Moylander Double IPA

This was the second beer I got to enjoy on my birthday weekend. My wife, amazing as she is, never ceases to amaze me. My weekend started with lots of surprise hints, handmade cards, flowers, and a special birthday meal. Friday was followed by Saturday with more amazing cards, a great healthy birthday lunch, beer at The Twisted Vine in Fullerton, and then new shoes from the Nike outlet. What could be better? She is awesome.

The first beer was the Ten Fidy Stout from Oskar Blues. Henceforth known as Carbonated Soy Sauce. The second beer was bought for me by another patron of the Twisted Vine. The bartender described this IPA as the most bitter beer he has ever had which intrigued both myself and the guy who bought it for us to split. Verdict? Not as bitter as Green Flash's West Coast IPA.

Though this came in a close second to West Coast it was only 90 IBU's. I really enjoyed it. The evolution of the beer as it warmed was interesting as it started our fairly well balanced, though hop forward and progressed to tongue numbing bitter pine.

The aroma was definitely nuclear pine cone. Citrus was nowhere to be found as this beer's mission was to strip taste buds and wreak havoc on any food someone might think about eating afterward. This is an extreme imperial and unlike the Imperials I've been enjoying of late that have been bitter but balanced. This still had the weighty body I like but malt was an afterthought in this one. Moylan's website says that it's there but I don't believe them.

If you want big, bold, and bitter this one is for you. Enjoyable.

Moylan's Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale

My top three styles would have to be Double IPA, Belgian strong ale, and Scotch Ale in no particular order.
They all have very unique characteristics and are very different from each other. 

The vegan was over the other night and she had brought some beers over, an IPA and a DIPA. I thought it would be fun to see if she could figure out what I had poured her. I've got a representative of nearly every style in my fridge right now so it wasn't THAT easy.

First guess, porter. Not a bad guess. It has that toasted character from the smoked peat that a lot of Scotch ales have. I told her to look at the color. Too amber for a porter.

Second guess. Well, there wasn't a second guess but she couldn't figure it out so I told her.

This beer is a BIG beer. Double Scotch ale? 8% ABV and thick. I'd call this one chewy which is a big reason I really liked it. I love beers with body. Too thin is not the way to go. The aroma on this one had a HUGE malt profile, a little spice, a little smoke, and a little BBQ.

The taste had that malt profile screaming sweet while there were enough bittering hops to tone it down. Finally, there was that touch of smoke and Scotch on the back end to remind you of this beer's roots.

Good Beer.