Hop Ottin’ IPA: Nice Cans Series

On my last beer run (which is going to be my last for a LONG time… I have WAAAYYYY too many beers in the “cellar” that need to be drunk before I buy anything more. I know I said the same last year, but this is serious now) I picked up some cans for the “Hey, Babe, Nice Cans!” series and Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s Hop Ottin’ IPA was one I picked up (see my last review for my impression of the canned Summer Solstice).

Again, longtime readers know I am still enamored with the idea of craft beers in cans! LOL Cans are a great medium for beers for many, many reasons, but IPA’s do particularly well in cans because there is no chance of light or air hitting the beer, both of which are bad for high-hopped beers especially.

I’ve had this beer in the bottle, but for some reason have never reviewed it. Hop Ottin’ weighs in at 7% ABV and 80 IBU’s (the measure for bitterness used by brewers). Unfortunately, the AVBC website offers virtually no information about what’s in the beer, so all we know based on the site is that it has “Pacific Northwest hops,” which could be anything since virtually all hops used in production brewing come from the PNW.

If there is one thing that California brewers all have in common is the love of HUGE, ultra-hopped IPA’s. Balance? We don’t need no stinking balance here on the Left Coast!

Hop Ottin’ pours a cloudy dark orange/amber-ish color with a huge, thick shaving cream like head. Head retention is massive on this beer and I even had an island of thick head that floated on the beer and never went away. Big heads come from big hops, generally.

The aroma is hop forward, with that piney, resiny type of hop character loved by many of the West Coast brewers. I didn’t get many floral or citrus notes from the aroma. They were earthy and there was a lot of pine tree in there, too.

Not surprisingly, the flavor was the same. Earthy, resiny, piney notes from beginning to end, and a lot of hop bitterness. The first 25% of the taste has pretty good balance with the malts, but then the hops wave comes crashing in and carries into a long, bitter aftertaste. There is nice carbonation in this beer and it’s quite an easy drinker despite the high bitterness. At this alcohol level and bitterness level trying to take down a 6-pack of this at a party or during a game would be a bad idea and would quickly lead to palate fatigue, but this is a good, solid, enjoyable IPA. After my disappointment with Summer Solstice, my love of AVBC has been restored! A great beer, probably tough to drink in volume, but sprinkling some cans in among the lighter fare for a day at the pool or camping would be a top notch idea.

Anderson Valley Brewing Co. Summer Solstice: Nice Cans Series

Photo courtesy of http://boozedancing.wordpress.com/.

What? A summer beer on a cloudy, crappy 35° day in Kansas City? Sure, why not? I went to Lukas and decided to build a sixer from cans, as part of my “Hey, Babe, Nice Cans!” series. LOL I enjoy most of the Anderson Valley Brewing Company beers I’ve had, so I thought I’d give this one a shot since I’d not had it before.

AVBC bills this summer beer as a “cerveza crema” or, presumably, a cream ale. The can says it has natural flavors added, but I could find no info about adjuncts on the website or anywhere else, nor detect any in the flavor, so I’m not sure what that was all about.

Cream ales are malt-forward, American “lawnmower beers.” They typically contain adjuncts of as much as 20% glucose or corn, so maybe one of those is added to Summer Solstice? There is a definite corny aftertaste with this beer, and it’s relatively sweet.

Summer Solstice pours a cloudy copper color with an off-white, bubbly head, as you can see in the photo (courtesy of boozedancing.wordpress.com). There isn’t much aroma to speak of, but what little there is seems sweet and malty.

The carbonation on this beer is relatively high and it has a full mouthfeel. The flavor is malt-forward with a little hops balance. The aftertaste is slightly bitter, but without much actual hop character, and there is a DMS (cooked vegetable) and corn-heavy aftertaste, for sure. While it is malt-forward in flavor it isn’t cloying and there is enough hops hidden in there somewhere to give it some balance.

This isn’t a bad beer, but for a summer, lawnmower, thirst-quenching type of beer there are a lot of things I would go to before this. There isn’t anything wrong with this beer, per se, but it seems a little heavy for what it’s intended to be, and the low hops makes it a little less refreshing than I’d like. I really enjoy everything I’ve had by AVBC, but this one is lacking compared to their other beers I’ve had.

Ska Brewing Steel Toe Stout

I’m a sucker for stouts, but sometimes I’m in the mood for the sweeter side of things, which is where milk stouts come into play! Ska Brewing Co.’s Steel Toe Stout is a “traditional cream stout” that weighs in at an easy 5.4%ABV and 29 IBU’s.

Contrary to popular belief, milk stouts, also sometimes referred to as “sweet stouts,” do not contain milk. Lactose (aka “milk sugar” because it is the predominant sugar in dairy) is added during the brewing process. Lactose is a non-fermentable sugar. In other words, the critters in beer that convert sugar to alcohol don’t eat it (and then poop out alcohol… lovely, no?), so when lactose is added to beer it will raise the sweetness level without contributing to the alcohol content.

The classic, benchmark milk stout and one of my all-time favorites is Left Hand’s Milk Stout, which I reviewed in January, 2010. Another favorite milk stout (which is also a coffee stout and an oatmeal stout!) is the aptly named Breakfast Stout from Founder’s (reviewed April 2011).

Unlike their roastier, darker, drier-finishing cousins in the “regular” stout world, milk stouts are expected to be sweeter and generally have a nice body and mouthfeel due to the lactose addition. True to form, Ska’s version has a great aroma of roasty components with a sweet overtone that makes me think of chocolate (although the aroma is not chocolatey, per se). It pours black with about a 1/2″ tan head. While this is certainly an opaque glass of beer, it has a fair amount of amber/tea colored highlights in the corners of the glass.

As I was pouring this beer it seemed like it was a little on the thin side, but the mouthfeel is pretty good. Very little carbonation on this beer, but I did type the whole intro to this review as it sat in the glass. I’m guessing I’m drinking this beer in the mid-50°’s range.

The flavor is pretty surprising. There is some roasty, classic stout type of flavor on the front end, tempered by the sweetness of the lactose, but that is quickly taken over and dominated by hops. I haven’t had too many hoppy stouts, so this is unique for me. The finish and aftertaste are definitely hop-forward. It’s hard to get the components of the hops (i.e. resiny, piney, floral), but the bitterness is definitely there.

Interestingly, the sweetness is there, but this is not a “milkshake” like Left Hand Milk Stout. Steel Toe Stout actually has a rather dry finish and that hoppiness takes away from the drinkability compared to Left Hand’s.

This is an interesting beer. I expected more “sweet” and a lot less hops, so it came out about opposite of what I was thinking it would taste like. It’s interesting from the perspective that I haven’t had too many hoppy stouts, and all the components of this beer work well, but it’s not as balanced as I would like. For my money, Left Hand is still the reigning king of the Milk Stouts. When I reach for a “sweet stout” I do so for the sweetness, so a milk stout that is hoppier than it is sweet leaves me wanting. Overall, a pretty good beer, though!

I’ve also reviewed Ska Brewing’s True Blonde Ale here.