We are blogging live from Dooley's house. He and I are sitting in his kitchen quoting XMas Vacation.
"Anything else I can get for you Uncle Lewis?"
"If your not doing anything constructive, can you go to the living room and grab my stogie?"
On to the first beer!
We are drinking a beer from a brewer in Denmark. It is made and bottled in Belgium though. The brewery is TO OL but the second O is supposed to have a line through it. Here is their website:
http://to-ol.dk/home/
We are drinking their imperial milk stout. Here is a picture:
Luckily, the bottle barely has two 1/2 filled glasses. I've drank gasolin with less kick to it. Holy cow.
Brewer: TO OL Brewery. Denmark.
Beer Name: Jule Maelk (but the A and E are supposed to be connected)
Beer Style: Imperial Milk Stout
Price: Don't remember. I bought this last winter and let it age in the fridge so the alcohol content would increase up to Everclearish levels.
Appearance: Dark and frothy. Can't see through it. I poured it at least 20 minutes ago and the foam has gotten thicker as it has sat here. Brownish red in color.
Aroma: Smells like prunes. And whiskey. Lots of whiskey. IMPERIAL. Did I mention this is 15%?
Mouthfeel: Light for a stout. Very tingly as it goes down and the whiskey tickles the side of your tounge. Assuming it isn't completely numb. John said a slight burn as it makes it way down. I'm thinking a full bottle and you could melt the breathalizer before it even registers, John is going to hold a lighter in front of his mouth and see if he can be a firebreather at the circus.
Taste: Tart; followed by whiskey. It tastes like some kind of fruit; slightly sour red grapes, prunes, something along those lines. John says his is getting better as he finishes his glass. I don't think its bad for an imperial; slightly tart but not bad overall. If I was a whiskey fan, I'm pretty sure this would be pretty good. It is smooth; even with the alcohol taste at the back end. And the bonus is 12 ounces of this is about 4 and a half cases of Coors Lite for roughly 1/200th of the calories.
Overall rating: John says a 3. I agree. John says if it tasted better, he would have rated it higher. The in-depth analysis we give here on here is unparalleled on the internet! I am saying a three due to the over-tartness of the beer. I'm not sure prunes are the first thought I want on my mind as I drink. Not bad though and how many times do you get to try Danish beer? I have another bottle from them that we are saving for the next blog. It is a porter so hopefully, it won't be as fruity.
Beer #2!!!!!
We are drinking a beer that Goose gave me for my birthday last year. It is a strong, dark ale from Belgium. It was bottled in 2012 and says it is best if used by December of 2017. This beer is four years old and was supposed to be drank before 12/17. So it has aged for year a since Goose gave it to me. I think it was worth the wait. This beer is delicious. I mean the best Belgian beer I've ever had; besides maybe Stella. But Stella isn't really a traditional Belgian beer. This is and it is tasty.
Here we go with the ratings:
Appearance: Medium brown in color, very murky. We have FLOATERS! Being unfiltered, john and I are getting our recommended daily allowance of fiber with this one. Not any foam at all except slight ring around the edge of the glass. There is a little school of tadpoles swimming around the bottom of the glass. Think of Lake of the Ozarks party cove after Labor Day weekend.
And my wife is hung over from hr afternoon magaritas. Its 8:23 pm. This is how she does it.
Aroma: Slightly fruity, tarty. Not nearly as strong as lot of Belgian beers but the yeast is still there.
Mouthfeel: Not nearly as tingly as the previous beer; this is nice and smooth and fairly tame. Very straightforward and easy to drink.
Taste: John says a typical Belgian taste but not overpowering. I say its like a traditional American brown ale made with the Belgian yeast. Think 4Hands brown ale with a slight fruit aftertaste. Very good indeed.
Overall rating: John says a 4. A highly rated Belgian for us. John is not really a huge fan of Belgian beer so that is a high rating for him. I think I'm going a 4.5. This is a fine beer. And at only 9%, we can slam the hell out of this stuff. I'm on half-glass number three of beer tonight (in 1 hour and 40 minutes) and I'm buzzed. I guess a 15% and a 9% will do that. Hallelujah. We should do shots of this stuff,
Beer #3 is going to be really frickin good...
Brewer: Samuel Smith (England)
Beer Name: Organic Chocolate Stout (Best Beer Ever)
Beer Style: Chocolate Stout
Price: $6 or so- People pay $100's for wine; this is way better and a fraction of the price)
Probably my favorite brewer on the planet combined with my favorite beer style. I couldn't be more excited at the moment. Well, maybe if Scarjo came prancing by sans clothing... But, I digress. Wow, what a digression...
This beer is only 5%. This is practically NA for us. It smells like cocoa crispies. For real, the best chocolate smell ever. John just tried it and said, "OOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhh, its GREEEATTTT." That was a quote. This might be the David Freeze game 6 11th inning of beers. OH MY GOD. I have died and gone to Las Vegas! This is fantastic. This is why we blog. This gives purpose to our lives. I love beer. John wants to bathe in it and gently splash himself. John is convinced it will remove wrinkles and smooth those facial blemishes. I'm not making this up. I'm pretty sure we will be buying this by the 18 wheeler with the second trailer on the back full,
Appearance: Dark, clear, good head on top with little lacing on the glass. A nice, smooth stout but lighter then a traditional stout. More like a dark brown ale.
Aroma: Might be the best chocolate smell ever. 'Nuff said.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, easy on the tongue, just a hint of bitter at the end. A very smooth stout. A little on the light side maybe but I'm being super-critical here.
Taste: Combine nectar of the Gods and cocoa puffs and you pretty much nailed it, I LOVE the 4Hands Chocolate Milk Stout but this is better. Holy crap. I could turn into a wino on this if I could afford it. I might sell meth to get this stuff.
Overall Rating: John says a 5.1 out of 5. I'm going 5.15. This is a perfect beer. Definitely the best beer I've tried in the last 5 years. It is perfection.
BONUS BEER TIME:
We have a bonus beer to end the evening with. John went to our local brewer tonight and picked up a growler of their brown ale. We have both drank it several times but until we blog it, it doesn't count.
Brewer: Friendship Brewery, WENTZVILLE, MO (future SC United shirt sponsor)
Beer Name: Downtown Brown
Beer Style: Brown Ale
Price: $14 per growler
ABU: 6.5%
I am partial to this beer as we have a local brewer that actually brews beer about 5 minutes from our houses. That automatically makes it good. That being said, here we go:
Appearance: Ummm, brown. Medium and relatively clear. Not crystal but clear enough to at least see light through on the opposite side of the glass. Slight lacing but not a whole lot of foam.
Aroma: Sort of sweet; almost a brown sugar aroma to it. Maybe a hint of coconut as well. It smells good. John gets cocoa in this one. Not cocoa crispy good but chocolate undertones as well.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, very light. Crisp, smooth, etc...
Taste: A nice, smooth, very consistent brown ale. Not too dark, not too light. Drinkable on every occasion. This is their best beer John and I have tried up until now. It is my go to from their brewery. Well worth a stop if you pass through Wentzville,
Overall rating: John says 4.5. I go 4.0. A very solid beer in my opinion but not a head-turner. It doesn't disappoint but doesn't overwhelm like SAM SMITH ORGANIC CHOCOLATE STOUT. BUY IT NOW!
Sidenote; The owners have the best beer memorabilia collection ever. You have to see the old beer signs, crates, etc. to believe it, The place is covered in it. And supposedly, the other 90% of his collection is in a warehouse somewhere. Its a cool joint to hang out in.
