This Belgian Trappist ‘dubbel’ (strong ale) pours thick and yeasty with a pillowy head. Pungent aromas of rum, fruity and floral yeast adding notes pear, apple, banana, and fig. The palate is active, focusing on rich brown sugar and sweet based malts which pair perfectly with fruity and spicy yeast. The malt character digs deeper with caramel drizzled rye bread, and just a hint of chocolate roast. Yeasty clove spice, raisins, dark fruits, and figs add notable highlights. Alcohol rounds things out soft and warm. The body comes in just above medium, it’s super smooth and has substantial carbonation. I’m impressed at their ability to explore and find delicacies in flavor while still maintaining good focus. Rochefort only brew three offerings (“6,8,10”), so you know they’re solid. It’s awesome, one of the best belgian Trappist beers I’ve ever had. Obviously, you know I recommend it.

9.2%

? IBU

Rochefort, Belgium

This imperial stout is aged in bourbon barrels. It pours a solid head that retains itself well, which is impressive considering the high alcohol. The aroma is surprisingly fruity, with bourbon oak coming through bringing hints of vanilla. What a delightfully nose! Malt flavors build depth beginning with dark roasted grain, then cocoa, and semi-sweet milk chocolate. Black currant, cherry, and mild citric sourness accents the darkness. It then transitions into hints of oak, vanilla, and caramel. The body is surprisingly light, coming in well rounded and velvety smooth with a dry finish that helps to conceal a slow warming alcohol. The dry feel pairs with sourness in a notable way. Considering the beer, it’s got astounding drinkability, and they’ve done a great job at integrating the alcohol where it adds a beneficial fruity character. However, I feel they’ve taken a risk here, and the sourness isn’t working very well with other flavors as best it should. It’s very good, I’m just not sure I find it worth the $15 price tag.

11.5%

? IBU

Fort Collins, Colorado

This saison pours beautifully with the most epic head. Aromas are musty and spicy with Belgian yeast, fruity with alcohol esters, fresh and floral with lemon hops. It begins mellow with a delicate malt grain, then merges into lemon hops and spicy yeast. Flavors touch on pear, apple, apricot, ginger snaps, tropical fruit, and black pepper. Dominant citric hops pair nicely with a lively carbonation for a sharp but clean feel. Not too bubbly, but just enough to tickle your tongue. It’s quite delicious, incredibly well balanced and rounded. For such a light beer, I would expect that 7.7% to come through, but it hardly even registers on my palette. This is my favorite domestic saison, and I think it appeals to everyone because it’s highly sessionable and has a light, elegant flavor. These guys are one of the best Belgian style craft brewers we’ve got. Recommended.

7.7%

? IBU

Cooperstown, New York

This IPA has quite a bit of hype surrounding it, in part because Dogfish Head was clever enough to jump into the big IPA trend early on in the game. The aroma is grainy and sweet like donuts, accented by citric hops with some herbal and pine notes. The palate is very similar…hops rush in with tangerine and orange flavored high notes, then level out with mellow sweet bread malt, and finish with minty hops. It’s only mildly bitter, not too sweet and has just a kiss of citric sourness. This stunning balance of bitter, sour, and sweet is the most crucial asset of the beer. Mouth feel is smooth and creamy, clean and satisfying. On the downside, it appears to make a sacrifice on flavor in exchange for balance and drinkability and may have failed to match my expectations. I’m on the fence, but it’s still a good beer.

6.0%

60 IBU

Milton, Delaware

This is a Munich Dunkel Lager which puts out a somewhat musty and herbal aroma, sweet with caramel, toasted barley, and fruity alcohol. On the palate, malts are like slightly spicy and dark like rye bread. An initial bubblegum flavored sweetness is matched by a drying bitterness. Hops are earthy and herbal with crisp clarity. Grainy malts accent raisins, plums, and other fruity esters. I think the mouth feel makes a good transition from wet to dry, coinciding with a shift from sweet to bitter (malt-to-hops). Heavy handed carbonation is tongue prickling, helping to dry the finish. It’s incredibly easy to drink, but the flavor is restrained, held back to accommodate for an easy drinking experience. It’s okay… It would make for a good warm up beer in a session with heavy hitters.

5.5%

? IBU

München, Germany

This oak aged foreign-style stout is brewed with Malbec grape juice. The aroma is like chocolate covered cherries and a bit of booze. Smooth chocolate malts rest below, then red wine and hops that taste like oranges accent midway, and it finishes out grassy with dark chocolate and cocoa. The feel transitions from clean, to creamy, then thins out with a significant amount of solvent alcohol (yuck). There’s something not working with the combination of the grape juice + hop selection + flavors from alcohol. I think it was a daring sort of stout to brew, but it’s just not working out and needs some tweaking. Too boozy and too much grape juice. Not bad, but not recommended.

8.0%

? IBU

Durango, Colorado

This amber ale was originally brewed as a more Scotch-style ale. It’s bottle conditioned, and unfiltered. Aromas are sweet with honey, buttered biscuits, brown sugar, toffee, and hop notes touching on pine and fresh mint. Malt flavors open up with a really delightful sweet bread or caramel drizzled biscuits with just a hint of chocolate all coming in medium sweet. Some light piney hops come in on the finish and linger for a bit, then finish with an earthy flavor. There’s a great cherry and orange, fruity nature to this beer that pairs up with sweet cinnamon about midway through. The feel is ultra smooth and creamy, and has unobtrusive carbonation. There’s a very nice combination of flavors going on with this beer. I really dig their attention to malt and the careful use of hops to add bitterness without an abundance of distracting flavors. Fruity and spicy elements are working really well together. I’m impressed at how well this was crafted. Highly recommended.

6.8%

? IBU

Healdsburg, California

This old ale pours murky, unfiltered, and cloudy with a ton of visible yeast. It boasts a complex aroma of raisin, prune, fig, caramelized sugar, black currant, smoked oak, an earthy grain, and herbal hops. On the palate, a hint of cherry, some black pepper spice, burnt caramel, rum, musty tobacco, and hints of cocoa. The malt is fruity like figs, with a sweetness that never goes overboard. Hops don’t quite balance the heavy malt, which is delicious and totally appropriate for the style. Moderately bitter layers of herbal hops make a smooth transition into the finish. It’s not too sweet, too bitter, or too alcoholic. Alcohol esters are present without being too assertive, and actually add a nice mineral flavor, along with the feel of slow chest warmth. It’s creamy and lightly carbonated, but a tad tongue prickling. Medium-full in body, smooth, and slightly syrupy. World class balance and stunning complexity. The layers of flavor are enticing and warm. Seems more like an American strong ale in the end. I’m very impressed… this is the best old ale I’ve ever had.

10.0%

50 IBU

Portland, Oregon

This barleywine is brewed west-coast style, following the Stone tradition of hopping with abundance. Fragrances of candied apples, brown sugar, yeast, and a bit of alcohol are released. It drops a malt bomb consisting of rich, semi-roasted barley that develops into a spicy finish with bitter evergreen to close. It is at first somewhat mellow and sweet like cake, then bitter and oily for a nice malt/hop tradeoff. The mid-point in the transistion between the intensly sweet and intensely bitter is divine. Hops apply a bright citric rind and earthy spice, coupled with pine resin and a fairly intense bitterness that lasts forever and dries out the finish. Over-ripened berries and dark fruits round things out nicely with touches of complexity, though I wish it dug a little deeper. Somehow the body manages to maintain control without going overboard, perhaps with the help of above average carbonation, but it just doesn’t feel like a barleywine should. I find the astringency distracting. Considering the substantial ABV, the alcohol is surprisingly well-hidden amongst a cloying bitterness, and shows up with a delayed chest warmth. This beer is not for the weak, but you should have guessed that by now. While it isn’t one of my favorites, it’s still very good. I prefer a less aggressive, more malt focused barleywine, but this will quench your hop cravings with vigor. This is intense, and I recommend it to all you hop heads out there.

11.6%

80 IBU

Escondido, California

This seasonal IPA is a welcome shift from other more predictable styles, thankfully steering clear of holiday spices. It pours a thick, long-lasting head with a fresh and fruity, citric aroma. Three great “C” hops, Cascade, Centennial and Chinook combine for a broad spectrum of flavor that touches on grapefruit, pine, mint, honeysuckle, and gives a nice spicy bite. Hops linger over a rich and mildly sweet barley malt which help to offset the bitterness, but its too sour to find proper balance. Bitterness is at a happy medium, just enough to keep good drinkability. It’s medium body carries a crisp introduction, levels off smooth and creamy, then leaves off with a drying finish. Mouth feel runs parallel to the sequence of flavors in a really appealing way. I look forward to this each year. Recommended.

Hops: Cascade, Centennial, Chinook

6.8%

? IBU

Fort Collins, Colorado

This seasonal milk stout is available January through March, and is named in honor of the farmer who’s been feeding his cattle Odell’s spent grain for over a decade. Once again, they’ve created a fantastic label (Odell does it best). It opens with aromas of chocolate, roasted grain, and a touch of vanilla and molasses. The intro feels soft, with milk chocolate sliding in slowly, when just the slightest bit of tongue tickling carbonation comes and goes. Chocolate milk is the focal point all the way through with little else to distract beyond mildly roasted barley and an almost unrecognizable hint of spice on the finish. You would never guess this is 8.5%, and I’m astonished at how well the alcohol is woven into the flavor. The feel is super silky and smooth, thick, and packed with lactose. They’ve really nailed the chocolate milk vibe and flavor, and I’m impressed. I realize this one isn’t for everyone, and you’ll need to be craving chocolate milk to really dig it, but I recommend you try this one out because it’s truly unique. Points are high for originality.

8.5%

? IBU

Fort Collins, Colorado

This pale ale displays a muted nose of toasted bread with hints of toffee and some citric and grassy hops on the high end. The palate hits in much the same way. Malts enter with abrupt flavor of toast, combined with just enough sweet caramel to efficiently carry through. A delicate balance of bitter and sour hang over a mild toffee-like sweetness. Hop flavor begins floral, then transitions into orange, and finishes herbal and grassy with faint pine qualities. Yeast flavor is a bit noticeable and incorporated into the palate with a positive effect. It floats with medium body and tongue prickling carbonation in a satisfying and thirst quenching fashion, but leaves off dry enough to beckon you to drink another. Like all Stone beer, this is wonderful stuff. I might alter the recipe a bit, but as it stands it’s a delicious, and perfectly balanced pale ale that is exceedingly drinkable. Recommended.

5.4%

? IBU

Escondido, California

This double stout pours beautifully, opening up with a pungent aroma of freshly ground coffee. The palate enters with sweet caramel crystal malt, quickly building into roasted oats which at first appear chocolate-centered, but end with a coffee bitterness for the finish where hops become more exposed to reveal a citric and herbal nature. I find a great deal of balance as malt and hops trade off, but the citrus is a tad pronounced and slightly offsets the roasted character. The feel is creamy and smooth at first, yet clean on the finish, and surprisingly easy to drink despite 8.8%. This beer is a good solid stout with simplicity in a way that doesn’t leave you empty and unfulfilled, delivering just enough of everything you’re likely to desire. It may lack a great deal of complexity, but there’s something to be said for a straightforward stout that’s brewed well. I recommend it.

8.8%

45 IBU

San Diego, California

This Belgian-style quad is a blend of 98% ale + 2% ale with cherries. Things open up with a delightful aroma packed with sweet spice ginger bread cookies and candied fruit. Sour and spice work in conjunction with one another as malt develops a dark raisin undertone with sweet candied fruit, then yeast spice settles the finish. The malt is on the border between heavily toasted and lightly roasted, delivering a complex spectrum of dark toffee, plum pudding, and rum-soaked figs. The body is creamy smooth with perfectly balanced carbonation. The feel is lighter than most quads, and has a quick rise and fall. It does a great job on the high end, but the bottom end lacks richness and leaves a tad empty in the end. I feel the flavor drops off too abruptly, leaving a vulnerable space for alcohol to come through, but the spiced solvent quality of the alcohol actually melds well with the yeast. While this is still a good beer, it lacks the character, depth, and balance found in other quads. Ommegang is typically understated and tame, low key, but on target in so many ways! This is a beer worth your time, but I really feel like it could’ve used more ‘umph.’ Recommended.

9.8%

? IBU

Cooperstown, New York

This double IPA was just recently released, and it seems to be mirroring the also late release of New Belgium’s single IPA, “Ranger.” Both styles hit the market at a seemingly past-due moment, tailing behind the west coast trend. The beer opens up with a pleasant floral and citrus aroma without an over-abundant focus on grapefruit, but a dank grassy, spicy aspect instead. The hop bill features Mosaic, Calypso, and Centennial varieties, two of which I’ve never heard. Lemon peel is also added, which is peculiar because one would think that flavor could be established with the proper choice of hops! Their approach is one of modesty, withholding over-aggressive bitterness and in-your-face flavor. The palate is smooth and rounded off on the edges with a clean bite of citrus. A distinct spicy, floral, grassy hop flavor accents the assembly of fruit and citrus, bringing up more sourness than bitterness. I sense an attempt to reconcile the fruity and pine driven approaches to the style.

Dry biscuit malts rest assuringly below, adding a grainy coarseness, underscoring hop highlights. The addition of black malt lays on darker bread notes, adding a bit of complexity. Malt and hops join in a union of satisfying balance, but the final delivery is less than substantial, establishing superior drinkability but somehow failing to deliver on my expectations and desires for a big, bitter double. The moderated alcohol also has a positive affect on the ease in drinking. Still, I say up the flavor and up the alcohol! I’ll return to this one and re-evaluate how I feel, but at this moment I feel it’s worth trying but not too worthy of multiple purchases. Still, some will find it very agreeable, and perhaps that’s what they were going for…restraint and balance with an original hop flavor. I appreciate the heavier malt base, which keeps this beer from being too hoppy, but I feel the more hardcore hop heads will be disappointed.

Malts: Pale, Black

Hops: Mosaic, Calypso, Centennial

8.5%

85 IBU

Fort Collins, Colorado/p>