Review 146: Right Brain CEO Stout

Review 146

3/5/13

Right Brain CEO Stout: 5.5% abv

Background: Right Brain is the brewery we’re talking about today. Why? Because we reviewed it, that’s why. The guy who owns Right Brain Brewery will tell you a nice story about how he named his brewery. The gentleman in question to a test in high school to determine whether or not he was a “right-brained” thinker or not, and his teacher told him he took it wrong, seeing as he was the only one in the class who was right-brained. So he named his brewery to spite his teacher. Right Brain Brewery is in Traverse City, and they will tell you that they don’t have a boring beer they make. KCM accepts the challenge.

Nose: Coffee, vanilla, woody, chocolate/fudge, malt, brown sugar, mild grain and earthy notes

Arrival: Slightly bitter, earthy coffee, cocoa, light, slight tartness, blackberries, wheaty

Body: Wheat, malt, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, slightly watery

Finish: Vanilla, coffee, wheat, cocoa, slight berry sweetness

Final Comments: There was unanimous decision that there is nothing exciting about this beer among our panel. It isn’t an imperial stout, but a nice 6% stout doesn’t have to be watery. This one is, and it is a shame. The arrival starts off with some interesting characteristics to it, albeit a little on the translucent side, but by the time the body comes on, your hopes for an engaging, exciting experience jam packed with flavor have disappeared. There is a hint of unique flavor coming through in the beer, but to our frustration they’re overshadowed by the holey nature of water in the flavor. That’s not to say you won’t enjoy this beer, it’s just that we can think of a few beers for the same price that are so much bigger in flavor.

Why you’d buy it: You like sticking it to the man, which in this case is the founder’s high school teacher.

Why you wouldn’t: Dragon’s Milk

Score: 7.5/10

Review 112: Founder's Backwoods Bastard

Review 112

12/6/12

Founder’s Backwoods Bastard: 10.2% abv

Here we go with another review. Backwoods Bastard. Might ring a bell, even if you haven’t heard of it. Why? Well, this is a bourbon-barrel aged Scotch Ale. I’ve done some small research on Scotch Ales, because there is a bit of contention about this term in our minds. If you go to Founder’s website, they will tell you Backwoods Bastard is reminiscent of a Single Malt. I will clarify to you that this is not the case. It contains malt flavors, but in this sense it reminds us of malted barley, as is a prominent flavor in TONS of beers. The problem we have with saying this is reminiscent of Single Malt Scotch is that it really won’t remind you of that, and eludes to some intrinsic quality in the beer. This beer has no real affiliation with the spirit itself, so far as we can tell. 

Anyway, now let’s talk about the beer itself. The nose has malt in it for sure, but you get the classic bourbon dominant flavors like caramel, oak, large butterscotch, toffee, vanilla, and wheat. There is even the presence of raisons, cream, plain yogurt, molasses, and slight starfruit. That makes this a fairly unique, interesting nose. The arrival reflects the smell pretty accurately, but with a little less to it. Prominent flavors include vanilla, butterscotch, caramel, and dried fruits. The body contains the same sort of flavors, with butterscotch, malt, vanilla, caramel, weak coffee, milk chocolate, creaminess, and even slight ginger. The finish contains cinnamon, malt, vanilla, butterscotch, caramel, slight grapefruit and apple. 

We can comment that is a pretty bourbon-dominated beer, and if you want to understand the influence bourbon has on beer, this is a great combination of two beers to try it out, with Dirty Bastard and Backwoods Bastard. On the other hand, we think this bourbon influence was a little overdone. A unique quality that bourbon brings out in beer is a creamy butterscotch flavor, which isn’t necessarily huge in bourbon itself, but time and time again we see it in these beers to varying degrees. Overall, the complexity wasn’t earth shattering, and neither was the balance. We like Dirty Bastard better and this could use a little less of its oak time. 

Score: 8.25/10

Review 92: Round Barn Oak-Aged IPA

Review 92

8/24/12

Round Barn Oak-Aged IPA: 6.75% abv

Round Barn. It’s another Michigan brewery. Interestingly, though, it is also a distillery. As we focus more on liquors, and not just beers, we might look to local distilleries to provide their take on classic spirits like rum, whiskey and tequila. For now though, let’s see if Round Barn, one of the smaller Breweries on Michigan’s map, has what it takes in such a cut-throat world of Michigan Brewery excellence. Located in Southwest Michigan (Baroda), edging towards Indiana, Round Barn offers several different brews, and today we wanted to see what they could do with some oak. I can’t tell you much on Round Barn’s process, or the oak they use, but KCM will tell you everything you need to know about the beer itself. 

We were encouraged by the alcohol content, but as a precursor, don’t be encouraged by the alcohol content. But let’s start with the nose. The nose contains fruity notes, and not much else, of pineapple, lemon, pear, and a light white grape scent. Not going to waste your time explaining that this wasn’t an encouraging or complex smell. It just wasn’t. 

The taste doesn’t do much different. It can be described as watery, to say the least, but also includes pine, pear in the arrival, lemon and a slight earthy woody feel. This disappoints, but let’s not sell them short...or let’s. The finish is medium short, and no, we’re not rusty. There is just about only bitterness to it. Maybe grapefruit, maybe pine, but all brought together to show off some bitterness. In some ways it’s bad, in other ways, it’s not good. This went down in history as our shortest review ever. And for good reason. I wouldn’t personally suggest buying it, unless you’re into supporting small Michigan Breweries. 

Score: 5.0/10