The Crown Jewel

Last night I went to the Mountain Sun for the first night of stout month. I went with a good friend of mine and we shared a couple our thoughts over a couple stouts. The place was packed full of beer lovers so we hung out at the bar. We started the night out with a half-pint of Usurper Russian Imperial Stout. Mountain Sun touts this brew as the crown jewel of stout month 2006. It was the 200oth batch of beer brewed and mountain sun and it was collaborated on by all of their brewers. It's been aging for 6 months and it has an ABV of 10. It's only served in an 8 ounce wine glass style glass apprently because of its value and strength. At first taste I was amazed at the complexity of this "barleywine". There were tons of different flavors to explore with each taste, making every sip a unique experience. I was very impresed with this beer, it was phenomenal.

We finished up the night with a half pint of Double Chocolate stout from Young's Brewery in England on nitro. This beer is alway great, one of my favorites. After the usurper however, it tasted very simple and sweet. It was also comparatively, very smooth. The nitrogen tap also increases the smoothness of the beer. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the usurper, but it was excellent none the less. I think I will have to have a full pint some time without preceding it with an usurper.