HOPS Pagosa

Hello Home Brewers and Beer Lovers!

            We are moving into stout and porter season, I have quaffed enough fall beer to build up a great thirst for the big hearty stouts.  Age them in a barrel, throw in some chocolate or coffee.  I am even loving the dark lagers.  I just need a beer to stave off the cold that is beginning to creep into my bones, snow is just around the corner and I am not ready. With that lets get started with a monster winter warmer.

Brew Dog from Scotland has released a HUGE Imperial Stout “Tokyo”, with the usual blather on the side of the bottle, what matters is this monster is 18.2% ABV.  Tokyo is aged on toasted French oak chips and brewed with jasmine and cranberries, then dry hopped with a ton of Brew Dogs favorite hops.  A huge amount of flavor is stuffed into this .330ml bottle.  Sweet and bitter, roasted malt and coffee flavors are enhanced with the fruitiness of the cranberries and hints of jasmine.  Lightly carbonated and velvety on the tongue, the alcohol is present like a fine brandy but blends well with the cacophony of flavors.  Limited release and hard to get, this is a beer worth trying.  The $12.99 price tag is hefty for this beer but I think it’s a must try for the stout lovers out there.

Stranahans Well Built ESB from Breckenridge has been released again, very limited quantities have made there way past the mountains but we secured a case for your enjoyment.  Stranahans had been producing one of Colorado’s most sought after whiskey for several years now and has banded with Breckenridge to create this fantastic beer.  Aged for 6 months in the used whiskey barrels this small batch ESB really hit a home run.  7.8% ABV is blended well with sweet earthy molasses and hop bitterness.  Vanilla and wood are rounded out with a nice whiskey flavor that permeates the whole beer.  Warm on the finish with a nice lingering bitterness the Well Built ESB is a fitting name for a very solid beer.  $15.99 for this .750ml bottle is fantastic and with the great graphics on the bottle.  A beer that will catch your eye in your cellar or look great with your empty beer bottle collection.

Hopping the pond to Belgium Bavik-De Brabaddere has a lovely barrel aged pale sour.  Aged in oak casks for over 20 months this sour is really given an opportunity to develop in it’s home turf.  No cellaring needed to bring out the funk in this beer, the grapefruit, barnyard and delicate oak qualities blend together with the 7.3% ABV well.  Sweet malt up front is swirled away by a hearty sour wheat profile and finishes dry.  A .330ml is a steal for $4.99 with the amount of time it spends in an oak barrel.

Last but not least we are still in the fresh hop time of the year and Deschutes is brewing a new Bond Street Series “Chasin’ Freshies”.   Hops picked from the vine and rushed to the kettle hit a home run in the fresh hop style.  Pine, citrus, honey and lightly sweet malt carries the hop profile to the palate with perfection.  Bright and fresh with a pilsner malt flavor on the finish, this 22oz bottle is $4.99, and worth every penny.

I am waited with baited breath for the winter warmers to land, a few have trickled in but many more will arrive very soon.  I will review several next month as well as some of the gems I am trying to get my hands on.  Deschutes is the Beer of the Month for October and $6.99 a six pack is a price you can’t beat for this outstanding brewery.  On a last note Magic Hat has landed in Colorado, with their flagship #9 leading the way.  It has met with great success and I am being praised for getting my hands on this East Coast iconic brewery.  Stay warm out there and have fun drinking those great dark beers!

Cheers,

Oliver

-- Oliver Gamble Beer Manager Star Liquors, Durango, CO. 970-247-2258 oliver@starliquorsdurango.com www.starliquorsdurango.com