Mike Loves Beer

Name – Obovoid
Country – United States
Type – Russian Imperial Stout

April 1st.  The day people play countless jokes upon one and other.  I had a very nice idea for a joke to play but lack of planning will cause this to be used for a rainy day.  Instead I look at today as opening day for my beloved Phillies.

Roy Halladay takes the mount today at 1:05 pm in Citizen’s Bank Ballpark to take on the Astros as we phight to head back to the World Series.  And I expect nothing less than no hitters from both Halladay and Lee to open the season.  Is that too much to ask for?

But I guess on to the beer right?  So for today’s review here I have Obovoid.  It is an oak aged oatmeal stout according to the makers, Boulder Beer.  I had this one a couple years ago when my taste was not nearly what it is now.  I remember it being quite strong and struggling to get through it.  I doubt that will be the case now but let’s see.

The brew pours a pitch black color into my nonic pint glass.  A light brown or tannish head sites on top and leaves a bit of lacing as it slowly subsides.

The nose is full of oatmeal, mocha and cocoa.  There is slight scent of alcohol in the back but it’s not something that burns the nostrils.

Chocolate and coffee dominate the taste.  I get and ever so slight hoppy taste in the back.  And there is a bit of an oak presence.  It becomes more apparent when it warms up along with the alcohol.  And I must say the body on this is very thin and light.  I expected something heavier and more creamy since it is an oatmeal stout according to them.

Well I can definitely say I didn’t struggle through this bottle at all.  Oh what time can do to one’s taste buds.

While I thought the beer was full of flavor I was very let down by the body of the beer.  Typically the use of oats in a beer is to give it more body and this was super light.  It didn’t make it a bad beer.  It just made it less enjoyable.  I don’t know if this was a below standard batch or what.

If you have had this beer and thought it had a lot of body do let me know.  I will definitely try another bottle.

But until next time, go Phils!

Grade - B-

So after a very fun filled first day in Colorado we awoke bright and early at 5 am.  Our bodies were not adjusted to the time difference and it found us awake way earlier than we probably would have like.  I tried to fall back asleep the best I could but the sound of Ed typing away on his laptop pretty much put a damper on that idea.  I conceded defeat and showered up.

Our first stop of the day was a beer store at the lovely hour of 8 am.  Yes they were open.  Yes we did look like drunkards.  I have to say I have honestly never bought beer this early in the morning.  But after making our purchases we had still a bit of time to kill before our next scheduled event.

We found ourselves hungry and driving through Longmont.  We followed the signs to the downtown and historic district of Longmont and drove down Main Street.  As we drove one sign in particular caught our eye.  It said Winchell’s Donut House.

It was really cool to see a small, independently owned donut shop like this one over one of the bigger corporate stores.  It shows mom and pop shops can still survive.  The selection was impressive and they all looked delicious.  So we got some goodies and scarfed down before heading to the first brewery of the day. [...]

Name – Cold Hop
Country – United States
Type – English IPA

Appearance – Poured a clear amber color with a good sized white head that left some lacing.

Smell – Very different hoppy smell.  I can pick up grapefruits but it is also very earthy like grass and dirt as well.

Taste – That hop smell follows up in the taste as well bitter grapefruit and earthy tones with a grainy and yeast like taste in there at the end.

While at first I thought this beer was using Cascade hops in it but later found out the hops are actually from New Zealand and the Czech Republic.  Very different hop smells and tastes with these ones.  It would probably take me a few more to get use to but I believe I could end up liking this one.  Also apologies on the pictures.  I left my camera at home while at my parents and only had my phone to take the pictures.

Overall Grade – B