To Øl Sleep Over Coffee IIPA Brewed in collaboration with Mikkeller, this beer fuses two unusual ingredients, hops and coffee. I was fortunate to have a chance to sit with the brewer at To Øl, Tobias, for quite some time in Chicago last summer and discuss this beer, which at the time was quite unique. He explained that his vision was to emphasize the fruit flavors in the coffee and to blend the bitterness from the roast with the bitterness of the hops. Sleep Over pours a super murky brown caramel color, hues of burgundy and tan with a bone colored head, very billowy and soft, nearly 2 fingers high that has nice retention and leaves behind a massive web of lace. The aroma is heavy on fruit forward coffee, citrus hop with a touch of pine and sweet, rich caramel malt with just a touch of subtle roast. On the tongue, the coffee is integrated so nicely with the fruity hops, nice roast, pine, citrus and rich malt that is balanced well and transitions very nicely from coffee roast, to fruity hop to smooth malt. The body is nice, very lively, with crisp carbonation that dances on the tongue nicely with a nice dry finish. Verdict: A very unusual beer, but quite successful in it’s mission to blend coffee and hops. The beans used perfectly compliments the hop profile and aren’t overly harsh or roasty, but rather smooth and highlight the fruit flavors in both the beans and the hops. This was a great success in terms of what the brewers set out to achieve. (3.95/5)

La Cumbre Elevated IPA Hailing from New Mexico, La Cumbre has been garnering numerous accolades for their lineup of beers as of late. Elevated IPA won the Gold Medal for American style IPA at the Great American Beer Festival in 2011. Elevated IPA pours a nice light honey, orange color, fairly clear with a bit of cloudiness. A thin, quarter finger of soapy white head appears and recedes somewhat quickly, leaving behind a small layer of film. The head is easily re-summoned with a flick of the glass, not much lacing is left behind. The aroma is nice and clean albeit a bit muted and not very explosive. Ample piney hops, floral and citrusy esters, a bit of simple malt on the back end, but this really highlights and emphasizes the great hop profile. The flavors are much more impactful, great citrus forward flavors with really nice floral undertones. Resinous, earthy piney hops round out a really wonderful hop spectrum. Just enough light malt to keep the hop bitterness in check and to add in some nice sweetness that plays very well with the floral and citrus notes. The body is great, perfectly carbonated, a bit soapy, but spot on for an IPA, smooth, not too full, not too thin, great dry finish. Verdict: Great IPA from La Cumbre, worthy of all the accolades. Perfectly bitter, great spectrum of flavors, I wish the nose was a bit more pungent, but this is great, great stuff. So glad to have gotten my hands on a 4 pack. (4.16/5)

Founders Doom The newest installment of Founders’ Backstage Series, Doom is a new take on Founders’ fan favorite, Double Trouble. Aged in bourbon barrels, Doom pushes the limits of what an IPA can be. The beer pours a nice copper color, clear in texture with a nearly 2 finger high white head that has nice retention and leaves behind a touch of spotted lacing. The aroma is fairly fruit and citrusy forward, mango and pineapple are there too with a touch of pine before sweet, rich bourbon takes over that really dominates what could be a bright IPA. The flavors are similar, lightly fruity hops with underlying citrus and tropical fruits start out nicely before the sweet and rich bourbon creeps out and really flattens everything out. The bourbon is soft and isn’t too harsh, with just a touch of chewy oak that ties everything together. The body is nice, coats the mouth well, with a nice level of carbonation that has just enough prickly character but finishes smoothly. Verdict: The components of this beer are nice on their own, but I’m not sure this is a combination that really works for me. The bourbon and oaky qualities really mute the IPA characteristics that I tend to enjoy and the beer really comes across as muddled and lacking something. A worthy endeavor, but not for me. (3.65/5)

Cigar City Moat Water Brewed in collaboration with the Skatepark of Tampa for their 20th anniversary, Moat Water is a milk stout made with vanilla beans, coffee beans and aged on maple wood veneers. It pours a nice jet black color, massively opaque and dense with a finger of thick, dark caramel colored head that recedes fairly quickly but yields a lot of film atop the beer and nice spots of lacing. The aroma is very sweet, lots of vanilla and maple with lactose sugar and very sweet, milk chocolate syrup with just a touch of roasted coffee and toasted malt at the end. The flavors are again on the sweeter side, lots of vanilla and smooth maplewood, that is slightly chewy and barky, rich, syrupy chocolate with some creamy lactose and just a hint of thick molasses. Roasted coffee is an afterthought at finish but does help to counterbalance the sweetness of richness of the beer. The body is rich, thick, silky, creamy and downright excellent. It coats the mouth very well, goes down smoothly with a lovely creamy touch. Verdict: A very nice stout from Cigar City. The coffee is a bit overshadowed by the vanilla and maplewood, but the complexity is great and the balance is very nice. This makes for a great desert shared amongst friends or family. (4.24/5)

Left Hand Smoke Jumper  One of Left Hands winter seasonal beers, Smoke Jumper is their Smoked Imperial Porter. The beer pours a nice black color, hues of brown and burgundy with a loose caramel head that is hardly a finger high that vanishes quickly and leaves some film atop the beer, but minimal lacing. The aroma very salty, smoky and robust. Lots of smoke, dark chocolate and bacon grease, it’s quite savory, harsh and rather one dimensional. The flavors are a bit more balanced, but dominantly smoky, more of a chocolate and malt showing, but the smoke really punishes the palate with some sharp alcohol at the finish. The body is nice and rich, fairly smooth with some overzealous carbonation that finishes with a nice creamy touch.  Verdict: Certainly a powerfully smoky beer, a bit too much for me and my sensitive palate. This is definitely one of the more bacon and salty, savory forward beers I’ve had and the balance is really poor. Smoked beers really aren’t my thing and this one is just way too intense for me. (3.18/5)

Gigantic The Time Traveler One of the younger and up and coming breweries in the Portland beer scene, Gigantic has been getting a lot of attention and recognition in their short time as a brewery. This beer, The Time Traveler, is their take on the American Porter. The beer pours a nice black color, touches of cola brown with a fizzy khaki head that dissipates quickly leaving a slight film atop the beer with minimal lace. The aroma is of lightly roasted coffee, dark chocolate and soft and sweet coffee malt, fairly simple and very straightforward. The flavors are very simple, bitter coffee roast, slightly toasted grain, touches of chocolate and just a smidge of fruit at the finish. The body is a little lighter with crisp carbonation and an easy finish that does get a touch abrasive from the carbonation. Verdict: Simple, straightforward, not intimidating and rather light. This is my first experience with Gigantic and while this wasn’t a home run, I’d still be very interested in sampling more of their lineup. (3.66/5)

Bell’s Two Hearted Ale One of Bell’s staple beers, Two Hearted is often referred to as the quintessential Midwestern IPA. The beer pours a very clear golden copper color, just a few bubbles rising up to the top of the glass, with a soft, cloudy white head, about 2 fingers high that has good retention and leaves behind a nice amount of spotted lace. The aroma is very pleasant, subtle piney hops, light grapefruit with touches of wildflower before pale grain and a touch of caramel malt sweetness eases out. The hops are more impactful on the tongue, lots of sweet tangerine, zesty grapefruit, smooth but bitter resinous pine, lightly floral with some smooth, sweet malt at the finish to help balance the bitter hops. The body is really nice, very smooth, almost juicy with a perfect level of lively carbonation and a lightly dry, lightly sweet finish.  Verdict: Two Hearted never fails to be an enjoyable IPA and is certainly one of the benchmarks for the style. Balanced, not overly complex yet certainly not simple, very smooth with a soft finish that doesn’t push any boundaries and remains extremely quaffable. (4.01/5)

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (2008) With all the buzz going around about the 2013 release of Founders KBS, I thought it would be fun to dip into the cellar and take a look at an older vintage of this beer. The beer pours a nice deep black color, very opaque with cola brown hues when struck by the light with just a faint bubble or two of caramel colored head that has zero retention but leaves behind some great lacing. The aroma is nice, smooth, bitter, dark chocolate, light coffee roast, sweet vanilla, charred oak, toffee, bourbon with faint oxidation creeping in, but still balanced and very inviting. Dark chocolate is again at the forefront, on the tongue, with lots of barrel character behind it, great char and chewy oak, rich, smooth bourbon, molasses, toffee and touches of pitted fruit that finishes with just a touch of coffee roast and additional char and light astringent alcohol. The body is still great, very smooth, rich and silky, that coats the mouth very well and finishes very easily with just a hint of warm alcohol.  Verdict: I love KBS fresh and typically feel let down by aged KBS, but this has found a really nice spot and has managed to avoid fatal oxidation. It’s still not quite as balanced or impactful as fresh KBS and the coffee has all but vanished, but this was still quite enjoyable. (4.20/5)

Three Floyds Permanent Funeral  Three Floyds likes Metal, Three Floyds likes hops, Three Floyds likes making hoppy beer with Metal bands. This beer, made in collaboration with the band Pig Destroyer is yet another take on a hoppy “pale ale” or in this case, a juicy Double IPA, with a particularly brutal label. The beer pours a nice, bright copper color, just a slight haze in a an otherwise clear complexion, with just a few bubbles rising to the top of the glass. A fluffy, white, soapy head rises out of the beer, nearly 2 fingers high that has good retention but leaves behind just the thinnest spots of lace. The aroma is full of juicy, fresh, tropical fruit, lots of pineapple and mango, tangy grapefruit, sweet tangerine with some light pine and sweet biscuity malt and faint alcohol that is hidden nicely. The flavors are massively pungent, lots of fresh pineapple, honeydew melon with crisp grapefruit and sweet tangerine that brings out the sweeter malt elements with some warming alcohol. The body is super juicy, just enough light carbonation to keep the beer lively that coats the mouth very well that finishes with a fairly dry kick and a nice warming sensation from the alcohol. Verdict: A very intense Imperial IPA from Three Floyds, which doesn’t really come as a surprise, but this might be one of the juiciest and pineapple forward beer I’ve tasted to date. It’s massive, it’s bold, it’s brutal and yet the bitterness is kept in check making this wonderfully drinkable. (4.45/5)

DC Brau On the Wings of Armageddon  One of the younger breweries on the East Coast, DC Brau hails from our nation’s capitol and has been getting a lot of notoriety over the recent months for many of their beers. This beer, On the Wings of Armageddon, is their single hop double IPA using only Falconer’s Flight hops. The beer pours a nice copper color, fairly hazy complexion, with a few bubbles rising to the top of the glass. A really nice, cloudy white head rises up from the beer, about 2 or 3 fingers high that has wonderful retention and leaves a fair amount of spotted lace behind. The aroma has a nice amount of zesty grapefruit and tangerine, a touch of resinous pine is also apparent before some sweet caramel malt pops out with some faint alcohol. The flavors nice, lots of grapefruit with some crisp tangerine that leads to some earthy lemongrass and dirty pine that is very bitter before the sweet and rich malt starts to take over the palate with just a touch of alcohol heat at the finish. The body is lovely, very juicy, coats the mouth well and finishes very smoothly with an awesome dry kick. Verdict: An awesome double IPA from DC Brau. It’s bitter, it’s dry, it’s flavorful and has a great finish, all of the hallmarks of a great IPA. That being said, there is a lack of depth in the flavors but the balance is great. (4.25/5)

Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA A reworked version of Deschutes’ old Hop Henge Imperial IPA, Hop Henge Experimental IPA has been a spring staple since 2009. The beer pours a great copper color, great hues of orange with a slightly hazy complexion. A lovely, fluffy white head rises out of the glass, nearly 3 fingers high that has nice retention and leaves behind a great web of soapy lace. The aroma is nice, piney hops with some tropical fruit behind it, papaya, mango and some tart grapefruit and tangerine that brings out some sweet malt and boozy alcohol. Lots of fresh tropical fruit on the tongue with some crisp citrus that brings out some herby, minty qualities, that quickly get taken over by the rich, sweet malt bill and pungent alcohol. The body is very juicy with a thick, creamy texture that has a sweet finish that is lightly dry.  Verdict: A fine DIPA from Deschutes. It does a good job of straddling the line of too sweet and just right, but does at times cross into the territory of a boozy, sweet beer. This is definitely a beer worth seeking out for any hop head. (3.90/5)

Sixpoint 3Beans One of Sixpoint’s newer creations, 3Beans is a Baltic Porter brewed with Stumptown Coffee Roasters Cold Brew and Mast Brothers Chocolate cacao husks. The beer pours a nice, deep cola brown color, almost black. A big, cloudy, frothy bone colored head sits atop the beer, about 2 and a half fingers high that has moderate retention and leaves some decent lacing behind. Intense coffee on the nose, lots of roast with some dark chocolate behind it, touches of vanilla and lots of thick, rich, dark grain that is quite sweet. Lot’s of bitter, roasted coffee and dark chocolate on the tongue, very intense, a bit harsh at times with sweet vanilla, oaky flavors that bring out the malted grain. The acidic finish is there, but it clashes a bit with the sweet flavors. The body is lively, bubbly, carbonated well with a lightly acidic finish that is fairly smooth.  Verdict: A very intense beer from Sixpoint and possibly too much for me. This is really a palate killer when I wasn’t expecting it to be. I’d hoped for a soft, sweet, silky beer that highlights the adjuncts but got something that was punishing and brutal. (3.55/5)

Russian River Shadow of a Doubt A bit of a stray topic for Russian River, this is their take on the American Imperial Porter. The beer pours a nice dark cola brown color with a thick, billowy, caramel colored head, about 2 fingers high that leaves a small amount of spotted lace behind. The aroma is fairly innocuous, dark chocolate, slight roast and toasted dark grain with some astringent alcohol that lingers. The flavors are right in line with the nose, soft yet bitter dark chocolate, light roast character with some underlying smokiness and an almost salinous character that finishes with a nice richness from the grain bill and just a touch of sweet alcohol. The body is awesome, rich, thick, full bodied that has just enough lively carbonation to dance around the tongue and has a silky smooth finish. Verdict: A pleasant Porter from Russian River but nothing mind blowing. It’s well made, simplistic and very quaffable. I do prefer their regular porter to this beer, but both are still enjoyable. (4.01/5)

Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project Jack D’or Described by Pretty Things as a “Saison Amercaine,” Jack D’or is their American take on the classic Saison style and also happens to be their first bottled beer. It pours a nice, soft, golden-honey color, hazy complexion that looks fairly lifeless, a thin white head appears briefly before receding into the beer leaving no film or lacing behind. The aroma is lightly funk, amply floral with some nice citrus hop character and a good amount of pale grain and some cracked pepper that lingers behind with faint alcohol. The beer is intensely bitter on the tongue, lots of citrus hops and earthy, grassy dandelion and weed character. The funk and yeasty flavors are very mild and really only intensify the dirty nature of this beer. Lots of peppercorn is present throughout the session and the beer finishes with a lot of bitter, skunky pale grain. The body is a bit thin and lifeless, just enough prickly carbonation to keep this beer afloat and it finishes with a very dry, bitter kick.  Verdict: This beer is essentially the antithesis of what I like in a Saison/Farmhouse Ale; earthy, bitter, hop forward and lacking any sort of funk or yeast profile and the dry bitter finish really spoils it for me. I’m left wishing this beer was livelier, creamier with more vibrancy, hard to call this an enjoyable beer. (3.50/5)

Three Floyds Dreadnaught One of the year round offerings from Three Floyds, Dreadnaught is their “not normal” take on a Double IPA. The beer pours a nice copper color, clear complexion with a few bubbles rising to the top of the glass. A nice, soft, cloudy white head rises out of the glass, nearly 2 fingers high that has nice retention and leaves behind a nice amount of soapy lacing. The aroma is very fruit forward, notes of mango, pineapple and tart grapefruit with earthy pine behind it, very resinous, some caramel malt character provides some sweetness and alcohol lingers behind. The flavors are very nice, tropical mango, tart grapefruit and lemon, tangerine sweetness brings out some pineapple flavors as well. There are some floral undertones that sneak out as well before the caramel malt and alcohol sweetness take over the finish of this beer. The body is very nice and full, coats the mouth well with a fairly dry bitter finish.  Verdict: A very nice Double IPA from Three Floyds, but hardly a ‘not normal’ beer. The sweetness and high octane alcohol hinder this beer a bit and make it harder for the bright citrus and fruit flavors to really shine. Still, this is a very worthy brew that is very much worth trying. (4.25/5)