Beers you must try: South Shore Brewery Bourbon Barrel Coffee Mint Stout

Image from ratebeer.com
This beer is like jazz.

Mint in a beer. I know, right?

I had this for the first time in 2007 at the Autumn Brew Review in Northeast Minneapolis. They served up 2 oz. sample glasses, but that was enough for it to floor me. Not sold in MN, more’s the pity, so I’m on the lookout for it on my occasional pilgrimages to The Land Of Beer And Cheese. (South Shore Brewery is in Ashland, Wisconsin, way up on Lake Superior.)

Pours into the glass dark and rich, with a substantial mocha-colored head. The beer smells like a grasshopper pie, if you remember those. This is a sweet London stout, not a Guinness-style Irish stout, so the flavors meld together nicely. This beer is like jazz. Coffee, bourbon, oak, mint, vanilla, and chocolate are all there but none overpowers the rest: they each take their solo turn, and then fade back into the ensemble.

To be fair, though, it was so much smoother on tap than out of the bottle. Close, though, mighty close.

From Strange David’s awesome blog:

The taste is a fudgy chocolate, prevalent but not intense, and notes of vanilla sneak in too. The mint seems to fade in and out as it crosses the palate.

In fact, the entire beer seems to be about hinting at power but holding it in reserve. There is no single flavor that overwhelms, but the combined taste is a strong one. Surprisingly, there is very little aftertaste other than that astonishing mint that turns out to be an ingredient that the majority of brewers have overlooked.

All in all, it’s almost like having a nice chocolate stout after having had a good mint julep.

Brilliantly confusing beer.

I like being brilliantly confused, so that works for me.

This is a one-of-a-kind beer. It’s a seasonal offering, only sold through January, so if you’re in Wisconsin snap some up.

Beers you must try: Great River Roller Dam Red Ale

Image from artzberger.com

(For those who like beer, this category is a compendium of beers you must try at least once. Note that all these featured here are beers of MODERATION. To quote a very wise man: drink less, and drink better.)

Irish Style Red Ale. This is how the excellent website beeradvocate.com defines it:

A bit sweet, with a lightly hopped tea-like flavor, and an even dextrinous body, Irish Red Ales are easy to please. Look for well-rounded and balanced flavors, and a pleasant toasted malt character in many examples. A drying finish is common.

If right now you’re thinking “Killian’s Irish Red,” go stand in the corner until I tell you to come back out. Killian’s is Coors Banquet with USDA Red #40 added. To paraphrase James Lileks: drink some tap water, then hit yourself between the eyes with a ball-peen hammer.

Great River Roller Dam Red Ale is brewed in Davenport, Iowa and available on tap and in 16 oz cans. Text on the can reads:

Roller Dam Red Ale is named for Mississippi River Lock and Dam #15, which is the largest roller dam in the world and just south of our brew house.

Irish red ales are lighter on the hops and heavier on the malt, sort of like a Scottish 70-shilling ale. The prevailing flavors are caramel and toffee, maybe vanilla, slightly biscuity, but not overpowering or cloying. A light mouthfeel with a slight creaminess, true to the style. A “kiss of the hops” (like Schlitz used to advertise) at the very end, drying and cutting the sweetness a bit. At 5.4% ABV, a fine session beer.

Sold only in Iowa so far. I’ll have to stock up if/when I’m down that way again. My sister Colleen brought me some back when she was at a writers’ conference in Iowa City. For someone who doesn’t like beer, she has phenomenal taste. A fine dam ale.