Iron Fist Velvet Glove

Velvet Glove
Iron Fist Brewing Company
Vista, California
9.00% ABV
Style: Oatmeal Stout

C: Little Dark to Tell
H: Dark Brown/Light Black
N: Chocolate, Molasses, & Hints of Brown Sugar

Very excited to try something from this rather small brewery from Vista, California. Big thanks to @TheArtofBeer for sharing this dark sexy monster with me.

Dark and Sexy this beer was. The nose was led to hints of dark chocolate and coffee. Pretty standard for an Imperial Stout. The flavor was one of the more balanced stouts that I have had in a very long time! Today we seem to have stouts that are over malty, hoppy, or just have some really unusual flavors....this is not any of those. Nice hop/malt balance. At 9% it hides the alcohol very well...it's almost dangerous. While I personally enjoy the over hopped or malty stouts...this beer was quite a change.

If you can find it, I would recommend snagging it and savoring, while it is nothing special it is a very well made beer!

Score: 3.795

Funky Buddha - Last Snow

Last Snow
The Funky Buddha Brewing Company
Boca Raton, FL
??% ABV
Style: Milk/Coffee Porter

C: Hazy
H: Brown in Color
N: Coconut, Chocolate, and hints of Caramel

Well another offering from the mad scientist from the Funky Buddha. This time around they are using a WHITE COFFEE....yep most coffees are black....not this coffee, it is actually WHITE BEANS. Crazy yes....scary even more so.....there is something just un-natural to white coffee beans.

Regardless, I was excited to have the opportunity to try this beer out. I honestly would have been more than happy to sit and smell this beer all night....it is over powered with coconut, white chocolate, and hints of caramel. I believed it smelled just like an Almond Joy Candy Bar, but the Cerveza Chica and several others told me it smelled like a Samoa Girl Scout Cookie....I guess I can see that. Never the less the coconut is front and center.

Now I have had a coconut porter before from Maui Brewing Company, which was good.....but the coconut was not this strong in the nose. Like the nose of the Last Snow, this beer wallops you in the head with coconut flavor. Like a monkey tossing coconuts from a tree this beer is attack after attack of coconut. There is a nice hint of chocolate and caramel under tones to it. Honestly in my opinion the best flavor profile yet from the Buddha Beers. The body is a bit thin, but that is to be expected as the base beer is still a porter.

One odd note about this beer....once warm the nose reminds me of coconut tanning oil. Still not a bad thing!

Damn good beer!

Score: 4.8995

Goose Island Rare Bourbon County Stout

Rare Bourbon County Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.
Chicago, IL
13.00% ABV
Style: Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

C: Black
H: To Dark To Tell
N: Hello Bourbon....nose is filled with the booze, sweet chocolate malts, hints of roast and vanilla

The Ferm: First and foremost BIGGGG THANKS to Master Brewer Abbott for sharing this beer with myself and several other people Monday Night. Once again the "beer family" in South Florida always surprises me with their generosity. I personally would have contemplated sitting in a dark room alone with this bottle and drinking 100% of it alone....well maybe not. I am sort-a afraid of the dark after all. Regardless, Thank You!
I was very much so looking forward to this beer since I found out that Goose Island would be releasing it only once, and the base beer is my all time favorite stout. Barrel Aged for 2 Years this thing has to be good....RIGHT?!?
And Good it was! Great....maybe, but for sure DAMN GOOD. Tons of Bourbon in the flavor...but it is not that "hot". The beer is perfectly balanced flavor wise with strong notes of the barrel treatment leading to hints of dark chocolate, vanilla, and coffee. Daily Drinker....if you were a millionaire and did not care about calories....FOR SURE. The beer was faintly carbonated which was nice...as too much carbonation would have ruined the experience.
So is this better than that bottle of 2008 Bourbon County Stout which was opened and reviewed not too long ago? No....but it is damn close. I would love to be able to snag a bottle or two of this and age it for a bit...I have a feeling this will turn out to be one of the best imperial stouts to date with age on it.

Score: 4.89999

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

Hoptimum
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Chico, California
10.40% ABV
Style: Imperial IPA

C: Clear
H: Amber-ish in color
N: Strong floral and earthy hop qualities. A hint of sweetness is also present (I assume the malt build).

The Ferm: So far the coolest label this year has to go to the boys in Chico California. Typically Sierra Nevada is boring with their marketing and labels. Hey what works for them works. They are one of the largest craft breweries to date, and they put out some damn fine beers. Hoptimum is a bit of a different story though. Just look at the label art....How Cool!
OK, well the label can help sell the beer but the taste will be what brings people back. It is the season of Imperial IPAs first it was HopSlam & Nugget Nector, then it was Hoptimum and Pliny the Younger. All are amazing (haven't had PtY yet, but I can imagine) but they are all different. So without trying to compare Hoptimum directly to the other three that I have had....yeah that won't happen.
Hoptimum unlike Nugget Nector and Hop Slam seems to be more earthy hop bitterness in the aroma and taste. Very piney and viscous, not nearly as sweet as HopSlam (which I like) and not as malty as Nugget Nector (which I like as well). At 10.4% this beer will kick you on your ass, as it only comes in bombers, and the 12oz. bottles would be a perfect severing of this beer.
Overall a very well brewed beer with a kick ass label.

Score: 4.752

Quarter 4 Troegs Mad Elf vs. New Glarus Enigma

This is it, its go big or go home. Time to put up or shut-up. Wisconsin comes into the quarter holding four fingers high....maybe this is when they shine and take the lead back to win the game. Although Pennsylvania has dominated almost the entire game, very consistent the entire way through. Who is going to take home the LomBEERdi Trophy?

Troegs Mad Elf vs. New Glarus Enigma

Eduardo: An intruiging 4th quarter matchup. This was not a style for style matchup. It was more of a wild card match up between two limited/seasonal release craft beer darlings. New Glarus is only available in Wisconsin but popular with beer geeks outside that state that trade for their beer. Troegs is a rising star in the craft beer world. They are distributed now in eight states and Washington DC. During the holidays I had several customers at my Ft; Lauderdale store ask for Mad Elf which impressed me. I have been looking forward to trying this beer.

The Ferm: Ohhh no thats right the big boys have come out to play in the forth quarter. Mad Elf vs Enigma. While these beers are not the same style per say, they are both brewed with cherries and are seasonal/one time releases. I personally have had both, but not back to back. I think Enigma takes a strong lead and locks up this match for Wisconsin. Mad Elf doesn't stand a chance....or does it?!

About the Beers

Mad Elf- Pours ruby red color with high clarity. Not a lot of carbonation. Wow, just straight up honey & cherries. They are playing so well together! Consistent flavors from start to finish. We both would like to see more takes from other breweries on this. The ingredients worked so well together. Do yourself a favor and get your hands on one of these. It’s pretty much gone from stores so you may have to wait till next holiday season.

Enigma- Limited release from the Unplugged Series. Pours a similar color but with some haziness. It gets off to a nice start with sour cherries in your face and some oak hiding in the background. Again a disappointing finish. We both are usually more impressed with New Glarus. This had promise but in the end didn’t deliver. (note: I (Ferm) remember this beer as a completely different animal, this bottle just fell flat on the tail-end).

Quarter Synopsis

The Wisconsin defense really steps up at the beginning of the 4th quarter and returns an errant Pennsylvania pass for a touchdown bringing the score to 20-19. Pennsylvania then scores two touchdowns to close out the game at 34-19. Congrats to Pennsylvania on your Super Bowl win! Raise the LomBEERdi Trophy high with pride!

Game MVP: definitely goes to Mad Elf. This beer was the best all around beer of the tasting. Tons of flavor on the attack and back-end of the palate. Damn fine beer.

Once again thank you to Eduardo for a fun week. I hope you all enjoyed it! Have fun during the Super Bowl and drink a good craft beer from your favorite city.

Quarter 3 Victory Golden Monkey vs. Sprecher Abbey Trippel

Well fresh out of halftime and Wisconsin better pull something out of their hat if they want to stay in the game.

Eduardo: Victory would be the fan favorite here. Working in the industry I am constantly amazed at the popularity of Golden Monkey. It draws some people that you would not expect to be drinking it. Sprecher would be the unknown player that you don’t know what to expect. In speaking to beer people in South Florida it seems that many people aren’t aware of them or that they had distribution here.

The Ferm: Sprecher? This beer is from Wisconsin? Really? I had to check the bottle to verify. Well who am I to guess Eduardo and his knowledge of the product he slings on a daily basis. Victory Golden Monkey is a solid beer so Sprecher will have its hands full this quarter. Not sure what to expect as I have never had this beer before.

Beer Reviews

Sprecher- A little darker in color with sweet Belgian candi sugar nose. A lot going on flavor wise. Finish is disappointing. Lower ABV then the Golden Monkey but I would have guessed that this had more alcohol in it.

Victory- Light nose with banana and clove. Flavor seems to have heavy influence from the yeast. Pleasant. Consistent from start to the long finish. Hides ABV dangerously well. Be careful drinking this one. It could easily sneak up on you.

Quarter Synopsis; Wisconsin gets a kickoff return for a touchdown putting them back in the game giving them their first lead of the game. After that their offense goes back to their inconsistent ways. With the more consistent performance of the Pennsylvania offense, they add a touchdown and a field goal to take a 20-12 lead.

Quarter Score: Pennsylvania 10-7
Game Score: Pennsylvania 20-12

Wisconsin is still in this game but the momentum is definitely with Pennsylvania. There are some heavy hitters ready for their time to shine in the fourth quarter. Wisconsin will need a huge forth quarter performance from New Glarus Enigma vs. Troegs Mad Elf.

Quarter 2: Yuengling Lager vs. Leinenkugels Amber

The Amber is the only Leinies consumers will find left in South Florida as the rest have been discontinued by the local distributor. For other folk elsewhere that want some flavor options Leinenkugels would be a ready available option for their Super Bowl option. For Steelers fans that wait till the last minute and Iron City is sold out, Yuengling would be a readily available substitute with Pennsylvania “flavor”.  Both beers are similar in style so this should be a pretty even matchup.  Lets see how they do;

Eduardo:
Yuengling- not much nose, clean, no obvious defects, enough body, decent carbonation. Personally, if I had to reach for a session lager the day of the game it would be this one.
Leinenkugels- intriguing light nose, little darker in color and more malt presence then the Yuengling, more carbonation and body in the beer. Some hop presence in the finish. There is what I will call a defect here. There is a transition in the beer mid palate from the malt up front to the hop bite in the finish that doesn’t work for me. Bigger or more flavor is not always better, comparing this to the Yuengling.

The Ferm: Hot damn how do you compete with one of the best breweries in the US that is brewing on a super large scale. Yuengling is an American Staple....and if you don't think it is then, well I don't know what to tell you. This beer is just smooth all around. When I think of the state of Pennsylvania this brewery is the first that comes to mind. Sadly the "Leiny" just can't hang. There seems to be more of a malt build with the Leiny but it leads to some crazy off flavors.

Quarter Synopsis: Well not a super exciting 2nd quarter, but PA drove consistently down the field to score a touchdown burning 8+ minutes off the game clock. WI comes up flat. Still a strong defense game.

Quarter Score: PA 7-0
Game Score: PA 10-5 at the half

Halftime Chitter Chatter: PA is playing more consistent beer ball right now. WI needs to show up and play more consistently if they want a chance to win in the second half. Looking for something big out of the gates in the second half from WI. EAT YOUR HEART OUT BUD BOWL 2011!

Quarter 1: Iron City Light vs. Pabst Blue Ribbon

These were the beers in the “game” that would be the most closely associated with their respective teams. Many Steelers fans will be checking their favorite store or bar for Iron City for the Big Game.  But what is more recognizable than the old can of PBR?

Both beers are lagers and are probably two of the more commercially well known beers that will be in the game.

Eduardo: IC Light is Super clear, cereal on the nose. No obvious defects. Decent carbonation. Basically this is slightly sweet cereal flavored water with food coloring. I can see why fans would reach for this to knock back a few during a game.

The Ferm: PBR....This is a tailgating staple for me. Listen I know it isn't fair because PBR isn't a light beer, but this beer smacks IC Light in the mouth, spits on it, and then runs over it. There is so much more flavor to PBR. Also have you ever seen a can of IC Light sell for a ton of money over in China? Nope, didn't think so!

Quarter Synopsis: Wisconsin (Pabst) takes an early lead at the end of the first quarter. Both teams kick field goals. Wisconsin scores a safety at the end of the quarter. Overall a defensive battle so far.

End of the 1st: Wisconsin 5-3
Total Game: Wisconsin 5-3