Squatters Outer Darkness

It's Halloween, so it only seems right to post about a seriously evil looking brew...that comes from Utah of all places.  Squatters Craft Beers' Outer Darkness is a dark and heavy Russian Imperial Stout, pouring black as the darkest of hearts with an aromatic and foamy head.  The brew smells of roasted malt and barley with hints of molasses, chocolate, oak, and alcohol.  It's a relatively smooth beer, notes of coffee, chocolate, and dark fruits meshing excellently with the oak and high alcohol (10.5%), all with a bitter bite at the end, a dark and tasty libation for an October evening.  Happy Halloween.

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Blue Owl Wee Beastie

Since the explosion of craft breweries began in earnest a few years ago, many make their claim to fame by securing themselves firmly within a particular niche, be it Belgians, IPA's, and so on.  Austin's Blue Owl Brewing specializes in the sour, their collection of fine offerings ranging from tart to "i can't feel my tongue."  The brewer's fall seasonal, the Wee Beastie, a sour Wee Heavy or Scotch ale is definitely one of the more interesting beers i've had the pleasure of imbibing this Autumn.  The brew pours dark and cloudy, with sweet aromas of malt, nuts, and darker fruits permeating from the top of the glass.  It smells delicious.  As for the flavor, the maltiness and nuttiness are definitely present, but fall to the back, the sweet fruit notes at the forefront and the almost overwhelming tartness dominating it all.  That's not necessarily a bad thing.  After the initial shock of just how sour the Wee Beastie is, all the other notes begin to come together nicely, creating quite a complex brew.  And, at 8% ABV, it doesn't mess around, a great post meal drink.

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Deschutes The Abyss 2015 Reserve

"Like liquid God."

Last weekend was pretty beer-centric for me, a whole swirl of activity involving visiting a few local breweries with an old friend and hitting up this year's annual Beer Feast, put on by Flying Saucer.  Keeping track of all the beers i drank and sampled over Friday and Saturday proved easier than in events past (hint: write them down), but the cream of the proverbial crop had to be The Abyss 2015 Reserve barrel aged imperial stout from Deschutes Brewery (as well as the only brew i went back for seconds of).  Wow.  This yearly offering from the brewery comes in at a whopping 12.2% ABV, pours black with a dark tan head, and smells of roasted malt and chocolate with hints of vanilla, toffee, and booze.  The beer is complex with flavors of said malts and chocolate ebbing and flowing with additional notes of vanilla, licorice, molasses, and hints of the oak, bourbon, and wine barrels this thing gets aged in.  A phenomenal beer all around, i will have to be on the hunt for a 2016 edition over the coming months.

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Zombie Monkie

I'll admit it.  Sometimes i make a beer purchase based solely on the name of the brew.  How was i gonna skip out on something called Zombie Monkie?  A tasty porter from Tallgrass Brewing out of Manhattan, Kansas, the beer pours dark with plenty of carbonation and a quickly dissipating tan head.  Aromas of roasted malt abound with some subtle hints of chocolate and coffee.  The beer's flavor is the same but with some slight notes of vanilla on the back end.  All in all, this 6.2% ABV brew is a pretty standard and tasty porter, and great beverage to have on the patio as the nights grow cooler.

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Nitro Pumpkin Spice Latte

Pumpkin beer season is in full bloom, with a smattering of offerings available from many a brewer.  Breckenridge Brewery's Nitro Pumpkin Spice Latte pairs all of the wonderful pumpkin spice flavors with a coffee stout, essentially making an alcoholic version of that seasonal coffee so many people freak out about.  And they do a pretty good job of it.  Pouring a thick and velvety black with a foamy white head (hooray nitrogen!), the stout looks fantastic and smells of roasted malts, coffee beans, and hints of nutmeg, clove, and pumpkin.  The beer is very smooth and easy to drink, subtle notes of the aforementioned nutmeg, clove, and pumpkin, as well as some hints of vanilla meshing wonderfully with the malt and coffee flavors.  All in all, it's a very drinkable beer, and at 5.5% ABV, feel free to have a few...just don't drive later you dummies.

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