A Year of Craft Beer, Vol. 48, Sixpoint Diesel

Not knowing it while publishing this post, I realized that I just did a comparison of an ancient beer style with a relatively new beer style from the same brewer and both were extremely good.  In this comparison, I think I would choose the ancient.  What would you choose?

I am so very glad that this beer (Diesel) isn't as ugly as it's can and the "prose" on the back.  Please work on that!  I've seen 1980's adverts that were more attractive.  70's even.  The prose makes an environmentalist want to vomit as it paints a picture of a beautiful forest morning with the sun rising on dewy limbs that suddenly snap under the sound of diesel.  Although not condoning the act of planetary destruction and probably wanting to make it look ugly to educate on such travesties, I would hope, it wasn't something that I wanted to think about before trying this nectar for the first time.

Earlier in the day, with my close friend who has dubbed me "Hooper" (from Jaws) as my new nickname,  I had a Sixpoint Goser the Gozerian at brunch at the Grey Lodge.  See Below:

Gose (gose-uh) is an ancient beer from a region in Germany called Goslar whose aquifers are high in mineral salts making a nice medicinal mineral water.  Gose is brewed and fermented with such water and a mix of yeast, lactic bacteria (sour flavor producing), coriander, and hops.

What I remember from the drink was not sour at all.  If so, it was VERY palatable with a base of sweet candy malts and hints of fruit and spice.  Hazy and creamy with a lasting head of fine bubbles with an extremely mild hoppy finish.  Truly an exquisite beer that I would believe to be a world class beer.  I would like to review this beer for real if given the chance and I'm sure would get 10 out of 10.  I'm not sure how to judge sours though, and it may not favor points in the sour arena.

Diesel on the other hand...

Diesel is an American Stout which fall into the realm of using chocoalate or coffee adjuncts along with a variety of different hops and amounts.

The can, NOT homebrew friendly! Ugly as all get out.  It looks like a collection of terrible tattoos.  

The beer pours a clear black/brown with a one finger brown head of fine bubbles that fade to a thick ring around the glass and a Friar Tuck cap in the center with beautiful "cracked-desert" lacing that sticks to the glass rather beautifully.

It has aromas of DARRRK roasted malts, green forest, floral hops and bread.  It's damn nice. 

She starts off with caramel chocolate malty sweetness and works her way towards very dark roasted malts accompanied by the bittering hops tempered by the creamy head and light herbal notes.  It's actually very well balanced until the very end where in between sips you are eating desert sands and coughing saw dust leaving you panting "MoRe!   mORe!"

The mouthfeel is creamy yet dry especially from the middle of the sip on.  The carbonation is moderately lively giving this almost an IPA mouthfeel.  It's really cool!

I wonder what hops were used in this brew.  Does anyone know?

As Stouts go, in general,  including all versions of stouts, this would be a good stout getting a score of 8 or higher, but in the class of American Stouts, I would say the score is probably higher.  It's a bit dry for my taste and my personal opinion commonly figuring in to about 10% of my ratings I will have to give this a 9 out of 10.  This being said, If I were professionally scoring this beer my rating might be higher.  But I'm a beginner, really, still struggling with distinguishing what flavors and aromas are what.

This is truly a good beer and is very high on my rating as a 9 out of 10!

Well Done!

-Hooper