Saranac’s Brewer’s Blood Imperial Amber Ale (whew)
Here’s a neat one: an “imperial amber ale” with a hefty 90 IBU’s and a stiff 8.7% alcohol. Judging by the price and the packaging, this is the flagship of Saranac’s rebranding, but it’s made in Windsor Vermont, not in Utica, New York. Not sure which empire declares this stuff “imperial”, but it sure ain’t the Empire State.
So what we have is a great recipe that some crafty brewers came up with, and it must involve some high-end ingredients to command a luxury-good price. It certainly tastes like they used good stuff. The color is definitely amber, maybe even darker than a regular amber ale, and the smell is a fairly complex melange of hops and malts.
Nice intriguing body to this beer, and the hops are well done, though this one has a problem that you do see in high-alk brews sometimes: the taste of the alcohol itself raises it’s hand to be counted. Unfortunately, that detracts from the overall taste. Looking for a beer here, not a beer-flavored liqueur.
Malts are nice and meaty, they hopped the heck out of it, so it should be right up my alley. And it is good, but the strength is just a little shy of whiskey-face, and that’s not for me. Hate to do it, because someone poured a lot of sweat and tears into this bottle, but tallying all the pluses and minuses here leaves it with a 7.2 rating, low for a beer of this quality.
I don’t want to turn anyone off from trying this, i found it in the “pick your own six” section, where for $11 you can try 6 beers where you’d normally have to spend $70 to try ’em all. If you can find a single of this, try it. You may like it, well, in fact i’m sure you’ll like it, but try it and decide from there if it’s something you’ll spend the premium price on, for a full six or twelve.
Well OK, there’s a slap to the back of your neck if you were in the race to be Hoppier Than Thou. Taking a different tack than their neighbors at Sierra Nevada, these folks at Lagunitas are messing around with hop extractives and adding that to the beer instead. And the result, in case you’re not puckered enough today, is an astounding 102 International Bitterness Units. One hundred and two. Yes. I didn’t even know the scale went over 100.
And just to keep all them IBU’s under control, the alk has to be high, in this case 8%. So now you know, why they call it Hop Stoopid. The blurb on the bottles says it’s “fermented on high” and yeah, that’s probably true too.
The beer itself? Good golden color with plenty of floaty things in there, which is a mystery, because the whole story (in tiny print on the side of the label) is about NOT using a mountain of actual leafy buddy hop cones so they don’t jam your equips when you get it out of the vat, like a sodden roof gutter in November.
The taste is pretty excellent, as i suspected it would be. Lagunitas is one of those breweries whose stuff is just too expensive for me, like $15 sixers and $24 12-packs, but i saw “102 IBU 4U” on the label and knew i had to splurge on a 22-oz jammer of this, lovingly known among the drinking class as a “double deuce”. But my regular glass is 18-oz so i can handle these things. Yes it’s a lager glass, that trapezoidal profile, but it’s fine for all beers and gives me an excuse to say trapezoidal once in a while.
The beer body is finely sturdy, this is an ale but not a pale ale, a good blend of malt-sweet and crunchy cereals. Professional head on this one, like Euro-style head on the beer, and then, of course, there’s all those devilish IBU’s. It’s hoppy, mi amigo. Like Jumpin’ Jesus on a Pogo Stick, it’s hoppy. Like a kangaroo on crack-a-roo, it’s hopping all over the goddamned place. I like it.
The hops are velvety brutal, carried on that big-beer taste and couched in a hi-alk delivery vehicle. A hammer of hops, truth told here for free. But nuttily enough this is not the Hoppiest of the Hopalongs on the range. Sierra Nevada’s Hop Hunter still reigns, even though i had prepared myself for the possibility that Hop Stoopid might dethrone the Hunter.
But it was not to be. The Double-H’s fresh-hop steam extraction turns out to be superior to whatever the Lagunitas Method is for making hop extract. I think the real difference might be Sierra Nevada’s HH uses the extract, and then makes hoppy beer as usual, only then they add the extract too. It seems like Lagunitas lets the extract do more of the work for them.
I think the Stoopid earns a rating of 8.8 for good tries at sooper hop, because the windmill is there, that’s why. But there are better hoppy beers at a lower price point than Lagunitas in this category, so that makes me less inclined to try another Lagunitas label in the future. Granted, what i had was likely brewed in Chicago, not in California, so maybe the quality stepped down at the contract brewery. Dunno, it’s not my job to know.
Another hop-op-along from the haunts of Portland in Oregonia, this time it’s an IPL, which is ridiculous but everyone thinks that if you use the letters I and P then it’ll sell better. But for a reality check, there is no such thing as an “India Pale Lager”. There’s not even such a thing as an India Anything in beer, besides India Pale Ale. The whole idea is that an ale which is top-fermented can be sealed in barrels in London, and packed onto a ship bound for India. On the way the malts and water and yeast turn it into beer. And it’s hopped so strongly because it’s crappy beer, with all that sloshing around for 4 months on the ocean.
You can’t brew a lager on a sailing ship. Just want to make sure you understand clearly that no lager, not even a highly hopped “pale” lager, has anything to do with India, whatsoever. And IPA for that matter, has strong hops to mask the crappy beer, not as a culinary delight for connoisseurs. It was intended to be cheap and barely drinkable for the British occupying forces in India, and soldiers, as we all know, will drink anything not clearly labeled “Poison”.
Today, the reverse is true. People are making pale ales with actually good beer malts, and not fermenting it in dark rat-infested cargo holds where the constant pitching and rolling ruins the beer. So there’s no need for all that hoppiness today. Now, it’s just tasty.
The name of this one, “Hopside Down” is just as absurd. It’s not an IPA brewed upside down, it’s just a lager brewed like a normal lager, with the fermentation happening at the bottom of the chamber. The only difference with this lager is they jammed a bunch of hops in there. It’s a hoppy lager, that’s all it is. Nothing “India” about this at all, other than in the feeble minds of marketing idiots.
Just so you know.
Now on to the beer. As it happens, i prefer lagers and i like IPA’s because of the strong hops, so this one is right up my pants leg. The goofy popularity of IPA’s has led many micros to make hoppy lagers, and although i roll my eyes at their stupidity when they try to call one an “IPL,” the fact is that this type of beer was made for me.
Plenty of fun info on the bottom of the carton, where you can only read it AFTER you’ve bought it, heheh. There’s a nice drawing of their brewery, and they note that it’s “under the Fremont Bridge” so we can only assume that the Widmer Brothers are trolls. Hey, i don’t care if they live under a bridge and eat nanny goats. I don’t have a goat. And i don’t judge lifestyles, only beers. Could be orcs for all i care, just keep the hopped-up lagers coming!
From the carton, this’s got Pale and Caramel malts, they used Cascade and Alchemy hop varieties, and there’s a number for “apparent extract” which i have no idea about. But, what i do know about is the IBU’s which are at a healthy 65, and the alk which is at a swarthy 6.7%. And there’s another number, “Color,” which is apparently measured in something called an “SRM” whatever that is, and this beer has eight of those.
It is pale for a lager, nicely golden-yellow, has a good smell to it, and the taste is not as crisp as a real IPA, but rounder and sweeter in the mouth, almost something you can bite into, which is what i like about lagers in general. Hops are pretty nice but seem lighter than that 65 IBU rating would suggest. That’s the inherent problem with hopping a lager way up high: there’s more solid beer body which just absorbs the bitterness. With an ale, the body is so slight that the hops are swimming around on their own, unfettered and free to attack.
So it’s a tougher balance when you try to hop up a lager. These Oregonians have pulled it off nicely. Mixing in pale malts leaves some hops on the loose and yet the mass of the beer is pleasingly hearty. Like i said, this kind of frankenbeer is just right for me, and i love this example muchly. It’s nearly buttery, so velvet smooth and richly flavored. I recommend this for human consumption. In moderation, naturally, with that 6.7% alk lurking inside.
At $9 for a sixer, this is one of them crafties which is worth the premium, and have no trouble awarding it an 8.5 rating. Just wish they’d stop calling it an IPL, grow a ball and make up your own brand name for this kind of beer, wouldja? Don’t be a pantysniffer trying to coat-tail the IPA brand. Your beer is better than that. You are better than that, Widmer Brotrolls.
The label calls it a classic, and there you have it. It’s become almost pedestrian, as Sam Adams Boston Lager. SN has trotted out variations of this brew, catering to the recent hop madness of the USA, but this one is still a masterpiece of the craft beer movement. Light body, a touch darker than pale, a well-planned beer recipe executed with time-worn expertise, and they obey the Rheinheitsgebot even though they don’t have to.
Taste is medium in body, medium in alk at 5.6%, and hops well in attendance but not sphinct-puckeringly powerful. The single species of hops, Cascade, gives you fruits and the sweetness of the medium body makes those fruit notes into actual undertones. You can’t do that without knowing what the heck you’re doing, and by now SN does know. Rated at 9.0 because there are other exquisite strokes of luck from other breweries, but if my ratings were based on consistant quality barrel after barrel for 35 years, then naturally this one would be a 10.
Good start to the experience with some humor on the outside of the bottle (non-twist cap says “Tools Required”), and when opened, the insides smell promising. And i was not misled. This is a mighty fine IPA. Rounded beer body gives a rich creamy dimension to the hops side of the equation, without tamping down the tartness. In fact, there’s nothing getting in the way of these hops. They don’t brag about species or blends of hops on the packaging, Full Sail just does it. It does claim that the IPA is “Ridiculously Tasty” but it’s not bragging if it’s true.
Not a sipper’s IPA, i felt zero guilt about greedily gulping this one down, and it was not even a hot day. Luckily, at a reasonable 6.0% alk, there’s nothing for a gulper to fear. Very well balanced taste sockets: low sweetness, high hops, real wort flavor survives the brewing. Highly recommend this one even though i don’t want to, it’s an East-West thing. Full Sail is from Oregon and i’m in New York, so naturally i’ll root for my peeps. Not as bad as a Biggie/Tupac feud, but this Oregonian winner evens the battle for tops in hops.
The previous 3 were Smuttynose Finestkind from Maine and Sam Adams’s 48ยบ from Boston, and Sierra Nevada’s Hop Hunter IPA out of Cali. Now with another West Coaster in the elevated echelon, we’re all even, Steven.
Thank god they don’t brew good beer in Missouri, ahem, or we’d be headed towards another messy Compromise, and we all know how the first one turned out. Full Sail’s IPA rates a 9.2 on my tastebuds, and those buds may not be for you.
Billed on the bottle as using 4 types of hops and 3 kinds of malts, and in teeny tiny print, a warning of sorts: this IPA is packing a sweltering 8.2% alcohol. That must be the 2X they’re talking about, because the taste is neither extremely hoppy nor whole-beer malty. Good balance of sweet and pointy hops, even if the latter is not really sharply hopped, is it a little pointy. Can taste the alk underneath the beer, not as dire as some malt liquors on the market, but certainly there.
So with this alk it’s not a great hot-day refreshment, but not bad for a cooler Spring evening when there’s nothing attractive to drive to. Sedate hops, not bright and burning, a slight citrusy hint but more like pine than lemon. OK as a beer, but no reason to buy this as long as Smuttynose is still making Finestkind. My rating of 5.6 takes into account the lower hops and higher brainwreck potential.
Billed as “continuously hopped” and i’m not sure what that’s supposed to do for the beer, but i’ve had hoppier. A little tangy on the beer side of the equation, almost like you can taste the stainless steel it was brewed in. The hop side of the formula is bright but blunt, gets citrus on you and grasps at the tart ring but that’s just out of its clutches.
A sweet lemony flavor, think Lemonheads not Sour Patches. Halfway through the pint, the sweetness grows up and leaves the hops behind. At 6% alk this won’t brew your brain, but still strong enough to respect. By no means a terrible thing, but nothing here really stands out. Aftertaste fades too quickly and the body is light. Tastes like it would make a great pairing with white fish for dinner, but not a beer adventure on its own. I’ll call this one at 5.2, for being unremarkable yet $10 bux a six, and that’s on sale.
Yet another IPA from the prolific people at Southern Tier, not too bad an attempt at the balance which Smuttynose has discovered. A darker aspect tells about heavier grains seared longer, the hops are clear and solid, and the sugars are also the lower notes on the scale, from a darker malt allowed to cook a deeper brown.
The heavier malts give this one a meatier taste in the mouth, and there’s some hints of toast playing off the sour hops, a nice touch. At 4.5% alcohol, this one is not going to toast your brain, and it’s refreshing in the way that old-tyme beer was refreshing, by being a meal where the water is bad and the workday is long. Have to give it an 8.1 for yumminess.
Make mine slutty! Ooops, the slogan is “Make mine a Smutty”. Same difference, really. Kidding aside, don’t be put off by two lounging geezers on the label, this here IPA is a true winner. Perfect balance of beeriness and hoppiness, a body that makes you want to make a sealskin coat out of it and a flavor that makes you wish your own nose was as smutty as the brewery’s pinnipedal mascot.
Almost a creamy top note to the flavor, like you’re scooping it right out of a barrel freshly arrived in India. The beer side of it has barely enough sweetness to make the hop side of the palette truly “citrusy” in a way that others only claim to. And Smuttynose doesn’t claim to, they actually do it, and without crowing about it, which is also great.
The lighter malt wedded to good hops, might be an intentionally faster fermentation which leaves more sugars in it, the overall balance of components makes this one of the top IPA’s i have tried. It’s a buzzy one at 6.9% alcohol, but very refreshing. Now i know why the geezers on the label look so giddy. Fitting that they made up a new word for this one: “finestkind”. A great IPA, in my book it rates a lofty 9.7 for exquisite balance.
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And to update this review, now more than 3 months later, this is still and truly the best IPA i have tasted and tested to date. Note that 9.7 rating above, and remember it. By now, have reviewed 60+ IPA’s and 9.7 is the highest rating i’ve given to anything. Smuttynose Finestkind is the tops!
The standard India Pale Ale from Southern Tier Brewing, the nose is crisp but weak, the taste brings more malt flavor than their “Live” ale. Both ales mention 4 malts and 4 hops on the label, but this one favors the grains over the cones. Still nicely hopped, just not sour-face hoppy.
A good rounded feel in the mouth, overall a better ale than the “Live” one, with the balance more on being a beer than being hoppier-than-thou. 7.0% alcohol here, so prolly not the best drink to relax on a hot day, but in New York you’re not melting on the porch for 9 months, only three. So low on hops, but nice real-beer taste.
The longer you sip it, the more lingering the taste of hops is, and i think this means they used pretty fresh hops. I’d call this one a nice round 8.0 for, well, well-roundedness.
