Mikkeller San Diego Traeblod Imperial Stout

As I mentioned in my previous blog, part of me wants to move on from stout season and part of me does not. I am sick of the cold weather but I love how a fantastic imperial stout can provide a bit of warmth on a cold night. Another reason I do not want to give up stouts just yet is I seem to have racked up quite a few over the past few months and now I think it is time to finally sit down and drink some of them.

Mikkeller-San Diego's Traeblod, an imperial stout brewed with coffee and maple syrup is one beer that I dropped everything to obtain when I heard it was hitting town. I am a sucker for a stout (or any beer really) containing maple syrup and I know I am not the only one. When done right, it adds a really beautiful layer to a beer. When it is done wrong it is either undetectable or makes for a saccharine-sweet disaster of a beer. Mikkeller's Traeblod is an instance where it works really nicely.

At 11.1%, Traeblod has that beautiful, full bodied motor oil-esque pour I love to see in my imperial stouts. The aroma is full of maple syrup, coffee, campfire smoke, chocolate, caramel, licorice, roasted malt and a touch of fruitiness. The maple syrup shines as well in the flavor which of course puts Traeblod on the sweeter side, but that was what I hoped for/expected. The coffee is there too but I want it to be a touch bolder. It is sitting in the background at a time I want it to come through like a bold dark roast or espresso. Smoke, chocolate, licorice, caramel all come through with an earthy, slightly bitter finish.

Maple syrup is the star of the show here. I really wish the coffee flavor was turned up just a bit and I feel that would put this beer on a whole other level. Still, this is a much better beer than the last Mikkeller attempt at a maple stout. Maple Breakfast Shake spent more time confusing me than it did providing a great drinking experience. At some points I thought it was fantastic and on other sips, I thought it was unbearably sweet and was lucky if I had a tooth left in my head by the time my glass was empty. With Traeblod, the maple flavor shines nicely but smoky, roasted malt and hop bitterness provide a nice compliment to the sweetness. In short, Traeblod could be better but it is a damn good maple imperial stout that is well worth the money.

Overall rating: 4.25/5


Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

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Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Dogfish Head Wood Aged Bitches Brew

There is still snow on the ground, so I have been a bit reluctant to dial back on my consumption of stouts. While I have mixed in my fair share of hoppy beers lately, I keep finding myself going back to the roasty, complex greatness of stouts. Over the past week, like many others, I have enjoyed a fair amount of Guinness. That beer is an absolute masterpiece and the experience of drinking it for me is like having a reunion with an old friend, where you both pick up right where you left off every single time. From my blog's perspective, a blog on Guinness Draught is completely pointless since I am sure everyone who reads my blog has already had it multiple times(I hope). For this blog, I wanted to talk about a different stout I was very excited to try.

Dogfish Head Wood Aged Bitches Brew was a must-try for me as soon as I read about its release. The first time I had Bitches Brew was 2015 while I was watching Wrestlemania 31. I can specifically remember what I was doing at the time, so you know Bitches Brew left an impact on me. It was a delightful stout and a much better music-themed beer than the one Pearl Jam got when Dogfish Head brewed one for their 20th Anniversary. However, repeat purchases were not typically ideal with a price point of around 13 dollars per bottle. Fast forward to now, not only has the price point for Bitches Brew changed for the better, it is wood aged as well. For me, that made it a must to try. While, like last time, it is Wrestlemania season, when it came to drinking it this time, I felt I had to do it the right way.

Up until this week, I had yet to listen to Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. This landmark album is one that for years I had intended to listen to, but when I did I wanted to have a glass of Bitches Brew in my hand to compliment it. That is exactly what I did and my mind was blown immediately by the opening cut, Pharaoh’s Dance. My enjoyment of this classic album did not let up throughout my listening session. The fusion of jazz, rock, funk, among other genres is incredible and I admit I found myself enjoying the beer more and more while I listened. Oh wait, I am supposed to be talking about the beer, not the album.

Wood Aged Bitches Brew matches the album's complexity by combining an imperial stout and Tej(African Honey Beer). It has a solid amount of body for its 9% ABV and this gave me high hopes for WA Bitches Brew. The aroma of roasted malt, dark chocolate, dates, licorice, vanilla, smoke, with a touch of floral notes and a hint of wood and coffee. The flavor matches the nose for the most part. It comes out of the gate very roasty, chocolately, smokey, fruity before an intense hit of vanilla, caramelized sugar & honey sweetness rush in, giving way to a dry, woody finish. I really enjoyed the flavor here but I could easily see this being too sweet for a lot of beer drinkers. The finish does provide some balance to the sweetness but it does not hide the fact that this is a very sweet stout. Then again, when you consider that it is blended with honey beer, I think that can be expected.

While I really enjoyed WA Bitches Brew, I could see how some would not. As it warms the sweetness only intensifies. If that does not sound appealing to you, spend your money elsewhere(like on the album for example). If it does sound appealing, open a bottle up and turn the album on. It makes for a beautiful pairing.

Overall rating: 4/5



Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale

Alltech Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. makes a lot of barrel aged beers. I love barrel aged beers so this should be a match made in heaven. Unfortunately, I have yet to have anything from them I really enjoyed. The most disappointed I have been trying one of their beers was the first time I tasted their BA Barleywine. It was thin, lacked depth of flavor, and since I was in Tampa it took away from precious time drinking Jai Alai & Red Tocobaga from Cigar City. Their products make it to NY but I rarely purchase them. I keep waiting for one of my beer enthusiast friends to tell me I have to try one of their beers. That day has still yet to come. In fact I have heard that for the price, try anything but their stuff. I have stuck to this up until the last time I visited a bottle shop. It was there that I came across their Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale. For some reason, I could not pass up the opportunity to try it. It just sounded like a beer I wanted to like, I just wondered if I would.

As I poured Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale, I could not help but notice its similarities to cream soda. It was the same color, had a fizzy white head and had a massive amount of vanilla in the aroma. Due to my love of cream soda, I began to get a bit more optimistic about this beer. There was also a fair amount of graininess(corn) to the aroma as well, with a touch of biscuit. From the aroma alone, I could not tell that this beer was barrel aged. The flavor of the beer pretty much matched the nose. It was very grainy, with a lot of vanilla sweetness and a touch of biscuit. The graininess carried into a finish that balanced the sweetness of the vanilla, with a welcomed amount of hop bitterness, an occasional touch of whiskey and some oak spice. The barrel aging is only slightly there but you really have to look for it. The finish also leaves a fairly unpleasant grainy, bitter aftertaste that seemed to only grow in strength the further I got into the glass.

I was not disappointed I purchased the Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale. I am happy for the opportunity to try it. However, I can safely say that I will not be purchasing it again. Everything seemed a touch muddled here and nothing really flowed together. Also, what is the point of barrel aging this beer for 2 months if there is practically no presence of it in the flavor? That just seems to me like an irresponsible business decision on the brewery's part. I am fairly certain this beer would taste close to the same with or without that short time in a barrel. Either way, it is nothing that special.

Overall rating: 2.5/5


Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!