Brewmaster Jack Elbow Room

I have yet to have a beer from Northampton, MA's Brewmaster Jack that has really impressed me. So far the ones I have tried have ranged from OK to good but not a single one has merited a repeat purchase. My biggest hope from them was Tennessee Prinse, a quadrupel ale aged in whiskey barrels. When my friend gave me a bottle to try, I was excited. I had heard a bunch of positive word of mouth about it and naturally assumed it would be fantastic. Sadly it was not. Tennessee Prinse was just another run of the mill barrel aged beer. It was by no means a bad beer, but it is something I have no intention of purchasing again. Another beer I remember trying from them was their Little Brother DIPA. The only thing I remember about that one is that I wished I spent 5 dollars on something else. The one beer I did enjoy from them was Trial By Combat DIPA. Unfortunately, even that one felt like it was missing something. If I had any other beers from Brewmaster Jack, I don't remember them. However, my search for something great from them continues into this blog.

This past week, Autumn finally hit NY in full force and I found myself looking for a beer with more body and if possible, some barrel aging. I came across Elbow Room from Brewmaster Jack. It was a coffee imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels. After a feeling of trepidation crept over me about buying another Brewmaster Jack beer, I looked at the reasonable 9 dollar price tag for a 22oz. bomber and I decided to give it a shot. When I opened the bottle, my hopes soared sky high as I poured the rich, dense, black liquid into my glass. The aroma of dark chocolate was immediately noticeable. There was also a touch of smoke in the aroma, some vanilla, a slight nuttiness, as well as an almost wine-like fruitiness. These all paled in comparison to the coffee aroma that practically overwhelmed everything else. One thing I did not get a lot of in the aroma was the barrel notes. I did not detect any whiskey and I only think I found oak because I knew it was there. I was hoping I would get more when I took my first sip but unfortunately, I did not. However, what I did get from my first sip was disappointment.

With a beer that is barrel aged, there are certain expectations for how it should taste. Aside from a hint of vanilla, there was pretty much nothing here to suggest Elbow Room spent any time at all in a barrel. Whatever the aging period was, it was not long enough. I'm guessing a brewer at Brewmaster Jack poured the stout into a whiskey barrel for a “5 Mississippi count” and poured it out. If that was my only issue with this beer, I would have been happy, but the coffee that so richly dominates the flavor tastes bland and frankly stale. It is reminiscent of going into a gas station in the middle of the night and drinking a 12 hour old cup of coffee. Sure, it tastes like coffee, but it is not good. Dark chocolate, caramel, vanilla, a green pepper off-flavor and a fairly bold fruitiness round out the flavor of this watery imperial stout. It is a touch astringent but to its credit, for the most part it is smooth. There is barely any hint of the 10.1% ABV, which is nice, but you can find a beer just like this that tastes better(Founders Breakfast Stout) and has just as much barrel flavor(none) fairly easily.

Overall, Elbow Room did nothing to improve my opinion of the quality of beer from Brewmaster Jack. So far everything I have tried has seemed either bland or like it is missing something critical to making it a solid beer. I hope the next beer I buy from them changes my opinion but after this one it will be awhile until I purchase another one of their beers again.

Overall rating: 2/5


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Stone Mint Coffee Milk Stout

The last time I had a peppermint beer was 2015 and it was Ballast Point's Peppermint Victory at Sea. As I stated in a previous blog, I love Victory at Sea and Peppermint Victory at Sea sounded like a fun variant to a really great beer. I dropped everything and raced to the store to buy a bottle. I cracked it open as soon as I got home and was immediately disappointed. Absolutely nothing in the flavor of that beer worked for me. From my first sip to my last I thought it tasted exactly like I was drinking a great coffee beer after brushing my teeth. Everything about its flavor felt off and medicinal. For some reason, I thought that would be the general consensus of my beer drinking friends. However, that was not the case. What I found was that Peppermint Victory at Sea seemed to bring out an extremely polarizing reaction. Some absolutely loved it, some absolutely hated it. I always found the reaction to Peppermint Victory at Sea to be particularly intriguing but I never found the need to drink another mint beer, until now. Stone Brewing Company has now joined the minted stout party with their latest offering, Mint Coffee Milk Stout. Over the years, I have enjoyed many beers from Stone. They do not always hit their mark but I admire the fact that they take risks. Due to its medicinal flavor potential, I view putting a mint beer out as a risk. So would Stone deliver a solid mint stout? Or for the second time in a row, would I think I was drinking a beer that reminded me more of coffee Listerine than beer?

What should not come as a surprise is Stone Brewing Company found a way to make a really nice mint beer. Nevertheless, I found myself surprised by how much I enjoyed Stone's Mint Coffee Milk Stout. My optimism started with the aroma. The mint was not at the forefront at all. It was full of coffee, lactose, chocolate and roasted malt. The mint was present in the flavor, delicately blended with the chocolate. The coffee is the star of the show here, dominating the first few sips. It was complimented nicely by chocolate & lactose. This provided a nice creamy mouthfeel leading to a surprisingly clean finish. As it began to warm, the combination of chocolate & lactose rose to the forefront. This caused the beer to become a bit too sweet for my liking. That criticism aside I did actually enjoy this beer. I would have liked it to have a little more body but everything works fairly well here. It has just the right amount of mint. It compliments the other flavors here, never overpowering them. For a flavored stout it is nicely balanced.

I am not sure I can say that this beer completely changed my opinion of using mint in beer. This beer worked because the mint was used as a compliment to the beer. At no point is the mint the star of the show. I am looking forward to seeing what the reaction is to this beer. I doubt it will be as polarizing as Peppermint Victory at Sea. From my standpoint, mint in beer may not be my favorite thing but from now on I will certainly be more open-minded when it comes to mint flavored stouts.

Overall I would rate Stone Mint Coffee Milk Stout a 3.5/5. Stone Brewing delivers again with a really nice mint flavored stout.


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A Crafty Recommendation: Founders Breakfast Stout

The lighting is terrible. The beer recommendation is not. Cheers & thanks for watching!

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter, Instagram & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!