Finally...Utopias!!

You are probably going - "Hey, Deshayes - did you forget about this little beer blog of yours?" Nope - I have been busy making sure that we had an awesome Active 20/30 event. Yup, we had an adult kickball charity tournament. Kickball, you ask? We had 450 ADULTS playing kickball at the same time. We had a blast and made some money for charity, so I can't complain. Congrats to Team Whatevzies who ended up being the top of 27 teams and winning $2,000 for being just dominant kickballers.

Anyway, it's on to the main event. At Christmas, I received a beer snob's dream - a bottle of Samuel Adams Utopias. Only four bottles of this made it to the Land of Enchantment - specifically, one went to the Triangle Grocery in the east mountains. If you haven't been to the Triangle, I'd suggest making a trip out there. They have an amazing beer, wine and spirits selection and the gentleman who runs it is really in the know.

I finally tapped the bottle of Utopias. That means, I held it from December 2009 to late April 2010...ridiculous. But it was well worth the wait.

Appearance - Coloring is consistent with iced tea and burnt brown sugar, obviously no carbonation, coats the glass lightly. Not opaque, but foreshadows some of the smells and flavors being a clearer beer. - 5.0/5.0

Smell - Sweet brown sugar, smells like a port or sherrie, alcohol, fruity, caramel, reminds me of a fine liquor. Sweetness is definitely the key smell, but not overpowering due to the presense of alcohol. Would have preferred less sweetness. 4.0/5.0

Taste - Smoke, tart fruit (plum and apple), vanilla, caramel, raisin. Excellent taste - I can imagine this would pair well with a lighter sweetdessert. Beer advocate says cheese - which I could maybe see. 5.0/5.0

Feel - Warms your throat and extremely smooth, with a different type of aftertaste. Doesn't finish sweet, but almost like a fine brandy with a tart plum. You can hold it in your mouth to extract the flavor, but it doesn't burn like you had a shot of vodka. Excellent mouth coverage. 5.0/5.0

Drinkability - Would definitely have it again. The small quantity is perfect and would be amazing after a fine dinner. The price is a bit daunting ($150 a bottle), which is the biggest thing against it. A small glass (say $15) would be great for a special occasion. - 4.0/5.0

Not just bastardly...DOUBLE bastardly!

The first time I had Arrogant Bastard was at Murphy's in Prescott, AZ. In fact, I think this was my first experience with the rough riders at Stone Brewing. A few months ago, Stone released the Double Bastard and the Oaked Double Bastard. I got to try both and they definitely were bastardly beers. I had the Oaked Double Bastard on cask at Papago Brewing and the standard Double Bastard in a bomber from BevMo.

The opaque, dark brown beer had a beautiful foamy light tan head. The alcohol scent was pretty potent, along with the strong malt. The Oaked Double Bastard was a silkier, richer beer, but the sourness was overpowering. The regular Double Bastard was more enjoyable, as it just wasn't soooo robust. Both versions featured a lot of woody flavors, with bourbon and oak. Lots of strong flavors, which leaned more on the oak side with the Oaked DB; the regular DB leaning more to molasses and a little hops. The carbonation of the regular DB was low, with the Oaked DB being much more smooth thanks to the hand pumped nature of the casked beer. The beer was a unique experience, but if I were to pick it up again, I'd go with the standard DB rather than the oaked one.

Appearance - 4.5/5.0 - blackhole of light, no light comes through, dark brown, beautiful foamy light tan head
Smell - 3.0/5.0 - malty, alcohol, oak, alcohol and alcohol.
Taste - Oaked Double Bastard = 3.5/5.0 - sour malt, alcohol, aftertaste is subdued but sour; Double Bastard = 4.0/5.0 - sourness is less potent, flavor is more enjoyable and less robusto.
Feel - 4.0/5.0 - Oaked Double Bastard had hand pumped smoothness, both had flavor that sticks around with the aftertaste
Drinkability - 2.5/5.0 - not what I expected, wanted a bit more; especially out of the Oaked Double Bastard

Put a Reserve on this one - you'll need it

I had a little taste of this brew, the Marble Reserve Ale, at the brewery a few weeks ago but hadn't had a chance to fully enjoy it. Thanks to my new friend, Raul, having some at the Triangle Grocery in Cedar Crest, I finally ended up getting a bottle. This beer has been aged in barrels of Woodford Reserve for 8 months, really infusing the ale with that delicious bourbon taste.

Pours an auburn hue with an obvious thickness. The head is creamy tan and doesn't go away at all. The bourbon aroma is heavenly and very appetizing. I had a moment when I took my first sip - the rich, sweet bourbon flavor is powerful and delicious. You'll also get some vanilla and woodesy oak taste. Creamy would be the best way to describe the consistency - the vescocity of the beer really coats your mouth and the glass. The strength of the brew (at a whomping 9%) doesn't overpower your mouth though, as that could have a downside of the beer. Instead, it is a very clean beer that leaves your palate demanding more. Wish I could get this beer all the time, but there is something said for it being selectively available - you really appreciate it when you have it. If you can still find this at Quarters, Kelly's, Jubliation, or the Triangle Grocery (in the east mountains), it runs about $12-$14 a bomber and well worth it.

Apperance - 4.0/5.0 -Pretty auburn hue with a creamy tan head
Smell - 4.0/5.0 - Sweet bourbon aroma that isn't so overwhelming that you end up thinking you stuck your nose in a bottle of bourbon
Taste -5.0/5.0 - Creamy, sweet bourbon flavor that doesn't overpower your taste buds
Feel - 5.0/5.0 - Clean, smooth and creamy
Drinkability - 4.0/5.0 - Price tag is a big high, which makes this a very delicious, but OCCASIONAL, treat!

On the Road Again - 21st Amendment Brewery in San Fran

The one thing about my parents moving out to San Francisco is that going to visit them was WAY better than going to visit them in Los Alamos. San Francisco - you can see professional sporting events live, eat a lot of great food and hang out by real bodies of water. Los Alamos - you can watch professional sporting events on TV, maybe check out a movie and hang out...at the house. This last trip, before heading to the airport, we stopped at the 21st Amendment Brewery right near Giants stadium.

The first brew I had was the Double Trouble Imperial IPA. Whenever I can find an IPA with over 100 IBUs, I gotta try it and this beer comes in at 120 IBUs and a 9.8% ABV. Yikes! Fortunately, this was a masterfully blended beer. The hops go extremely well with each other, providing an extremely smooth taste with that sharp bitterness one would expect from a potent double IPA. The hops were very fragrantly fruity and enjoyable to just smell. Of course, you want to drink the beer, so can't just smell it all day. The beer was really clean on your tongue, with the taste oddly on the upper palate.

Taste - 5.0/5.0 - Wonderfully blended hops, deliciously smooth, lingering flavor, clean but sharp hop bitter taste
Smell - 4.5/5.0 - Fragrant fruity hops
Appearance - 4.5/5.0 - Nice solid head, amberesqe color
Feel - 4.5/5.0 - Smooth in mouth, lingers to back of mouth, clean on tongue (more on upper palate)
Drinkability - 5.0/5.0 - This beer was delicious - just dangerous to have a lot of.

The Monks Blood was the follow up to the Imperial IPA. This brew was extremely tasty, offering a nice blend of caramel, coffee and malt flavors with a medium body. With 35 IBUs, this beer has a hint of bitterness, but not much. The head was lacking on this one (sad face), but the color was a rich brown. You can smell the malt on this one, but it lack any alcohol scent, which was nice. No aftertaste on this one, you can expect the taste to be sharpest on the tip of your tongue, then fading as it goes down your throat. Be careful with this one, as it weighs in at 8.5% abv.

Taste - 4.5/5.0 - caramel, coffee, malt, oat - very tasty, medium body
Appearance - 3.5/5.0 - no head, but nice rich brown color
Smell - 3.5 - malty with oats - no alcohol scent
Feel - 4.0 - no aftertaste, taste sharpest on tip and middle of tongue
Drinkability - 4.0 - good beer, would definitely get again.