Avery Maharajaha - it's that time of year

All of the Dictator Series brews are outstanding in my opinion. The Maharajah is especially good and when this time of year rolls around I think I speak for all beer lovers on the front range that we search it out. Especially on draft. The bombers are fairly easy to find on the front range.

Here's the details on why this beer is so damn good. The Maharajah is a DPA weighing in at 10.4%. The red color is deep. It does  have a bit of booze hit to it. So I would call it a 'sippin' beer. The aromas are big. It smells intensely hoppy so you gotta love to burp the flowers to dig into this one. You can get some sugars in the aroma along with some citrus. Typical for a DPA but uniquely Avery. The hop and malt flavors are really well balanced. It's a bit chewy and leaves a nice slick on the tongue that makes the bitter/sweet linger for quite a while. I have been drinking this brew for a handful of years now and it's always had a rye flavor to it that makes it stand out. But no rye in it. Nice.

In two words I would call the Maharajah 'hopalicious' and 'smooooth'. Oh, this is a brew you want to drink last if you plan on drinking more than one kind of beer. The flavors hang out and don't leave. Nice.

cheers

D

Funkwerks 'Deceit'

I think this bottle came out around 3 months ago. At least that's the first time I tried it and I have good enough liquor stores nearby that keep up with the latest and greatest for CO beers. The first time I tried Deceit was on tap at Oskars in Longmont. It has that common funk that us Saison lovers enjoy along with some pineapple and citrus. Nothing shocking or out of the ordinary really. But a good quaffable Saison for sure. The texture is what I really enjoy. It has that cloudy, chewy feel from all of that active yeast swimming around. The color is perfectly golden. It's a big Saison weighing in at 9.4% but without the boozy flavor and/or feel. It's a bit hoppy which gives it a more familiar flavor like a hoppy Belgian Blonde.

It has a 2 year cellar time. I'll crack my stash in 2 years...if I can wait and they don't run out.

cheers

D

Crooked Stave 'Vieille Artisinal' Saison

This little bugger comes in a 12 oz bottle and has the flavor and characteristic deserved of a bomber. The Vieille Artisinal is an oak aged Saison that has delicious spice notes common in a not-too-funky Saison. It weighs in at only 4.x percent alcohol but has flavors of a much bigger beer. The taste lingers for quite a while giving off notes of lemon, a bit of oak, and a touch of that yeasty funk. It's very non-offensive to those who don't dig the more sour beasts out there. But pleasing to those who do as well. Think of it as a mellow Petit Sour. Which with some age and time will just get better. I stashed a couple away.

cheers

D

Great Divide Hibernation Ale

There's always been a particular flavor that lets me know I am drinking a Great Divide brew. I't's not a hoppy thing but more in the yeast and malt. It's a good thing. And this years Hibernation has that. It's a rich, malty English style Ale with chocolaty up front flavors. A roasted coffee taste is there as well as in the nose. And Like any good holiday brew there's a wee bit of cinnamon. It's a bit heavy, which I like, but really delicious. It has an almost warming affect. But that could just be me and the stock bubbling away next to me. There's a bit of hops when you give a whiff and a bit more when you sip. But you gotta concentrate on it. I could see this beer aging well for a year or two. It's rich enough and seems to have enough sugars to pull it off.

I highly recommend this winter warmer.

cheers

D

West Flanders, Boulder

A brewery on the Pearl St Mall is not exactly my ideal location. For one parking sucks. It's not like parking in SF kind of suck but it can be a routine. Plus any place serving alcohol on the mall can get CROWDED. Regardless, I had to try one of the newer additions to breweries in Boulder. It is beer after all. And this place is where BJ's used to be. My hope was the beer wouldn't be as bad as BJ's.

I made my way down the first night of the playoffs to watch the Giants. Yes, it was crowded as hell and the staff, like most in Boulder, were young and not very helpful. Like when I asked one of the waiters about the type of hops in one of their beers I got a "...we don't give out that info." Oh please. It's f***ing beer not an Ever-Lasting-Gobstopper! So that was a bad start. On to the beer...

As usual I will only review the brews I liked.

Third Kingdon IPA (6.7%)
This was a good intro and got my hopes up. It's a nice 'n dank IPA that has a good balance between the malt and hops with a bit of chewiness to it thanks to it being un-filtered. And like any good IPA it has a citrus hit that really made it for me. The color is perfect for an IPA. All in all a good beer with great malt flavor that cuts through all the dank.

TBD ESB
This was a classic ESB that reminded me of having a fresh Red Hook in Seattle in '91. It's a classic style ESB with a smooth and nutty taste that I really enjoyed. It didn't blow the doors off but a good brew nonetheless. The malt is nice and dry that lends itself to the beer quite nicely. The carbonation was one as well.

Conniption Pale Ale
This was pretty classic. A nice Pale Ale with a hit of hoppy dankness that works pretty well. It has a bitter touch to it with a touch of sweetness. Like any good hoppy ale I like it was the citrus notes that really got me to like this one.

All in all West Flanders serves up some pretty good beers. I was disappointed in the Belgians hence no reviews. Either way I enjoyed a few good pints and I hope they can step up to the plate a bit more and really  work on those Belgians. Especially the strong ones.

cheers

D

The Meddler

I have to say, Odells has been putting out some fine barreled brews as of late (see my last post) and The Meddler is a prime example of what they are up to. My first experience with an Oud style beer was Avery's Oud Floris which is exceptionally good. The Meddler follows as a damn fine example of how barreling and the residual yeast and bacteria in the barrel can affect the taste in so many good ways. The aroma is deep and rich with a bit or raisins and hazelnuts along with an almost peachy waft to it. The taste is pretty much the same but with that wonderful sour hit that I and so many love. The flavor is a bit sweet, sour, with back notes of caramel that really made me feel I was quaffing a damn good deal of a brew at around $15 a pop. The malt stands out with a touch of hops which is pretty characteristic of an Oud Bruin. The flavors of vanilla I particularly enjoyed as it rounded out the sourness and paired perfectly with the malt that is present in a good brown.

I strongly suggest you grab one of these beauties. I have one in the cellar and plan on getting one or two more to age. If I have the strength to keep it down in the basement.

cheers

D

Deconstructing Odell's "Deconstruction"

The cork shot like a bat out of hell and  the sound was of a fine champagne. Ok, a bit over doing it on the dramatics but holy s**t is this a good ale. As I write this the damn bottle is two feet away from me and I can smell the aromas wafting my way. I couldn't wait to get my hands on another one of these bottles just so I could blog about it. I had one last night while I made a pizza dinner for the family. Which included my dear-sainted mother whom knows her wine and naturally knows a good ale. She shared a bit with me in between her glasses of Chardonnay and she actually gasped after a sip or two. Mom's know best right? To call this a Beer sounds almost insulting as being too general. It's a barrel aged Golden Ale that...fuggit. I'll just say what it says on the bottle:

"A Golden Ale created by blending the final recipe with it's own barrel aged pilot-beers fermented with wild yeasts and lacto. Each individual barrel contributes a unique flavor from the wood chosen and the cultures resident to achieve subtle complexities that develop over time"

If this gets better over time I can't imagine how good it will be in a year, two years time. It pours like a perfect Belgian and quickly gives off aromas of a fine Chardonnay that married a smooth Saison and then had a 5 Barrel for a child. The esters are very pronounced and leave a fruity flavor of pineapple and apricot as it fades in your mouth. Damn, that aroma keeps filling up the space around me with a confidence that says "You want some of this beer guy?! Then here you go!" And like any good wine it just gets better as you let it breathe. When first opened it's the aroma more than the taste that impresses. 15 minutes later it evolves into a whole new beer. Tart stone fruit, a touch of caramel, hops, citrus, and even a bit of champagne. Like many breweries you can taste flavors of other beers they make. As stated on the bottle I quoted above there is pilot-beers in there to nudge it into the O'Dell direction of flavor. But it's pretty subtle. It has a character all on it's own. The malt is very well balanced with the tartness the wild yeast gave it. And the barreling gives it a sophistication that stands out all the while balancing the aforementioned flavors.

Granted it's a sour beer of sorts so if your not into that kinda thing then move on to another post. But if you are into sours do yourself a favor and grab this beauty while it's available. At roughly $14.99 a bottle it ain't cheap. But damn worth it.

cheers

D