Beer Review: Solidarity by New Albanian Brewing Company

Style: Baltic Porter
ABV: 8.5%
Ratebeer: 93/73
Beer Advocate: B+

The New Albanian Brewing Company is located in, of all places, New Albany, Indiana. Until a relatively recent trip to Indianapolis, I had never heard of the brewery or the city. Apparently it is down by Louisville.

While at the wonderful Tomlinson Tap Room, I was lucky enough to try their double IPA offering, Hoptimus. Thoroughly impressed by this, I figured I would try a different bottle I found from them while still in the city. Since I've been on a big porter/stout kick recently, I thought a Baltic porter would be perfect (plus the label was pretty cool).

Back story and ingredients:

 

 

It pours very dark brown, almost cola-colored, with a very light head that cleared out quickly with little lacing. Not the prettiest beer I've ever seen, but you I don't have tastebuds for beauty.

The smell was mostly roasted grain and coffee; don't really get anything else out of it. Taste is much of the same, but with a tiny bit of chocolate on the finish, along with a very, very subtle hop presence. Sweet when chilled and almost cloying when it warms up.

The carbonation is medium, perhaps a bit too present for my tastes. Body is really thin, almost like an iced coffee. Not nearly as thick as I thought it would be. The 8.5% is completely hidden; perhaps the smoothest 8+% beer I've ever tried. If someone told me this was 4.5%, I wouldn't doubt them.

I have to say, I was really disappointed in this beer. I've been impressed with other varieties from the same brewer, so I know they can do better. I was really looking forward to this one, but the taste and thinness of it just kills it for me.

Grade: B-

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P.S. Now that I'm back from getting wedded and thoroughly vacationed, I have a few reviews and a couple other posts I'd like to get up. You'll be hearing back from me soon!

Beer Review: Southern Tier Oak Aged Unearthly

Style: Imperial India Pale Ale
ABV: 11%
Ratebeer: 99/96
Beer Advocate: A-

When I think of oaked beers, I think of stouts or barley wines, not IPAs. It's not typical of the style at all.

I have had the un-oaked version of this before and the oaked on draft ($10 a snifter. Yow.), so I wanted to see how it managed in bottle format. The first thing I noticed was how beautiful of a beer it is. Though it doesn't pour much of a head, it is the most perfect transparent orange-amber color. Not a bit of cloudiness.

It certainly does not smell like an IPA. Rather than hops, the first things you smell (other than the alcohol, which is no wonder at 11%) is the oak and caramel. It smells sweet, almost like a barley wine.

The taste is much of the same. Unlike what you would expect from an imperial IPA, the hops don't factor in at all at first. You get a lot of malt-forward sweetness and a good deal of caramel and vanilla from the oak aging. It's not until you swallow that you get a small bit of bitterness from the hops.

It's a thick and syrupy beer. Not particularly refreshing, but I'm sitting inside with the AC on, so it's no biggie.

You know, at first I didn't care for this beer, but time the bottle was empty I wish I had more. It's not the the most perfect IPA I've ever tasted. In fact, it strays far, far from the category in many distinct ways. Despite this, it is delicious. If I was hankering for a big IPA, would I necessarily pick this one off the shelf? Maybe, maybe not. If I was looking for something different, though, or a winter time IPA, I would definitely think long and hard about it.

Grade: A-

Beer Review: Founders Imperial Stout

Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.5%
Ratebeer: 100/96
Beer Advocate: A

I missed out on this beer when it was being distributed earlier during the winter. Luckily, I picked up two bottles in a trade while I was in Indianapolis last weekend. One to try now and one to stash away for another day down the road.

Poured from a 12oz bottle to a stemless wine class. Color is pitch black, with only a minimal brown head; disappeared before I could get a picture. Smells a lot like coffee; the roasted malts are obvious, too. You can definitely smell the 10.5% ABV in this. Tastes a lot less boozy that is smells, though. Only a little burn on the tail end of the drink. Has a decent amount of chocolate taste, but finishes a little too bitter in my opinion because of the roasted malts and 90 IBUs. This is a great beer, but I don't like my stouts quite this hoppy. It's still a damn good beer, and I'm sure that after it ages and the hops fade a bit, it will be even better.

Grade: A-

Beer review: Avery White Rascal

Style: Witbier
ABV: 5.6%
Ratebeer: 74/86
Beer Advocate: B/B-

Poured from a 12oz can to a pint glass. Very light and cloudy yellow, with a thin white head. Smells like a typical Belgian, with spices, citrus, and banana. Taste is a watered down version of the same. Refreshing and well-carbonated, at least. This would be an excellent lawnmower or beach beer if you're a fan of white Belgians. I've never been a big fan of the style, though, and this is no exception. It beats every macro out there, but there are a million other craft options that I would drink first.

Grade: B-

Recent beer tastings

Below are some of the beers that I've tried recently and a brief thought on each. Most of these were consumed at my bachelor party last weekend. Without further ado...

 Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree (Imperial IPA, MI)

Very good. A little sweet and malty for my tastes, though.

 Short's The Curl (Imperial Pilsner, MI)

Really, really enjoyed this one. Crisp and refreshing. Not enough imperial pilsners out there.

 Great Divide Titan IPA (IPA, CO)

Solid, but nothing crazy. Tastes about like what you'd expect an IPA to taste like.

 

 Dark Horse One (Oatmeal Stout, MI)

I had really been looking forward to this part of the night. A tasting of the 1-5 stouts from Dark Horse. This oatmeal stout might have been my favorite drink of the night. Smooth and creamy, tasted a lot like chocolate and a little like coffee. Really good stuff.

 Dark Horse Too (Cream Stout, MI)

As the style implies, I remember it being creamy, but not much else other than that. Hard to follow the last beer.

 Dark Horse Tres (Blueberry Stout, MI)

 I've had this once before and didn't care for it, but was pleasantly surprised. I don't have fruit stouts often, so the blueberry smell and flavor was peculiar. Smelled like blueberries more than it tasted. Reminded me a little of a blueberry pancake. Decent, but probably won't try it again.

Dark Horse Fore (Smoked Stout, MI)

 Don't particularly care for smoked beers, either, but this one only had a faint hint of smoke. Not a smoke bomb like some of the other smoked porters and stouts I've had. This one would go great with a steak or other red meat.

Dark Horse Plead the 5th (Imperial Stout, MI)

 This was a delicious beast of a beer. At 12%, it was probably good that I was sharing it. Pretty well rounded between malts and hops. The high ABV in it is pretty much completely hidden. This could make for some sneaky drunkenness.

Mikkeller and BrewDog I Hardcore You (Double IPA, Denmark/Scotland)

Hops, hops and more hops. As advertised, this is about as hoppy a beer as I've ever drank, which is strange consider that it's a European collaboration. At $7.99 for a 12oz bottle, this isn't something I'd have often, but it was a nice treat.

Lagunitas Maximus (IPA, CA)

This seemed pretty standard, too, but it was about 4:30AM when I drank it, so I could be forgetting a bit.

Allagash Black (Belgian Stout, ME)

A strange brew. A stout fermented with Belgian yeast. Almost tastes like a really dark, malty dubbel or tripel. Not a big fan, but it is a popular beer. I believe Wine Enthusiast rated it their favorite beer of the year. Perhaps it just takes a bit of getting used to.

Alesmith Speedway Stout (Imperial Stout, CA)

Another monster of a beer. I've had this guy sitting in my closet for months to find a special opportunity to try it. At 12% and 750ml, this is about the same, alcohol-wise, as drinking a bottle of wine. You'll definitely want to split this one. An intense-flavored beer. A lot of coffee and heavily roasted malts. There is a good deal of complexity here.

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA (Imperial IPA, CO)

This didn't blow me away at all. It seemed like a pretty standard malt-forward IIPA. It was passable, but doesn't measure up to some of the better offerings out there.

So, what were my favorites? I'd go with the following:

Short's The Curl (Imperial Pilsner, MI)
The entire Dark Horse 1-5 lineup other than Tres

Mikkeller and BrewDog I Hardcore You (Double IPA, Denmark/Scotland)

Alesmith Speedway Stout (Imperial Stout, CA)