiness works well with the sweetness and usual stout aromas- certainly good stuff so far! The taste delivers more intensity, with smoked malt, coffee, chocolate, yeast extract, caramel, a hint of dark fruits and some light hoppiness during drinking and in the finish. The smoked malt conjures up Islay whisky flavours (peat, iodine), and is a natural bedfellow to the coffee and chocolate stout characteristics. As with the aroma the oily flavour is quite prominent at first, and once the palette has become accustomed to it there's a nice dose of cocoa to break up the flavours. Drinking the beer produces a light tartness along the sides of the mouth, but this isn't cloying and allows for repeated sips. The finish is quite light and slightly dry, with the usual hop-derived remnants residing in the background. The mouthfeel is quite thick and the beer is well-carbonated, which balances out the smokiness and compliments the flavours on show. Overall, this is a very decent rauch-stout that creates a good interplay between the different malt types, allowing them to either coalesce or display their individual characteristics throughout the course of the beer. Well worth trying, although I personally prefer similar offerings such as Evil Twin's Ashtray Heart or Mikkeller's Beer Geek Bacon.

Until next time....

Beer Advent Calendar Day 20- De Struise Brouwers Black Damnation III- Black Mes

Good evening all. Clearly my advent calendar knows the world is going to end tomorrow, as behind door 20 is an unfortunately-named offering from De Struise Brouwers (Oostvleteren, Belgium); it's Black Damnation III- Black Mes, a version of De Struise's popular imperial stout Black Albert that's spent 3 months in barrels that once held Caol Ila Distillers Version 1995 whisky. On its own Black Albert is a great stout, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the barrel-ageing has done to this bad boy. Review after the pics....

Black Damnation III- Black Mes (13.0% ABV) pours a jet black colour with a lively brown head that settles to a thick halo around the inside of the glass. The aroma is rich and luxurious, with coffee, chocolate, blackcurrant, yeast extract, burnt sugar, vanilla oak (similar to bourbon), a very subtle smokiness and some alcohol in the background. I was expecting the whisky to be slightly more prominent, but it seems that the characteristics of the barrel itself come through more, with the alcohol toned down and more reminiscent of bourbon than Islay whisky. The smokiness switches between peat and tobacco, and the nose becomes accustomed to it relatively quickly. The yeast extract and fruit mingle together quite well, and create a slight tartness that manages to balance out the darker aromas. The taste ramps everything up to eleven, with smoky whisky, yeast extract, tart fruits and some light chocolate and coffee in the background. The whisky is definitely more noticeable on the palette, and warms the sides of the mouth and the chest during and after drinking, whilst the fruity flavours mesh with this perfectly, offsetting the harshness with a light tartness that allows the iodine smokiness to come through after a couple of sips. Because of the sheer power of the other flavours on show, the usual roasted malt-derived chocolate and coffee is only discernible through retro-olfaction, providing a nice counterpoint to the tartness and whisky. The finish isn't dry and the whisky lingers on the palette, along with some light hop flavours. It's also probably worth noting that this beer doesn't drink anywhere near its double-digit ABV percentage, so it might be wise to exercise some restraint (despite how hard that may be!). The mouthfeel is thick and the beer is moderately carbonated, which means the flavours don't cloy too heavily and the whisky can come through relatively unimpeded. Overall, this is a very impressive Imperial Stout that builds upon Black Albert very well, balancing some reasonably intense peaty whisky with the base beer to create a very worthy offering in the De Struise library. I've only had two Black Damnation offerings including this one (the other being the Mocha Bomb), and I couldn't honestly rate one over the other as they both bring such different elements to the table. Definitely recommended, I'll have to seek out the others now based on their stellar trend so far!

Until next time....