Did I mention that its BLACK?

There’s no foolin’, Dark Horse (Marshall, Michigan) named this beer properly. Reserve Special Black Bier Ale.

Its interesting in that they don’t actually consider it a stout. It could probably pass as one, though. Its dark, it has a pretty weighty mouthfeel. There’s a real roasty flavor to this beer, and a bitter chocolate malt flavor that hits you in the palate and doesn’t let up.

That said, after sipping on it for a while, you can tell that it doesn’t quite fit into the typical stout mold, and surely you know that everyone here at BeerandComics is okay with that.

Maybe its that it lacks the maltiness that usually comes with a stout, or that what sweetness there is from the malt is almost totally obscured by the dark, roasty flavors.

Maybe they just didn’t want to call it a stout. Who knows?

Either way, its really good for a cold day, and hey, 65º and rainy is cold for July, okay?

7/10

In honor of that, I would like to point out that you can see all of our Michigan Beer reviews here.

As part of Michigan Beer Month, I will also be reviewing a whole slew of Michigan beers. Some are new, some are old favorites, but all are made right here in our home state.

There are too many great breweries in this state, it almost isn’t fair. But if you’re just getting started, check out the following:
Bells Brewing.
Founder’s.
Arcadia Brewing Company.
Dark Horse.
Dragonmead.
Hopcat.
Kuhnhenn.
The Livery.
New Holland.
Shorts.
And that’s just naming a few favorites. There is all kind of great beer to be had in Michigan, so lets enjoy them. Cheers!

I guess in all fairness it wasn’t just the two of us. It was us, 43 Michigan breweries, and nearly 4000 other attendees. Somewhere in there we ran into some old friends, made some new ones, drank no fewer than 24 different varieties of beer, and loved every minute – except for the line for the toilets. That sucked.

I guess its worth mostly talking about the stuff we liked quite a lot, or at least what was very good. There were only a few serious disappointments, and for the sake of everyone involved, I’m going to avoid naming them for now.

(Oh, and that photo right there is Brian and I being sweet, waiting in line for our first beer of the day)

One of the beers we had towards the end of the day was from Short’s Brewing. By the time we got there, they were out of Soft Parade, which I was looking forward to trying again. We got to try their Black Cherry Porter, which I wasn’t impressed with. Maybe I was burnt out on beer by that point, but it didn’t make me want to drink it like I always want to drink, say, Huma-lupa-licious.

Original Gravity Brewing had the one beer that I had all day that was close to being really good, but didn’t quite do it for me. Guys: your Belgian Training Wheels needs some more body. That would have made it a fantastic, classic beer. Certainly drinkable, but not great. Maybe that was the point (as evidenced by the name), to give beginners something that’s highly palatable, while they’re working their way up. Either way, a little more malt and sweetness, and you would have had me.

At Founders we had Kentucky Breakfast Stout and Cerise. Both exactly what I expected, and both fantastic. Kentucky Breakfast will be out in a month or two, and if you like bourbon beers, its a must. The Cerise is replacing the Rubaeus as their Summer/fruit seasonal. Made with Michigan Cherries, it has a great sour cherry character to it, and will be a major part of my beer life when it comes out.

Another highlight was the 4 Elf Winter Warmer from Dark Horse. Dude, it was probably the best spiced winter ale I’ve ever had. I wish it got some distribution (’cause they DO bottle it), ’cause I would love to get my hands on some.

My second favorite brewery of the day was Arcadia. They had their Big Dick’s Old Ale bourbon-barrel aged, which they were calling Pappy’s Big Dick Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Ale. Its a mouthful, either way you look at it. Flavor-wise and name-wise. It was good for what it was, but the real gems at Arcadia’s booth were a bit lighter.

Their Sky-High Rye is amazing. They’re having a hard time keeping up with demand on it, so I haven’t seen a bottle of it yet, but I will be buying when I do. You should too.

They also had a Firkin of Hop Rocket Imperial IPA. Oh man. Three-day dry-hopped Hop Rocket? COUNT ME IN. It was really good. Maybe one of the best beers of the day.

They also had Rick Moranis at their booth.

Taking a break from beer reviews (and a breather before we get to the best brewery of the day), here’s some more of our photos.

Brian and I both love beards and beer – we keep no secret about this. Babe mannequins are also funny, especially when they have beer coming out of their chest. Which is why Rochester Mills gets the Best Booth of the day award from us:

We also managed to find Jeff, Brian’s old co-worker (and occasional B&C contributor). He’s a beer enthusiast, and so are his sister and her boyfriend. They’re awesome. Oh, and his sister special-ordered a case, yes a case, of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout. Seriously. Just emphasizing how awesome they are.

Okay, now its time! Best brewery of the day! Who is it? Who is it?!

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KUHNHENN BREWING COMPANY!

From their Bourbon Barrel Barleywine (very good!), to their Raspberry Isbock (great!), to their Tenacious Cassis Fruit Infused Old Ale (a currant Old Ale? Awesome!), it was all great.

Brian and I had to agree that the best beer of the day was without a doubt their American Extreme IPA. In a Firkin! Exclamation marks!

Seriously, this beer is amazing, and has without a doubt one of, if not THE best balance of malt and loads of hops I’ve had in a long time. Bittering, flavor and aromatic hops all coming together… oh man. I want to drink this all the time.

This lady poured it for me. Twice!

This is Brian’s “holy cow beer is sweeet” face.

This is Brian and I drinking our last beer of the day. We were way happier than we look in it. I promise.

Thanks to my manager at work for the tickets, thanks to our friends who shared beer with us, and most of all, thanks to all the brewers making not only the best beer in Michigan, but some of the best beer in the world.

Ian!

First up, I tried Founders Devil Dancer. It’s useless to point out that this has always been a fantastic beer because theres hardly a flaw in either of the two I’m comparing, but I must say, this is so astonishingly well balanced in my opinion. Upon completion, I ate some peanuts, some cheese, and drank a glass of water. I immediately poured the Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree after that. Here is what I noticed between the two.

Pour: Devil Dancer pours a thick copper/tan with extremely little head. Double Crooked Tree pours with a frothy finger thick head, and a lighter copper than the Devil Dancer. Appears to be less body to the beer as well. My theory is that the Devil Dancer basically topped out around 13% and when they force carbonated it, they left it light. Whereas with Double Crooked Tree (which finally pours without yeast!) was force carbonated, after fermentation, possibly in excess. It was not an enormous head, like a belgian, but surprising for an IIPA with as much Oomph.

Aroma: Both aromas are similarly hoppy. Its likely they used the same varieties, as those high AA hops are just not very common. The difference I noticed was that while double crooked tree was all hop and no play, the Devil Dancer rose up with some sweetness, and some serious alcohol. The intriguing thing about this is that the Double Crooked Tree is actually 0.6% higher. It is possible that the sheer abundance of hop aroma in the Double Crooked Tree masked the aroma of the alcohol.

Taste: Heaven. Greatest experiment ever. The Devil Dancer was glorious. It was bitter as hell, really hoppy, a bit malty sweet, with some residual alcohol. The Double Crooked Tree was all hop. It was really good, but I felt and continue to feel that it lacks the complexity and balance of the Devil Dancer.

In conclusion, the Devil Dancer pulls it out for the win. While there were certain improvements over last years Double Crooked Tree, it just can’t hold up to the Devil Dancer. If devil dancer is a true 9.5, Double Crooked Tree is a 9.3. I can’t naysay either of these beers, I can merely say I’ve enjoyed Devil Dancer more. They are both excellent representations of my favorite style.

1. Imperial IPAs/Imerial Rye IPAs
2. Diet Coke/Pepsi
3. Imperial Stout
4. Blue Monster
5. Quadrupels
6. Tripels
7. IPA
8. Stout
9. (big) Doppelbocks
10. Other Ales

This would make one realize why its no wonder I love double crooked tree so much.  SO much in fact, it warrants a full description.  First, be careful removing the cap.  That wax can be brutal.  I’ve definitely injured myself on more than one occasion in the rush to open one of these guys.  The pour, is a deep copper brown color.  Very little head, as can be expected with a 13.6% alc by volume.  But what little head there is, is a pleasant creamy white.  The smell is hops, hops, and more hops.  Good citrusy, piney scent.  Gotta love it.  While there is a tad bit of malt sweetness to the first taste, the real prevalence is an enormous amount of hops.  The taste just keeps going.  Somewhere, immediately after swallowing, you get a real taste of the malt, but its quickly lost to alcohol, and more hops.

Beer and comics needs to have an (I)IPA tasting soon…  Ian, lets make this happen.  I love IIPAs.

This gets a solid 8.5/10.  The real reason its not higher?  Its seasonal.  I want it all the time damn it!