Harviestoun Old Engine Oil

Pours out a thick, murky black with no head or lacing to speak of.  Aroma is rich and hints of bitter-sweet chocolate and roasted malt.  More layers of chocolate, coffee, roast, malt, smoke, and bitterness greet the palate, accompanied by a slight prickle of carbonation.

The Bottom Line: This is viscous black liquid love.

The Rating: Legendary.

Hockley Valley Black and Tan

A "Black and Tan" is blend of pale ale and dark beer, often poured in such a way as to create a layered effect.  In some cases, the two are simply mixed together.  When a pale lager is substituted for the ale, it's called "Half and Half".

In this case, it's a blending of Hockley Stout and a specially-brewed ale to stand in as the "tan".  This delightful brew pours out a rich dark mahogany with a creamy tan head that gently exudes the aromas of smoke, coffee, chocolate, and sweet malt.  The taste is a subtle explosion of sorts, bursting with all of the aforementioned presences with breathtaking richness and harmony that takes one's breath away.

The Bottom Line: I ran out of this liquid awesomeness last night, slurped the last precious drops from the bottom of my glass, and *may* have tried to lick the Hockley Valley website.

The Rating: Good Stuff.

Anchor Steam Beer

I've been eyeing this West Coast brew at my local MLCC for quite some time, but never tried it until today.  The anchor logo and squat bottle have always intrigued me, conjuring up grainy, yellowed images of bearded sea captains and chugging trawlers.

Anchor Steam pours a nice coppery color with a creamy off-white head.  Lacing is slight, but sticky.    It's full and nutty on the nose, with malt and hops taking center stage.  Likewise on the palate, where the sweet malt and rounded profile are both pleasing and refreshing.  Tapers off with a slightly crispy bitterness.

The Bottom Line:  This nicely balanced and no-nonsense brew went well with my spicy dinner and was the perfect ending to a long, hot day.

The Rating:  Good Stuff.

Erdinger Weissbräu Dunkel

Brewed by Erdinger Weissbräu, this Gernan dunkel [dark beer] is described as "A wheat beer from the good old days".  If the good old days were as good as this beer, then they were indeed good.

It looks absolutely beautiful in the glass, a rich, murky dark brown with contrasting off-white head.  The head remains all the way to the end, without much lacing.

My nose was quite busy with this beer, picking out the predominant chocolate, subtle fruit, light alcohol, raisin, roasted hops, and caramel.  Flavor is heady, with malt, hops, and toasted wheat dominating.  Carbonation is mild, and it finishes with a medium bitterness.

The Bottom Line:  This complex dark beer has an interesting aroma and flavor profile which makes it highly enjoyable.

The Rating:  Good Stuff.

Half Pints Bulldog Amber Ale

Half Pints is quickly becoming my favorite brewery.  Their Stir Stick Stout is definitely good stuff, and this refreshingly dry ale isn't far behind.  It's high praise coming from a guy who thinks darker is better.

Bulldog Amber Ale pours a clear, well, amber color with a reasonable off-white head.  The aroma is clean and complicated: wheat, fruit, floral something-or-other, vanilla, dry malt, and other things I can't place.

Taste, like the nose, is a crisp combination of hops, malt, caramel, earthiness.  Pomaceous fruit offers a slight sweetness, while the hops provides medium bitterness.  The finish is dry and crisp and lingers on the roof of your mouth, but not unpleasantly.

The Bottom Line:  I've changed my go-to beer to this one.  This stuff is awesomeness in a bottle.

The Rating:  Good Stuff.

Half Pints Stir Stick Stout

This is my second tasting of this great stout by Half Pints, a local Winnipeg brewery.  It's the only one of Half Pint's brews that I've tried so far, but it has me very excited to try the rest of their line.

Stir Stick Stout pours a very rich black with a short tan head that doesn't hang around.  Chocolaty on the nose, it also hints of slight smokiness that almost borders on acridness.  There's a richness to the aroma, though, which I'm thinking may be the malt.

This beer is perhaps a little on the dry side, but is remarkably smooth.  It tastes exactly like it smells: rich, malty, and a tad smoky, and with strong black coffee bitterness in the middle.  The bitter dark chocolate kicks in at the end with a slightly sour sweetness.  The sweetness may be a bit of a problem for some, and, as Half Pints suggests, this brew may be better suited to play escort to a rich dessert or as an after dinner treat than with a meal.

The Bottom Line:  Perhaps a little sweet, but otherwise very drinkable and full of rich, dark flavors.

The Rating:  Good Stuff.

O'Hara's Irish Stout

My mother warned me of this.  Dark, strange mistresses of seduction who would intoxicate me with their sheer beauty and charm.  Little did I know she was talking about beer.

I'd been wanting to try a stout (other than Guinness, of course), since I tend to enjoy dark lager.  I was hoping for an imperial stout, but when I noticed this Irish stout by Carlow Brewing Company on the MLCC shelf, it practically jumped into my arms.

Thus began my love affair with this O'Hara's stout.  It poured inky black with a two-finger tan head.  I'm given to understand that the tan head is indicative of having been brewed with coffee, and the aroma quietly agrees.  The aroma was a sweet blend of chocolate and coffee.  Holding the glass up to the light, I wasn't able to see anything penetrating the murky darkness, except for some reddish hues around the edges.  I've read about this sort of thing in books, but I've never seen it for myself until last night.

The beer is creamy and perfectly smooth, comparable in mouthfeel to Guinness but considerably less dry. It's rich with flavor: coffee, cream, chocolate, an understated sweetness, and a burnt smokiness.  The finish is mildly bitter, but in the best possible way.

This beer also introduced me to an afterglow effect that I've never before experienced.  It's the morning after, and I'm still sighing contentedly to myself.  I never knew beer could be so satisfying, but this one absolutely was.

The Bottom line:  I wanted to make love to this beer.

The Rating: Good Stuff.