Comments (2)

By Scottie, March 26, 2010 7:39 am

I recently had the privilege of trying two phenomenal brews from Sixpoint Craft Ales, the Grand Crüe and their Russian Imperial Stout. From my understanding, both of these beers are somewhat difficult to come by if you don’t live in the New York area. For info on where to find these, and other great beers from Sixpoint, check out their website or find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Sixpoint Grand Crüe

Sixpoint's Grand Crüe

Appearance:

Copper in color with hints of ruby and a medium sized light tan head.

Smell:

This beer stinks of greatness from the first sniff. Rich caramel, dark fruits, figs, plums, and brown sugar emanate from the glass.

Taste:

Raisin, figs, honey, caramel, Belgian candy sugar, and roasted malt flavors perfectly complicate the aroma of the beer. This beer will make your taste buds party like it’s 1999!

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with average carbonation.

Drinkability:

A subtle alcohol presence (subtle for having 12.4% ABV) warms the body and soul. The bold and delicious flavoring make you not want to put the beer down. The only problem I had with this beer; I only had one bottle to enjoy.

Russian Imperial Stout

This specialty brew has been aged 5 years, is bottle conditioned and fermented with distiller’s yeast, and comes in a wax dipped bottle. According to Shane, Sixpoint’s President and Brewmaster, they initially hopped the “bejesus” out of the beer with a staggering 126 IBU’s. Fortunately, the hops have mellowed over time, making this one complex and delicious Russian Imperial Stout.

Sixpoint's Russian Imperial Stout:

Appearance:

Sixpoint’s Russian Imperial Stout pours out black-as-night. Millions of tiny bubbles dance to the top of the glass, creating a mountainous mocha-colored head.

Smell:

There is an overall sweet aroma to this beer. Chocolate, coffee, and alcohol aromas are complimented by the sweet smells of caramel, plums, raisins, and cherries.

Taste:

This is one hell of a complex and well-balanced stout. Like the smell, sweet dark fruits (raisins, plum, dark cherries, currants) are prominent upfront but are perfectly matched with flavors of dark chocolate, molasses, roasted coffee, and piney hops on the backend.

Mouthfeel:

This full bodied beer coats the mouth to perfection with every sip.

Drinkabiltiy:

According to Shane, the beer fermented-out to 12.4% ABV (no label on the beer to state otherwise). For being full bodied and having such a high alcohol content, this is a very drinkable stout.

Simply put, Sixpoint’s Grand Crüe and thier Russian Imperial Stout are perfect examples of what is possible with these particular styles of beer. I was completely blown away with the richness and complexity of both beers. If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and track down these two amazing brews.

CHEERS!

Comments (3)

By Scottie, October 24, 2009 6:32 pm

Java Head by Troegs Brewery

The Java Head is the creation of Troegs Brewery, a group of eclectic brew masters from my home state of Pennsylvania. This savory brew is based off their traditional oatmeal stout recipe, but is also brewed with coffee and espresso beans.

The Java Head is only available in 22 oz. bottles. The label has an intricate design of coffee pots, pint glasses, and steam that form a skull and crossbones.

The Java Head pours out a smooth dark brown, almost black in color, with a minimal brown head. You can smell subtle hints of coffee, chocolate, with nutty undertones.

At first, I was not overly impressed with the taste. I think I was expecting a more robust coffee flavor. After spending a few more minutes with this black beauty, I really began to see this brew for what it is, a stout, and a pretty good one at that. The coffee and chocolate flavors are well balanced and not overpowering.

I found it to have a pleasant aftertaste, for having 7.5% alc/vol. Brewers often try to do too much with added ingredients and flavors. I am glad to say that Troegs did not wander down this unfortunate path.

If you are a coffee fanatic looking for an alcoholic coffee drink, you may want to look elsewhere. If you love a good oatmeal stout and want to try something different, try the Java Head. Troegs managed to put an interesting and
pleasant twist on the traditional stout.

Brewery website: http://www.troegs.com/