Old Ales

What are Old Ales you ask? They're similar to regular ales except they're horrible drivers, bitch about weather/politics and always whine about nobody coming to visit them ( j/k grandma and grandpa)! Old ales are generally aged, have a full malt body, dark brown color, somewhat fruity (haaay!), strong alcohol characteristics and vary on the bitterness/hop level. So pretty much right up my alley.

So in this lineup we've got:
1. Great Divide Hibernation Ale - 8.1%
2. Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale - 6.7% (English Brown Ale)
3. North Coast Old Stock Ale - 11.5%
4. Fuller's Vintage Ale - 11.5%
5. Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special 30 Reserve - 8%

The Vintage and Ola Dubh are a bit in their own league considering a 12oz Dubh put me back $13.99 and the Vintage being about the same for a 1pt 9oz. Harviestoun also makes a "Old Engine Oil" which is an Old Ale but cheaper and w/o the whisky. Also it wasn't until after I purchased the Old Brown Dog that I realized its really an English Brown Ale, Smuttynose makes a "Really" Old Brown Dog which is their Old Ale (well excuse me). But oh well, its getting reviewed nonetheless.

The Hibernation had a strong alcohol aroma, and was very busy with lots of flavors going on from very malty to fruity and bitter. The ladies thought it tasted manly, not sure what that means. The Old Brown Dog had a lighter taste obviously, less alcohol, about what you'd expect from an ale. The Old Stock Ale was slightly sweet, fruity and had an overall good balance of "Old Ale" characteristics although nothing sticking out. The Vintage was a blast to the senses. Had a great apple cider/candy smell. Tasted very sweet and refreshing, almost no hop characteristics and definitely hid the 11.5% ABV very well. Had a candied sugar taste that completely stood out from the rest... and it was like someone slipped a Coca-Cola in a beer review and asked you to compare. The Ola Dubh had the obvious whisky/alcohol smell, very floral and had tastes similar to teriyaki beef jerky. Also tasted some spearmint (wtf? Someone's gum?). I knew immediately what beer I was drinking because it was obvious, so we were slightly biased. With the whopping $13.99, I was a slightly disappointed that it tasted a bit watered down. I've had other whisky aged beers that were much better. Although I'm sure this beer ages well.

The results:
A: Hibernation, Vintage, Ola Dubh 30, Brown Dog, Old Stock
T: Hibernation, Ola Dubh 30, Old Stock, Vintage, Brown Dog
K: Vintage, Ola Dubh 30, Hibernation, Old Stock, Brown Dog
L: Old Stock, Vintage, Brown Dog, Hibernation, Ola Dubh 30


After sitting down with some chili and sipping on these beers, I had some afterthoughts. The Hibernation for me was just way too busy and had a strong alcohol and malt-extract taste, also a strong hop flavor on top of all that. Definitely try this out if you don't care much about balance. I thought the North Coast Old Stock did a good tribute to the Old Ale style, which a good balance, it was easy to drink and plenty of alcohol without all the drama. But you won't go wrong with either of those. The Vintage is also worth your time, as is pretty much all of Fuller's collection. Check out their ESB, it tastes like grape candy.

Next week: ???

Scotch/Scottish Ales

So last week we decided to kick off our beer reviewing with a bang and hit up the high ABV Scottish/Scotch Ales. I also had a lot of Old Chub and Dirty Bastard sitting around that needeth to be drinketh. Terrapin is also a local favorite and I just so happened to have their 90 Shelling side project Scotch Ale. Being more of a rare beer style, it was difficult finding a 4th beer but we were able to find the Belhaven St. Andrews Ale. We realize that Scottish ales are not entirely the same as scotch ales... but close enough. So here are our contenders:

1. Oskar Blues Old Chub (Scottish Style) - 8% ABV
2. Belhaven St. Andrews (Scottish Style) - 4.6%
3. Terrapin 90 Shelling (Scotch Style) - 7.3%
4. Founder's Dirty Bastard (Scotch Style) - 8.3%


The "blind" part of our taste test involved our lovely wives pouring the beers and marking them away from our sight. But the sweet smell of scotch lured them into participating with us. So the players:
Lisa & Amy - Coming from years of experience of wine drinking they bring a very unbiased opinion on beers. Actually I'll be serious, Lisa really hates beer so this will be interesting.

Keith & Tim - Both received 1st place in The 2009 National Beer "Sniffer" Championship, one of the most highly respected merits in the beer community... not really, we just like beer.

So after a bit of taste testing the Old Chub had a strong alcohol flavor, a bit of coffee and some smokiness. The St. Andrews was much more watery with a bit of apple, although the smell wasn't attractive at all (smelled like a dirty bar mat). The 90 Shelling was a bit floral to the nose, full bodied, a more complex flavor with some nuttyness to it. And Dirty Bastard was very thick, chocolate flavor, very strong alcohol presence, earthy characteristics. The results:

K: 90 Shelling, Dirty Bastard, Old Chub, St. Andrews
T: Old Chub, St. Andrews, Dirty Bastard, 90 Shelling
A: 90 Shelling, Dirty Bastard, Old Chub, St. Andrews
L: 90 Shelling, Old Chub, St. Andrews, Dirty Bastard (but would prefer none!)

Overall: 90 Shelling had a great flavor and not overwhelming alcohol presence. But if you're looking to taste what you paid for, definitely go with the Old Chub or Dirty Bastard. And the St. Andrews for more of a session drink.

Next Week: Old Ales!

Content coming soon!

Little did I know I'd be fighting for a "beerporn" URL on blogspot. Oh well, I'll have to settle with this.

This blog will be dedicated to side-by-side blind taste tests of different beer styles. No scores or grades, maybe just a ranking of the beer tasted that week. I won't be doing individual reviews, you can find that on beeradvocate. Plus I think the true flavor of a beer comes out when you're tasting other varieties.

Stay tuned next week, I'll be tasting some Scottish Style Ales.