Squatters' Hop Rising Double IPA

Squatters' Hop Rising Double IPA, Salt Lake City, Utah.


Cast in a clear, amber/bronze hue, lush, large creamy white head. Looking great.

Aroma: Bitter-sweetness. A whole lot of everything in here. Plenty of fruit, some heat, some spice, pine and grass in places. Big time resiny hop presence. Nice.

Taste: Big bitterness greets us first, blazing the palate, leaving sweet remnants all over the mouth. Malt more than adequately keeps up with the beefed up hop quantity here. Nine percent alcohol in this one, and it starts to show. Sticky malt floor holds it's own, while hops bounce everywhere. Any dyed-in-the-wool hop freak should like this one.

Here's what the brewery tell us about it: "Big hop, big malt, big beer. One of the most aggressive beers ever released in Utah, Hop Rising a double India Pale Ale, clocks in at 75 IBU's and 9% alcohol. We use three different malts to create enough flavor to perfectly balance three varieties of hops, then we dry-hop it; resulting in an amazing two pounds of hops per barrel!  Hop lover's dream."

I wouldn't put this up in the far echelons of double IPAs, but it certainly is one of the good ones. Enjoy without reservation.

Squatters Hell's Keep Belgian-style Golden Ale

When I get home from work, I need a beer. I just need to drink one. And I don't always have what I want in the fridge. Ideally, it would be a bottle of Bell's Two Hearted Ale, or a can of Surly Furious. Something  familiar, where the pleasure comes without any probing and free from surprise. On hitting the homestead, I need that flash of refreshment to start off my compression, and there are times when that doesn't happen. If I'm not stocked with those cans and bottles, there may be growlers from Harriet and Town Hall.
Last night (this morning), I forgot that I had a TH growler in the fridge, but, on the other hand, it was opened Wednesday night, and though I haven't posted a review of their Dubbel yet on this blog, it was in no state to represent it in a review. Maybe I'll go back for more?
So, the first blast of beeriness came from my final bottle of New Glarus Moon Man, Then, on to a bottle bought on that last Wisconsin trip, from the Utah concern, Squatters. I wasn't in the proper frame of mind for serious ale examination, and these were the notes:

Squatters Hell's Keep Belgian Style Golden Ale, Reserve Series, The Devil's Private Stash. 7.75 % ALC by VOL. 1 pint, 9 fluid ounces. Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Looking good. golden hued, clear, voluminous head, large, proud, and snowy white. Beautiful.

Aroma: a blend of spice, citrus, and sugar. Soft, subtle, and scintillating. 

Taste: Sweet, then dry, spicy, sparkling, sweet again, fruity, and yum. Yeasty goodness aplenty, afloat in this malty body. Very zesty, uber carbonated. Bright, springy, summery….mmmm. 

I feel like taking this apart, and being super-persnickety, but on the other hand, not. I like it. It's got a lot going on. Sweet, spicy, dry. And on, and on. Effervescent, fruity, yummy. Light bodied, but long in flavor. 

Ain't nothing wrong with these words, I just didn't find myself picking them apart and taking them to task. It's an adequate ale, hits the right notes, doesn't disappoint, while not rocking everyone's world, either.

Squatters Outer Darkness Imperial Stout

Outer Darkness, Russian Style Imperial Stout ("Russian Style"? I don't think there's a single Imperial Stout from Russia. It's not in the style of a Russian Imperial Stout. The style is named after the Russian Empire.)
Squatter Beers, Reserve Series, Salt Lake City, Utah, Utah Brewers Cooperative.
10.5 % alcohol by volume.

"Russian Style Imperial Stout is one of the most intensely flavored beers a brewer can create. Outer Darkness goes through multiple mashes to achieve it's high original gravity. Outer Darkness has 65 IBUs, is black as night and cold cellared like a Siberian winter. We hope you have as much fun drinking it as we did making it.

Please share with a friend and consume responsibly. (nope, drinking alone.)

Brewing a more Sudstainable future." Oh, terrible puns.

Let's drink it up!

Deep, stygian darkness (what?), creamy, cocoa/tan head, lush and lively. Looking great.

Vast aromatics…rich cocoa, and espresso notes, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting…lightly hoppy, massive malt. Very nice.

Taste: all that and more. Richness aplenty, deep malt flavor, nicely textured…but, all in all, this one doesn't go far enough.

Or is it me? I'm going to open a bottle of Expedition Stout, and drink them side by side. See if this Outer Darkness is really lacking. (Mmmm, I'm tempted to compare with a Surly Darkness, but that would be a long night!)

(I have to admit, and I didn't realize it at first, but there's an advantage the Expedition has…it's a 2008.)
We have to adjust for temperature, as the Expedition bottle came straight out of the fridge, but, to take a phrase from "Community", the Bell's beer is streets ahead. More flavors, more depth, more charcoal, tar, more sweet molasses, mixed with bitterness, hops, char, …the expedition has an edge on it that the utah beer wishes it had. It's a boozy stout, that lack s the extra character a great one requires.
The squatters beer barely tastes "imperial"…it may be strong, it may be full-bodied, but it's a minor league player. I'm getting the feeling these guys don't really understand imperial stouts. They can't just be high alcohol, it has to have more. This one just lacks, and lacks, and lacks.

They'll have to try harder to get a "Russian Style Imperial Stout" worth anyone's attention.