Tag Archives: flavors

Obsidian Stout by Deschutes Brewery

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1003321_10101288136476140_1180481259_nRating: 4.75/5

Obsidian Stout by Deschutes Brewery is a 6.4% World Class American Stout

Label: 
Deep, robust and richly rewarding, this is beer to linger over. Obsidian has distinct notes of espresso, chocolate, roasted malt and black barley, with just enough hop bite to cut the sweetness.
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Considered the second best regular American Stout in the World by Beer Advocate. A common beer at that, I wanted to see what makes this one good.

Aromas are of dark and milk chocolate, roasted coffee, vanilla, caramel hints, licorice, molasses, hazelnut, tobacco hints and a bit of smoke.

The flavors are of dark and milk chocolate, roasted coffee, vanilla cream, rye bread, brownies, caramel notes, tobacco, licorice, smoked ham, earthy hops, currants and espresso notes.

The beer almost feels like a dry Irish stout except for the fact that the flavors stay lingering so technically not dry at all. Only an illusion of the palette. Lots of coffee bitterness in the aftertaste.

Maybe because I am a fan of Russian, Belgian and American Imperial Stouts that I cannot see this one in the heights of the awesome imperial stouts. But in the height of just basic American stout, trust me, Guinness bows before this one’s might! The different amount of flavors is enough to distinguish it as one of the best. As you let it sit, the bitterness does seem to dissipate giving way to nice chocolate and caramel flavors. I think the key as to why this beer is good is because of the developing flavors that change with every sip. Kinda like, Abyss?…well… not that far, but it’s a start.

Adam (Batch 87) by Hair of the Dog

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!944350_10101174682289240_2136234286_nRating: 5/5

Adam (Batch 87) by Hair of the Dog is a 10% ABV World Class Old Ale

Label: 
Adam is made with North­west hops, Organic Pil­sner malt and a vari­ety of spe­cialty grains. The fla­vors in this beer have been com­pared to choco­late, smoke, leather and figs. Brewed in lov­ing mem­ory of Adam Ker­chival (11−30−69 | 01−26−05); Brewer and friend.
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This is my first hair of the dog beer review. I heard a lot of great things about this one so when I finally had the chance to try this one, I was pleasantly surprised.

Aromas were very prominent in this beer. Aromas of Cherry, oak, raisins, smoke, chocolate, leather, molasses, licorice,caramel, grapes, figs, tobacco, spiced rum, 

The flavors are of rich dark and bakers choco­late, smoked and roasted malts, campfire marshmallows, raisins, caramel, licorice, soy sauce, molasses, cherries, figs, tobacco, plums, oak, slight rum notes, blueberries, grapes, blackberries and honey glazed ham

Definitely one of a kind beer. Something of a mix smokey sweet but not too sweet while still leaving room for bitterness cannot note the alcohol. Highly recommended. It turned out to be pretty awesome and definitely high class.

A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ by Lagunitas

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!970556_10101174680817190_954908160_nRating: 4.8/5

A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ by Lagunitas is a 7.5% ABV American Pale Wheat Ale

Label: 
So, we’re all on collective disability. That’s cool. Let’s put some ice on it and keep ourselves elevated for a while. So, what’s on the tube..? Honey..? Get me a beer from the fridge… Will ya..? Sweetie..? Pleeease..?”
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I had this beer a couple of times in the past. Haven’t had a chance to review it until as I was able to snag some left over bottles from my friend’s house, he wanted me to keep them. 

First aromas you get right off the bat are piney, grassy, herbal and grapefruit hops, honey, pineapple, biscuit bread, apricot, wheat, citrus and a touch of mango.

The flavors are of honey, grassy, herbal, floral, piney and grapefruit hops, caramel, pineapple, wheat, biscuit bread, orange juice, coriander spice, lemon, apricot, mango, candi sugars and some papaya notes.

This is not a very common style, however, with the flavors similar to an IPA but with a lot of tropics and moving into the realms of wheat beer, I say this has got a lot of good tropical stuff going on. It is a very nice beer with well hidden alcohol and great tropical flavor.