Breaky Beers

It's weird, I'm not one for coffee (or tea for that matter) yet I seem to really enjoy coffee porters and stouts.

Maybe its just that hot drinks do nothing for me... anyway, here's three recent variations on coffee porters I've had - even better two of them are ticks from the list!

206. Rogue Mocha Porter
Style: Porter. ABV: 5.3%. From: Drinkstore.ie 
Description: Poured a decent oily black with a tan head. Lots of coffee and bitter cocoa in the aroma, and some nice roasted malt in the background. Less coffee in the taste than you'd expect from the smell, more light frappuccino than espresso here, decent chocolate hint too. Some light roasted malt as a backbone. Dryish, with a mid to full body and a little bitterness on the finish.
Thoughts: Subtle, well balanced, quaff-able yet not boring. A great example of a light, interesting, but not overdone coffee porter. I'll be getting again.Score: 8 

207. Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
Style: Oatmeal Stout. ABV: 7.5%. From: Drinkstore.ie 
Description: Poured a deep black colour with brown head that didn't last very long. Roasted malt on the nose, bitter coffee, but there's a definite aroma of hops here too. Taste starts off all bitter coffee and toasted malt, but then the hops come through providing a can of floral bitterness at the end. Thick, resin like, but quite carbonated with it. Hides the ABV well.
Thoughts: I think expectations got to me here. I was waiting to be wowed  and it never happened. I personally thought it was too hoppy to really go with the coffee and oatmeal base. Not sure I'd buy again to be honest. But feel free to tell me I'm wrong (and why) in the comments!
Score: 6

Now for one outside the list

168. Flying Dog Kujo
Style: Imperial Stout. ABV: 8.9%. From: Light House Wines
Description: Dark with a tan head that disappeared really quickly. Lots of coffee on the nose and a big aroma of toasted malt. Taste eases back on the coffee (just a wee bit), there's some sweetness in here too, with a hint of wood and smoke. I also got a twang of apple (but that might just be me). Effervescent, yet creamy and smooth. Slightly oily and full bodied. 
Thoughts:I genuinely thought this would be way too much coffee for me; I was wrong - this was lovely. Though I could taste every % of the ABV - but in a good way - brings heat to what is a big, but quite well balanced, imperial stout. Go buy some!
Score: 7.5

I missed Beerclubbelfast's much anticipated beer and cheese night - looks like it was a cracker. Anyone who was there fill me in? Best beer, best cheese, best pairing?

Cheers

Refilling the beer box

The beer box was starting to look empty, fortunately a credit card cock-up left me in credit on my flexible friend! Well, I know how to make use of spare money... and fruitful trips to The Vineyard and Lighthouse Wines this week have helped build the collection up again! So, more new beers coming to a blog near you soon... but first a run down of a few recent tastings!

New Beers from the Lighthouse

Beer 183 from “1001 Beers...”

• Brugse Zot. Style: Belgian Ale. ABV: 6%. Purchased: The Vineyard

  

  Check out the head on that...

  Description: Light amber and slightly hazy. Might have been my crap pouring but this thing came out with a HUGE white head. I really didn't get too much aroma, some yeast and a bit of spice but nothing too strong. A bit of a tangy taste, some malt, some spice. Really fizzy, light to mid bodied, chalky finish.
  Thoughts: Another that might have been killed by expectations... I found this a wee bit all over the place, nothing very coherent. And nothing worth returning for – one of those beers I'm not sure why it made the list, but we all have different tastes!
  Score: 5.5

Beer 184 from “1001 Beers...”

• Thornbridge Kipling. Style: Pale Ale. ABV: 5.2%. Purchased: The Vineyard

Thornbridge Kipling

Description: Strong hazy yellow appearance, decent white head that lasted well. Lots of tropical fruit smells, pineapple and grapefruit. Lots of tropical hops to taste, but not too sweet or bitter – good balance. Light to mid body – coats your mouth slightly.
Thoughts: This is a great pale ale, really drinkable, well balanced. Another triumph for Thornbridge – one I'll definitely buy again
Score: 8

Beer 104 outside the list

• Gonny no brew that. Style: Golden Ale. ABV: 3.8%. Purchased: The Vineyard

Gonny no buy that again



Description: No head, dark yellow, clear. Very hoppy aroma – grapefruit and lemon rind. Again citrus fruit flavours, a little bitterness. Flat, slightly resin like finish.


Thoughts: Not sure I really got this... too flat for me.
Score: 5

Beer 105 outside the list

• Paulaner Oktoberfest. Style: Oktoberfest. ABV: 5.8%. Purchased: The Vineyard

A late Oktoberfest treat



Description: Straw colour, clear, with a good white head. No head, dark yellow, clear. A little bland smell-wise, some grain, not much else. Malty sweetness to taste, not real hops. Fizzy but light bodied.


Thoughts: Pretty middle of the road oktoberfest beer, drinkable but not very exciting.
Score: 6

Cheers

Quite the Wit

Expectations

There are some beers I have no real thoughts on before I try them. Take the Helles in the last blog; I'm not generally a fan of pale lagers and therefore wasn't expecting much. When a decent little beer came along I was nicely surprised and perhaps it scored a wee bit higher because it exceeded my expectations. Again I had no great preconceptions about the next beer :

Beer 168 from “1001 Beers...”

• Hitachino Nest White Ale. Style: Witbier, ABV: 5.5%. Purchased: LightHouse Wines
  
  Description: Light yellow and hazy. No head to speak of. Lemon aroma, with a hint of coriander and honey suckle. Slightly sweet tasting, with a nice spicyness (maybe some cloves) and wheat flavours. Light bodied with a little fizz.
  Thoughts: Lovely little witbier. Light, yet refreshing and the little bit of spicyness keeps it interesting. Perfect for a summer night, I could see me enjoying a few of these at a BBQ!
  Score: 7.5

Sometimes expectations are a bitch. There are some beers that you buy, and before even popping the cap you think “this is going to be great”...

Beer 74 outside the list

• Founders Pale Ale. Style: American Pale Ale, ABV: 5.5%. Purchased: LightHouse Wines

  Description: Dirty Yellow and Hazy. Next to no head. Not much aroma, some hoppy citrus notes. Light malt flavour, a little bitterness, mild floral touches. Light mouth feel, not very fizzy.
  Thoughts: And this is where expectation kicked in because (a) I really enjoyed their All Day IPA, and (b) it says Dry Hopped in the middle of the label. When I see Dry Hopped, I tend to read it as DRY HOPPED and expect a big hoppy bitter hit. And this beer just didn't deliver that. It is probably a fine beer, it just couldn't match up to what I was expecting...
  Score: 6

Beer 75 outside the list

• Founders Centennial IPA. Style: IPA, ABV: 7.2%. Purchased: LightHouse Wines

  
  Description: Light honey in colour and slightly hazy. Thin Head. Lovely IPA aroma, grapefruit, piney, and lots of hops. A little caramel and biscuit malts, but the main show is a big hop piney bitterness, with some citrus fruit. Mid bodied, a little bit resin like, and a long bitter finish.
  Thoughts: Expectation duly dampened, I opened this. This is also dry hopped (though it's not so obvious on the bottle) and this time it really is DRY HOPPED. Lovely beer for the hop heads out there. If you see it, buy some!
  Score: 8

Cheers