You might remember Cigar City from my post about their Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout in Week 16. I had a real treat this week when I got to try 3 beers they collaborated with Mikkeller to create. You might also remember Mikkeller from when I had their Beer Geek Brunch Weasel in Week 17. Obviously these are two breweries I really appreciate, so when they collaborated to create beers in my favorite style, I jumped at the opportunity. Each beer, Bohr, Dirac, and Nielsbohrium were only brewed once. Nielsbohrium is a blend of the two, and aged in Rum Barrels for roughly 6 months.

Bohr is up first. Neils Bohr was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1885. His contributions to our understanding of the physical world have made him one of Denmark’s most famous citizens and one of the 20th century’s most influential scientists. In 1922, Bohr was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics “for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them.”

Black motor oil pour with a wonderful brown head. It doesn’t last long, but I reveled it as it lasted. Lots of coffee, chocolate, and roasted malts hit the nose. Really strong smell. The taste, however, was not as big as I was expecting. The chocolate is muted. Basically all coffee, lasts on the palate for a long time. Dark, heavy, well carbonated, a bit boozy. I liked it. Not terribly balanced, but it makes me look forward to the other two in the set!

Dirac was second. Paul Dirac was one of the founders of what became modern Quantum Mechanics and won the Nobel Prize in 1933. The recipe for this stout, brewed with raisins and spice, was conceived by Wayne Wambles, Head Brewer at Cigar City Brewing and brewed in collaboration with Mikkeller.

The pour is exactly the same of Bohr. Motor oil black with a beautiful bubbly brown head with not great retention or lacing. The smell seems much more balanced than Bohr. Coffee is there, but booze and chocolate take over. Very sweet smell. Roasted malts throughout the taste are dominant. Dark chocolate and a hint of booze mixed in. The coffee on the backend is phenomenal. I can completely see why this is rated higher than Bohr. The taste is extremely well balanced. Dark, heavy, carbonated well. Better than Bohr. Really a top notch Imperial Stout.

Now for the real treat: Nielsbohrium

If Bohr and Dirac were dark, this is darker. My friend said it was like melted Hershey’s chocolate poured into a glass. Brown pour, let me reiterate how brown this pour is. It looks like I could eat the head. If only the retention was better. Really boozy smell. Chocolate, coffee, malts, rum, but mostly alcohol. Smells like it would be dangerous to drink a lot of this. Wow great taste. Can certainly taste the qualities of each beer in this. Rum up front, followed by chocolate and a nice finish of coffee. Wonderfully balanced. Heavy. Very heavy. Carbonation is right with Bohr and Dirac. A little heavy on the booze. Wonderful beer. Perhaps not on the hype level it was built up for, but a truly great beer. Not on the level of Hunahpu’s, but solid all around.

Week 29: Nielsbohrium, originally uploaded by RussWbeck.

Heavy Seas Beer is under Baltimore’s Clipper City Brewing Co., produced in Baltimore, MD. All of this is the brainchild of Hugh Sisson and Brewmaster Ernesto Igot. From their website:

After successfully lobbying the Maryland Legislature to legalize brewpubs, Hugh began brewing professionally in 1989 at his family’s Baltimore pub – Sisson’s – which was coincidentally Maryland’s first brewpub. In 1994 he left Sisson’s to found Clipper City and has been involved in all aspects of the business – brewing, finance, marketing, and sales.

Peg Leg is the Imperial Stout brewed by Heavy Seas, this special version sat in Buffalo Trace barrels for 7 years, then went to oak. Only 5 firkins were filled! This is easily the oldest beer I have ever had, and I was really looking forward to it.

Motor oil black pour with a creamy brownish head. The lacing is phenomenal. Lots of oak, bourbon, and some chocolate coming thru. It isn’t potent. Thick heavy chocolate, lots of bourbon, definitely some oak. Some molasses as well. The taste is complex, but very nicely mellowed. You can tell this has been around or a while. Quite possibly the thickest beer I’ve ever had. It almost feels like drinking melted chocolate. Thick creamy, low carbonation, hardly any booze the only alcohol tast is bourbon Wow this is a great beer. worth the trip out to Churchkey before the big world cup final!

Hoppin’ Frog is a small brewery created by Fred Karm, who has been a brewer of specialty beers since 1994. He is a life-long Akron, Ohio resident, and is a graduate of the University Of Akron. Which I won’t hold against him! This week we have the Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout. According to the website, B.O.R.I.S. is a Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout will crush you like no other, hence the name.

Pitch black pour with a really dark brown head. I only wish the head stuck around longer. A very thin ring remains after a few minutes. A pretty sweet smell overall. Bourbon and whiskey mixed in with chocolate. Smells like a heavy beer for sure. Perhaps some vanilla and definitely some alcohol underneath. My very first reaction from the taste is: Wow this is hot right now, needs some time. The chocolate comes out first and is obliterated by huge hits of bourbon, oak, vanilla, and a ton of booze. The finish is dark chocolate mixed with booze that last well into the next sip. Heavy body and a nice amount of carbonation. The drinkability, however, isn’t terribly high. Sweet and hot, not a great combination. Disappointed here. Would love to have one with a year or so on it, have to head back to the store!

Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, known prominently as Duvel, was founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat, who was descended from a family of brewers that lived in Steenhuffel, Belgium. Their Belgian Strong Pale Ale is one of the most recognized beers in the world. This is essentially a special edition brew, which creates a Belgian Style IPA that is strikingly similar to the Pale. Normally quite expensive and a rare find, I picked this up for a relatively good price and held onto it for a while before it simply looked too good to hold on to for any longer.

Brewed on 18 May 2010, best before 18 May 2013. Poured into my trusty Duvel Tulip, this beer pours extremely similarly to Duvel. A huge bubbly, thick, ice cream like head rises quickly from the pale yellow brew. It almost looks like champagne when you pour it. Bubbles race from the etched bottom of the glass. The smell is of piney sweet hops mixed with the familiar candied sugar and Belgian yeasty smells of Duvel and make this truly a unique smell. The hops are without a doubt the focus here. The taste is not as big as I thought it would be. The front is hoppy, but certainly not a hop bomb. The middle is very Belgian, much like a Tripel or Strong Pale. The end is a bit boozy. Crisp, refreshing, everything you need for a hot summer day. I got this at a decent price, $15, for which I say this beer is probably worth it. For the $30+ I saw it for, definitely not. A good beer indeed, but not $30 for 750ml good.

Foothills Brewing is a relatively small brewery located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They believe in fresh beer, and pour their beers directly from the serving tanks in glasses at their brewery. This week I got to try Sexual Chocolate, a season Russian Imperial Stout that is highly sought after.

The beer starts with a deep black pour with a large, foamy, brown head. The retention is phenomenal, leaving a thick cap atop the beer, readying the lips for the sexy, chocolately onslaught. Dark chocolate smell complete with molasses, hops, smoky tones, and some booziness. Chocolate and the smokiness start off the taste, followed by a similar sweetness to what I considered molasses in the smell. Huge roasty aftertaste. Some hops really balance it out well. Didn’t really get any coffee in the smell, but it is obviously apparent on the back end of this. A warming alcohol presence finishes the beer off. Heavy body with a slight creaminess. Carbonation seems a tad low though. A really good beer. The balance between the more harsh chocolate, hops, coffee, and alcohol provides for an evolving taste you will enjoy to the last drop.