Yakima Glory - Victory Brewing Company

Vitals:

Name: Yakima Glory

Style: American Black Ale

IBU: ??

ABV: 8.7%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Riley's Wines of the World

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a dark chocolate color with a finger of creamy tan head. The retention is decent, with a concentrated cap in the middle of the beer. The lacing is just okay, but not a major concern. Too dark to see if there is much carbonation :-O

Smell: smells like toasted caramel malt mostly. Has a smell of raisins to it and some pleasant citrus hops toward the back end. Not extremely complex, but pleasant.

Taste: Wow, very interesting! So, this starts out mostly malty, sweet and caramel-y, but more lightly toasted than I thought from the smell. The taste rolls into a brief citrus hop and grapefruit flavor, which then gets completely engulfed by a huge roasted malt finish that tastes like coffee. It's so odd because you get that roasted flavor with a bitter hop bite, but it's missing most of the hop flavor that accompanies the actual bite. So interesting, and I like it quite a bit.

Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel/body but definitely on the sticky/oily side of things. Adequately carbonated, nothing out of the ordinary here really.

Overall Grade: A-

Comments: This beer is unlike anything I've previously had..it's like a light, hoppy stout...just awesome. I would highly recommend that you try this, at least just for the experience. Life is about collecting experiences, and this is definitely a very unique one, as far as beers go...should be available in many places, as Victory has good distribution.

Cheers,

Hurls

Satin Solstice Imperial Stout - Central Waters Brewing

Vitals:

Name: Satin Solstice Imperial Stout

Style: American Imperial Stout

IBU: ??

ABV: 7.5%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Trixie's Liquor

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a dark brown, or maybe black, with about half a finger of head that is coffee/milk-chocolate colored. Very poor retention, weak cap, weak lacing. 

Smell: Smells very good! Roasted coffee and even a bit like a tootsie roll; you get a faint smell of chocolate, caramelized brown sugar, and maybe some fig? I'm not so great with dark beers at this point for lack of experience.

Taste: HEAVILY roasted malts hammer you from the outset, with the taste of black coffee coming in at the back end. The chocolate comes through a little bitter, more like baking chocolate that is unsweetened. This beer is very solid and hides the ABV very well. You also get some slightly earthy hops lingering in the background. Make no mistake, this is not a very complex tasting beer, but it serves its purpose and is solid.

Mouthfeel: Heavy heavy heavy, but a VERY smooth drink, doesn't leave you dried out in the least, but honestly gives your mouth a nice coat of coffee/cocoa taste. Pleasant mouthfeel for me, aside from how heavy the beer is.

Overall Grade: B

Comments: This is a pretty solid offering for a heavy, dark beer. It's also the first Central Waters I've tried and I can say I'm not disappointed. This is a good enough dark beer to get me excited to try some more dark beers this winter. This beer would honestly be great on a cold winter evening by a roaring fire...the summer heat doesn't do it the justice that it deserves. Wait for the weather to get cold and snatch up a few of these for a snowy night!

Cheers,

Hurls

Robert the Bruce - Three Floyd's Brewing

So, here goes nothing with my first dark beer review - a Scottish Ale. I feel better about the fact that I'm trying this one out because it's brewed by Three Floyd's, which is typically just great all-around in what they brew. Let's see how it goes!

Vitals:

Name: Robert the Bruce

Style: Scottish Ale

IBU: 30

ABV: 7.0%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Trixie's Liquor

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a deep mahogany color that reveals an almost dark ruby color if you hold it in the light. About half a finger of tan head (I'm surprised there wasn't more than that) which is pretty creamy but doesn't stick around too long.

Smell: Believe it or not the primary smell I get here is of raisins. There is a very sweet note to the aroma, maybe grapes or brown sugar? All of this is held up by a strong roasted malt smell. On second thought, I think what I smell is a hint of figs (maybe not the grapes/brown sugars that I hinted at earlier).

Taste: This beer is GOOD; you get a strong roasted flavor from the outset (it's almost like coffee in the way it tastes roasted). You get a bit of chocolate undertones as well I think. You can definitely note the 7.0% ABV in the aftertaste, just a BIT more than you should, IMHO. You get some leafy hops at the finish, giving it a slight bitterness, and the beer warms you up slightly as it goes down. The most surprising thing with the taste is that the raisin smell didn't manifest itself in the beer very strongly, if at all.

Mouthfeel: THIS is where the beer is a huge win for me. If I'm going to drink a darker beer I want it to be a medium body type like this. There's a tiny bit of chewiness to it, but also a lot of carbonation, which strangely play well off of each other and create a great drinking experience.

Overall Grade: B+

Comments: This is a very good beer, and I've come to expect nothing less from Three Floyd's. The beer is quite deceiving when you get to the mouthfeel after only looking at the beer. The taste is unique and the body invites you to have a few, unlike some other darker beers that leave you feeling like you just ate a 3 course meal involving a very large chunk of red meat. This certainly wins some points for dark beer in my book and could very well expand my horizons (you're welcome, Bhavin). If you can get your hands on this and are a fan of dark beer, definitely pick some up and try it out. If you hate dark beers with a fiery passion, this could possibly sway you a bit, but it's all about keeping an open mind and appreciating the beer for what it is!

Cheers,

Hurls