Mokah

Brewer: Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, New York
Alcohol Content: 11.2%

Official Description from Brewer:
"When empirical and creative impulses collide, the result is often timeless. The classic utility-art aesthetic of the coffee maker is an example of design and engineering working in concert.

It is through similar cooperation that the simple bitter cocoa bean is transformed into a sweet treat. As scientists, our brewers utilize their materials to exacting standards. As artists, they couldn’t resist the temptation to combine two of our highly acclaimed Blackwater Series Imperial Stouts: Jahva and Choklat. Alone each is perfect, but together as Mokah they are an inimitable expression of two of the world’s most sought after flavors. Enjoy Mokah stout with – or as – your favorite dessert!"

Wilk's Take:
I was sitting at Beer Geeks one night with my good friend Brett and I noticed Southern Tier's Mokah on the menu and decided that would be my last beer of a great evening.  Alas, Beer Geeks was out and I immediately made it a point to ask my brother to pick up a bomber during his annual trek to Lake Chautauqua.  After our trifecta on Father's Day and the Porter he handed me for free I figure I could ride the free beer train as far as he's willing to let me.

There are two things that I did for the first time while drinking this brew.  Presently, a half full glass of Mokah still sits in front of me as I type this.  Southern Tier recommends serving Mokah at 48 degrees in a snifter.  I have no snifters in the house so I'm letting the brew ascend to ambient temperature in my trusty pint glass.  There really is no difference in the taste.  I'll mention the second experience later.

Mokah pours beautifully.  There is a great caramel color tone to the liquid as it escapes the bottle.  You can easily confuse Mokah for either cola, black coffee, or motor oil, all of which make a stout appetizing.  The aroma of Mokah is a perfect blend of the malts and gems used to make this brew, chocolate and coffee.  You could not escape the scent and the potency truly makes it a dessert beer.

When you bring the glass to your lips, the cold (yes, I drank it cold) beer shocks your system because the chocolate and coffee you were anticipating are lost to the bitterness of the four hops employed in the brewing process.  Ok, not entirely lost but you know that it is beer and not mocha.  Something beautiful occurs in the process however.  As you lose beer to your stomach you gain an even stronger smell resting inside your favorite beer drinking vessel.  If you've ever had the pleasure of smelling a chocolate factory (or if you live in Chicago catch the whiff of ever present chocolate in the air) you get that sensation over and over and over every time you take another drink.

Suggestion: Good stout, great beer, dessert watch out!  Mokah is a mid-spring seasonal with an April release.  I'm sure it comes and goes quickly, with the exception of the bomber my brother grabbed.  Even if you don't like dark beers, grab Mokah at 10pm, turn on the news, and melt away into dream land (or Left Hand's Milk Stout, either one a winner).

Value: FREE!!  Ok, I'll ask my brother how much he paid, but if it is like other Southern Tier bombers I've found at Wise Guy's or Nick's I'm going to guess around $8, maybe $9 because it is seasonal.  At 11.2% and a great dessert beer, well worth it.

Michelle Factor: "I want to take a huge bite!"  Michelle really loved the chocolate aroma and after taking a couple of pulls announced that she would definitely drink this beer.  Her only complaint was the bitterness.  Can't win 'em all.

Endnote:
I actually grabbed a dark chocolate truffle to see how well it paired with the beer.  I thought that either the truffle would enhance the beer or the beer would enhance the truffle.  I should have listened to Alton Brown (Food Network food guru).  Taste buds have limited use and cannot handle sensory overload.  The reason some sweet foods taste better with salt is because the contrast enhances the sweet receptors of the tongue.  When I took a bite of the truffle, my sweet receptors were at capacity so that when I took a drink of Mokah all I could taste was the bitterness of the hops.  The truffle certainly enhanced the flavor of the beer but in the wrong direction.  Needless to say, I doubt I'll bring food back to a beer critique.

Father's Day Southern Tier Trifecta

Special thanks to my brother Adrian for providing the three above beers to complement the Father's Day meal I had prepared.  He makes an annual trek to Western New York and always comes back with a full supply of Southern Tier brews.  After the so-so Porter that Southern Tier provided he was determined to prove the quality of the Southern Tier brand.  I'll play along.  Who can turn down free beer?

The Big Red is a nice Imperial Red Ale.  Certainly it poured like a red with a beautiful color that sit nicely in both of our glasses.  The big hop aroma attacked my nose and I knew this was a beer not to be messed with.  That really doesn't mean anything.  The beer was smooth and had a nice array of bitterness.  Southern Tier took great pride in the type of hop used for this beer.  They add a dry hop step to their brewing process akin to Sam Adams and their lager.  This beer was definitely better.  At 9% it also packed a punch.

The Farmer's Tan is an Imperial Pale Lager.  Now, I think it is silly to throw the word "Imperial" before any beer type, much like it's silly to throw the word "Senior" in front of a job title.  Miller Lite is a pale lager; ok, technically a light lager.  The only thing that Farmer's Tan has over Miller Lite is twice the alcohol and a heavier taste.  Now, it may have been the burger I was eating that affected this beer, but it was not good.

Finally we ended the evening splitting the Back Burner, a nice barleywine style ale.  It was good.  One thing in this trifecta is that Southern Tier loves their hops.  Back Burner had a subtle pineapple aroma and flavor that allowed the hops to be tempered so that the beer was palatable.  Much like the other beers, the alcohol content was around 9-10%.

Overall a good showing by Southern Tier.  2 out of 3 is not bad.  I'm hoping my brother can score the beer that they only offer the locals.  Hopefully they bottle it or he can grab a bomber at the pub.

Porter

Brewer: Southern Tier Brewing Company, Lakewood, New York

Alcohol Content: 5.8%

Official Description from Brewer:

"Porter is our darkest beer, but not necessarily our strongest. It is widely held that the darker the beer, the stronger the beer, but this is summarily false. The contribution of color comes directly from the color of malt that we use. Some malt is roasted to achieve dark color and coffee-like flavor which in turn get transferred to the beer. Our Porter is richly complex with overtones of chocolate and espresso beans followed by a subtle flavor of hops. It’s a nourishing beer without being too sweet or filling."

Wilk's Take:

I know I had promised a week's worth of hop heaven, but when a beer is given to you for free you do not turn it down.  So after a visit with my brother I pilfered (with permission) a 12oz. bottle of Southern Tier's "Dark Robust Porter" out of the two six packs from his kitchen.  I was told I would like this beer.

As always, we start with the pour.  Not unusual, the porter flowed like motor oil and offered very little head.  The motor oil in this case is used conventional and not synthetic.  If you know your motor oil that does make a difference.  For simplicity's sake, the beer is dark.  Surprise!  Southern Tier reminds us that the color comes from the roasting of the malts and for their porter they use 5 different malts.  I couldn't tell you which ones, but then again I'm not an expert enough to know what the difference is.

Porter smells like stale coffee.  I was searching for the chocolate overtone but I came up empty.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing.  A good porter doesn't need to remind you of sweets.  The coffee aroma was a little strong but it did not affect the taste of the beer much, at least I don't think it did.  Porter sits on your tongue with a little bit of a syrupy consistency.  It's not as smooth as some of the other dark beers I've tried before.

Southern Tier is right when they tell us that the beer is not sweet or filling.  You can easily go through a six pack in a night and not feel the heaviness of having consumed six porters.  The hop balance prevents that overall sweet sensation some porters can give and the aftertaste isn't nearly as potent as YETI yields so you can enjoy the buffet after consumption.  As far as nourishing?  Well, don't think of it in terms of the nutritional content.  I'm sure the folks of western New York cherish this porter as a local favorite.

Suggestion: If you don't like porters, this might be one to avoid sticking a toe in the water.  If you like porters, you will be pleasantly surprised by how easy this one is to drink.  It might disappoint you too.  I was told I would like it and I did.  But fortunately for me, it was free.  Would I spend money on it?  Not sure, depends on the price.

Value:  See above.  Free is always a good value.  I might amend this post in the future if I can land a price tag for you.

Michelle Factor:  Poor Michelle missed out on this one.  She was out at the movies with friends and I had just come back from fishing and decided to have a cold one.  I promise I'll get her in on the next one.