#235: Evil Twin Brewing » Bozo Beer (Imperial Stout)

Evil Twin Brewing » Bozo Beer (Imperial Stout) | ABV: 17.2% | Rating: 9.4/10

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After a bit of an odd night on a far-too busy week, my partner and I decided to stay up a bit too late with great beer - in that way that you feel refreshed the next day, even though you got less sleep than you were supposed to. There's no messing around on a night like that, so we decided to bring out the big guns.

I'd somehow forgotten about Bozo's ludicrous 17.2% since picking it up several months back. I've had plenty of Stouts/Imperial Stouts brewed with coffee, but nothing like this.

Bozo starts up with a soft, roasted, stout nose with foreshadowing hints of chili, molasses and wood. Spilling over onto my palate, it's absolutely exclaim-worthy and delicious. Decadently smooth up front, silky & oily notes of chocolate and cocoa cascade with a rising flame of chili pepper heat.

More flavors keep peaking through - a mild nuttiness, faint cinnamon, robust roasted coffee, cane sugar and vanilla extract... even green pepper spice on the finish.

Despite all of this, Bozo is still surprisingly refreshing on a hot evening and masks the high ABV in stupendous way - in a blind test I'd put this at an 8.0%, tops. Damn good beer and absolutely recommended, especially those looking for a new, flooring experience.

#214: Founders Brewing » KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)

The legend...

The Brewery: Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids, MI)
The Brew: KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)
Availability: Draft and bottles (Seasonal, Limited)
ABV: 11.2% | 70 IBUs
Rating: 9.5/10
Location: Home
Found: Fingerlakes Beverage Center

Founder's KBS has become legend to say the least, even garnering RateBeer's "Best Beer in America", It's brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year. As with many sought-after, highly limited brews, living in a small city sometimes means missing out, which so far has been the case for me with KBS. That said, FLBC delivered once again.

KBS pours up with a voluminous mocha head that's bubbly and a bit fizzy, but with plenty of lace atop an opaque brown-black body. A strikingly bitter nose of coffee, cocoa powder, and oak gets things rolling.

Fantastic, flavors careen through mildly bitter, dry, to a sweet easing finish. Big bold flavors of roasted coffee, baking chocolate, along with charred notes blur into dark chocolate, chili and booze spice, and all wrap up with a smooth, sweet chocolate finale.

Incredibly and original with an insanely deft balance of bold flavors and augmentations - the chocolate, oak, coffee, nor bourbon ever get too powerful on their own. Highly recommended, obviously.

#149: Surly Brewing Company » Coffee Bender (Brown Ale)

Surly's Bender slammed with coffee...

The Brewery: Surly Brewing (Brooklyn Center, MN)
The Brew:  Coffee Bender (Brown Ale)
Availability: Cans & draft
ABV: 5.5% | IBUs: 45
Rating: 9/10
Location: Home

The Story? Fish and Chips and a Brown Ale! Well, not your typical Brown. Surly brewed this Bender with Guatemalan Finca Vista Hermosa Full City Roast and developed a cold extraction process to intensify the coffee aroma and flavor for a complex brew that still comes in at the session-level.

The Beer? This tall boy pours out dark brown with a touch of ruby color, topped with minimal off-white head up top and followed by a big nose full of malts, coffee and milk. All of the aromas come of clean, wet and eludes to a highly drinkable brew.

Coffee Bender delivers bitter, dark, and earthy flavors amidst a deluge of chocolate, finishing deep and roasty. The smooth, creamy mouthfeel and prickly carbonation is highly complimentary. This really is smack between a coffee and a Brown Ale.

Overall, thanks to Surly for making Brown Ales interesting again! I'm thoroughly enjoying this trip through their line-up and constantly impressed by the nuanced, rather than extreme, approached throughout all their offerings I've enjoyed so far.  

#133: Surly Brewing Co. Overratted! (IPA), Cynic (Saison), & Bender (Brown)

Let's get Surly...

The Brewery: Surly Brewing (Brooklyn Center, MN)
Availability: Cans & draft
Location: Home

Overrated! (West Coast-style IPA) ABV: 7.3% | IBUs: 69 | Rating: 9/10
This one kicks off with a big, dank nose and two fingers of foamy, lacy head stick around atop the bubbly, translucent body. A few more breaths in reveal a solid punch of citrus and grapefruit.

Mmmm... even the head is bitter. The body is downright smooth. Wildly aromatic, dry-hop fumes are ever present, but the taste is where the expert precision comes in. Restrained bitterness of lemon and pith, without the sourness of course, all teetering on the cliff of being overtly floral. All those big, West Coast style hops are held up by a firm scaffolding of malty sweetness and subtle carbonation.

It's impressive how smooth this one is for the hop volume. It continues through the full tall boy as it continues to get more and more citrusy. Nice.

Cynic (Saison/Farmhouse) ABV: 6.6% | IBUs: 33 | Rating:  9.2/10
As with Overrated! (inferring themselves as sell-outs), Cynic is equally self deprecating, introducing it as a  "fizzy yellow beer in a can". I initially expected this one to be more in the Pils direction, but instead was presented with a complex, farmehouse-style offering.

Cynic pours out like a Pilsner - all yellow, bubbly with a big white head. Another aromatic one from Surly, this time with plenty of wheat, Belgian yeast, and beautiful peach notes.

It goes down sweet with a touch of hop bitterness. Notes of honey, with a slight, dark earthiness snuck in there. Ever-present Belgian yeast notes dance with a touch of pepper and spice, but never gets too hot.

I keep coming back to the nose on this one and how Surly just nailed it. Light body, with just enough girth from the oats too.

There's something in the finish that's truly remarkable. A bit lost for words. Peach and apricot with the delicate yeast and carbonation levels are perfect and keeps it from getting too sweet. I could seriously drink this every day. Just a great beer.

Bender (Brown) ABV: 5.5% | IBUs: 45 | Rating: 9/10
This brown pours out with two fingers of fluffy, off-white head over a bubbly, cola-colored body. Long retention on the head, is worth noting. The nose is dark, toasted, with a touch of hop citrus.

Bender offers up another fabulously smooth Surly brew. Low carbonation, creamy mouthfeel, and it's all wonderfully refreshing. This is absolutely an "I just got home and need a beer" beer. Kudos.

Continuing on, it' a medium body, with coffee notes in the finish along with a slight coolness. Creamy, creamy, creamy is the word with this one - there's even a touch of actual cream notes and vanilla threaded through the middle.

A slight hop bitterness sneaks in the finish that is well-matched and well-ballanced with the pleasant coffee and coco notes.

It's hard for me to get excited or even enjoy many Brown Ales, but this one is doing it easily.

Surly Brewing invasion...

HUGE "Thank you!" to my friend in Minnesota for this jaw-dropping gift box. He and I spoke last month briefly about getting my hands on some Surly beers and he was enthusiastic to help. I figured a few cans, maybe a four pack or two if I was lucky. I was not prepared for this to say the least... 32 cans and 36lbs of pure Surly nectar.

Look for reviews of Wet, Hell, Furious, Bender, Coffee Bender, Cynic, Fest, and Overrated! coming your way after I work through more of the Vermont haul.

Check out Surly Brewing while I find a place to fit these in the overflowing fridge:
http://www.surlybrewing.com