Best Beers Sampled June - August

Since it is raining today and I am not on a bike, it is a great time to catch up on the blog and I have 3 months to write up.  The highlight was a family trip to Tennessee and two weeks off from work – very nice.  I was able to sample some of the offerings from the states we visited too.  During this time we also visited a few tap rooms with friends.  The following are the beers I enjoyed the most: 

Avery – 20^th Anniversary – Imperial IPA (9.7 ABV)

Funkwerks – Tropic King – Saison (8% ABV)

Odell – Celastrina – Saison (7.5% ABV)

Sierra Nevada – Hoptimum – Imperial IPA (10.4% ABV & 100 IBU)

Stone – RuinTEN 2013 – Imperial IPA (10.8% ABV & 110 IBU)

Stone – 17^th Anniversary Gotterdammerung – Imperial IPA (9.5% ABV & 102 IBU)

Stone – R&R Coconut IPA (7.7% ABV & 90 IBU)

Stone – Farking Wheaton Woot Stout – American Double / Imperial Stout (13% ABV)

Strange Brewing Co. – Cherry Kriek – Kriek (4.7% ABV & 15 IBU)

The list has a number of IPAs and Stone brewed some excellent beers in this time frame.  The Farking Wheaton Woot Stout was a collaboration with Will Wheaton and Fark creator Drew Curtis with Stone Brewing – it was not easy to find in stores and I tried it on tap at Parry’s Pizzeria and Pub in Highlands Ranch.  I would have loved to obtain a few bottles for aging - the one glass was excellent.  Many of these are limited releases and some have limited distribution.  Hoptimum should be available nation-wide.  

Lazy Magnolia – Southern Pecan and Funkwerks – Saison

Another shout out to Dennis Wright for bringing this one back to CO on his recent trip to Georgia – Thank you very much – another nice one.  Lazy Magnolia is one of the few brewers in Mississippi and Southern Pecan (4.65% ABV and 22 IBU), is a Specialty Beer using Pecans in the brewing process.  Southern Pecan pours an amber / tan / brown with a one-finger head that recedes quickly.  Nice aroma of sweetness and nuts.  Southern Pecan is a very tasty beer and the pecans worked well with the brown ale.  There is very little hop bitterness and the emphasis is on malts and the pecans.  I think this is my first beer from Mississippi and Southern Pecan is a tasty one. 

Website description – “Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale is the first beer in the world, to our knowledge, made with whole roasted pecans. The pecans are used just like grain and provide a nutty characteristic and a delightful depth to the flavor profile. This beer is very lightly hopped to allow the malty, caramel, and nutty flavors shine through. The color is dark mahogany. Southern Pecan won a Bronze Medal in the 2006 World Beer Cup in the Specialty Beer category.”

Funkwerks is a small-Ft. Collins-based brewer and Saison (6.8% ABV and 25 IBU).  I opened this up for Christmas dinner.  The head on this beer was just crazy and it literally filled up the glass.  It took awhile and a number of small pours to obtain a decent glass of this Saison.  Saison pours an orange / yellow with a fruity and spicy aroma.  The beer has tastes undertones of the fruit one smells and the spice / pepper with a very dry finish.  This is a solid Saison and I can understand why Funkwerks has been receiving a lot of attention. 

Website description – “he beer you are holding is unique. A special strain of yeast and a warm fermentation produces a beer of exceptional flavor and aroma. An extended secondary maturation and bottle conditioning ensures all these unique qualities are preserved and evolve over time. Serve at 50°F in a tulip glass. “