I went to New York on July 31st for David's wedding. He was busy and had to work on Wednesday, but I stayed with Dave in Park Slope on Tuesday night. After arriving, I headed out to Park Slope and waited for Dave and Kristin, his girlfriend, in the Tea Lounge. We dropped my bags off at Dave's place and took a bottle of Tripel Karmeliet and a bottle of red wine to The Olive Tree Cafe. We had a couple of their pizzas, one with spiced, ground lamb, and the other with eggplant, zucchini, artichokes and mozzarella.
After dinner we went to the Brazen Head for some beers.
694. Hoptical Illusion
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Blue Point Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Tap
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (4.5): Pours a hazy copper. A fluffy, beige head thins to a half-inch layer, laving sheets of lace.
Smell (3.5): Lightly toasty malts and citric, resiny hops.
Taste (3.0): Toasty malts, with some mild sweetness. The finish is resiny, herbal and leafy hops. Needs a bit more sweetness to balance.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Light-bodied, low carbonation. Feels a bit thin
Drinkability (3.5): It's hurt by the lack of balance.
Overall (3.45)
695. Titan IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.80%
Serving: Tap
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (4.0): Pours a clear copper. A foamy, beige head thins to a film.
Smell (4.0): Sweet caramel, fruity malts, some spiciness and light resiny hops.
Taste (4.0): Toasty, light caramel sweetness, grassy bitterness, with a nice peppery finish.
Mouthfeel (4.0): High carbonation, medium-bodied, quite refreshing feeling.
Drinkability (4.0): Well balanced.
Overall (4.0)
696. Black Hole XXX Stout
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Chelsea Brewing Company
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Foreign / Export Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.5): Pours an opaque black/brown. It's topped by a thin, beige head that subsides to a film, leaving patchy lace.
Smell (3.5): Roasted malts: coffee and chocolate with some mild fruitiness.
Taste (4.0): There's a fruity soda like sweetness upfront. The finish is some nice roasted coffee and dark chocolate flavors.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Medium to full-bodied. Low carbonation. Smooth.
Drinkability (3.5): A little sweet, but nice.
Overall (3.75)
697. Raspberry Wheat
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Chelsea Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.40%
Serving: Tap
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.0): Pours a hazy, reddish copper. Topped by a thin head that leaves light patches of lace.
Smell (3.5): Just raspberries, but still pleasant.
Taste (3.5): Pretty standard for a wheat beer brewed with fruit. Some neutral graininess with raspberries to add some sweet and tart notes. There's a light bitterness, which was nice.
Mouthfeel (3.5): Light-bodied, grainy, moderate carbonation.
Drinkability (4.0): Pretty tasty and drinkable.
Overall (3.45)
After dinner we went to the Brazen Head for some beers.
694. Hoptical Illusion
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Blue Point Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.20%
Serving: Tap
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (4.5): Pours a hazy copper. A fluffy, beige head thins to a half-inch layer, laving sheets of lace.
Smell (3.5): Lightly toasty malts and citric, resiny hops.
Taste (3.0): Toasty malts, with some mild sweetness. The finish is resiny, herbal and leafy hops. Needs a bit more sweetness to balance.
Mouthfeel (3.0): Light-bodied, low carbonation. Feels a bit thin
Drinkability (3.5): It's hurt by the lack of balance.
Overall (3.45)
695. Titan IPA
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.80%
Serving: Tap
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (4.0): Pours a clear copper. A foamy, beige head thins to a film.
Smell (4.0): Sweet caramel, fruity malts, some spiciness and light resiny hops.
Taste (4.0): Toasty, light caramel sweetness, grassy bitterness, with a nice peppery finish.
Mouthfeel (4.0): High carbonation, medium-bodied, quite refreshing feeling.
Drinkability (4.0): Well balanced.
Overall (4.0)
696. Black Hole XXX Stout
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Chelsea Brewing Company
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Tap
Style: Foreign / Export Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.5): Pours an opaque black/brown. It's topped by a thin, beige head that subsides to a film, leaving patchy lace.
Smell (3.5): Roasted malts: coffee and chocolate with some mild fruitiness.
Taste (4.0): There's a fruity soda like sweetness upfront. The finish is some nice roasted coffee and dark chocolate flavors.
Mouthfeel (4.0): Medium to full-bodied. Low carbonation. Smooth.
Drinkability (3.5): A little sweet, but nice.
Overall (3.75)
697. Raspberry Wheat
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Chelsea Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.40%
Serving: Tap
Style: Fruit Beer, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.0): Pours a hazy, reddish copper. Topped by a thin head that leaves light patches of lace.
Smell (3.5): Just raspberries, but still pleasant.
Taste (3.5): Pretty standard for a wheat beer brewed with fruit. Some neutral graininess with raspberries to add some sweet and tart notes. There's a light bitterness, which was nice.
Mouthfeel (3.5): Light-bodied, grainy, moderate carbonation.
Drinkability (4.0): Pretty tasty and drinkable.
Overall (3.45)
Labels: American IPA, Blue Point Brewing Company, Chelsea Brewing Company, Export Stout, Fruit/Vegetable Beer, Great Divide Brewing Company, Travel
440. Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
I found Yeti Imperial Stout to be quite enjoyable, so when I saw this at Downtown Wine & Spirits I had to pick it up. I let this warm to around 50º F before serving it in one of my New Belgium glasses.
The bottle says:
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.50%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: Russian Imperial Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (5.0): Pours an opaque black with ruby tints. It's topped by a thick, creamy, dark brown head that fades to a thin persistent layer leaving thick lace around the inside of the glass.
Smell (5.0): Predominant notes of fruit and chocolate. Notes of wood and vanilla move the more roasted and hoppy aromas of Yeti to the back.
Taste (4.5): Chocolate and coffee dominate upfront. Sweet notes of dark fruit appear in the center along with lingering, warming alcohol. The finish is heavy roasted coffee and hop bitterness that melds with the alcohol.
Mouthfeel (5.0): Moderate carbonation, creamy, and full-bodied.
Drinkability (4.0): Nicely balanced, but still a sipper.
Overall (4.7): Similar to Yeti. The aroma is the only category where I think it is improved, though there are definite differences in the flavors. The hops are mellowed as compared to the non-oaked version, for example.
I found Yeti Imperial Stout to be quite enjoyable, so when I saw this at Downtown Wine & Spirits I had to pick it up. I let this warm to around 50º F before serving it in one of my New Belgium glasses.
The bottle says:
Crack open Yeti Imperial Stout's sophisticated sibling - Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout. They may be from the same clan, but they have entirely different personalities. Oak aging gives a subtle vanilla character, rounding out Yeti's intense roastiness and huge hoppy nature. Who says you can't tame a Yeti? 75 IBUs.Beer Stats:
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.50%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: Russian Imperial Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (5.0): Pours an opaque black with ruby tints. It's topped by a thick, creamy, dark brown head that fades to a thin persistent layer leaving thick lace around the inside of the glass.
Smell (5.0): Predominant notes of fruit and chocolate. Notes of wood and vanilla move the more roasted and hoppy aromas of Yeti to the back.
Taste (4.5): Chocolate and coffee dominate upfront. Sweet notes of dark fruit appear in the center along with lingering, warming alcohol. The finish is heavy roasted coffee and hop bitterness that melds with the alcohol.
Mouthfeel (5.0): Moderate carbonation, creamy, and full-bodied.
Drinkability (4.0): Nicely balanced, but still a sipper.
Overall (4.7): Similar to Yeti. The aroma is the only category where I think it is improved, though there are definite differences in the flavors. The hops are mellowed as compared to the non-oaked version, for example.
Labels: Great Divide Brewing Company, Oak Aged, Reviews, Russian Imperial Stout
433. Yeti Imperial Stout
The cap says "Great Minds Drink Alike".
I've heard good things about Great Divide's beers, but I've never tried one. Downtown Wine & Spirits has a pretty good selection of their beers, so I decided to pick one up. I let this warm to around 50º and served it in one of my New Belgium glasses.
The bottle says:
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.50%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: Russian Imperial Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (5.0): Pours an opaque black with slight ruby tints against the light. It's topped by a thick, dark, brown head that fades to a persistent layer that leaves heavy lace on the glass.
Smell (4.5): The aroma is predominantly roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. There are hints of fruit and hops.
Taste (4.5): The flavors are very rich. Dominant roasted malt flavors: chocolate and coffee. There are also sweet dark fruit flavors. The finish is roasted and hoppy bitterness, with a warming alcoholic spiciness.
Mouthfeel (5.0): Rich, full-bodied and creamy with moderate carbonation.
Drinkability (4.0): The alcohol is strong and evident, but is balanced well by the rich flavors.
Overall (4.6): Rich, bold and strong, but incredibly mellow and smooth in some respects. The flavors blend very well creating a nice balance.
The cap says "Great Minds Drink Alike".
I've heard good things about Great Divide's beers, but I've never tried one. Downtown Wine & Spirits has a pretty good selection of their beers, so I decided to pick one up. I let this warm to around 50º and served it in one of my New Belgium glasses.
The bottle says:
Yeti Imperial Stout is an onslaught of the senses. It starts with big, roasty malt flavor then gives way to rich caramel and toffee notes. Yeti Imperial Stout gets its bold hop character from an enormous quantity of hops. It weighs in at a hefty 75 IBUs.Beer Stats:
Brewery: Great Divide Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.50%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: Russian Imperial Stout, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (5.0): Pours an opaque black with slight ruby tints against the light. It's topped by a thick, dark, brown head that fades to a persistent layer that leaves heavy lace on the glass.
Smell (4.5): The aroma is predominantly roasted malt, coffee and chocolate. There are hints of fruit and hops.
Taste (4.5): The flavors are very rich. Dominant roasted malt flavors: chocolate and coffee. There are also sweet dark fruit flavors. The finish is roasted and hoppy bitterness, with a warming alcoholic spiciness.
Mouthfeel (5.0): Rich, full-bodied and creamy with moderate carbonation.
Drinkability (4.0): The alcohol is strong and evident, but is balanced well by the rich flavors.
Overall (4.6): Rich, bold and strong, but incredibly mellow and smooth in some respects. The flavors blend very well creating a nice balance.
Labels: Great Divide Brewing Company, Reviews, Russian Imperial Stout
