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Let’s go Abyss Gazing! My friend Nietzsche says it’s all the rage!

“We invite you to fall into the depth of The Abyss and discover why this dark and mysterious imperial stout is ranked the Fifth Best Beer on Planet Earth by BeerAdvocate.com. Far from an empty void, this abyss is filled with the complexity of brewers’ licorice and black strap molasses. “Dry hopping” with vanilla beans and cherry bark, aging in bourbon, Oregon oak and pinot barrels… and further into the chasm we go. “

When Deschutes Brewing (www.deschutesbrewery.com) extends an invitation like that, in reference to what Beer Advocate (www.beeradvocate.com) considers the fifth best beer in the world, you have to accept. Licorice? Molasses? Vanilla beans, cherry bark? All aging in boubon, oregon oak and pinot barrels?! Who could resist? I can’t.

The Boy and I first tried the Abyss on tap at Naja’s Place (www.najasplace.com) a few years back and immediately fell in love with it. We’ve snatched it up every chance we could. The 2009 release made it into the Boy’s Christmas Stocking the Christmas before last and is currently aging in the closet.

So this year the Boy and I found the 2010 Abyss on a night I had to work, New Years Eve. He grabbed two declaring he’d drink one to break in the New Year while I worked the night shift…and the other he would age. Not liking that game plan, I grabbed my own dammit. I do not miss out on the Abyss!

So he had his that night, a second was stashed to age and mine was put in the fridge to await my whim.

Well, let it be known I am whimsical and drank that taunting monster of a beer!

…The Abyss is appropriately named.  It pours pitch black, The soul sucking bottomless pit black that I’ve come to associate with the Boy’s malformed heart.  If only that malformed heart smelled so sweetly of chocolate!  The slight bourbon booziness does however remind me of the Boys liver!

Some girls want strawberries covered in dark chocolate fed to them….While that is delightful and I would never turn down such an offer, I think I’d prefer to have the Abyss poured down my throat (Does that sound dirty to anyone else?).  Dark Chocolate, Cherries, rich toasty malts, vanilla oakiness.  Yes, pour this down my throat for some foreplay with it’s 11 % ABV It’s much more likely to get you laid than some freakin’ Strawberries…

…though lets have the strawberries too.  I’m greedy like that.

(P.S. If the Abyss gazes back, all it got to see was the inside of my stomach…not my most flattering side I assure you.)

This Review has been kidnapped by www.dailybeerreview.com. I recommend going over there and reading the poor little hostage and book marking the page for some additional fun beer reading!

When people ask me if I make money doing this I generally just laugh and talk about the “some day’s”.  I don’t know exactly how to make money on this.  Advertisers?  Sponsors?  Landing a sweet beer writing gig?  I do this because I enjoy it, I enjoy being in the beer community, imbibing and making new friends.

That isn’t to say there aren’t perks to this job.  The Boy told you guys the other night, in his Grand Teton Brewing Persuit of Hoppiness Post (here), that Grand Teton Brewing (www.grandtetonbrewing.com)  sent me a sample of their Newest Cellar Reserve Persephone Pils.

I have a strong affinity for Grand Teton Beers, every time I see a new one I have to grab it.  The proof is in the amount of reviews I’ve done on their beers (here). They consistently create really yummy beer. It’s a fun mix of original concepts, classic styles all well executed.

So it’s with great pleasure that I bring you Persephone Pils. An Imperial Pilsner.

For those of you not familiar with Greek Mythology, Persephone Is the daughter of Zeus (king of the Greek Gods) and Demeter (the Earth Goddess). She was abducted by Hades and taken to the underworld and in her grief Demeter turned the earth cold and barren. Zeus getting tired of the chill and the increasing fatality rate of mortals, ordered Hades to return Persephone, but due to some tricky Pomegranate seeds Persephone must return to Hades for part of the year.  Thus we have our seasons according to the Greeks.

This beer is in honor of Persephone’s return and the return of Spring.

From the Press Release and the Webpage I give you the following:

“Persephone (pur-seff-uh-knee) Imperial Pilsner was brewed with one foot in the past and one in the present. We started by creating this beer in the German style, an offshoot of the original pilsner that features German noble hops and a lighter, crisper body than its Czech counterpart. We used a blend of domestic Idaho 2-row barley and imported German malts as well as German Hersbrucker hops for flavor and aroma. We then took a leap forward by making this brew twice the strength of a traditional pilsner, with a big hop flavor to match. After fermentation using a German lager strain, we conditioned this brew for two months at freezing temperatures. This maturation process is known as lagering (from the German meaning “to store”) and the process lends its name to the broad category of beer known as lager. This long lagering period is essential to create the smooth and well-rounded flavor expected from a pilsner. We present this beer in the German kellerbier tradition, where beer is brought to the consumer without filtration or pasteurization, and recommend serving it at 40 degrees in a traditional pilsner glass.” – www.grandtetonbrewing.com

This is what you’d want from a spring beer (and yes I know it’s winter now, but winter doesn’t last forever!), the Boy summed it up immediately with “Wow, cleansing” and it is.  Now, I don’t have much history with Pilsners, I’ve only had a handful, that said, this one wins.

This poured the perfect yellow.  Why yes it is yellow and fizzy, but it isn’t THAT beer!  This is what THOSE beers aspire to!  When I read the press release and saw mint mentioned, I was nervous, but it’s there in a very subtle and earthy way that doesn’t overpower the grassy bitterness.  I know at 8.76% ABV this is an imperial of the style, but this should be the style standard.  It’s big, bold, and tasty, which isn’t something I’m use to associating with the pilsner style.

The Release date is January 29th at their Pub in Victor, Idaho.   Keep your eyes peeled for the most recent addition to the Cellar Reserve Series to hit shelves a bit after the pub release.

Indulgence.

Ahhhhh, the very word is the bane of a dieting beer girl!

…unless of course it’s the name of a beer and you are allowed one beer a day and then it’s ironic and fun!

Indulgence by White Birch Brewing (www.whitebirchbrewing.com) was obtained in a beer trade with Alec (Here) who I met on Twitter. When planning our trade we each picked out core beers we knew we wanted and let each other fill in the rest of the package. This way we’d get to try each others favorites, explore breweries and beers whose hype might not have made it to our coasts.

White Birch Brewing started in June 2009 with an operation it describes as a Nano Brewery due to the very small 15-20 Gallon batches being produced.  Since then they’ve upgraded to a seven barrel system, still not very large.

As if to testify to these small batches my Bottle of Indulgence advises me it is Batch 3 and Bottle 324 of 442.

Another fun thing on the bottle is that they suggest it be “served at 50-55° in your favorite glass”.

I like the glass suggestion!

This poured in a way that reminded me very much of Odin’s Tippel ( Here). Deep dark brown with a head that was two fingers (I have small fingers) of fluffy latte colored head. It’s clearly a beer that means to make an impression and the aroma of chocolate coupled with a 9.2% ABV certainly do.  White Birch Brewing calls this a black ale, though it’s not quite black.  It’s close enough for me.

I love dark chocolate and this is a dark chocolate beer.  Dark chocolate, roasted malts, a smooth easy mouth feel, there is a tiny bit of dark fruit, makes me think of plums you get when they’re just a touch under ripe, yummy but slightly tart.

A very good surprise in the beer trades, can’t wait to crack open some of the others!