Saturday, February 8, 2014

Beer - #293 - Ballast Point - Victory at Sea

Well indeed - from a tap into a takeaway growler - the Ballast Point Victory at Sea Brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Company in the style of an Imperial/Strong Porter and they are of course in San Diego, California USA

This is a 1 litre 'jug' of a 10% ABV beer which makes it 7.89 standard drinks, this is 300 calories a serve, it's all on. 65IBU things

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Of course the Selfie[/caption]

Two of the world’s oldest beverages join forces to conquer your palate. Victory at Sea embodies the art of masterful brewing by infusing a velvety Imperial Porter with pure vanilla flavor and specially-selected, hand roasted coffee. The addition of cold brewed coffee to the beer lends a subtle roasted flavor to this robust imperial porter, blending perfectly with rich vanilla and caramel undertones. By uniting two San Diego brewing traditions, Caffe Calabria freshly brewed coffee and Ballast Point beer, we have successfully created an artisanal masterpiece.

A big porter crafted to weather any storm.
Our Victory at Sea Imperial Porter is a bold, smooth brew with just the right amount of sweetness. We infused this robust porter with whole vanilla beans and San Diego’s own Caffe Calabria coffee beans. The subtle roasted notes and minimal acidity of the cold brewed coffee, balances perfectly with the sweet caramel undertones of the malt, creating a winning combination for your palate.

So highly recommended and just the thing on a wet and cooler evening at the end of an up and down summer.

I am expecting of course something dark with a fluffy head.

Totally heady coffee aroma on opening, and it pours a fantastic dark balk with a rich coffee head. Did I mention the coffee aroma

And a crack of vanilla that explodes in your mouth. Shucks this is good. You get the bitterness too, it carries the coffee and vanilla nicely to a nice finish.

But for all the enthusiasm I have I'm a bit unsure about the bitterness that is quire predominant, and that is an odd observation considering I expected it to be bitter. But then there is bitter and there is subtle. This isn't very subtle, it's not very in your face but its a bit loud.

So to recap : A a nose of really nice mellow coffee, a crashing tongue tip of bitterness and then a wave of coffee and a burst of vanilla. How is this not a good thing.

The Pdubyah-O-Meter loves this the longer that it warms in the glass, and to be honest it's running out of beer as I'm supping like a thirsty man.

Go on mark it, I say to myself. I want to be be cruel and say 9.

I want to say 9 because for all it's lovely I don't really enjoy the bitterness up front. I pinch myself as this this is a bracingly good beer, it really is.

It looks fantastic, it gets better as it gets slightly warmer, I want to call MrsPdubyah to smell its aroma, she's laugh and say it's terrible, but I'd share it knowing that, you get what you expect from a beer with 65 IBU, bitterness, what you don't expect is the coffee and then the vanilla thing that is so much fun. But it's all carried on the bitterness that is a bit like the neighbour that mows the grass at 8am on Sunday, a bit necessary but a bit annoying. I'm really trying hard to be harsh, but it isn't easy.

But it's good. It really is. I have to say that with the music, especially the lyrics, and this, I've found my happy place a bit early.

I'm just taken how this really has a softness that envelopes you, and that was the point where the 8 standard drink units kicked in :-) This is time to hide the phone because drunk dialling, and inappropriate photos happen at this time.

I brought a bottle of this to drink too, this of course being from the tap version. I should wait for tomorrow lest I end up asleep under the table.

As an aside I'm getting very close to 300 beers, and at that point I may retire, having scaled the heights and plumbed the depths.

Tonight the music is "The National" who MrsPdubyah and me had the opportunity to see live this past week, This is The National - Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a1UoljLWrY&w=560&h=315]

Dinner a rather passable chicken curry, and a beef and spinach curry with rice, salad and roti breads.

All in all a nice evening in.

IMPERIAL/STRONG PORTER

Imperial or extra-strong porters fall in between the traditional porter, a Baltic porter, and an imperial stout. They range from around 7.5% upwards, with hefty dark malt character, but lack the overt roastiness of an imperial stout.