Broken Clock That Salty Quaker Sea Salt and Caramel Oatmeal Stout

Broken Clock That Salty Quaker Sea Salt and Caramel Oatmeal Stout.

6.8% ABV, 30 IBU. Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative, Minneapolis, MN. 

The label illustration riffs on the Morton's salt label, combined with Quaker Oats. Clever, I get it... except that  I can't get what's raining on him (caramels?) or what he's holding (some kind of salt shaker?)...

Thoroughly black, completely opaque, slim brownish head. 

In the nose: Dark malts, caramel, smooth and creamy. Picking up the salted caramel. 

In the mouth: Seas salt is foremost on the palate as we kick it off. And it hangs in there for a long spell. Caramel is just beneath it. We get some of the roast of an oatmeal stout, but the salt is dominant. Medium bodied, long, malty finish, easily consumable, but...this time, there's a but...it doesn't deliver the delights of an oatmeal stout, strays too far from caramel flavors, too taken over by the salt. I get what they were trying to do, but it doesn't work. 

Ah, well, win some, lose some. 

This Oatmeal stout has a generous amounts of flaked oats and caramel malt. Has chocolate, caramel, and burnt toffee flavor and aroma. Salt added to the boil adds an interesting twist to the finish.

Oliphant Brewing's 2spacedout 2facedtrout

Oliphant Brewing's 2phasedout 2facedtrout.
Peach, mango & jalapeño sour w/ lactose, vanilla, & sea salt.
 5 % ABV.
Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Clear, yellowish, slim white head.

In the nose: Tart from the start, with spice and salt showing first, and fruit slowly unfolding. Sweetness of mango & peach softly billowing out.

In the mouth: Once again, the salt lands first on the palate, with the fruit flavors fast on the heels. Jalapeños, one of my most-hated legumes, isn't showing itself yet, which I'm perfectly fine with. No, wait, there's a trickle, just a touch. With each sip, the sweet, juicy flavors of the fruits comes first, and are dried out by the salt and the pepper. Lactose adds a creamy touch. I like it.

More and more, it seems that these guys have really got a handle on the fruited sour thing.

I suggest that when you drink this beer that you listen to this song:

Special bonus points if you can figure out why I picked this track.

Oliphant 2HI2SpY Grapefruit Sour with sea salt and lactose

Oliphant 2HI2SpY Grapefruit Sour with sea salt and lactose.
5 % ABV. Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Clear, bright golden color, large, lasting, lace-leaving ivory head, sure to drift down to a tight ring.

In the nose: Sour and salt hit first, no sign of grapefruit yet. Another sniff: maybe a little bit, but not much.

In the mouth: Tart and sour from the start, lip-smacking and puckering aplenty. Brisk, bright and beautiful. Grapefruit still remains subdued, while salt shines, but lactose? What's it up to?...not sure the idea there. I've not yet heard of a sour ale with lactose added. Are they going lactose happy, or is it's presence in the recipe guided by some principle I don't yet understand?

Grapefruit's coming on stronger, and the creamy smooth of the lactose seems to tame it, if that was the intent. Maybe I've answered my previous query. And what's else is, it's pretty damn tasty.

Delicious sour, this one. I'm enjoying this crowler, and I'd go back for more.

Wrapping my head around the name & label art. Spoof on James Bond if he was a stoner? Maybe?

Eastlake Kirby Pucker #23: Mescalita Sour Gose

Eastlake Kirby Pucker #23: Mescalita Sour Gose. With Agave, mezcal, & lime.
6 % ABV. Eastlake Craft Brewery, Minneapolis, MN.

Clear, light golden coloring, slim white head.

In the nose: Funky, fruity, citric, salty. Did you want a sour ale margarita blend? That might be what we're in for here, minus the triple sec.

In the mouth: Spark of sour hits the palate at first, fresh and lively. Then, comes the pucker, salt and lime comes in line, and it all makes sense. Sharp, citrusy, fresh and refreshing. Hey, I like this one!

Sour Ale - lime, agave, sea salt and mezcal

Oliphant Splendid Squishy Sour Ale

Back in September, I told you about Super Squishy, the Blackberry Raspberry sour ale. Well, now we have Splendid Squishy, which is not explicitly named after a Simpsons reference. There is something about a witch and a 3-eyed cat which may come from somewhere, and maybe someday, I'll know.


Oliphant Splendid Squishy Sour Ale.
w/ lactose, pineapple, ras/lem, vanilla, sea salt.
5.6 % ABV.
Oliphant Brewing, Somerset, WI.

Berry red color. Slim white head.

In the nose: More fruity than sour, at the start. Full of the berries and lemon, with those ingredients off the side. I'm picking up some pineapple. Vanilla, lactose, and sea salt, are these the new magical ingredients? We'll find out...

In the mouth: Here comes the juicy, salt on the side. Smooth and slightly creamy. Stays clear of being either too sweet or too sour. Pineapple's not dropping, the raspberry's in charge. All these ingredients are doing something in harmony, here, and in balance. That's the story of the Splendid Squishy.

This is tasty and beautiful stuff, indeed.

glendid the good witch descended upon our quaint village with three demands. i interrupted her and asked, “aren’t you supposed to grant us our demands?” she raised her wooden harold potter’s twig at me and said “that is a genie, i am a witch, and a good witch at that.” the next thing i know, i’m a large three-eyed cat. sweet!

sour w/ raspberry, lemon juice, pineapple, vanilla, & lactose. 5% abv