Categorized under: BeerNow, Great Divide, Oskar Blues

Virtual Colorado Beer Tasting #bbc10

In advance of the inaugural 2010 Beer Bloggers Conference in Boulder this November, a virtual Colorado beer tasting was organized to generate excitement (as if there wasn’t enough already) about Colorado brews. The following is a record of what transpired:

9:30pm EST

Great Divide Brewing Company @greatdividebrew

Samurai
Rice Beer
5.1%

Great Divide - Samurai

From the brewery:

Samurai is an easy drinking, unfiltered ale that changes the status quo for unfiltered beers. The addition of rice gives Samurai a slightly fruity, crisp, refreshing and clean taste. This is definitely not your everyday unfiltered beer. 5.1% ABV

Appearance (3/5): Pours a dirty yellow hue with brilliant clarity crowned by a very healthy two-finger pillowy white head. Excellent clarity. Moderate duration leaving a modicum of lacing behind.

Aroma (6/10): Initial aroma is light sugary sweet with a subtle straw malt backbone, dissipates quickly on the nose. Faint earthy hop presence.

Taste (7/10): Initial taste delivers a quick hit of sweetness that moves sharply to a dry bitter finish with some cereal grain flavor.

Palate (3/5): Dryness akin to post-Saltine effect. Watery but with some substance. Lingers long on the palate.

Overall: This is not a style we run into very often…in fact, it’s the first rice beer we’ve reviewed out of the 700 (officially) we’ve done. Having said that, it blows any beer we’ve had from Japan away in both body and taste 🙂

Score: (19/30)

10:06pm EST

Oskar Blues Brewery @oskarblues

Gubna
Double IPA
10%

From the brewery:

Emphasizing that complexity of character can arise from simple elements, this ale is made with three malts and one hop. Its light amber color and slightly spicy malt character are derived from the use of German Dark Munich Malt and Rye Malt respectively. North American 2-row barley combines with the other grains to lay the foundation for the hop onslaught to come. Summit hops are used exclusively in the boil for bitterness, flavor and aroma but it doesn’t end there. Post-fermentation dry hopping allows the 10% ABV monstrosity to gently coax the citrus rind and grapefruit aroma to join the 100 IBUs already present. This beer should greet you with a pungent citrus blast, provide a spicy yet round middle and finish with a brisk, clean bitterness.

Appearance(3/5): Pours a medium amber hue under a frothy off-white one-finger head with decent retention. Slight haze in the body, minimal activity, sticky residue remains as the head retreats.

Aroma(8/10): An immediate and unadulterated harsh hop blast with citrus and almond notes completely overwhelms the malt profile. Moderate alcohol astringency cuts through at the finish.

Taste(8/10): Initial taste is moderately bitter that quickly ramps up to heavy bitterness with ruby red grapefruit at the front and alcohol warmth at the back.

Palate(4/5): Palate-wrecking hop bite, medium body, warm alcohol presence without a killer burn.

Overall: Our mouths are rendered useless after this brew, with copious amounts of harsh hops and plenty of alcohol on the throat. Yet another outstanding offering from Oskar Blues.

Score: (23/30)

10:22 EST

Fort Collins Brewery @fortcollinsbrew

2008 Doppelbock
Smoked
10.2%

Fort Collins - Doppelbock

From the brewery:

The world’s first double smoked Doppelbock. A powerful brew that has been lagered in our cellars for six months.

Appearance(3/5): Pours a dark caramel brown hue topped by a quickly dissipating tan colored head leaving no residue behind. Still body with brilliant clarity. Settled color has some red undertones.

Aroma(9/10): Barnyard/hay initial aroma with a smoked/peat finish with significant bacon notes with increasing strength over time. Strong alcohol presence.

Taste(7/10): Initial taste is a bit of sweet with a slightly sour finish accompanied by some well-done grilled pork.

Palate(4/5): Medium body with a watery texture. Alcohol is pretty well masked by the smoke given the +10% abv. Long duration with the smoke although all other flavors fall off.

Overall: Gorgeous color but minimal head and no lacing kept this from jumping higher in appearance (granted the bottle has been cellared for two years so that is a consideration). Great smoked flavor and aroma lend themselves to this brews uniqueness. Lingering taste reminds us of stirring the burnt embers at the end of a great campfire. This beer is both nostalgic and refreshing.

Score: (23/30)

Beer Bloggers Conference Live Tasting

A clay replica of the Colorado state flag that I made in 4th grade in 1986 when I lived in Boulder…just for fun.

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