Never imagined what the opposite of a Belgian White Ale was...

The Bruery in Placentia, CA is all over the Southwest Brewing News and other beer publications. Unfortunately, they're in California and....ah....I'm not. So, imagine my surprise and good fortune, when I found a number of their beers at BevMo! in Phoenix. So, I grabbed a Black Orchard for me and a Orchard White (wow, sorta like a chessboard...) for my sister-in-law. The one getting reviewed today is the Black Orchard. The Orchard White is quite tasty, but I didn't get enough to really do a full on review.

Appearance - Appropriately black for the name, cola colored head, mild carbonation except the head which reminds me of a coke, lots of sediment at the end. - 4.0/5.0

Smell - Sweet, malty, spicy, little bit of tart cherry and curant - 4.0/5.0

Taste - The wheat and Belgian spices blend well together. Sweet, but not terribly so. Cherry, caramel, blackberry and some breadiness. 4.5/5.0

Feel - Full, frothy, excellent mouth coverage and a mildly sweet aftertaste. 5.0/5.0

Drinkability - Excellent! Makes me want to take a road trip to Cali! 4.0/5.0

Santa Rosa - Not the NM one...

I was at the Active 20-30 International Convention in Santa Rosa, CA last week. Northern California is a lot of fun - lots of breweries and wineries, plus I've got a bunch of family and friends out there. I had heard about Russian River Brewing, and was glad to actually get a chance to visit it. I got to go there twice, so instead of a buttload of posts, we'll just consolidate into one fat post.

The brewery itself is a chill place - could tell that there were some definite regulars who frequent there. The first night we swung in, I got a pint of their Consecration - a 10% ABV American Wild Ale (i.e. sour style). Thursday, we came for my buddy's birthday and had some tasty beer bites as appetizers and started off with a pitcher of the Little White Lie, their Belgian White Ale. Followed that up with a pint of Pliny the Elder, then got a mega-sampler of beers that we ended up sharing with the table.

Pliny the Elder was probably one of the best beers I've ever had. I had heard a lot about both this one and Pliny the Younger, so definitely had to try it.

Appearance - A creamy head with medium carbonation and a golden amber color. Pretty standard looking for the IPA style. 4.0/5.0

Smell - Lots of piney hops - definitely the most definite feature of the aroma. 4.5/5.0

Taste - Hoppy, but not bitter. Some citrus and a lightly bitter aftertaste. The mix of the malt and hops are perfect. As mentioned in previous Imperial IPA posts, I get the impression that Imperial IPAs are either over the top or delightfully subdued. This fits into the latter. The hops are flavorful and the bitterness is perfect - 5.0/5.0

Feel - Extremely smooth, not as bitter as I would expect. Aftertaste is refreshing and has a good amount of flavor. 5.0/5.0

Drinkability - I think I would have this thing on tap at my house at all times. 5.0/5.0

My notes for the other two beers aren't terribly complete - talking with friends and family precluded good note taking! But here's the brief on them:

Little White Ale - a Belgian style White Ale. Refreshing with a nice kick of spice that you would expect in any Belgian style beer. I would say that the amount of spice and coriander in this beer is more than most other Belgian beers I've had. Definitely drinkable - if you like a lighter beer, try this one.

Consecration - an American Wild ale. If you are wanting to try something...unique, I would suggest grabbing a pint of this one. Sour...but not so bad as the Lips of Faith that I had from New Belgium. I think one pint was enough of this, but was worth a try for sure. At 10% ABV, will definitely kick you in the butt. The local guy who suggested this called it their "weird beer" - can definitely see why.

Either it's going to blow, or be an explosion of taste....

I will give Full Sail some serious credit for a cool name - Vesuvius has a lot of "uumph" behind it...not just liquid hot "magma". The Full Sail Vesuvius Belgian Style Golden Ale comes in a 22 oz bomber, which is priced at a bargin at $3.99. I've been on a dark beer kick lately, so having something more on the lighter end of the spectrum was very welcome.

Appearance - light white head, bubbly, golden, slight cloudiness, very little lacing - 3.5

Smell - definitely belgian; coriander, lemon, sweet and a bit funky - 2.5

Taste - Oddly mellow, malt is the high point and the belgian spices are pretty subdued. Tart apple, clove and banana flavors, but pretty mild. - 3.5

Feel - a bit syrupy, good mellow mouth coating, sweeter finish actually like how it feels. - 4.0

Drinkability - for $3.99, it sure wasn't bad. Maybe not a regular brew, but something I would have again if offered - 3.5

Three Philosophers not named Moe, Larry & Curly

This corked bottle looked particularly interesting as Tina took me on a little beer shopping spree at Jubliation for my birthday this past weekend. Did I tell you it was my birthday on the 28th? If you feel bad about not knowing, I'd be happy to accept some delicious beers as an apology. But birthday side the point, the Ommegang Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend is a pretty potent beer, weighing in at 9.8% ABV (a fact that was not noticed until I uncorked this sucker). Another interesting facet of this beer is the fact that it has 2% cherry ale blended into it.




Appearance - A really foamy, light almond head starts off the beer and sticks around the side of the glass for a good few minutes. The beer itself is a dark amber color, opaque in the lower 4.0/5.0


Smell - A sweet malt aroma is the key scent of this brew. True to the ingredients in it, you can get some tart cherry in the nose. 3.5/5.0


Taste - Definitely a Belgian beer with all of the spices that I would expected in a Dubbel/Trippel/Quadrepel beer, but the tart and mildly sweet cherry flavor (which isn't overpowering - you're not drinking a cider here) adds a very different spin. It subdues the normal spiciness of the Belgian beer, then adds a level of tartness that finishes off each taste. While highly alcoholic, you can't taste it... 4.0/5.0

Feel - Smooth at the beginning and end, but really sharp flavor in the middle. Finishes clean and doesn't have really anything to speak of for an aftertaste. - 4.0/5.0

Drinkability - While an interesting beer, not quite my type of beer. - 3.0/5.0

Raisin Denter

Dogfish Head Brewing puts out some...interesting beers. I really enjoy their 60 and 90 Minute IPAs, but I've heard of some of their brews where they use some gold dust or something. I saw this one at BevMo! and figured, it can't possibly be awful, so why not?

The Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre pours really well - a nice rich mahogony/amber color. Expect some nice oaky, malt aroma with a hint of sweetness. Nothing that special, but good. The taste was different too - you definitely had a smooth roasted malt flavor, with this hint of sweet raisin and banana. Definitely a punch of alcohol in the taste too, so take that or leave it, it's what you're going to get. The aftertaste has more malt to it, which was nice. A good beer, but not one I'd probably go and get a lot, given it's pretty pricy (I think it was $10 a six pack).

Appearance - 4.5/5.0 - nice rich mahogony color, amber
Smell -3.0/5.0 - oaky malt smell - nothing that special about the aroma
Taste - 3.5/5.0 - smooth, malt, raisin, banana, little bit of roasted flavor, crisp, aftertaste is malty and very nice; lots of alcohol taste (a bit overpowering)
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - aftertaste is very refreshing and malty, - 4.0
Drinkability - 3.5/5.0 - very good beer, but maybe not what I would spend 10 bucks on regularally

Invasion of the Belgians Part Uno

Arizona is awesome - it's one of my favorite places to just get out of town and relax. Plus, the beer distribution there is intensely better than in New Mexico. I went over to Papago Brewing Co. and had a couple beers and as I was getting ready to leave, the waitress told me to check out the beer coolers. They offer a deal where you can get a mix-and-match six-pack for $8.50 of all sorts of different types of beers. I can't find too many Great Divide beers in the Burque, so this Belgian-style IPA sounded tasty.

At first glance, the Belgica Belgian-Style IPA had a decent (expected) golden color with a light cloudiness to it. The head was ok - sticking around for a little bit. The aroma was more subdued than I probably would like or would have expected with a beer that was a IPA and Belgian. There was some flowery scents, but it seemed more malty than hoppy (like an IPA) or spicy (like a Belgian beer). Well, the flavor was where you could get the unique flavor blend. There was definite spicy and citrus - lemon, orange, clove and honey. The hop and bitterness that is characteristic of an IPA was there too. It seemed like the beer would float between being an Belgian beer to an IPA as the beer worked through the flavors. It was a different type of beer - would have it again, but not one I'd keep constantly stocked.

Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - slightly cloudy, good head retention, golden color
Smell - 3.0/5.0 - hop aroma is subdued, a little flowery but not much; more malty than anything
Taste - 4.5/5.0 - spicy and malty - harmonious blend of the two styles; very complementary - got the different spices you'd expect in a belgian beer but also bitterness and sharp taste of an ipa
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Lingers for a bit as it works through the different styles of beers
Drinkability- 3.5/5.0 - Different type of taste which is refreshing; sorta wish the aroma was there too

I have no idea how to pronounce anything in this beer, but Chimay

Just FYI, I don't own a pineapple table cloth. I stole this image from the internets, as my camera phone didn't produce a quality image. Anyway, I got this Chimay Ale Peres Trappistes Premiere bomber as a nice gift for watching our buddy Henry (a poodle) for the weekend. I've seen Chimay around town, but haven't had a good time to try it until now!

This beer just looked pretty as I poured it. A really nice rich brown color and nutty malt aroma. The head was exceptionally foamy, but not in a bad way. The taste was really spicy, but had a champagne like taste to it with a bitter finish. As you'd expect with champagne, this beer had a sharpness to it and the carbination was a bit bubbly. There was some sweetness too, but it was not overpowering. I'd get this beer again for a special occasion.

Are there enough 9s in the name for ya?

The nines are very enticing - almost hypnotic. Like the Stone Gargoyle Dude is getting into your head and ordering you to buy Stone beer...do it! Anyway, the Vertical Epic series of beers are released annually according to dates when all of the numbers are the same (i.e. 09/09/09, 08/08/08, etc...). Each beer is a different Belgian take on a beer style. There have been some Belgian Witbiers, Pale Ales, IPAs, stouts, etc... The 9/9/09 Vertical Epic is a Belgian style Porter...not two types of beer I would ever think about fusing together.

At first glance, the brew looks pitch black with a big tan head. Good retention on the head, which was nice. The complex aroma had elements of spice, orange and vanilla. So, definitely a suprise on the scent side. The flavor hits it out of the park. You get the spicy, robust kick that is combined with orange, coffee, tanginess and a hint of bitterness. It tastes like a flavorful porter had a love child with a good spicy Belgian beer. Expect an extremely smooth taste that goes down easy and leaves the aftertaste of the variety of flavors for a bit.

Would definitely pick this one up again, presuming I could find it.
This was a remarkably tasty beer - I've had it twice. Once at Papago Brewing in Scottsdale, where I got it on draft. 2nd time was in one of the bombers that I purchased. While the draft was superior, you can expect that in whatever form you get the Vertical Epic, it's good.

Oh, a note - Stone recommends that you cellar this beer until 12/12/12. Fat chance in my house. If you can hold off enjoying this beer for another 3 years, you're a better person than I.

Appearance - 5.0 - big tan head; dark; good retention
Smell - 4.0 - spicy; orange, vanilla
Taste - 5.0 - a unique blend of spicy, fruit, orange, hint of bitterness, definitely a belgian beer but stout like a porter. Weird combo but excellent
Feel - 5.0 - very smooth; goes down easy
Drinkability - 5.0 hells yea - good

Kelly's Belgium Dubbel

Mama D really enjoys Kelly's - I think that everytime she's in town, we end up going there. That usually works for me, as the food is good enough and the beer is tasty. I've brewed beer there, which is a blast, and the brewers themselves are very knowledgable. Having learned this the hard way, I've had a few instances where I didn't necessary get what beer I ordered. It hasn't gone all that well and there was one instance where I had ordered a Hefeweizen and received a Dunkelweizen instead and I had to argue how it wasn't physically possible that what I got was a Hefeweizen. But I digress.

This time around, I got the Belgium Dubbel. The Kelly's folk call it a double strength Belgium, and I can see that. The beer has a very interesting smell, bordering on sweet. You get a really smooth taste with a bit of malt and NO aftertaste at all and extremely low bitterness (only 30 IBUs). The Belgium Dubbel also had some nice clove, cinnamon and hint of fruit to it, which is pretty characteristic of the Belgium type beers. With a 6.3% ABV, this beer has some strength behind it, but not a beer that you drink and feel you got punched in the face.

Not a bad brew if I do say - I tried the Robust Porter as well, but that is a beer for another day!