Zaftig ZBS

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Zaftig is a small brewery in Worthington, Ohio, basically a mile from the hell-hole that funds me. These guys are amazing. Brent, Jim and Jason are some of the nicest, funniest guys you'll meet. This company started off as homebrewers who moved into the big-time. They've been open for about a year now and produce big beers (2 beers under 9% ABV out of the 12-or-so they have on tap at any given time). The term Zaftig, well, look it up, go ahead, I have time.... OK, now you've looked up what Zaftig means, now you understand why it's perfect for a company that produces big beers.

This particular beer has an interesting life. It started off as their Black Perle stout (which is amazing to begin with), and the mad geniuses decided to obtain a bourbon barrel from Watershed Distillery (also local to CBus) and age it, hence the name ZBS (Zaftig Bourbon Stout). The results are fantastic.

This pours an opaque black with about a fingers worth of tan head that dissipates quickly. Yes, I know this is poured in a pint glass when the proper glassware should be a snifter, but this is my trusty pint glass that's led me through nearly 300 beer reviews. I forget what the ABV is on this, 9.5% or 9.8% I believe. The aroma on this is worthy being made into a candle scent. I would love my house to smell like this. Oak, roasted notes (coffee, chocolate), slight sweetness, slight bourbon. There is a whirlwind of flavors rushing around, trying to pick them out front to back is hard. Initially there is an oak and bourbon blast, then that tapers off as some slight sweetness casually walks you to a nice medley of coffee and chocolate. The chocolate steps aside, leaving coffee-esque tones that linger for a bit. The oak and bourbon come back on stage, so-to-speak, to take a final bow with the other flavors. The mouthfeel on this is amazing. It's medium to heavy, definitely a sipping beer. The carbonation on this is perfect for a stout. The finish on this is slightly sweet, leaving your mouth wanting more, and possibly a cigar. The alcohol on this really isn't noticed while drinking it (read: not boozy like some 9+% beers), but halfway through a pint of this, you'll start to feel the effects of this awesomeness. I finally found a stout I want on a regular basis (as I'm a hop head who loves big, juicy IPAs).

My hats off to the guys at Zaftig for this. I was touting this up as a Founder's KBS killer, in case you skipped the body of the review to just get to the rating.

5/5 caps

-Nathan-

We love the crew at Zaftig! Their beers are wonderful and they are a great group of people. Oh, and I want their brewing system, a big, beautiful Blichmann setup. Le sigh, frugal homebrewer problems. The struggle is real, people.

Candidly, we were debating on reviewing this or just drinking it, as it was a howler that has been in our fridge since Saturday, which was the release party for this. Hence the improper glassware, to be honest. I would have at least put it in a stemless tulip otherwise. But here we are, with our trusty favorite pint glasses. I'm also the girl who will drink straight from the bottle or can sometimes. This is why I consider myself more of a beer nerd than a beer snob. I know (and usually have) the proper glassware for the beer, but I don't always need to use it.

Nathan nailed the appearance. The head on mine has long dissipated but was a finger or so of deep khaki color. As it has warmed the aroma gives way to more bourbon in the nose. Currently this smells boozy as hell. Bourbon with chocolate, coffee, and notes of toasted oak. Taking another deep sip, I'm pretty sure my nose hairs just caught a buzz from this. Silky chocolate and coffee play on my tongue, then the bourbon makes a grand entrance with much fanfare, and that fades to this lovely oak note on the back end that makes me want to lick the barrel. I don't care if I get splinters. By the way, if you can obtain Watershed's products, their bourbon is fantastic, and that is coming from someone who is excessively picky on her bourbon. They also make a fantastic gin. But let us get back to the beer, because we need to discuss the mouthfeel on this. Velvet and satin aren't as smooth as this. Babies' bottoms aren't this smooth. Ron Jeremy doesn't have as many moves as this. Bill Gates isn't as rich as this. I would maybe liken the mouthfeel of ZBS to cashmere, because it's not only soft, but also luxurious and rich. Hands down, the best mouthfeel of a barrel-aged stout I have ever enjoyed. The oak and the bourbon in this are just perfect, when in so many beers I think they overwhelm the beer.

5/5 caps

-Jennie

Music Pairing: Marvin Gaye, "Let's Get It On"
Food Pairing: Chocolate cake, particularly the one made by Piece of Cake in the Short North for the release party (made with Black Perle, the non-BA version of this)
Cheese Pairing: Mascarpone

Prairie/BrewFist Spaghetti Western

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How does one celebrate the entrance to your craft beer market by a highly touted brewery? By drinking one of their beers you obtained elsewhere, of course. Prairie Artisan Ales is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and makes some widely touted beers. We happened across this one in a trade and look forward to drinking it. This is a collaboration brew between Prairie and BrewFist out of Italy, and is an imperial coffee stout with coffee, cacao nibs, and yes, spaghetti. As a brewer, I'm scratching my head at the addition of the spaghetti. I can only think it might plump up the ABV and mouthfeel a bit on this. But also, I'm intrigued to know how they did this. Did they put uncooked spaghetti in the mash? Did they use cooked spaghetti? Did it go in sometime other than the mash? These are things a homebrewer ponders.

Yes, I put it in a coffee mug. It's imperial. It has coffee. The mug is kind of tulip-shaped. It works in my mind. The only problem I see is that the mug isn't clear, so you can't get a great idea as to the color and appearance of this. That, and that I didn't have this for breakfast. Will you just have to take my word for it? Perhaps. This poured a deep, rich brownish-black color that is opaque and had a decent amount of light coffee-colored head. The aroma on this is wonderful: coffee, coffee grounds,  bittersweet chocolate, and just a hint of vanilla and booze in the nose. The taste of this is fantastic: Fresh coffee, espresso, bittersweet chocolate and a hint of vanilla all come in to play throughout the taste, with the coffee and chocolate flavors being prevalent throughout the taste. But then there is something else that sneaks in, something different. You can actually taste the spaghetti in here. It's noticed toward the end, and it tastes vaguely like semolina pasta. It just kind of hangs out, doesn't detract from the chocolate and coffee flavors going on, it just adds a bit of a different taste. This is moderately carbonated and really good, but a bit thin in body. It is fairly sweet, despite the bitter flavors going on in here. I want this for breakfast tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Monday. Can we please make that happen?

4.6/5 caps

-Jennie

I hate Sundays. They are harsh reminders of the impending hell that must be suffered until, once again, Friday comes around and leads you into the shortest part of the week. This is intriguing, brewed with spaghetti... hmm... I've heard of random things being brewed into beer (boxes of cereal, bacon. oysters, rocky mountain oysters), but I've never heard of pasta in beer. Eh, why not?

I am drinking this out of the bottle, so unable to tell color. Jennie basically nailed the nose (coffee, chocolate, vanilla and boozy notes) on this 8.7% ABV brew we can't obtain in Ohio. The taste is coffee, more coffee, some chocolate, then more coffee. As the coffee-heavy taste starts to fade, there are some vanilla notes that become more noticeable. Decent carbonation, smooth drinking. Finishes slightly sticky (but not sure if it's sweetness or hoppy, as this does have 60 IBUs).

It should also be noted that this is an 11.2 oz bottle with a note on the label that says "Product of Italy". Those Italians and their 331.2ml bottles...

4.6/5 caps

-Nathan-
Food pairing: This would be fantastic poured over your favorite chocolatey breakfast cereal
Cheese pairing: Porter cheese
Music pairing:  The Carpenters, "Rainy Days and Mondays"

Founders KBS

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Here we are on National Beer Day, with over 2 cases of beer stashed to review just for you. Honestly, it's been more of a Monday today than I care to even discuss (it's amazing sometimes just how brashly ADHD and dementia can clash), so I'm in the mood for some nice, strong beer. I didn't figure we'd sit on this particular selection for too long. Last week was an epic chase for the mythical beer that is Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout. I get it... it's one of the top-rated stouts, nay beers, in the country, and we live in this strange microcosm of the craft beer world that is Columbus, which has given rise to Hopslamgate and other such nefarious and questionable business and trading practices. Last week could be summed up by being also called The Chase for KBS. It was released, 1 to 2 cases to each establishment, throughout the city, to those establishments who purchased the required minimum of their regular Breakfast Stout. Most places sold out in 20 or so minutes of their entire stash. I was #25 in line for a place that had 24 bottles to be had. They sold out before they even were supposed to begin selling it. This town is crazy for limited release craft beer, but that's an entire other blog post. Regardless, we have befriended a couple of retail establishments with honest and fair business practices, and we were handsomely rewarded.

Enough rambling. On with the beer. I have a badge on Untappd to unlock. Priorities, Jen! This pours a rich, opaque black with a finger or so of coffee-colored head. There is better head retention than I expected from an 11.2% ABV behemoth, and it is leaving a gorgeous, tight lacing on my glass (mine would be the snifter with a long stem). The aroma on this makes me wish I had saved it for next week, when Peanut is on spring break and I'll need a good, strong morning brew. It's predominantly coffee with notes of vanilla, chocolate, an almost nutty tone, and definite booze. Taking a sip, I immediately understand why there is so much hype surrounding this beer. It's smoother than a baby's backside. There is a blast of coffee and chocolate and roasted malty goodness up front, which quickly gives way to a soft vanilla note (and not that fake tastes-like-I-just-ate-a-candle vanilla). It fades to a faint bourbon note from the barrel aging (hence the Kentucky in the name), and the finish is all booze. Crap. This is fantastic. Easily one of the best stouts I've ever had. And I drank a LOT of their regular Breakfast Stout over the weekend. It's also velvet smooth from the oatmeal, and just silky fantastic in the mouth, with just enough stickiness. I never thought I'd say this, but it's worth $7 for a 12-ounce bottle.

I was just telling Nathan earlier that it was quickly turning into a whiskey kind of night. Scratch that... the KBS filled that void.

5/5 caps

-Jennie

In the brink of seeking out of this mythical beer, we came to the realization that we obtained 3 bottles somehow. The 3rd one is being added to the beginning of our beer cellar. Not trying to brag, more of befriend us in real life and we might share when it ages. How else does one start a beer cellar than with a hugely hyped, unobtainable brew?

But I digress as I continue on my portion of the review. Mine has had time to warm up as my Partner-In-Zymurgy took lead. She needed to zone out with good beer and good music. I, being the man I am, can show extreme patience. I mean, my 9-5 job is problem solving/baby sitting adults in a factory, so I need to show patience. And speaking of factory, I need to speed up the process on this review factory and get to the beer. Damn my wandering mind.

As I turn up the music of a local musician (Scott Gorsuch), I slouch back in the chair and admire the look of this. Jet black with a small amount of creamed coffee-colored head. The head is lingering around despite it being poured roughly an hour ago. The aroma is bourbon heavy, sweetness from the malt, and notes of vanilla and chocolate popping in to lend themselves to this dreamy concoction. Now for the part I've been longing for all day, the taste.... How do I describe this using actual words and not grunts and drooling? There's a rich chocolate taste up front with a strong kick of bourbon  following that. Shortly after, a nice vanilla bean flavor jumps in to tame out the bourbon and rides smoothly until the end. There's some sweetness to this, but not overly sweet, nor cloying. Definitely a sipping beer. This 11.2% drinks smooth with a slightly sticky, yet dry finish, like a good wine. With each sip, the flavor develops to more of a blending of flavors. The tongue is telling me to hold onto this tight, while gripping a knife in my other hand, in case of marauders trying to take on sip of this drink of kings. I haven't heard of reports of Hessian soldiers or other various bandits here as of late in the neighborhood, but I can't be off my guard for a minute. No, not on my watch.

5/5 caps

-Nathan-

Cheese pairing: Artisinal farmer's cheese
Food pairing: Red velvet cheesecake
Music pairing:  Alice In Chains "Jar of Flies" (yes, the entire album) or support local musicians