The Xocoveza

Beer reviews have become fewer and fewer on this blog. It is not so much that I am not drinking beer. It's just that I have been drinking many of the same beers (some of which have already been reviewed and others which don't really need or deserve a review). However, every once in a while, there comes a beer that deserves its own review. 

The Xocoveza from Stone is such a beer.

The story of this beer begins back in 2014 as a mocha stout recipe submitted by Chris Banker as part of Stone's Annual Homebrew Competition. Banker's recipe won the competition. After joining a collaboration between Stone Brewing and Cerverceria Insurgente (a craft brewery in Tijuana), Banker's recipe became the Xocoveza. Nearly ten years later, the beer is now brewed with a range of ingredients beyond the traditional barley, hops (English Challenger and East Kent Golding) and yeast. The additional ingredients include cocoa, coffee, pasilla peppers, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and lactose. The combination of scents and tastes elevate this stout to something well beyond any chile stout (pasilla peppers) or holiday stout (cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg). 

The greatness of this beer comes from the fact that the additional ingredients contribute to every aspect of the beer. The beer pours pitch black with a brown foam. That foam gives way to an aroma where the cinnamon, coffee and coca become gradually more noticeable. While the brewers say there is also nutmeg and peppers in the aroma, I had a little more difficulty pinpointing those elements. 

However, the nutmeg and peppers are evident in the taste. Those flavors emerge out of the cocoa, coffee and cinnamon, and there is a heat that comes through in the middle and the finish from the peppers. Together, the complexity of the numerous flavor elements remind me of a simple mole. Indeed, this beer would complement a mole very well, although I have to admit that it would probably be drunk long before the mole was finished. 

This beer is on my short list of favorites. It also makes me happy that Stone has made the Xocoveza one of its annual offerings. If you see it in the store, buy a six pack or two. It's definitely worth it. 

PEACE.

Cadillac Mountain Stout

One place that we love to visit is Acadia National Park in Maine. Every part of the park, from Jordan Pond to Sand Beach, from Schoodic Point to Cadillac Mountain is amazing. Like many national parks, Acadia offers a person the ability to surround themselves with some of the most amazing and beautiful scenes that nature has to offer. 

Just as certain as we are to see the various sights of the park when we visit Acadia, we will find our way to Atlantic Brewing. (We are, after all, Savage Boleks.)  Atlantic Brewing has two locations, the original one on Knox Road and a newer tap room in downtown Bar Harbor. I made it to both over the course of our vacation.

Back in 2008, Atlantic Brewing purchased Bar Harbor Brewing and its recipes. Atlantic Brewing continues to make two of Bar Harbor's beers - Thunder Hole Ale and Cadillac Mountain Stout. Needless to say, we had both while we were in Bar Harbor, and, we took home a four pack of the Cadillac Mountain Stout to enjoy back at home. 

The Cadillac Mountain Stout is brewed in the style of a dry Irish Stout. This beer style features a jet black color, with aromatic notes and flavors of coffee or bitter chocolate that come with roasted barley, along with a smoothness that sets this beer apart from other stouts.

The brewers at Atlantic Brewing have checked off most of the key features of a dry Irish Stout with the Cadillac Mountain Stout. The beer pours as black as oil, with a thick foam whose coloration resembles a light chocolate cream. The aromatic elements feature light coffee notes, but tend more toward chocolate. That tendency is also reflected in the taste, as this dry Irish Stout as a sweetness that predominates over any bitter or roasted notes. Overall, this is perhaps one of my favorite beers brewed by Atlantic Brewing.

If you happen to find yourself at Pesamkuk, also known as Mount Desert Island, in Maine, you should make your way to Atlantic Brewing and try the stout or another of the brewery's beers. It is definitely worth the visit. 

ENJOY!

The Nera

It seems that nearly every region of Italy now has an emerging craft brewer, one who is brewing a larger array of beers that are becoming more available. Emilia-Romagna has Birrificio del Ducato, which brews beers such as Nuova Mattina and Via Emilia.  Piedmont has Birra Baladin, which brews beers like Super Baladin and Wayan.  And, as I have recently learned, Umbria has Birra Tenuta Collesi.

I first encountered Birra Tenuta Collesi at the International Beer Fest.  There were a few Collesi beers available to sample.  I tried the Ambiata, which is Collesi's amber beer.  I thought about trying the Nera, the stout; however, I remembered that my Dad had bought me a bottle, which had been sitting in the basement.  I decided that the Nera would wait for another day, so that I could do a review of the beer.

The day eventually came (although it would take a lot longer to complete the review). I decided to open the Nera, which the brewer describes as an unpasteurized stout that is naturally fermented in the bottle. Others have labeled this beer as a Belgian Dark Strong Ale.  Although a stout and a Belgian Dark Strong Ale are two different styles, I decided to review this beer against the guidelines of both.

According to the Beer Judge Certification Program, a Belgian Dark Strong Ale are usually a deep amber to dark brown, because the "dark" usually  refers to being more deeply colored than a golden ale.  The Nera is much darker than one would expect for a Belgian Ale, and, its color more closely resembles the typical color of a stout, like a Guinness Stout.

As for the aroma, the brewers suggest that there is a "complex aroma of roasted coffee, barley, cereal, liquorice and rhubarb."   A Belgian Dark Strong Ale has aromatic elements that focus more on the malts, with caramel, toast or bready aromas.  The Beer Judge Certification Program observes that a Belgian Dark Strong Ale does not have a dark, roast coffee aroma.  However, a stout often has such an aroma.

Finally, the Belgian Dark Strong Ale has flavor elements that mirror the aromatic elements, with malt flavors predominating over hop flavors.  Once again, a stout has roast coffee flavors, which one would expect from a beer that is described by the brewers as having a "[s]oft creamy and lingering mouth feel, velvety and a smooth foam looking like a cappucino." 

In the end, the Imper Ale Nera more closely resembles a stout than a Belgian Dark Strong Ale.  Still, one could say that the Nera is a good example of an Italian Belgian-style stout and it is definitely worth a try.  This particular bottle was purchased at a beverage store outside of Chicago, Illinois. 

ENJOY!