Hopscura's Top Beers o' th' Year!

Ahem.

I'm well aware of how incredibly lazy I've been. No posts through the entirety of December, and I'm a week late on my endoftheyear list. Whatevah.

The restrictions on this list being that I tried it as some point this year, be it at a festival, tasting, bottle or tap. Most of these will most likely be bottles, presented in no specific order (other than this is the order I thought of them)
Without further adieu . . .

Life and limb -
10%, sierra nevada/ dogfishhead
This unassuming beautiful dark ale really caught me by surprise. It was a gift from a firend of mine. At first, I didnt really read much about it, but he had only told me it was put out last year and sold out before he could get more. I hadnt even remembered it being on shelves. Turns out they more than tripled this batch, giving me time to buy another one for the cellar. Dark fruits, a crazy drinkable mouth, and a beautiful woody sweetnss from the maple/birch syrups and wood aging. Complex layers of subtlty making you return to the glass, trying to figure out whatll pop out more next. A comnundrum of a beer I kept talking about and thinking about long after I drank it.

Firestone walker
parabola
12.5
One of the real sought after biggins in its 2nd year of production, with the classic firestone notes of toasted coconut, bitter baking chocolate, espresso, and hints of tobacco, with huge dark fruits. Its all over and rather cohesive, all in one. It touches on everything I personally have come to love in big stouts, and this’ll be one ill be picking up for years to come. Having had one of these makes me glad I’ve still got a couple more stashed away.

Coronado barrelaged barleywine
11%

I first had this at Tonys Darts away on tap at their release party for the beer. You can read all about that by scrolling down a bit. Anyway, I’ve recently had it out of the botle, and man has it evolved. Significantly more wood and vanilla coming out of it. Lush textures. I immediately decided id be picking up another for a later occasion. A wonderuflly put together beer. I’m quite excited to see what other big offerings these guys will come out with in the future.

Kern river brewing
Citra
Single hop Double ipa
AND
Stone/blabla.blablalba
Japanese green tea ipa
8% and 7%, respectively

These were both similar and yet distinctly beautful in their own ways. I'm grouping them together because I happen to associate them together in my mind on account of 1) I had them within relatively close period of time of one another and 2) they both had a rather distinctly dried apricot flavor to them. The citra moreso from the hops, the greentea ipa from a combonation of the hops and tea tha emphisized this particular standout note. Both beautifully crafted. Stone put out quite a few collaborations this year, this was definitely one of the best (and for charity, no less!). If they were to rebrew a collab, I'd push hard for this.

As for Citra, I feel this is one of Kerns best beers. It absolutely blows my mind all the flavors one can achieve with a single hop (dried apricot, mango, pine. *drool*). Beautifully crafted, well put together, the best single hop beer ive had all year.


Dogfishhead
Burton baton
10

This dipa/old ale is a perfect blend of wood aging, hoppy and huge malt that makes so much sense, I tend to wonder why this isnt its own, more widely produced style. 2012 will see this out into regular production, instead of the former bi-yearly schedule it was originally on. Hallafuckinglujah. I go back to this one as often as I can. It sells out often, and not too surprisingly, either.

Schmaltz
Genesis 15:15
Barrel aged barleywine with fig, pomegranate, dates and grapes added.
13.4%abv

I had this on tap at Mohawk Bend in Hollywood. GoodfuckingGod that I dont believe in, this is good. I honestly didn’t taste too much of the noted various fruit ingredients, with the exception of the fig. Dark fruits, bit of chocolate, vanilla, wood. Wonderfully rounded, beautifully complex. Not too sweet, either. I let this warm to nearly room temp (the willpower that took me a bit), and really, I cant really find a single complaint about this. I’ve yet to try this out the bottle, as im cellaring the very few that I could pick up. If this isn’t in your top for the year as well, you either haven’t had it or are probably drinking a budlight right now.

Stone
El camino un real black ale
(2010 vintage)
A friend of mine split this one with me (thanks Adam). He apparently bought up practically every one of these that existed in the valley. This has aged exceptionally well, with pronounced notes of fig, fennel, peppercorn, smoke, and more bloody figs. A huge treat, really captures the idea of more ‘foodie’ ingredients in beers that’ve been popping up rather often as of recent.

(also, there was word from a stone employee I'm acquainted with that said they were given virgin oak aged quingenti millilitre bottles of this for xmas. *envy*/*drool*)


Dogfish head
bitches brew
9%
(2010 vintage)

Yet another one that I had been sitting on for a while. The chocolate and depth of flavor really comes through with a fair amount of time put on it. They say that honey almost entirely ferments out of it, but I can still taste it in what I’d say was nearly every sip. Truly deserving of the ‘like a milkshake’ comparison that I personally feel is thrown around a bit too much when it comes to stouts. Yet another wonderful blend from the DFH crew.

New Belgium
Lips of Faith Clutch
9%

I’m apparently really into blends this year. This 80/20 stout/ sour was a personal favorite of the occasionally hit-or-miss series of Lips of Faith. Call me a wuss, but finishing a bomber of something as sour as Consecration or Red Poppy sounds like a bit of a daunting task for me. This, however, wasn’t nearly the insane tartness that I had expected as with many of the more popular sours out there. The tart finish was backed by a smooth chocolate and heft that carried it through to a smooth finish.




Stone 15th anniversary escondidian imperial black ipa
I’ve already expounded my love for all things black dipa (and, for fucks sake, not CDA) in a past vid. I’ll just say that If you’ve had this, you know what I’m talking about. Horay vagueness!

Avery Brewing.
Samael
Oak aged barleywine.
16.230498203498 or whatever
Fuck. Forgive me for leaning toward the ‘wood aged’ and ‘big beer’ catagories, but this is well worth mentioning. It’s really hard to pass this sucker up. I feel like its pretty essential to understand the oldschool style of old ales (and original brewing methods of storing ales in wood), along with the huge, crazy newschool brewing practices that avery does so well.
(as a side note, this years Meph didn’t impress me too much whilst fresh. Samael blew me away. Aging a few of both, highly recommended you do the same)


North Coast Old Stock Ale
11.9%abv
Old ale
This has really become my go-to for quite some time now. I’ve been going back to this one practially any time I see it on the shelf, and have a 4-packs worth callaring as I type this. It’s truly a very deep, beautiful beer. Huge, yet reasonably affordable at 10$/4-pack.
Notes of black cherry become more prominant as it warms up. It's quite hard to stop at one, but I've been known to milk a single bottle for over an hour.



Dogfish head world wide stout
Somewhere between 15 and 18%
On tap at library alehouse

Again, something I’ve featured rather prominantly on here, but the mention of which is well worth repeating. This is an amazing, huge stout I’ll be seeking out whenever I can. Really wish this appeared more often on the west coast. Bit of a shame, really. It’s the whole gamut of huge stout flavors: chocolate, roast, soysauce, tobacco, balsamic, bla bla bla. Just amazing.


Let me know if you agree, or think im dead wrong, or think im a joke, or want to tell me a joke.

Maybe this isn't the most varied list, but it's mine.

Cheers and horns up and stuff.

Golden Road Brewing's Point The Way IPA Review

My review of a local favorite thats steadily gaining a cult following, paired with a local band that admits to beating a dead horse

Video Review of Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout (10.5% abv)

Just saw new batches of this hit shelves again recently. Highly encouraged to pick it up when/if you see it.

Video Review of Stone's 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black Ipa

Bit of a nod to post-metal and powerviolence thrown in there for good measure.

Avery's The Beast Grand Cru Video Review

First in a series of reviews in the more-interesting-than-print medium of video. Czech it!

Field Research: Coronado Brewing Night at Tonys Darts Away

My night out at Tony's Darts Away in Burbank got off to a rather good start before I even touched the door knob. Upon arrival, outside the bar was a man wearing a Coronado Brewing shirt. Given the nature of the event, I didn't find it too out of line to ask 'Hey man, you with the brewery?'. His name was Clint, and he happens to be the marketing director of Coronado.

"Oh man, if one of you guys gimme a cigarette, your first drinks on me." My girlfriend Danica gladly obliged him, and after a bit of raving about how much I love Idiot IPA, and Clints ravings of how they're debuting the new barleywine that I MUST try, we headed in and followed Clint to the bar area. He promptly ordered Danica and I snifters of the new brew. I nearly salivated with anticipation.

Here's where its worth mentioning that One of my absolute favorite styles is Barleywine. My girlfriend, however, not so much. Also worth mentioning that she still finished her glass (albeit chased somewhat by their Orange Ave Wit).

From Notes:

Coronado Brewing
Brandy Barrel Aged Barleywine Ale
11%
Ale brewed with orange blossom honey, aged in Brandy Barrels for 6 months

Appearance is generally a dark brown/ ruby hues with a thin offwhite head. The perticular snifter at tonys is a bit small to get a reall sniff of, but I managed to get some rather bright notes of fig and plum, along with a noticeable sweetness. Taste is big molasses, candied dried fruit all over the place, with subtle hints of light citrus shining through.  Rather syrupy, really coats the mouth and tongue. Alcohol is there, but not assaulting. A beautifully done beer. Well composed, was expecting something a bit hoppier from these guys, but this seems to be a balanced blend of a bit of tradition mixed with a bit of modern practice.

And bonus:

Orange Ave Wit
5.2%
ale brewed with coriander, orange peel, and orange blossom honey.

Light yellow appearance with a bit of a cloudy complexion. Nose mostly of spices, wheat, and some interesting floral characteristics. Taste is orange peel, wheat, spices (coriander predominantly, but also the other random stuff thats kinda kicked up by the belgian yeast), and a rather interesting note of jasmine tea. The jasmine claim was corroborated by both the girlfriend, as well as Coronado's president, Rick. "Orange Ave is my go-to. I drink that almost daily"
With that sentiment, I completely understand what theyre  trying to do with this one. A bright, flavorful, sessionable beer.


After we finished our respective beers, we once again joined Clint outside from a smoke, with Rick joining us as well this time. We talked a bit about cellaring, and the beer industry as a business. We also reflected on how fucking awesome Brewmasters was, and theories of what really led to the demise of the most landmark show to happen to the craft brewing world.


It was sometime around here that Rick and Clint came upon some sort of agreement that I deserved to have a bottle of their coveted, brandspankin new, not-yet-commercially-available barleywine. I damn near lost my goddamn mind. Its a beautiful label, with the Coronado mermaid amidst a special foiled label. Its kind of reminiscent of how pokemon cards had all their regular matte cards and the special ones had the foil backround. Its kinda like that, made that much better considering it was a first edition (it literally says Batch #1 on the bottle) and I can drink it. I was handed the bottle with the sentiment that it'll age rather well. I told them that I only had the intention of cellaring it for quite a while.

An amazing night, with great beer from a great brewery, at a great bar with great people. I feel like a smug bastard. Truth be told, I kinda am.

1st Edition Charizard Brandy Barrel Aged Barleywine Ale from Coronado Brewing, bitches.

Don't think this means I won't be buying a couple of these once they hit shelves though. This stuff is damn good.

Field Research: Dogfish Tasting At Library Alehouse

While looking through event listings on The Full Pint, I stumbled upon a mention of there being 120 minute IPA at Library Alehouse in Santa Monica, and thus immediately decided it would be mine. I headed into this originally thinking I'd go alone. I don't mind drinking alone, especially if its something that I'd feel I have to take notes on. At this point, my jotting of notes of what I'm drinking is rather understood amongst the circle of friends I drink with, but I still feel slightly rude when I do it.

With all the well-fucking-documented brewing problems they'd gone through with this huge and rather temperamental beer, I realized this event would be probably the only one of its kind that I'd be able to make it to this year. Thus, I enlisted the eager palates of my friends Sergio and Ben to join me on this trip, and I'm quite glad they went.

As it turns out, I was told by the host of Library that only 5 kegs of 120 had made its way to California. "Talk about bragging rights!" he gleefully smiled.

The menu for the night was a pretty extensive list of Dogfish Head taps. They set up flights of big bad beers (120, world wide stout, olde school barleywine), Ancient ales (sah'tea, theobroma, chateau jiahu), as well as a 'theres food in my beer' flight (punkin, red&white, festina peach). Take a wild bloody guess as to which flight I got.

I know I'm having a good day when the weakest beer I have is hovering around 16%.

From notes:

All of these were (unfortunately) served in 6 oz short, cylindrical glasses. Little room for head or getting much of a nose out of 'em. I did what I could. ABV is approximate.

Olde school barleywine
16%
Rich caramel color. Nose has dominance of some light dried fruit, alcohol, and a hint of sweet. Taste of big dark/ dried fruit, lots of alcoholic notes, heat, but rather nice in is assertive agression. Balanced hops, good, solid body. Large, english, beautiful. Rather malty, an interesting spin on a classic style. 

World wide stout
18 %
Black
Nose of enormous roasty coffee, dark chocolate, and bit sweetness. Taste of baking chocolate, raw cacao, huge sweetness, molasses, hints of balsamic vinegar, smoked meat. Everything about imperial stouts that I love, but bigger. This is really a wonderful take on this style. I could barely believe this was actually 18%. Very well done.

Couldn't rave enough about this one. Theres a liquor store in my area that has 2008 and 2007 vintage for $20 and $30, respectively. The buyer from the store said he got it from an auctioned off cellar on the east coast. I kinda have my eye on the '08, just cus I'd wanna age it for a while anyway. We'll see.

120 minute IPA
18%
Golden caramel color. Nose of huuuggeee hops. Very 'green' smelling, leafy, floral. super aromatic.
Ahem. I thought I knew what it waslike to taste a fresh, hoppy ipa. I feel like this defies my palate in description. Its insanely syrupy sweet, with the largest hops profile I've experienced next to Mikkeller's 1000 IBU (sorry, i know people reference these beers in the same breath pretty often, but I finally see why its an appropriate comparison). Not for the faint of heart. It tastes like there's raw fucking hops in my beer. I'll be honest, Its not really something I'd seek out all that often, but definitely a very interesting experience. 

After the initial flight, I ordered another World Wide Stout, but asked for it in a snifter cus im a picky fucking beer snob. The waitress was actually not too surprised and happily obliged me. As it turns out, This glass was by far the highlight of my evening. Sergio also got another WWS.

We stumbled down from the bar to the beach. Sergio, being the free spirit he is, promtply took off his pants and got in the water. Ben was slightly deterred by this notion, but I became intrigued with the the all-too-open "Whats it gonna take to get you to go in?"

My response was reasonable, "Either a Santa's Little Helper or a Cockeyed Cooper." Which, in out of context retrospect, sounds kindof like some obscure sex positions.

"I'll get you one of each"

And with that, Mr. moneybags had himself a deal. I piled my shirt and pants on top of my sandals, and earned myself a couple coveted brews while I lunged into the pacific ocean. Not a bad night, if you ask me.