The actual name of the beer on the bottle is Panil Barriquee Oak Aged Sour Red Ale, which will be the last time we write that out completely. It’s brewed by Birrificio Torrechiara, which makes about 9 different beers with the name Panil attached to all of them. Our bottle is from 2005 and at $15.99 per bottle, it’s probably one of the most expensive beers you’ll buy that doesn’t have the word “Utopia” attached to it. For our 1 pint, 9.4 oz bottle you get a per ounce price of about 63 cents per ounce. Worth it? Yep.

Panil Barriquee is 8% ABV, triple fermented, matured in cognac barrels from Bordeaux and ours was bottled in 2005. We used a tulip glass for our review and got an initial beer temperature of 60 F. It’s worth noting that Panil Barriquee, though technically a beer, doesn’t drink like any beer you’ve ever had.

Our initial pour yielded no head whatsoever, just bubbles. This means there’s no rating for head appearance, color, lacing or duration. This brings up the bigger, more probing question – is it really a beer if it doesn’t have a head?

There is no carbonation in the body at all that we could find. The body itself is a hazy, translucent red with deep amber tones to it. For our aromas we picked up caramel, floral, earth (an earthy musky smell), alcohol, brown sugar, sour cherry, oak, plum, raisin, white wine and chardonnay. There’s loads of dark fruits in the smell and it smells suspiciously wine-like. Did they mislabel a bottle of wine as beer?

For our tastes we got brown sugar, sour cherry, oak, plum, raisin, white wine and chardonnay. Much like the smell there’s loads of dark fruits in the taste – sour cherry really jumping to the top of the pile. Again it reminds you of wine with the taste. The initial flavor notes are a moderate to heavy sweet and light sour. The finish flavor notes are a light sweet and moderate sour. Is it really a beer if it tastes like wine?

The finish length is short, the mouthfeel is dry and the tongue hit is in the front. The dry mouthfeel really works with this beer – it’s quite nice and the dryness is really reminiscent of a good dry red wine. Towards the bottom of bottle we got a lot of cloudiness and a darker color – more towards ruby brown than the earlier red amber tones we were getting.

There’s no body lacing as you drink it and it’s just impossible to rate on our patented malt to hop scale – it feels balanced but there’s really no malts and no hops to judge balance on. It’s so very totally different from a normal beer. Is it really a beer if it doesn’t have readily discernible malts and hops?

For our bottom line notes we got Yes to everything we rate – drinkable, repeatable, balance, harmony, memorable, wow factor and buy again. Wow.

This is just an amazingly unbelievable beer that you’ve got to try. Get a big fistful of money to go buy it, nay, invest in it. Even at $16 a bottle you’ll be glad you did. It’s hard to believe it’s a beer, it’s absolutely remarkable and one of the most unique beer experiences you’ll ever have. Share it with a loved one who also enjoys good beer and you’ll have a great beer adventure together.

While taking a break, I reached way back in the Beer Love larder and found a bottle of McEwans Scotch Ale. I actually bought it 1 year and 10 days ago at CPWM for $1.89 and held it maybe too long, we will see.

This style is scotch ale also called a wee heavy and brewed by Scottish Courage LTD in Edinburg, Scotland. It has an ABV of 8%. I used a pint glass and got a starting temp. of 55.0F-12.9C. I got a 2 1/2 inch large foamy light brown head that dissipated slowly with fair head lacing. There was little carbonation, the color was ruby brown that was a clear dark. Aromas were light caramel, cereal, light alcohol, light brown sugar, light smoke and light soy sauce (7). Tastes were barley, light caramel, cereal, light chocolate, light coffee, light honey, light nutty, light toasted, light brown sugar, light sherry, smoke and soy sauce (12). Initial flavors were a moderate sweet, finish flavors were a moderate to heavy sweet, a very light bitter and a light salty. Finish length was short, mouthfeel was oily and tongue hit was front to middle. It had fair body lacing and on our malt to hop scale I gave it a 2 which is almost all the way to the malt side. For the bottom line I got a yes to drinkable, so-so to repeatable due to the ABV, balance, harmony, memorable and buy again all got a yes. Wow factor got a so-so.

This beer is a malt lovers delight. The light bitterness at the finish may not have even been hops (many scotch ales use other botanicals for bitterness like heather). By mid glass I was at 62F and think this is really a 65-70 degree beer as it just keeps getting better as it warms. I also gave it The BeerFathers “Best Buy Award” for combining quality and price.

I have to check up on the interns now. The reason that the skin on your palm is torn and your hand hurts is that it is a crown cap, not a twist off. We issue you an opener and hang it on a chain around your neck (just like Cool Hand Luke) so use it. What do you mean you never heard of Cool Hand Luke? What kind of education have you had? It’s going to be a long night.

Note: In July 2008 some troll in Heineken, which bought Scottish Courage LTD and also Newcastle, “delisted” this fine ale. It is no longer available in this country. DAMM!!!!

Being a Lefty myself, and also a lover of good Milk Stouts, I am really looking forward to trying this Milk Stout from Left hand Brewing Company out of Longmont, Colorado. This Milk Stout has some serious recognition for its goodness! It won the 2006 and 2008 World Beer Cup Gold Medal in the Sweet Stout category, and a Silver Medal at the 2008 GABF for Milk Stout. Not bad!

If you’ve been following The Brew Club for any time, you’ll know that I’ve really taken a liking to these Milk Stouts lately, and I hope that maybe you’ll give one a try as well. For some reason, every time I tell someone about a Milk Stout – they get the impression that there is literal milk mixed into the beer. That would be gross. This is not the case! With Milk Stouts, or Sweet Stouts, lactose is added to the mix to give the beer some sweetness. Lactose is milk sugar and it doesn’t ferment in the brewing process. People with lactose intolerance don’t know that they’re missing with these beers! So that’s the story, loosely, of what a Milk Stout is.

So far, I’ve tried four other milk stouts, and this Left Hand Milk Stout will be number 5. I’d also like to say Thanks! to The BeerFathers who are responsible for hooking me up with this beer to try for you! He’s another Milk Stout fan, and I hope to see what he thinks of the Keegan Ales Mother’s Milk and Lancaster Milk Stout soon! Let’s get on to the beer, shall we?

First, I apologize for the Ice Tea glass that I had to use for this tasting. Remember folks, its not about looks, and all my ‘real’ beer glasses are in the dishwasher so this vessel will have to do! Getting on to looks, this 5.8% ABV stout beer poured into my glass in the typical dark way expected form Milk Stouts. Dark, dark, dark. Let’s just say this beer is basically black, OK? It created a smallish head with a nice beige color, also typical, and in short order the head reduced to a thin beige coating on the beer. Swirling this milk stout in my glass a bit, there was a little bit of bubbly lacing – but it wasn’t clingy.

Smell. Well what can I say? The Left Hand Milk Stout smells like a Milk Stout should! Roasty malt flavors infused with the unmistakable sweetness of the lactose sugar. Nothing surprising here but I think the Left Hand might have a slightly stronger coffee or chocolate smell than the previous milk stouts I’ve had.

Let’s give this beer a taste now eh? It has a big roasted malt flavor, and much like the scent you can pick up on the sweetness in the taste quite easily, but it is not overdone. There is more of that coffee flavor in the taste, as there was in the smell, more so I think than the other milk stouts I’ve had. The body is medium to heavy – there’s some body to this beer! Still, this ale is very smooth, and very drinkable. There’s just the slightest hop bite and no alcohol sting – this beer could be the definition of smooth and creamy! I also found that as I sipped this Milk Stout, the flavors became even more pronounced, so I would suggest you let this one warm up a bit to get the fullness of the flavors.

There is a lightly bitter aftertaste that is agreeable, and the beer leaves a bit of a sticky coating in your mouth, but this isn’t a bad thing considering the type of beer it is.

Overall, I’m going to give the Left Hand Milk Stout a solid 4 star rating. I think as a Milk Stout, its one of the best I’ve had, but I still think the Lancaster Milk Stout is just a touch better overall. Still, if you are a fan of Milk Stouts, I don’t see how you can go wrong trying one of these from Left Hand Brewing.

Editor’s Note: TheBrewClub.com uses a five star rating system while The BeerFathers use a 10 point rating system. Their 4 turns into our 8, simple as that.

Our Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout came in at a temperature of 55.6 F and poured an opaque black color into our English pint glass. We got a large 2″ frothy medium brown head that left a good amount of head lacing as it dissipated slowly. There wasn’t much carbonation in our 12 oz bottle which checked in at 6% ABV.

The aromas came in with chocolate, coffee, molasses, roasted malts, light toffee, light alcohol, black licorice and smoke. A really nice bouquet to get us started. The tastes came in pretty spot on to the aromas – chocolate, coffee, molasses, nutty, roasted malts, black licorice and smoke.

The initial flavor notes were a moderate sweet that evolved in the finish to a heavy sweet and a moderate bitter – that sweet though hangs around a good bit. The finish length was long, the mouthfeel was creamy and the tongue hit was in the middle. There is a fair amount of body lacing as well as we drank it down. On our patented malt to hop scale we come in 2.5 clicks to the left of balanced on the malty side – that’s pretty solidly malty, just like we like ‘em.

For our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance, harmony, memorable and buy again. Our only no was to the wow factor.

Overall the Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout has a nice sweetness to it. It’s like a Bell’s Expedition Stout light, which is not a knock on it at all, but rather a compliment. The lower ABV makes it a bit more drinkable and repeatable than the Expedition Stout, though the aromas and flavors aren’t quite as complex. The bottle reads that it’s a stout brewed with brewer’s licorice, which sound like our kind of licorice, though we’re sure in reality it’s probably like the baker’s chocolate we begged for time and time again and when we finally got a piece of it we were completely unsatisfied, just like we were told we would be.

This is a really great basic stout. All told, we really love this beer. This is more than just a special occasion beer, it’s a good stout to have on hand at all times.

It comes in a 500 ml (1 pint, 0.9 oz) bottle, and that’s a perfect size for this 5.2% ABV beer. For this test we used an English pint glass and got a temperature of 50.9 F. Our initial pour gave us a large 2 1/2″ foamy medium brown head that had a good amount of head lacing as it dissipated slowly. The color is a solid opaque black and we noted a little bit of carbonation.

The aromas come in as surprise – chocolate! Loads and loads of chocolate. There’s also lots of sweet malts. It smells like a great chocolate milk (maybe even a Yoo-hoo). We also get some notes of vanilla, milk, cream and as it warms there’s a hint of alcohol (interesting, considering the relatively average ABV). The taste gives you surprise – chocolate! Gobs and gobs of chocolate. We also get some notes of cream, milk and a touch of coffee. Not terribly complex, but what it does it does really well. The chocolate you get in the smell and taste isn’t really dark chocolate – more like a semi-sweet chocolate.

The initial flavor notes are a moderate sweet that continues on to the finish, where we also get a light bitter. The finish length is short, the mouthfeel is halfway between watery and creamy, the tongue hit is right in the middle of the tongue and there’s a good amount of body lacing. It’s a very clean finish – almost the cleanest finish of any stout we’ve had. On our patented malt to hop scale it comes in about 3 clicks to the left of balanced on the malty side – very malty, but not as malty as it gets. Full BeerFathers disclosure: we love the malts. We’re crazy about the malts.

On our bottom line notes we got a yes to drinkable (what’s one step better than yes? An emphatic yes!), repeatable, balance, harmony, memorable and buy again. The only no we got was for wow factor – we’ve had a better chocolate beer (see Foothills Sexual Chocolate).

Overall this beer has something great that not a lot of chocolate beers have – repeatability. There have been several other chocolate stouts that by the time we got to the end of them we hated. Not the case with Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. It’s sweet, but not too sweet (which is what we hit with a lot of the other chocolate stouts that we start to loathe). It’s definitely a great session beer.

This beer could be a great introduction to stouts for a beer newbie. It’s got a relatively low gravity, it’s not too dry and it’s not hard and complex like a lot of stouts. Father Beer Love called it a “semi-stout” which is a really great descriptive phrase for it. The other great thing about the Young’s Double Chocolate Stout is the drinkability. This is the quickest we’ve drunk any stout thus far. It would go great with vanilla ice cream, pound cake or strawberries (think lighter desserts than heavier). It’s a damn joy to drink and we drank the crap out of it – it’s a gulper! Pick up a few bottles of this next time you find it and you’ll be glad you did.

All Duck Rabbit beers come to us from the Duck-Rabbit Brewery over in Farmville, NC, where Son Beer Love still says he’s going to take a field trip one day. We served up the Milk Stout in a tulip glass and got an initial beer temperature of 52 F. The ABV is a little low on this one (compared to the Baltic Porter) at 5.7%, but that’s okay.

Our initial pour gave us a generous 2″ large foamy medium brown head that gave us a fair amount of head lacing as it dissipated slowly into the black opaque body below. It tends to foam up really well when you pour it. We noted a soft amount of carbonation around the head.

The aromas come in with chocolate, coffee, roasted malts, black licorice and a milky, lactose like smell. A very intriguing smell as neither Father nor Son Beer Love has ever had a Milk Stout before this one. The tastes are true to all the aromas and also add smoke and cream to to the mix. When you sip the beer through the head you get more cream than milk in the taste for a nice effect. The smokiness comes through in the finish.

Our initial flavor notes come in with a moderate sweet and light bitter. The finish flavor notes move to a light sweet and moderate bitter and add a light saltiness. The finish duration is about average and the mouthfeel is nice and creamy. The tongue hit is in the middle of the tongue and there is no body lacing to speak of as we drink it. On our patented malt to hop scale it comes in very malty – 3 clicks to the left of balanced on the malty side (which is right where we like ‘em).

For our bottom line notes we got a yes for everything but wow factor. Yes to drinkable, repeatable, balance, harmony, memorable and we would definitely buy it again.

The fact is folks we love this beer. It reminds us a lot of a cafe au lait (French for “coffee with milk”) and takes us back to our favorite place in the world – The Cafe Du Monde on Decatur Street in New Orleans. Tell me that a cafe au lait and a beignet (or 15) wouldn’t hit the spot now. This beer takes us there.

We might enjoy this beer really warm, say room temperature. Heck, we might even enjoy this beer hot. This is Son Beer Love’s third Duck Rabbit Milk Stout and he still loves it. Like we said folks, this is our first experience with any milk stout, so we’re not saying Duck Rabbit makes the best milk stout in the world – they may in fact all be this good. What we are telling you is that we’ll be buying milk stouts as quickly as we can find them in the near term future to put this to the test. If you can find the Duck Rabbit try it and let us know what you think about it compared to the other ones. And if you know of some good other ones (we’ve heard the Lancaster Milk Stout and the Left Hand Milk Stout are also great) please let us know. We’re not lactose intolerant and we’ll gladly try them on, you know, for science.

First off, this is the hardest beer in the world to open. It’s capped and corked so you’ll need a corkscrew and a strong will because the cap doesn’t come off easily. Having a little experience with the bottle opener as we’re closing in on 100 beers reviewed we were a little shocked just how hard it was to open. Oh well – the good stuff in life takes a little more work.

Once we got it open we poured our 12 ounce, roughly $6 bottle into an American pint glass and got a temperature of 46.8 F. The ABV comes in about 4%, a little light, but who are we to question the Belgians? The initial pour gave us a small 3/4″ fizzy white head that dissipated quickly and left virtually no head lacing. There is a little touch of carbonation to this slightly hazy golden lambic.

The initial aromas are sweet biscuit, wheat, shortcake, floral, cinnamon, nutmeg, cream and a healthy dose of peach. An absolutely great smell – light and sweet. The initial flavors came in as sweet biscuit, cinnamon, cream and peach, but also added some other light fruits to the mix – apple and pear come in much lighter than the peach, but it’s there. It’s an insanely delicious combination of flavors. The initial flavor notes are a moderate to heavy sweet and a light acidic. The finish flavor notes are a light sweet and moderate tart. Again – this beer works the whole way through to the finish.

The finish duration is short, there’s no body lacing to speak of and the mouthfeel is syrupy. On the malt to hop scale it comes in very malty – about 3.5 clicks to the left of balanced on the malty side.

For our bottom line notes we got the rare 7 yes set – Repeatable, drinkable, balanced, harmony, memorable, wow factor and buy again – all yes. It’s a wonderful sugary taste with a sweet and syrupy start that evolves to a nice tart finish. It’s really a great beer that you think is going to be too sweet, but instead it’s just sweet enough. The only knock is the price – about $6 per bottle. If you were to develop a lambic habit you could go bankrupt rather quickly. Ultimately we highly recommend it. It’s not a dessert beer, it’s dessert.

We found conflicting reports online about the ABV on this puppy – 7.8% seems to be the winner, but we’ve seen reports as high as 9.2% (Beer Advocate labels it at 9.2%, Rate Beer labels it at 7.8%, Flying Dog’s site also comes in at 7.8% for the win) . After drinking it we figured it was probably closer to 7.8% based on how we felt. We served it up in a goblet and our 12 ounce bottle registered a temperature of 55.5 F.

The initial pour yielded a small 1/2″ frothy dark brown head that dissipated quickly and left virtually no head lacing. There was little carbonation, and the color was somewhere between dark brown and black, with a skew towards black – obviously opaque on the clarity.

The initial aromas were very malt heavy (who said this hops shortage was a bad thing?) – chocolate, coffee, molasses and roasted malts. The initial flavors were similar to the aromas but the chocolate taste leaned more towards dark chocolate and the coffee leaned more towards espresso. The chocolate tastes tend to dominate. We also picked up hints of black licorice and a light soy sauce.

The initial flavor notes were a moderate sweet and a light bitter with the finish moving to a light sweet, moderate bitter and light saltiness. The finish duration was long and the mouthfeel was somewhere between oily and creamy. We got a good amount of body lacing as well. The tongue hit is in the back of tongue – that’s where most of the flavors strike your taste buds. On our patented malt to hop scale we came in at a 2, which is 3 clicks to the left of balanced on the malt side. Very heavy on the malts, but surprisingly it has an IBU of 85, which is pretty high for something that rates this malty. You feel those bitterness units on the finish. It’s very smooth early on but the bitterness in the finish bites a little hard as it warms, which is a little off putting.

For our bottom line notes we marked it as a yes for drinkable, balance, harmony and memorable. We marked a no for repeatable – it’s a good first beer but you’ll lose some of the nice subtleness on the second one. We would definitely buy it again though. The Hunter S. Thompson Gonzo label graphics are phenomenal including the Gonzo Memorial Fist and more (done by artist Ralph Steadman, I believe). Here’s more about Hunter S. Thompson, inventor of Gonzo Journalism, for those not in the know.

Overall there’s a lot to love about the Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter. The sweet molasses in the smell, the huge chocolate in the taste. However, it’s only available a couple of times a year and is done in small batches (though Flying Dog has said that with demand what it is they’ll continue to make it for the next several months). Father Beer Love calls it a Flying Dog Road Dog Porter on steroids, which should be a good enough vote of confidence that if you can find a 4 pack it’s worth taking this puppy home with you. If you don’t we will.

The initial pour gave us an average one inch frothy light brown head that dissipated slowly and laced a good amount in the process. The carbonation is soft and the body color was an opaque brown.

The initial aromas were numerous in sheer quantity: Roasted malts, nutty, light floral, light alcohol, brown sugar, cola, sherry, smoke, spices and dark fruits galore – dates, plums, prunes and raisins. The dark fruits really jump out in the aroma. What’s really surprising is the lack of coffee and chocolate notes that we’ve usually found in these types of beers that tend to dominate the top of the Rate Beer 100.

The tastes echo a lot of the aromas – brown sugar, prominent alcohol, cola, spices, soy sauce, sherry and once again dark fruits galore – dates, plums, prunes, raisins and now some dark cherry. It’s got a terrific, creamy mouthfeel and the body laces a good amount in the glass as the beer level disappears. The spices in the taste are quite nice and bring some pepperiness to the equation. The alcohol isn’t too bold in the smell but is quite noticeable in the taste. The initial flavor notes strike with a moderate sweet, moderate bitter and light saltiness. The finish is long in duration and the finish notes hit with a moderate sweet, heavy bitter, light sour and moderate saltiness. On our malt to hop scale it comes in almost balanced, just ever so slightly on the malty side.

Though it’s a bit too string to be repeatable it’s very drinkable, has a good balance and harmony to it, is memorable and even has a wow factor to it. We could definitely see ourselves buying it again. All told it’s a solid and respectable beer that is very unique and is justifiably the showcase beer in the St. Bernardus lineup. Personally we miss the chocolate and coffee notes of some of the other top strong beers, but for this style, it probably can’t be beat. If you love dark fruits prepare to meet your new favorite beer.

Beer temp. 42.7F-5.8C. a .5L bottle poured a hazy yellow gold with a large 2.5 inch frothy white head that dissipated fairly quickly with virtually no lacing. The carbonation was soft and the aromas were biscuit, wheat, citrus, lemon, yeast, banana and clove. Taste were yeast, lemon, banana, clove and the all important pepper. Initial flavors were light in both sweet and tart, and the finish flavors were the same. Finish was short, mouthfeel was dry and had virtually no body lacing. I forgot to check the malt to hop scale so feel compelled to go get some more gladly. Repeatable,YES, drinkable, YEAH, memorable, DAMN RIGHT, wow factor, not quite, buy again, ABSOLUTELY.

What can you say, is it the best hefe in the world? Not quite. This brings back so many memories of Munich. At Octoberfest 06 when the first keg was tapped at noon and the cry went up “O’zapft is!” John and I walked around the Wies’n with 250,000 of our closest friends and couldn’t get a seat for 2 1/2 hours and trudged back hot and sweaty to our hotel I pointed out a small bar across the street and we went in. I wasn’t going to not have a dam beer on opening day. Fortunately no one spoke English so John ordered a Lowenbrau and we both snarked it down. They had the usual stand up tables and a few stools. A person sitting on a stool who appeared middle eastern patted one and indicated I should sit down, an old grey headed sweaty fat man with to many clothes on gratefully accepted. I asked if he spoke English, his entire vocabulary was New York, Chicago and Miami. He said to we “weissbier goot”. John and I each had a .5L each, Wow, I’de had this one in the states but I never had a better one. As we left for the hotel I told John that he was the German version of the common American Bar Fly, which I know very well. I wish him well, and doubled his English vocabulary which now includes Mardi Gras, Doubloon {which he now has in his billfold] and New Awlins.

Back to the beer. in this one the banana aroma predominates the lemon which I kind of prefer but the balance is so very good that you thirsty for your next drink while you are still drinking. The only thing that keeps me from giving it a nine is the pepper bite that is barely there. Of course I live in Louisiana and we like pepper, black, red and tabasco.

The Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier is brewed at the Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan in Freising, Oberbayern, Germany. It is said to be the oldest brewery in the world, around since 1040. You have to respect that.

An aggressive pour into a tall 22 ounce pint glass (very similar to a Weizen glass) generated a huge, 3 inch frothy white head that looks like a puffy cumulus cloud. Top notch! The head lasts quite a while, slowly dissipating. The body is a hazy cloudy light yellow to medium gold color. It’s relatively thin with tiny particles and mild carbonation. It looks fantastic sitting in the glass.

The aroma is your usual hefe, with some twists: Lemon? Check. Banana? Check. Pepper? Not in this one. Pleasant surprise aromas – a light yeast-doughy bread smell and a slight bubble gum smell, similar to Joe Blow.

The taste is strong on lemon and banana, mild on the bubble gum and mild on those biscuity malts. The initial flavor is a light sweetness that makes you want to not even put it down before you get your second taste. The finish continues to be lightly sweet with a slight sourness. This tiny bitterness really works and the finish lasts a while, but not from the mild hops that are present in the aftertaste. The peppery smell missing from the aroma returns in the finish and surprises you a bit. The mouthfeel is shockingly dry and the complexity increases as you drink it. It’s a gradual wow that really surprises you for a hefe.

It’s ultimately very refreshing and thirst quenching. A good alcohol balance at 5.4% ABV in a 16.9 ounce bottle. Of course we have an ongoing fascination with hefeweizens here at The BeerFathers, and this may be the best weissbier we’ve had. At the price – $2.89 for the bottle, it’s tough to beat. Extremely repeatable and very easy to drink, if you can find it, get it and some of it’s brothers so it doesn’t get lonely.

First off, I love the name – Triple Imperiale – a truly great beer name. One of the best beer names out there. The label reads “Belgian Special Dark Ale” and it checks in at 10% ABV in an 11.2 oz bottle. It’s made in Belgium, of course, and it’s recommended between 52 and 56 degrees F.

I opened it initially and let it sit out for a few minutes. When I returned it had foamed out of the bottle onto the counter. Yeah, it’s definitely a foamer.

The initial pour is a nice deep red to brown amber color (boy that narrows it down, huh?). It’s got a nice deep head to it – thick and laces well on the glass and hangs around for a while before eventually going away completely.

It sports a very rich smell – brown sugar, roasted malts, molasses, caramel, alcohol and spices. A sweet smelling treat. The taste continues to build on the smell and offers a great complexity – coffee, oak, some dark fruits (black cherry, plum), raisins and dates. It has a sweet edge but no alcohol in the taste. Overall it’s quite smooth and balanced – surprising with the gravity. The mouthfeel is a bit heavy but it’s good. The aftertaste is bittersweet and winds up smooth – you can still taste it minutes later.

In researching it a bit online it’s packed with 7 types of malts with 3 kinds of hops (Belgian, German and Czech). Despite the numbers the malts and hops work together as a team to create a good balance that skews, of course, a bit to the malty side. Surprisingly, there’s no sugar added (I was thinking some Belgian candy sugar must be present).

The one down side, and the source for my harsh initial impressions, is the sediment. There is a lot of sediment, and I mean A LOT of sediment. Not just a lot by volume, but some very large and thick sediment resembling the dried skins off cherries. Some large 1/4″ pieces – a disturbing amount of sediment. You have to fish them out. This is by far the most sediment I’ve ever had in a beer. After the first tasting subsequent pours went through a strainer, which gave me my final rating.

Overall it’s a worthwhile beer, very unique in both taste and texture. If you can find it get it. Then strain it and enjoy.

My bottle code is L280312 06:36 and it’s the traditional 11.2 oz Trappist Rochefort bottle (the only difference in their 3 beers is the label and cap color). The beer is 9.2% ABV – that’s a little less alcohol than the 10 (which logs in at 11.3%), and makes this one a tripel ale (as opposed to the 10 which is a quadrupel). The pour is a deep, dark brown, almost black with a huge head, dark beige and creamy, that settles to about 1/2″. If you put your ear close to it you can hear a sound like rice crispies with snaps, crackles and pops tempting you to dive in.

The smell is alcohol, roasted malts, dark fruits and a hint of coffee. The taste is subtly smooth and discriminating. It’s got flavors of mild chocolate, dark roasted malts, dark fruits (plum, prune, fig?), earth and an ever so slight sweetness that is not overdone. Despite all this it’s not as complex as you might think compared to the 10 (big brother strikes again). The aftertaste is smooth with subtle hops and a floral hint to it. Mouthfeel is good – about medium with a little carbonation. The beer gets a little sharp as it gets really warm. Compared to the 10 this one is less of a sipper.

Overall this is just a terrific treat. Drinkability is high, repeatability is also good, though you won’t be slamming down 3 of these in a row. I’d love to get multiple bottles and cellar one or two of them to try in 6 months to a year. It’s supposed to get better as it matures. Though I’ve not tried the Rochefort 6, I’ll go out on a limb and say that you can’t go wrong with any of the Trappistes Rochefort beers. When you find them, buy as many as you can (expect to pay between $5 and $8 a bottle though).

This one is 5.5% ABV and initially pours a clear lemony golden yellow and foams up a good bit (about a 3/4″ head that settles to a 1/8″ skim of froth). But with the last pour (the obligatory bottom inch of the bottle which is swirled to suspend all the yeast) it becomes cloudy like it should be. This is a byproduct of the top fermenting style – most wheat beers will have this. Did you know “hefe” is German for yeast? Look it up.

The head is a soft wispy head, like a cumulus cloud. It’s got light carbonation and a light and crisp aroma featuring wheat, yeast, citrus and a little banana. An intoxicating smell.

The taste is very balanced – malty and hoppy, but very smooth. It’s a fruity taste – banana, lemon, wheat, yeast, a hint of spice and a light floral taste. The taste is better and more complex and unique with a full pour of the bottle as opposed to just pouring half. I recommend you empty the entire contents into a pint glass at once. As it warms it actually gets a little sharp, but the good news is it’s a gulper of a beer and probably won’t have a chance to warm. I drank two – the first I let warm up for 30 minutes or so but the second came straight out of the fridge. Advantage – fridge. The aftertaste lingers a bit and gives you a fruity lemon and wheat edge. Overall it’s very good. My real rating is a 7+, which rounds up to a 8.

My final thoughts – you’ve gotta do it cold, right out of the fridge, and it’s a good beer to have with food (as are most hefes). I also can firmly stand behind my initial thoughts after my Brau-Weisse review – we simply must make it mandatory to possess an inventory of no less than 6 hefeweizens in your fridge at any given point in time between the months of April and October. I’ll even broaden it out to allow for any wheat beer without fear of punishment.

At $1.99 each it is good for the rotation when you want something with depth of malts but not as deep as a stout. I give it a good solid 6. Repeatability, wish I had some more now.

Addendum:

After the comments on the site I picked up another and tried it at 66F, Wow were my eyes opened. I picked up 8 aromas cereal, coffee, nutty, roasted, toffee, mold, alcohol and plum. Taste were 8, coffee, roasted, toffee, black licorice, brown sugar, plum and raisin. At 66F the flavors really pop, first the dark fruits and then the light licorice and coffee. The taste were complex but danced lightly on the tongue. It seems like the aging brings out the dark fruits of a Belgian Ale and the dark malts give it a nice light porter quality , almost like 2 beers in one. I must admit that at the higher temperature the 5.7 ABV hit harder than I expected. I have also awarded this the The BeerFathers “Best Buy Award” for quality and price. Thanks to those of you who commented I have adjusted the rating to an 8. I also after some trying managed to score the last single and the last 6 pack in the area. Some troll at Heineken has “De-Listed” this so it is not available in the USA anymore. Pox upon them.

It’s brewed at the Westmalle Abbey, which was built in 1804 by Trappist monks fleeing the French Revolution. The key to their beer is a direct flame-fired brew kettle. This caramelizes the malts and results in a toasty toffee flavor. It also undergoes a secondary fermentation lasting 5 weeks to give it more punch. It comes, as you would expect, in a dark 11.2 oz bottle and is 9.5% ABV. I tried it in a tulip glass.
It’s a cloudy pour with a near pure white foamy head that lasts a long time – it settles down a bit but it never completely disappears. It looks like the foam on top of a latte from Starbucks. The aroma is not too strong at all – light and very clean – fruity and hoppy with citrus notes.

It’s got a remarkably clean flavor – a hint of alcohol towards the beginning but there’s more alcohol taste towards the bottom. Though hoppy there’s not much hop bitterness (perhaps it’s just balanced well with the malts you can also pull out). There’s orange and lemon flavors as well with maybe a bit of banana. Reminds me a good bit of a Blue Moon with the orange peel and coriander flavors. It also reminds me of Duvel. It has a good crisp finish of toasted toffee and citrus.

It looks like a gulper but take note, it’s a sipper. Those monks are a crafty bunch and the taste is so good that you want to down it to refresh yourself. Overrefreshing may ensue, resulting in you assuming the supine position on the floor. Try these trappist ales surrounded by pillows for best results.

This one is listed on the bottle as “Maudite (The Damned)”. Beer temp. 48.9F, 9.4C (found another use for my probe thermometer) 8% ABV. Pours medium to dark amber. Caramel aroma with not much head and a quick fade with no lacing. Have had this one for quite a while, at least a year. Others by Unibroue have had the best head of all the beers I’ve tried. Taste is caramel and fairly sweet but there is more depth in there that I’m trying to place. Alcohol comes through and mildly bitter hops give it a great balance. Carbonation is good and flavors cling to the mouth without being overpowering, a good mouth feel. I’m thinking the other flavors are lemon and a peppery spice. This is getting better as it warms. I was afraid the sweetness I tasted the first time I tried it would be too much but after some sweet stouts and marzens it isn’t. This is bottle fermented so the dregs in the second pour heightened the flavor. I used my bowl shaped glass and am glad I did as it compresses the aroma. Depth is great as is the complexity.

This reminds me favorably of Duvel or a weak Trappist Rochefort 10. I believe this is classified as a Belgian style strong ale. Definitely a keeper and @ $2.99 a bottle not to terribly pricey. Hit kind of hard so I wouldn’t say it has repeatability. My long hold time may have killed the head but I think it improved the flavor. Buy a 6 pack and try one every 4 months and see if you notice the change. Give this one a good solid 8.

Down to business. Pours medium dark gold, maybe even light amber. Good solid white head that holds fairly well. Fruity aroma reminds me of orange skinned fruit. At first taste I find a slight sweetness and a definite citrus taste, maybe add grapefruit to the orange and apricot. Malts have good depth to them and hops balance with the slight sweetness. Alcohol is fairly noticeable. Label talks about a unique yeast strain, this may be the slight sharpness that I taste. The 8.5% alcohol hits pretty hard, but its part of the risk I gladly take.

This is definitely a great ale. I appreciate it for what it is. I wouldn’t know how it could be better. Why you may ask isn’t it a ten? I figure a 10 would be so outstandingly good that nothing could surpass it and only be made by a greater being. Why not a 9 then? The elements are all there – the balance is there but the harmony isn’t quite there. It is very subjective I know. My integrity can’t be bought, however it can be rented, inquire about prices.

Wow 3 paragraphs, I’m on fire. I guess hitting that enter thing twice really does work.

Son Beer Love Review (February 19, 2007):

Call me sentimental, but the Munich beers just seem to touch my heart. The Salvator Double Bock is a benchmark beer for me – one of the beers I use to compare all other beers. It’s that good. Everything about this beer makes you understand why you love beer in the first place.

I had my first Salvator when I was home for Christmas visiting my family in late 2006. Dad had raved about the beer for some time but I was unable to find it in Charlotte at any of my beer locales. I told him before the trip that was one I had to try while I was home. He accommodated my request and as soon as I tasted it I fell in love.

The great thing about beer is there’s no one right answer. What’s right for me may not be right for you. This beer was the answer and the other beers we tried that night paled in comparison. I had to try it again but still couldn’t find it in Charlotte. So, when my wife’s parents decided to come visit for the weekend I had my dad run over a 6 pack of Salvator to her dad so he could bootleg it across 5 states to get it here. Fugitive beer.

Some background on the beer before the review – the Double Bock (Doppelbock) is defined as a stronger bock brew (a regular bock is defined as a stronger lager). Back in medieval days German monasteries would brew a strong beer for sustenance during their Lenten fasts – this stronger beer was a symbol of better times to come (Gotta love those monks!). The names of double bocks commonly end in -ator in honor of the original, Paulaner Salvator (Latin for Savior – and how true). Yes – Salvator is the original double bock.

Six pack in hand from my wife’s dad I put it in the fridge and wait a day. A long wait. The next evening finally comes and I’m ready. I crack open the bottle and pour the beer. The color is dark amber with a creamy white head. The smell is part of the mystique – a terrific sweet smell with caramel, brown sugar, bread, honey, toffee and every other good thing you can think of. The taste is complex – rich and full – you primarily pick up the caramel. I love caramel so this is probably why I like the beer so much. The only knock I’ve ever seen on this beer is the sweet edge, but that’s part of why I love it. You also pick up roasted malt, toffee, maple, coffee and a touch of fruit of some kind that I can’t place. Also a little bit of hops. It feels terrific in your mouth and gets smoother the longer your drink it (perhaps as it warms up?). The finish continues to be smooth and sweet and clean. The beer itself is 7.9% ABV – a pretty good number. You feel the impact of the beer but not so much you’re dizzy. You just feel warm and cozy, like you’ve been enveloped by a beer blanket. A delicious, perfect beer blanket.

Father Beer Love Review (April 13, 2007):

Beer temperature 49.8 F. Pours medium amber and clear, caramel aroma, light tan head doesn’t hold well. Slightly sweet with caramel malts and light hop flavor. Brewed as a spring bock with higher alcohol content. 7.5% ABV helps shake off the winter chill. Unfortunately we went from winter (such as we had) to summer – 87 F. and humid. Our friends from Munich, Fredrich and Christy told us the high alcohol beers even hit them hard and those people can really drink. I miss them. Just the perfect sweetness, anymore would be too much. Reminds me of a weak sweet stout. Hard to find any secondary flavors other than caramel so will comment on carbonation which is weak but I had this one probably a year but no date on it. Still has a beautiful harmony to it like I found in most Bavarian beers. It’s one you must try. Around here it’s available if you can find it definitely try it.
Repeatability one at most. It will make you tired.

Son Beer Love Review (February 3, 2007):

This is my second tasting of the Jahrhundert Bier. Ayinger makes some exceptional beer – this one is subtitled (and roughly translated to) a “Century Celebration Bavarian Lager.” The bottle is 1 pint, 1 ounce, as are most Ayinger bottles. I found it at World Market and wanted to try it a second time because my initial thoughts of it were so high I thought it may be too good to be true. Could it withstand a second scrutiny? Indeed, it does.

The pour is good – it’s golden and clear with a nice head. The head looks like whip cream and makes you want to dive in. An unassuming, but familiar smell, you don’t know what to expect as it looks like any other beer. The first taste makes me tilt my head and close my eyes. “Did I just taste what I thought I tasted?” Second taste confirms my initial thoughts – this beer tastes like Germany. And that smell? It smells like a beer tent at the Wiesn. Dad and I were in Germany for Oktoberfest in 2006 and this reminds me of that. It reminds me of being in a beer tent with a huge beer, eagerly gulping it down and eating a huge beer pretzel, waiting for our beer wench to take our order for a half roasted hendel. It’s smooth, so very smooth. Not much aftertaste – just a clean finish. It has a touch of sweetness to that makes me almost place it somewhere between a nice Munich lager beer and a Radler (our dessert beer in Munich – half beer/half lemonade). You want to gulp it down as if you’ve got a full liter stein, but you open your eyes and realize you’ve just got a frosty pint glass. Yes – this beer makes me feel like I’m in a beer tent in Munich and it makes me want it that much more.
In researching online I noticed it has won some awards – Gold Medal and World Champion – 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003 World Beer Championships. A must try beer.

Father Beer Love Review (February 16, 2007):

Pours a cloudy medium gold with a nice white head. Smells clean and faintly wheatish. Slightly sweet and fairly light hops but still definitely present. Has a light to medium light finish but in this case it is a great thing as it helps me remember the wonderful taste a bit longer. Later I can catch a bit of floral aroma. The sweetness reminds me of the great radlers @ the Augustiner Keller in Munich. This is the real deal.

Only halfway through and I’m still shuddering at the taste of this wonderful bier and tears are welling up in my eyes as I contemplate the end of the bottle. God make the bottle more full than when I put it back in the icebox PLEASE. I can’t even imagine what this would taste like on tap. If I only had a real German bier pretzel this would be as close to heaven on earth as anything could be. Just tried it with some pretzel sticks (bad American bakers) and the saltiness heightened the flavor.

The remarkable thing is balance in the brew. Harmony is the key word. Everything comes together in a beautiful harmony. After I finished I wouldn’t even pour my American beer into the same pilsner glass. I really look forward to my next one.