Williamsburg Alewerks Brewmaster's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Porter 2010

Not very often do we get to taste beers from small micro-breweries outside of our distribution region. Sure, we have access to some great ones (Voodoo) and some okay ones (Erie Brewing Co.) but it is always interesting to at least try the local flavors. While the local flavors might taste like dirt, fuck it, at least it isn't our options. So when Oz's dad traveled to Virginia and stumbled upon a brew from Williamsburg Aleworks from Williamsburg, Virginia, he found a brew that he hoped would sit proudly on his son's beer wall- Brewmaster's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Porter.

The 2010 BRBBP (the bottle is numbered 1966 of 2010) pours black with a light carmel head and smells of bourbon and malt. The taste is pure malt with a strong sence of oak and bourbon with an alcohol tinge left on the tongue. There are notes of chocolate and coffee but the flavors are overtaken by the bourbon and alcohol on the back end. The tinge is not completely unwelcomed but it makes this brew much more of a sipper than we'd like- and this is coming from big fans of sipping beers and alcohol in general.

There is much complexitiy hidden beneath this small town sipper but it is disappointing that they have to be extruded out beneath the quarry of alcohol. We aren't the ones to complain about too much booze in the brews but it just hinders any flavors from coming to the spot light. In previous blogs you will notice that many times we wished for more alcohol but sometimes a big beer is just too big. Now our mouths know how white women feel.

Oz Scale: 7.4

Mike Scale: 7.4

Clipper City Heavy Seas Letter of Marque 2010 Rye Porter

Heavy Seas (Clipper City Brewery) has always been a solid brewery. Their beers have yet to let us down and none have ever been just mediocre (in fact, their Small Craft Warning is our favorite imperial pilsner.) Last year, Clipper City did a homebrew competition called Letter of the Marque where the winner got their brew mass produced for a one-time release. Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams) has been doing these competitions for years (Longshot Series) and usually the victors end up producing better beers than many of their in-house lagers and ales. So when we got our sights on a Heavy Seas version, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to consume their Letter of the Marque Rye Porter.

LoM pours a deep amber to an almost black color with a foamy cream head. I has a sweet and citrus smell reminiscent of an IPA. When the rye porter hits the pallet you are left with a unique taste. It has hops and spices of a RyePA but malt overtones of a porter. A medium to full body coats the mouth nicely and and leaves you with a west coast IPA bitterness which is shocking at first but welcomed after the initial sip.

This beer succeeds where Nightstalker by Goose Island failed. It balances rye, malt and hops to create something that is unique and highly drinkable. If we were given this beer without a name or style, we'd swear that it was a black IPA. However, this is our first experience with a rye porter and if given the chance to try others, we'd welcome a glass or two.

Oz Scale: 8.0

Mike Scale: 8.2