Beer Roundup

We've hit a point at my Actual Job where volume goes through the roof (175% increase - nearly triple what we normally do). Visits to anyplace other than my living room are not going to be common for the month of January. This is par for the course, but decompression in the evening can and will involve beer, so I can still review new things.

We'll start with one I mentioned a few posts back, the Widmer '11 / KGB Imperial Stout. I have been a strong advocate of the last few Reserve releases from the Brothers W. Last year's 'Pitch Black IPA' (cue every CDA-name lover twitching uncontrollably) was one of my favorite examples of the style and I probably bought more of it in January 2010 than any other beer. I can almost guess that W'11 is going to do the same thing. It's a very drinkable Russian Imp-Stout with toasty notes and only the slightest burn from the alcoholic content. And, by the way, FULL points to these guys for dropping a 9+ abv beer into six-packs. You normally see these in four-ways or in bombers, but snagging a six of this for under 8 bucks feels like theft. Recommended sampling, just be careful since that 9% sneaks up on you without warning.

Keeping on the dark side of the fence, Cafe Negro (Bridgeport) is another new release that recently hit the shelves. As previously noted, I am all kinds of down with a good coffee porter and I had some of this batch to go with our 'New Year's Breakfast For Dinner' party. The coffee notes have a great earthy/dirty quality that I look for in this style and there's a hop effect on the back end that had some bite to it. That was strange for a porter, but it worked okay with the flavors involved. If you like coffee in your beer, I'd advise picking some up.

My last 'new' beer in recent weeks was Billy the Mountain (Upright) and it's another "you will not find stuff like this elsewhere" kind of brew. This is not going to be for everyone and, truth be told, I'm not entirely sure it was my cup of tea. I'm uncertain if this was just the bottle I purchased or what, but there was nearly zero carbonation as I poured it into my glass. I've seen other reviews and write-ups talking about 'over carb'ing" so I have no baseline to run with here. But with the lack of fizz, the brett and the dark fruit in the nose, and the reddish coloring, this was a bit like drinking a tart wine. Dates/raisins and some of the oaky-ness from the aging are present, but I wasn't getting into it with quite the degree of enthusiasm which I had hoped. It's not bad stuff, but either I need to snag it on-tap at Upright or I need to try another bottle to see if my particular purchase was out of character.

I'm trying to find the time for a Hopworks run (new batch of Secession) this weekend, but energy levels are going to dictate what happens. Might just drag myself to John's or Belmont and keep working through 'new' stuff.