Beer Around Town

Baseball, one thing I really miss about living on the East coast, the excitement just doesn’t build her like it does back home. There stands a void between basketball and football in the West, a black hold of rejection for ash bats and pine tar. So, I just sit home and sample some new beers from Belmont and root on my AL team to their 13th consecutive win. Just look at that intensity Papelbon is emitting.

First up was the new beer from Brewdog and Mikkeller, Devine Rebel, a 12.5% barleywine partially aged in Speyside whisky barrels. I’ve been eager to try this beer since I first got word of it. Brewdog has been pumping out their imperial stout in a series called Paradox, each version being aged in a different type of whiskey barrel. This has been one incredible series, being able to compare the effects different barrels will have on the same beer, some being rather soft and buttery while others are bold and saturated with peat smoked flavors. Mikkeller on the other hand is a one man gypsy brewer, owning no brewery of his own, but managing to crank out some of the best beers in the world. If you haven’t gone and checked out any Mikkeller beers yet do it, go buy a Black Hole Imperial Stout or a Santas Little Helper and find out what incredible beer tastes like.
Anyway, on to Devine Rebel. This beer seemed to take the barrel selection from Brewdog and the beer build from Mikkeller, drawn together into a beer that will be incredibly good in due time. I say that because at the moment it is just good, but really needs another 6 months to 2 years to fully come together. Beautiful malt taste, deep notes of cherry, vanilla, oak, and caramel, but a bit syrupy up front, hops are powerful and to bitter…. I know that is kinda confusing, to much on the bitterness and sweetness? it’s just that they aren’t melding together yet, given more time to settle this beer will really start to stand out. Definitely built to age, so pick one up and open it up this winter, or buy one and try it out now and save the other for winter. I think come winter this will be an A beer, now about a B rating.

Next up was Great Divide Chocolate Yeti, the most recent addition to the Yeti series. Around 10% ABV, the Yeti series now includes, regular, oaked, bourbon, espresso, and now chocolate. The last installment in this series was the Espresso Yeti which I thought turned out really well, so this was another that I was eager to pick up. If you are headed to the Portland International Beer Fest this weekend then you will find this on tap, try it. Pours just like all the other Yetis, almost pitch black, silky smooth, with a tall brown head. Deep dark chocolate nose, roasted malts, vanilla, and big dose of hops. Like most of the other Yeti beers I thought the hops came on a bit strong, bitterness even amplified a bit more by the oak, great for aging, but when fresh they are a bit overpowering, especially overshadowing the sweet chocolate flavor they were trying to highlight. Still this beer is smooth and delicious, yah I’d prefer the hops and bitterness to subside a bit to accentuate the chocolate more, but it’s really hard to complain, this tastes damn good. I also reflect to the opposite side of the spectrum with beers like Southern Tier’s Chocolate, which is overly sweet and artificial tasting, so more props to Great Divide for another great beer. I’d give this one a B+ to A- at the moment, maybe with 6 months the hops might settle a bit and it may improve, but who knows.

Anyone else tried either of these yet? Thoughts?