Great Lakes Nosferatu

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Tonight was trick-or-treat in Columbus and many other communities. If you have little ones, I hope you enjoyed it as much as they did and that everyone stayed safe. Do you dress up to take the kids out? I do. Or do you prefer to stay at home and pass out candy? I used to dress up for that, too, before I had a kid of my own. I love both; this is one of my favorite nights of the year. In that spirit (ha! See what I did there?), we bring you our final installment of the autumn seasonals, Great Lakes Brewing's Nosferatu, an imperial red ale. It has been a few years since I have had this, and I'm looking forward to drinking it again. Out of a martini glass, because, well, it's imperial and because I have Halloween-themed martini glasses. Of course I do. You know you are jealous.

This pours a lovely color that is more amber than red. It had a teensy little bit of cream-colored head that did not stick around long. The nose on this is lovely. Caramel and toffee predominate the nose, with some faint citrus notes popping in from time to time. The flavor is pleasant, heavy on the caramel notes with some generic citrus and perhaps some pineapple coming to the table in the middle, and finishing slightly bitter and earthy with a note of pine that is borderline metallic. This is thinner than I would like in body for this style of beer, but it's not too thin. It is well-carbonated, and my mouth is left feeling a little sticky from the hops. The 8% ABV is not noticed in the taste.

Overall, while a great beer, it's not quite McCarthy's Bane. That beer was a game-changer, a category-killer for me. This is actually pretty close to that, just a little less hoppy and a little thinner in body. But hey, Nosferatu is made just up the road in Cleveland, who is having a big night of their own with the return of prodigal son Lebron James. As a vigilant supporter of the Ohio craft beer scene, I'll gladly drink this when I can find it.

4.25/5 caps

-Jennie

Nosferatu, named after one of the first Vampire movies (you came blame Twilight for the decline of quality).  Aptly named as we head into tomorrow being Halloween. This season is probably my favorite adult season. Sure you have Saint Patrick's day where we all celebrate being Irish (whether we are or not), we have Cinco de Mayo where we all celebrate being Mexican (whether we are or not), but what do we celebrate on Halloween? Our Scottish heritage of guising? Our witch/Salem Witch Trials heritage? No. Being drunkards with imaginations. You get to be creative around this season. Sure, I...er... I mean people enjoy the sexy cop, sexy devil, sexy cat; but I actually enjoy more of the unique costume ideas. My one buddy dressed as the "Aliens" guy from History channel the same year another friend dressed as "Mr. Mayhem" from the Allstate ads, a lot of creativity instead of the same typical "Oh, I'm a zombie, I'm a vamp" humdrum. Enough jibber jabber, time to get onto the beer review, fool (do kids still dress as Mr. T? I've been so out of the trick-or-treat circuit...).

As I watch Louisville have a dominating lead against FSU, and allow a comeback, I need this 8%. I'm indifferent to Louisville, but I can't stand FSU for reasons I will not get into on here. This isn't a sports blog, this is about beer. You readers put up with enough of our random banter without having to have me drag sports into the equation.

This pours a nice reddish amber with a small amount of cream colored head (that has lasted around through my intro/babble). The aroma on this is, as my lovely partner-in-basically-everything stated, caramel and toffee heavy with some citrus coming through. The flavor on this is caramel up front, faint nondescript citrus hops with a building bitterness toward the middle. As the bitterness builds, there's almost a chocolate note that pops for a second and leads to a earthy/metallic note. The bitterness/earthy/metallic phase drops out and gives way to a caramel/citrus/tropical finish that rides out for a bit, leaving a slightly sticky finish around the cheek and gums. Not sure at this point if it's hop resin or sweetness or a combination there of... I think after another sip it's a combination. Eh... It's hoppier than most red ales I've had (sans the Trump Card of Red Ales, aka McCarthy's Bane), but, as a hop head leaving my personal bias aside, it's good. For a red ale, one of my least favorite categories, it's great.

Side note before my rating, my last time drinking this was at a bar that focuses on craft beer (Bob's Bar if you're ever in Columbus). I was drinking this and shooting pool and playing darts with my then neighbor (we both have since moved). It brings back good times when things weren't so hectic and the world seemed like a happier place (this was 2008).

4.3/5 caps

-Nathan-

Food pairing: Whoppers straight out of the Halloween candy stash (when a food makes a beer even better, as this does, you have to!)
Cheese pairing: Chevre
Music pairing: "Nosferatu Does a Hefty Dance" by Pinkly Smooth

Sierra Nevada Blood Shot (Beer Camp #95)

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It's certainly been an eventful day here, what with being snowed in and following Hopslamgate 2014. For those who are unaware, a certain Columbus craft beer retailer has been accused of illegally buying the entire stock of Hopslam from a nearby grocery store. We're not going to get in the middle of the debate, as we're friends with both the craft beer retailer and the brewery who made it common knowledge among the Columbus craft beer scene. We didn't witness the transaction, so it's not up to us to decide whether a major transgression was committed. But the seamier side of me has enjoyed watching the fur fly in this debate. And you know what makes the unfolding drama even better? A craft beer from another brewery that isn't affiliated with the local kerfuffle. We're also watching the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets as they climb the standings in the Metropolitan Division. Beer and hockey is a fabulous combination, in case you were unaware.

Let's discuss the Beer Camp series from Sierra Nevada. Every summer, Sierra Nevada hosts "beer camp", where every day normal people come together (by invitation... you can apply here) and learn how to brew beer. They brew several varieties, and release their favorite styles. This one, #95, is an imperial red ale that was brewed during the 2013 session.

As promised, this pours a lovely garnet color with a khaki-colored head that dissipated quickly, leaving a ring of lacing at the edge of my glass. The nose on this is precisely what I would expect from a red ale: caramel, bread, and a faint tinge of pine and grapefruit from the West Coast hop varieties used in this. Let's take a sip. There's some brown sugar and caramel sweetness up front, which fades quickly into the notes of pine, grapefruit, and an earthy note that come in toward the end. There is a faint sting from a boozy note, but it's not overwhelming (and at 8.5% ABV, it shouldn't be). It finishes bitter and dry, and there's almost a metallic note toward the middle and end. It's a little sticky sweet up front, which fades about halfway through the taste.

Overall, it's a solid beer. Unfortunately, my benchmark for all imperial red ales was set by McCarthy's Bane, and this one doesn't quite equal that. At the same time, it's certainly not a bad beer. I saw some Beer Camp 2013 on the shelf at a favorite local retailer this week (actually, where we obtained this), if you're interested in buying some.

4/5 caps

-Jennie

Well, Jackets lost, damn it. Thanks for cursing us, Jennie. But, it's been an interesting day. Hopslamgate has been an interesting read, especially with people coming out of the woodwork to give their take on it. As a neutral 3rd party, I will base my opinion when there are actual facts given by Premium and Bell's on this matter.

With that out of the way, I continue on this beer trek that is Sierra Nevada. An 8.5%, 95 IBU brew from a beer camp, yes please. We had one of their beer camp series a few years back, when one of the bartenders from Bob's Bar made a brew with Sierra. It was fantastic, so I'm hoping this is as good.

This pours a nice dark garnet color, with khaki colored head. The head on mine has lingered, surprisingly, as Jennie did her portion of the review. The nose on this is fantastic. Caramel, bread, citrus with a tinge of pines. The flavor on this, at this point is, hop heavy all the way around. There are earthy, pine, and citrus flavors up front with a twist of caramel malts balancing in the middle. The ending is a West Coast Hop blast. A nice herbal tea like flavor is faint in the aftertaste. This is smooth drinking, with a slightly resiny stickiness on the tongue. The 8.5%, at this point is not noticed while drinking, but is noticed after 6 ounces of goodness are sitting happily in the stomach. I just realized I was zoning off for about 10 minutes thinking about a concert I went to 10 years ago. Ambulance LTD. They were opening for the Killers at the Newport Music Hall. Ambulance stole the show, in my opinion, to where after the show, I got their autographs on the concert ticket. I wasn't interested in meeting the Killers (who were just up and coming with the release of Hot Fuss). If you haven't heard them, youtube them. And while you're on youtube, look up our video from our trip to Elevator. With that being said, I end this in order to get to the next beer, and later, to the neighbors for some drunken cards.

4.3/5 caps

-Nathan-

Cheese Pairing: Brie, Camembert
Music Pairing: Ambulance LTD "Heavy Lifting"