(Brewerianimelogs On The Road) Caffè Della Vita (The Coffee of Life) by Monkish Brewing

December 17, 2014 by cloudx30 tagged Anemone, anime artwork, Belgian Tripel, Brewerianimelogs On The Road, Caffè Della Vita, chocolate mocha coffee, Cinnamon, Coffee of Life, creamy vanilla, Etheopian Coffee beans, Ethiopian coffee, Eureka 7, flan, Kochere Coffee, Mocha, mocha coffee, monkish, monkish brewing, peaches and cream, Pistachio, Pistachio beer, pistachio nuts, Pistachio Seme Della Vita, Pistachios, Portola Coffee Lab, Seed of Life, Seme Della Vita, Tres Leches, Tripel, vanilla beans | 1 Comment

Rating: 5.25/5

Caffè Della Vita (The Coffee of Life) by Monkish Brewing is a 9.8% ABV Belgian Tripel brewed with Pistachios, Vanilla Beans and Portola Labs Ethiopian Kochere Coffee

==Introduction==

Recently on tap, Monkish created a variant of their Seme Della Vita which I had reviewed long ago. Seme Della Vita itself is probably my favorite beer yet from Monkish and is pretty much my goto when I am at their brewery. So you can only imagine how much I wanted to try their Coffee Variant and possibly bring it forth to the site. Now to this day, Seme Della Vita is the only Pistachio Belgian beer I have ever tried and has yet to see a bottle release. I am sure the day it does, people will definitelywant to get their hands on this. So this particular variant may or may not even see the light of public day but at least you know such existed. Either way, if you happen to be in the Torrance area, you have to try this one and try some of Monkish Belgian beers, they are pretty damn phenomenal. Thanks to my friend Oscar for joining me on a Friday (12/12/2014) to be able to get this picture of the beer.

Aromas:
Rich coffee, mocha, espresso, java coffee, Khalua cream, vanilla, pistachio ice cream hints, peppercorns, cinnamon, White chocolate notes, chocolate hints, biscuit bread, butterscotch, stone fruit apricots, peaches and cream, apples, flan, tres leches cake, hazelnut nectar, underlying citrus, coriander spice, clove spice and bananas.

Flavors:
Rich Vanilla, mocha coffee, roasted coffee, Java coffee, dulce de leche caramel, biscuit bread, maple syrup, frappuccino, almonds, pecan pie, hazelnut, stone fruit apricot, peaches, apples, butterscotch, Khalua hints, peppercorns, pistachio ice cream, Irish cream, tootsie rolls, strawberry hints, grape, white chocolate, Danish cookies, cake batter, Twinkies, Tres Leches cake notes, citrus, orange peel, coriander spice, phenolic notes, candi sugar, rock candy, flan, crème brulee hints, bananas and clove spice.

Aftertaste:
Coffee lingers along with rich nuttiness of pistachios, cinnamon, vanilla, and candi sugar hints then leavings dry. No alcohol in the taste, clear as day yet golden amber body, syrupy and creamy mouthfeel and sipping drinkability.

Overall:
Perfect and more! With the original Seme plus the introduction of the complex Ethiopian coffee brings out some extra richer notes that were typically not found in the original Seme. The fact that this is a light clear beer but drinks like dark Belgian coffee, is simply crazy. Almost reminds me of those golden stouts, but I digress. All I can say is that I am an even greater fan of this one for sure. If you love the original Pistachio Seme Della Vita and love coffee, well let’s just say this is damn bliss!

Anime Corner:
Anemone from Eureka 7 was used in this pairing as she resembles Eureka which I used in the first Seme Della Vita Pairing. As you can see, the darker colors and pinks represent the change of the beer into the strong dark coffee and more fruity like version of the original Seme Della Vita. This is a coffee dream indeed…

Sources:
http://www.zerochan.net/full/93656

(Brewerianimelogs On The Road) Barrel Aged Vanilla Bean Wreck Alley by by Karl Strauss

May 19, 2014 by cloudx30 tagged bakers chocolate, Barrel Aged, Barrel Aged Wreck Alley, blueberry cheese cake, bourbon barrels, Brewerianimelogs On The Road, cacao nibs, chocolate coffee, cocoa nibs, Coffee Beans, Disgaea, Etheopian Coffee beans, Etna, Imperial Stout, Karl Strauss, Tcho cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, wreck alley | Leave a comment

Rating: 5.75/5

Barrel Aged Vanilla Bean Wreck Alley by by Karl Strauss is a 12.4%ABV Imperial Stout brewed with Cocoa Nibs, Coffee Beans, Vanilla Beans and aged in Bourbon Oak Barrels.

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Like previous versions of Wreck Alley, this batch has additions of cocoa nibs and locally roasted Ethiopian coffee beans. But this time we didn’t stop there. Our brewers split whole vanilla beans from Papua New Guinea, added them to the beer, and left it to age in American oak barrels for an entire year. The result? All of the dark chocolate and espresso-like roast you expect from Wreck Alley, plus exotic vanilla undertones.
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So I had this crazy idea that since I am always out and about trying different beers, why not try to do some quick reviews for some beers that may or may not make it to bottles and may be draft only. I did something like this long ago (https://brewerianimelogs.wordpress.com/2013/08/24/seme-della-vita-the-seed-of-life-by-monkish-brewing/) but never really took off with the idea. This time around I tried a beer at the local Uncle Henry’s Deli near my town which was really damn good. This beer was essentially the same beer I about a year ago (https://brewerianimelogs.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/barrel-aged-wreck-alley-by-karl-strauss/) but with the addition of vanilla beans. Well now, that just added some damn good level of complexity. So basically I liked it so much that I wanted to do a review for it. I also recently heard that this beer may be released in bottles, so if that is the case, I will be sure to review that one too. I will definitely try to do more “on the road” reviews for sure.

Aromas:
Dark, milk, bakers and sweet chocolate, coconut, rich vanilla, oak, coffee, mocha, bourbon, rocky road ice cream, flan, dark fruits like raisins, plums, caramel, toffee, tobacco, brown sugar, anise and berries and cream.

Flavors:
Definitely rich in Dark, milk, bakers and sweet chocolate and vanilla with the mocha coffee coming through very nicely. It is not as light funky as the previous one BA version was which I am sure is where the vanilla comes in. Lots of flavors of caramel, frappuccino, flan, coconut,bourbon, rocky road ice cream, marshmallows, anise, brown sugar, tobacco, toffee, berries and cream, Irish cream notes, dark fruits like raisins, plums, figs and currants.

Aftertaste:
Caramel, vanilla, rich chocolate, coffee, dark fruits, mild coconut lingers. Very well hidden alcohol despite the big ABV. It sure does not drink like a 12% ABV beer. A sipping beer but is very smooth and silky. It is pretty dangerous stuff as I can see finishing off a couple of glasses and then it would not be good for me.

Overall:
Way better than the original and the first Barrel Aged version. I like sweeter beers so this one was sweeter than the original and the BA one so definitely a lot of extra credit there. I would highly recommend this one if you can find it on tap of even on the bottle which I am sure I will definitely try to get to maybe add some more pictures or make a comparison. Either way, definitely get your hands on a couple of drinks of this, with responsibility of course.

Anime Corner:
Etna from the Disgaea series has been a consistent character I have used for the Wreck Alley series ever since the first one I did where it shows her by a slab of concrete that was destroyed. Shes a crazy machine. Then in the second one, it shows her huge like Godzilla sitting next to some buildings. Yep. In this instance, the addition of vanilla to the barrel is like her sitting on a Prinny (the blue penguin aka her minion). So the heightened amount of flavors is like her letting her minions do all the work for her where she can just relax!

Barrel Aged Wreck Alley by Karl Strauss

March 20, 2013 by cloudx30 tagged bakers chocolate, Barrel Aged, Barrel Aged Wreck Alley, blueberry cheese cake, bourbon barrels, cacao nibs, chocolate coffee, cocoa nibs, Coffee Beans, Disgaea, Etheopian Coffee beans, Etna, Imperial Stout, Karl Strauss, Tcho cocoa nibs, wreck alley | Leave a comment

Rating: 5.35/5

Barrel Aged Wreck Alley by Karl Strauss is a 10%ABV Imperial Stout brewed with Cocoa Nibs and Coffee Beans and aged in Bourbon Oak Barrels.

Label:
When we tasted the first batch of Wreck Alley Imperial Stout, we knew barrel-aged versions were in the cards. The only questions were when and how often? Batch #1 answers the first question, and as for Batch #2, you’ll just have to wait and see. Brewed with the same darkly-kilned malts, Tcho cocoa nibs, and Ethiopian coffee beans from Bird Rock Coffee Roasters, Batch #1 was aged three months in American oak bourbonbarrels. The resulting brew is a dark, unblended, and richly flavored union of dark chocolate, espresso, and toasted oak. Grab a bottle while you can, this limited release won’t be around for long
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Been waiting a while for the right time to get this. The fragrance of this beer is of nice dark, milk and bakers chocolate, coffee, some vanilla, some bourbon and funky oak. The flavors are very good and it was a surprise as the fragrances weren’t as complex. The flavors are of a lot Milk chocolate, vanilla, very rich dulce de caramel which is unlike many beers I have tried, a good amount of funky oak, grapes, plums, berries and creme, minor bourbon and almost like a chocolate and blueberry cheese cake flavor. This almost reminds me of the Hellshire II. The Coffee is not as strong or bitter as the smell but it is still there to lend a mocha like twist. It is highly drinkable which is very surprising. Not only is this a 10%ABV beer but the boozyness or even bourbon lends a hand only enough to make this incredible. This may not be like the utmost ABV high of dessert beers I have ever had but, simply because it is a rich and thick dessert beer with hardly any sense of alcohol that I could find offending or even attributing, I still consider this a great beer. I like it a lot. I really think it has to do with my love for rich sweet beers like chocolate rain or organic chocolate. Hell, it lends to hints of berries and crème. That’s good stuff!! Sometimes you don’t have to be highly impacting or complex to get to the sweetness that is a great beer. Some people may not find it as great because it is not a supreme bourbon bomb dessert but regardless it is still a winner and a favorite of mine now.