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.

Abita Jockamo

Brewed in: Abita Springs, Louisiana

Style: American IPA

ABV: 6.5%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

I don't like IPAs, but even Abita can't turn me away with theirs. It has a reddish gold color and a nice head with floral, citrusy aromas. It is hoppy throughout but never very bitter. It's one of the most refreshing and drinkable IPAs I've ever had.

Abita SOS

Brewed in: Abita Springs, Louisiana

Style: Pilsner

ABV: 7.0%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

This is a nice wheaty looking beer that's a bit darker than the norm. It is an extremely refreshing beer. It has a sharpness to it that balances out the tasty sweetness. This is almost a combination of a pilsner and a hefe or white as far as the flavors and mouthfeel. Another good beer from Abita!

Chimay Tripel

Brewed in: Baileux, Belgium

Style: Belgian Tripel

ABV: 8.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This beer has a huge foamy head with a golden and cloudy color. There's a belgian sweet aroma. It's VERY sweet. There's hardly any bitterness or alcohol present. It's a good beer for the summer but it lacks that refreshing crispness I like in a beer.

De Ranke Saison De Dottignies

Brewed in: Wevelgem, Belgium

Style: Saison/Farmhouse Ale

ABV: 5.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This is a light golden color with a cloudy look and a thick head. It has a very light sweetness in the aroma with a spiciness present somewhere. That sweet and spiciness is there in the taste but there's not too much of either. It's very dry in the middle and the finish but it has a thick mouthfeel.

Mikkeller Yeast Series: Hefeweizen

Brewed in: Kobenhaven, Denmark

Style: Hefeweizen

ABV: 8.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours a foggy brown with a lasting white head that looks pretty good. It has a bitter aroma with the normal hefe sweetness present. It has a creamy mouthfeel with a creamy taste mixing with the sweetness. There's a bitter after taste that gives the beer a little kick at the finish. A+! Great beer!

North Coast Old Rasputin

Brewed in: Fort Bragg, California

Style: Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.0%

Served: Bottle

Tasting Notes:

Most of this beer is a pretty standard imperial stout. It pours very black with a short white head. Alcohol is present in both the aroma and the taste. It doesn't have any prominant additional flavors, but the full body and present alcohol make it a nice beer to sip on on a cold day. It's a slow drinker that's overall, pretty satisfying, even if I was hoping for better.

Meantime London Stout

Brewed in: London, England

Style: English Stout

ABV: 4.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

This is a very light stout. It's dark with no, head and hardly any aroma. Should likely be defined more as an English Porter but there is a stout thickness when it comes to the finish. It's good and has a nice crispness to it that makes it both easy drinking and refreshing.

Duvel Green

Brewed in: Breedonk-Puurs, Belgium

Style: Belgian Ale

ABV: 6.8%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours almost clear and settles a light golden color with a good head. There's the belgian sweetness in the aroma but this beer is a bit better than the standard sweet Belgian ale. It has a crispness that balances out that strong sweet flavor and it allows the beer to be refreshing as well as tasty.

Delirium Nocturnum

Brewed in: Melle, Belgium

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

ABV: 8.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours a dark brown with a long tan head. There are sweet notes in the aroma but they're very light. It has a vanilla flavor with a malt sweetness. There are sour notes but it tastes mostly like an American Brown. It's a nice looking beer and one of the better belgians I've had.

Delirium Tremens

Brewed in: Melle, Belgium

Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale

ABV: 8.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A nice golden color with a white head. This beer is just the same old Belgian sweet beer, both in aroma and taste. From start to finish, front to back, there is that belgian yeast-style sweet taste that's good if its what you are looking for but it doesn't throw any curves and isn't worth the price.

BBC Coffeehouse Porter

Brewed in: South Deerfield, Massachusetts

Style: American Porter

ABV: 6.2%

Served: Nitro Draft

Tasting Notes:

A nice nitro pour, brown with a tan to white head that slowly disipates. There are light coffee notes in both the aroma and the flavor but ultimately this is a smooth, easy drinking porter with a slight sharp, crisp presence that makes in a nice beer.

Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew

Brewed in: Grimstad, Norway

Style: American Style Barleywine

ABV: 11.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Pours a dark brown with no head. There's a faint aroma if any at all. It has a very smooth, medium to full bodied, almost syrupy taste. The alcohol builds from the middle onto the fiinish. It seems to be well-aged as there's a good balance of alcohol and sweetness.

Pretty Things Fluffy White Rabbit

Brewed in: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Style: Tripel

ABV: 8.5%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

Has a golden, wheat-looking color with a good head. There's a sweet, floral aroma that is very belgian-like. There's a light bitterness up front but that's about all the hops have to offer. It finishes sweet. There's a medium body but ultimately, its a pretty standard, belgian-style tripel.

Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA

Brewed in: Easton, Pennsylvania

Style: American Imperial IPA

ABV: 9.0%

Served: Draft

Tasting Notes:

A golden, copper looking color with a nice head. There's a strong hoppy aroma and a good, strong bitterness that almost stings the throat. Personally, I don't like this beer but it's what a DIPA should be.