Beer - #601 - Yeastie Boys - His Majesty 2014

An annual beer, the Yeastie Boys His Majesty, of course 2014 year. So, Repeating beers, repeating numbers, repeating bands, and repeating yourself

A decadent dark strong ale

This year His Majesty is a Triple stout porter, in a the big 750ml bottle that has beer of 9%, which is 270 calories a serve size, and 5.3 standard drink units in total.

For Yeastie Boys this is brewed at Invercargill Brewery in the style that is Imperial/Strong Porter and they are in Wellington, New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_11078" align="alignleft" width="300"] I've been leaning forward in pictures, it has to stop[/caption]

This year’s His Majesty is a straight-edge homage to nevaRRaven and The Last Dictator –two very popular strong dark ales we’ve brewed in the past few years.

Without the judicious hopping of the former, or the Botrytised twist of the latter, it’s the beer that showcases the rich Weyermann malts we love so much.

Drink now or cellar for up to five years.

What could possibly go wrong? Well I'm no where near keeping this for 5 years. That would take real willpower. I overcame my willpower.

Dark rich chocolate pungent aroma on opening, which it did with a decent hiss.

And I can't pour a decent beer, this has a head like an milkshake. Aroma settles into a more sour cherry fruit thing, with a chocolate thing that lurks around as well. It's a very dark beer and the head is like foamed ice-cream sundae, it's almost too good to drink.

It's not too good to drink.

That has a lot of chocolate malt in it, and it's bitter and very dry, very dry.

The dark aromas engage your nose before your tongue, one of those forewarning beers, which is nice, but the aroma settles to a more sour note than a steeped or infused fruit one. The chocolate note gone altogether.

The taste though, even though this is barely warmed since opening is already settled into a more mellow and balanced profile with  the fruits presence at the front and a slight bitterness and the dryness abated. It's become very quaffable.

Which raises a red flag, as this is beer to get squiffy to at that ABV, of which there is not a lot of indication. The chocolate and sweetness in the front of this beer just draw you in so quickly.

That and of course I've been looking forward to this for a while now, I waited months for it to be available only to wait months to drink it,  it's not a treasure it has to be drunk of course.

I really do like how this calms down around the edges and just becomes a bit more rounded and whole as it warms. I might have mentioned that already.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 8 a of its things from the thing. I think is very good, but just doesn't get to great or marry me. It's a very nice beer, and yet again the Yeastie Boys have come up trumps.

The double dip review

Am I enjoying it? It's a beer to drink into and enjoy more as it becomes less.
Would I have another? I think I would, it's nice and worth seeking out.
Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? It's a very good Porter and I think that it would open an avenue about the merits of the style and what you could expect. Might take a couple of bottles.

Music for this, well Paloma Faith (born Paloma Faith Blomfield, 21 July 1981) is a British singer, songwriter and actress, known for her retro and eccentric style, Seems fitting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaKr9gWqwl4

Listen on the Spotify, or where you listen otherwise. Some of it is real pop and some is real retro 80's style dance floor dance music. Some of it is nice.

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.

Beer - #581 - Garage Project - Cherry Bomb

Garage Project Cherry Bomb

Warning - may contain hints of stone age love.

The big 650 ml bottle, 9% ABV, 270 calories a serve, and that makes it 4.6 standard drinks. It's all on for a Tuesday.

Brewed by Garage Project in the style: Imperial/Strong Porter and they are inWellington, New Zealand

[caption id="attachment_10846" align="alignleft" width="300"] Shiny Haircut and a big beer.[/caption]

Hello world, it's Cherry Bomb imperial porter, a complex, decadent dessert beer, spiked with sour cherries and cacao nibs.

The finished beer has a rich ebony hue with a pronounced, bitter-sweet, dark chocolate and ripe tart cherry character. 

Warning - may contain hints of stone age love.

What, then, could possibly go wrong?

Lots of dark chocolate aroma on opening this.

Pour is deep cherry red and a small but positive head that slowly starts to fade but is still there.

In the glass I get a big aroma of coffee, and then lightly some sweet sugar aroma.

There is a lot of alcohol note, a lot. It is really predominant. It really is 9% ABV so dur! Beneath that though you get a lovely whole sugary warm drink with a lovely finish that is more bitter than dry and none of that alcohol. It's like it's almost backwards.

I left it to warm itself in the glass seeing if the cherryness will take up, and the whole mellow a little.

~pause~

And it does get nicer, but the high alcohol is still noticeable. Overall though it's quite nice but not spectacular. I would have though more of those fruit notes perhaps? or sweetness.

I'm reminded of the 'stone age' so I've convinced myself this is paleo beer. (kidding)

I love the aroma you get before you drink, then the sip, then the pause as the burn passes then the warm bit and a hint of the sweetness.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 7.5 a of its things from the thing. It's somewhere between good and better than good but not great.  I think a beer like this really shows up how at the big beer end of the scales, how wide the styles can be. This is pretty mush as describes as the style Imperial/Strong Porter, but blindly you could think that you'd be getting more a Stout or more a Porter. Not so.

A bit different then, and not totally unpleasant, it's a drink that probably needs a bit of a run up to, not a desert beer, but possibly too big to go straight into, unless I'm going a bit soft.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? It's ok when you get over yourself and your expectations. 


2. Would I have another? I think perhaps with a cigar, instead of a port.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? This is some heavy duty tall tale telling juice. why not.

Brendon Thomas and the Vibes, currently appearing in an NZ talent show. very polished and doing the right things. You can listen to an Album thing here it's called 'The Eclect' Or there is this live ad hoc performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APh2sfw1_1g

 

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.

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Beer - #487 - Yeastie Boys - The Last Dictator

Spoonbending, spellbinding, whole numbers, whole conversations.

Imperial porter with botrytised vigonier.

The last of the 3 in a series of the Spoonbender series - this one is the Yeastie Boys "The Last Dictator." Actually #2 in the series, but I don't do things in order.

For Yeastie Boys this is brewed at Invercargill Brewery in the style that is an Imperial/Strong Porter, YB are based in Wellington, New Zealand

The smaller 330ml bottle that is 10%ABV and 300 calories a serve, this is 2.60 standard drink units. Also this is 72 IBU things.

I was called out by the brewer on twitter for not liking, "The Sly Persuader" as being muddled, to which you have to say, "you can't like them all, all of the time" But that's not the first time we've had words, might not be the last. His preference, and favourite perhaps but on my research, which isn't a lot, I'm not in the minority.  Plus also I'm not sure that's how you do Social Media by calling out your audience. 

[caption id="attachment_9744" align="alignright" width="300"] Small but deadly?[/caption]

An Imperial Porter with an enticing musky aroma, rich warming fruitcake and chocolate flavours, a luscious mouthfeel and a lengthy bittersweet finish.

Drink now or cellar for up to five years.

Aged on red wine barrels

So undaunted and keeping my own counsel and opinions let's go! What could possibly go wrong?

A lot of chocolate on the nose on opening. It's very pleasant.

Pour is "thick" and very dark, pours with a small and thin head, which isn't a disaster. Aroma moves more to a mustiness, but still with some chocolate.

Loads of rich fruits, like loads, in a smash of flavours right at the front, and a finish that lingers, again of chocolate amongst the bitter. Gosh.

I love the slightly sour too, it's not urgent and forward, its just a layer in the unravelling.

If I had doubts about which of these beers I would prefer it's down to a two horse race. Sorry brewer man.

This is a belter of a beer and deserves to get some credit, it's made my week, but to be fair it hasn't had much going for it :-).

I found that I finished it before I finished thinking about it. and have a lingering of slightly sour but very rich fruits, a sticky sweet mouthfeel, and a lingering bitter chocolate.

I could drink another very easily, but it's not a session beer, because the end would some quickly.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 9 a of its things from the thing. It's a real gem of a beer, and I'd stretch to a 10 except that I won't because I wanted something fuller perhaps, but would that I could cellar one and go again in a few months or year or so.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? Yes this is really a very good beer that is good.


2. Would I have another? Yes this would make a really good "go back to in a few months" beer.


3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? This is a finishing beer, and should be best at the end of an evening when you've indulged, it stands up well to desserts and that sort of thing. Come on over, I'll do the honours.

Music for a beer this time is the band "The missing season"  this track "Day is Out" from "After Hours"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxTdzrB8suI

 

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.

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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

[caption id="attachment_6356" align="alignleft" width="300"] 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.

Related articles

• Ballast Point: Victory at Sea (Imperial Porter with Coffee and Vanilla)


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• Ballast Point Victory at Sea 2013 goes on sale on 10/28!