Name: Ch'ti Blonde
Brewed In/Type: France / Saison
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $1.99 (clearance)
Dennis: Another Ch'ti beer as Jen says :) The smell of this at first is really sweet malts in the aroma. But the taste really isn't that malty, the body comes across really light and lowly carbonated. There's a slight twange, but I doubt its from the alcohol as it's only 6.4%. It's interesting, but probably something you'd mostly likely enjoy on a really hot summer day.
Jen: I have not been overly impressed with all of the Ch'ti brews, they all seem to be just okay. The taste is of sweet but very light caramel malts with some spice and fruits mixed in. There is also some weird kick to it at the end, like some alcoholy hoppiness but not really done all that well. The body is quite thin, and the carbonation is almost flat-like. Boring, but not bad.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

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Name: Great Divide: Old Ruffian
Brewed In/Type: Denver, CO / Barleywine
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $6.99 22oz
Dennis: This can now be known as the beer that restored my faith in Great Divide. Between the Hercules IPA mess and walking into their brewery and having them ignore us, I was all done with them. But this barley wine is so well done I have to tip my hat. The aroma has it's typical syrupy overtones, but as with all great barley wines this one has a hop bite that takes it to the next level. For the alcohol content (10%) this is not as thick as you'd expect, and the exhale gives you this wonderful alcohol twinge, with a hop bite and slight malts. Honestly just a damn good beer.
Jen: Okay, Great Divide is back in my good graces with this brew. This Barley wine starts off with a nice whiff of candied dark fruits and piney hops. The taste only adds to the smell. There is a minor backbone of malts, but the prominent flavor is the hops. There is a definite caramel and brown sugar, but what really makes this a good brew is the ass kicking of hoppy goodness at the end. We may have to purchase this again :)
Rating: 4 out of 5

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Name: Avery: New World Porter
Brewed In/Type: Boulder, CO / Porter
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $8.99 6 pack
Dennis: Never one to truly enjoy Porters, I was hesitant to try this. I did enjoy that it seemed to have more prevalent hops that other porters, and came across with more roasted malts than buttery sweetness. Over all I'd have to say it is definitely drinkable.
Jen: Okay, so I really only expect the best from Avery every time I pick up one of their brews, so, this being a porter, I was ready for a soft let down. But it never came. The brew smells of toasty malts with a mild smokey background. The taste brings more of the same. A blend of toasted malts and roasted coffee beans with a hint of baking chocolate. This is a very different porter, as it is dry-hopped to give it that little something at the end. This may not be my favorite, but it rose up to the occasion.
Rating: 4 out of 5

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Name: Mendocino: Black Hawk Stout
Brewed In/Type: Saratoga Springs, NY / Stout
Bought at/Price: Woodman's / $5.99 6pack
Dennis: At first I was a little confused by this stout, while the smell gave me a slight sour twinge everything seemed on track. But when I tasted it, I felt it came across a little thin and overly hoppy. It has a slight burnt sourness on the exhale, with a hoppy bitterness. It's not a bad beer by any means, it's just not what I was expecting from a stout. If you are not a fan of stouts, and want something to ease into with a bit more hops than you'd find normally, then this is your man bird.
Jen: This brew is quite perplexing. It seems like a stout at first, but towards the end, I just feel like I am drinking a dark ale. The taste is very well done with a roasted coffee flavor backed with smokey malts and a mild caramel sweetness. The body just seems a bit thin for a stout. I like this, but I am disappointed with the mouthfeel.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5

Posted by Dennis Judd at 11:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Name: Dennis and Jennifer's Wedding Ale
Brewed In/Type: Algonquin, Illinois / Cherry Stout
Bought at/Price: Homebrewed as our wedding favors
Dennis: Aside from being one of the finest brews we have made, it also shares the distinction of being the first. We brewed this together as a gift for those attending our wedding. Based on a Cherry Stout recipe, this low carbonation brew (due to the bottle carbonation) offers a mellow stout with a deep tang of cherry extract on top of it. And we're 90% sure it won't make us blind :)
Jen: For our first homebrew, we seem to have done a pretty decent job, and good thing, because we handed it out as wedding favors! This is a hoppy, light bodied cherry stout. The fruit flavors are not too overwhelming, but a nice accent to the end along with the hoppy bitter "bam"! The body isn't true to a stout, but I think that we did a nice job trying to incorporate something a little different, but fun. For those of you who picked one up at our wedding, I hope you enjoy it, or at least think of us when you sip it!
Rating: x out of 5

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Name: Unibroue: Trois Pistoles
Brewed In/Type: Chambly, Quebec / Dark Belgian Ale
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $18.99 variety pack (8 12oz bottles)
Dennis: For some unknown reason to me, my first sip reminded me of when I was a kid eating a grape tootsie roll pop (damn I still love those things). The taste and aroma are classic Unibroue, but there's a certain fruity tart bitterness that really adds something special. You can really taste the alcohol compared to other brews (9% alcohol). I think this time they laid off the Belgian sugars and let the bitter come through...with good results.
Jen: For Unibroue, this seems to have very few bubbles in it, although, it does have a very smooth flavor. The color of this beer is a rich and dark. I get a nice warm feel from the slight alcohol twinge in it. There is a mild presence of some fruits and sugar with a mild spiciness to it that leaves a tingle on my tongue. Other than their Ephemere, this is my most liked Unibroue's.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5

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Name: Ch'ti Brune
Brewed In/Type: France / Belgian Ale
Bought at/Price: Binny's / $1.99 750ml (clearance)
Dennis: This is definitely one of those beers that tastes better as you get further down the glass. A musty malty aroma dominates this beer, while the taste really amplifies the same. Originally I swear I got a slight metallic taste that seemed to vanish halfway through the glass. Kind of reminds me of what a musty old butterscotch candy you found in a forgotten pocket of your grandmothers purse would taste like. Oh yeah, and it had been in the basement for 15 years. Even for the discounted price I don't know if I'd recommend this, but I wouldn't turn it away if it was given to me. Tough call....
Jen: I am happy that we purchased this on clearance, as I am not overly impressed with it. I can immediately smell the sweet malts with a mild creamy undertone. The taste is more of the same. It has sweet malts backed with a creamy mouth feel. I also sense a little roastiness to it, along with some caramel candy sweetness. I don't find this to be all that impressive, but it is decent, but not great.
Rating: 2.75 out of 5

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Name: Great Lakes: Blackout Stout
Brewed In/Type: Cleveland, OH / Russian Imperial Stout
Bought at/Price: Woodman's / $8.99 4pack
Dennis: They say some good can come from everything bad. This beer is based off the 2003 power outage that affected a lot of the northeastern US. Smelling of roasty malts the beer tastes like what you would expect from an imperial stout, strong dark chocolate tastes combined with burnt toast hints. I"m sure there are some hop somewhere but I can't pick them out from the rich taste. Certainly no the richest/thickest Imperial stout I've had, but at 9% it certianly will keep you warm at night. But as the label shows, any friend who shows up with $53 bucks of beer in a black out is always welcome.
Jen: As a general rule of thumb, Great Lakes makes some outstanding beers. This one seems to fall short by just a hair. It starts with a nice scent of roasted malts. The taste follows up nicely with a dry espresso taste and dark chocolate (not creamy like milk chocolate, more like a Hersheys Special Dark mini bar). There is a definite dryness to this that leaves your mouth with a taste that lingers only for a short while. On the exhale, I get a twinge of the 9% alcohol. The body of this beer is just too thin for me, and that is where this brew falls up a hair short. I feel a Russian Imperial Stout should coat your mouth and hang around for a while after swallowing. I would, however, never turn this down, as I am a stout lover and this is a very good one to have!
Rating: 4 out of 5

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