#strongbeers

[grosswildjaeger]

I had my last 5 batches tested, so I can make legally correct labels. What can I say. There’s some serious beers incoming. 😂🍻 I am pretty happy with the results. Apart from the rauchbier, that went way to high. But those numbers give an idea of where you end up with the bt150 and about 100l of bottled beer if ou Max out mash capability. #brewtools #brewtoolsb150pro #homebrewnumbers #strongbeer #strongbeers #stout #barleywine #saisonbeer #rauchbeer #rauchbier #belgiantriple #shrinkbrew (hier: Pratteln, Switzerland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBSRzwPpkI-/?igshid=1kz6iu52tvfk1

[zoobowler299]

Pink elephant club and one strong beer #belgium🇧🇪 #brussels🇧🇪 #strongbeers the four level bar for some after school fun and relaxation (at Delirium Café)

[carterdrinksbeer]

Review - Bell's The Oracle DIPA

ABV: 10%

Availability: Late summer

Price: Got two 12 oz bottles at Spirits in Northport for (I think) $2.80 each. I believe they had six-packs for $17.

Appearance: Cloudy pale gold. Small white head but pretty significant lacing.

Nose: Pine, citrus, and sweet malt. Surprisingly subdued aroma for a DIPA.

Taste: Very piney and citrusy, with a backbone of sweet caramel malt. Herbal and a touch spicy.

Body/Mouthfeel: Pretty thick and oily-syrupy. The finish is drier than you might expect based on the mouthfeel. Warm and boozy.

Thoughts: The description on Bell's website makes a big deal of this beer being hop-forward and not very malty, but I don't see it. At 10% it's pretty hefty and that shows in the big malt sweetness and boozy finish. It's just hoppy enough and not quite so strong to reach that "barleywine in all but name" territory of, say, Devil Dancer or DFH 120, but it's close. Pretty solid overall, but not what I was expecting. 

[carterdrinksbeer]

Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break

ABV: 11.5%

Availability: Year round

Price: $12.50 for this 22 oz bomber

Appearance: Black and *thick* - not on the level of, say, Bourbon County Stout, but close. Just the slightest bit of tan head.

Nose: Deep, roasty coffee and bready, chocolatey malts.

Taste: Like the nose but far more extravagant. Rich, dark chocolate, roasty coffee, and dark, earthy/bready malts. All those flavors mix together and just give you this incredible dark, luscious flavor that I found amazing. Towards the end, there's also a strong vanilla note, and it all fades to a smooth, creamy, slightly bitter finish.

Body/Mouthfeel: Full and thick, though not quite as thick as the appearance suggests. Finish is drier than you would expect and just slightly astringent, which is really my only complaint here (I'd prefer the lasting aftertaste to be a bit fuller and creamier).

Final Thoughts: Oh my goodness, what an incredible beer! Like Founders Breakfast Stout on steroids. Other than the small complaint I mentioned about the dryness of the finish, I adored this beer. It's everything that a dark, strong, malt-forward beer should be. It's a bit on the expensive side but not too bad, and being available year-round is a big plus.

[carterdrinksbeer]

Stone Imperial Russian Stout

ABV: 11%

Availability: Once/year

Price: $9 for this 22 oz bomber

Appearance: Jet black, with a quickly-vanishing tan head. No noticeable lacing.

Nose: Bitter coffee and dark chocolate. Just a touch of hops.

Taste: The dominant flavor is bitter coffee, backed by hints of chocolate, bitter hops, and a touch of yeastiness. Towards the end there's a definite note of anise/licorice, which lingers all the way into the finish. The finish also features a rather astringent bitterness.

Mouthfeel/Body: Full but not especially thick for an imperial stout. On the whole it's surprisingly dry and astringent - very unusual for the style, which tend to be thicker and creamier. Perhaps Stone uses a particularly attenuative yeast strain for this?

Final Thoughts: Good, but far from my favorite imperial stout. I like them with a fuller body, and with more chocolate and less anise flavor than Stone IRS has. I do very much like that it's a unique take on the style - when you've had a lot of imperial stouts like I have, they can tend to run together. But IRS has being doing its own thing compared to the rest of the style for 10ish years now (a pretty long time in craft beer terms). It's an interesting deviation, but not one to my taste.

[carterdrinksbeer]

Stone RuinTen (Double IPA)

ABV: 10.8%

Availability: Once/year

Price: $9 for this 22 oz bomber

Appearance: It's a clear, deep golden color. Pretty. Just the smallest bit of off-white head, with a touch of lacing.

Nose: A big burst of floral, citrusy hops. 

Taste: Start with a light touch of sweet caramel malt, followed by an explosion of hops. Tropical and citrus fruits are the dominant flavors - I particularly tasted pineapple, tangerine, and lemon. The malt backbone is definitely there, but it's subtle; enough to give balance to the beer without taking any spotlight off the hop flavors. It finishes with a lingering but not overpowering bitterness and a light spicy kick.

Body/Mouthfeel: Full, but not thick. Finishes pretty dry, all things considered.

Final thoughts: A very very solid DIPA, though I would stop short of calling it one of my favorites. Drinking it does reaffirm that, despite their reputation for overpowering hoppiness, Stone is better than just about anyone at creating balance in strong-flavored beer. Arrogant Bastard, for instance, is one of the few Strong Ales out there that manages to achieve a harmonious balance of strong malt and hop flavors. RuinTen gives the limelight to the hops, but there's just enough malt to support them and keep them from overpowering the taste buds.