Sierra Nevada LIfe & Limb

Brewed in: Chico, California

Style: American Strong Ale

ABV: 10.2%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Black with a strong alcoholic aroma. This is a fantastic beer. There are sweet flavors that are hard to pinpoint but they mirror a barleywine of sorts. Bittersweet but not nearly as alcoholic.

Sierra Nevada Jack & Ken

Brewed in: Chico, California

Style: American Barleywine

ABV: 10.2%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This is a dark barleywine, almost black as it pours and settles a dark red. It's sharp and bittersweet. It's a very good barleywine but a bit tougher to drink than the Bigfoot from Sierra Nevada.

Sierra Nevada 2x4

Brewed in: Chico, California

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

ABV:

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This is an ugly looking beer... don't often see that. It's a cloudy brown with a light head that almost exists underneath the top of the beer. There's hardly any aroma at all. It has a light mouthfeel and there's hardly any specific tastes. There are some light sour notes near the finish but that's about it. It's a strange brew.

New England Imperial Stout Trooper

Brewed in: Woodbridge, Connecticut

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.2%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

It's as black as night with just a thin head. It's about what you'd expect from the aroma. The alcohol is very present and one of the most intense Imperial Stouts I've had. The mouthfeel is very thick and almost syrupy. It's a nice, heavy beer that's good for the cold winter months.

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Brewed in: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Style: American Imperial Stout

ABV: 11.2%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

I wanted to get everything I noticed about this beer down on paper immediately. When I first popped open the bottle I took a smell and my first instinct was alcohol. Upon further invesigation there are other spice-like aromas present. Its almost a dry alcoholic aroma. It pours very thick. There's absolutely no head out of this bottle and it's very black but there is a brown color around the rim. The aroma softens out in the glass but remains that same dry alcohilic aroma.

It has a very thick mouthfeel. That dryness continues to exist in the taste but all the breakfast flavors are present, as well as the barrel aged notes. The most obvious flavor is likely the coffee, mostly present at the finish. The front and middle are mostly dominated by the alcohol that stings a bit but is never overpowering. The chocolate notes are more of a strong, dark chocolate as opposed to the sweet chocolate you'd get in a desert beer like a Rogue or Southern Tier Chocolate Stout. It's a bitter chocolate like that which you'd bake and not necessarily snack on.

Expectation surrounded this tasting and I never expected the KBS to live up to them however when it comes to Imperial Stouts, Russians, Americans, whatever, I would call this the best of the bunch I've had to this point. It balances the alcohol, the mouthfeel, the flavors and the consistency very well. It's not the best beer I've ever had and it might not even be the best stout I've ever had but its a top notch brew.

Abita Turbodog

Brewed in: Abita Springs, Louisiana

Style: English Brown Ale

ABV: 5.6%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

I was very excited about this beer from Abita and it didn't disappoint. It has a brown pour with a red look when held under the light. There are stout-like aromas (chocolate, maybe mocha) and there's a very malty presence with a nice sharp carbonation to it.

Abita Restoration

Brewed in: Abita Springs, Louisiana

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.0%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

Here's another beer from Abita that I expected to be on the avoid shelf despite how much I've liked all their beers. The Restoration has a bitterness to it but its extremely light and actually comes across as sharp and almost spicy instead. It makes it very tasty and what I would describe as a good beer for a BBQ.