New Belgium/Elysian Collaboration The Trip XII Pink Peppercorn IPA

So New Belgium and Elysian has this collaboration series called The Trip. I’m under the impression that these are actually brewed in Seattle, but I could be wrong on that. Neither brewery website has updated information on the series. Anyways, it’s an IPA with pink peppercorns. What else do you need to know?

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 7.5% ABV. Washington. Limited Release.

Burnt orange in color with a really nice, fluffy head.

Well, you definitely get that peppercorn aroma on the nose. Just go open a tin of black pepper, that’s what it smells like. I’m not sure how a pink peppercorn differs, but it’s certainly peppery. You don’t get much else here other than a little bit of caramel.

Mouthfeel is really nice in this beer. A nice medium body with a lower carbonation level leaves this beer with a fairly heavy mouthfeel.

Peppery, with a little hint of caramel and vanilla. It’s like a spice cabinet in my mouth, but the pepper isn’t spicy and obnoxious. It does over power the hop flavor until the finish where you get some medium bitterness.

I like this beer. If you like pepper, then you will probably also like this beer. I’m glad it’s not overbearing, but it does over-power the hop flavor. 89 points.

Avery Maharaja

Who needs taste buds? Here’s a biggin’ from Avery that weighs in at over 10% ABV and 100 IBUs. 2-row, Caramel 120, and Victory malts try to balance out the Simcoe, Columbus, Centennial, and Chinook hops.

Stats:
Imperial India Pale Ale. 10.2% ABV. 102 IBUs. Colorado. Available December-March.

Nice coppery color with a fantastic head and lacing.

Definitely a hoppy nose, but it brings quite a bit of caramel and a toasted nuts. Sweetness really comes through on this one.

Mouthfeel is full bodied and low carbonation.

Toasted nuts and vanilla hit the palate with some lovely earthy and spicy notes. There is a tiny bit of heat, but still, pretty well contained. Long finish of vanilla and peanuts.

This is quite a tasty brew, but it will definitely sneak up on you. 90 points.

New Belgium Lips of Faith Cocoa Mole

I finally got my hands on this brew. It’s certainly making waves around the beer community as a completely unique beer. It’s got a 90 on BA, so it looks like people are digging it. Pale, C-80, Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate malts with Target hops. But the real flavor is from the Ancho, Guajillo, and Chipotle peppers with cinnamon and cocoa.

Stats:
Chili Beer. 9.0% ABV. Colorado. Limited Release.

Dark rum to ruby in color. It’s got an off-white head that dissipates fairly quickly.

The nose smells fantastic. It’s a cinnamon treat with a hint of chili powder and cocoa. It brings a little bit of sweetness as well. It just smells delicious.

Mouthfeel is medium body with lower carbonation.

Cinnamon, chili, hint of caramel and cocoa up front and it’s delicious. Little bit of sweetness there as well. But then the flavor dies down a bit to showcase the chili flavor in the mid-palate. Then all that delicious flavor completely dies on the finish and you are left with some bitterness and heat. The finish tastes watered-down and astringent somehow.

This is one of the most interesting beers that I’ve ever had. It’s got some amazing flavor, but then it brings that strange, off-balanced bitterness, mixed with this watered-down flavor on the backend and finish that makes it almost undrinkable for me. I actually almost dumped this entire bottle. I think this is a beer that I will recommend, just because it’s so unusual, it’s worth a try at least once. 82 points.

Oskar Blues Deviant Dale’s

So here’s an 8% IPA in a tallboy can, not something you come across too often. Unfortunately, I can’t find any information on the beer, but I’m sure they through in some Summit hops. Let’s see how it is.

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 8.0% ABV. Colorado.

Coppery color with a thick white head.

Very hoppy nose that brings a very piney and earthy aroma. It’s quite grassy, as well, with just a hint of citrus.

Mouthfeel is actually quite full bodied with a low carbonation.

Earthy, mushroomy, piney, with a hint of vanilla and orange. It destroys the palate with a vegetal bitterness and has a length of flavor akin to burnt chicken.

I hate this beer. Some may like the completely off-balanced and earthy hops, but if I wanted to shove pine cones in my mouth, I would go outside. There’s no semblance of finesse in this beer. 81 points.

New Belgium Lips of Faith Biere de Mars

This is a style called Biere de Garde, and it may very well be the first that I’ve ever had. Obviously, it’s not a terribly popular style. The malts are Pale, C-80, Wheat, and Carapils with oats. The hop selection is Target, Willamette, and Cascades with some lemon peel and lemon verbena added. It looks like there’s some Brett in here as well, so I’m expecting a big dose of citrus on this one.

Stats:
Biere de Garde. 6.2% ABV. 22 IBUs. Colorado. Limited Release.

It’s got this lovely bright orange color with a fantastic head.

The nose has some earthy-spicyness with a bit of lemon zest. Doesn’t seem sour at all, but has a hint of a yeast character. Reminds me a bit of a saison, but not quite as pronounced.

The first thing that comes to mind on this beer is just how light it is in flavor. It’s got a bit of citrus, a bit of earthy-ness. Hint of vanilla follows with a low bitterness on the back.

I really liked the idea of this beer. I love citrusy beers and I love Brett, but I’m not getting much of anything on here. It’s shockingly light on flavor. 82 points.

New Belgium Dig

This Spring Seasonal is one of the newest in New Belgium’s lineup. It’s an American Pale Ale that has a bit of twist, with some interesting hop additions. It’s got Pale and C-80 malt with Target, Cascade, Nugget, Nelson Sauvin, and Soriachi Ace hops.

Stats:
American Pale Ale. 5.6% ABV. 36 IBUs. Colorado. Spring Seasonal.

Orange to light copper in color. It’s got a decent head that fades, but leaves some nice looking lacing on the glass.

The nose isn’t as hoppy as I was expecting with that crazy hop profile. You get a nice biscuit malt profile with a mostly earthy and spicey hop profile.

Mouthfeel is solid, a bit light in body, but it makes for an easy drinking brew.

I get some black pepper and earth on the palate initially, then it transitions to a bit of a tropical fruit profile, but it’s quite light. Medium bitterness on the back with a grainy finish.

It’s a solid beer, but I find it pretty forgettable. 86 points.

Beer Club 02/18/12 American Pale Ales

February gave us a chance to try something that wasn’t just a seasonal. After the Winter seasonals and the stout tastings, I wanted to try something on the lighter side of things. The American Pale Ale is arguably the most important American craft beer other than the IPA. These beers are a nice way to show what American brewing is often about, without getting too hoppy. Besides, I love these beers because they are sessionable and go great with so many types of food.

We started with one of my favorite beers to come out last year, 21st Amendments Bitter American. It’s a 4.4% session beer that packs a great flavor punch. This beer was generally liked, but fell a bit flat compared to the bigger beers that we drank after this.

We moved on to one of my favorite party beers. The plain old Full Sail Pale. There’s nothing amazing about this beer, but it’s more than solid beer at a great price point.

Deschutes Mirror Pond is a classic. This was definitely on the malty side compared to the other pales. I think this was pretty well liked because of that, but I personally prefer on the hoppy side.

Of course, the most classic of them all is the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. This might have been the least favorite of all the beers we had. I was really surprised by this, especially since this was actually MY favorite of the bunch. It’s got this amazing citrus hop flavor that didn’t resonate with the other palates.

Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale was next and quickly became the favorite of the night. This was the biggest beer at 6.5% and was definitely on the malty side. Go figure, this was MY least favorite of the bunch, but people really loved that grainy malt flavor.

We finished the night with another Deschutes beer, this time the Red Chair NWPA. I put this last because I figured this would be the hoppiest of the beers. And it was, in terms of hop flavor, but actually had a very mild bitterness. Because of that, people actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. I did notice a hint of diacetyl, that I don’t recall before, but the tasting would probably make that more noticeable.

Beer Club 01/13/12 Stouts

This month’s beer club was all about stouts. Nothing in particular, just a random assortment. We had our biggest beer club yet. There were about 13 or 14 people. As I suspected, this was a bit too large of a group. It was more of a party than a tasting, but those are fun too.

We started with the Deschutes Obsidian. It’s a classic, in my opinion, and I think it was still one of the better stouts of the night. Full flavored, but the most sessionable of the bunch.

Next up was the Pike XXXXX stout. I’ve really liked this beer in the past, but was amazingly shallow after the Obsidian. This was a very forgettable beer during the tasting.

We had a couple oatmeal stouts after that. The first being the American Caboose. This was the first time I got to try this beer, and it was another great offering from the Sasquatch in Edmonds. This one had a little more roast quality than the previous beers.

Ninkasi Oatis is one of my favorite stouts and the tasting didn’t change my opinion. It actually showed a huge vanilla component, and had a little bit of sweetness. I think this was one of the favorites of the night.

Another local brew, the Skagit River Trumpeter from Mt. Vernon was next. This one did not show well. It tasted very sweet, with a very heavy caramel component. Most found this beer to be overbearingly sweet and lacked the roast.

Then the Yeti attacked. I was pretty excited that the soy sauce component was recognized immediately. It’s a very common flavor profile on high ABV stouts, and this one showed it big time. Still a great beer, and was probably one of the best made beers. Very complex and delicious.

Port Brewing’s Old Viscosity is an oak aged stout. I’ve always liked this one and the oak compliments it nicely.

The Cappuccino Stout from Lagunitas was a shock to the palate. The coffee actually came across as a very green, almost salad like flavor. I got green peppers, while cilantro and lettuce was also mentioned. This wasn’t very well liked, and it really is a beer that should be enjoyed on it’s own.

We ended on a delicious note. The Mokah is very delicious, but well-balanced. The high ABV is very well hidden. This might be my favorite of the Blackwater Series.

New Belgium Snow Day

This is the new seasonal from New Belgium. It’s under the American Black Ale category on BA, but originally I thought this was a Winter Warmer. It’s brewed with Pale, C-80, and Midnight Wheat malts with Styrian Goldings, Centennial, and Cascade hops.

Stats:
American Black Ale. 6.2% ABV. 55 IBUs. Colorado. Winter Seasonal.

Dark ruby in color. Tan head that doesn’t stay very long.

A lot of piney hops on the nose. It’s got a bit of spice, but it’s really all about the forest here with a lot of that pine cone coming through.

Mouthfeel is a little bit light, with some crisp carbonation.

Tons of pine, but it’s not overly bitter. A little bit of orange comes through now with a hint of cracked black pepper.

This is a pretty big departure for New Belgium, but it’s probably become my favorite beer of theirs. It’s an aggressively hopped, but balanced-ly bitter brew. It’s a hearty winter ale that takes it’s place among the other hoppy beers of the seasonal. 88 points.

Left Hand Wake Up Dead

I hope the beer is as good as the label. I also love the website for this brewery, which has tons of info on their beer. This RIS is brewed with Pale, Munich, Crystal, and Chocolate malts with roasted and black barley, flaked oats, and Magnum and US Goldings hops.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 10.2% ABV. Colorado.

Dark ruby red. It’s got a tan head, but it’s not a huge one.

The nose is a bit boozy with some chocolate and roast coming through. There’s a caramel component that lightens it up a bit.

Mouthfeel is full bodied, but still has a pretty crisp carbonation.

Caramel and coffee meet, which turns into a roasty, boozy heat. It’s a big brew and the name is clearly appropriate. Although, it is less roasty than many RIS.

Not bad, and definitely worth a purchase. 88 points.