An excellent Stout and an excellent Porter

I was in Arizona the last week of March for my son’s spring break and a visit with Lori’s parents. I always get in some biking and make a stop at Total Wine for some selections that I cannot find in Colorado. I made selections from local brewers and from items that I normally do not see in Colorado. The two listed below were excellent and I would rate both of them as “A” beers. I am partial to the darker beers and these two were very good. They had a lot of similarities (chocolate / cocoa and coffee / espresso) even though they were different styles. If you have the opportunity to try them, I easily recommend them.

Bell’s – Special Double Cream Stout

Bell’s is based in Kalamazoo, MI and they brew a number of different styles and I have tried a few of them. From my experience, you cannot go wrong with selecting anything they brew. Bell’s has also won a number of awards over the year and I think they would be warmly welcomed in Colorado. Special Double Cream Stout (6.1% ABV) is an American Stout.

Website description – “Special Double Cream Stout derives its name from its smooth, creamy texture, not the ingredients. Completely dairy-free, this stout blends eight different specialty malts to yield a remarkable depth of flavor. With only a touch of burnt notes, Special Double Cream Stout focuses on the softer, cocoa & espresso-like aspects of roasted malt.”

URL - http://www.bellsbeer.com/


Big Sky - Bobo’s Robust Porter

Big Sky Brewing is based in Missoula, MT and started brewing in 1995. Moose Drool has to be their biggest seller and I have enjoyed a number of their offerings. Bobo’s Robust Porter (6.2% ABV and 32 IBU) is a robust porter or an American Porter. Big Sky has a fairly wide distribution and if you are west of the Mississippi, you should be able to find it.

Website description – “A small bottle with Big Flavor! Brewed with 6 different malts and generously hopped, Robust doesn’t really begin to describe this beer. Smooth chocolate flavors with hints of coffee, caramel and vanilla. Hop presence is copious and is matched by rich Malt flavors. Malts – Pale, Crystal, Chocolate, Brown and Black, Roast. Hops – East Kent Goldings, Challenger.”

URL - http://www.bigskybrew.com/

Thanksgiving Beers – a Brown and two Stouts

I sampled three beers over the Thanksgiving week holiday and I liked them all.  Firestone Walker’s Velvet Merlin (5.5% ABV and 30 IBU) is an Oatmeal Stout that pours black with a two-finger head.  Velvet Merlin has an wonderful aroma of coffee and dark chocolate.  This is an excellent beer with tastes of coffee, chocolate with a silky mouth feel that and would go great with an after dinner desert.  I liked this one the best.

Website description – “A decadent Oatmeal Stout brimming with cocoa and espresso aromas. Partially aged in bourbon barrels, this beer features a rich, dark chocolate and roasted coffee flavor with a creamy mouth feel and wonderfully dry finish. The addition of U.S. grown fuggles hops contributes the perfect amount of bitterness to this exceptionally balanced beer”.

Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout (6% ABV) is an American Stout that pours black with a large head.  It smells and tastes of coffee, chocolate and just a hint of licorice.  I was happy it was just a hint of licorice because I am not a big fan.  I thought they had just the right touch.  A very nice stout, but I liked Velvet Merlin better.

Website description – “Kalamazoo Stout represents stouts in the Bell's year-round roster, offering a blend of dark chocolate and coffee flavors with just a hint of brewer's licorice. One of our oldest recipes, it balances a significant hop presence against the roast malt body.

Commonly asked trivia:

·        The brewer's licorice we use is gelatin-free, making it acceptable for vegetarians.

·        The label comes from a series of portraits by a local artist”.

Lost Coast’s Downtown Brown (5.0% ABV) is an American Brown Ale that pours a dark tan with reddish notes and has a nice head.  Downtown Brown is a nice brown ale that is easy to drink.  It is not as roasty as a porter or a stout and is not as hoppy as a stout or an amber.  Downtown Brown hits that fine line of a lightly hopped, caramel roasty flavor of an American Brown. 

Website description – “A smooth, full-bodied nut brown ale, lightly hopped with a hint of roasted and crystal malts.  This ale is dark in color without the heavy taste of porter or stout.”

Bell’s – Best Brown Ale and Two Hearted Ale

I was recently visiting relatives in Indiana and got to sample some brewers from Indianapolis and I wanted to pick up some brew that is not available here.  I have read some good things about Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, MI and I picked up Best Brown Ale (5.8% ABV) and Two Hearted Ale (7% ABV).  Best Brown pours brown with a small head.  This is a nice balanced ale between malty sweetness and hop bitterness and it is very drinkable.  Bell’s describes Best Brown Ale as, “A smooth, toasty brown ale, Best Brown Ale is a mainstay in our fall & winter lineup. With hints of caramel and cocoa, the malt body has the depth to stand up to cool weather, but does not come across as heavy. This balancing act is aided by the generous use of American hops.”

Two Hearted Ale is an IPA that uses only one hop, Centennial, in the brewing process.  Two Hearted Ale pours orange gold with a nice large head.  It has very good aromatics and is a very good IPA.  I could taste why some many people have rated this IPA very high.  Bell’s states Two Hearted Ale, “is defined by its intense hop aroma and malt balance. Hopped exclusively with the Centennial hop varietal from the Pacific Northwest, massive additions in the kettle and again in the fermenter lend their characteristic grapefruit and pine resin aromas. A significant malt body balances this hop presence; together with the signature fruity aromas of Bell's house yeast, this leads to a remarkably drinkable American-style India Pale Ale.”  If you have not tried something from Bell’s and you get the opportunity, I can easily recommend them.  I will definitely purchase more on my next trip back to Indiana.