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The "Year of the Beer" project continues for a group of work colleagues, where we are trying to see how many different beers we can have in the year.
My total for August was 35, for a year-to-date total of 326. Those that know me will know that my favourite beers are dark and rich, and there were a few of them this month, the best possibly the Alesmith Speedway Stout, some of the USA beers have very pleasantly surprised me.
From Yellow Dog Brewing in Port Moody in collaboration with AleSmith Brewing out of San Diego California comes "Seeking Asylum Belgian Double IPA". The beer pours an amber colour with a white head. The aroma consists of Belgian yeast, tropical fruit and floral hops. The alcohol content comes in at 8% with an IBU of 90. Its no surprise to me that these two breweries would come together and make an awesome Double IPA! Its probably almost gone off the market now but it was really tasty.
DAY 2 happening in San Diego TONIGHT!
Hey Southern California friends and acquaintances, come on by and say hello tonight for some art and beer. (50+ artists / NO COVER / Family-friendly event / beer-liking not required.) I'll have over 400 original, one-of-a-kind, handmade collages for sale - all going for a lot less than most peeps charge for reproductions/prints. Hope to see you!
Thursday, February 6, 5-10pm
AleSmith Brewing: 9990 AleSmith Ct.
San Diego, CA 92126
Well, I think I know what I'm doing this week.
Front Row:
Dogfish/Victory/Stone, Saison du Buff
Avery, Mephistopheles Stout
Stone, Sublimely Self-Righteous
Port Brewing, Wipe Out IPA
AleSmith, IPA
AleSmith, YuleSmith Holiday Ale
Great Divide, Hercules Double IPA
Avery, Maharaja
Russian River, Pliny the Elder
Harviestoun, Ola Dubh 18 Years
Dogfish Head, Burton Baton
Back Row:
AleSmith, Wee Heavy
Great Divide, Espresso Oak-Aged Yeti
Stone, Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout
Ballast Point, Sea Monster Imperial Stout
Bear Republic, Hop Rod Rye
Avery/Russian River, Collaboration Not Litigation Ale
Mikkeler, Beer Geek Brunch
Great Divide, Old Ruffian
The Lost Abbey, Cuvee du Tomme
AleSmith created a golden pale ale featuring a full American hop flavor and aroma with subdued bitterness and a sweet, malty finish. This particular pale ale was also designed to fill the gap between the AleSmith X Extra Pale Ale and AleSmith IPA . The name of the beer itself comes from Tony Gwynn’s career high batting average of .394 during the strike shortened 1994 MLB season, and to honor the city that Gwynn loved and played for
A San Diego classic, AleSmith IPA showcases the versatility of American hops. Aromas of grapefruit and tangerine lead into an abundance of fresh pine and tropical fruit notes followed by a crisp, resinous bitterness. The complex hop profile is supported by a firm malt presence to create an incredibly flavorful and well-balanced IPA.
Despite being significantly behind the curve in most other culinary areas, San Diego is one of the best beer towns there is. Some of the excellent brewers who ply their trade here are Stone, Alesmith, Ballast Point, Pizza Port, and Lost Abbey. In any case, here's my shot at representing a product that does my community proud.
(Also, given the current heat wave in much of the rest of the country, I figure many could use a cold one about now.)
Strobist: shot on a piece of granite tile sitting in front of a single 430exii in a Lumiquest SBIII, 1/16 power, triggered by PW.
Penske Truck Leasing 2022 International MV 439175 equipped with a Supreme refrigerated body and on lease to Scout Distribution
#penske #pensketruck #pensketrucks #pensketruckleasing #2022international #2022internationalmv #2022mv #international #internationalmv #internationalmvboxtruck #internationaltruck #internationaltrucks #supremebody #supremebodies #supremereefer #supremereeferbody #supremetruckbody #supremetruckbodies #carrierrefrigeration #carrierrefrigeratedtruckunits #carriersupra #carriersupras7 #cummins #cumminsdiesel #cumminsdiesels #cumminsdieselengine #cumminsdieselengines #cumminsturbodiesel #scoutdistribution #scoutdistributionaz #alesmith #alesmithbrewing #alesmithbrewingcompany #alesmithbrewingco #439175
Put the Nitto M12 rack on there for now for some small cargo - Ballast Point Yellowtail Pale Ale. We enjoy great breweries here in San DIego - Alpine, Stone, Green Flash, AleSmith, etc.
Imperial Stout with coffee 12% abv from San Diego 70 IBU
"Speedway Stout’s ominous, pitch-black appearance has become a hallmark of this modern-day classic. Chocolate and roasted malts dominate the flavor, supported by notes of dark fruit, toffee, and caramel. A healthy dose of locally-roasted coffee added to each batch brings out the beer’s dark chocolate flavors and enhances its drinkability. Despite its intensity, Speedway Stout’s fine carbonation and creamy mouthfeel make it very smooth and surprisingly easy to drink. This beer ages very well and will continue to mature for many years to come."
A bottle of Horny Devil from AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego, California, at Olympen in Oslo.
Horny Devil is a potent 11% abv Belgian style ale brewed with coriander and a Trappist yeast strain. It poured a clear golden yellow color with a fine white head. Aroma is very spicy and fruity, almost like candied apples. Great! Mouthfeel is rich with a nice carbonation. Flavor starts out with a nice candy sugar sweetness and a spicy, read coriander, fruitiness. Despite the high alcohol this is a dangerously refreshing and drinkable beer. Yummy!
© Lindbloom Photography
Getting caught up on some beers that I have had and photographed over the last several weeks. As I remember this was a good IPA from AleSmith Brewing in San Diego, CA.
IMG_4857-Edit
A bottle of Horny Devil from AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego, California, at HåndverkerStuene in Oslo.
Horny Devil is a potent 11% abv Belgian style ale brewed with coriander and a Trappist yeast strain. It poured a clear golden yellow color with a fine white head. Aroma is very spicy and fruity, almost like candied apples. Great! Mouthfeel is rich with a nice carbonation. Flavor starts out with a nice candy sugar sweetness and a spicy, read coriander, fruitiness. Despite the high alcohol this is a dangerously refreshing and drinkable beer. Yummy!
1. Hoppin Frog Boris (Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout) the Crusher, 2. Russian River Depuration, 3. Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball, 4. Founders Red Rye, 5. Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, 6. Dogfish Head Immort Ale, 7. 3 Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek, 8. Olfabrikken Porter, 9. Russian River Supplication 2nd batch 2nd half snifter, 10. Russian River Supplication 2nd Batch 1st half flute, 11. Great Lakes Blackout Stout, 12. De Dolle Dulle Teve (Mad Bitch) Special Reserver 2003, 13. Alesmith Barrel Aged Wee Heavy Front, 14. Alesmith Barrel Aged Wee Heavy Back, 15. New Glarus Belgian Red, 16. Great Divide Old Ruffian Barley Wine, 17. Dogfish Head World Wide Stout Bottle Purchased 11/05, 18. Founders Kentucky Bourbon Breakfast Stout, 19. Firestone Double Barrel Ale, 20. 2005 Stone Double Bastard, 21. Seriously Bad Elf, 22. Hair of the Dog 2003 Doggie Claws (My 300th Rating), 23. 2004 North Coast Old Stock, 24. Founders Bad Habit Quad, 25. Three Floyds Alpha King, 26. Hair of the Dog Rose, 27. Casta Scotch Style Ale Craft Brew from Mexico, 28. Old Chub Scotch Ale, good beer from a can, 29. Russian River Beatification, 30. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, 31. Goose Island Demolition Ale, 32. Flying Dog Wild Dog Colorado Saison, 33. Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout, 34. FireStone Walker 10, 35. New Glarus Uff da bock, 36. New Glarus Unplugged Cherry Stout
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
N'Ice Chouffe
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Corsendonk Christmas Ale
Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Bier
Midtfyns Jule Stout
AleSmith YuleSmith (hidden in the back..)
20121224 1126 IMGP3923
A bottle of Speedway Stout from AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego, California, at Schouskjelleren.
Speedway Stout is a 12% abv imperial stout. It poured pitch black with a brown, frothy head. It sported a rich aroma of cocoa, sweet molasses, coffee, ripe berries and some yeast notes. As it warmed up I also got some licorice. The mouthfeel was full bodied with a light acidic bite from the carbonation. The flavor started out with mild sirupy sweetness and cocoa, balanced by bitter coffee. It ended with a good bitter finish.
Speedway Stout is a good beer, but not world class (it's currently #7 on RateBeer Imperial Stout listing).
A bottle of Old Numbskull from AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego, California, at Gaasa.
Old Numbskull is an 11% abv barley wine. It poured a clear copper red color with a small beige head. It sported a piny hop aroma with a good dose of caramel and ripe fruits. Full bodied mouthfeel with a sticky sweetness and soft carbonation. The sweetness wasn't as pronounced in the flavor as I had thought, thanks to the hops giving the beer a nice bitterness and fruitiness.
This is a pretty good and very drinkable barley wine.
The label on the back side of the bottle of AleSmith Horny Devil informs that this beer won a Silver Medal at the 1998 Great American Beer Festival.
Heading out for a little family vacation, my beer-loving brother-in-law and I are competing to bring the best dozen beers. These were my picks, heavy on the Pacific NW.
Brewdog Paradox Speyside - 1987 Macallan Sherry Cask
Upright Brewing #5 (farmhouse ale)
Boulevard Brewing's Bourbon Barrel Quad
Lompoc's brand new Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Side Porter (no reviews yet! here's one: it's damn good)
Deschutes' Mirror Mirror Barley Wine
Pelican's Stormwatchers Winterfest
Russian River's Pliny the Elder
Bonus: Rogue's Chipotle Ale, just for kicks
Brewery: AleSmith
Beer: Speedway Stout
Genre: Stout brewed with local microroasted coffee
Location: San Diego
Appearance: In the immortal words of Nathan Explosion, "Blacker than the blackest black times infinity." The black by which all other blacks are measured. Pours with a trace of mocha-brown foam that quickly dissapears - this is a stout after all.
Smell: Mocha, chocolate malts, slight roastiness. AleSmith now brews the coffee that goes into this onsite using local Ryan Brothers coffee beans. I think the mocha note is much more pronounced in the new batches.
Taste: Sweet, velvety, chocolatey, beery goodness. Perfect balance between roasted bitter chocolate malt and sweet mocha. The high alcohol content is completely hidden. No other regularly released stout comes close, and it invites comparisons to premium barrel aged stouts like, uh, barrel aged Speedway Stout...
Mouthfeel: Thick for a stout. Which isn't very thick. But certainly thicker than a certain stout-flavored soda I see served at bars these days. I think it's called Guinness.
Verdict: The best regularly-produced stout on earth. State-of-the-art.
A bottle of Le Freak Ale from Green Flash Brewing Company in Vista, California, at Håndverkerstuene in Oslo, Norway.
As the name implies, Le Freak is a freak of a beer made by mixing two very different styles - the San Diego-style imperial pale ale and the Belgian-style abbey trippel. At 9.2% abv this is no small freak!
It poured a slightly hazy golden orange color with a white head. Wonderful aroma; caramel, fruit, spicy yeasts and a dose of hops. More Belgian than pale ale me thinks. It had a creamy mouthfeel with stingy carbonation. The taste was fruity too, with an underlying caramel sweetness, plenty of spiciness and some bittering hops in the finish. A very interesting beer, I really enjoyed drinking it. And it reminded me a little of AleSmith's Horney Devil, another favorite from San Diego :-)
A bottle of La Cruda Porter from Port Brewing in San Marcos, California, at BrewDog Edinburgh.
Port Brewing La Cruda Porter is a 6,7% abv porter brewed in April 2011 when Tomme Arthur (founder of Port Brewing / Lost Abbey) invited Skip Virgilio (founder of AleSmith) and his old mentor Troy Hojel to brew a commemoration beer for Cervecerias La Cruda, the small brewpub Troy and Tomme opened together in downtown San Diego 1996. Though open for less than a year, that brewpub won the Gold Medal for Robust Porters at the Great American Beer Festival in the fall 1996 and helped fermenting the amazing San Diego beer scene.
La Cruda Porter poured pitch black with a big, tan head. The aroma was almost fruity, with a good roasted coffee character, balanced by sweet caramel and toffee notes. Very nice. The mouthfeel was medium heavy with a velvety smooth carbonation. The flavor started out fruity, like ripe apples, with a mild caramel note and a good dose of coffee. The coffee lingered in the aftertaste, together with a mild hop bitterness.
This is an excellent porter, smooth, rich and harmonic. Yummy!
Trivia: Though all three are still brewing, only Tomme Arthur is doing so professionally; Troy is now a software engineer in Colorado while Skip has turned to real estate in San Diego.
In 1982, Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager co-wrote a song entitled "That's What Friends Are For" which was first recorded by Rod Stewart as the soundtrack for the motion picture Night Shift, though it's best known for the version performed by Dionne Warwick and Friends in 1985.
These two beer friends were sent to me by a West Coast friend.
Speedway Stout, by AleSmith
"Speedway Stout’s ominous, pitch-black appearance has become a hallmark of this modern-day classic. Chocolate and roasted malts dominate the flavor, supported by notes of dark fruit, toffee, and caramel. A healthy dose of locally-roasted coffee from Ryan Bros. Coffee, Inc. added to each batch brings out the beer’s dark chocolate flavors and enhances its drinkability. Despite its intensity, Speedway Stout’s fine carbonation and creamy mouthfeel make it very smooth and surprisingly easy to drink. This beer ages very well and will continue to mature for many years to come."
Specs
ABV: 12%
Bitterness: 70 IBU
Orginal Gravity: 1.114
Improves With Age: YES
Serving Temp: 50°-55°
Serving Glass: Tulip / Goblet
9366 Cabot Drive
San Diego, CA 92126
858-549-9888
AleSmith.com
Twitter: @AleSmithBrewing
-AND-
Board Meeting Brown Ale by Port Brewing
"Brewed for the early risers, who sacrifice sleep and warmth for a the first meeting of the day aboard a wave to shore.
"Added in 2013 to the Port Brewing year-round lineup, Board Meeting is an amplified Brown Ale, brewed with liberal additions of coffee from local San Diego roasters, Ryan Brothers and cocoa nibs sourced from famed San Francisco chocolate maker TCHO. Deep coffee flavor gives way to layers of bitter dark chocolate and a creamy vanilla body."
Hops: Magnum and Challenger
Original Gravity: 1.072
ABV: 8.5%
Availability: Year Round
155 Mata Way
Ste 104
San Marcos, CA 92069
(800) 918-6816
PortBrewing.com
Twitter: @LostAbbey
Närke Kaggen! Stormaktsporter 2008, from Närke Kulturbryggeri in Örebro, Sweden, at The Bishop's Arms on Järntorget in Göteborg, Sweden.
This was the first time I tasted the 2008 edition (I've tasted 2006 and 2007 earlier) so I was really anxious to try it, especially after just having had AleSmith Speedway Stout.
Kaggen! Stormaktsporter 2008 is a 9,5% abv imperial stout. It pours thick and pitch black into the glass with a brown foamy head. Intense and rich aroma with plenty of sweet malts, chocolate, vanilla and bourbon. Rich and creamy mouthfeel. Flavor starts out with sweet chocolate and a bourbon oak note that nicely brings the sweetness and roasted bitterness under control. Flavors of vanilla and licorice floats around too, creating rich sensations as you allow the beer to breathe before swallowing. The aftertaste is long with many flavors popping in and out, I swear I could taste both chocolate and licorice a full minute after swalloing the beer. Wow, what a brew!
All in all, Närke Kaggen! Stormaktsporter 2008 is a tremendously rich and good beer, a real world classic, that is best enjoyed at close to room temperature and in small sips. And it completely shattered the Speedway Stout I had just had!
Närke Kaggen! Stormaktsporter was rated the second best beer in the world in 2010 by RateBeerians, so it should be good!
Matt, Jim, and I had a breakfast-themed beer brunch. Mainly beers made with oatmeal and coffee. Lineup:
Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast
Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch: Weasel (made stronger and with gourmet cat-poop coffee - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak)
Mikkeller Rauch Geek Breakfast (smoked malt)
Alesmith Speedway Stout
Founders Breakfast Stout
Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (bourbon barrel aged)
The Kentucky Breakfast Stout lived up to the hype, but additionally, the Weasel Brunch Mikkeler was almost as great.
Matt and Jeremy review Alesmith's Double Red IPA
Contact:
email:info@tappingoutshow.com
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Check out Alesmith Brewing Company: AleSmith.com
A bottle of Speedway Stout from AleSmith Brewing Company in San Diego, California, at The Bishop's Arms on Järntorget in Göteborg, Sweden.
The Speedway Stout is a 12% abv imperial stout brewed with Ryan Bros Coffee Beans. It poured a thick black color with a huge light brown head. Great aroma of dark chocolate, caramel malt and coffee. Mouthfeel is smooth. Flavors start out with sweet caramel malt, dark chocolate and coffee. As you sip, the bitterness from the roasted malt and coffee takes over giving the beer a fairly dry finish. An excellent brew, didn't feel the alcohol at all.
AleSmith Speedway Stout is rated as one of the best beers in the world (#6 in 2010 at RateBeer.com) so this was a rare treat for us.
UPDATE: i've just learned that the entire shipment of AleSmith (Wee Heavy + Speedway Stout) was bad, which explains why this beer didn't impress us much.