Rogue Brown

Hazelnut Brown Nectar
American Brown Ale
6% ABV. 28 IBU
Rogue Ales
Newport, Oregon
http://www.rogue.com/

Dozens of Awards, from a Dozen Ingredients;
Great Western 2-Row, Brown, Carastan 13/17, Crystal 70/80, Crystal 135/165, Beeston Pale, Chocolate & Rogue Barley Farm Dare Malts; Rogue Micro Hopyard Independent & Revolution Hops;
Hazelnut Extract, Free Range Coastal Water & Pacman Yeast.

Pours a copper-colored reddish brown. Frothy head of foam.
Aroma of hazelnuts. Smooth taste of caramel, sweet malts, & nuttiness.
Dry, smooth mouthfeel with loads of hazelnut.
Minimal hop presence, which works well here with the dry sweetness.
Lingering, dry nutty aftertaste. Not at all unpleasant but did make me think of extract.
We enjoyed it with roasted & salted cashews and smoked fontina cheese.

From Brown Nectar to the Charge of the Brown Recluse, Torche...

Dark Sky

The Flower Travellin' Band...

Dark Sky Imperial Stout

Seasonal

ABV 9%

Baird Brewing Co. Japan

http://bairdbeer.com/en/

"Foreboding Black Ale"

This is the only Japanese Stout I have ever had. It is pretty good. As the name states, it pours dark. 

Decent caramel colored head. Roasty malt and slight chocolate cola aroma.

Basic bittersweet chocolate stout flavors. Also a slight licorice taste.

Smooth mouthfeel, not chewy. Light and not overly complex.

Neither overly bitter, nor overly sweet. 

Pleasant, dry aftertaste. 

All in all, a decent Stout. Glad I had it. Would definitely drink it again. However at it's price, there are others I would grab first. I would like to drink it again with a good Japanese meal.

I think it would go well with some food since it is not too strong nor overbearing. 

Iron Fist Velvet Glove

UPDATE

Recently tried this again and was quite pleasantly surprised.

We had glasses on tap and it was really good.

Very rich creamy chocolate flavor.

Will buy another bottle.

Velvet Glove
Imperial Stout
9% ABV

Iron Fist Brewing

Vista, California

http://www.ironfistbrewing.com/

Vigorous pour produced pretty much no head to speak of.
Rather flat coca cola taste. Not a whole lot going on here.
Maybe we got a bad bottle. Perhaps I was just expecting too much. Way more Velvet, than Iron.
Watered down mouthfeel. Minimal flavor.
Slight chocolate and cocoa flavors as it warmed up. A little bitter aftertaste.

 

No Brainer for Song Selection...

Stone Oakquinox

Stone Brewery in Escondido held its Second Annual Oakquinox Festival (dedicated to Beer aged in Wood)
last Sunday. The event was amazing and introduced me to a lot of new beers as well as serving some of my favorites. Also, some classics with a twist.

Stone Brewery Oakquinox

April 17th 2011
www.stoneworldbistro.com/oakquinox/
"Our outrageous festival of barrel-aged brews returns for a second glorious year!
Join us for a celebration of the tasty extravagance that ensues when beer meets wood."

Check out the Oakquinox Draft & Bottle List. It will blow your beer meets wood lovin' mind.

The Calm before The Storm.

The staff was exceptionally cool under pressure.

Cheers to Stone, for exceeding my expectations for a fantastic event.

I found myself in my own private Barrel-Aged Elysium.

My photography skills suck

This tasted way better than it looks

you get the general idea

Oakquinox was like my personal little slice of Barrel-Aged Heaven on Earth.

Looking forward to next fest.

Garlic and Black Pepper Potato Crisps, with Oaked Arrogant Bastard Chipotle Hot Sauce.
Even the sauce was smoked.

Duck Duck Guava (Lost Abbey)
Not what I was expecting to find here, but a nice diversion.

Stoners

Speaking of Elysium...

Music Shirts spotted at fest.

Music and Beer

Class V Stout

Class V Stout
8.5 % ABV

Kernville, California
Whitewater has a numerical Class System rated 1 thru 6, with 6 being unrunnable.
So, essentially 5 is the highest class rating.

Class V Stout is truly in a Class by itself. I really like this Stout.
It's not an Imperial Stout. It's not an Oatmeal Stout. It's not a Sweet Stout.
It seems to blend all three styles.
I happen to love all three so the blending works well for me.
The creaminess of the oatmeal, the sweetness of a milk stout and the strength of an Imperial.
Not too high alcohol makes it very drinkable. Maybe a Session Stout, I just invented that term, just now.

Pours a deep dark brown, almost black.
Aroma of rich chocolate mocha.
mouthfeel is creamy like an oatmeal stout. This is some great tasting beer.
Bittersweet perfection. Just the right amount of Chinook and Cascade hops to offset the sweetness.
Light bodied, sweet and roasty. A lot going on here.
very chocolaty, like mocha oatmeal.
Milk chocolate, dark chocolate. Complex and delicious. Super smooth and flavorful.
Perfect cocoa bittersweet dry hop aftertaste.
Simply delicious. Current (ha ha) Favorite. 

Sea Monster

Sea Monster Imperial Stout
10% ABV

San Diego,California

A very good Imperial Stout. Strong, tasty and thoroughly enjoyable. This time of year it is readily available and it can not be beat. I have filled the fridge and am drinking a lot of this.
Depths of the sea darkness.
 Roasted malt aroma. Sweetness in the smell. Pretty carbonated. Creamy and almost chewy.
All the flavors are spot on;

 coffee, toffee, chocolate and caramel. Like a dry-hop roasted carbonated cappuccino, that happens to have 10 % alcohol. 

pleasant dry hop aftertaste.

The Anglerfish icon is pretty cool too.

Black Cauldron

Black Cauldron Imperial Stout

8% ABV. 43 IBU

Winter Seasonal

Beechwood-Smoked malts added.

Victor, Idaho

"We've brewed our Black Cauldron Imperial Stout to recognize and honor the women in the history of brewing."

Intriguing artwork on the label.

Interesting Beer in the bottle.

Dark black pour. Roasted malt aroma.

Mocha-colored head leaves a little lacing.

Roasted malt flavor. Bittersweet chocolate-covered raisins, molasses, and burnt espresso.

Strong hoppy aftertaste.

Adobada Tacos

Top Secret, weekend only street taco locale, in my neighborhood.

Marinated, adobo seasoned pork, rotisserie cooked to savory perfection.

Deliciously charred to a blackened crisp on outside edges while keeping the insides tender and juicy.

Flame grilled. Made to order.
Just meat, well seasoned and simply prepared. Perfect.

Chopping Block

While chopping meat for your taco they throw handmade tortillas on a separate grill to warm up.

First add the lime, onion, and cilantro.

then choose the salsa...

The red is called 911 since it's made with habaneros, it has chunks of avocado in it which offset the heat.
The green is mellower, sweet and tangy. Very good, but I prefer the 911.

Mango salsa. Good on pork. adds a delicious sweetness.
Pico De Gallo, pretty self explanatory.

Frijoles with bacon.

one of the better tacos to be had locally. Quite crowded on weekends.

they also serve; carne asada, carnitas, birria, chorizo, cabeza, & lengua....

North Coast Old Rasputin

Old Rasputin

Russian Imperial Stout

9% ABV 75 IBU

Fort Bragg, California

Multiple Gold Medal Winner

Old Rasputin is the Gold Standard. Sure, there are a couple better Stouts out there, but for the money, and availability, this is The One. None better that are this readily available.
Also quite a bargain actually.
For me, this Stout occupies the same place as my daily go to Bourbons; Knob Creek/Eagle Rare/Buffalo Trace/Woodford Reserve, always open bottles at my home Whiskey Bar.
Old Rasputin is the Russian Imperial Stout that sets the bar. All other Stouts either fall below or rise above. The New Old Rasputin Imperial Stout Index.
(N.O.R.I.S.I.)
This and Yeti are my two favorite everyday awesome stouts.

(Goes well with Gouda.)
Sounds cliche but, it's simple yet complex.
Pours a deep dark brown. With a nice bubbly beige head.
Smells of deep dark bittersweet chocolate.
Taste follows nose here, with rich chocolate, roasted malt, cocoa, maybe a little molasses, and a perfect slight bitterness ending to offset the sweetness of the milk chocolate.
Perfectly balanced. Outstanding representation of the style.

Pints on Tap at Toronado

Goes well with some of the jukebox selections also;
Melvins, Gun Club, Grinderman, Turbonegro, Jesus Lizard, Agent Orange, Eddie and the Subtitles,  The Stooges, The Ramones, The Clash,  The Dragons, The Crowd, The Supersuckers, Zen Guerilla,  Birthday Party, The Blasters, The Creepy Creeps, Mondo Generator. Yup, pretty rare to find decent music in a bar. Not only are the tunes here good they are actually thoroughly enjoyable.

Bonus Points, they also have a burger named after the Greatest Heavy Metal Band on Earth...