Now, it isn’t just because I’m a gemini that I picked up this brew. No, it was the fact that Southern Tier has recently started distributing to Maine, and I had to celebrate by picking up several bottles that I’ll be reviewing over the next few weeks. I can’t wait to try a lot of their line – famous for their strongly-flavored and sometimes ridiculously sweet beer (you’d be famous for that too if you had a creme brulee stout) this is the first of many I’ll be trying.

Gemini is a blended version of two of their brews – Unearthly and Hoppe. This is honestly the first blended brew that I’ve come across that wasn’t a lambic, so this should be interesting. Ideally I’d love to try this side by side with each of its components. But, lacking that, I’ll dive in anyway.

I poured it out and was happy to see that it was a dark orange, with a lot of cloudiness going on.  The smell was an interesting one. Not all hops, it included a bit of sweet smell to it (caramel?) and seemed to be something that I would definitely enjoy.

The first sip on this was one that coated the inside of my lips immediately. Not so sweet as to make me pucker, but full of an intense flavor. It was a backed-down IPA with some almost barleywine characteristics – a sweetness that stuck around and left a syrupy feeling in my mouth. After a few more sips, I got more of the hops out of it, and began to feel that little bitter twinge. Interesting dual personalities going on in this brew (for good reason). At 10.5% ABV there was some alcohol there, too, but it was hidden underneath layers of sweetness and depth.

I don’t think that I could have this with dinner, however. It has one of those flavors that just stays in your mouth for hours. Might be interesting to cook with, though I don’t usually recommend wasting imperial beers in cooking.

If they were truly trying to get the dual personalities metaphor going, they’ve done well – this goes back and forth on the palate but then does not let you forget that you’ve tasted it. I don’t think its toned down enough for people who aren’t huge into hops to like. But, for those bored with traditional IPAs, this might be an interesting “variation on a theme” for you to check out.

Brewed originally for the Extreme Beer Fest, this collaborative Dogfish brew was born from some pretty intense and crazy brainstorming. The Alstrom Brothers and Sam Calagione pitched ideas back and forth until their brew was born – a “brownish” ale featuring malts smoked with pecan wood, and some plantain flour and carob added in for good measure. Not being a huge plantain eater, myself, I wasn’t really sure what this would taste like. As for the (awesome) name, it was left up to fans to decide. “Wrath of Pecan” (a reference to Kirk’s infamous bellowing of “KAAAAAHN” in the “Wrath of Kahn”) was chosen by a fan. Unfortunatly – the name had to be changed at the last minute.

Sam does a pretty damn good job of describing what went into this beer in this video, so I’ll let him speak to its origins.

It pours a nice dark orange, and just sits in the glass with some nice aromas floating up. I got a little smoky aroma, a little bit of sweet/bready smell and even some sugars – maybe that’s the carob?

The taste is very interesting and I don’t think I’ve had anything like it (not that I expected it to be ordinary!). There is a smokiness here – but not an overpowering bacon note like some rauchbiers I’ve sampled. Its a smooth smokiness (if that makes any sense) backed with something almost thickening. It has a great malt character, and a really nice finish. I can’t pull out the plantains, particularly, but the carob may be providing the really nice sweetness that I’m getting. Brews like this are very difficult to describe because basically I have little to compare them to. Suffice it to say, I’m enjoying this thoroughly.

A very special thanks to @chuckularone for managing to get a bottle of this into my hands!

As I stood, staring off into the void of my friend’s backyard while the beginnings of a homebrew boiled on the stove, I fantasized about hops. I was fascinated by the sharp and pungent bite of pellet hops we’d added only a few minutes earlier, but a yearning emerged. How much more satisfiying would it be to grow, cultivate, harvest and use your own hops in your own beer? To see them start as soots and end up as a bucket of fresh cones?

Not having a backyard myself, I think I’m a long way off from realizing that dream. But brewers at Rogue have released limited and exciting brews featuring ingredients grown at their own brewery – including the first growth of “Dare malts” from the Rogue Barley Farm, and Revolution Hops from the Rogue Hopyard. (Along with some pacman yeast and free range coastal water, of course). Because of their revolutionary motifs and hops, their logo is a great piece of graphic design – a bold fist clutching hops and barley.

With all the boldness of the logo – I expected a bold hop-forward brew. But instead, I should have read the label. “Medium bodied with a lush rich maltiness” oh – the malts are front and center here. Cool. Haven’t had one of those in a while…

It poured a respectable yellow to orange, with a pouffy head. The smell was that of a nutty malt and a lightness or spiciness that was really interesting. The taste wasn’t disappointing. Clean, drinkable with a really smooth finish, the malts are doing most of the talking. I was hoping for a fresh hop burst, but this is a nice subdued brew. Almost uncharacteristically delicate for Rogue, this one is one that is thirst quenching at the same time that it is light and delicious.

This may be a stretch, but I feel like this is somehow a humble brew from Rogue. Presented with a little bit of… restraint. I’m tempted to pick up another bottle and hold it to compare with next year’s version (second growth?) but I’m not sure if this will be an annual release. All in all, I respect their pursuit of a really independent sentiment – and of a tasty brew.

Cheers!