Mammoth Brewing - Devil's Post Pale Ale

From Mammoth's website:

Sometimes good things take a little extra effort. For this beer we used volcanic rock, heated them up over a lunchtime grill and used those rocks to help with the boiling process. The result (apart from lots of steam) was the creation of caramelized sugars which give this ale its unique flavor. This beer was made in honor of a local geologic wonder, the Devils Postpile, which just celebrated its 100th year as a National Monument.

Pale Ale, 7.5% ABV

Appearance: Cloudy orange-amber, thick head but not a lot of retention.

Smell: The nose is very floral, with a sweet undertone from the malt. There's also a bit of dankness to the smell, like marijuana.

Taste: Floral hops also dominate the taste, with some nice citrus and residual bitterness. This is a pale ale that definitely drinks like an IPA! The malt backbone is pretty understated, but it offers a nice roasted, caramel flavor. Given how old this bottle is, I can only imagine how hoppy this would have tasted fresh!

Mouthfeel: Pretty full-bodied with a sweet finish.

Overall: This was bottled in July 2011, so I'm drinking it almost certainly past its prime, which is too bad. Altogether, this seems like a pretty solid beer, and I was fascinated by the process involving volcanic rock. The Devil's Postpile is really a beautiful sight and this was a nice homage.

3/5 based purely on what I had, since I can't score a speculation, but this score should absolutely be taken with a grain of salt due to the old bottle.

Dogfish Head - Chicory Stout

Stout, 5.2% ABV
I grabbed this in a 4-pack from Red Carpet sometime in January. It was a winter release but it didn't stick around that long after it made it to shelves.

Appearance: Dark brown/black with a hint of red, not completely opaque. The head pours out to about 1-2 fingers and is retained pretty well, and there is a good amount of lacing left behind on the glass.

Smell: It smells very roasty -- notes of coffee, chocolate, and tobacco come through. There is a bit of a woody quality that is not quite oak or cedar, but it's nice.

Taste: Much as in the smell, the roasted malt warms the palate. Chocolate and smoked wood are dominant here, but coffee notes are present as well. There is slight warmth from the alcohol, but it's very subtle.

Mouthfeel: The body is great: full and robust. The finish is a little sticky, but still more dry than I would have expected.

Overall: A nice, drinkable stout! Despite the full body, it's not overpowering, and in fact it's very drinkable. I would absolutely buy this again. People who are exclusively into really big stouts probably won't appreciate this, but I found it to be a pretty tasty and solid beer.

3.5/5

Heretic - Evil Twin

American Amber/Red Ale, 6.8% ABV
Heretic brews Evil Twin year-round, but they just started releasing bottles within the last few months. The brewery is located in Northern California, but we see it down here in LA periodically when they release new batches. I grabbed this and other Heretic brews at Red Carpet.

Appearance: Heretic is very dark reddish brown with a pretty decent head that rises about 2-3 fingers. The color is really kind of special in person -- it catches the light very nicely and gleams red.When the head recedes, there is minimal retention but great lacing on the sides of the glass.

Smell: Caramel malt backs resiny hops and there is a bit of tropical fruit character as well. A bit of heat from alcohol also rises to the nose.

Taste: More mango, grapefruit, and pine, definitely with some heat from the alcohol kicking in and informing the body. The malt character is also present and adds the taste of sweet bread.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied, with a slightly sticky finish. The carbonation is nice and balanced.

Overall: This is a beer with bold flavors that is actually ultimately pretty drinkable. Though I'm overall not a huge fan of ambers, this one was balanced slightly in favor of hops relative to a lot of other ambers, so I liked it better than most. Another solid offering from Heretic, though (for obvious reasons) I prefer the Evil Cousin, the DIPA. There will probably be a review of that coming up...

3.5/5