Lazarus First Noel

I'm almost done working my way through my holiday line up of beer that i've been saving, and now i've got brews to write about for weeks.  I was lucky enough to snag a bottle of Lazarus Brewing's 2018 version of First Noel, a winter wild ale brewed with 2 strands of Brettanomyces and refermented with figs, and it was delicious.  The 8.5% brew pours gold with a minimal and quickly dissipating head and smells of apple, oak, fig, and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is similar to the aroma, fruit notes and funky sour notes abounding.  It made for an excellent Christmas Eve wind down.

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Saint Arnold French Press

The folks over at Saint Arnold Brewing in Houston never disappoint, and they really kill it with their French Press, an imperial coffee porter.  The 9.4% brew pours a dark blackish brown with a tan head and smells of coffee, chocolate, and malt.  The flavor is similar to the aroma, but well balanced and never too sweet from the chocolate notes.  This one will be a wonderful Christmas treat.

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El Sputniko Imperial Stout

While this pandemic has certainly been a bitch, and we've lost some great breweries along the way, the folks over at Austin Beerworks have managed to tread these waters by releasing new and excellent beers on an almost weekly basis since March.  They've all been delicious, and they've all sold out.  One of the most recent is El Sputniko, a variant of the brewery's Sputnik Stout.  The 8.5% ABV El Sputniko is an imperial stout with coffee, ancho chile, cocoa nibs, and cinnamon, a beer take on Mexican chocolate.  The brew pours a dark blackish brown with an off white head and smells of chocolate, cinnamon, and spice.  The flavor is a nice and surprisingly smooth mix of said chocolate, cinnamon, and spices.  It's kind of Christmassy in its own way, and in general when you slap a luchador mask on something, you've piqued my interest.

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Bell's Old Fashioned Holiday Ale

And it seems that i may have just found my favorite brew of the season, the fantastic and delicious Old Fashioned Holiday Ale from Bell's Brewery.  The 10.8% beer is a bourbon barrel aged scotch ale with added dried cherries and orange peel.  It pours dark brown with a minimal head and smells of orange, spice, and alcohol.  The brew nails the cocktail taste and feel, flavors of orange, bourbon, and bitters highlighted up front, with the cherry and orange in particular becoming more evident as the beer warms.  It's a pricey 4-pack, but so, so good.

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Jester King Detritivore

For the Thanksgiving break, i amassed a small collection of beers to imbibe whilst cooking turkey and snacking on meats and cheeses.  One of those beers was the fantastic Detritivore, a 5.5% wild ale brewed with cherries, from the good folks at Jester King.  The beer pours a cloudy pink with a white head and smells of tart cherries and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is a kind of subtle mix of those same tart cherries and wild yeast funk, never overwhelming and with a refreshing finish, a great day drinker to pair with cooking in the kitchen.

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Stone Xocoveza Imperial Stout

Out of pumpkin ale season and straight into chocolate stout season.  And the always dependable Stone Brewing has one of the tastiest.  The 8.1% ABV Xocoveza pours black with a foamy tan head and smells of chocolate with hints of cinnamon and pepper.  The flavor is more roasted chocolate with notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and pepper.  It's a tasty concoction that's way stronger than it lets on so don't go crazy.

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The Dissident (2019)

Opened a bottle i've been saving a few months over the weekend from the always dependable Deschutes, the 2019 brewing of The Dissident.  The 10.5% ABV take on the classic Oud Bruin was brewed with cherries and aged in oak and pours a coppery color with a white and quickly dissipating head.  Aromas of cherry and oak are evident along with a hint of funk, and the flavor is an acidic mix of said cherries, oak, and funk with some nice tartness to round things out.  It makes for a wonderful pre or post dinner libation.

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Werewolves of Austin

It's Fall which means i'm still very much grooving on the darker brews most of the time, but it's also Central Texas which means it's still warm, so i'm also still very much grooving on citrusy IPA's.  And so we have the Werewolves of Austin Hazy IPA from Austin's Oddwood Ales, a 6.4% ABV brew that utilizes New Zealand hops to create one tasty libation.  The beer pours a hazy, goldish orange with a frothy white head and smells of pineapple, mango, berries, and citrus.  The flavor is a burst of those same notes with some maltiness on the backend to ground things, making for a real smooth and easy drinker.

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Rumpy Rum Barrel Aged Pumpkin Ale

Let's get one more pumpkin ale in as the season comes to a close.  Rahr & Sons make it even livelier by making it extra boozy.  Finishing off a strange but still fun Halloween comes Rumpy, a rum barrel aged pumpkin ale.  The 9% ABV brew pours a goldish brown with a quickly dissipating white head and smells of rum, pumpkins, and spices.  The flavor is similar to the aroma, plenty of rum and pumpkin spice to go around, with some additional hints of brown sugar.  A wonderful Autumn brew.

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Bombon De La Muerte

Got positively decadent over the weekend with my beer selections, probably most notably with the Bombon De La Muerte from Odd Side Ales, a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with chocolate and dead sea salt.  Oh my.  The 14% ABV brew pours black with a brownish tan head and smells of chocolate and booze.  The flavor is a malty mix chocolate, bourbon, oak, with some additional notes of vanilla and molasses.  It paired great with ghost stories and horror movies, and i want more of it.

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Live Oak Pre-War Pils

I know that summer is long gone now, and we we're neck deep in Halloween season, but we still have plenty of warm days around here, and one of my favorite brews from the summer was the Pre-War Pils from Live Oak.  The 5% ABV brew pours a golden straw color with a white head and smells of bread and grains with some hints of lemon and spice.  The flavor is a mix of sweet bread, malt, and notes of herbs, grass, and pepper.  And it's an easy drinker for sure.  I crushed these all summer long, and am hoping for the beer's triumphant return next year.

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Friends & Allies Batkeeper Imperial Stout

I'm at the beach, and the Batkeeper, a barrel-aged imperial stout from Austin's Friends & Allies Brewing, is most certainly not a beach beer.  Maybe a beach by night beer.  But not a beach beer.  That being said, it's a wonderful and strong concoction to wind a day down to.  The 9.5% ABV brew pours brownish black with an off white head and smells of caramel, chocolate, molasses, oak, and booze.  The flavor is a roasty mix of molasses, malt, dark fruits, and hints of chocolate with lingering notes of whiskey and oak.  Real nerve soothing stuff and definitely for the end of the day.

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The Monkster Mash Pumpkin Ale

Pumpkin ale season is in full effect, and really has been for a few weeks now.  One of the latest i've been able to get my grubby little hands on is the The Monkster Mash, and 5.2% ABV pumpkin ale from Spencer Trappist Brewery in Spencer, Massachusetts.  The beer pours an orange-ish gold with a white, quickly dissipating head and smells of pumpkin and pumpkin spices (naturally).  The flavor is slightly more pumpkin than spice, but pretty nicely balanced with maybe a hint of caramel.  All in all, a nice clean pumpkin brew.

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Lazarus Jacob's Ladder

I dig a complex beer, and Jacob's Ladder, a Tepache style wild ale from Lazarus Brewing, is certainly a complex beer.  The beer is brewed with pineapple, peppercorn, ginger, and more, fermented with two different strains of Brettanomyces, and aged in tequila barrels.  Pouring a clear gold, the 8.5% beer smells of pineapple, spices, oak, and funk.  The flavor is similar to the aroma and pleasantly tart with a dry finish.  Gonna need more of this one.

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(512) Young Funkenstein

Every year, i slowly stockpile a collection of beers to age from 1 to 12 months, opening and enjoying it all around Christmas time.  This stockpiling almost always includes a dinner beer or two as well, and i think i may have found my dinner beverage of choice for this year's Christmas dinner (if we make it that far), the 2020 edition of Young Funkenstein from (512) Brewing.  The 7% ABV beer is a copper ale aged in cabernet barrels for 2 years with wild yeast and dried Ranier cherries.  It pours a coppery, red-tinted brown and smells of cherries and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is an enjoyably sour mix of cherry and oak with a dry and slightly funky finish.  I look forward to having a few more of these.

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Circle Perfekt Pils

Summer is almost officially over...not that we ever really got a summer, but whatever...and before i dive head first into my preferred Autumn brews for the next couple months, here's a nice summertime, backyard beer from the good folks at Circle Brewing in Austin.  The Perfekt Pils is a 4.9% ABV German style Pilsner released for the brewery's 8th (!!!) anniversary.  It pours a nice, clear gold with a full and frothy white head and smells of malts and hops.  The flavor is similar, what you would expect from a well made Pilsner.  It's one of those beers that just smells and tastes like beer.  At the end of the day, you really can't ask for more.
 

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Cherub Rock Imperial Pumpkin Porter

It's that time of year again, when every trip to the grocery store ends with me bringing home six packs of pumpkin ales and Oktoberfests.  And...since COVID has basically annihilated any chance of attending an actual Oktoberfest celebration, i'm going to drink the shit out of these two wonderful styles at home, and there's nothing you can do about it.  So far i've managed to bring home a couple of old standards and a couple of newbies.  One of those newbies is the delicious Cherub Rock Imperial Pumpkin Porter from the good folks at Brazos Valley Brewing over in Brenham, Texas.  The 8.5% brew pours a lovely brownish black with a tan head and smells of chocolate, coffee, and pumpkin spices.  The flavor is a malty mix of chocolate, coffee, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg with some hints of clove and licorice.  It's a wonderful and balanced mix of sugary sweet and pumpkin spice.  I hope to be drinking this one all Fall.

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4th Tap Stay Gold Hoppy Pale Ale

Breweries teaming up with pop artists for collaborative beer efforts continues to be one of my favorite things.  The most recent comes from Austin's 4th Tap Brewing and local psychedelic soul group Black Pumas.  And the result is the Stay Gold Hoppy Pale Ale, a lovely 5.5% ABV brew.  Pouring a nice (wouldn't you know it) gold with a frothy white head, the beer's aroma consists of floral notes and some hints of spice.  The flavor is a crisp mix of said spices and florals with some additional notes of citrus and a mild dankness to the whole thing.  Good stuff.

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Austin Beerworks Please Scream Inside Your Heart

It's still a scary year.  And small businesses are still in trouble.  Texas brewers have projected that up to two thirds of independent craft brewers in the state could shutter before year's end.  And that's going to be heartbreaking.  The only bit of light i've really noticed is that all the local beer nerds seem to be trying to do all they can to keep folks afloat.  The breweries are still dropping new releases, and those new releases seem to be selling out.  So that's good.  One of the more recent releases i was lucky enough to snag a 4-pack of was a tasty imperial stout from Austin Beerworks.  Donned with 2020's unintentional motto, the 10% ABV Please Scream Inside Your Heart pours a brownish black with a light tan head and smells of chocolate and orange.  The flavor is a swirling mix of said chocolate and orange along with notes of coconut, vanilla, and malt.  A wonderful nightcap, my wife wanted me to go and get more...but it was already gone.

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Red Horn Saf's London Fog Ale

Every so often i come across a brew that's just as good a night cap as it would be a breakfast beer.  Saf's London Fog Ale from Red Horn Brewing is one of those beers.  The 4.2% English style ale pours a murky, amber-ish, golden brown and smells of tea and honey.  The flavor is sweet, but not overpoweringly so, a mix of Earl grey tea, honey, caramel, and some hints of vanilla and cream.  It's the perfect companion for an English muffin with some butter, and one of my new favorites.

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Alaskan Fireweed Blonde

As it gets hotter and hotter here, i'm always finding myself reaching for something more refreshing and easy to drink.  And so i've got the Fireweed Blonde from Alaskan Brewing.  The beer pours a nice clear gold with a frothy white head and smells of flowers, honey, and spice.  Light sweet notes of honey abound, and at 4.5% ABV, it's an easy backyard drinker.

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Hopsquad Matador Watermelon Mint Summer Ale

Things are beginning to look dire for the craft beer industry in Texas thanks to COVID-19 and a completely bungled response by our state government.  It's projected that 2 out of 3 won't make it to the end of the year.  And there's only so much that the beer-heads like me can do.  I make the rounds on a weekly basis, getting as much beer to go in and around the city as possible.  And i know there are a lot of others doing the same.  Lately, i've been hitting some of the newer breweries, those that had not had a chance to really establish themselves before all of this shit started.  And one of my most recent visits was to Hopsquad Brewing.  Things got a little weird.  I brought home their Matador Watermelon Mint Summer Ale to confuse my taste buds.  The 6.6% beer pours gold with a quickly dissipating head and smells of watermelon, mint, and spice.  The flavor is a mix of watermelon, cucumber, mild spice, and mint in a light bodied brew.  In a lot of ways, it almost felt and tasted like a fresca or something.  It's not going to be for everyone, but if you're game to give it a try, it's different and pretty refreshing on a hot summer day.

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Red Horn Poptart Ravioli?

Poptart Ravioli?  It's a kettle soured strawberry milkshake IPA from Central Texas brewer Red Horn Brewing that involves actual poptarts in the brewing process.  The 6% ABV concoction pours a hazy, reddish gold with a white head and smells of tart fruits, strawberry, and vanilla.  The flavor is a sour mix of strawberry, cream, and just a hint of funk.  I like it when brewers get a little crazy, and it's even better when the end product is this tasty.

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Cigar City Florida Man DIPA

If they're calling it Florida Man, you'd think it would be kind of crazy, or at least illegal in other states.  But the Florida Man Double IPA from the fine folks at Cigar City Brewing is a tasty and balanced brew that could sit right in with your more civilized society, albeit in cut-off shorts and a tank top.  The 8.5% ABV beer pours a cloudy orange with a foamy white head and smells of citrus with notes of pine and florals.  The flavor is a wonderful, syrupy, and (probably too) easy to drink mix of orange, citrus, and tropical fruits with some hoppy pine notes and maybe a hint of clove.  Drink a few of these, take off your shirt, and go cause some trouble.

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Black Is Beautiful Imperial Stout

The murder of George Floyd really set off a spark.  And it's a spark that i sincerely hope ignites a fire.  In light of the wave of Black Lives Matter protests all over the nation, the wonderful folks at San Antonio's Weathered Souls Brewing, a black-owed brewery, have been teaming up with other brewers all over the world to craft a collaborative charity brew that raises awareness for the injustices that people of color face daily and helps to raise funds for police brutality reform and legal defenses for those who have been wronged.  It's a great and important cause and you can find out more about the whole thing here.  In the meanwhile, i was fortunate enough to get to try the version from Family Business Beer Company.  The 9% ABV beer pours black (naturally) with a tan head and smells of malt, chocolate, and coconut.  The flavor is a tasty, roasty mix of malt, chocolate, coffee, toffee, and coconut.  It's a great brew, and i'm curious to give all the other variations a try.

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Whitestone Rated R

There's a lot going on right now.  A lot.  I found myself fighting an oncoming panic attack every other day.  At least i'm drinking more.  Anyhoo, Cedar Park's Whitestone Brewing recently released an insane blended brew called Rated R (the R stands for Ridiculous).  The beer is concocted from 6 different barrel aged brews, as follows:

1. Melted Snowman (winter warmer) aged in Treaty Oak rum barrel for 5 months.
2. Slappin' Da Base Russian Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrel for 12 months.
3. Lovely Day IPA aged in Treaty Oak rum barrel for 27 months.
4. 1431 Amber Ale aged in Madeira wine barrel for 27 months.
5. Boondoggle Brown Ale aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel for 29 months.
6. A different batch of Boondoggle Brown Ale aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel for 29 months.

The 10% beer pours brownish black with an off white head and smells of rum, oak, and vanilla.  The flavor is a complex and boozy mix of rum, bourbon, and oak along with notes of dark fruit, malt, and maybe a hundred other things.  The dark ale is probably not for everyone, but i found it to be delicious and unique.

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Pinthouse Emilio Triple IPA

I'm glad i got to drink a couple of these as they sold out from the brewer within minutes.  Aside from pizza, Pinthouse Pizza also knows how to brew a damn fine beer, and their IPA's consistently knock it out of the proverbial park.  Emilio is a 10.5% Triple IPA that's hazy and juicy and makes waste of lesser IPA's.  Pouring a hazy gold with a white head, the beer smells of tropical fruit, pineapple and grapefruit and mango abounding.  The flavor hits those same tropical fruit notes with some added citrus and a little bit of dank to keep you firmly in IPA country.  It's a fantastic brew that i hope to see again sometime soon this summer.

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Hold Out Brewing Björn Again Texan

I mean, you nickname your beer Norwegian Party Juice, i'm going to have no choice but to drink it.  Despite COVID and lockdown and a surreal last few months, Austin actually managed to gain a new brewery with the long gestating Hold Out Brewing.  And they are a most welcome addition.  What will probably be their mainstay is the aforementioned party juice, the Björn Again Texan, a wonderfully sessionable Kviek Pale Ale.  Pouring a hazy gold with a white head, the brew smells of tropical fruit and just the lightest hint of funk.  The flavor is an easy drinking mix of fruit, pineapple and grapefruit mainly, with a balanced bitterness to keep things cool, all in a 4.9% ABV package.  Looks like i may have a new summertime go-to.

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Jester King Entombment

Looking for a wind down the other night and i found it in Jester King's Entombment, a 10.8% ABV Farmhouse Ale brewed with caramelized Texas wildflower honey and aged in Balcones whisky barrels.  The beer pours a reddish copper color with a small and dissipating white head and smells of tart fruit, oak, and some booze.  The flavor is sweet, tart, and boozy, almost feeling like you're drinking a cocktail, like a Sazerac or something, instead of a beer.  It's a wonderful way to end a stressful day.

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Lazarus Desperate Measures

Small brewers all over the country have done everything they can to stay afloat during this stupid pandemic, to keep the lights on and keep wetting our whistles.  Mainly that's meant online beer-to-go sales and plenty of new brews.  Lazarus Brewing in collaboration with the soon to open Meanwhile Brewing and Charles Faram Inc.'s Hop Breeding Program have created a new beer for our consumption pleasure during these difficult times.  The first of four, Desperate Measures is a 7% ABV brew in what they're calling an Austin-style IPA featuring a proprietary hop named "Harlequin."  The beer pours gold with a white head and smells of hops, spices, and tropical fruit.  The flavor is mix of pineapple and peach notes along with hints of pine and drinkable, hoppy bitterness.  It's kind of a mutant style of IPA, but i am here for it.

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Hedgehog Ericius Russian Imperial Stout

Hedgehog Brewing, one of the new kids in town, and just a couple of miles from my house, have like so many other craft breweries and small businesses around the country been doing their very best to stay afloat during these tumultuous and uncertain times.  And man i hope they make it.  On Friday i enjoyed a bottle of their Ericius Russian Imperial Stout, a 13.5% ABV brew aged in bourbon barrels with some added molasses.  And holy cow was it good.  The beer pours black with a brownish tan head and smells of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, oak, and booze.  The flavor is similar to the aroma, a sweet mix of chocolate, malt, and dark fruit with a generous side of booze and oak on the back end.  This one can pack a wallop too, and serves as a fine companion for B-movie viewing on a Friday night.

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Zilker Late-Night Lookout Hazy Double IPA

It's a gray and rains holiday Monday here in Central Texas, so i'll try to brighten it up with a delicious and tropical noted brew.  Along with some other breweries in the greater Austin area, Zilker Brewing has been pumping out a slew of new beers during our time in lockdown.  The Late-Night Lookout Hazy Double IPA, an 8.2% ABV dream, pours a murky golden wheat with a white head and smells of tropical fruit and funk.  The flavor is heavy on the fruit, pineapple and grapefruit predominantly, but perfectly balanced with just the right amount of dankness.  Let's get more of this please.

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West Sixth Snake Eyes Imperial Stout

Some days it feels like i drink a lot of crazy concocted beers, ales and lagers brewed with all manner of extra matter thrown in.  And while i love those, it's also nice to get straight take on a style that just knocks it out of the park.  There's nothing flashy about the Snake Eyes Imperial Stout from Lexington, Kentucky's West Sixth Brewing, but the 11% ABV brew drinks like a perfect beer.  Pouring a dark, chocolaty black with a tan head, the beer smells of chocolate, coffee, toffee, and some hints of dark berries.  The flavor is a malty mix of said chocolate and coffee notes with some added hints of vanilla and light char.  Wonderful.

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Community Barrel-Aged Mocha Legion

While it's warming up, and my weekend daytime palate usually consists of lagers and IPAs, evenings at home (all of them these days) call for something a little more robust.  And i can think of nothing better to sip while watching Joe Bob Briggs on a Friday night or a 10-part Michael Jordan documentary on a Sunday than Community Beer Co's Barrel-Aged Mocha Legion, a tasty 12% ABV Russian Imperial Stout that totally rounds out my weekends.  The beer pours a dark black with a beige head and smells of chocolate, malt, oak, booze, and a hint of coffee.  The flavor is heavy on the chocolate and oak, but with the malt balancing it out, the booziness hitting on the back end, and subtle notes of coffee and toffee throughout.  Sip slow and enjoy.

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TUPPS Imperial Pastry Sour Ale

When we start talking Texas brewers, McKinney's TUPPS Brewery probably doesn't get near the notice it should be getting, with a whole slew of interesting and tasty brews in their lineup.  Recently i took on their Imperial Pastry Sour Ale, an 8.9% ABV sour ale brewed with graham cracker, blackberry, and red currant.  The beer pours a hazy cranberry color with a light pink head and smells of tart fruits and biscuits.  The flavor is a sweet and lightly sour mix of fruit and malt with some notes of the currant on the back end, like drinking a piece of pie.

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Austin Beerworks Incognito Cowgirl

Over the weekend, a bunch of breweries and Texas beer people put together an event called The Great Texas Beer Run, the idea being to pick up as much beer to go from your favorite local brewers as possible.  I've pretty much been doing this every weekend since the lockdown began, but it was nice to participate in more of an official capacity this time around, hitting up 5 breweries over the last couple days.  I wish i could have done more...but i'll be back.  My favorite score of the weekend was the brand new Incognito Cowgirl from Austin Beerworks, a delicious, 8.2% ABV double IPA.  The beer pours a murky straw color and smells of pineapple and tropical fruit.  The flavor is that same mix of tropical fruit, the pineapple up front and center, with some dankness on the back end and a juicy mouthfeel.  A really wonderful beer for the Spring.  Hopefully someday we'll all be able to share one together.

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Lazarus Blushing Bride

I wish i could do more.  I wish i could go to every brewery in Central Texas every week and buy beer to go.  I wish i could help keep the lights on indefinitely.  I'll do what i can, but we've already lost at least one brewer to the virus (RIP NXNW).  Just try and stay afloat.  Anyway, Lazarus Brewing is doing what they can too, beginning to can some of the beers for easier access as well as setting up some collaborative brews that we will hopefully be sipping very soon.  They've also got bottles of their Blushing Bride, a delicious, 10% ABV Belgian Tripel with orange blossom honey and aged in white wine barrels.  The beer pours a nice straw color with a white head and smells of orange, fruit, and white wine.  The flavor is dominated by the white wine notes but with hints of orange and pear and a dry finish.  It's a wonderful beer, and i'll have to procure some more of it soon.

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Austin Beerworks Sakuma Sour Ale with Cherries

Still doing what i can to help out as many breweries in the greater Austin area as possible, my most recent beer-to-go purchase came from local mainstay Austin Beerworks.  The 5.99% ABV Sakuma Sour with Cherries pours a mix of red and brown and gold and smells of cherries and tartness and just a little bit of funk.  Flavors of tart cherries abound in this barrel aged brew with a lovely all around sourness that never gets to be too much.  I'm going to have to get more of these.

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Red Horn Wild Wineoceros

I've been doing my best to help out the local brewers by ordering a whole load of to-go beer and then picking it all up around the greater Austin area.  It's good.  It gets me out of the house, but still maintaining social distance as i hardly even get out of the car, and it gets me tons of great beer.  One of my visits this weekend was Cedar Park's Red Horn Coffee House and Brewery where i picked up a variety of brews.  One of those was the Wild Wineoceros, an 8% ABV brett beer aged with grapes and juice.  The beer pours nice and gold with a pretty quickly dissipating white head and smells of fruit, tart, and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is a dry and funky mix of grapes, yeast, tart (but not overly tart) fruit.  It's a wonderful beer for a Saturday afternoon, rain or no.

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Strange Roots Experimental Ales Ancient Vortex

One of the things i asked for for Christmas last year was a rare beer club membership.  Nobody got it for me.  So i just got it for myself.  And so far, one of the wonderful brews that's been sent my way is the Ancient Vortex, a Belgian style dark ale brewed with raw cacao and candi sugar from Strange Roots Experimental Ales out of Pittsburgh.  The 9.2% ABV beer pours a dark, brownish black with a tan head, and smells of chocolate, dark fruits, and Belgian yeast.  Flavors of dark fruit, malty caramel, and notes of dark chocolate abound in a beer with a light feel and medium body.  And it's surprisingly easy to drink too.  Bring on some more rare brews.

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Saint Arnold Commitment Imperial Stout

Spring Break is over.  The kids are still home.  And we're working from home.  And we can't go anywhere.  The next few weeks are going to be stressful, and admittedly scary.  Our leaders are either complete morons, wholly corrupt, or nowhere to be seen.  It's going to get worse before it gets better.  So, yeah i'm going to drink.  And it's all going to go straight to my head, particularly when it's something as tasty and strong as the Commitment Imperial Stout from Saint Arnold Brewery.  The 13.4% ABV brew pours black with a brownish head and smells of chocolate, molasses, and spice.  The flavor is a mix of dark chocolate with subtle notes of vanilla, cherry, and dark fruit, with a hint of alcohol.  And it's easy to drink too.  Probably too easy.  But these are strange, stressful, and scary times.  So enjoy.

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Odd Side Passion Dank Juice

What a long, strange day it's been.  Driving to work this morning with next to no traffic, the combined result of people having left town for Spring Break, the lack of influx of out-of-towners for a cancelled SXSW, and a coronavirus pandemic that just gets scarier and scarier with each passing hour.  I drove through a deserted downtown to get to the office, and then noticed the closed stores and restaurants during my lunch break.  The school district my kids attend called and emailed with the word that a return to school is now postponed until April.  And then my boss made the decision to have as many staff members as possible work remotely from home.  It's weird out there people.  And i'm trying not to panic.  And the Passion Dank Juice from Odd Side Ales is doing everything it can to help with that.  Pouring a hazy straw gold, the 6.75% New England IPA is, as its name would suggest, and dank and juicy treat.  Aromas of tropical fruit and passion fruit abound with some hints of spice and hops, and the flavor is a crisp mouthful of said tropical and passion fruits along with some grapefruit bitterness and lacey dankness.  Wonderful stuff.  I'll have to brave the virus and depleted grocery stores to obtain some more.

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Moondog Imperial Stout

Earlier this week i turned 41, and what better way to celebrate getting one year closer to leaving this mortal coil than by ending the evening with a delicious brew.  The brew in question this year comes from Whitestone Brewing here in Cedar Park and their Moondog Imperial Stout, a milk stout brewed with fig and coconut.  The 11.5% ABV beer pours black with a tan head and smells of figs and molasses with some hints of vanilla and booze.  The flavor is sweet, heavy on the fig, with a boozy finish.  Wonderful.

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Blue Owl Dapper Devil

Some weekends, a sour beer is just the right way to go.  And so we have the Dapper Devil from Blue Owl Brewing, a sour raspberry Belgian Strong Ale that certainly does not disappoint.  Pouring a nice ruby red with a light pink head, the beer smells of raspberries (naturally) with some some hints of the Belgian yeast.  The flavor is heavy on the raspberries, with a nice and dry tartness that really masks the brew's 9% ABV.  Watch out, because it will sneak up on you.  All in all, a great Sunday beer.

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Odd Side Peanut Butter Cup Stout

The can art alone made me check this one out.  Odd Side Ales' Peanut Butter Cup Stout pours a dark, brownish black with an off white, quickly dissipating head and smells like peanut butter and chocolate.  I'd say it's almost the same aroma as if you were to break a actual peanut butter cup in half.  Flavors of peanut butter and chocolate abound in this 7.75% ABV brew, with some subtle hints of toffee, coffee, and molasses.  And after some deliberation, it was decided that the song the peanut butter cups on the can are high stepping to is "Satellite of Love" by Lou Reed.  Just Because.

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Cigar City Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Brown Ale

I'm always stoked when we get some different stuff from Tampa Bay's Cigar City Brewing here in Central Texas.  They're one of the best brewers in the country, and anything they deem worthy to send here is always welcome.  And so, i spent Saturday with the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Brown Ale, a 5.5% ABV English Brown Ale.  Pouring a dark, blackish brown with a white head, the beer smells of malts, chocolate, toffee, cinnamon, and dark fruit.  The flavor is a lovely mix of said chocolate and toffee notes with raisins and some hints of cinnamon and oatmeal.  It really does taste like a cookie.  A delicious, alcoholic cookie.

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Violet! You're Turning Violet! Blueberry Sour IPA

The folks over at Martin House just keeping it up with the hits lately.  Every concoction that they put their minds to ends up pleasantly surprising my palette.  And the Violet! You're Turning Violet! Blueberry Sour IPA does not disappoint.  Pouring a purplish (violet) hue with a bubbly white head, the 6.3% ABV smells of tart blueberries with hints of citrus and hops.  The flavor is a lot of blueberry and a lot of sour, but with some stabs of bitterness to counterbalance the whole thing.  Hoping this is the first of a whole series of chocolate factory demise-themed beers.

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3 Nations Devout Imperial Milk Stout

Been grooving on the decadent side of beer lately, and the Devout Imperial Milk Stout from 3 Nations Brewery has had me covered.  Pouring a dark black with minimal tan head, the 8.3% ABV brew smells of chocolate with notes of coffee and cream.  Chocolate and toffee flavors abound along with some alcohol notes and some subtle dark fruit vibes.  It's a wonderful wintertime beer, even if it's warm outside.

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Sound Ursus Speleus

Back in September, a good friend came to visit and brought me some beer from Washington from the gone but not forgotten Sound Brewing.  And on Christmas i finally enjoyed the Ursus Speleus, a 10% Belgian strong dark ale brewed with coffee.  The beer pours a dark black with a tannish head and smells of malts, chocolate, coffee, and notes of fruit and spice.  The flavor is full of those same chocolate and coffee notes with splashes of dark fruit and Belgian yeast to keep it balanced.  Sound, we will miss you.

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Jester King Moderne Dansk

Over halfway through January, and i'm finally getting around to writing about my Christmas beers.  All year long, i pick up bottles to store and save and age for use over my holiday, and here i am.  Moderne Dansk from Jester King is a 7.1% ABV wild ale aged in aged in Danish cherry wine barrels and refermented with Danish Stvensbaer cherry juice.  I picked one of these up over Father's Day weekend and had been waiting anxiously for it ever since.  Pouring a deep reddish hue with a pink head, the beer smells of cherries (naturally) and some subtle hints of oak.  The flavor is a tart, but not too tart, mix of cherry and oak with a slight hint of alcohol, a wonderful meal accompaniment.

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