Last night was an interesting night, beer wise. I had two beers, both of which I had definite pre-conceived notions about, and both of which blew those ill-conceived notions out of the water.
The first beer I tried was St. Ambroise Stout Imperiale Russe (9.2%). As you probably know, I'm not crazy about stouts. Right off the bat, this beer had that strike against it. As well, it's from St. Ambroise, a Monteal brewery that makes decent, fairly easy-drinking beers like their Pale Ale (good) and their Apricot Wheat (not my style, I guess, unless it's 400 degrees outside). I've heard their Oatmeal Stout is good too, but I've so far shied away from it due to my stout aversion. Or, should I say, my past stout aversion. Drinking this Imperial Stout was one of those rare transcendental beer experiences that you get once in awhile, that make this whole beer quest worth it. This beer shattered all my preconceived notions about stouts and St. Ambroise. This beer is one of the best beers I've ever tasted - certainly it's the best beer that's not from Belgium that I've ever tasted. And this is coming from a hop head who loves IPAs. And if I'd let those biases get in the way, I never would have had a chance to let this beer shatter them.
An imperial stout is essentially to stout what an ipa is to a pale ale. It's a "bigger" version. Just as an ipa was originally heavy in ABV and hops to withstand the voyage from England to the troops in India (India PAle Ale), an imperial stout was heavier in ABV to withstand the voyage all the way to the czar of Russia. (alcohol and hops act to preserve the beer.) This beer is expensive (nearly $6 for a regular sized bottle), but is worth ever penny. I bought two, one for last night, and one for the cellar since this beer is meant to age well. I'm considering buying more...
The other beer I tried last night was Muskoka's Mad Tom IPA. It wasn't my first time at this rodeo - I was pretty high on this beer this summer - but I decided to give it another shot. I had pretty much closed the books on this beer as a run of the mill IPA, to be had if Smashbomb Atomic isn't around. Pretty hoppy but one dimensional. A solid standby. I wanted to give it another try, since it was pretty new when I used to drink it, and I thought, maybe it's gotten better (And my palate has most certainly gotten better since then too...). I found that it HAD changed, it WAS much better. Far from being a second fiddle to other IPAs, I found that this beer had grown to even rival such big shots as Red Racer IPA. In the same way as Red Racer, this beer is cohesive, with a slight nectarine tinge to it up front. The bready malts form a subtle backbone to the intense hops. If I hadn't gone back to give it another try, I never would have realized how much it had improved. Brewers tinker, and brewers improve their processes and recipes, so (life lesson alert!) don't assume beers are static entities. They're alive, and they grow. And give beers a second, or third, chance.
Tasting Notes for St. Ambroise Stout Imperiale Russe, 9.2%
Expensive and not crazy about stouts, but this beer had a lot of buzz surrounding it, so let's see... HUGE head, coffee tinged. Nearly pitch black colour. Aroma of heavy smokiness and meatiness (charcuterie?). Tastes: very rich, super thick. This is quite something. Mouthfeel is unbelievable - so smooth and thick. Bitter afterbite, more hoppiness than I'd expected (sure enough, it has cascade hops! mmmm!) Not overwhelming, slight booziness, lot of complexity. chocolate, coffee, hops, vanilla... WOW!
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