Black Diamond Rampage Imperial IPA competes for Top Dog

With the final day of class behind us today and Thanksgiving this week, the school is throwing a potluck thanksgiving feast. I brought chips, 5 layer dip and a little RAMPAGE!!!

It'll actually be the Elephant from Black Diamond Rampaging, fueled by a maddening amount of hops, rather than me, unless you count my addiction to the bourbon pecan pie a rampage. If I have seconds, you might.

At 9%, it's a big beer that comes with a crazy label. The mouthfeel has flavors of vanilla and caramel with a tinge of citrus, all of which mix together as well as well as boys and girls at an 8th grade dance. Everyone looks good by itself but nobody is dancing. And coincidently, like any potluck this brew is a mixed bag and uneven. The demented rhino is a fun label, but it comes off as a novelty. Especially since it has red devil eyes. You know who else has devil eyes? Zombies. If there are Elephant Zombies around, then you know it's the ARMAGEDDON...rating.

Stone 15th Anniversary Imperial Black IPA is back in black

Another day in Hollywood winds down and I'm languishing in the office waiting for an 8:30 dinner. Wednesday next week, which the Milk is for Babies readers will come to know as "Beer/Day #398," will also be my final day working in the entertainment industry. 2 years at talent agencies, 1.5 year as a director's assistant and 1.5 as a producer's assistant and I'm calling it donzos. Advertising Grad school here I come! I'm alone in the office and feeling a bit wistful, wondering if I'll miss reading scripts and actors and directors. And the answer right now is, not really. But at least I'll still have a ton of fun stories...until I forget them.

 

Will I ever look at a script and see not a story but a dead tree? Jeez, that's morbid. Maybe it's the imperial (que John Williams Imperial March theme) black IPA from Stone Brewing. Their 15th anniversary beer is balls to the wall; 10.8% alcohol, bold hops and a beer style that is unusual but quickly gaining popularity, the black IPA.

 

This fella is rich and robust with earthy chocolate flavors and a one-two bitterness punch from the dark roast and hops. The alcohol is well blended with the bitterness. It’s full bodied and a little syrupy, like a very imperial stout, like the Velvet Glove from Iron Fist. Or it could just be that the beer is not very cold. The freezers suck here...

Well, at least mine don't want me to be the Keymaster. None of the beer's elements, as in your face as the dark roast and west coast hops can be, are overwhelming. It is intense though, so people who can't handle big beers, stand clear of the road. However, if you know Stone, you know that they're unapologetic in this regard. If you love the brashness and boldness of Stone Ruination, Arrogant Bastard (and especially Double Bastard), you will want to jump on the highway and say "HIT ME" with this one. It's unique, finely crafted and something to behold. BAD BOYS rating.

There’s a new wave of black IPA’s out there, I’ve tasted several just in the last couple of months, and once last year from Deschutes which was excellent (post). I don't think all IPA lovers will enjoy them, evidenced by David's unwelcoming embrace, but I really enjoy them. The style is tough to pull off but if done correctly, there is such a unique complexity from the roast and hops. I highly recommend trying the next one you see.

Btw, do you think as a father I'll be that weird dad who sings "400 beers on the wall, take one down pass it around, 399 beers on the wall. It was an imperial ipa and the rating was..." to help them sleep? The answer is no, because my future wife or ex-wife, depending on how the cookie crumbles, would kill me. I'll just have to make him read my blog when he's 11.

Dogfish Head 120 min IPA is 18% of holy crap that's a lot of alcohol

I'm dragging David halfway across town after his long drive back from Carlsbad in an open air and doorless Jeep for good reason. At the Surly Goat, and several bars even further away from us, Dogfish Head has distributed an IPA that don't come around heeear very often.There is a single keg of Dogfish Head 120 min IPA on tap. We arrive to find Nick G already mixing it up with the owner of the Surly Goat, Alan.

David just saw the evil monkey from Family Guy behind the camera

 The bartender brings our pours out in Sherry glasses and I'm at first, a bit put off. Do you know who I am? A international, well known, vaguely familiar beer blogger and I deserve more...What's that? It's 18%?! Sweet Jesus Mary and Jebediah, I should've done my homework! I have only read about the mystery of this beer and for some reason didn't realize it's that strong. Touche bartender, touche.

I initially feel ridiculous holding a glass the size of a child's tea cup, but not after the first sip. If I hadn't known it was brewed by Dogfish Head, I would assume it's moonshine. David and I just had a discussion earlier this week about the perfect alcohol percent in beer, and we both agreed it was 8%. In our experience, anything over that and you begin tasting the alcohol. It's simply difficult to hide an element that intense. At 18%, how do you combat the sheer overwhelming power of alcohol? More hops of course.

A few sips in, I still feel like I'm drinking moonshine tea, but I'm extremely impressed with how well the signature Dogfish hops are hiding it. This is the strongest beer I've ever tasted (previous record, the 14.5% Bruery Cuir), but they have done an amazing job disguising it. Oh, be certain my face is turning red after a few sips, but wow, color me impressed. BAD BOYS rating. 

Mikkeller I Beat yoU sunsets a crazy and delicious 4th of July

Happy 4th o' Julie! This was one incredibly busy day that included dog sitting, bottling two home brews and entertaining people from 10am until 9pm. Only with the stamina gained through the spirit of Chuck Norris was I able to live through this day.

Nick G, Beth, AJ and Nic came over around 10am for some patriotic brunch. And by patriotic I mean coffee cake and Freedom Toast drowned in Vermont Maple Syrup. With Nic and Nick around I able to bottle both David and my home brews, which I've been dying to do because it's the highly experimental and unique, Sea Salt Caramel (Brewing Sea Salt Caramel). It was a wild brew day and I'm nervous about the taste, because I wasn't as OCD on keeping the temperature as constant as I have been in the past. Could this be my first bomb?

Hell no! This turned out perfect! My experience has made me aware that carbonating beer can lead to something completely different than what you taste during bottling, but this is pitch perfect. It has a heavy caramel flavor profile and the salt is at the right level. No weird ester or fruit flavors, which I was worried about because of the high percentage of Special B malt. The color is perfect, a dark brown reminiscent of caramel. This is one syrupy and dank dessert beer. I plan on cold conditioning three bottles in my refrigerator to experiment and the rest go in the beer closet to carbonate. David's Imperial IPA didn't fare as well however, it seems a little watered down. Hopefully carbonation will provide a fuller body. A big thank you to Nic and Nick for helping me clean and cap over 4 cases of beer in only 1.5 hours!

Tiffany and her crew brought over materials for bacon mac and cheese and jalapeno cornbread, as well as some phenomenal jello shots. Ridiculous right? Alyssa had some sort of jello shot contraption that allowed her to layer them. I may have had a handful...does that make me a super patriot?

 YUP

Meanwhile, I'm getting to work on my Blueberry Chipotle BBQ sauce burgers with fried onions. I don't cook very often, but with David out of town in Austria, it's time to represent the apartment. The recipe comes from an article in the LA Times food section last week, and it turned out delicious! Check this good looking son of a gun out:

I still have 3lbs of meat and a bowl of bbq sauce leftover, will I be eating burgers all week?

Many people came by throughout the day and I poured a bunch of home brew to treat everyone, including Heisenburg's Honey Wheat, David's Imperial Red, and my Summer's Blonde Intern. Thanks everyone for coming out!

While I didn't choose an American beer for the special beer of the day, I did drink a bunch of Bud Light and Jose Cuervo, which is strangely more American than you'd think. Right? Sure.

I bought 5 beers from legendary Danish brewer Mikkeller on Friday and I'll be damned if I don't get to drink them before David returns from Austria, which is when we start our 7 straight days of Rogue Brewing beer. With the spirit of Chuck Norris protecting me, I pour this hopefully delightful Danish Imperial IPA

Who wears seersucker shorts with a chuck norris shirt while drinking Danish beer? This guy!

I Beat yoU is an Imperial IPA that clocks in at 9.75% and smells incredibly well, the piney hops really come through. It is full bodied and has a toasted malt that balances nicely with the piney, herbal hops. Everything is so well balanced that you don't realize this is an Imperial IPA. The more I drink, the craftsmanship becomes more apparent. This is a smooth IPA. THE ROCK rating.


I hope everyone had a an awesome and fun 4th of July!

Iron Fist Gauntlet Imperial IPA throws down on my ailments

The back label propaganda says that they are 'throwing down the gauntlet" on this 9.5% brew. It's apparently not for the weak hearted and since I've been feeling awfully under the weather all day.
I've traveled two out of the last three weekends and that other weekend I was up till dawn both nights. My traveling has caught up to me and now it's time to ketchup on my sleep and I'm hoping this Imperial IPA will throw down on my the sleeping pill I just took as well as my sic.....zzzzz

Soup, Triscuits, Beer and Kangaroo Ball bottle opener, everything Walker needs to feel better. Fact

As you can see, it pours with a huge head and the carbonation actually plays a distinctive role in this brew. It's a big bodied beer with a subtle, yet sharp grassy bite that's very distinct. It reminds me of the line of Stone IPA's, landing in between their regular IPA and Stone Ruination. The carbonation adds a creaminess to the beer that you don't usually get with an IPA, adding to its uniqueness. They certainly threw down, Donkey Kong style -

I was just looking for a simple video of someone throwing barrels at Donkey Kong, but that was wayyy better. I love the Gauntlet's distinctive hop bite, big body and creaminess. For a company less than a year old with a brewer who's only 21 years old, they keep making rock stars. THE ROCK rating.

Anderson Valley Imperial IPA welcomes me back from Chicago

After being delayed for 4 hours in O'Hare last night, I arrived at LAX by 2:30am Monday morning and was in bed around 3:45, which was awesome. Party

Good thing Monday night we decided bring out this 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA from well known Anderson Valley based in Boonville, CA. Daddy needs his medicine.

This clocks in at 8.7% and could be the west coast stand in for Dogfish Head's 90 IPA. Like this Imperial, their beer was 9% alcohol and had a big, sweet malt. Anderson Valley also boast 20 separate editions of hops, which is very similar to the 'continuous hopping done by Dogfish. What differs, is Dogfish's distinctly British malt and their ability to blend their hops for a slightly more refined feel. David for some reason thinks this is too malty, but I and the beer advocate posters like the big malt. TRANSFORMERS rating

Beer Valley Leafer Madness Imperial Pale Ale gives Green Flash IPA a run for its money

Meeting Karl for a $5 burger and a beer at Whole Foods after work. Wine is 1/2 off on Mondays so his glass is only $2 bucks, and it ain't now two buck chuck. I chose a Beer Valley Leafer Madness, a brewery named after a magical Shangri-La where the beer flows like wine.

It's a 9% Imperial IPA, which puts the beer in the same league as Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum. It's super bitter, filled with grassy hops like the Green Coast IPA. They didn't pull any punches here, this is like a wacked out of his mind Mike Tyson. 

Karl and I disagree here, because I'm not a huge fan but he believe it's excellent, far better than the Hoptimum and I disagree. The Hoptimum hid the alcohol well and the hops hit you but didn't knock your teeth out. It was subtle but powerful. This is simply a difference in style, whether you enjoy a very raw IPA or something a little bit smoother. For me, it's the later but if you enjoy the former, check this feller out. ARMAGEDDON rating.

Speakeasy Double Daddy Imperial IPA impresses the hell out of us at Mao's Kitchen

I pick David at his work because we're dog sitting his boss's dog tonight, the sweet Thora. His boss had to rush to the hospital because his wife is having twins. Coincidently, after we drop Thora off we head to Mao' Kitchen, a BYOB (bring your own Bible) Chinese restaurant near the water in Venice to drink a Speakeasy "Double Daddy." Here's to Scottie's newborn boy and girl! Seriously, boy and girl twins must be the best kind of twins. Win, Win, Win.

Mao's is one of the few BYOB places in LA and we have decided that eating here should be a semi-weekly event. Why not take advantage of a restaurant that not only promotes our Beereveryday quest, but also celebrates Communist propaganda all over its walls, right Comrade?

The other benefit to coming here is the ability to pair beer with spicy food. We drink a shit-ton of IPA's. How much is a shit-ton exactly? Think about the phrase "too much" for a minute, get an idea, and then double it. Yet, the only food which pairs really well with IPA's are spicy foods, like Thai and Chinese. And as you can see by the picture, the plastic glassware they stole from a Luby's Cafeterria/Buffet services our beer needs so well. Well, it's Communist themed restaurant, what did you expect from the Hammer and Sickle?

The Speakeasy Double Daddy Imperial IPA clocks in at 9.50% alcohol. It has an incredibly rich caramel malt and it's rich enough almost to be creamy - like a Dogfish Head 90 min IPA. The hops are smooth with a small bite as it finishes. There are few DIPA's that are this smooth and easy. This is the Kenny G of DIPA's. The label is a playing card with a 1940's hustler on it, which is appropriate because this smoothness is gangster. I love a big bodied hoppy beer that doesn't kick me in the teeth with hops. BAD BOYS rating.

Since I know some people who read the blog actually live in LA, you should try what I had for dinner, it was excellent - Weiwuer lamb - A very popular street food from remote ancient silk road region in northwest China... salt, cumin & chili powder with sliced lamb, cashew, jicama, onion & cilantro - fast cooked in the wok...It's basically lamb with chili powder.

Dogfish Head Burton Baton Imperial IPA would impress Chuck Norris

Bringing food to the Surly Goat is a first for me, and sushi will hopefully prove to be a good choice, even though there are so many ways it could go wrong. I'm excited to try this Dogfish Head, it's an IPA with 10% alcohol! How could this go wrong? 

I subscribe to 7, 10 beer blogs and haven't seen this reviewed by anyone. It must be brand new. Again, props to the Goat for being on the front end of this distribution.

This beer has a big malt, a HUGE malt with a caramel body that leaves me salvitating. This is a big American malt base for a lethal dose of hops. This is Chuck Norris strength of imperial IPA's and deserves a BAD BOYS rating. Love drinking this.

Lindsey, my long lost Chicago friend sent me the coolest beer label today and it's personalized! F*cking A Lindz, I LOVE IT.

Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA bites like Jaws

I couldn't pronounce this until I heard the bartender say it, so it seems worthy for my beer tonight (my standards are pretty shot this late in the week).

10.3% alcohol! Thank you doctor for that perscription. The alcohol is masked well thanks to a BIG fruit and piny hop bite. I didn't enjoy my first sip but it grew on me. Stu, a fellow I met who's in town from Pasadena for a concert on Sunset, loves it and he's a big hop head. I'm liking this a lot, it's just a really intense beer. It's like the Arrogant Bastard of IPA's. THE ROCK rating.

We had a big group tonight come out, including the regulars above - Rhiannon, Matt and Tiffany. Here's the whole group!

We all hit up Baby Blues afterwords. Nothing great than Foosball, Beer and BBQ. Party on

Hop Juice Left Coast is the strong sizzurp I need for a Fried Saturday

This is more of a social post than beer post, but sometimes that's what happens. Saturday I headed over to Aaron B's to meet David and co, I pickup some Hop Juice because this is what awaits me:

Yeah, that happened. Aaron has a deep fryer I didn't know about and they cooked up fried pickles, fried duck, and some amazing fried catfish, which was David's handiwork. 

Everyone was on the couch moaning about how the fried food took a toll on them but I paid them no heed. Turned out to be the wrong call and my stomach hated me later, but you only live once. Guess which food was on deck? Twinkies? No, we're still hungry - so why wait?

Fried Snickers!

Snickers give you wings..?

Pretty gnarly right? Pretty weird that the Snickers grew little mutant fried stumps. Those are fried Blintzes on the right. Both were really gooey and delicious. At the end of the evening though, I felt like there was a brick in my stomach

Anywho, beer time. Hop Juice is a solid DIPA. Alcohol clocks in at 9.9% alcohol and you can definitely taste it. As far as the hops go, it has a big bite which social IPA drinkers may not enjoy, but the hop enthused will dig. ARMAGEDDON rating. Between the alcohol and the hops, it's just the big beer I needed for all this fried nonsense.

David went to a Clippers game so I got to take Kamari for a stroll on Abbott Kenney, the best walkin street in Venice. I love dog-sitting that dog. I had more beer at The Other Room later, including Maredsous 8 and Arrogant Bastardo.

Fried meat, fried dessert, good dog and good beer. Awesomeness prevails.

Best dog ever

Cismontane Double Rainbow IPA all the way across the sky...It's almost a triple rainbow. What does it mean?

At the Surly Goat for some beer drinking and Foosball playing, and I'm having a beer that Tiffany has proclaimed delicious. Clocking in at 8.7%, it's an Imperial IPA from Rancho Margarita California, the Double Rainbow.

There is a really unique hop aroma and flavor. It's a very rich floral and citrus profile, like grapefruit. Apparently the use Citra hops, which are very hard to get your hands on if you're a home brewer (to my knowledge). I'm jealous. The result is a smooth and creamy IPA. I highly recommend you try it if you find it, it's a fascinating IPA. Onto a Improv Comedy show with Glen in Hollywood and then The Woods for a birthday party.

Drake's Denogganizer Imperial IPA is the beer support I need for a big BBQ

The rain has stopped and the sun broke through the clouds, so I'm cooking up a big BBQ today. Three stacks of ribs, lines of cider-simmered bratwurst with onions and salmon with red-curry coconut sauce. Having a bunch of people over, mostly old friends but a few new ones as well, Heather, Jamie, Brent, Nick G, Beth, Sara, Josh, Lisa, Jake, Matt and Ri.

David's usually the cook but he's out of town, so I'm going to Emeril this shit up and I'm charging hard. I need a big beer to propel me through the day and Drake's comes through once again.

Deliciousness!

I love Drake's and at 9.75%, this beer is big and bad. This is more malt than IPA, but it's a bold malt and an accented bitterness. The beer may be dank but it's finely tuned. Love this and would love to create a home brew inspired by this. THE ROCK rating.


If the Discovery Channel was on hand filming the day, they would have mistook my friends for Jackals because all three racks of ribs were gone within the first half hour. Only a pile of cleanly picked bones were left as evidence of their existence. The Bratwurst and Salmon were met with love by everyone as well, and later we played Jenga while I finished off an Arrogant Bastard. Beautiful Day indeed and except for the war zone that is my kitchen, I'm one happy camper.

To Josh, Heather and Lisa for helping out with the curry sauce and manning the grill whilst I played host and/or boozed, thank you so much for your help!

Sierra Nevada Hoptimum, whole cone imperial IPA, oh hey Evan!

I was still pretty jet lag slagged today, tried to get as much done as possible, but it was also Ned's birthday - not going to make it easy to concentrate when you've got dank cake to sort out at work. Came home at 5 and took a nap. Then Even came by, great surprise. This was unexpected because he was supposed to be halfway to Antarctica, but he had bike problems and came back to SoCal to get some parts. He already has an apartment in Cabo and had been living in his tent on the beach for awhile. What a gangster.

Hoptimum is even more dank than when I first tried it at the El Segundo Whole Foods beer fest (which was amazing). Combo of the huge hops and the high alcohol are really intense. Even with the excellent balance, the oily bitterness is still hard to escape. Excellent Imperial IPA, will look for this very soon before it's all gone.

This is Jon Stewart. Bitter, biting, witty, strong, hilarious after only a few run-ins. Jon Stewart, as a beer should no doubt enjoy the same commanding character he enjoys in real life.