Beer:30... Dogfish Head Chicory Stout.

I will be the first to admit, that Dogfish Head out of Delaware is not my favorite brewery. My main reason is that I feel that they are a little overpriced, especially for the random, eclectic mix of brews that they produce. I know, you get what you pay for, but in my opinion I feel that there is little "bang" for my buck. Anyway, after that little disclaimer, enter their Chicory Stout:

This stout is interesting. Chicory is one of those flavors that you either love or hate. Luckily, I like it, hence the purchase of this random stout. Anyway, the beer pours like a stout should, nice and dark, but with a little more head than you would expect, with a nice unexpected off white coloration to it. Smell hits your nostrils with hints of coffee, roasted malts, and of course the chicory. Taste really follows suit with the smell, with a bit of bitter chocolate tossed in as well. Overall, not a bad beer.

This is a good beer, but I will say that the price makes me not want to buy it again. It is good, but not exceptional. For it's price of $8.99 for a 4-pack, it should deliver, and it does not. The price would be fair for a 6-pack, but I will stick with a variety of other stouts the next time the craving hits. Sorry Dogfish Head, its not you, its me.

Cheers!

In other news, this has been brought to my attention:

Not sure if you knew, but God spells music Clutch.

Enjoy!

Beer:30...Great Divide's Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout.

Continuing with my recent indulgence with Great Divide, lets take a walk with the Yeti. I will be the first to admit, I am a huge yeti fan. And by huge, I mean obsessed. I love the concept of sasquatch. I am planning a bigfoot tattoo. My dream bicycle is a Yeti 575. My favorite beef jerky is Jack Links. Wait, did I just say I have a favorite beef jerky?

Are you starting to see a pattern here? Bigfoot/sasquatch/yeti is everywhere, and I do believe that they are still walking around today. One can dream right? Anyway, I have been excited to try this beer for some time, and magically, it happened to appear in my local store's beer aisle. So like the good cryptozoologist that I am, I let it walk right into my cart. Enter the Yeti Imperial Stout:

Right off the bat, this beer smells nice. I love coffee, and the mixture of coffee and beer is one of my favorite things that I have encountered. The scent of this beer is similar to walking into my locally owned coffee shop. Nice coffee flavors, with a tiny hint of chocolate hit your nose with full force. Moving on to the taste, the coffee beats out all other flavors to your taste buds, but others start to show their colors as the glass starts to disappear. I am picking up hints of chocolate, and also a tiny bit of vanilla at the end of each sip. There is also a slight oak feel that lingers after each drink, which makes complete sense, and the beer finishes off with you wanting another drink. Overall, I wouldn't mind if this beer was in my fridge on a regular basis.

So, does it fill the big shoes set forth by our favorite hairy hominid? Yes, and then some. While there are many beers that fill this genre, this beer has to be at or near the top of the list. This is a solid offering from Great Divide, and one of the best beers that I have ever had the chance to drink. I will now officially say that Great Divide is one of my favorite beer companies to date. This is a classic, timeless beer.

Cheers!

Beer:30...Mt. Carmel Brewing Co. Stout.

Today is a special day. December 5th, a day that most people do not even recognize. Today is the day that beer was given back to the people just 78 years ago. If you still have no idea what I am talking about, today is the anniversary of the 21st amendment, the repeal of prohibition.

For my personal celebration, I pulled from the lineup of my favorite local company, Mt. Carmel. I had never had their stout before, and after searching around for it, yesterday it made the journey back to Milford with me. So without further ado:

I love stouts, absolutely one of my favorite types of beer. This beer is a solid representation of what a good stout should be. Dark appearance, a tan colored head, and a somewhat bitter chocolate flavor round out this beer. It is more carbonated that the stereotypical stout, like a creamy Guinness, but a great flavor overall. This is a solid beer that does everything well, but nothing superbly. A "Jack of all Trades" if you will. That is in no way a knock on the brew, it is good. My opinion could very well be a little altered due to the fact I have been drinking Imperial stouts of the Russian variety lately. Regardless of that, this is a good beer, which I am glad that I finally found. Once again, well done Mt. Carmel.

Hopefully this finds you drinking a finely crafted beer on this special day in beer history!

Cheers!

Beer:30... Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout.

When the weather starts to turn chilly here in Ohio, a change also starts in my beer preferences. The IPAs, pale ales, and other hoppy styles of brew start to take a backseat to the more malty, darker, heavier ales that will warm the soul in the cool fall air. For some reason, this is just a normal shift of life. Anyway, a beer that has always been on my list for this time of year, but never ended up on my palate was this:

Enter North Coast Brewing Company's Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. This is a mammoth of a beer, just the way I like it: Dark, heavy on the alcohol content, and a pleasure on the taste buds. At 9% alcohol, this is not your grandfather's Guinness. Not that there is anything wrong with Guinness, it is a fine brew, but Old Raspy is a whole new ballgame. At double the alcohol content, there are flavors that you will taste that you would never dream of in a normal stout. Hints of chocolate, alcohol and roasted coffee all blend together nicely and also add a nice warming sensation. Such a delightful beer is meant to be taken in slowly. In my opinion, it makes for a great fire pit beer.

This is a style of beer that was made for the long voyage from England to Russia in the 18th century. With such a great taste to this beer, you can tell the folks over at North Coast really know what they are doing, and that they really have an appreciation for history. Especially beer history. This one is a classic.