Tag Archives: Imperial Stout

Tasting Room

Intergalactic Brewing Company Strong Ale Day 2014

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When I first read about Strong Ale Day my first thought was “This is going to be a bunch of malt-heavy beers like Old Ale and Wee Heavy.” Thankfully, there were a variety of beers available and we got to grab a solid snifter glass to go with them for not too much more. Having the right glass makes all the difference so it was interesting to check it out. There was one slight logistical problem with the setup in that everyone had to go back to try each of the six tasters included with the glass. So the line was much larger than it would have been if everyone took six beers with them at once.

Beer Selection on 1/25/14.
Beer Selection on 1/25/14.

I went with two friends so I didn’t have to have six tasters on my own of all these strong beers. It was good that I did because I prefer to let friends finish the ones I don’t really care for. We started with the 8% oatmeal stout called Dammit Jim Stout. It had a solid flavor but didn’t really stick out in any way. Next we went for the Imperial Porter that had some solid coffee and chocolate flavors. This one was quite nice and smooth though it still didn’t match the Victory at Sea from Ballast Point.

Intergalactic Strong Ale 2014 02

We then went for the Imperial IPA. It was my favorite of the set and quite deliciously hop forward. I couldn’t taste much malts but mostly nice tropical fruit and citrus hops. Next we tried two different barleywines. I’m not typically a fan of this style but both of my friends enjoyed them. The Black Barleywine was not as bitter but they were both pretty interesting. The flavors were both a bit on the sweet side for my tastes. Finally, we went with the Imperial Stout. I didn’t try the Old Ale or Wee Heavy because I don’t typically enjoy those style.

Overall, it was a fun experience and a great way to get people to recognize how important it is to use the right kind of glass for the right beer. With a snifter glass it sends the message that this beer should be savored slowly, which we certainly did. At times it felt pretty crowded, much more than I have ever seen here before.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Tasting Room

Iron Fist Brewing Company

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I’ve had Iron Fist beers on tap at other places a few times but never made it up to the brewery itself.

Iron Fist Brewing.
Iron Fist Brewing.

Iron Fist had a large selection of beers on tap and a number of specialty brews. Since my husband doesn’t like most of the styles, I had to stick to the hop-heavy beers so I could taste what I like. Sometime I may come back to see what the Belgian styles taste like. To finish off my flight my husband got a taster of the stout on nitro.

Iron Fist tasting flight.
Iron Fist tasting flight.

The pale ale was a bit disappointing after Stone’s Lavender Pale Ale earlier in the day. It was too light for my tastes. There was no regular IPA available to try so I went straight into the Double IPA. I had three versions of the Gauntlet Double IPA, the regular, one dry-hopped with citra hops, and one with coffee. The regular Gauntlet was a bit too heavy on the darker fruits and pine for my tastes. It seemed like the malts overpowered the hops a little too much.

Iron Fist 02

 

Next I tried the double IPA with citra hops. This was closer to what I tend to like in San Diego double IPAs. The citra hop flavor comes out nice and strong in front of everything else and has a nice flavor. The coffee double IPA was pretty much like drinking an iced coffee. Despite the strong flavor of the double IPA the coffee was all I really tasted. It was quite nice.

To finish things off, I tried a special version of the stout with ghost peppers and vanilla beans. I was really impressed by this one because it had a delicious sweet vanilla flavor at the front and some spicy kick at the back. It was spicy but not particularly so, and not as hot as the Habanero Sculpin some might be familiar with. If you don’t like sweet though, you should stay away from this one because it almost tastes like chocolate chip cookie dough iced cream at the front end.

I would have liked to have an option for a middle of the road IPA here. I probably won’t be buying the Gauntlet anytime soon on tap other places because of the heavy malt flavor but I would really like more of the Gauntlet with citra hops.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Beer Reviews

Santa’s Little Helper, Port Brewing

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The holidays are officially over today but the specialty beers brewed for Christmas are still here. I happened to grab a bottle of Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout from Port Brewing Company in San Diego recently and cracked open the bottle tonight. Thankfully I had a few people to share it with because it is a strong 10% and one of my new years resolutions is to try to avoid drinking as much during the week.

Santa's Little Helper Imperial Stout, Port Brewing Company.
Santa’s Little Helper Imperial Stout, Port Brewing Company.

It is fitting that I get to enjoy this while the Christmas tree is still up. Apparently Santa is a big lush and needs some good beer to get him through his route and this beer does the trick. The beer pours thick with a bitter chocolate nose and a thick head. The taste is heavy on the bitter side with some clear chocolate flavors at the forefront. The aftertaste gives you a nice sweeter coffee flavor that some stout lovers might have missed. Overall, this is a great beer if you don’t like your stouts too sweet but might be too bitter for some.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Tasting Room

Alesmith Barrel Aged Beers for New Years Eve 2013

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Even though tasting rooms can’t stay open until midnight, that doesn’t mean that they can’t have some fun celebrating the new year. Some breweries decided to celebrate when it turned 2014 in other parts of the country, while Alesmith decided to bring out some fun barrel aged beers. I have to admit I mostly went to try the Peanut Butter Cup Speedway Stout but sadly it was already sold out by the time I got there. Thankfully, there were plenty of good specialty options available to keep me satisfied.

Alesmith barrel aged options, 12/31/2013.
Alesmith barrel aged options, 12/31/2013.

Thankfully they weren’t out of the Pino Noir Barrel Aged Grand Cru, Bourbon Barrel Aged Speedway Stout (both on tap and on cask), and Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged Old Numbskull. I’ve been a big fan of barrel-aged beers since the first one I tried. Until recently though, I hadn’t tried many that had been aged in wine barrels. Now I have decided that I don’t like wine barrel aged beers, though I will continue to try them when offered to see if I am proven wrong. While bourbon and whiskey barrels tend to give a nice sweet taste, wine barrels tend to give a sour taste. Unless you like sours then you might want to stick to the bourbon and whiskey barrel aged beers.

Left to right, Cask Speedway Barrel Aged, Barrel Aged Grand Cru, Barrel Aged Old Numbskull, and Barrel Aged Speedway on Tap.
Left to right, Cask Speedway Barrel Aged, Barrel Aged Grand Cru, Barrel Aged Old Numbskull, and Barrel Aged Speedway on Tap.

The wine barrel aged Grand Cru was about what I should have expected. The wine gives it a sour flavor that sadly kept me from enjoying it. Other people with me did enjoy the sour taste though. The two versions of bourbon barrel aged Speedway Stout were quite delicious. The cask was smoother and you could taste the bourbon a bit stronger. The tap had a bit more of a chocolate flavor in it. Both were quite enjoyable and should satisfy fans of the regular Speedway. The whiskey barrel aged Old Numbskull was quite delicious, and my favorite among the bunch. The whiskey flavors came through strong and were mellowed out by the beer.

I was quite glad I made it out to check out Alesmith for these special barrel-aged brews even though I missed the Peanut Buttercup Speedway Stout. Make sure you stop by your local brewery when they have some barrel aged beers but keep in mind that wine barrels tend to give the beers a sour flavor.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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Brewery/Restaurant

San Francisco Adventures Part 2 – Oakland and SF Main

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My second day in the area I spent exploring San Francisco with my fiance. We first went out on the bridge to bridge tour of the bay, where we got to see the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges up close and drive near Alcatraz. Later in the evening I went out exploring and wanted to stop by Thirsty Bear Brewing but sadly they were not open. This led me to the bar across the street from our hotel where I was happy to find they had $3 pints for happy hour. This was my chance to try the Prohibition Ale from Speakeasy Ales & Lagers.

Prohibition Ale
Prohibition Ale

The hop flavors really make this one of my favorite ales. They add just the right amount of hops to balance out the typical malt flavors you get in an ale. I only had one here because we were off to Oakland to eat dinner with relatives and more beer to enjoy with that.

We stopped by a restaurant where we had pizza and appetizers with beer. I was glad to see a solid selection of beers on tap to choose from. My fiance went straight for the Stone Russian Imperial Stout which they served in a pint. Needless to say he only had one. I went straight for the Drake’s Brewing 1500 Pale. It had a nice light taste with some nice hop flavor. At 5.5% it was what some breweries might call an extra pale.

After that I was ready for something substantial and tried Heretic Brewing’s Evil Cousin Imperial IPA. The beer had plenty of citrus and pine flavors, nicely balanced by the right amount of malts. I was satisfied for the day with my hop fix. In Part 3 I will explore Rosamunde Sausage Grill and the beer I had on tap there. Part 4 will explore Southern Pacific Brewing. Part 5 will round it out with a visit to Rogue.

Paul McGuire

Paul McGuire is a craft beer enthusiast. He likes to travel with his husband and enjoy the great outdoors. In his day job, Paul is a divorce attorney serving clients in San Diego California.

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