New Belgium's Super Cru

So it’s been a little while since we’ve had a review on the site, but I’m ending that drought with today’s review. This past weekend/week has been rather uneventful beer wise, but I did manage to indulge in some beers I’ve never had this past weekend.  Some of those beers included Avery Brewing’s Maharaja ( awesome beer!), Firestone Walker’s Double Jack (hoptastic!), Full Sail’s Hop Pursuit (this beer coated the glass perfectly, and was delicious), Great Divide’s 16th Anniversary Ale (you could really taste the oak barrels), Big Sky Trout Slayer (a solid pale ale), and last, but not least, our review beer – New Belgium’s Super Cru.

New Belgium has this to say:

Our 20th Anniversary! Let's roll a bunch of New Belgium together and put it in a bottle. Start with the backbone of Fat Tire, but double the malt and hops; Add in crisp Asian Pears, a very Belgian thing to do; and bring it to life with a Saison yeast. It's New Belgium Super Cru from us to you!

The Super Cru comes in at an ABV of 10%, which got me excited about what flavors might come from this rather strong ale. Super Cru pours a creamy white head that quickly dissipates,  but it coats the glass very well. The color is a dark amber or mahogany, with noticeable carbonation and a clear clarity. I was a little surprised how perfectly I could see through this beer. Head – 8, Look – 13. The smell was incredibly fruity, with the pear juice coming through paired with the very noticeable Saison yeast. There was some citrus notes coming from the hops, but the overall fruit characteristics from this beer were heavy. Both G and I really liked the smell, which surprised us, because we generally do not like sweet smelling beer. Smell – 22.

This beer hits the mouth with vengeance – strong carbonation with ludicrous saison notes, and a nice pear sweetness. The aftertaste was bitter with a dry sweetness to it. Palate – 8, Aftertaste – 8. This beer is surprisingly sweet and tart, but not very sour. Did I mention that it’s incredibility drinkable? Almost to a dangerous extent.  This beer hits like a well balanced strong ale, but tricks you with its saison flavors, and the pear really comes out of nowhere. The tartness pairs well with the carbonation up front, and then the yeast expands middle of the taste with the pear, citrus hops, and malt, with the finish being mellow, but very enjoyable. Flavor – 27.

I looked at reviews of this beer online on both the major beer rating websites, and this beer isn’t getting much love – or really any. I don’t know why. Did this beer blow my mind, and make me rethink boundaries of what beer can be or what a style can be – no. Did I thoroughly enjoy drinking this beer without any of the tastes bothering me – yes. I normally don’t give high ratings to beers that don’t make me rethink a style, beer in general, or blow my socks off, and I starting thinking why don’t I give a high rating to a well crafted beer that is just a pleasure to drink? And, you know what, I didn’t have an answer. We’re average craft beer drinkers here, and yes we like all the other things I mentioned, but why can’t we celebrate a beer that was simply enjoyable to drink? New Belgium you created a great beer for your 20th Anniversary, happy birthday! With an Overall Flavor of 43/50 the Beer Fusion gives New Belgium’s Super Cru…

Rating: 86/100

Stillwater/Mikkeller Our Side - Two Gypsies & WA Brewers Fest

This last weekend I visited fellow Gentleman Stohn on behalf of his birthday. Luckily, his birthday coincided with the Washington Brewers Festival, and it just so happened he wanted to go. We were there Friday afternoon for a bit, but during that time we were able to try some great Washington beers. A couple beers that really stood out were Two Beers Dry Hopped Father’s Day Special, Diamond Knot’s “666” Bavarian Ale, and 7 Seas Brewing’s Ballz Deep (the little kid in us really came out while asking for Ballz Deep). Besides the Brewers Fest, I had an opportunity to drink a variety of beers I normally can’t find in my area, and you can check me out on Untappd (beerfusion) to see what those were. One of them was a collaboration between Stillwater Artisanal Ales and Mikkeller called Our Side - Two Gypsies. And this is the ale we’ll be reviewing this week.

This “Our Side - Two Gypsies” is best described as a Farmhouse Ale, and it comes in at an ABV of 7.5%. It pours an off-white head that is more carbonated than creamy, but does stick around for a bit. The look is a rather cloudy golden honey color with orange hues. It really is a nice looking beer. Head - 8, Look - 14. The yeast really bursts through with this ale, and it does smell strongly of a saison (surprise for a farmhouse ale), but besides the bread subtleties the yeast gives off a very tart sourness. The hops add to it with notes of grapefruit and other citrus characters. An interesting overall smell. Smell - 22.

This ale hits the tongue with a ferocious amount of carbonation followed by dry bitter grapefruit notes. The aftertaste is a piney/earthy dry hop bitterness with a surprising warmth from the alcohol in the back. Palate - 7.5, Aftertaste - 8. The flavor is rather light upfront with the strong carbonation. The middle of the palate - the yeast expands with sweet malt sugar characteristics. The yeast really does provide some interesting flavor notes - such as tart sourness and dry wine flavors. The hops aren’t as pronounced in the flavor as I would have expected based on the labels description. but they truly do bitter. Flavor - 24.5.

This is my first beer by either Stillwater and Mikkeller, and what better way to give both a try then a collaboration right? Well, I really don’t know what each brought to this beer from their own craft, but the result is really good regardless. Unfortunately, I drank this beer on a rather cold and wet day, but this would be exceptional on a hot summer day, which Farmhouse ales are traditionally for. There wasn’t much about this beer that I didn’t like, but there sure was a lot that I did. I’ve become more and more enthralled with Farmhouse Ales, and this ale continues my affection towards the style. I recommend picking this beer up if you see it. With an Overall Flavor of 40/50 the Beer Fusion Gives Stillwater/Mikkeller’s Our Side Two Gypsies...

Rating: 85/100

Dogfish Head's Hellhound on My Ale

I spent this last weekend playing in an Open level tennis tournament with my friend Will, and we ended up taking 2nd. So, I didn’t give my beer drinking the normal attention it’s accustomed. That doesn’t mean I didn’t drink beer last weekend, but I wasn’t focused on critiquing - I was focused on relaxing after a match. Since I like to give the utmost respect and focus to a beer when I review it, I waited to review this week’s beer - Dogfish Head’s Hellhound on My Ale.

On Dogfish’s website they have this to say about the Hellhound (click here for a longer description):

2011 marks the 100th birthday of Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson who, according to legend, sold his soul down at the crossroads in a midnight bargain and changed music forever. Working again with our friends at Sony Legacy (yup, the same folks we did our Miles Davis-inspired Bitches Brew with), Dogfish Head pays tribute to this blues legend by gettin the hellhounds off his trail and into this finely-crafted ale.

Hellhound is a super-hoppy ale that hits 100 IBUs in the brewhouse, 10.0 ABV, 10.0 SRM in color, and dry-hopped with 100% centennial hops at a rate of 100 kilos per 100 barrel brew-length.

When I hear things like, “100 IBUs”, “10.0 ABV”, and anything that describes ridiculous hoppege - I get excited. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have high expectations for this ale. The Hellhound poured a nice thick creamy white head that lingered well, and layered the glass perfectly. The color is a golden honey with a slight haze, and the carbonation is noticeable. Head - 10, Look - 14. The smell was a strong hop aroma (I wonder why?) There’s a presence of orange tartness followed by the added lemon. In other words, the citrus notes are unreal. After having the ale breathe for a bit, there’s almost a citrus sourness that hits the nose. The malt and alcohol provide a bit of a sugar sweet smell, but it’s rather mild. Smell - 23.5.

The look of the Hellhound kept my expectations high, but the smell of it gave me more of a curiosity than excitement. So, there was only one way to get rid of that curiosity. The Hellhound hit the palate with a strong carbonated bite (bubbles), which was quickly followed by a citrus tartness - specifically lemon. In the finish, the alcohol made itself known. The aftertaste was bitter and dry like expected, but there was almost a lemonade sweetness wound in with the bitterness by the malt. There’s a bit of a warmness from the alcohol, but nothing substantial. Palate - 8.5, Aftertaste - 9. After several more drinks the lemon comes through more and more with a piney hoppiness. There is a light caramel sweetness from the malt, which makes this 10 ABV beer very drinkable. The hops do really steal the show, so if hops are your thing, especially the intensity of Centennial hops, you’ll find this beer very drinkable. If you’re not a fan of heavily hopped beers, why the hell are you drinking this? But, in all seriousness, this might be something you only have a small amount of. Flavor - 27.5

Hellhound on My Ale is what I expected from Dogfish Head - a great tasting interesting beer. It isn’t my favorite thing by them, but it something I’m happy I tried, and it’s a fantastic brew. The problem with a brewery that makes so many fantastic beers is that when a beer of theirs doesn’t blow my mind I’m a little ho hum about it. When the reality is this beer is a great ale that is par for the course with Dogfish Head’s track record of unique delicious ales. If you can find yourself a bottle of this hopped to death citrus monster, pick it up, share with a friend, and maybe throw on some Delta Blues. With an Overall Flavor of 45/50 the Beer Fusion gives Dogfish Head’s Hellhound on My Ale....

Rating: 92.5/100

Rogue's Double Dead Guy, Eugene and PDX Trip

Last Wednesday was my birthday, and I thought it would be fun to go on a (mostly) beer drinking adventure in Eugene and Portland, Oregon. Because of the distance of the Tri-Cities to Eugene, G and I (o yeah, G was able to accompany me on this adventure) weren’t able to visit many beer specific locations in Eugene, before I relived some of my college nightlife. We were able to visit the famous Bier Stein, which was exactly like I remembered it - the mecca of beer in Eugene. Malachi helped G and I the majority of the time we were there, and he was awesome. He was a super friendly, knowledgable guy that also provided some good conversation. So, if you are in Eugene go to the Bier Stein have a beer and tell Malachi Beer Fusion sent you. While I was there I had a Sierra Nevada Ghidora DIPA, Fire Mountain NW IPA, and St. Feuillien Tripel; all of which were great except the tripel. My favorite style is IPAs, and a tie for second is Barleywine and Tripels. This tripel had some flavors I’ve never had in a tripel, and it really wasn’t my forte. Skip forward to the next day, and G and I are in Portland. It also turned out to be the Rose Parade. G and I ventured up and down some bars drinking beer, much of what I drank is logged on Untappd. I really want to talk about one place though that I really enjoyed, and that’s Bailey’s Taproom. They had a great beer selection, very friendly workers, and an ability to relax outside (you could also order from a mexican restaurant and have food delivered to you at Bailey’s). So, if you’re in Portland make sure to swing by Bailey’s for a few different beers, and don’t be afraid to take a cab. Well, that’s a very short summary of Beer Fusion’s adventures this last weekend, but I want to get into Rogue’s Double Dead Guy Ale. If you want to know more about the beers I drank, or where I went while in Portland and Eugene feel free to send me a message beerfusion@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Rogue has this to say about their Double Dead Guy Ale:

Deep amber copper color. Buttery peanut brittle, orange blossom tea aromas follow through to a rich chewy and fruity full body with nice notes of caramel drizzled dried apricot and roasted grains and spice. Finishes with a long, tangy grilled grapefruit and chocolate fade.

This 2011 batch comes in at an ABV of 8%, and pours a light off-white head that dissipated rather quickly, initially. Their remains a small amount after the initial dissipation, which grips the glass quiet well. The color has a clear clarity, and is a nice rich mahogany. Head - 8, Look - 13. The overall smell was light, but had very similar characteristics to a barleywine. Sweet citrus fruit came through with a dry finish on the nose. Smell - 22.

The initial taste is bitter and dry with sweet characteristics. The aftertaste is very similar - dry and bitter. Overall, this beer starts crisp in the beginning with those tart sweet notes, but the floral bitterness follows quickly. There isn’t much complexity, which surprised me, because I have had this beer before in different years. I did notice a smokey nature to it, but the robust flavors I’ve had in the past from the Double Dead Guy were absent. It really made me wonder if this beer needs to age a bit more, either in production or at the consumer level. Either I got a bad bottle, or this beer really needs 6 months to a year of cellaring. Palate - 7, Aftertaste- 7, Flavor - 24.

Normally, when I have a beer like this I’m fine being rather critical, because it’s a more expensive brew and a double of a beer I like, but this time around I’m having trouble. And, no, it’s not because of my critical post towards beer reviewers. It’s due to the fact that I’ve had the 2009 and 2010 batches of this ale, and they taste mighty different then this 2011 batch. Either way, the Double Dead Guy I had was lacking in strong complex flavors, so much so that the flavors weren’t specifically defining themselves, and G also had the same issue. I hope this is a fluke, and maybe I’ll pick up another bottle and try it again in 6 months. With an Overall Flavor of 38/50 the Beer Fusion gives Rogue’s Double Dead Guy Ale...

Rating: 81/100