Imperial Loakal Red by the Bruery

July 15, 2013 by cloudx30 tagged barley wine, Barleywine, Bruery, food, hop bitterness, imperial amber, Imperial Amber Ale, Imperial Loakal Red, imperial red, loakal Red, my bloody valentine, Naruto, Oak Aged Red, scotch whiskey, Tayuya, The Bruery | Leave a comment

Rating: 5.5/5

Imperial Loakal Red by the Bruery is a 12%ABV Imperial Amber/Red Ale hybrid made with 75% Red Ale and 25% Red Ale aged in oak Barrels

Label:
We took our hoppy American red ale, delightfully citrusy and full of flavor from new American Oak – and made it bigger, bolder and more exceptional. Imperial Loakal Red is best enjoyed fresh. Please store in a cool, dry place. The ideal serving temperature is 50 deg Fahrenheit (7 deg Celsius). Best served in a tulip or wine glass.
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When I first had the chance to try their Loakal Red, I was very impressed. The beer was along the lines of Troeggs Nugget Nectar and My Bloody Valentine. I was recommended to actually try the Imperial version of it. After opening the bottle the aromas were very rich. Hype aside, I would consider this to an even higher amber status than Nugget nectar and the Valentine which are harder to get.

Aromas are of very rich caramel, toffee, oak, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, citrus, grapefruit, grassy and herbal hops, honey, vanilla, coffee notes, french toast, brown sugar, cherries, mango, maple syrup, scotch, apricots, dragon fruit, coconut and pecan pie.

The flavors are close to a Barleywine, its crazy. You get lots of rich caramel flavors, vanilla, toffee, oak, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecan pie, french toast covered in maple syrup, brown sugar, citrus, grapefruit, grassy, herbal and floral hops, honey, cherries, mango, peaches, pineapple, scotch whiskey notes, slight coconut and tangerines.

The alcohol is present but the beer hides it well. You don’t feel it until alittle bit later. Quite the flavorful rich beer. The after taste keeps lingering with sweet caramel and hop bitterness. It is very pleasant. Will definitely need to get this again. This has become my new favorite amber ale. It is not often I get to try ambers but this one fits the bill perfectly as to what awesome ambers should be.

Nugget Nectar by Tröegs Brewing

March 15, 2013 by cloudx30 tagged Amber Ale, barley wine, best beers in the world, fruit punch flavor, Ghost Sweeper, grapefruit marmalade, GS Mikami, hop flavors, imperial amber, Imperial Red Ale, india pale ale, IPA, Mikami, Reiko Mikami, world class beers | Leave a comment

Rating: 5.45/5

Nugget Nectar by Tröegs Brewing is a 7.5%ABV Imperial Amber/ Red Ale. Considered by many, the best Amber ale in the world

Description:
Squeeze those hops for all they’re worth and prepare to pucker up: Tröegs’ newest single batch brew, Nugget Nectar Ale, will take hopheads to nirvana with a heady collection of Nugget, Warrior and Tomahawk hops. Starting with the same base ingredients of our flagship HopBack Amber Ale, Nugget Nectar intensifies the malt and hop flavors to create an explosive hop experience.
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Almost missed out on this piece of gold. If you are still looking for it, Witty’s wine (www.wittyswine.com) still has some. This is not a west coast beer but something that comes close to this is the Ale smith Bloody Valentine and the Evil Dead Red. The aromas are very nice. Cherries, grassy hops, nutty walnuts, rich caramel, toffee, honey, peaches, mango, grapefruit, papaya, . The flavors are reminiscent of the 120 minute IPA with is extremely rich maple and honey flavor with bleeding piney, grassy and grapefruit flavors. Although this is not 18% ABV so it goes beyond. While it does not have the focus of rich cherry and fruit punch flavor like that of the Bloody Valentine, it’s emphasis on almost barley wine like aspect with tropical fruits like mango, papaya, peaches, apricots, dragon fruit almost coconut flavor, pecan pie, vanilla in walnuts, citrus, orange juice, Christmas tree, a very minor scotch note, biscuit bread with grapefruit marmalade and sweet rich pineapples. This was just.. epic!!.. The crazier part is that it has so much flavors that you would expect from a high ABV beer but lowered into the realms of refreshing and crisp drink ability. I can only describe it as taking all the flavors you would get from like lets say for example, a beer like Chocolate rain with its strong strong flavors and super high ABV then just removing almost all the alcohol but still maintaining an extremely rich flavor profile of complexity. The balance is awesome as well. I love the way Bloody Valentine tasted but this is just super amazing. Hard to find around in the West coast but if you can find it… DO NOT MISS OUT. Amber ale lover’s dream…

Whiskey Barrel Aged Amber by Indian Wells

February 6, 2013 by cloudx30 tagged Amber Ale, cereal grains, imperial amber, imperial red, Indian Wells, kentucky whiskey, Whiskey Barrel Aged Amber, whiskey barrels | Leave a comment

Rating: 4/5

Whiskey Barrel Aged Amber by Indian Wells is a 12% ABV Imperial Red/Amber Ale Aged in Whiskey Barrels. First Barrel Aged Amber I have ever tried.

Label:
As a young boy in the 1940’s, Cliff Fyffe used to Contemplate the old, broken whiskey barrels in the Evan Williams Distillery Yard. He noticed the barrels were sweating out the aged Kentucky whiskey in the summer heat. The whiskey would pool in the barrels in amazing quantity. Cliff shared this memory with the Indian Wells Brewing Co. founders, Rick and Greg, who suddenly had an inspiriation! They reached out and contacted Evan Williams Distillery directly and ordered a dozen, 55 gallon, used oak barrels that had held their flagship whiskey for two years.

Indian Wells Brewing Co. then left these barrels in the direct Mojave Desert sun until the whiskey sweated out. When the barrels were ready, they brewed a special ’amber’ style lager by using their own natural artesian spring water, filling the whiskey barrels and allowing them to lager down to 34-degrees for months. Our own delicious whiskey barrel aged amber lager. It pairs well with BBQ and is just great for sipping.

We hope you enjoy drinking it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Cheers, Rick and Greg
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Got this one at Emilio’s Beverage warehouse in Lakewood CA. Never really tried a barrel aged amber before so I figure why not. The aromas are of Vanilla, coconut, bourbon, caramel, banana, cherries, maple, oak, walnuts and pecans. The taste of the beer are of Caramel, vanilla, bourbon, peanuts, pecans, cherries, whiskey, marshmallows, apples, apricots and cereal grains. Not the best Barrel Aged beer out there, but definitely a little better than some of the other ambers I have tried. The flavors are not super intense. The whiskey and alcohol are more noticeable in the aftertaste than other beers. Although the burning is not there. While the amber style is not my supreme favorite, I really think this one is definitely worth a try. Barrel Aged beers just add more to a regular beer. However, some may not agree. In this case, for me it was above average. I must have got the good bottle 😛