Southern Tier PLUM NOIR

Southern Tier PLUM NOIR - Imperial Porter brewed with Italian Plums (2013)

Blackwater Series (Bottled on 5/1/13) NEW!

22 fl. oz. / $8.79 USD / 8% ABV

About: "Plums are a diverse group of species, somewhere between 19 and 40 depending on who you ask. We’re only concerned with what we consider the best to brew with – Prunus cocomilia. The Italian plum has beautiful dark skin color and the flesh is perfect for fermentation. We’ll add puréed plums directly to the fermenter where they will add another fermentable component – their residual sugar. The beer will be dry, and have a sweetness derived mainly from the type of malts we use. A bit of the plum flavor will still be present, and it will have a slightly less roasty character than our imperial stouts have had. Hints of plum, hints of coffee from the roasted malt and a thick head. FOOD PAIRINGS: Particularly tasty with chocolate desserts, roasted or smoked foods, barbecue, Gruyère cheese. Malts: 2 Row, Caramel, Chocolate, Debittered Black, Barley Flakes / Hops: Chinook and Willamette / Puréed Italian Plums."

Thoughts: The look is black, or at least very dark... hardly any light can get through this beer. A purple-ish, dark caramel brown perhaps? The foamy two-finger head was actually pretty light of a tan color.

First scent is some gentle roasted coffee for the most part. Loads of dark malts, chocolate and caramel. It's semi-sweet smelling. Any hop characteristic is very subdued, though the brew is still cold. Am I getting plums? There's a bit of a fruitiness here, but it's ever so soft.

Taste is slightly spicy, not too bitter... it's gentle. A lot of grass on the back end of that first gulp, and not a lot of sweetness. It's got a toasty sensation to it, and tons of malt assault. The pureed plums are merely an afterthought at this point, popping up for a split second just before it settles into aftertaste. There's a lot of graininess to the taste here, but nothing that particularly pops out at'cha.

Mouth feel is really foamy, and it dissolves quickly leaving a somewhat dry feeling. It's not all that drinkable since it puffs up in the mouth and gets a little weird. It's bubbly and crisp.

Sad really, I'm about one fourth through this bottle and I'm feeling a bit disappointed. I know that Porters are probably my least favorite style aside from brown ales, but there have been some special exceptions with both. Just as with other Porters, I would have rather liked to have a Stout in its place. I'm going to let the second half of the bottle warm to room temp before I even type any further.

...

Meh. This has to be the least favorite beer I've ever had from Southern Tier. Which is really fucked up, because I have loved all of their beers. I went into this one expecting some violent flavor beatdown, but instead was greeted with blandness and unremarkable sorrow. What the fuck ST!?

Tröegs Nugget Nectar

Tröegs Nugget Nectar - Imperial Amber Ale (2013)

Spring Seasonal. (February-March)

12 fl. oz. / $2.99 USD / 7.5% ABV

About: "Squeeze those hops for all they’re worth and prepare to pucker up! Nugget Nectar Ale will take hopheads to nirvana with a heady collection of Nugget, Warrior and Tomahawk hops. Starting with the same base ingredients of our flagship HopBack Amber Ale, Nugget Nectar intensifies the malt and hop flavors to create an explosive hop experience. Malts: Pilsner, Vienna, Munich / Hops: Nugget, Warrior, Tomahawk, Simcoe, Palisade / HopBack Hops: Nugget / Yeast: Ale."

Thoughts: I decided to go with my Jason Voorhees glass since that hand squeezing the hop looks a bit like Jason crushing some dumb slut's head.

Poured a bright orange with some reddish tones in the shadows and a white head that was relatively small but lasted for a moment or two. The beer is ultra clear and there's a bit of abundant carbonation slowly arising.

This smells really good. Fruity. Loads of hops. Tons of orange. Grapefruit, cut in half and dipped into a plate of sugar. Hint of kiwi. But mostly oranges and sweet oily hop presence. Just by smelling this I can see why it's so popular. I bet it's got a simple yet effective malt bill that perfectly compliments the hops used and allows them to shine through. This reminds me of the west coast. Wonder how it tastes.

Nicely done. The taste on this one is very damn good... not incredible, but it's actually almost there. I wonder why these guys would move from Cali to Hershey, PA of all places anyways. This beer has what some may consider to be a perfect balance. For me it could use just a little more strength, just a touch, but man... the long lasting sweetness that swirls around in the mouth at first that leads to the gentle bitterness just before the swallow and that raw kick in the tongue hits. Killer. Belch a few times just to experience the fun of what you just let inside you.

Double N leaves the slightest film inside the mouth, but it's quickly licked away. The after effect however is going to stick around for a long while. This taste doesn't fade. It may take a few hours. This is one slick brew. A little watery but damn flavorful. It's got a low level dank that just lasts throughout everything and that's the best thing about this one. If you like dank, and the smell, then you'll like this one because that special flavor just embeds itself in your senses.