Nogne O Imperial Dunkel Wit

This strange creation from Nogne O (a name I still can't pronounce) is meant to be a pleaser for everyone:  people who like Belgians, people who like dark ales, and folks who like big beers.

There's very little head and even less retention on this beer, which strangely has the color of root beer.  Aromas bring to mind plums and raisins, but only slightly as there isn't much aromas coming off this.

My first sip brings quite a bit of confusion, but plently of enjoyment.  The best way to describe it might be a beer of many movements because it seems to have distinct flavors of taste in multiple waves rather than one building arc.  Hops strike first combined with a concentrated burst of carbonation that directs right to the front of your tongue.  There's hints of purple grape underneath the bubbles.  From there the beer expands out to the rest of your pallette bringing a strange mix of fruity esters, roasted grain, and acids.

There's a little bit of an orange tang to the medium-heavy body, which makes sense since they use orange peels in the brewing process.  That orange mixes nicely with the slightly plum flavored alcohol taste that creates quite a bit of heat on the tongue.  The alcohol and fruit build to a nice finish on their own and are quickly followed by an additional finish, which is a mixture of roasted barley and hops.  Once again, this finish is good in its own right, but seems so distinct from the one you just enjoyed only micro seconds before.  Finally, the real finale kicks in with moderate a hop attack at the back ends of your tongue.

Unfortunately, all three finishes do not combine to any sort of building orgasmic symphonic arrangement, instead remaining relatively distinct, like three musicians unaware that they are all playing in the same practice room.  The only thing that connects these three movements is the hot taste of alcohol running through the palate. This warm streak, mixed with the decently heavy body makes the beer seem a little boozy.

The beer has excellent qualities and some great flavors, however, the packaging could use some work as those flavors are delivered intelligently but perhaps not as delicately as needed.  It's probably most similar to a Belgian Dark/Strong despite the description because the fruity esters are certainly the most overwhelming flavor; a similar beer would be Trois Pistoles.  All that being said, it's doing the trick for me tonight, and while it's drinkability might be considered to be on the lesser side of average, I'd still say it's worth a try if you can find it.

Imperial Dunkel Wit: ***

Stone 14th Anniversary Party

Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending Stone's 14th Anniversary Beer Festival at CSU San Marcos.  The event was really amazing: brewers from all over the world, rare and one off beers, and about 7,000 fellow beer lovers.  Megan and I were lucky enough to catch a ride with the Library Alehouse Express, a bus arranged by Library to shuttle us down and extend our day of shenanigans.

While the festival was amazing, I was a little disappointed that at $40 a ticket, food was additional once we got in.  We also got there about 45 minutes late, so for a three hour time period we had trouble getting through all 10 of our tickets.  Nonetheless, we had a ridiculous amount of great beers.  Here's the list of what we drank:

First
Dave: Baltic Thunder, Victory Brewing Co. (Downington, PA)
Megan: Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale, Lagunitas (Petaluma, CA)

Second
Dave: Ken Schmidt / Maui / Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter (Collaboration)
Megan: I Beat You, Mikkeler (Kobenhavn, Denmark)

This porter was sweet heaven.  So rich, so well balanced.

Third
Dave: 16th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA, Great Divide Brewing Co. (Denver, CO)
Megan: BrewDog / Cambridge Brewing Co. / Stone Juxtaposition Black Pilsner

Fourth
Dave: Nøgne Ø / Jolly Pumpkin / Stone Special Holiday Ale - Brewed at Nøgne Ø, Norway
Megan: Dry Hopped Hog Heaven Barleywine-Style Ale, Avery Brewing Co. (Boulder, CO)

An Avery volunteer poses for the Dry Hopped Hog Heaven.

I was pretty excited about try the Special Holiday Ale, I was one of the first in line when it went on tap.

Much lighter bodied than I had expected, but still really delicious.

Fifth
Dave: Cho-Saiko, Pizza Port (San Diego-ish, CA )
Megan: Merlot Stout, SKA Brewing Co. (Durango, CO)

It was right around here that our effort to document our beer drinking for the day fell apart, at least pictorially.  Beer will do that.

Sixth
Dave: Hand Cask Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA w/ Sovereign Hops
Megan: TEA (Traditional Experimental Ale), The Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA)

 

Seventh
Dave: Modus Hoperandi, SKA Brewing Co. (Durango, CO)
Megan: Stone Smoked Porter w/ Chipotle Peppers

Eighth
Dave: Black Pearl, Coronado Brewing Co. (Coronado, CA)
Megan: Idiot IPA, Coronado Brewing Co. (Coronado, CA)

A fellow beer reveller offered to take our picture.

Then proceeded to spill beer on me.  He was a Lakers fan... typical.

Happy beer festival goers.

Back at the bus everyone was in good spirits.

Tom took us to a brand new gastropub called Urge.  The beer selection was incredible and pretty much everyone got one of their six burger options.  It was amazing.

We also had these fries, which I believe were covered with bacon.

Finally, we ended up at the Ballast Point Brewery for a tour.  Most of my pictures were pretty useless by this time.

That's it! An incredible beer filled day, great people and great food.  Can't wait for next year.

Nogne O #100

Nogne O suggests drinking this beer in a comfortable chair in front of the fireplace.  Since there's really no need for fireplaces in SoCal and the comfy chair is more often a European convention, my living room and couch will have to suffice.

However, I have been listening to a Mingus Pandora station a lot recently and I think combined with cooking dinner in the background and a relaxed Monday eve, the intention is the same.  Either way, it provides a nice background for this beer Barleywine.

Huge head, almost rocked out of my glass.  Lacing is thick and beautiful, the kind of foam you'd see in Peter Seller's The Party, for those that know it.  Very sweet aromas, hints of malt, berries, raisins, and a Belgian candi sugar: very complex.

Cool vapors out of the bottle.

Tasting this beer, however, brings a surprise to one's mouth.  The sweetness that is embedded in the aroma, is quick to disappear in a slimmer body with heavy hop presence.  The front end sort of vanishes as soon as you put it to your lips, replaced by a huge backend of alpha acid hops that have a fantastic bitter flavor and really get under and on the sides of your tongue.  In the middle there's a bittersweet chocolate bridge, capped with a hint of smokey flavor; they are unspoken, yet implied flavors, in this unusually complex, but not at all unenjoyable beer.

This barleywine departs from the usual sweet berry type beers that bear its namesake, however, does not disappoint where one would expect the hop presence.  A fuller body and a bigger balance on the front end would make me recommend this beer that much more, but as is, it's certainly an intriguing creation from our Norwegian friends.

#100: ***1/2

Nogne O India Pale Ale

Right out of the bottle this Norwegian import has the potent promise of well grown hops, carefully pruned and placed with intention. Nogne O is one of the rising superstars of the new European scene of beer, which is taking the best of American styled ales and mixing it with centuries of Euro-brewing knowledge.

This IPA has a great amount of head and well balanced body. I always notice the yeast first when I try European beers; my palate isn't discerning enough to distinguish particular yeast strains, but I always notice a crispness and clarity with these beers. Even though they've used an English ale yeast, the effect is still the same, they're doing something different over there. Here's me drinking the IPA, notice the Blazers glass, it's a very important part of drinking beer successfully.

The surprising thing about this Norwegian Frankenstein is that while it reeks of bright citrusy hops, it tastes much more like hops low with alpha acids, and that dark apple-y flavor mixes impeccably with a big malt presence for a pleasant result. The malts are strong and bold, unusual for an IPA. I wish the finish was a little smoother, but it does give an acid alpha kick that is enough to remember that you're drinking an IPA. Nogne O aspires to ordain each of their beers with a different and distinct personality. I haven't tried any of their others, so I can't say for sure whether each one is distinct, but would I be willing to introduce this IPA at a party as my friend? Absolutely.

India Pale Ale: ****