Beer of the Weekend #213: Fade to Black, Volume 2
Though unplanned, the weekend in beer is officially Rocky Mountain high. Tonight I am sampling yet another brew from The Centennial State, my birth state: Colorado.
Beer is big business in Colorado. Case in point: the Wikipedia page titled “Colorado breweries.” Colorado is home to a total of 92 breweries, earning it the number six ranking in the number of microbreweries per capita. The capital city, Denver, ranks first in the nation in beer production per capita and second in the number of breweries. Denver is also the annual host of the Great American Beer Festival. Maybe I should go this year.
What can I say? What my state of residence lacks my birth state provides.
The beer of the weekend is Fade to Black, Volume 2, brewed by the Left Hand Brewing Company of Longmont, Colorado.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. The “BOTTLED ON” date printed on the label is “120810.”
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. Only a half finger of creamy, tan head developed. The color is an opaque black; no light passed through when I held it to my lamp.
Smell: Creamy, roasted dark chocolate and coffee. Except for maybe a hint of smokiness, and a little dark fruit cherry, it smells a lot like oatmeal stout.
Taste: Mmm. The mouthfeel is very smooth and the smokiness is much more prominent than it is in the aroma. It has a charred flavor that masks just about everything else for the first couple sips. Roasted dark chocolate and coffee emerge after the palate becomes accustomed to the smokiness. The alcohol is completely hidden, and each sip leaves a burnt bitterness lingering in the back of the mouth.
Drinkability: It is a very easy drinking and tasty brew. Basically, it is smoky oatmeal stout. High quality.
Fun facts about FBV2:
-Style: Left Hand calls it a Smoked Baltic Porter and BA classifies it as Baltic Porter:
-Price: $9.99/sixer at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 50-55ºF.
-Alcohol content: 7.8 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbecue, earthy cheeses (Camembert, Fontina), beef, smoked meat, game meat, and grilled meat.
-IBU: 35.
-Gravity: 18º Plato.
-Fade to Black, Volume 1 is a Foreign Stout and a seasonal release just like Volume 2. Why not give them different names? I have no clue.
-However, I will applaud the homage to Metallica.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
Beer is big business in Colorado. Case in point: the Wikipedia page titled “Colorado breweries.” Colorado is home to a total of 92 breweries, earning it the number six ranking in the number of microbreweries per capita. The capital city, Denver, ranks first in the nation in beer production per capita and second in the number of breweries. Denver is also the annual host of the Great American Beer Festival. Maybe I should go this year.
What can I say? What my state of residence lacks my birth state provides.
The beer of the weekend is Fade to Black, Volume 2, brewed by the Left Hand Brewing Company of Longmont, Colorado.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. The “BOTTLED ON” date printed on the label is “120810.”
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. Only a half finger of creamy, tan head developed. The color is an opaque black; no light passed through when I held it to my lamp.
Smell: Creamy, roasted dark chocolate and coffee. Except for maybe a hint of smokiness, and a little dark fruit cherry, it smells a lot like oatmeal stout.
Taste: Mmm. The mouthfeel is very smooth and the smokiness is much more prominent than it is in the aroma. It has a charred flavor that masks just about everything else for the first couple sips. Roasted dark chocolate and coffee emerge after the palate becomes accustomed to the smokiness. The alcohol is completely hidden, and each sip leaves a burnt bitterness lingering in the back of the mouth.
Drinkability: It is a very easy drinking and tasty brew. Basically, it is smoky oatmeal stout. High quality.
Fun facts about FBV2:
-Style: Left Hand calls it a Smoked Baltic Porter and BA classifies it as Baltic Porter:
Porters of the late 1700’s were quite strong compared to today’s standards, easily surpassing 7% alcohol by volume. Some brewers made a stronger, more robust version, to be shipped across the North Sea, dubbed a Baltic Porter. In general, the style’s dark brown color covered up cloudiness and the smoky/roasted brown malts and bitter tastes masked brewing imperfections. The addition of stale ale also lent a pleasant acidic flavor to the style, which made it quite popular. These issues were quite important given that most breweries were getting away from pub brewing and opening up breweries that could ship beer across the world.
-Price: $9.99/sixer at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 50-55ºF.
-Alcohol content: 7.8 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends barbecue, earthy cheeses (Camembert, Fontina), beef, smoked meat, game meat, and grilled meat.
-IBU: 35.
-Gravity: 18º Plato.
-Fade to Black, Volume 1 is a Foreign Stout and a seasonal release just like Volume 2. Why not give them different names? I have no clue.
-However, I will applaud the homage to Metallica.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
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