#232: Bottle Share: Victory Mad King's Weiss, Sam Adams Longshot Gratzer, Founders Rübæus, Elysian Oddland #2, Dogfish Burton Baton, Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

First in a series of summer '14 bottle shares!

Victory Brewing Co. » Mad King's Weiss (Hefeweizen) | ABV: 6.2% | Rating: 8.6/10
I was delighted to see one of my favorite draft-only offerings from Victory had made it's way to bomber status. It's not as rich as I recall, but still packed with Golden Belgian-style spiced goodness, wonderful wheat and yeast notes and at around $5 a pop, it's a steal.

Samuel Adams » Longshot Grätzer | ABV: 4.4% | Rating: 8/10
An excellent brew for summer. Soft smoke notes and a touch of tartness backed by smooth, drinkable wheat and soft bitterness. Not as complex and sour as some more traditional Gratzers, but brew worth trying for sure. It's rare you'll see a Sam Adams on this blog, so take that for what it's worth. A great value for a still rare old style.

Founders » Rübæus | ABV: 5.7% | IBUs: 15% | Rating: 9.1/10
My second round of Rübæus this summer, Founders once again shows they do fruit beer like no other. Packed with juicy, tart, and semi-sweet raspberry notes, it's massively drinkable, but still an ale. The raspberry never dips into tart, Lambic territory and remains fresh. A delightful warm weather alternative brew.

Elysian Brewing » Oddland Spiced Pear Ale | ABV: 6.5% | Rating: 8.8/10
Brewed once as the second installment of Elysian's Oddland series, this brew is an ale brewed with pear, cumin, and cardamon. We were all expecting something in the fruity, juicy spiced-peary realm, but instead got an adventurous, spice-packed, hardy ale with considerable more hops that expected. The cascade and saaz hops pack a firm punch of hops, providing a solid backbone to ride the savory, spicy, and herbal exotic dance of cumin & cardamon. This one won't be for everyone, for sure, but this was the unexpected standout of the night.

Dogfish Head » Burton Baton | ABV: 10% | IBUs: 70 | Rating: 9.3/10
As a hybrid of English Old Ale and American Imperial IPA, this is easily and predictably my favorite of the night. Silky sweet Old Ale malt notes notes elegantly dance with dense, but softened hop flavors. Citrus, vanilla, and oak notes are perfectly balanced. Tasteful bourbon notes are threaded throughout, but the ABV is well-mellowed making for a dangerously drinkable whopper of a brew.

Sierra Nevada » Hoptimum 2014 | ABV: 10.4% | Rating: 8.5/10
There was a lot of discussion before popping open this one. 100 IBUs will do that. The majority of us are hop lovers and IPA fans, but were seemingly in agreement that there's definitely a "too far" when it comes to the hop-arms race of recent years.

Cracking into this year's batch, Hoptimum screams out with biting, bitter grass notes, sharp pine, and astringent citrus rind. There's almost an herbal quality to the brew, being so hop-forward. While the Magnum, Chinook, and Simcoe hops are relentless, the 10.4% provides some relief. I'd honestly love to see this brew barrel aged and show a bit more dynamic character. Overall, a hop-head must try and the last word in bitter, massive Imperial IPAs.