Mystery 12 Pack and Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

Sorry for the unintended hiatus! I have very recently regained my sense of taste and smell after having sinusitis for about a week. And it's just in time to enjoy the many beers that grace my home region of the Lehigh Valley (mid PA/NJ). The hardest part about buying beer is choosing what to get. Very few beers of the Utah and PA/NJ market overlap, leaving me with an incredible variety. It's is absolutely wonderful and intensely overwhelming! I want to try everything, but I simply don't have the time or alcohol tolerance. So what do I do?

I was perusing the liquor store, when I stumbled upon a stack of boxes labeled only as "Craft Beer Variety Pack". I asked a nearby attendant, "How do I know what's in here?" to which he replied, "That's the beauty of it. You don't." I'm a sucker for three things: beer, puppies, and the potential for finding diamonds in the ruff. Five minutes later, I was hauling my $16 mystery 12 pack out to the car. I brought it back to my parents house, and slid it onto the table with a giddy grin. Zoe the adolescent yellow lab mirrored my Christmas morning-like excitement, and gave a nice pose next to my prize. 

I sliced the box open, hoping so hard that the beer-santa granted me a dope box of brews. My first hint was a top view of all the caps, most of which I recognized. It was enough to let me know I got a pretty killer box! 

I pulled out the most recognizable first, and loudly exclaimed to the not nearly as interested household members each time I discovered that "I got exactly what I waaaaantedddddd!" 

Here's my mystery haul!

Weyerbacher Last Chance IPA, River Horse Belgian Freeze, River Horse Hop Hazard, Stone IPA

Virgin Island Tropical Mango (is this even beer?), Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale, Founders Breakfast Stout, Saucony Brewery The Saucony Sessions

Smuttynose Vunderbar! Pilsner, Summit Winter Ale, Chimay Doree, 21st Amendment Back In Black IPA

There's lots of awesome breweries, and I've only had two of these (a few years back, though!). There's one or two I'm certain will taste like doggie doo doo, but there's more than a few I think will taste great! These beers would have cost me upwards of $25-$30 separately, so I think I've lucked out! 

Here's my first taste of the box...

Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

BG Poured from a 12 fl oz (355ml) bottle into a stemmed tulip, 7.2% ABV, Bottled 12/11/14

A Ebony in color with deep ruby highlights. Half a finger of head shows up momentarily and leaves the party just as fast. I noticed the absence of strong “fzzzsstt” when I opened this one, and there’s some dried gunk around where the cap was set. Maybe it had a bad seal? We’ll soon find out. (Light carbonation doesn't mean the beer is off.)

A Melanoidin, raisins, caramel malt, dark plum skin, a hint of chocolate, brown sugar. There’s some hefty floral/piney hops hiding beneath that malt, too! 

T Hints of roasted malts and lightly sweet, burnt sugar balance on the front before the bold, piney/herbal hops smash through like the kool-aid man. Toffee, toasted walnuts, those blackened bottom-of-the-pan scrapings that taste so good, almost mint-like hops, and finally smooth coffee.

M Creamy, low carbonation, full body, the hops are a bit tingly!

A Long aftertaste of fresh coffee

C Malt bomb meets hop bomb! It’s delicious, but prepare for your palate to be destroyed! Piney/herbal hops punch right through the middle of this roasted malt fest, and a delicate balance is achieved between the two extremes. A gentle, roasted coffee flavor rounds out the finish. This is on the bold end of IBAs. Could this be a double IBA? Let’s not give anyone any crazy ideas… But do let this warm up a bit before you imbibe. It gives the malt characters a chance at balancing the explosive hops. =)

FP Rosemary lamb chops cooked rare with roasted fingerling potatoes and mint pesto. Loaded potato skins (no green onion). Rich chocolate cake with espresso bean dust.

Lagunitas Night Time Ale

I have mentioned previously that I enjoy tasting beer without knowing what to expect. But it's usually pretty easy to figure out what a beer will taste like according to the label. You might figure out what the beer's style is, what brewery it's from, and maybe what some of the ingredient are. But for this bottle, I could only tell it was from Lagunitas. And for the rest, I was left in the dark.

Lagunitas Night Time Ale

BG Poured from a 12 oz (355ml) glass into a stemmed tulip, 7.9% ABV, Bottled 01/20/15, O.G. 1.075, 74 IBU

A Dark chocolate in color with three fingers of mocha, rocky head. It settles down to a dollop of crema. Medium-thin lacing is left behind.

A Burnt grass, charred meat, a touch of pineapple, citrus hops. This is one of the strangest smelling beers ever. It smells like pineapple that you’re cooking on a well used grill that hasn’t been cleaned in years. I’m not sure what to think of this.

T Loads and loads of charred citrus: orange rind, juicy red apples, and pineapple, all of which are juiced and then charred to crispy bits. This is unique, terrifying, and surprisingly delightful. The use of roasted barley is quite clear. 

M Med-light carbonation, medium bodied, slightly drying

A Capri sun, hockey puck burgers, powdery potato hamburger buns - my childhood

C What on earth… is this? I’m disgusted and delighted at the same time. Half of me wants to spit this out, and the other half wants to keep drinking. It’s juicy, citrusy goodness wrapped in a burnt-to-hell outer shell. I can taste the flakes of carbon. I don’t think this could ever be my go-to, but it certainly has a ton of originality points!

FP Portobello burger with roasted red peppers, carmelized onions, ancho chilli aioli and well done fries. Bitter greens salad with bleu cheese crumble, red onion, roasted parsnip, pine nuts and an herb vinaigrette. Blueberry cupcakes made in orange rinds wrapped in foil over a campfire.

Samuel Smith Organic Chocolate Stout

There's no time for chit-chat! That is, unless you have nothing to do while your stout reaches room temperature. I suggest watching this video in the meantime. 

Ready?

Samuel Smith Organic Chocolate Stout

BG Poured from a 18.7 fl oz (550ml) bottle into a stemmed tulip, 5% ABV, Bottled 08/26/14 (Date code reads "SH26N1")

A This is about as brown as you can get before being considered black. Deep ruby highlights gleam when held up to the light. An aggressive pour produces three fingers of billowing, coffee crema colored foam. It settles down at a moderate pace until a creamy film rests on top. 

A Oh my lord. That’s the best chocolate aroma I’ve ever experienced from beer! It’s straight up cocoa nibs with loads of sugar and cream. I’m also getting toasted marshmallow, peanut brittle, graham cracker, and a touch of whiskey. This is s'mores in a glass. I would be content to just sit here and smell it for the rest of the night. I’m going to be so sad if this doesn’t taste as good as it smells...

T Yep. Just found my favorite chocolate stout ever ever ever ever ever. Sticky caramel joins sweet milk chocolate and hints of roasted nuts. It tastes just like a chocolate and caramel covered pretzel. I wouldn’t be surprised if this spent time in charred oak barrels, but I don’t think it did. There’s a little lactose in here, too.

M Lightly carbonated and full bodied. It’s so silky and creamy.

A Sweet marshmallows toasted over a campfire

C This is a unique masterpiece. It’s somehow very sweet without being cloying, and full bodied without being too filling. How you do this Samuel Smith!? This is still very much a dessert beer. I took it out of the fridge and left in on the counter for 15 mins while I ate my dinner so it could warm up. Don’t you dare drink this straight from the fridge! 

FP Drop a scoop of vanilla ice cream in it!!! Make a chocolate 4-way with this beer and a triple chocolate cake (chocolate frosting, chocolate cake batter, chocolate chips). Spicy mole chicken.

MP MP = Music Pairing. Why the heck not? Howlin’ Wolf - Built For Comfort

Red Rock Le Quatre Saison

I probably should have saved this for the week I'm studying saisons, but it was in my fridge, and I couldn't resist! After all, it was in the mid 60s today. Did I mention it's February in Utah? Yes, I believe a saison is in order!

Red Rock Le Quatre Saison

BG Poured from a 16.9 fl oz (500ml) bottle into a Red Rock stemmed tulip, 6.2% ABV, Bottled 02/03/15, Lot 698

A Straw to light gold in color with 2.5 fingers of fluffy, cotton white head. Lacing lines the glass, and looks like frosting dripping down the side of a freshly decorated cupcake. The beer is quite cloudy, and creates a sort of glow.

A This beer is all about that bubblegum yeast character. Tartness, tangerines, blood orange, bread dough, the gentlest hint of floral hops, lemon zest.

T Fresh squeezed tangerines, hints of clove, pepper, spicy phenols, pita bread, a touch of funk, finishes slightly sweet

M Tart, medium bodied, moderate carbonation

A Orange rind, mild floral hop bitterness

C This is a gorgeous farmhouse ale. I’ve had limited release farmhouse ales from other breweries that aren’t half as good as this. And I swear, I’m being as unbiased as possible. Yeast rules the roost here, and dishes up flavors like fresh, tart citrus and light spices to keep your taste buds happy. The yeast is balanced by bready malt and floral hops to create a very quaffable French-Belgian treat. 

FP Roasted lemon chicken with truffle mashed potatoes and braised carrots with thyme. Cauliflower soup with green onions and crumbled bleu cheese. Key lime pie.

Sierra Nevada 2015 Beer Camp Hoppy Lager

The other day I was in the liquor store (the only place, besides local breweries, where you can purchase bottles of beer higher than 4% ABV to take home), and my eyes were ensnared by a lone six-pack of beer on the floor in between two stacks of other common Utah brews. The thing that caught my eye was the unmistakable "Sierra Nevada Beer Camp" label that was no where to be seen this past summer in Utah, though it toured cities left and right of the state. I thought it might be something left over from the summer that someone special ordered but never picked up. As I crouched down and plucked a bottle from the pack, I read with wide-eyes that this was actually something new. Though I had originally hoped it was some rare, random left over from the summer, I was content to leave the store with something fresh and likely tasty. After all, Sierra Nevada never disappoints.

Sierra Nevada 2015 Beer Camp Hoppy Lager

BG Poured from a 12 fl oz (355 ml) bottle into a stemmed tulip, 7% ABV, Packaged 01/09/15, 55 IBU

A Light gold in color with two fingers of long-lasting, beige head. Tiny bubbles stream up from the bottom of the glass to replenish it. It’s super clear. Lots of sticky lacing.

A Woah, this is definitely Sierra Nevada. Lemon hoppiness nips at my nostrils as it wafts above the suds. Strong floral hops, cheese-like aromas, dank, the lightest bit of bready malt.

T Sweet malt with a hint of toast. But man, that hop character is explosive! It’s a bit piney, not back-of-the-mouth bitter like most IPAs, but still very present. Port Salut cheese, toast fresh from the toaster, there’s even a touch of pineapple and a little grapefruit.

M The finish is dry, and slightly cottony. Med-light bodied, with moderate carbonation.

A Firm, yellow cheese. Dank hops. A little bit of toasted malt. 

C This is an incredibly pleasant IPL (India Pale Lager). It’s very tasty, but maintains moderate drinkability. You can knock a few of these back without too much palate fatigue, and you can also have one and be satisfied with the flavor. The bready malt provides an awesome saddle for those dank hops to ride on all day long. I just love this hybrid style. The only thing that I find distasteful about it is the “Available One-Time Only” posted on the front of the bottle. Even if it’s true, it makes me think of infomercials that say, “Limited time only!” or  “Call in the next 5 minutes, and get not one, but two blahblahblah”. Everything else about this beer is exactly what I’d expect from SN… nothing less than delicious!

FP Port Salut cheese on garlic crackers. Short rib polenta poutine. NY style cheesecake topped with spicy Mexican chocolate shavings.