A look back at the beautiful darkness of stout month

Tomorrow we will review our first spring seasonal beer, but before we do that we have to get to the unfinished business that is recapping the wonderful dark spectacle that was February Stout month.

The survivors of stout month.

Stouts we reviewed on the blog

Satin Solstice Imperial Stout

Port City One

Ceylon Lion Stout

Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout

Lake Louie Milk Stout

Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout

Sand Creek Oscar’s Chocolate Oatmeal Stout

Oakshire Overcast Espresso Stout

Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout

Stouts we discussed on the JGF beercast
Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout (recommended)

Lancaster Milk Stout (recommended)

Stouts I didn’t write or talk about but enjoyed on Untappd

Saranac Vanilla Stout – 4 caps

Avery Out of Bounds Stout – 3 caps

Terrapin Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout – 4 caps

Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat – 3 caps

Flying Dog Kujo Imperial Coffee Stout – 4 caps

DuClaw Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout – 3 caps

Mendocino Oatmeal Stout – 3 caps

Schlafly Irish-Style Extra Stout – 4 caps

Oskar Blues Ten FIDY – 4 caps

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout – 4 caps

Southern Tier 2X Stout – 4 caps

Bell’s Java Stout – 4 caps

Young’s Double Chocolate Stout – 3 caps

Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout – 4 caps

COAST Bull’s Bay Oyster Stout – 3 caps

Westbrook Mexican Coffee Cake Imperial Stout – 4 caps

Founders Imperial Stout – 4 caps

Top of the charts!
Port City One
Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout

Westbrook Mexican Coffee Cake Imperial Stout

Pleasant surprises
Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
Schlafly Irish-Style Extra Stout

Ceylon Lion Stout

Mild disappointments
DuClaw Naked Fish Chocolate Raspberry Stout

Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat

Stouts available but remained untasted.
More than I want to list out right now, so I took a picture instead. (See above.) As you can see there was still a lot of gas left in the tank. Some of these will be shelved away for next year. Others will be drank over the next few weeks. 

If you were drinking stouts over February which ones hit the spot for you? Which ones fell short? Which ones would you recommend to others? Let us know in the comments!

2012 Winter Warmer Recap & bonus review!

It is the end of winter warmer month here on Jolly Good Fellows. Something new we wanted to do was recap the winter warmers we reviewed, discussed, and drank over the last 31 days.

The last bottle, read the review below.

Beer we reviewed on the blog

RJ Rockers First Snow 

St. George Winter Scotch Ale

Saranac Big Moose Ale

Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Heavy Seas Winter Storm Category 5 Ale

Winter warmers we discussed on the JGF beercast

Great Divide Hibernation Ale (Recommended)

Full Sail Wassail (Recommended)

Widmer Brothers Barrel Aged BrrrBon ‘11 (Recommended)

Winter Warmers we didn’t write or talk about but enjoyed on Untappd

North Coast Old Stock Ale 2011 – 4 stars

New Holland Cabin Fever Brown Ale – 3 stars

Magic Hat Howl – 3 stars

Schlafly Winter ESB – 3 stars

Smuttynose Winter Ale – 3 stars

New Belgium Snow Day – 4 stars

New Glarus Snowshoe Red Ale – 4 stars

Long Trail Hibernator – 3 stars

Samuel Adams Winter Lager – 2 stars

Top of the charts

Great Divide Hibernation Ale

North Coast Old Stock Ale 2011

Pleasant surprises

Heavy Seas Winter Storm Category 5 Ale

Schlafly Winter ESB

New Belgium Snow Day

Mild disappointments

Samuel Adams Winter Lager

RJ Rockers First Snow Ale

One final bonus winter warmer review, while I’m writing this I am drinking my last bottle of New Glarus Snowshoe Ale. I don’t believe New Glarus brewed any of this during the last year and I am not sure when or if they will again. (Somebody correct me if I am mistaken.) The Snowshoe Ale is a well crafted quality beer.

This particular bottle was originally purchased back in May 2011. It poured a clear coppery, amber color, with a small head. On the drink it has a very malty presence with minimal carbonation. The malt stays with you into the aftertaste but clears pretty quickly.

While labeled as an Irish amber ale it shares a lot of similarities to the winter warmers that have been covered over the last month. The alcohol comes in at 5.7% ABV, not as heavy as you would expect but that is in no way a detriment. While it has some hop to it, if you come to this beer expecting a more hopped American red ale you may leave disappointed.

Here is the "party line" on this beer. 

Settle in with Wisconsin’s Snowshoe Ale. This beer is brewed with a blend of American and German malts. A complicated decoction mash process ensures a rich malty flavor. We also infuse generous amounts of Yakima Golding and Bavarian Hallertau Hops to add a special note of warmth for your winter evening’s enjoyment.

Expect this beer to be a beautiful copper-red, with a fruity ale body and a spiced hop finish. Then sit back and rejoice in the season because it’s these Wisconsin winters that keep the whiners out. 

So there you go, we end winter warmer month with a bit of regret, but remember beer is meant to be drank and enjoyed and on that front I am pretty satisfied.

Let us know what winter warmers were your standouts, surprises, and mild disappointments down in the comments!