New Beer Friday 9/21/12

 RedRock Brewing has had a lot of luck with their Nut Brown Ale. I believe it is their most notable beer, winning dozens of awards over the last decade. Beer Yogi, Kevin Templin hopes lightening strikes twice with their newest release, Bobcat Brown Ale. It still has the same great malty/nutty profile with a bit more alcohol and hop smack.

The nose is roasty and nutty with notes of coffee and chocolate. It has a nice, roasted, nutty flavor that exhibits good balance with the abundant piny hop notes. There are notes of toffee and coffee in the end as well. It's very satisfying and drinkable with a soft medium body and dry finish. Very nice get some before it's gone.

The next beer has been around for a few weeks, but unless you've made it up to Snowbird's Oktoberfest you may not have tried it. Bohemian Brewing's Oktoberfest Bier is session marzen that has all the flavor of a tradition oktoberfest packed into a 4% package. The nose contains caramelized malts, fruit, some grassy hops and spices. The taste starts out sweet with flavors of fruit and caramel. Then some breadiness comes in from a hearty malt character and lager yeast. The hops presence is mild but brings some balance. Another excellent lager from Bohemian!

Now we have Fresh Cask Friday! Last month Hopper's Brewmaster and Secret Agent, Donovan Steele introduced us to his new cask program. Every month he'll take one of his beers,  alter it slightly - two different ways and present it to you for your impressions.

This month Donovan has selected his Madame X Stout. Both firkins (casks) have French Oak. One with Ethiopian Coffee added and the other with roasted Ghana Cacao nibs. Both will be tapped at 5pm today, so people can try them side-by-side or blend the two if desired. These cask beers are only available until they run dry. I seriously doubt they'll last past 10pm.

Prost!