Episode 41: Trappist Westvleteren 12 from Passion Beer on Vimeo.

Ratings
Shane: 95/100
Nick: 95/100
Mike: 95/100

From the 12 ounce bottle the Rusty Chain has a great amber color with no cloudiness and a slightly foamy white head. There is minimal lacing but the head does stick around in a thin ring most of the way down. Aromas of caramel, toffee, lightly toasted malt, and a hint of hops come out. It’s a really nice clean aroma with plenty of malts as expected.

A lot of malt is on the front of the palate as anticipated, but there isn’t too much variety to it. Caramel, yeast, and some bready flavors make up the malt elements. Hops add some variety to the middle with some brighter citrus notes coming through. The finish is sweeter malts with a smooth, lighter mouth feel that makes the beer extremely drinkable.

The Rusty Chain is a good, middle of the road, easy drinking amber lager. The flavors were a little flat and needed some more variety, but they were interesting enough to keep me coming back. The Rusty Chain would make a great sessionable beer, or a recover beer after a long ride.

Rating

80
out of 100

The base of the beer is Black Tuesday, and if you haven’t checked out that review from us, please do. Grab a seat, a beer, sit back and relax while we give you our insight into this unique beer!

Episode 40: The Bruery Chocolate Rain (2012) from Passion Beer on Vimeo.

Ratings
Shane: 98/100
Nick: 99/100
Mike: 98/100

Introductory music is copyright Tay Zonday and used under the Creative Common License 3.0

Out of the 22 ounce bottle the Supa Hera has a slightly hazy, dark copper color with a white head that leaves some impressive lacing. Lots of citrus aromas with plenty of grapefruit are here with elements of pine and a hint of sweet caramel malt. It’s certainly an inviting aroma, but not much sets it apart from the crowd.

You are greeted by good hop flavors on your first sip, the pine and citrus from the aroma certainly carry over. The citrusy hops are followed up by some malty sweetness. The Supa Hero has plenty of bitterness, but it stands out and doesn’t integrate with the other flavors. The malt backbone really elevates this beer and acts as a good platform for the hop elements. The finish is bitter, but not overly so while the medium-bodied mouth feel and carbonation work well with the flavors.

The Supa Hero is a good IPA, for me it bridges the gap between a standard IPA and a hop bomb IPA. It has plenty of good hop flavors, with nice bitterness to remind you that you are, in fact, drinking an IPA. Even with the high bitterness the Supa Hera is easy drinking for an Imperial IPA. I do wish that the bitterness was better integrated with the other flavors, and that the flavors popped a bit more. Overall, a good quality IPA from Clown Shoes.

Rating

85
out of 100

Episode 39: Brooklyn Black OPS from Passion Beer on Vimeo.

Ratings
Shane: 95/100
Nick: 98/100

Title photo from: Flickr

Out of the 22 ounce bottle the Vampire Slayer pours out almost jet black with a one finger dark tan head. The head fades but does leave some nice spotted lacing on the glass. Aromas of dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and roasted malt come out. There are hints of smoke and coffee as well that play well with the other aromas. Even though the Vampire Slayer is 10% ABV, there is no hint of alcohol on the nose.

Roasted malts play heavily throughout the beer, especially at the beginning. Elements of dark chocolate, toffee, a touch of sweetness, and coffee intermingle as well. The light smoke from the nose is present too, lightly working its way through the chocolate and malt. The finish has a nice bitter hoppiness that closes out the beer well. For the mouth feel, its full-bodied and a bit creamy.

The Vampire Slayer is one of the better Imperial Stouts that I have had in the past year. There is a ton of roasted malts that could hopefully mellow out with age, but even fresh this is a delicious beer. It also shows that Clown Shoes is going to be a force to be reckoned with as they continue to grow. I suggest getting two bottles of this beer, one for now and one for later.

Rating

91
out of 100

If you’re not familiar with the beer itself, or the process for obtaining it, here’s a quick breakdown. Each year, Portsmouth releases “scratch off” tickets for $2 a piece with a maximum 15 tickets per person, per day (proceeds go to non-profits) until they’re gone. For the 2012 release, they sold a total of 15,000 tickets and only 2,000 tickets were winners (past years have been 10,000 tickets with 900 winners). Each winning ticket gives you the chance to purchase one bottle of Kate the Great at $8 USD, for the 2012 release they were smaller 330 ml format bottles, compared to 22 ounce bottles in the past [see title picture].

Matt graciously provided a 2012 bottle he won, while I pulled my 2011 bottle from the cellar. Poured side by side, the appearance is similar. They both have a deep, dark black body with the 2011 commanding a bigger tan colored head. Due to this, the 2011 vintage left nice patches of lacing, while the 2012 didn’t retain or leave much of anything behind.

One the nose, these beers are drastically different. The 2012 had big sweet fruits, lots of port qualities, strawberry, cherry and caramel. Fairly chocolatey with plenty of roasted malts. It’s very inviting and balanced with a little booze on the end. Contrast that with the 2011 that has massive dark fruits now, plum, raisin, fig and some dates. The fresh, vibrancy of the port wine now seems a bit muddled and while it smells more smoothed out, it just isn’t as inviting. Dark and caramel malts are the heavy hitters as the backbone.

The taste follows closely with the aromas of both. In the 2012, rich sweet notes come through but not overly so. Plenty of berry fruits, obvious port qualities, rich and roasted malts. There’s a very “fresh” quality here when directly compared to the 2011 bottle I just love. Perhaps it’s the vibrancy of the red fruits that come out in this one. Very unique and delicious. The dear old 2011 vintage is like the nose, plenty of raisin, fig and dates with a very roasted, almost to the point of burnt malt back end. It’s a bit more blended and rounded in a way, but not in a good one. I don’t really care for how the fruitiness of the beer turned from cellaring it. The carbonation helps bleed out some of the flavors around the palate in both vintages, with the fresh 2012 having a bit more of it overall.

In the end, it was clear to me that my palate much preferred the fresh 2012 vintage to the 2011. It had more red fruit and port qualities I enjoy, as well as a nice vibrancy to everything. Cellaring the 2011 seemed to give the beer a more rounded flavor profile, but it turned into a big dark fruit beer, something I don’t really care for. Going forward, I’d drink Kate the Great as fresh as possible to experience the wonderful flavors the brewers gave and intended it to have.

Rating (2012)

96
out of 100

Rating (2011)

84
out of 100

Episode 38: Odell Saboteur (Brett Barrel Brown Ale) from Passion Beer on Vimeo.

Ratings
Shane: 84/100
Nick: 85/100

As soon as I popped the cap right off, notes of chocolate and alcohol were immediately noticeable. Out of the bottle, the Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti looks jet black in the glass with a foamy dark tan head that left nice lacing around the walls. Towards the end of the aroma, the oak picks up quickly even more so as it warms.

One sip reminds you of all the wonderful flavors regular Yeti contains, with the additions being welcomed. The chocolate was first on the palate, coupled with plenty of roasted dark malts, caramel and toffee. Dry tannins and oak come through mid-palate, and the back end is finished off with some dusty cocoa powder and coffee grounds. For being 9.5% ABV, the alcohol is hidden extremely well. The body is fairly thick, full-bodied and smooth.

As well masked as the alcohol is, it’s quite noticeable working your way through the bottle, so tread carefully. All in all, this is an easy choice for lovers of Imperial Stouts. I enjoyed the additions of the chocolate that gave this beer an even deeper complexity, but wish the oak was a bit more pronounced to balance everything out.

Rating

90
out of 100

From the corked 500 ml bottle, which is about as dark as the beer itself, the Old Rasputin XIV has the same great color as the standard version, black as night with a burnt caramel colored head. The head goes away faster than expected and leaves almost no lacing on the glass. Chocolate, dark fruit, roasted malt, vanilla and a great bourbon aroma come through nicely. It has a really clean nose, and there is just the right amount of bourbon aroma.

The flavor profile of the Old Rasputin XIV is very similar to the original, just turned up to over 11% ABV…and with bourbon added. Roasted malt elements intermingle with dark chocolate, light vanilla, and a little coffee. Hints of dark fruit and brown sugar add a some sweetness. Then there is the bourbon element, present in the beginning and end with a decent burn towards the finish (in addition to some alcohol booziness), it also adds a hint of oak from the barrel. The bourbon is great, a little overwhelming at first, but things equalize as your palate adjusts. A medium body with high carbonation is here to keep things from getting sticky and assist in elevating the flavors.

I love it when a beer that I consider to be one of the best is improved upon, and that is what the Old Rasputin XIV does. While I did enjoy the bourbon, I think some aging could do this beer some good, and make it even better. I recommend picking up two bottles, one for now to get all the bourbon, and one for late for when the flavors meld a bit more. Either way this is a delicious beer.

Rating

92
out of 100