Miasmatic Review

Samual Adams Blackberry Witbier

Queue theme music from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Also Sprach Zarathustra - 2001: Space Odyssey

Tonight, Bruce of Back to the Batcave has finished his quest for the glass. For tonight I review his 12th beer to give him full enabler status. Congratulations Bruce, I will announce a special presentation time (I’m thinking Friday… at the pub!) The final beer is Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier by the Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams).

It comes in the standard Sam Adams brown bottle. You have their standard label with Samuel Adams prominent in the middle. Blackberry Witbier is in a purple banner. There is a picture of Sam Adams at the bottom hoisting a frothy mug of beer. At the top of the label it boasts this is part of their Brewmaster’s Collection.

There is a beautiful golden honey color with just a touch of orange to it. It’s clear with just a touch of cloudiness to it, which is unusual for a witbier in my experience. The head that formed was thin and white. It faded quickly to a ring around the edge of the glass and there was no lacing.

The scent was kind of weak, but was dominated by the scent of blackberries. A faint yeast and floral hop smell was detectable. There was no citrus or spiciness that is normally associated with a witbier. The flavor was mostly that of blackberries, that tasted almost like artificial flavoring. There was almost no wheat flavor and there wasn’t any spiciness at all. There was a slight bitter hop finish to it.

This is light bodied beer, with a nice carbonation level. There is no coating of the mouth.

I’m not a fan of fruit beers, and in all reality that is what this is. Most of the characteristics one associates with a witbier are missing from it. As a fruit beer, it was kind of lacking as well. The berry taste wasn’t as dominant as it should have been. It wasn’t a bad beer; I wouldn’t go out of my way for it. I give it 4 out of 10.

Cerise

Bruce of Back to the Batcave donated tonight’s beer. That makes number 11 in his quest for a glass. Number twelve is sitting in the fridge. If everything goes as planned, he’ll earn it next week! I just need to get to deliver the other glasses that have already been awarded. The beer being reviewed tonight is Cerise by Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids, MI.

We have the standard 12 fl oz brown bottle. The label is a pinkish label with a picture of cherries on it. The name of the beer is in a fancy handwritten looking script under it. In a red banner it states Cherry Fermented ale.

When poured into a glass, there is a pink, ruby grapefruit like color to it. The beer is clear, with no signs of floaters or cloudiness to it at all. You can see right through it, albeit with a pink tint. The head that forms is a light cotton candy like pink color that fades to a film on the top. There is some lacing on the side of the glass. Did I mention it’s pink?

The scent is a strong tart cherry scent. There is a mild malt scent to the background that gives the beer a slight musty smell. The taste is much like the smell, cherries and malts. The cherries have both the tartness of real cherries and a bit of a sweetness of cocktail cherries. The flavor is very mild with almost no bitterness to it at all. The aftertaste is barely noticeable. At 6.5% ABV you couldn’t taste the alcohol.

This is a light bodied beer, with a mild carbonation. There is no coating to the mouth.

Fruit beers are not normally my forte, yet this one I actually found pleasant to drink. The cherry flavor wasn’t overpowering like in some other cherry flavored drinks I’ve had. Also for 6.5% ABV, this was very easy to drink, almost too easy. In fact I could see myself accidently drinking a six pack of this way too fast. I give this 6 out of 10.

Old Rasputin

The enabler glasses that I announced at the beer tasting have finally arrived! Steve, Petey you will get yours the next time I see you! Tonight I’m taking Bruce of Back to the Batcave one step closer to his 12th beer reviewed. Tonight we are reviewing Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout by the North Coast Brewing Company in Fort Bragg California

The Glass!

It comes in a 12 fl. Oz. brown bottle with a black and gold label. In the center of the label there is what looks to be a hand drawn picture of Rasputin. It looks like he’s either blessing or cursing you for drinking his beer. The picture is inside a gold circle with the name of the beer at the top, and something in Russian along the bottom. The logo of the brewery is at the bottom center of the label.

This beer is black in color, and appears to be very dense. Light doesn’t pass through at all. An inch thick head formed when poured into the glass. The headed faded into a film at the top of the beer, and left some nice lacing on the side of the glass as it was drank.

The smell is of roasted malts and bitter black coffee. There are some flowery hops that combine with the malts to give it a mild soapy scent. The taste starts with a strong citrus hop flavor uncharacteristic of most stouts. There are bitter chocolate and coffee roasted malts undertones. The bitterness bites on the sides of the tongue, but as the beer warms to room temperature it becomes less noticeable. The after taste coats the mouth with a hoppy flavor.

This is a full bodied beer that has some creaminess to it. Carbonation is pleasant.

This is not what I was expecting in a stout. I never thought it would be this hoppy, this is kind of like a stout for someone that likes IPAs. It has the bitterness of the IPA and the thickness of a stout. This is not my style of beer. I really don’t see myself going for another one of these. It’s not a bad beer, just not to my tastes. I give it 4 out of 10.