(SpoCOOL) A Spokane Blog

Michael Pollan will be at WSU’s Beasley Coliseum today at 7pm discussing his latest book. Admission—and your chance to gloat for being someone who cares—is free.

The Blaine reports that a new coffee roaster is starting up in town: Tom Sawyer Country Coffee. That’s nice and all, and serves as a reminder: Whatever happened to Budge Brothers Brewery?

Laughing Dog is having a “Brewing Pint night at Mill Public house in Riverstone By CDA Tonight @ 5:30-8:30 prizes Trivia with Laughing Dog’s Mike Deprez.” Not shabby. We like Laughing Dog.

Last week a panel of Better Tasters gathered to muse over the Demons of Ale, Avery’s series of three ales that quite literally will kick you in the teeth. I mean, seriously. None of these are under 14% ABV, and drinking a bottle by yourself can be lethal. Listen to uncle Remi and don’t drink these without sharing!

Anyway, far be it for me to speak for anyone else, so here are my musings about the three ales.

Samael’s Oak-Aged Ale

Be it in the ancient Jewish faith or the pop-culture of Silent Hill, the fallen angel of Samael has found his place in people’s hearts and souls. So why not in their mouths also?

Actually, there is a pretty good reason why not: I simply found Samael a bit too boozy (16.45% ABV = yikes!) for my liking. The thick molasses flavor is not unpleasant, but you can taste the booze pretty much as it hits your tongue. And that’s not a good thing, at least not for me.

The Beast

This is a grand cru, and probably the best of the three Demons. There is a bit of booziness to be detected here also, but not until you actually swallow, which almost makes it feel more like a brandy.

And at 14.9% ABV you can actually detect some nice sweetness from fruit and caramel. While all three ales could probably be used as digestifs (how often can you say that about a beer?), this is probably the one that would be best suited for it.

Mephistopheles’ Stout

This one comes about as black as a stout can come, and it weighs in at a hefty 16.03%. Yet for whatever reason it seems like the mildest one of the group, and is actually a very pleasant sipping beer.

It is nice and malty, and just lightly sweet. In a way, I suppose, it’s a devil in disguise (get it?!) so go slow on it. But it’s definitely a fine ale.

Conclusion

Avery makes a lot of great ales, and while the Demons obviously are brewed with a lot of expertise, I do think the brewery has better products to offer. But hey, the Demons of Ale do make for an interesting tasting session.

Oh no, they didn’t. They might claim that they did, but they really didn’t.

Not that I can blame them for trying, of course, seeing that Domino’s, when ranked on the pizza-o-meter, would end up somewhere around here…

... and that’s on a good day. But now they’ve changed! Or so they say. Cheese made of real cheese! Garlic seasoned crust! A “boss” sauce with a “red pepper kick!”

It’s all B.S. of course. I mean, really, if you think this pizza tastes any better than the old one, then you might as well participate in Taco Bell’s Drive Thru Diet. The crust is for the most part the same cardboard crap you’ve come to know and love to hate and I can barely remember the cheese. The only noticeable difference from the old pies is that it feels a little bit spicier. In other words, Domino’s now saves you the trouble of having to open one of those small packets of red pepper they used to give you with the pie. Thanks!

Look, I’m not against the typical “fast food pizza.” Pizza Rita and Pipeline have their place, both in the market and in my heart. But Domino’s is just crap. Seriously. Don’t go there. Avoid.

While beer in a can often gives headache inducing associations with the likes of Keystone Light, Oscar Blues Brewery has made a business out of the crap-beer vessel of yore. In fact, a quick look at their Web sites reveals some genuine advantages of the can.

I’ll be honest, the last thing I drank from a can (for reasons that will be left unsaid) was Natural Ice, and honestly… Couldn’t be worse… Ten FIDY Imperial Stout, meanwhile, is quite the thing of beauty. The dark as night pour, with a head that can only be described as brown, gives an early indication that this is going to be a flavor kick. A quick sniff reveals a lot of flavors, including coffee and chocolate, as well as molasses.

The thick body coats the mouth properly, and there is such a flavor rush it is hard to pick up what’s dominant. Chocolate, certainly, but there are also berries and even a strong hint of brandy.

With an ABV higher than 10%, you expect some booziness, but for the most part it is hidden pretty well in Ten FIDY. This is definitely a sipping beer, however, and one might be enough for any evening.

But what a great evening that is.