Deschutes Brewery's Hop in the Dark CDA

   
     Yet another Cascadian dark ale.  Like I said, I can't get enough of this stuff.  I know I've had this one before, but I honest couldn't say too much about it at this point.  If I remember correctly, I just had a sample of it at their brewhouse in Bend, OR.  CDAs were still pretty new to me at the time.  I can definitely say now that I've had my fair share of beers in this style that I am incredibly excited to see how Deschutes handles it.
      First thing I have to say is that this has a huge aroma.  I just opened it, and I can already smell nothing but hops coming two feet from the bottle.  Pours a very, very dark color with almost no hue.  Got about a fingers worth of light brown head that seems to be sticking around.  As I mentioned, big nose.  Very sharp pine with a nice mix of citrus.  There is some roast and sweet malt coming through, but it's hardly worth mentioning.  Big orange zest; almost stings the nose a little bit.  Little bit of clean yeast notes.  Great aroma.
     Hits the tips of the tongue super sweet.  Definitely a very rich, strong caramel malt character.  Some burnt malt and roast shine through, but it is subtle.  Very, very minor ester and yeast notes; kind of blends with the subtle roast and really lets that sweet malt shine through.  This is 70 IBUs, and it is definitely a bit bitter.  Hop flavor is very piney and spicy.  It's quite heavy and really leaves a bit of tingle in the back of your mouth.  Some of the darker malt character sneaks up on the aftertaste.  Your mouth will be coasted with a very nice rich chocolate flavor.  Leaves the mouth very clean, which is surprising given how much this has to be dry hopped.  Little alcohol burn.  Pretty light body.  Medium carbonation.
     This one definitely ranks up there for me in this style.  I'm still liking HUB's Secession a lot, but I will be getting this one again for sure.  My main thing I would change on this one is that roast and malt character.  It's great in the aftertaste, but there is almost no roast buildup to the hops.  Regardless, fantastic stuff.  

Lagunitas Brewing Company's Imperial Stout

    
     Three dollars.  Three dollars for a 9.9% imperial stout.  I just can't get over that.  If this is half decent I think I'll have to run back and stock up on these.  I think this is my third Lagunitas review now, and I have to say that its starting to grow on me.  I had their IPA on draft the other night and it was definitely better than I remember.  Anyway, this thing is a beast; an original gravity of 1.092 and an IBU count of 72.45.  I'm really excited for this one.
     This one is about as dark as they come.  Can't really describe it much better than just black with a dark red hue.  Got about a finger of brown head when poured, and it drained by the time I finished this sentence, but that's to be expected.  Seems very well carbonated and fizzy. Aroma definitely isn't dominating on this one. Getting a strong worty character on the nose and some subtle roast.  Definitely some strong esters most comparative to a raisin.  Some hop presence as well, primarily pine and just a splash of spice. 
     Hits the tip of the tongue very hard with lively burnt malt.  It evolves into a very rich blend of coffee, chocolate, and fruity esters.  This is very carbonated and fizzes throughout your mouth.  Some spicy hop bitterness in the end, but even at 72.45 IBUs, they really just work to balance out such a huge beer.  You can taste some alcohol, but you'd never guess it was 9.9%.  Leaves a bit of a burn in the back of the throat.  Leaves a lingering raisin-like sweetness.  Pretty thick body.
     This one is pretty good, not great, but definitely an impressive brew given just how huge it is.  My biggest problem is that the flavor is mostly characterized by esters, which don't really do it for me in stouts.  Great job at alcohol masking and rich stout qualities, though.  At $3 dollars a bottle, this is definitely worth checking out. 

Lakefront Brewing Inc.'s India-Style Black Ale

    
     India-style black ale?  Black IPA?  Cascadian dark ale?  Personally, I like Cascadian dark ale and would like to see the name become disassociated with IPA.  It may be well-hopped, but the malt and hops are not traditional of an IPA at all.  It really is a unique style that deserve better recognition.  Regardless, I can't get enough of this stuff.  Whenever my eyes are scanning the beers at the local shop, I've immediately made my decision as soon as I see the CDA.  Never had anything from this brewery before, but I'm excited to see what this has to offer.
     Most beers in this style aren't incredibly dark, but this one is definitely a shade of black with a very small red hue.  Seems to be decently carbonated, got about a finger of brownish head when poured.  Seems to have some decent retention as well.  Heavy pine hops on the nose.  Their website claims this is made with Zeus and Cascade hops, but it really smells like it was dry hopped with a heavier pine variety like Simcoe.  A little yeasty, too.  Little bit of citrus as well, but nothing too overwhelming.  The citrus actually blends well with subtle notes of roast and sweet malt.
     Super sweet on the tip of the tongue.  Quickly evolves into a roast character with some undertones of esters.  Little bit of astringency in their as well.  Not too bitter, but some spice and citrus definitely shine through.  Leaves a bit of alcohol burn in your throat and the back of the mouth.  Coffee-like roast will linger on your tongue for a bit after each drink.  A medium body and pretty easy to drink.
     Not one of the better CDAs I've had, but still an impressive brew all around.  I didn't mention it before, but it is actually a rather pretty beer; the head is very frothy and uniform.  I think this would benefit from being a bit more bitter and maybe cutting back on the darker malts. 

Cascade Lakes Brewing Comapny's 20" Brown Ale

  
     "Named after the enormous Brown Trout found in Northwest streams, this beer lives up to the legend".   A friend left one of these in the fridge the other night, and he told me to have at.  I've picked up a six pack of this a couple times when the price was right, and I remember being pretty impressed.  Let's see what it has to offer.
     It pours a blood orange color with very little head and doesn't look to be very carbonated.  Very hazy.  Huge malt sweetness on the nose.  Heavy caramel, some dark fruit, and estery.  Little spice from hops, very clean on the nose, crisp.  Tons of malt here; getting some biscuit, some breadiness, and some toastiness.  Very well-rounded aroma.
     Hits the tip of the tongue super sweet and caramely.  Some very noticeable fruitiness at the midpoint.  Finishes with a decent presence of herbal hop flavor, fairly bitter as well.  Definitely leaves a strong coating in the mouth.  Some very pleasant toast and bread flavor stick around.  Medium body, very smooth and seassionable.
     All in all, this is probably the best beer I've had from Cascade Lakes.  It's one of those beers that's delicious and too easy to just burn through a six-pack without realizing it.  The fruitiness would be my primary criticism, but given that it's very sharp and tart, it works well enough.

Lagunitas Brewing Company's Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Strong Ale

     
     Figured this would be a good one to review since I haven't done any big alcohol ales yet.  This is a big boy at 9.87% alc/vol and 72.41 IBUs.  My opinion on Lagunitas seems to fluctuate quite a bit, and I'm very excited to dive into this one. 
     It pours a very pretty reddish orange and I can already tell that the aroma is very strong from sitting about 18 inches away.  It's a little hazy and has produced no head whatsoever, both of which are to be expected with this style.  Huge citrus hop aroma, which you really don't see on a lot of strong ales.  Definitely some pine and bit of spice in there as well.  Very sharp, pungent bouquet.  Definitely has a lot of characteristics of an IIPA.  Getting some alcohol in the nose, but not too noticeable given the actual numbers.  Faints hints of sweetness.
     Starts out a bit syrupy on the tip of the tongue and becomes rather intense very quickly. Malt flavor here is very sharp. Pretty sweet and toasted at about the midpoint. Not a crazy amount of hop flavor, but what is there is a tad floral, spicy, and citrusy.  What really takes the cake is just intense hop bitterness/astringency and alcohol burn.  Your mouth will definitely sizzle for a bit after each drink.    Aside from the alcohol burn, you don't really see it in the flavor profile.   The body is medium and carbonation isn't too crazy.
     This is a very interesting beer.  Lagunitas jokingly  lists it on their website as an "imperial mild" and it doesn't actually say that it's a strong ale anywhere on the label.  It definitely doesn't share a lot of the characteristics of a strong ale, such as high esters and balanced hops.  Regardless, it's a tasty brew.  I always love beers that are offensively bitter, and this is definitely one intense ride.