Tag: Imperial Stout
Alesmith Speedway Stout
Since moving to Portland, I’ve become less caught up in the phenomenon of “exciting” beers. New releases of rare, limited-edition beers or special evenings where one-off, hard-to-find beers are being poured just don’t get me as worked up as they used to. Perhaps it’s the ubiquity of really good, and even great, beers here. This definitely wasn’t the case in Boston, which relied on the release of new, exciting beers from out of state to keep the beer scene humming. Here in Portland, your nearby brewpub is as likely to turn out something really exciting as anyone from out of state.
That being said, there are still certain beers that I get downright excited about, and look forward to the chance to track down and try. On a local level, Cascade Brewing’s Vlad The Impaler is one. Founders KBS is perhaps the perfect example (sadly, there are no Founders beers in Oregon), since I’m still hoarding the few bottles of this that I have left from before our move. And Alesmith’s Speedway Stout is another.
Surprisingly, though Alesmith is distributed in Massachusetts, Speedway Stout is a beer of theirs that I’d never had the chance to try. It would always sell-out before I got my hands on a bottle. So when I heard that it would be available here in Portland about a month ago, I happily went out and snapped up a bottle.
Speedway Stout is an imperial coffee stout that Alesmith releases annually. It’s a very big beer, brewed to an original gravity of 1.111, and loaded with many pounds of coffee beans. While the beer itself has garnered a great reputation, Alesmith has taken this a notch further by releasing a bourbon barrel-aged version of it (seriously, that would be tremendously awesome to try) in very limited quantities, and plan on releasing single-origin coffee versions of the beer later this year. There’s not much info out there about the single-origin versions, except that one of them will use the rare Kopi Luwak beans (more info).
We had a brief spell of warm weather here, followed by a return to more normal, cooler temps. Right in the middle of the two, when the temps were comfortable but you still needed a sweater, I popped open this beer to share with a friend of mine.
Tasting Notes
As I said above, this beer is brewed to an original gravity of 1.111, and finishes at 12.0% ABV. It uses an unspecified amount of coffee, though with that OG you can guess that it is quite a bit. It comes only in 750, capped bottles. They don’t vintage date their bottles, but obviously this is from the 2011 release.
The beer pours jet black, with a thick, dark, chocolaty brown head that leaves loads of lacing. The nose practically leaps out of the glass with notes of bittersweet chocolate, coffee beans, anise, and herbal hops. The palate is very smooth, with a velvety textured mouthfeel conveying deep rich flavors of flourless chocolate cake, roasted malts and coffee beans. The flavor spectrum definitely leans towards the sweeter side, with chocolate flavors accented by coffee notes. On the finish, a notable hop bitterness lingers, alongside notes of dark-roasted coffee beans.
I’d sum up by saying that this is a big, rich beer, full of sweet chocolate and malt flavors, alongside the flavors you’d experience if you were chewing on a mouthful of dark-roasted coffee beans, complemented by a noticeable hop presence. The nose and the palate were pretty remarkable, but I found the finish to lack some of the depth that they had. And this is definitely a big beer, so make sure that you have someone to share it with.
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Deschutes Brewing Co. Abyss 2010
I keep a mental list of specific wines, beers, whiskies, etc., that I’m dying to try. The list grows inexorably, despite my attempts to whittle it down through the application of rational expectations and thought. Each time a new issue of the Art Of Eating comes out, or I receive a newsletter from Ridge, or the Malt Advocate arrives on my doorstep, invariably something that I read calls out to me to be added to the list. The criteria is not always clear, but the result is often a new resident of the list who, like its brethren, is difficult if not impossible for me to try.
Take for example, Ridge’s Monte Bello. Here is a wine that has been on this list for quite some time. It has no reasonable place on this list, by sheer virtue of its price tag ($150), yet I wouldn’t remove it for the life of me.
Why is its presence on the list not open to debate? Ridge holds a special place in my hierarchy of wine producers, and Monte Bello is their flagship wine. To taste Monte Bello would be to taste what they believe to be their best possible effort. What could be more exciting? The other variation that could lead a reasonable (read: rational) person to question some items on this list concerns availability. It’s not uncommon for items on the list to be wholly unattainable due to geography. Why thirst for tasting something that isn’t even distributed near you?
I believe it’s the mystery, the not knowing coupled with curiosity that drives this thirst.
The Abyss from Deschutes was one of the items on the list that most excited and intrigued me. I have read about it since I first became interested in beer. Later, when I became a fan of Deschutes in general, my interest in the beer grew as I came to appreciate their lineup of beers. Yet, here I was, 3000 miles away from being able to taste it. And now
here I am, living within walking distance of the Deschutes brewpub in downtown Portland! And so when they announced the release date for the 2010 Abyss, I marked it on my calendar, and began looking forward to securing a bottle. The Abyss is an imperial stout released each fall by Deschutes. It is brewed using a combination of 8 types of malt to reach an original gravity of 1.100. 33% of the beer is then aged in a combination of “oak and oak-bourbon” barrels, as the label states. I take this to mean that the 33% is not entirely bourbon barrels, but some previously unused oak barrels. The label also states that molasses and licorice are additional ingredients.
Whereas in the past, The Abyss was harder to get your hands on, today Deschutes brews a fair amount of it. As a result, you didn’t have to go to the brewpub on release day to get your hands on some. But I did, if for no other reason than I enjoy the excitement of such an event. Plus, they pulled out all of the stops, offering a 4-year vertical sampler of The Abyss (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), with the 2010 included as both a nitro and regular draft offering.
Tasting Notes
The Abyss pours pitch black with ruby highlights and a thick, mocha head that leaves lots of lacing. The nose has notes of coffee, unsweetened dark chocolate, black licorice, and carob. All in all, the nose is rather subdued and very understated. The palate has flavors of malted milk balls, bittersweet chocolate covered espresso beans, blackstrap molasses, and burnt toast. The texture is smooth and creamy, with an overall sense of sweetness balanced by bitter undercurrents. The finish tails away with dark roasted malt and dark chocolate. In the end I had three observations about this beer:
- The nose (and finish) doesn’t do the palate justice. The beer’s flavors are rich and interesting, with a subdued bourbon element, complemented by lots of ground coffee, espresso, and dark chocolate.
- This is tasty stuff, but not in the same league as a Founders KBS or Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. Yet, those are different beers altogether, seeing as how they’re aged entirely in bourbon barrels, whereas a small percentage of The Abyss is. Ultimately, this beer is more similar to a Founders Imperial Stout (not bad company!)
- The Abyss struck me in the same way that most of Deschutes’ beers do at this point. It’s good, but not great. It’s interesting, and displays promise, but isn’t a top-flight beer in the way that KBS is. Mind you, this is a very subjective judgement.
The Abyss is a good, fun to drink beer. I wasn’t wowed by it, but I will look forward to trying it again next year and revisiting my impressions.
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People’s Pint Imperial Stout 2009
I have a soft spot in my heart for the People’s Pint, the little brewpub located in Greenfield, Mass. that I first discovered many (many) years ago when I was an undergrad out in the Pioneer Valley. The local beer scene was really just taking shape then, and I loved the People’s Pint’s combination of good food, relaxing atmosphere, and reliably good beer.
I moved out of the area a while back, and my last couple of visits haven’t been as fulfilling as my previous ones, even owing to the vagaries of memory. I still thought the food was good, and the atmosphere nice, but the beer was a bit of a let-down. On each occasion I’ve been there in the last couple of years, the beer was really just ok. Some pints seemed a bit low on carbonation, even for English styles, and others just lacked a real zip of flavor and personality. But hey, I’m happy to give them a pass, since I’ve only been able to go on a couple of occasions in a long time, and have many more happy memories than disappointing ones.
The People’s Pint brews all English-style beers, including a bitter, oatmeal stout, and IPA. They offer a couple of winter seasonals as well. This is the first time that I’ve ever seen their imperial stout in a shop before, and I’ve never had it on draft either, and so it seemed like a great time to give it a go. Like I said, that soft spot in my heart really spoke up and insisted on giving this beer a try.
Information on this beer is tough to track down. It’s brewed to an original gravity of 1.110, finishes at 9.2% and has 100 IBUs. The label looks like it was printed on a laser printer (nothing wrong with that from a small, local brewery) and has the year the beer was made (2009), and the bottle number hand-written on it (#233 – no indication how many bottles in total).
It pours jet black, lightening to a hint of rusty brown at the edges. A thin wispy tan head rose to the top but didn’t last long, leaving just a trace behind. The nose has notes of cocoa, coffee, chocolate covered raisins, and a whiff of smoke. Subtle overall, but pleasant and inviting. The palate has a warming, soft texture with delicate carbonation. Flavors of chewy black licorice, roasted malt, and milk chocolate are most prominent, with just a faint note of bitterness. On the whole, the palate’s not as sweet as the nose, a bit more earthy and restrained. The finish opens up with a surprising amount hop bitterness that takes a bit to fade, giving way to lingering notes of coffee and cocoa.
A good, well put-together imperial stout. Nice combination of flavors, good texture. A bit bitter on the finish, but I liked how it then segued to the coffee and cocoa flavors. I’d love to try this on draft sometime, and it goes without saying that tasting this made me look forward to my next visit to the People’s Pint. It’s been a long time since I was last there, maybe a year and a half, and I hope to be able to go again before too much more time has passed. If you’re nearby be sure to stop, and try the turkey burger with cheddar cheese, always my favorite sandwich there. The desserts are always very good too.
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North Coast Brewing Co. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
North Coast Brewing Company, located in Fort Bragg, California, has been producing their Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout for almost 10 years, during which time it’s earned a reputation as one of the top imperial stouts being brewed today. This reputation is all the more remarkable in that it’s a year-round offering from North Coast, and the great reviews that it regularly receives are evidence of the consistency with which they brew it.
I go back and forth these days in my mind debating the question of which style of imperial stout I prefer: straight-up or bourbon-barrel aged. Not a cosmically important question, and one largely of interest just to myself, but interesting nonetheless. A great imperial stout brings so many flavors to the table: coffee, chocolate, malt, vanilla, etc. The best of them are dynamic and exciting, sip to sip. In contrast, some bourbon barrel-aged imperial stouts can occasionally be overpoweringly rich, and actually less dynamic, owing to the overpowering influence of the barrel.
Interestingly, this is not a phenomena unique to barrel-aged beers. The exact same thing occurs with wines. If you compare a red wine aged in used barrels vs. one aged entirely in new barrels the differences can be startling. The new barrels overwhelm the wine’s delicate fruit flavors, overriding them with oaky vanillas, spices, and tannins. This is a definite style of wine, the highly-oaked, highly-alcoholic red wine, most often in the form of a cabernet sauvignon, syrah, or zinfandel.
I don’t actually think one approach is “better” than the other. To a large extent, this is a matter of preference. My personal preference is for a wine that exhibits vibrant and fresh fruit and terroir, and less oak. But there’s no doubt that a big, monster of a red wine can be pretty fun sometimes.
In the case of imperial stouts then, I remain torn. I haven’t identified my preference as leaning one way or the other yet. But, during the road trip that we are currently on, I’ve had the chance to sample a number of beers both bourbon barrel-aged and not, and I may be coming closer.
The Old Rasputin is one such opportunity that I had. This article concerns the straight-up Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. Like I said, North Coast has been brewing this for nearly 10 years. It weighs in at 9% and 75 IBUs, a slightly higher ABV:IBU figure than most other imperial stouts that I’ve tried.
It pours with medium viscosity, pitch black with slight amber highlights and a creamy coffee-colored head. The nose has notes of french roast coffee, notably strong hops, and anise, on top of a base creamy vanilla undertones. The palate has flavors of black coffee, hop bitterness, bittersweet chocolate and vanilla, and a hint of creme caramel. The beer has a medium velvety texture with ample carbonation. The finish is bitter with hops, roasted grains, and a tinge of iron.
I like Old Rasputin, but find it a bit too bitter and hoppy an imperial stout for my taste. Definite layers of flavor that really opened up as the beer warmed, but the hops and acrid roasted coffee notes clashed with the sweeter tones.
Stay tuned for my next writeup, which will discuss Old Rasputin’s special-release kin, Rasputin XII. This is the bourbon barrel-aged version of Old Rasputin, just recently released. Should be an exciting comparison!
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New England Brewing Co. Imperial Stout Trooper
New England Brewing Company began brewing in 1989 in South Norwalk, Connecticut. But in 2001 head brewer Rob Leonard moved the brewery to Woodbridge, Connecticut, and it was at this point that the brewery’s profile really began to rise. Shortly after this their beer began showing up regularly on shelves throughout New England.
From the start they set themselves apart by choosing to can all of their beer. This was at a time when hardly any craft brewers were canning their beer, with the Oskar Blues Brewery being one of the other notables doing this. According to owner Rob Leonard the decision was initially a purely economical one, owing to the cost of purchasing glass bottles. In the end though, the brewery really got behind this idea and has stuck with it throughout the growth they’ve experienced in the past few years.
Each year they brew a special release beer, and Imperial Stout Trooper first appeared in 2007 as part of this series. It instantly began receiving rave reviews, and initial batch quickly sold out, and the beer itself quickly became a cult item.
Its cult status owes in no small part to its name, borrowing from George Lucas’ Star Wars series. No doubt, choosing the name Imperial Stout Trooper was genius, and as a homebrewer who struggles to choose interesting/fun names for my beers, I could only hope to ever hit upon something so brilliant. My favorite part is that when asked whether they would brew Imperial Stout Trooper again, Rob Leonard remarked, “We thought the Imperial Storm Trooper would be a one time only brew, as we expected a cease and desist order from Lucas Films. It never came, though, so you’ll probably see it again next year.”
Lo and behold, they did brew the beer again the following year, and released it in December of 2008. This is one of those many elusive beers that gets incredible ratings on sites such as Beeradvocate and which you rarely, if ever, see in a shop. And yet, somehow I was lucky enough to land two bottles of this rare bird. Needless to say, not only does the name rock, I’m smitten by the fabulous label too:
The statement on the label says: “Brewed in a brewery not too far away and not too long ago…Imperial Stout Trooper is a full bodied stout with a majestic blend of seven different malts and Northern Brewer hops.” The brew date is indicated as 2008.
The beer pours beautifully, thick and viscous with a thin creamy looking, chocolate-colored head forming. A thin, persistent layer of head sticks around for the duration. The nose has rich notes of rum, black licorice, coffee, and black-strap molasses. A whiff of alcohol is in there as well. The palate is luscious, thick and velvety textured. A simply amazing texture to this beer, easily right up there with some of the best beers that I’ve drunk. Flavors of roasted coffee and dark, bittersweet chocolate (think 85% dark) flavors dominate, accompanied by flavors of black licorice, salted caramel, and a very noticeable malty backbone. The alcohol flavors are pretty well-masked by the texture, and are not very prominent. The finish wraps things up perfectly, with pronounced flavors of flourless chocolate cake, dark chocolate pots de creme, and chocolate-covered raisins.
Holy moly. This beer really did live up to the hype. It’s so seldom that a beer manages to do that, but the Imperial Stout Trooper totally knocked this one out of the park. The flavors were incredibly well put-together for an imperial stout, but it was the texture that left me awed. I hate to say it, on account of the extremely limited availability of this beer, but it is a must-try for anyone who loves imperial stouts.
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