Gravitas and Saranac Holiday Beer Reviews

Merry Christmas!

I brought one bottle of Gravitas home to NJ and let it chill for a day. It had been in the bottle for about 2 weeks yesterday, when I drank it.

Two words came to mind after a poking my nose in its frothy head and tasting a sip... GREAT SUCCESS! I think it hits the mark with what we set out to make: a rich, full bodied imperial stout with nice a hop flavor as well as hints of other sweet flavors, perfect for a cold winter night.

I was a little worried it might be too early to open one judging by some emails sent between the brewers who said they had opened one after a week and thought it was too early, but still tasty. Well I was worried for no reason. The head on the beer was massive, rising up to 2 inches after a proper slow pour down the side of the glass. I can't wait to see what it's like at week 3, hopefully even better than it is now. (Gravitas, above)






Every year Saranac Brewery (Matt Brewing Company - Utica, NY) puts forth a holiday variety pack, featuring 6 different beers. It's a 12 pack, so you get to try each one twice (unless you're a wimp that likes to share.)

I bought their holiday pack on Christmas Eve, planning to whittle it away over the holiday weekend. After opening and finishing a delicious Gravitas, I went on to try the Saranac Vanilla Stout. I could certainly smell the vanilla in the head of the beer, but it wasn't a distinguished flavor in the stout itself. It tasted like it had been muted and was actually fighting with the hop flavor of the stout rather than complementing it.

Next I noticed there was a real E.S.B. and thought I have to try this, as its something we jokingly labeled one of Grynch's bottles of Novemberfest that we dry hopped, and also because Andrew just made a batch of his own. (Speaking of Grynch, can you believe that guy didn't make a Christmas blog post?) I'm pretty disappointed in this one as well. It seemed almost flat, the hop flavor wasn't prominent. It didn't seem very bitter either. There is a bitterness, but it's too subtle and diluted. All in all I was just expecting more of a punch in the taste buds. There's a dry flavor and crispness going on in the aftertaste here that reminds me of a something you'd expect out of a very dry white wine. It isn't awful, but so far I've been let down of what I remember from last years holiday pack. Four more to come! (Saranac E.S.B., above)