Ale Epeteios Imperial Stout

Ale Epeteios Imperial Stout, Left Coast Brewing Company, San Clemente, CA
(Imperial Stout, Rated 94)

Solid black pour with a faint mocha head. Rich aromas of roasted malts, coffee, licorice, and chocolate. Flavor is robust with bitter roasted coffee, dark chocolate, and a toasted nuttiness. Nice hop-malt balance. Easy finish. Just a tad boozy at 9.5% abv.

Crowdsourced Batch # 5 Night & Day Vanilla IBA

Crowdsourced Batch #5 Night & Day Vanilla IBA, MobCraft Beer, Madison, WI
(Black IPA)

 Dark brown pour with a thick, almost never-ending, tan head. Aromas of roasted toffee, rich coffee, malts, and faint vanilla sweetness. Holy carbonation! The fizz lasts throughout the taste. Bitter hops up front, followed by roasted coffee, and finishing with vanilla goodness. Yet, the carbonation tingles my tongue to the very end. Great beer!

Let me share a little about MobCraft. They are quite a unique beer company, well, unique to me anyways. They crowdsource most of their recipes and every month there are new beers that are one-time only brews. Beer lovers visit their website (or receive invitations via email) and submit ideas for a beer flavor or style that they have wanted to see if it could get made. The recipe ideas are put up for a vote and the winning recipe gets brewed. How awesome is that?! One recent recipe I had that I thought was totally awesome was called Tequila Mayan Bird, a beer brewed with cocoa powder, white ghost chilies and aged in tequila barrels. YUM!  If you are in the area, give these guys a try!

RAD

RAD, Sixpoint Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
(Fruit Beer)

RAD is a blend, or radler, of fruit juices and ale. Pours a cloudy orange-pink, like grapefruit juice. Whatever foamy, white head this beer created upon the pour, dissipated well before I could take the picture, leaving it truly looking like fruit juice in my glass. There is some grapefruit in the aroma, along with some citrus wheat characteristics. The taste is a Summery mix of sweet and tart with fruity explosions. Bitterness bites your tongue and lingers for a bit before fading. At only 3.2% abv, this is definitely a beer for those hot Summer days.

Radlers, or blended beer, are beer-based mixed drinks that combine beer with soda, lemonade, or fruit juices. Shandy's, such as Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, are a variation of a radler.

Blakkr (Surly Release)

Blakkr Imperial Black Ale, Surly Brewing Company, Brooklyn Center, MN
(Black IPA, Rated 99)

Blakkr is the spawn of a collaboration between Surly Brewing Company, Three Floyds Brewing Company, and Real Ale Brewing Company. This beauty pours black in color with a thick tan head that leaves some great lacing on the glass. Aroma is packed with dark roasted malts and floral hops. Complex flavors of dark malts, chocolate, espresso coffee, citrus and pine. Detect a hint of licorice too. Sweet and creamy up front followed by intense hops. The finish is sweet but bitter. The 9.99% abv is there, but hidden well. Outstanding Black IPA!

Pig in the Wood

Pig in the Wood, Finch's Beer Company, Chicago, IL
(American Strong Ale, Rated 93)

I've been quite impressed with Finch's Beer Company so far. This beer is pretty solid! Categorized as an American Strong Ale, this one pours a deep mahogany with a nice foamy, off white head. Aged for over six months in a local Chicago distillery's Koval whiskey barrels, the whiskey is there in the nose along with caramel sweetness, vanilla, and molasses. Such an amazing aroma. Taste is smooth up front with some of that caramel, toffee, and molasses that gives way to the whiskey flavor that warms and lingers through the finish. Love this beer!