Three Stars Brewing Co. - "Peppercorn Saison" farmhouse ale

As you may be aware, I'm a big fan of the Belgian farmhouse / saison beers. Having passed over this beer on the shelf a good number of times, my curiosity got the better of me. This is DC-based Three Stars Brewing Co.'s "Peppercorn Saison," a 6.5% ABV farmhouse-style ale.

Three Stars Brewery is a brewery local to me - it's based only a few miles away in the Takoma Park neighborhood. It's named after the three stars (or in heraldry terms, "mullets") on the DC flag, which in turn are taken from George Washington's ancestral coat of arms, pictured below.

N.B. "Exitus Acta Probat" is Latin for "the end justifies the means," which sounds kind of creepy. But in this circumstance, Washington is referring to the Revolutionary War, stating that such a "means," i.e. the war, was necessary to achieve the outcome of the founding of the Republic.

But the history of saisons reach far beyond our own nation's. For those of you new to saisons, it is a word use to generally describe a family of ales. These ales are light, yeasty, and fruity, with lots of carbonation. Also called "farmhouse ales," their history begins in Belgium centuries ago, when farmers would often brew such ales for consumption during working hours (sounds like a plan to me!!) Back then, however, the beers were much lighter - closer to 3% ABV, an almost impossibly-light figure by today's standards. The beers were so light since summer farm workers were given large quantities to sustain them during the hard field labors. These seasonal workers were called "les saisonniers" in French. And as such, this style is called a saison.

It pours pale orange, with a nice color that shows the variance in saison colors. It's fizzy with a foamy white head that dies down quickly.

The nose is the usual one - yeast, spices, and bright light fruit flavors. It's very pleasant, fresh, and light. I also like the cool amoeba-shaped patters that appear when the beer settles.

The flavor is generally on par with saisons - light, floral, with an effervescent spicy taste the whole way through. This beer has some pepper tastes, and the flavor really builds as you keep on drinking. It finishes with a very interesting dry texture that I like a lot. The aftertaste is of floral yeast and lemon zest which lasts for quite some time.

The great part about saisons, in my opinion, is how refreshing they are. For this particular beer, what stands out to me the most is how the flavor develops all the way through to the aftertastes. The pepper notes were kinda cool, and added a new aspect to the usual saison fare.

Of course I enjoyed the whole thing, but the spice / yeast flavors carry over well throughout the whole tasting experience. That kind of longevity of flavor is a great asset to any beverage. And, economically speaking, it's at the right price point (around $9.99 for a 750mL) and has the right mixture of taste and alcohol for a sessionable saison ale.

Boulevard Brewing Co. - "Grainstorm" black rye IPA

This is a beer I've been drinking for years. It's part of Boulevard's Smokestack Series, one of my go-to 750mL beers in that line. It's the "Grainstorm," a 7.7% ABV black rye IPA.

Very nice color to the pour - look at that brown color! It has a huge puffy tan head that takes a while to die down. It stays black in the glass, and when candled, it's original brown color comes out. 

It's slightly sweet with dark, toasted rye tastes. Smooth on the finish with a lingering taste of malts and alcohol, and a little hint of citrus. The aftertaste is dark and sweet with no objectionable tastes, and is even slighly dry, which I kind of like. It's refreshing and most of all very smooth and enjoyable.

It's a beer I could - and do - enjoy often. It's got the right mixture of dark and sweet, with no objectionable flavors or tastes. It's also relatively light enough to enjoy all the time. Most of Boulevard's Smokestack Series beers are very strong and heavy, and so it's nice to enjoy the delicious craftsmanship without the accompanying uppercut of alcohol.

Beer Flash: Capitol City Brewing Co's "SurvivAle" saison

Out with some colleagues who are working on our "Inside Washington 2015" seminar - after the Press Club event we decided to grab a beer at Capitol City Brewing Co.'s taproom. Here I am enjoying a delicious and refreshing saison, the "SurvivAle." It's a 5.8% ABV farmhouse ale with a nice subtle level of spice.

Deschutes Brewery - "Black Butte XXVI" porter

If you may recall, about a few months ago I tried Deschutes Brewing Co.'s "Black Butte" porter on growler fill at D'Vines. I ended up liking it, but one criticism I had was that it was low on flavor. The texture was great, but it was missing something.

Fast forward a couple weeks, when I was doing my usual scan of the well-stocked Whole Foods beer aisle, and I came across this. It's Deschutes' "26th Anniversary Reserve" version of the Black Butte. This beer, aside from being almost $18, is made with pomegranate molasses, cocoa nibs, and cranberries all aged in bourbon barrels. It clocks in at a respectable 10.2% ABV and is sealed entirely with black wax. Despite my better judgment - and the cry of pain from my checking account - I grabbed it (along with Stone's Chipotle Porter, back in stock!)

After using a paring knife to cut the black wax off the top (what a pain!) I poured it into a glass. It pours chocolate brown, and develops a bone-colored head that dies down after a short while.

The aroma is of cocoa and ripe fruit. Cool! Definitely can tell there's fruit in there, and I'm really looking forward to how this tastes.

Whoa. I definitely was not expecting this. It's very smooth, on the lighter side (much lighter than you might think based on the color) and very delicious. The cocoa comes across nicely, just a hint, and the fruit adds a definite sweetness (mostly on the finish / aftertaste.) It reminds me of Southern Tier's "Plum Noir" in terms of the fruit / dark sugar ratio. Which is not at all a bad thing, since the Plum Noir greatly surprised me. The Black Butte XXVI lacks any bitterness at all, and instead comes at you with a delicious mixture of fruit and chocolate tastes in perfect balance. There's also just enough tartness here (thanks to the cranberries) that I'm very much intrigued. This beer also reminds me of that expensive chocolate they have at Whole Foods with all the various nuts and fruits in it.

I think I much prefer this in comparison to the regular Black Butte. The XXVI picks up a lot of flavor where the original fell short; and I think a lot of that has to do with the addition of the fruit. The sweetness up front and the tartness on the way down definitely does a great favor for this beer.

But for $18, I'm not super confident I'd get it again. I'm sure it'll age well, no question there. It even says on the bottle, "best after 6/15." Well, I didn't wait that long, but you definitely could and probably should. But for the sake of a review, I've still got to balance the taste and enjoyability with the cost of each bottle. $18 is very expensive for this size of beer. You could get two or maybe even three bottles at this price.

Quintero Concha No. 2 robusto (Cuba)

In keeping with my New Year's Day tradition, yesterday afternoon I enjoyed a genuine Cuban cigar, a Quintero robusto.

Like all Cuban cigars, Quintero is distributed and overseen by Habanos SA, the state-run Cuban tobacco company. This particular company grows its tobacco  in the Cienfuegos region of Cuba, which is near Santa Clara. Cienfuegos is in the mid-western side of the island, closer to Havana than Guantanamo Bay. See highlighted area:

Cienfuegos makes some of finest Cuban tobacco. Unfortunately, due to our country's outdated Cold War attitudes toward Cuba, the American people are unable to sample these tobaccos. But, by various means which I will keep secret, I happened to come across a cigar from this region which I will enjoy today. 

The smoke lit up nicely, and didn't require much coaxing to stay lit. It started nicely with a nice grey ash. The flavor was slightly sweet, not in artificial flavor but simply the natural leaf's oils coming through. I enjoyed the flavor since it was very delicate and smooth, and almost...plain. It wasn't big and strong but very subtle. No serious heat to the draw, just nice subtle flavor. 

As it smoked, the wrapper came a little loose and it started to burn unevenly. I had to relight it once or twice, but it smoked down to a tiny little nub. All in all, a nice little smoke with no serious downsides.

As a note, I've had a handful of different Cuban cigars in the past, and there is nothing exceptionally different about them than many Dominican or Nicaraguan tobaccos. Many tobaccos from those countries are grown from the same seeds as Cuban tobaccos, and many are crafted with the same level of care and attention to detail as Cubanos. 

The difference is one of taste, or at least, being able to explore new tobaccos and tastes. Also the pleasure of trying an (artifically) rare cigar. The appeal to Cuban cigars, at least in this country, is that they are restricted. But - on top of that - it's good tobacco, too. I'd be interested in trying this cigar in a larger format, to really appreciate the taste. 

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. - "XVIII Anniversary Ale" American strong ale

Since I had to work late on New Year's Eve, I opted to skip my usual fancy restaurant tradition and stay in and try some super fancy beer. It's Firestone Walker's 18th Anniversary Ale, known as the "XVIII." It's a one-time-only blend of several of Firestone Walker's beers, weighing in at 13% ABV, carefully aged and mixed. At $24.99 for 22oz, it's probably the most expensive single beer I have ever bought. In fact, I bought two of them - one to age in the cellar for a few years, and one to drink now. I got this from my usual source for awesome specialty beers, Jesse at Irving Wines and Spirits in Mt. Pleasant.

And yes, this beer will age very well (says so on the box.) I'm sure of that! This beer is actually a mixture of a variety of other Firestone Walker beers, so according to BeerAdvocate, so the final blend comes out to be:

• 38% Parabola, aged in bourbon barrels
• 16% Helldorado aged in bourbon and brandy barrels
• 16% Bravo aged in bourbon and brandy barrels
• 14% Stickee Monkee aged in bourbon and brandy barrels
• 5% Velvet Merkin, aged in bourbon barrels
• 4% Hydra Cuvee aged in bourbon barrels
• 3% Wookey Jack
• 2% Ol' Leghorn aged in new American oak
• 2% Double Jack

That's a lot of blending and a lot of fine-tuning to make this beer. But it's evidently worth it; BeerAdvocate rates this a 100 out of 100. So let's see how this drinks. Slowly pours a beautiful brown right out of the gate, with a very thin head, which dissipates rather quickly. 

It has an aroma of sweet chocolate, malts, caramel, and (a little bit of) nuts. I made sure to let it sit for a few minutes, to come back up from fridge temp and for the flavor to open up a little.

The first sip has an immediate taste of sweet alcohol and chocolate, but that is immediately replaced by a powerful wall of roasted malts and fresh hops. That flavor stays with you for a bit and then gives way to a deep, warm bourbon and wood taste on the finish, which lingers for a long time. 

The texture is super thick, almost syrupy. The taste, especially the finish, reminds me a lot of my favorite single-malt whiskey, Macallan 12 yr. It's got the same deep finish and taste of warm malts and wood that I come to love with a fine Scotch whiskey, and frankly, that's very uncommon in a beer. The XVIII draws on its oak-barrel heritage well and delivers a seamless blend of those flavors. I'm a huge fan! 

This beer is very powerful and not to be trifled with. And I expect that at this price, it's not something the average beer drinker will want to try. But it's still an amazing beer that Scotch and bourbon lovers will enjoy very much.