Category: Beer Reviews

Oh ya, Dawk Lah-gahs.

I love them. They trip you up because they’re so light, you think it’s going to be a heavy feel like a stout or porter. However, if you’re looking for those coffee or espresso notes, you might be to keep trying as it’s not very present in this brew. I kept drinking to find them though, so props to the makers! It’s also perfect as advertised; drink them on a cold winter night and you can’t go wrong.

The malt though, is fantastic! Dark, breadcrusty kind of feel. Apparently all California-grown as well, with German hops added in late in the process. There is some spices too as typical in a winter warmer, but honestly not a great blend (my first thought was burnt popcorn). A really interesting take, but it leaves a lot to be desired overall.

Rating: 5.9

With Tom Bombadil Brady’s 7th ring all but guaranteed, it’s time to start drinking. When quickly picking up groceries before the game at Safeway, I found myself struggling to find a simple and pleasing game-time beer. Typically I shoot for a Trumer Pils or something similar, but with a limited selection, I go for Sierra Nevada fairly often. Being sick of the Celebration Ale, I chose a beer I haven’t visited in awhile – The Extra IPA.

Without going the DIPA route, they max out the amount of hops to their more traditional IPA, and boy is it apparent. It does essentially what it’s made to do: highlights the piney, citrusy whole-conned American hops (think Cascade and Magnum). I probably know better than to describe a drink as “sticky”, but I still feel my lips stuck together a bit! If you really want to learn about hops and their flavor profiles, this would be a perfect “instructor” beer.

Maybe because it’s loaded with an aggressive amount of Magnum hops, this looks and tastes a bit more like a brown ale. Not a bad thing if you’re a fan of those, and it helps to make a smooth taste for a 7.2% beer. However, I don’t think this kind of beer would age well, and looking at the package date, its disappointing to see it was from 3 months ago. Better to try on draft, and if you’ve never been to Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest, then it’s even better to try there! Not that I remember doing so, but I do still have the ticket stub 😂

Rating: 6.9

Diving back into odd selections, this one will throw you for a loop. What is exactly a “gingerbread stout”? I’ve also seen it described as an Imperial Milk Stout. Frankly I couldn’t give two shits – this beer is Christmas in a glass.

Now widely distributed (I pick mine up at the local Trader Joe’s, which in my opinion usually showcases a horrible selection of brews), this is one I recommend to anyone. I would even attempt to get my teetotaler Grandmother to try a taste. This Virginian brewery was the first to attempt a gingerbread stout, and to my knowledge it wasn’t even supposed to become what it is today, as they were just tweaking their imperial porter beer. There is a special type of Hawaiian white ginger used, not native in the country but grown in a farm somewhere in rural Virginia. The same goes for the honey used as well, though not as prominent in the taste.

What separates Christmas Pancakes from their Gingerbread Stout though – it’s re-fermented with maple syrup, in lieu of molasses. What I wish I had more insight on is the malt recipe. I feel like it could use more of a breadiness and I’m curious to know what toasted oats were used. Still – you can find very few stouts in the country that could rival this guy.

Rating: 9.1

There was a time where I would see a beer like this and think “woof”. But the benefit of no longer being a wide-eyed, dumb 21 year old, is that I don’t have to impress anyone with taking 10 beers to the face. So I can take it easy and have one or two Imperial Stouts. Still, at 9.4%, this can easily give you the spins.

Without any research done, all I could tell you about a Russian Imperial Stout is that it’s essentially a stout, but more hops and much stronger. Google tells me this was on purpose; back in the 1600’s, the Russian Czar Peter the Great fell in love with stouts, on a diplomatic visit to London. Beers were sent up the Baltic, but none were surviving the journey by the time they made it to Russia. So, they went for the simple fix and overloaded it with dark malts and hops. When I came out of my IPA phase (more on that for another post. I’m pretty much still in one since I can’t stop drinking them, but I want to make fun of people that do), I found it easier to have beers with high IBUs and a hoppy profile to compare. Enter: stouts and porters. I hope to have an abundance of them reviewed, and Imperial Stouts kind of hit that sweet spot for me between dark/malty, and hoppy/bitter.

For Dust Bowl’s creation, Black Blizzard has all the stuff you love. Roasted barley, chocolate (a surprising amount), coffee. I again had it canned so maybe the steel-flavor you pick up has something to do with how sharp it feels in the mouth. It also has a lower level of carbonation and honestly, I think it could use a bit more age. Still a fantastic beer and one you should experiment with if you’re not a fan of stouts!

Rating: 8.1

The artist’s name is Cory Freeman. He has incredible ideas for concept LotR breweries.

New Life Goals:

1. Invest in $GME, make millions
2. Own a brewery
3. Become a Tolkien Estate licensee
4. Buy concept art
5. Die happy

https://www.neatoshop.com/artist/Cory-Freeman-Design

With my first review, I’ve decided to choose a more local brewery based out of Livermore, CA. When I first saw Morgan Territory at a bar, I was in Lake Tahoe on my honeymoon. We were at a really cool taproom right off Lake Tahoe Boulevard with some incredible selections. But one stood out to me based on name alone. Who wouldn’t want to try something called Zwickelpig? Basic google search tells me it’s named after a certain valve in a fermentor shaped as a pigtail. Maybe it’s because I’ve had so many good experiences with pig-related alcohols (WhistlePig anyone?).

When I actually tried it, I was surprised: it tasted as amazing as it sounds! Like a lot of Hazy Double IPA’s, the taste is going to be different when on tap than canned. Zwickelpig was as cloudy as a Hazy DIPA in appearance. In taste, it comes off more like a Denogginizer: abundance of hops, and your typical West Coast style. Lot of stonefruit, grapefruit notes. For balance alone this is a fantastic interpretation of a Hazy DIPA, though it does stick to the script and leaves more to be desired.

Rating: 8.4

^{a note on my rating system: a standard 0 – 10 scale with a midterm average TBD once I have more content of reviews. Top Box is aimed to be 9-10, again more content will be needed}