Full Pint Night of the Living Stout

We purchased this to accompany the season finale of "Walking Dead." Eight days later, we're actually going to drink it. And because tonight has been the night of the elusive stout, I'm going to torture Nathan by starting off with this one. We have been trying to obtain -- legally, of course -- a bottle of Founders KBS. We had to miss an event last week where we could have purchased one, and we were an hour late to Palmer's tonight for it, by which time they were sold out. Actual conversation:

Nathan: I shed a manly tear (when he found out that both our names were called in the raffle last week).
Me: It's ok, dear. It's ok to cry over beer. It's manly, even, to cry over beer.

Side note, I hate Nathan's work schedule. It was the reason we missed the KBS tonight. Don't worry, we'll keep trying, but in the meantime, we have another delicious stout to drink and share with you. Without further ado:

We've previously shared our enthusiasm for Full Pint, and our appreciation that we can legally obtain it in Ohio now without having to bootleg it across state lines. This is their occasionally available stout. I've not had a dark beer from them yet, so I'm intrigued. It pours black as black coffee, with a minute khaki head. It smells lovely... lovely coffee and roasted notes and some stone fruit coming through in the nose. It tastes... man, I wish I had this for breakfast. It tastes like coffee. Coffee and coffee grounds, and somehow, some bonfire flavor coming out of nowhere. I love the smell of a bonfire. And it finishes very bitter, like black coffee. The mouthfeel is very smooth, velvety, with moderate carbonation.

Ooooh, I like this. I'm looking forward to trying more of Full Pint's beers, now that we can get them more easily. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go throttle Nathan, or at least tackle him and take the remote. He's watching the national championship basketball game, over which I am very superstitious. While I really want to watch it, I'm convinced that Michigan won't win if I do. Go Blue!!!!!!

4.6/5 caps

-Jennie


I hate my work schedule too and it saddened me when Rin, at Savor, told me that both our names were drawn for last week's event. And to top things off, my Sundays are shot for a while, as Walking Dead is done for the season. And to top it off even more, Jennie's a team-up-north fan...

So to help chase away this self-burden, there's good beer. Good beer and reading Hunter S Thompson later.  This beer smells fantastic; coffee, roasted and some light darker fruit notes. The taste is coffee, coffee, roasted, coffee and bitter finish. Smooth, but thick, mouthfeel. I can't really add anything to what Jennie said, aside from This doesn't taste bad with a salty tear or two in it (joking, of course).

4.6/5 caps

-Nathan-

Magic Hat Elder Betty

Kitties on the keyboard make it hard to type: lesson learned tonight. Miss Jasmine decided to help review the beer, although in the end, she had nothing to say about it... I think maybe she was just going for easy access to the desk and some Mom love. So, this is the last beer in the sampler pack from Magic Hat to review. Elder Betty, which was first released last summer. A hefeweizen flavored with elderberries, which are something of a new obsession of mine. They're mild but tart... I love them in cocktails. Seriously, try a splash of St. Germain (elderberry liqueur) in your next greyhound.... it smooths out the bitterness of the grapefruit juice. And I love love love the label artwork, so this was something of a no-brainer for me.

This pours a cloudy peach color with a white head that doesn't stick around long. The nose is all hefeweizen esters -- banana, orange, coriander -- with a touch of elderberry sneaking in. The taste is pure hefeweizen -- orange and banana, predominantly -- rounded and smoothed by a tinge of elderberries. I love that the elderberries complement instead of overwhelm this beer. They hit the palate late, and have the same effect they have in the greyhound. The mouthfeel is a little more bubbly than most hefeweizens, but that's ok in this, I think.

Jasmine came back to supervise blog progress. She's now prowling around the desk, threatening to tip over Nathan's bottle collection. Here is my view right now:

Yeah, she looks innocent. She's actually the sweetest cat. Even when she's eating the sprouting herbs or scratching her declawed paws on any and all closet doors.

Back to the beer... yeah, it's good. I'd suggest obtaining a six-pack once it warms up a bit more.

4.3/5 caps

-Jennie

Ok, so to explain the things you see on the desk, Alpha Collection box from Flying Dog (2 years ago they released that, with the AWESOME Imperial Simcoe IPA) and Hell's Angels from Hunter S. Thompson.  And of course the kitty who's getting some junk in her trunk. But onto the beer.

The label surely attracts us: just sheer beauty. The pour of this is hazy yellow orange (or as Jennie said 'peach') color, white head. Interesting banana and berry aroma. The taste is like an awesome banana and elderberry smoothie. few notes of orange and coriander, but adding to instead of overpowering or taking away from this fruity concoction of awe. lighter mouthfeel with some decent carbonation to make this more of a unique brew.

Good beer, better, once again, for warmer times, but we can't blame the brewery for Ohio's potential for some snow tomorrow and starting off in the 20's (note, a couple days ago, it was sunny and 60).

4.25/5 caps

-Nathan

Neil House Cranberry Cider

If you've had anything by Neil House, you've probably had this. This apparently won blue ribbons at the Jackson County Fair and the Microbrew in Oregon (according the bottle). Unfortunately, this is going to be unobtainable, as Neil House decided to close down production. A sad loss of a newer brewery.

This is 4% ABV and is the first cider we've reviewed.

The pour is almost like cranberry cocktail mixer that you'd find at a bar, a pinkish red color. The carbonation is ridiculous and almost overflowed the pint glasses a couple times, but dissipates quickly. The head is a soft pink. The aroma is cranberries and sweeter hints of almost an apple like scent.  The taste is sweet and tart with cranberry and apple-like flavors. Real fruit taste (unlike artificial flavored beverages). Finishes dry , yet slightly sweet like a Gran Spumante on New Years Eve.

What else can be said aside from this is tasty, and will missed. Everyone that we introduced it to (both male and female) loved this. We still have no idea why at the beginning of March, Neil House decided to close shop. Consider this our send off to an awesome local brewery. I raise my pint to you and wish you the best in both your future and legacy.

4.9/5 caps

-Nathan-

What a beautiful tribute... I don't think I have anything to add to this, other than it's a perfect combination of sweet and tart, with a lovely dry finish. This will be dearly missed in the Columbus market. I'm really sad that this may be the lat time I'll have this.

5/5 caps

-Jennie

Magic Hat Hicu

This is part of the 2013 summer sampler from Magic Hat, the sampler that prompted me to prohibit Nathan from buying any more craft beer until we reviewed what we had in the fridge. It worked... this is still lurking in there. It's a cucumber and hibiscus ale, 4.2% in ABV, putting it firmly in the session category. Let's see if it's worth drinking in a session. With the name, of course, the crafty geniuses at Magic Hat have a haiku-writing contest for this beer. See if you can beat Nathan's entry here: http://www.magichat.net/elixirs/hicu/. 

It pours a pale straw color with a fluffy off-white head. The aroma is a little overwhelming... and it smells like cucumber-watermelon soap from Bath & Body Works. I can't stand the smell of that lotion/soap, so my heart drops a little. Hopefully it tastes better than it smells. OK, it tastes like it has fresh cucumber squeezed or mashed into it. It's like an earthy cucumber beer smoothie, with a light hint of the hibiscus coming in around the middle, and a bit of a vegetal finish. I love cucumbers (insert sophomoric joke here), but I don't know that I love this beer.The mouthfeel is highly carbonated and a little like soil.

I like the premise of this beer, so I had high hopes for it.We brew some kooky beers, after all. I mean, our most requested brew thus far is our lavender and chamomile IPA. And it's fantastic. It's part of why I'm attempting to grow some lavender this year (so far, I have two sproutlets, but it's still early days).

Overall, I think Magic Hat achieved what they strove for. Unfortunately, it's just not to my taste. I could see it being moderately refreshing on a hot day... but for days like that, I'd rather drink Left Hand's Good Juju (brewed with ginger).

3.67/5 caps

-Jennie

Apparently, we're the first to review this. There are no reviews on Ratebeer or Beer Advocate. Google search only found a press release. We're pioneers. But since it's beer, would it be piobeers? Never mind, that's a terrible pun. I need to drink more to get the wit going.

Jennie nailed it with the pail straw color and the fluffy head. The aroma to me reminds me of 21st Amendment's watermelon wheat with a bit of fresh cucumber. The flavor is ... huh... That's interesting. Cucumber front, hibiscus middle, cucumber toward the back, and ending with a faint hibiscus flavor. No real malt or hop tones here. Now, for those who haven't tasted hibiscus, it's almost like some lemon blended with some sort of berry flavor, slightly tart. The mouthfeel on this is medium feeling (due to carbonation), and leaves a faint earthiness after it slides down into your now happy belly.

I rather enjoy this. This is very unlike any brew I've had before, so points for the creativity, the flavor combinations, and the use of poetry for your marketing campaign to keep it extra unique. The only quarrel I have has nothing to do with the actual brew (coming back to the cold and unpredictable Ohio weather). Yes, I know, 'If you don't like Ohio's weather, why don't you move?" Well, my fine friend, I like the selection of beer we can obtain here, I like the local collegiate sporting events, and, well... No? Huh, I though I had a third point, apparently not. But also apparently, I reiterate, we're the first to review this. This makes me happy.

4.3/5 caps

-Nathan-

Indigo Imp Winter Soul

And now we return to the States after taking a Belgian tour. As we are into Spring officially, I figured this will be our last winter seasonal that we'll review/get our hands on. Indigo Imp is out of the Cleveland area, and, last I knew, were self distributed (quote "some guy in a truck drives it down to Columbus"). They have a unique yeast strain they use, that's either love it or hate it. I know some of my peers don't care for it, others love it, so, as with any and all of our reviews, this is just our opinion and go experience this for yourself.

I made sure that I snagged the 'Impish' bottle (in every pack Indigo Imp releases, there is one that has the cap covered in wax, similar to some wine bottles or Maker's Mark). We opened the bottle, there was little to no 'pfizz' sound, it pours a beautiful deep amber, almost garnet color, zero head. The aroma is bizarre. There's some sweet malt, and some spices, but mostly it's like a cooked vegetable smell. Weird. The taste is sweet and sour. There's no real distinct flavor other than their yeast strain, which over powers everything in this brew. Maybe it's old to where the hops and cinnamon, that the label mentions, have toned down? I don't know. The mouthfeel is smooth with no carbonation. Not the most impressive selection from these guys, but then again, it might be a bad bottle (BA and Ratebeer had reviews from people that had 2 inches of head, so it might be a bad bottle). I'm picturing this more of a sour beer than a winter seasonal as of this point.

3/5 caps

-Nathan-

Michelle (my cousin) and her fiance, Dan, had a pint of Indigo Imp (variety not recalled) and described it as tasting like sauerkraut. I have never gotten that out of an Indigo Imp beer until now... and that's just in the aroma. Now mind you, sauerkraut is another food I detest, unless it's on Lexi's Reuben nachos. Then it's the bomb... but that's because whatever sauerkraut they use doesn't taste like sauerkraut. Honestly, my first reaction to this when I took a sip was, "Ew." Nathan's description is quite accurate. It's extraordinarily flat, and that sauerkraut thing really throws me off. I normally love everything that Indigo Imp does, so I'm a tad bewildered here. It's not quite a sour, even though they open ferment their beers. I'm guessing it's a bad bottle, or at least one that hasn't aged well at all.

I'm starting to wonder if I'll be able to finish my portion. And I'm looking forward to the redImption, because really, most of their beers are fantastic.

2.25/5 caps, mostly because of the "Ew"

-Jennie

Orval

Onto our next venture into the world of those wonderful, maniacal monks from Belgium. This is another highly rated Belgian beer, this one being a Belgian Pale Ale. This was $5 a bottle, so in two beers we have drank the equivalent of our normal six-pack, price-wise. But it's another on my beer bucket list, and clearly Nathan loves me, so let's see how this rates.

We had an explosion in the kitchen upon opening. There was beer everywhere... including the floor, where our youngest cat was trying to lick it off the floor. Gia is very interested in beer, but she's not of age, so she's not allowed to drink it. This pours a very cloudy copper color, with an overflowing off-white head with beautiful lacing and big, fluffy bubbles. This was also poured into a wineglass, because we're still fancy-pants. It smells of orange, cloves, some banana and bubblegum esters come through, and it smells, well, Belgian. It tastes bready, then the orange, clove, and banana and bubblegum come through. It finishes rather dry, which is fine by me. The aftertaste is fairly earthy, like dry soil. The mouthfeel is highly carbonated, yet smooth like eating a banana.

It's a pretty mild beer, overall. None of the flavors overwhelm. It's a very well-done Belgian pale ale, and it's a lovely contrast to the American take on the style. If you've been reading our blogs, you will remember that I am working to explore Belgian flavors and train my taste buds to enjoy them more this year. This is a beer which won't require too much training. It should also be noted that we drank this and the Trappistes Rochefort 10 at near room temperature, having pulled them out of the  refrigerator about an hour before consuming, to let the flavors and complexities come through. It should also be noted that we're so fancy-pants that we're writing these reviews in our fuzzy pants tonight. Just be glad we don't have the webcam recording this.

4.98/5 caps. I'm feeling arbitrary tonight.

-Jennie


Gia is an interesting cat indeed. Nothing says 'wake up you sorry, pathetic bastard' like her biting my face at 4 in the morning But she's adorable. And when she turns of age, we'll have her help us brew beer. Until then, no beer for the kitten.


Onto the beer. This is a copper/orange color that is cloudy, as previously noted. The nose is interesting. I catch honey, orange, clover, black pepper, some bubble gum, some grains (bready sort of smell), banana, and at times apple. There's different characteristics on the nose per whiff. The taste is interesting as well. It starts out with some hop bitterness, fading quickly into honey, orange, clove and spices, and ends on a earthy, slighter bitter note. Medium mouthfeel, highly carbonated.

This wasn't bad. It's nice to expand my horizons onto world beers that are highly ranked.

4.8/5 caps

-Nathan-

Trappistes Rochefort 10

Yep, we're fancypants tonight. We were meandering around Clintonville today, and decided to stop at Pace-Hi and pick up a mixed six-pack. I saw this, and added it to my half. Nathan has been teasing me all day about how much he loves me, as this cost $6 for one 11.2-ounce bottle. It's consistently ranked in the top beers in the world (currently #15 on BeerAdvocate and #7 on RateBeer), and I wanted to tick it off my beer bucket list, as it's fairly readily available here. It's a Belgian Quadrupel, so let's find out if it lives up to the hype.

It pours looking like Coca-Cola in the glass... that deep, rich cola brown with a beautiful khaki head that leaves gorgeous loose lacing on the glass. The head sticks around, despite the weighty ABV (11.3%). We're so fancypants, we poured this into a wineglass. It's my version of a tulip glass. I'm fresh out of trappist glasses, and this is the next closest thing. It smells like dried stone fruit, bready malts,  and booze. Lots of booze in the aroma. I may not have to drink it to catch a buzz. The taste is plums, raisins, some black currant, apricot, tobacco, brown sugar, and well, booze. Make that plums soaked in vodka, raisins soaked in vodka, black currants soaked in vodka... you get my drift. Yeah, the alcohol really bites on the back end. And the front end. It doesn't kill it for me, but it's definitely a strong beer. Yeah, I'm halfway through my 5.6 ounces, and I'm feeling a buzz. The feel on this is creamy, velvety with a light stickiness. It's a fantastically complex beer.

Verdict? (Insert the two-note theme from Law and Order:SVU, which Dad is watching a marathon.) It's good. It's world-class. I hate raisins. It may not be my favorite beer in the world, but I'd definitely drink it again. Hell, if I won the lottery, I'd probably buy a cask of it. I'm guessing it would cellar quite well, if you're into that. Thus far, I'm rather too impatient for that. But it's on the table, as we discussed earlier in the day purchasing a bomber of Flying Dog Gonzo with the express intent of cellaring it. We'll see how that goes.

4.99999/5 caps -- because I really detest raisins

-Jennie

Ya damn right on the BAG (Barrel Aged Gonzo).

I really can't add anything to that amazing review except in the flavor, I catch some vanilla bean from time to time as well all the flavors that my partner-in-criminal-activities already mentioned. My only quarrel with this is the boozy flavor. I've had plenty of high ABV beers where you don't get the boozy flavor. Maybe aging this for a year would make it lose the boozy tone? It worked for the 2012 B.A. Gonzo (see review at http://behindthetap.blogspot.com/2013/02/flying-dog-barrel-aged-gonzo-2012.html)

This is a fantastic brew, if you have an extra $6, it's worth a try, and you won't need much more for the night to get you buzzed (if you're going for that alone).

4.85/5 caps