Thirty First Meeting

We're at Derek's house for our 31st meeting with a grab bag of beers. There are some interesting options tonight that can't be obtained in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul/Golden Valley metroplex. Let us begin.

First up, we have a brand new style unseen in this beer club. Dogfish Head's Theobroma is a Chile beer. A chile beer that comes in at 9%. It pours pretty transparent, but it has a lot of flavor. It's relatively flat but has a full mouthfeel. Sweet, with a slight chili pepper taste at the end. I guess it's pretty good. The cocoa powder is the most notable flavor in this thing. PS- we're drinking out of Northwest Airlines cups served in an NWA tray.

BPA: 2.89

Nextly we have Avery The Czar. This is a repeat offender, but we haven't had the newest vintage. This is a hoppy imperial stout. Let's see how this rates compared to the last time we had it.

BPA: 3

Third up is Dogfish Head Bitches Brew. This is a much-coveted Imperial Stout that nobody here has tasted yet. This is another 9 percenter. Belfry is reading the story on the bottle, yet people keep interrupting. This pours like a standard RIS. It has a little bitter chocolate taste in it, as well as a little coffee. It has a slightly thinner mouthfeel than most of the big RIS's that we've tasted. A pretty smooth, well-rounded beer.

BPA: 3.56

Batting fourth is Half Acre Big Hugs. That sure is a silly name for an imperial stout! This one is 9.5%. It sounds like the theme is catch-a-buzz night. The picture on the bottle tittilates me. Oh boy, THAT'S-A COFFEE MEAT-A-BALL!! There's a lot of coffee and a little bitter chocolate. Let's rate.

BPA: 3.09

Next up is Bell's Double Cream Stout. It's milky millky riiiiiiiiiight. This one is an American Stout, which comes in at 6.1%. The cream refers to the mouthfeel, not the ingredients. That's what BA says, folks, and I'm sticking to it. It's way less flavorful than the previous stouts we've had.

BPA: 2.93

Mike brought a beer that I've never heard of from a brewery I've never seen before, yet it pours a beutiful orange. It's Gandhi Bot DIPA from New England Brewing Co! C Everett Koop, that's hoppy smelling! It's a bitter ale, that's for sho. Not a lot of citrus hops, though.

BPA: 3.4

Brent brings to us Lagunitas Sumpin' Wild. This is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale that comes in 8.8%. Tastes a little bit like Cynic. A very tasty Belgian Ale, indeed.

BPA: 3.54

Last up, we have Lampe's signature beer. It's Trader Joe's Vintage 2010 Ale, which they release around Christmas. Meeeeeerry Christmas, WTBC! This stuff tastes like cinnamon. It's a dark plum color. I'm running out of words to write about things. There are far too many distractions- Mount K2 debates, banjos, Gophers basketball, and Jimmer Fredette. Let's rate this before we have to pull out sleeping bags.

BPA: 3.05