Life and Limb

Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. / Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Inc.
Style: Strong Ale / Specialty Beer
ABV: 10.2%
IBU:
Serving Type: 750 mL bottle poured into an oversize snifter

A dark, opaque brown with a solid film of light tan head. Smells sweet and toasty, a little tinge of alcohol. It's also a little bready and a tad woody, which may be what they're going for with the "life" (yeast) and "limb" (maple, birch syrup) theme.

Tastes very sweet, the maple flavor is evident. Malt is also present and very crystal-toasty. The bitterness comes through at the end and at the back of the tongue. Not a hop bitterness, though. More like green wood, raw. The flavors balance well, but are thrown off a little by the alcohol bite at the end. The alcohol gets stronger as the beer warms. Nonetheless, it's very smooth and goes down easier than 10.2% alcohol would suggest.

This is a good beer, but could do with a bit of aging. Sweet and strong, and meant to be sipped.

My rating: 3.5/5
Beer Advocate: B+
Rate Beer: 78/100
Pintley: 3.9/5

Escondidian Imperial Black IPA

Brewer: Stone Brewing Co.
Style: up for debate... Black IPA? Cascadian Dark Ale?
ABV: 10.8%
IBU:
Serving Type: 22 oz. bottle poured into an oversize snifter

Pours pitch black with a thin finger of dense brown foam. Not even a hint of highlighting, no light is penetrating this. Good lacing. Northwestern hops are very evident in a piney, resinous, even spruce tree aroma. Strong, even before the beer has really warmed to a proper drinking temperature, but not at all overpowering. And then, I get just a slight hint of medicinality at the tail end.

The flavor... I don't know; can something be intense and subtle at the same time? I feel like that's the best way to describe this hoppiness. It's very present, right up front and every bit as pine tree as on the nose... but doesn't linger, and gives way to a slight roasted malt background. And there is a hint of alcohol warmth, felt more in the gut than the mouth or throat. Very smooth and medium bodied, on the light side in carbonation.

This is a really fine beer, yet conflicting for me. I tell myself that I have no great love for hops, but I keep subjecting myself to beers like this anyway. This could be the best hoppy beer on the planet, and I'll like it just fine, but still prefer a good bourbon barrel stout or Belgian quad. Maybe that's just a failing scoring beers in general. The beer may be flawless, but I feel weird scoring it five out of five when there are so many others, whole styles, that I would prefer to drink. Is that an argument for or against rating to style?

My rating: 4/5
Beer Advocate: A-
Rate Beer: 99/100
Pintley:

Black and Brew Coffee Stout

Brewer: Boston Beer Company

Style: Coffee Stout

ABV: 5.8%
IBU: 60
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle poured into an English pub glass

Pours a deep, dark brown (like so many others, not quite black). Seems totally opaque, but the edges of the glass betray an ever so faint ruby highlighting. A quarter inch of tan colored head dissipates quickly but leaves a then, persistent film with decent lacing for the style. Bitter, dark roasted coffee aroma, fainter than expected. Maybe a little of that green pepper that accompanies coffee sometimes.


Coffee flavor is much more intense than the nose. A good, dark roast. A mild astringency comes off as a quenching acidity. The body is very smooth and creamy, but a tad thin. The body and the 5.8% ABV make this a very (in my book, anyway) sessionable beer, something you don't often see in a good coffee stout. 


A new addition to the Sam Adams winter 12-pack, and a pity there's only two per case.

My score: 4/5

Beer Advocate: A-

Rate Beer: 91/100

Pintley: