Alesmith Brewing Company - Alesmith Decadence 2011 Maple Smoked Barleywine

In my opinion, Alesmith is one of the best breweries out there. I've tried almost their entire lineup of beers and can say that they range from "well above average" (Anvil ESB, My Bloody Valentine) to "absolutely unforgettable" (Speedway Stout and most of its numerous variations, Alesmith IPA). So when I spotted their newest anniversary ale on the shelf at a local store, I had a feeling it was going to be fantastic. Add to my opinions of Alesmith the fact that Decadence 2011 is a Maple Smoked Barleywine and I was definitely all in.

Decadence 2011 pours a deep amber color with a big foamy cream-colored head. The aroma was way more faint than I was expecting, but I was able to coax out some notes of caramel malt and citrus hop resin. Not really what I was expecting out of a maple smoked barleywine. Hmmm...


Decadence 2011 claims to be a blend of a barleywine and a rauchbier (smoked beer), but doesn't really taste like either. I got a lot of malt right away and it never really faded. Somewhere beneath the malt, I was able to pick out some brown sugar, char, and a bit of red currant. While it wasn't a terrible beer, Decadence never really showed the elements that made me so excited about it in the first place. There's a chance that those elements might come out more as the beer ages, but I'm not really interested in paying $15 more to find out. You still have me, Alesmith, but this was undoubtedly not one of your better efforts.

Final Grade: B-

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 37

Kern River Brewing Company - 5th Anniversary Ale

I've come a long way in my search for the top 100 beers in the world. And while I've had to work hard for a lot of them, some of them come around purely by chance. This past week, I was lucky enough to get the chance to try another beer of the list: Kern River's 5th Anniversary Ale.

While I have yet to have a bad beer of any style from Kern River, their IPAs are really what sets them apart from the rest of the crowd. While their other Double IPA, Citra, has gained more hype, their 5th Anniversary has quietly crept up the rankings to #61 on the list. I thought I had missed out on Kern River's 5th Anniversary, but on Tuesday, I got an email from Toronados saying that they were going to have the beer on tap the next day. Luckily, when I got there, it was still there. At #61, Kern River's 5th Anniversary Ale.

Kern River's 5th Anniversary Ale pours a beautiful and slightly hazy golden color with a 1/2 finger bone white head. The smell was full of a fantastic citrus hop aroma. I got big notes of mango and grapefruit with some candied orange and a bit of earthiness.

The taste opens with some huge notes of grapefruit and grapefruit pith with a good amount of honey malt and mango sweetness to balance the flavors out. The drinkability of this beer was off the charts. It's one of the smoothest and tastiest Double IPAs I've ever had. I'm really glad I got to try this one. It may not be as great as Citra, but it's definitely Top 100 worthy.

Final Grade: A

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 37

Surly Brewing Company - Furious

You might remember Surly as the makers of a Double IPA I tried a few months back, Abrasive. Well Abrasive isn't the only Top 100 Beer that they make. Besides Abrasive (#34), they make Darkness (#57, I'm working on it...) and Furious (#88). Not bad at all. Since Surly doesn't currently distribute to San Diego, the only way to try any of these beers is to either go there, trade for it, have a friend who gets it or find it online. I was able to find a website that carried Surly and opted to get Furious that way. So glad I did! At number 88 on the list- Furious.

Furious pours a reddish copper color with a 1/2 finger sand colored head and some spotty lacing down the glass. The nose is full of a great combination of pine and citrus hops with a touch of something that smells a bit like tea. There's a hint of caramel sweetness as well in the aroma.

The flavor is chock full of pine and citrus hops with a substantial malt backbone holding the hops in check. A touch of caramel shows up briefly before it's run out of town by a dry and lingering pine hop finish. The mouthfeel is slightly creamy and seems to coat your throat in fresh hops with every sip. This is definitely one of the better IPAs I've had. Surly, please start distributing to San Diego!

Final Grade: A

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 36

Midnight Sun Brewing Co.- Obliteration VIII

Midnight Sun is a brewery that I definitely wish I saw a lot more of down here in San Diego. To my knowledge, there are only a handful of bottleshops in Southern California that get their beers on a regular basis. Luckily for me, I happened to be in one of them shortly after they received a new shipment and I was able to get the newest in Midnight Sun's series of experimental IPAs- Obliteration VIII.

Obliteration VIII pours a beautiful dark golden color with a one finger off-white colored head. I picked up some huge notes of citrus hops along with some hints of white pepper.

The taste is chock full of hops. Big, sticky, chewy hops with a bit of caramel and orange thrown in for good measure. I didn't taste a ton of malt here, but it didn't bother me too much. This is an absolute hop bomb and one of the better ones out there. I have to find more of this.

Final Grade: A

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 34

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Tweason'ale

By this point, I think I've pretty much talked up Dogfish Head about as much as one beer blogger can humanly talk up one brewery. In case you didn't know: I love Dogfish Head! Their newest beer, Tweason'ale, certainly continues their quest to keep trying new things. It's a gluten-free beer that uses sorghum instead of barley or wheat and is brewed with strawberries and buckwheat honey. I'd been wanting to try a gluten-free beer for a while, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Tweason'ale pours a clear pale golden color with a thin cream colored head that quickly recedes to a ring around the top of the glass. The smell has a touch of the strawberries, but it comes across as a tad artificial- almost like those strawberry hard candies with the wrappers that make them look like real strawberries. I also picked up a touch of musty grain, a bit of sweetness from the honey, a perfume like flowery aroma and a touch of sourness that reminded me of wine.

The taste opens with some tart strawberries and lemons along with a bit of pink grapefruit flesh. The beer was highly carbonated which (when coupled with the light, fruity flavors) made it almost taste more like a cider than a beer. Still, this was an extremely refreshing and pretty tasty beer that didn't seem to be lacking anything due to its gluten-less ingredients.

Final Grade: B+

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 34

New Belgium Brewing - Lips of Faith-Cocoa Mole

If you know me, you know I love all things chocolate. So when I heard that New Belgium's newest Lips of Faith beer was called Cocoa Mole, I got pretty excited. A beer brewed with chiles AND chocolate? Game over. There was absolutely no way I wasn't trying this one. I found a bottle last week at Texas Liquor and opened it about two minutes later at home.

Cocoa Mole pours a dark brown color with a thin but long-lasting cream colored head. The smell was really incredible. I caught a lot of cinnamon and unsweetened baking chocolate along with some brown sugar and a slight hint of chile.

The taste opens up sweet and smooth with some notes of dark chocolate and a bit of earthiness from the chiles. Right around the middle, I got a good hit of heat from the peppers. The heat lasts through the finish and the chiles leave a bit of dryness on the tongue. My biggest complaint about this one was that the mouthfeel was a bit thin. Other than that, this was a pretty well executed experiment.

Final Grade: B+

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 34

Jester King Craft Brewery - Black Metal Imperial Stout

Up until very recently, I would have thought that the terms "craft beer" and "Texas" went together about as well as the terms "Lindsay Lohan" and "sobriety." But I've started hearing more and more about decent craft breweries popping up in Texas and I finally got my first chance to try one of their beers last week.

Black Metal is a Russian Imperial Stout brewed by Jester King Craft Brewery, just outside of Austin, Texas. The beer has one of the best labels I've seen in a while- a pissed off looking dude in full on KISS makeup. Bad. Ass.

Black Metal pours a deep black color with an incredibly dark milk chocolate colored head. The smell was a bit faint, but I picked up some roasted malt, black licorice, molasses and dark chocolate, with some subtle hints of plum.

The taste opened with a big hit of roasted malt and milk chocolate. The middle brought some flavors of espresso and the finish brought some faint hops and charred grain husk. The mouthfeel was very smooth but a bit lighter than some of the big Russian Imperial Stouts out there. Overall, I was pretty impressed with this beer and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what Texas is able to produce in the future.

Final Grade: B+

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 34