Recently in B Category

Have you ever seen that episode of The Simpsons where Reverend Lovejoy loses the faith and Marge becomes "The Listen Lady"? At one point, while Reverend Lovejoy sits alone and depressed in the church, the stained glass windows in the church come to life and chastise him for failing to inspire his congregation. The joke is that the circumstances of each window are rather gruesome:

The one on the far left features a man standing in a boiling cauldron, the second one is a man holding his own decapitated head, and the last one is a man being eaten by a lion. This is mean to be parody; making fun of the Christian fascination with martyrs and the violence they endured. And yet anyone who has spent their childhood in Church and other related areas will see that, like a lot of parodies, this one strikes home more than you might suspect. Witness saint Adrian:

At first it looks kinda normal and then you notice... What's the deal with that sword? Wait, where are his hands? Is that... bone? Yes, apparently St. Adrian was a martyr who had his hands cut off at the wrist. In all honesty, that Simpsons parody isn't really that much of a parody.

Fortunately for the rest of us, Victory's Spring seasonal Maibock, St. Boisterous, does not feature any such macabre imagery on its label, and the beer itself is generally more uplifting.

Victory St. Boisterous - Pours a clear golden/yellow color with a finger or two of head. Aroma is dry with a sweet malt character (maybe honey?) and some floral hops as well. There's just a hint of fruitiness apparent. Taste is surprisingly hoppy at the outset, but it doesn't last through the finish, which is sweet and sticky. Surprisingly rich and full bodied for such a light colored beer. The alcohol is more prominent than expected, all throughout the taste, which I guess means that this beer is living up to its boisterous name. Overall, it's still an interesting beer that's reasonably well done. B

Beer Nerd Details: 7.3% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a goblet on 7/2/11.

Victory also makes a Doppelbock called St. Victorious, which I'm pretty sure I've had before, but not recently. I'll have to try that one out (it's a Winter seasonal, so I'll have to wait a while).

This bottle sez: "Double India Pale Ale. A style of beer curiously born on the foggy shores of Father Junipero Serra's first founding mission." I can't really find any historical evidence about DIPAs being born in old Spanish Missions, but it's easy to see why a brewery that calls itself "Mission" would use Serra as their inspiration. As near as I can tell, Serra was never actually shipwrecked either, but on the other hand, it was the 18th century. I'm sure anyone traveling on the high seas back then got into some pretty hairy situations.

Mission Shipwrecked Double IPA - Pours a nice amber color with a finger of head and some lacing as I drink. The smell is a nice combo of citrusy hops and caramel. Taste is very sweet with just enough bitterness to balance it out, but otherwise not much going on here, and given that it's a double IPA, I was expecting a bit more bitterness here. As it warms, the alcohol becomes more prominent, though never overpowering or anything. It's got a medium body and a relatively smooth and slick mouthfeel. Overall a decent entry in the overcrowded DIPA field, but it's got some balance issues. B

Beer Nerd Details: 9.25% ABV bottled (22 oz bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 7/3/11. IBU: 75. Hops: Cascade, Magnum, Centennial and CTZ.

This beer is perhaps more interesting than a "B" implies, which is similar to my reaction to Mission's Blonde (which I gave a B-). So Mission is indeed an interesting brewery that shows a lot of promise... I'll be keeping an eye out for more of their brews.

So, you know single malt Scotch? Yeah, single hop IPAs are nothing like that. What they are, though, is a really fascinating look at one of the key ingredients in beer: hops. The concept is simple. A brewery comes up with a solid IPA recipe, but instead of a mixture of different hops, they use one single hop variety. In this case, Mikkeller brewed a series of 12 beers, each with the same recipe... except for the hops, which change with each beer.

There are typically 3 additions of hops during the brewing process. First comes bittering hops - these are added at the beginning of the process. Boiling these hops for about 60 minutes will release the alpha acids contained in hops, which results in the bitterness in beer. Alas, such a long time boiling also destroys most flavor and aroma from the hops, hence the next 2 additions: Next are taste hops, which are typically added about 45 minutes into the boil and impart a completely different character to the beer's taste (the 15 minutes of boiling time is not long enough to release alpha acids, but it's just right for imparting various fruity, floral, etc... flavors to the beer). Finally, there are aroma hops, which are added near the end of the boil (typically around 5-2 minutes remaining) and impart the proper hoppy smells. There are, of course, lots of other ways to do it (continuously hopped beers, beers with an additional dry hopping step, styles that only take one or two hop additions, and so on), but the above is the most common process.

Hops are fantastically variable when it comes to bitterness, taste, and aroma, so for hoppy styles like an IPA, brewers will combine those various characteristics to create something unique. Some hops have lots of alpha acids and are thus great for bittering, but they're also lacking strong flavors or aromas. Some hops have great flavor and aroma, but low alpha acids. Some hops are ideal for only one piece of the puzzle. Other hops can be used for everything. If you're brewing an IPA, you might grab that high alpha acid hop for bitterness, but use a different hop for flavor/aroma (since those hops aren't boiling long enough, the alpha acids - whether high or low - don't matter much). And so on. The neat thing about a single hop beer is that you can get a really good idea what characteristics that hop imparts on a beer, and thus you can start picking them out in other beers. Of course, I'm only having 3 varieties tonight, and 2 of them ended up being somewhat similar, but still, it's a fun exercise (and these 3 were all great).

Mikkeller Nelson Sauvin Single Hop IPA - Apparently a New Zealand hop that doesn't get much play in the US, but from what I've tasted tonight, it would match well with the standard west coast US hop profile. Pours a dark amber, almost brown color with lots of fluffy head and tons of lacing as I drink. Smells citrusy sweet, maybe pineapple or grape, and just a hint of toffee. In other words, fantastic aroma. The taste is a little more straightforward, much less of the citrus/pineapple, bitterness taking more of a center stage here, but it ends up being a well executed IPA. The mouthfeel is also pretty standard stuff, but it works. B

Beer Nerd Details: 6.9% ABV bottled (11.2 oz). Drank from a tulip glass on 6/18/11. Bottle cap had "23/12/11" on it - perhaps a drink by date?

Mikkeller Simcoe Single Hop IPA - Simcoe is an American variety (relatively new, and it's even trademarked), often described as a souped-up Cascade hop, it's got higher alpha acids and very strong flavor/aroma characteristics. Interestingly, I've already had at least one other single hop Simcoe beer, that being Weyerbacher's excellent Double Simcoe IPA. This Mikkeller version pours a lighter color than the Nelson Sauvin, but with that same big fluffy head and lacing. Smells sweeter, but less citrusy and more piney. Again, maybe a little toffee. Also a fantastic aroma. The taste on this is more complex though. That pine and slight citrus from the nose are present in the taste, and the bitterness is better matched to the rest of the beer (either that, or my palate has adjusted - certainly a possibility). Mouthfeel is standard IPA stuff, like the Nelson, but overall, this beer seems to fit together better. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6.9% ABV bottled (11.2 oz). Drank from a tulip glass on 6/18/11. Bottle cap had "5161010" on it - no idea what that means, and it's a different format from the other two...

Mikkeller Amarillo Single Hop IPA - Another relatively recent American discovery (also trademarked!), this one seems related to the big C's of American hops - Cascade, Centennial, and Columbus. Not as high in the AA as Simcoe, this one is still pretty high and apparently makes a great bittering hop. It became so popular in the US that there seemed to be a bit of a backlash a while ago, but that's how this stuff goes (I expect a similar backlash to Simcoe in the near future). Pours a similar dark amber color with lots of fluffy head and lacing. Smells strongly of caramel and maybe toffee, with a bit of citrus peeking through. Taste is also filled with caramel and toffee - it's delicious, really. Some citrus too. The bitterness lingers in the finish a bit. It's somewhat more dry than the other versions, and the mouthfeel is maybe a bit fuller (but still medium bodied). Overall, an excellent beer, my favorite of the night. Interestingly, from what folks say about the flavor of Amarillo, I'm not sure this one really strongly shows off the flavor/aroma characteristics, but perhaps it just matches really well with the single hop recipe, accentuating the caramel/toffee flavors (which were present in all three beers, but only really prominent in this one). Whatever the case, this one is a winner. A

Beer Nerd Details: 6.9% ABV bottled (11.2 oz). Drank from a tulip glass on 6/18/11. Bottle cap had "04/11/11" on it - again, perhaps a drink by date?

Like a lot of Mikkeller beers, these are sometimes outrageously overpriced (I got mine for around $6 each, which is pricey, but a lot less than $10-$12 each, which I've heard people complain about), but lucky for you, Mikkeller isn't the only one playing with single hops. Heck, even Sam Adams released a case of their Latitude IPA with 5 single hop beers (and the original Latitude, which uses a combination of all 5). Unfortunately, Sam has never been particularly well known for their IPAs... but then, I've not had any of those, so I shouldn't talk. I do think it would be an interesting experience to try them though, and from the above, it does seem instructive.

This past weekend's double feature consisted of a pair of rather depressing movies and, of course, two IPAs. After a pretty long stretch of IPA double features that highlighted the variety and distinctiveness of the style, I seem to be experiencing some bad luck with the last two. In the last IPA double feature, I had two great beers that were actually pretty similar. This post covers two middling DIPAs that are, again, pretty similar. Huh.

On the filmic side of things, I started with I Saw the Devil , a rather extreme Korean revenge flick (those Koreans really seem to enjoy vengeance!) Fans of Park Chan-wook's Vengance Trilogy will no doubt enjoy this one. The second film was Black Death, a dour British film set during the bubonic plague. It has its moments, but it's ultimately quite depressing and hard to recommend. I would recommend Director Christopher Smith's previous effort, Triangle, though. It's also depressing, but it features an odd elliptical plot that's quite intriguing (if a bit polarizing).

Depressing films and bitter beer, a match made in heaven?

Breckenridge 471 IPA - Part of Breckenridge's "Small Batch" series, this is a rather straightforward double IPA. I'm not sure what the number 471 signifies, but if you haven't seen Breckenridge's fantastic mockery of big beer advertising, check it out. Interestingly, I've been seeing Heineken ads on TV lately that seem to be doing the same thing. Not sure which brewery got their first, but it's an interesting contrast in breweries and advertising. The Heineken ad is much more polished and pretty, but also somewhat cold, impersonal, and rather boring. Breckenridge's ads are, by contrast, low budget and static, but they amply demonstrate the personable and lovable nature of American craft brewing. And they're much funnier!

But enough about advertising. This beer pours a darkish amber gold color, with about a finger of head. Grassy hops in the nose, with just a hint of sweetness. Taste is surprisingly straightforward. It's not overly sweet or bitter, though both flavors are there. I'm not entirely sure I'd recognize this as a DIPA, though it does get a bit boozier as it warms up. Looking at the hops it's brewed with, I'm not sure why I didn't enjoy it more, but I got less citrus or pine than I would expect. It's a solid beer, with earthy hops and a nice medium to full body, but it's not something that's blowing the doors off the wall either. Whatever that means. B

Beer Nerd Details: 9.2% bottled (12 oz). Drank from a tulip glass on 5/20/11. Hops: Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe, Fuggles. IBUs: 70

Sly Fox Odyssey - I didn't know this until now, but every year since 2004, Sly Fox has celebrated the IPA style with a year long series of single-hopped beers at their brewpub, culminating in an all day festival in December of each year. Every year the number and varieties of hops changes, but it's usually somewhere around 8-10 different hops. To coincide with the festival, they also launch a new beer made from all the hops used that year, called Odyssey. A double IPA with shitloads of hops.

It's a bit darker in color than the 471 - less amber and more brown. The nose is less sweet, but perhaps more hoppy. There's also a bready, almost Belgian aroma poking out, but it's very subtle. The taste is more intense and complex, but very similar. The body is a bit less full, but that makes it a bit more drinkable. Ultimately, I'm getting a very similar feeling with this beer - a solid brew, but not lighting my hair on fire either. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 8.4% bottled (22 oz). Drank from a tulip glass on 5/20/11. Hops: Cascade, Newport, Warrior, Northdown, Vanguard, Palisade, Simcoe, Nugget, Magnum, Challenger*. IBUs: 90

It's unclear how often the Odyssey recipe changes, but in any case, I'm probably more likely to revisit that one than the 471.

In terms of IPA double features, this surely won't be the last, and I can guarantee that the next one will feature more distinct varieties of the style. In fact, it may even be a triple feature!

* Again, it's a little unclear if they change the Odyssey recipe from year to year, but according to their website, it was first brewed in 2006, and so I listed the hops from that year.

While my last update covered some fantastic beers, I was a little disappointed by the variety of good beers available to me in Vegas. I'm sure that if I actually sought out some beer bars, I would find something new and interesting, but it seemed that most places stocked the standard Macros and maybe one or two interesting beers. Fortunately, I did managed to have a few other beers, even some that I'd never had before:

• Moretti La Rossa - At some point we ended up at an Italian restaurant for a sponsored junket/open bar and they actually managed to have a few Italian beers available. I picked one that I hadn't heard of (because most of what I have heard of from Italy is not so good, like Peroni) and it turned out to be pretty good. It's technically a Doppelbock, a style I'm not terribly familiar with, but which I should probably check out more often. It was a darkish red/brown color with a finger or two of head, and the smell was much fruitier than I was expecting. It's also got some roastiness and maybe caramel sweetness in the nose. The taste went along with that. Medium bodied with high carbonation, it was quite drinkable and the alcohol was well hidden (I had no idea it was as strong as it was). As doppelbocks go, I understand this one is a bit thin, but it worked well enough for me, and was a welcome diversion from the typical macro selections. I have no idea if Moretti is part of the burgeoning Italian Craft beer scene, but my gut says it isn't, even though I enjoyed this. More research needed... B+ (Beer Nerd Details: 7.2% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a plastic cup (yeah, no good beer geek glasses to be had - hard to complain about then when I'm getting free beer though))
• Sin City Stout - Walking around the maze that is the Venetian shops, I spied this little hole in the wall:

  

  In talking with the bartender, I learned that this is an uber-local brewery, only distributing to Las Vegas. Their lineup seemed rather standard (though I should note that their "seasonal", apparently some sort of IPA, was out when I was there), but I wanted to try something new and different, so I ordered up a stout:

  

  It was on a nitro tap, so I got one of them gorgeous pours, even if it had to be in a plastic cup. Indeed, it took forever for the nitro foam to subside, which wasn't really a problem for me, as I do enjoy a good nitro pour every now and again. The beer itself was actually a pretty solid stout. Nothing particularly special about it, save for the nitro pour, but it holds its own against the other nitro stouts I've had, including Guinness. Dark, roasty, and tasty, I would probably order this before a Guiness, actually. Not a huge flavor-bomb or anything, but a really solid standard entry in the style. B+ (Beer Nerd Details: 6% ABV on nitro tap. Drank from a plastic cup.)

• Sin City Weiss - I stopped back into the bar to try this one out, and what I got was another solid example of a rather standard style. When I ordered it, the bartender told me that it had a "banana clove" taste to it, as if it was a bad thing (apparently lots of people order it without realizing what wheat beers taste like), but that's music to my ears. Again, very good beer, but not really exceptional or the best of its kind. Still, I really enjoyed it and if my upcoming homebrewed attempt at a wheat beer turns out this good, I'll be quite happy. B (Beer Nerd Details: 4.5% ABV on nitro tap. Drank from a plastic cup.)
• Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue): Chimay seems to the be the Fancy restaurant's go to beer in Vegas, as it was available in a lot of the nice restaurants. So ordered one of these, probably my favorite Chimay variety, to go along with a really good steak I was having. As usual, it's fantastic. Deep, dark brown color, sweet and fruity in the nose, and a taste to go along with the aromas. Fruity sweet, full bodied, and complex, it's a classic. A

Of course, I had quite a few other beers during the course of the week, but nothing particularly interesting or that I could do a good review of... As noted in the comments to my previous post, Vegas isn't quite a real place. Somehow the laws of the universe don't seem to function properly there. It's a good time, but after a few days, it wears on you pretty quickly. Still, from an alcohol-scared state like PA, it's nice to be able to walk around outside with a drink. But that's not really enough. I'm glad I'm back.

Update: Removed La Rossa picture. Because it's a bad picture, that's why.

Brewery Ommegang has long been one of my favorite breweries, and I do credit it with introducing me to the world of "good" beer. As such, whenever I see a new beer from Ommegang, I usually snap one up and drink it as quickly as possible. This particular beer, though, has never really been on my list of most sought after beers, mostly because it's a self-described Belgian Style Stout. I've never been a big fan of stouts, but since I've been coming around to the idea lately, I figured this would be worth a shot. After all, I love Belgian style beers, so maybe that will compensate for whatever it is I don't like about stouts. Unfortunately, this one turned out rather like my last experiment with Belgian style stouts (though I think both are technically labeled as Belgian Dark Ales).

Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence - Pours a very dark brown, almost black color. Completely opaque, with a rather small head, but lots of lacing as I drink. The smell is dominated by roasty malts, though there are some other more subtle aromas coming through, including the typical Belgian yeast scents. Taste starts off very sweet with some roastiness coming through in the middle and especially in the finish, which is dry and a little bitter. Said bitterness is more reminiscent of dark chocolate than hops (unsurprising, given that this is apparently brewed with real cocoa powder), but I'm sure both are playing a role here. Good carbonation and a medium mouthfeel (I was hoping for something with a fuller body). Very well balanced beer, but pretty straightforward as well. In comparison to the other Belgian-style stout I've tried recently, this one is perhaps a little better balanced, but less... Belgiany. Ultimately, I'm a little disappointed. Another case where I'd rather have had a really good Imperial Stout or a really good Belgian Strong Dark, not a combination of the two. B

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked bottle). Drank out of a goblet.

I wouldn't call it bad, but this may very well be my least favorite Ommegang beer. But I doubt it will slow me down. I have already procured a bottle of their Tripel Perfection and am very much looking forward to their collaboration with La Chouffe, Gnomegang. Not to mention the fact that I seem to always return to their staple beers...

Every month, a bunch of friends and I get together at a local BYOB and drink lots of beer. I seem to have run out of beer puns for this month, but there was no shortage of beer at tonight's gathering (despite only 7 attendees):

(Click for bigger image)

No real theme this month, but lots of new beers, along with some new ones. Not all of the pictured beers were cracked open, but most of them were (I believe only 4 left unopened, though there was still some beer left in a couple bottles). For reference, here's what I tried:

• Sea Dog Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale - Intense blueberry aromas and very fruity taste. Overwhelmingly blueberry. Not bad, but not especially accomplished either. C+
• Unibroue Éphémère - Again, an intense sour apple aroma and flavor, this one is much better balanced and an interesting beer. I've actually had this a few times before, and it's something I've always enjoyed, even if it's not my favorite of Unibroue's offerings. Everyone seemed to enjoy it though, and it's probably a good gateway craft beer. B
• Southampton Biere De Mars - A very nice looking beer, with a nice spicy aroma and a flavor that is quite unusual, but still drinkable. The consensus among attendees was somewhat mixed, but I enjoyed it, even if it's not exactly a favorite. There's a flavor there that I couldn't quite place, but which made this a rather unique tasting beer. Fellow beer club members had a similar feeling. I'll give it a tentative B
• Ommegang Rare Vos - One of my all time favorites, I've actually got a bottle of this in the fridge, so expect a full review... at some point. A great beer though, and very popular with the beer club crowd, even with the non-beer nerds.
• Victory Prima Pils - I have had many of these over the years, and it's one of those beers that tastes very different out of the bottle than it does on tap. And honestly, I think I prefer the bottled version. For a pilsner style beer, it's extremely hoppy, but I rather like that distinction. Well worth a try, and probably something I'll give a more thorough review to later. For now, I'll leave it as a B+
• Oskar Blues Gordon Imperial Red Ale (aka G'Knight) - One of my contributions for the night, and a solid DIPA. Expect a full review at some point in the near future. Beer club crowd seemed to enjoy it, despite it's hoppy nature.
• Peak Organic Simcoe Spring Ale - It's got that pine resin aroma and flavor from the Simcoe hops, but it's otherwise a pretty standard IPA. Not particularly popular with the overall beer club crowd, but it's solid, if nothing special. B
• Long Trail Pollenator - Holy shit, is this a terrible beer. And of course, I ended up taking more of this than most other brews. I immediately regretted the decision. Tasted like skunked piss. My first F since starting the blog.
• Oscar Blues Ten Fidy - A very roasty 10.5% stout. I enjoyed it, but those who don't typically go in for stouts didn't seem to care for it. Not to get all sexist or anything, but all the guys seemed to enjoy it, while the females seemed to dislike. I have a couple more of these, so expect a full review at some point in the indeterminate future.
• Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy - Smells and tastes of a sorta carbonated lemonade. Very little beer flavor and I really did not enjoy, though some of the more girly beer club members seemed to like it. D
• Blue Point Spring Fling - A very average pale ale. Not bad, but absolutely nothing special about it. Profoundly average beer. C
• My Homebrew Tripel - I brought a nice 22 oz bottle of my tripel, which has really undergone a transformation since bottling. I've been trying about one bottle per week since I bottled, and it's gone from an overly-sweet and under-carbonated beer to something much more drinkable. It used to be a very bright orange color, but it has since matured into a more appropriate lightish brown color. The taste is still a little too sweet and too alcoholly, but it's still a pretty good attempt, and I have a feeling it will mellow out with more time. Expect a more thorough review of this homebrew at some point. If nothing else, I do believe it came out better than my first attempt. This was one of the first beers we opened though, and someone did mention that it could have been a bit of a palate-killer because it's so intense (but luckily most people only took a small sample). It certainly was a strong beer - more than one person commented that they got the sorta wine-flush feeling from the alchohol. So far, I'm pretty happy with this beer, and I think it's only been getting better with time.
• Dana's Maibock Homebrew - Fantastic homebrew brewed by my friend Dana from a Mr. Beer specialty kit. Very sweet with a nice tang in the finish that I couldn't quite place. Still, very enjoyable beer, maybe my favorite from Dana's homebrewing efforts. Most of the Mr. Beer stuff is pretty average (and Dana also brought a Red Ale which was pretty normal stuff), but their specialty kits seem to produce some really good beers, and this one is a prime example (I also rather enjoyed Dana's specialty Tripel from a while back). We made a deal to trade some of my tripel with some of her maibock. Excellent stuff

So yeah, I suppose you could take the ratings above with a grain of salt (as conditions were not optimal for tasting), but I think the ones I actually rated are pretty accurate. And several of the others will be reviewed on this blog in the near future. It may seem like the above are pretty low, and there were definitely a couple of real stinkers, but some of the ones I didn't provide a rating for will most likely come in to the B to A range, so there were definitely some great beers that were available tonight...

All in all, another successful outing for the beer club. I was surprised at the amount of beer that we ended up getting through, even if we did leave some of the beers pictured above unopened (though I will say that the only unopened beer that I've never had before was the Breckenridge Vanilla Porter). As always, I'm already looking forward to next month!

This week's double feature was a whopper. Barleywines are among the strongest beer styles out there (both of the below beers are over 11% ABV), so I knew I was in for an interesting night. From a filmic perspective, I was going to try and match the intensity of the style, but decided to go another route and perhaps contrast the style with something a little more lighthearted. As luck would have it, Netflix sent me an intriguing double feature this week: For Your Height Only and Challenge of the Tiger (both on the same disc, no less). If you haven't heard of them, I don't blame you. They're both pretty horrible films, but I was hoping for a "so bad they're good" experience out of them.

For Your Height Only is basically a Bond knock-off starring 3 foot tall filipino martial arts master, Weng Weng. Ok, so maybe he's not a martial arts "master", but it's a pretty fun film in that respect. Weng uses his height to full advantage, often sneaking up behind low objects, sliding across the floor, and of course, he punches nearly everyone in the crotch. In one particularly rousing scene, he takes on some tough guys with the help of a tall woman, who basically throws him at their enemies. It's very amusing. The story is absolutely dreadful, but manages to hit all the Bondian notes it should (there's even a jetpack!). Challenge of the Tiger was one of a long series of cash-ins on the popularity of Bruce Lee. After Lee's death, a number of imitators appeared, and chief among them was, of course, Bruce Le. Heh. Ultimately, I ended up paying much less attention to this film, though I have to admit that I was surprised by the amount of nudity and sex on screen here. Oh, and there's some martial arts and fighting too. Ultimately, both these movies suck, but I am easily amused, and these actually made a reasonable match for the Barleywines. Speaking of which:

BrewDog and Mikkeller Collaboration: Devine Rebel - Scottish brewery BrewDog has been making a name for themselves with some very extreme beers. They were one of the crazy breweries attempting to make the strongest beer in the world, achieving and losing that status multiple times in an arms race that seems to have only recently ended. I believe they currently hold the record with a 55% ABV behemoth called The End of History (which you may recognize as the beer that's packaged inside a rodent carcass). Interestingly, they also make a 0.5% ABV beer called Nanny State (apparently a response to uptight government officials worried about the brewery's pursuit of the strongest beer title). Clearly, these guys are not to be messed with.

Enter Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, a crazy Danish homebrewer and self-described "gipsy-brewer" who takes his show on the road, brewing his beers at different breweries throughout the world. He has a home base of sorts at the Mikkeller Bar in Copenhagen, but that is not a brewery. He releases his beers under the Mikkeller brand, and I suspect the fact that he doesn't actually own a brewery is partly why his beers tend to cost so much. Clearly Mikkeller and BrewDog are a match made in heaven, so when Mikkel heads over to Scottland to collaborate on this beer, titled Devine Rebel, you know the results will at least be interesting. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why Devine is spelled with an "e" there (instead of the more traditional "Divine"). Maybe it's one of them alternate British spellings of the same word, or who knows, maybe Mikkel is an amateur astronomer and named his beer after an asteroid. Whatever the case, it's quite an eclectic brew. Partially aged in Speyside whisky barrels* and utilizing both an ale yeast and a champagne yeast, I was expecting a lot out of this beer, and boy did it live up to expectations.

Pours a very nice deep brown color with some amber highlights and a rather small head. Smells of sweet fruit and, in particular, raisins, with some alcohol present in the nose as well. Taste starts off sweet, fruity and rich, with some of those raisins and maybe some of that scotch whisky character as well. Some sticky alcohol in the finish. The real star here is the texture: silky smooth, rich and creamy. Full bodied, but lightly carbonated and very easy to drink. I have to say that I'm impressed. Well balanced but powerful, unique but approachable, amazingly complex and intriguing but not overly weird, this is a really fantastic beer. The best I've had in a while, this one just hit me at the perfect time I guess. A

Beer Nerd Details: 12.1% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a goblet. Batch 243, bottled on 7/5/09 (so not quite two years in the bottle, but close).

Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot - Not quite as storied or intriguing as the Devine Rebel, this local offering certainly has a wonderfully evocative name (put a few of these down in short succession, and you'll probably be living up to the name). Pours a deep reddish brown color (a little lighter than the Devine Rebel) and another small head. Smells sweet and a little spicy. Dark fruit and raisins are there, but not anywhere near as prominently as they are in the Devine Rebel, and there's a distinct yeastiness in the nose as well. Taste is very sweet and fruity, but less complex. Mouthfeel is smooth, but not as much as the Devine Rebel, and the flavors are nowhere near as rich. Carbonation is about the same and it is rather reasy to drink. I've had a few of these before and I do enjoy them, but it's not nearly as well balanced or complex as the Devine Rebel. B

Beer Nerd Details: 11.1% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass.

I've got a few more Blithering Idiots in the fridge right now, and given the fact that this style ages well (part of the reason it's called a Barleywine is that it can be aged, like wine) I think I'll let them stay there for a while. In the meantime, I'm going to try and find me some more Mikkeller beers (and BrewDog beers, for that matter). It looks like the 2010 version of Devine Rebel came out a bit stronger (13.8% ABV!), so I'll have to try and find me some of that as well.

* I expect a certain Scotch loving reader will be salivating at this particular detail.