New Brew Thursday - Back East Brewing

Hubby and I went to the official Grand Opening of Back East Brewing.  It was a hot, sticky day with thunderstorms looming. Oh boy was I looking forward to some cold, yummy beer!

I don’t know what I was expecting but I was surprised by the volume of people who had shown of the event.  The place was packed.  There were lines of people everywhere . . . a line to get in, a line for each of the tasting stations, a line for the brewery tour . . . a line for everything.  

I’m certainly not finding fault in that.  I am happy for the brewery for having such a successful grand opening.  It was just so oppressive  . . .  both weather-wise and people-wise.

As we entered the gate we got our hand stamped, a cup, and tickets good for six 4-ounce samples.  So far so good!

I shouldn’t have been surprised by this . . . a myriad of politicians showed up to wave and smile and snip ribbons.  Yeah, they’re everywhere . . . especially during so close to an election.

 

We found the end of a line leading to a beer sampling tent and were looking forward with happy anticipation to our first taste of Back East beer.   Hubby and I each selected a different beer . . . I chose the Back East Amber Ale and he got the IPA.

Back East Amber Ale is their Flagship brew.  It had a good strong taste up front but pretty much empty of flavor on the finish.  It was smooth and nicely carbonated but generally lacking . . . something.  It was good but not great.

Misty Mountain IPA.  India Pale Ales are my favorite, so I was really looking forward to a taste.  It has a nice hoppy bitterness but is otherwise missing the other characteristics (citrus, pine, malt) of a good IPA that I’ve come to expect in a good, hand crafted IPA.  Again . . . good but not great.

We drank our beer while waiting in line for the brewery tour and tasting room . . . by this time, the dark clouds are building and I was hoping we got inside before all hell broke loose.  Thankfully, we did. 

We declined to take the tour due to time constraints.  But we did take the opportunity to sample a couple more beers while passing through the tasting room.  We also grabbed a couple bottles of the limited edition imperial stout  . . .  hubby 's favorite style of beer.

This time I grabbed a the Golden ale and hubby got the stout.

The Golden Ale was my favorite among all the beers I tasted.  It was very drinkable . . . crisp, light, tasty.  It was nothing special but it was good.

The Imperial stout . . . it was kind of disappointing.  It had almost no carbonation, watery mouth feel. Smokey but wanting other flavors to compliment it . . . like coffee or caramel or chocolate or toasted malt.

Overall I thought all the beers were good but really nothing special.  I was actually kind of disappointed because I’d been looking forward to this event all week.

Not to be a downer but I  . . . in my honest opinion, for what that’s worth . . . Back East needs to kick it up notch or three.   There are so many new and established craft brewers in Connecticut that are producing some of the best, most creative and amazing flavorful beers.  What I had at the open house simply wasn’t up to the standard I’ve come to expect from the little guys brewing fine craft beer in Connecticut.

Hubby’s take on the quality of the beer is that perhaps they since this was a free event and that the brewery doling out gallons of free samples that maybe they didn’t put forth their best brews. 

On some level that makes sense, but I would think that since it was an open house and the first exposure to their beer for a lot of people . . . myself included . . . that they would want to pour the best tasting beer they make. 

I’ll grab a bottle or two of  Back East Brewing from my local store and give them another give them another go around and see what happens.

Visit Back East Brewing's website or check them out on Facebook

New Brew Thursday - Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer

Clown Shoes Beer has only recently been allowed entry into Connecticut.  My first taste of beer from this brewery was when hubby and I were out to dinner and found Tramp Stamp Belgian IPA on tap . . . it was a truly amazing beer.


So, when I spotted  Vampire Slayer  on sale at my local beer store I immediately grabbed a bottle. Vampire Slayer is an imperial American stout brewed for their second anniversary.


The label sports a boy in the process of impaling a vampire in the heart with a stake  . . . the young man is wearing clown shoes, of course.  Heh!  


Rumor has it that this beer is supposedly brewed with holy water and malts smoked with ‘vampire killing stakes.’  I'm dubious but I'll go along with it just for fun. 


The beer pours a rich dark amber with a thick tan head.  Strong coffee and chocolate prevail in the aroma so I was looking forward to my first sip.  All I can say is "wow!" . . . I literally said that when I tasted it.  It is so smooth and creamy it's like drinking velvet.  Yummy coffee chocolate velvet.  


There are other flavors that come through as well; such as caramel and a bit of smoke.  And there is a slight but definite booziness to this stout.  Not surprising considering it is a hefty 11% ABV.  


Stouts and porters are not my favorite style of beer but I think that this is a seriously awesome beer! Give it a go . . . mmm, mmm, good!


Visit Clown Shoes' website or check them out on Facebook.

New Brew Thursday - Ballast Point Imperial Stout

Ballast Point is a new-to-me brewery.  Founded in 1996 by a pair of backyard brewers in California, they continue to lovingly craft their micro brews and luckily we can get them here in Connecticut.

Ballast Point labels feature fishes of all shapes and sizes.  The Sea Monster Imperial Stout sports a real life sea monster . . . a vicious looking angler fish.

Sea Monster is an American Imperial Stout.  It pours a dark rich brown with a dense foamy head.  Like any good imperial stout it has notes of coffee and dark bitter chocolate but it also has hints of berry and vanilla and a touch of hoppiness that add complexity.  



Sea Monster is definitely a BIG beer with a hefty 10% ABV . . . there is a touch of booziness due to the high alcohol content but it doesn't in any way detract from the rich, full flavors of the yummy beer. 

This is a sipper . . . not a guzzler.  Take your time and enjoy Sea Monster.  As it warms in your glass, experience how the flavors different ingredients come forward, intensify and change ever so slightly.

With all that this stout has going on it has a smooth, silky mouth feel . . . really quite nice.

Overall, a very good beer.  Cheers!

Check out their website or visit them of Facebook.

New Brew Thursday - Imperial Stout Trooper

I admit it . . . I am a fan of the Star Wars movies.  So, too, must be the maker of Imperial Stout Trooper.


I've been drinking New England Brewing Company's owner/brewmaster Rob Leonards's beer for many years . . . way before he acquired NEB in 2001;  I first sampled his brews in the 1990's when he was making beer for John Harvards Brew House in Westport, Connecticut and the Brewhouse Restaurant in Norwalk, Connecticut.

I love and support local breweries and this one is no exception.   The New England Brewing Company  is located Woodbridge Connecticut . . . just a hop, skip and a jump from where I live.  

When Imperial Stout Trooper was first released in limited quantities in 2010 I quickly snatched up a few bottles . . . they were hard to come by and I paid a hefty $14.99 per bottle.   The label portrayed an image very similar to a Star Wars Imperial Storm Trooper.  George Lucas was none too flattered . . . he issued a cease and desist order to get his Star Wars imagery removed from the the Stout Trooper label.

Those first year bottles have become something of a collectors item.  My husband saw a bottle listed on Ebay that was going for over $100.


The following year Imperial Stout Trooper was once again issued in limited edition . . . this time with an amusing new label . . . Groucho Marx glasses and 'stache to disguise the trooper beneath.  


A few weeks ago I picked up a few bottles of the 2012 edition.  So limited is the distribution of this beer, my local booze store would only let me buy two.  Of course, I went back and got more . . . two is certainly not enough.

This a truly amazing hand crafted brew.  It pours dark as  night with a light tannish head that quickly dissipates but clings to the sides of the glass.  It has a caramelly, smoky, coffee aroma and the flavors to back up the nose tease.  

The taste is everything I've come to expect from an imperial stout . . . a complex combination of very slightly sweet dark chocolate, caramel and molasses perfectly balanced with coffee, smoke, licorice and malt.
  
Stout Trooper is not a heavy beer nor as heavy as is to be expected from a Russian imperial stout BUT very enjoyable.  It is medium bodied and medium carbonated which equates to a pleasant mouth feel. 

As good as this beer tastes, you kind of have to put the brakes on due to its high 8.5% ABV.   Share a bottle or two with friends . . . sip, relax, enjoy. And then wait another year to grab a couple bottles of this limited edition brew.

Drink it, it's good . . . indeed.

For more information check out NEB's website or visit them on Facebook.