• Review – Southern Tier crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout

    November 13, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Today I am reviewing Southern Tier’s crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout.  We did our real beer float review a few weeks ago and several people suggested we use this beer.  I couldn’t find any at the time, but last week I found a bottle of it at a great beer store, The Perfect Pour.  They had so many great beers I felt like I had died and gone to heaven.  I’m watching football while getting a few things done around the house, so Chris will not be with me and I’ll be going this one alone.  Also, I was a little lazy and used my cell phone camera instead of my real camera for the pictures.


    In our ongoing review series we’ll be covering the following 5 items:

    • Appearance
    • Aroma
    • Mouthfeel
    • Flavor
    • Aftertaste

    Here is a quick guide for the beginner http://indybeers.com/beer-tasting-guide/.

    About Southern Tier Brewing Company:

    Based out of Lakewood, New York they started operations in 2002 and have grown to produce over 30,000 barrels annually.  They were listed as one of the top 50 American breweries in the June ’07 issue of  BeerAdvocate magazine.  The crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout is listed as a Summer seasonal on their beer page, so I was happy to score one in mid-November.

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/stbcbeer

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SouthernTierBrewingCompany

    crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout 

    Without Ice Cream

    Appearance

    Scott: Very dark brown, almost black in color.  The head lasted about a minute before dissipating.

    Aroma

    Scott: Unquestionable smell of crème brûlée.  I’m looking forward to getting a taste of this one.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Somewhere between a syrup and a creme with light carbonation.

    Flavor

    Scott: No mistaking this flavor.  It is a liquid form of one of my favorite desserts.

    Aftertaste

    Scott: There is a slight bitterness.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott: Very good, although not something I would have sought out.  With plenty of other stouts from which to sample I don’t see this one coming back around too soon, which is fine as it is a seasonal beer.

    crème brûlée Imperial Milk Stout

    With Ice Cream

    I still had some Hoffmans Ice Cream left from our real beer float review, and as this was one of the beers recommended by the reddit.com commentators,  I decided to try this with Ice Cream, too.

    Appearance

    Scott: Well, head abounds.  Like the others poured over ice cream, this beer wants to fill the glass with head.

    Aroma

    Scott: I need an old school batman POW or BAM image to describe how the smell crème brûlée is hitting me in the face.  While the smell was there without the ice cream, the combination of the two has pushed the smell over the top.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Similar to the other real beer floats, this one has that nice creamy feel, compliments of the coupled dessert.

    Flavor

    Scott: High quality palate pleasure.  If you love crème brûlée, this is for you, but drinking this while eating crème brûlée may be overkill.  If you can’t have crème brûlée, this is a cold, second cousin.

    Aftertaste

    Scott: Seeing I finished the whole thing in about a minute, aftertaste is all I have.  Like any good dessert following a great meal, I feel well satiated with a pleasant “mmmmm” resonating though my mind.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott: If you get the chance , give this a try.  Ice cream and beer has been a new found pleasure for me, and this one is high on the list of those I think anyone new to the experience would enjoy.

     

  • Review – Blue Point Brewing Company Toasted Lager

    October 4, 2011 Author: Scott
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    Today Chris and I are reviewing Blue Point Brewing Company‘s Toasted Lager.  Like last time we are doubling up by doing the review while working on the website. In our ongoing review series we’ll be covering the following 5 items:

    • Appearance
    • Aroma
    • Mouthfeel
    • Flavor
    • Aftertaste

    Here is a quick guide for the beginner http://indybeers.com/beer-tasting-guide/.

    About Blue Point Brewing Company:

    Based out of Patchogue, NY they brew about 30,000 barrels annually, having just passed the 10 year mark in brewing.  They are happy to offer free tours and beer samples at the brewery, so if you find yourself in the middle of Long Island, NY, check them out.

    Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/BluePointBrewer

    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BluePointBrewery

    Appearance

    Scott:  This time around I gave Chris the beer with the light head, and poured mine with more of a heavy hand.  While this caused for a good bit of head at first, it was almost gone about 2 minutes later.  The color is a nice copper tone, as you would expect from a lager.

    Chris: While this is only our second review this is not Scott’s second beer. He may get better at pouring beers with practice, but come on. Really, again? Enough messing around, this beer golden with hints of browns and yellows. The head on mine was thin with small light bubbles. It doesn’t strafe from your typical lager.

    Aroma

    Scott: The isn’t much of a nose on this one, but what you do get is full of malt.

    Chris: As I mentioned in the Stone Review, I’m recovering from a head cold. I’m at the tail end but my sense of smell is still really lacking. The aroma is weak and barely leans towards the sweetish side.

    Mouthfeel

    Scott: Wow, mouthfeel, can’t find it as I’m lost in flavor.  After a few more sips I’m getting a full head of bubbles that seem to explode as soon as they touch your tongue, but quickly dissipate.

    Chris: I’m still not sure how this is a category yet. Feels like beer.

    Flavor

    Scott:  With the bubbles gone I’m left with a nice classic lager flavor, if not slightly light.

    Chris:  This beer has a light flavor which is slightly sweet. Even though I mention its sweetness I can’t stress enough the that its flavor is light.

    Aftertaste

    Scott:  I definitely get the “toasted” part of this beer.  With the bubbles and initial flavor gone I’m left with a short lingering reminder of something that was cooked over an open fire.  Very pleasant.

    Chris: Like the flavor, the aftertaste is pleasant, light and somewhat short lasting.

    Final Thoughts

    Scott:  I’ll give this one a 3.5/5.  Not big on flavor, but there’s more than enough to go around.  It does, however, seem to be going down very easy.  At 5.5% these could sneak up on your quickly.  Fun stuff for sure.

    Chris: This is one of those beers that while I find difficult to describe it has unwritten qualities. It’s not overpowering in any aspect which makes it an easy beer to drink without thought. It has a nice flavor and aroma but neither bully you around the bar. I’m fairly certain that my fiance would love this which, for me is a plus. Score it a 3.5/5.