It’s Saint Patrick’s Day weekend! And, for the next three nights, my wife and I will be tasting four different beers!
So, please, go get your favorite beverage, sit down, kick back and enjoy as we do our tasting!
Our first beer is…
BEER: Guinness Draught Stout
BREWERY: St. James Gate – Dublin, Ireland
ABV: 4.2%
MATT: 2.75/5
DANIELLE: 3/5
LOOK: Dark like mud
SCENT: Coffee, soda bread, yeast, wheat
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Thin mouthfeel, slight coffee and chocolate.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: It’s appropriate to start with the Stout that got us to the modern stout. The issue is that Guinness has been improved upon. Here, this incarnation almost seems lifeless and flat. The carbonation is awful, the taste barely recalls coffee and chocolate, and there’s no body to it. Unfortunate.
BEER: Dragon’s Milk White (Bourbon Barrel-Aged White Stout)
BREWERY: New Holland Brewing – Holland, MI
ABV: 6.0%
MATT: 3.5/5
DANIELLE: 3.25/5
LOOK: Gold and hazy
SCENT: Fruit, whiskey, vanilla
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Slightly thick mouthfeel with a lot of milk and vanilla.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: It’s odd for New Holland to give us a “white” version of their popular “Dragon’s Milk” line being that the original is so popular. This is more “milky” than the original and I’m not entirely sure it works. The flavors, up front, are lactose and vanilla, with a hint of honey. Beyond that, the fruit on the nose isn’t here.
BEER: Anomaly Milk Stout
BREWERY: Faction Brewing – Alameda, CA
ABV: 6.5%
MATT: 3.75/5
DANIELLE: 3.25/5
LOOK: Gold and slightly hazy
SCENT: Coffee, chocolate, lactose, vanilla
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Slightly thick mouthfeel…lactose and coffee are present with a faint bit of vanilla.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: Another interesting milk stout. This isn’t as flavorful as the Dragon’s Milk White — but it has more character and body to it with some extra carbonation that holds it together.
BEER: Bourbon Barrel Stout
BREWERY: Anderson Valley Brewing Company – Boonville, CA
ABV: 6.9%
MATT: 3.5/5 (changed from recording)
DANIELLE: 3.5/5
LOOK: Dark like mud
SCENT: Cherry cola, tree fruit, malt
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Slightly thick mouthfeel…this tastes like a spiked cherry cola
FINAL REFLECTIONS: Nice promises up front but then you taste it, and it’s basically a spiked cola in a beer. Yes, there’s malt in there and you sort of get the bourbon but it tastes more like a spiked soda and comes off as almost too sweet.
FINAL THOUGHTS: A decent start to our three-day tasting with some interesting takes on the entire stout/Irish Ale thing. We have eight more beers set up to go!
HEAR OUR FINAL THOUGHTS:
NEXT UP: Join us tomorrow as we continue on to Day 2 of our Saint Patrick’s Day Beer Tasting!