Belmont Station Beer Forum: New Beer For Friday June 2, 2006

After a quiet week here at the Station I've got a nice load of new things to let everyone know about. Without further ado, here's the list:

Rogue - Dad's lil Helper Malt Liquor Instead of giving Dad a tie or a tie-tack on Fathers Day (June 18th), give Dad a gift he can really enjoy, a 22-ounce bottle of a new beer from Rogue. This is a malt-liquor unlike any malt liquor Dad has ever had, and its dedicated to Dads everywhere!
"This ain't your Dad's malt liquor" - Brewmaster John Maier

Eel River - Triple Exultation Old Ale This strong, dark ale should appeal to those who like Arrogant Bastard and other high octane beers. Notes of dark fruit and alcohol battle for supremacy of your tongue, while a generous hop addition adds lingering bitterness to the finish.

Eel River - Raven's Eye Imperial Stout I sampled one of these last night and enjoyed it quite a bit, but it was late in the evening and my descriptive powers had left me. Instead, here's a quote from DarkElf (Ratebeer.com) which sums it up quite well, "Oh wow, this is an amazing beer! Roasty, sweet, smoky, massive chocolate, seemingly some oatmeal, moderate alcohol, and through it all, just mildly bitter, so this is like dessert for me. In fact, it tastes like a huge foreign stout because the bitterness is in the background. The nose is sweet, roasty, chocolaty, and alcoholic. Medium to full bodied, not thick or syrupy, but quite substantial and coating on the palate. Very dark brown, almost black in color with subsurface carbonation bubbles clinging to the glass. Topped by a thin but creamy tan head that fully coats the glass with a curtain of lace."

Fox Barrel - Hard Apple Cider Fox Barrel's cider is drier than most "large-production" ciders, with a full, well-rounded apple flavor and gentle puckering sourness in the finish. It's far superior to most macro ciders, for roughly the same price.

Fox Barrel - Hard Pear Cider The "perry" from Fox Barrel has a juicy pear aroma that bursts from the glass and leads into a well balanced pear/apple flavor. The pear flavor is much more natural than most perrys and the dry slightly sour finish compliments the juicyness quite well.

Elysian - Avatar Jasmine IPA The always inventive Elysian Brewery pushes the envelope with this IPA flavored with jasmine flowers. Avatar starts with a fresh, floral jasmine aroma that proceeds to creamy malt undertones and a lingering pungent finish from the jasmine.

Westmalle - Tripel This isn't really a new beer, but it's now available in beautifully silk-screened, corked 750ml bottles which are perfect for cellaring. I don't know if these are going to be regularly available, but we have a couple cases to tide us over for a while. Get them while you can.