Cogstone Visit February 2019

March 3, 2019 Mike

Jeese and I were discussing where we wanted to go for last week’s visit, originally we had planned on visiting 1876 Ale Works, but their opening was so huge that they actually ran out of beer and had to temporarily close while they get some more ready.

So far this year we’ve been trying to hit the rest of the breweries that we haven’t visited, we use the term “officially visited” if we haven’t posted about it, and we were feeling a little bad because we haven’t been back to some of our favorites in awhile.

Cogstone ranks up there with our favorites. They have some really great beer, and some great people too. We didn’t get to say “hi” to Marc this time around, hopefully next time we’ll get to see him.

While we’ve been away, they’ve been busy, they added quite a few beers that I don’t remember, so what could we do but dive in and try them!

A friend we hadn’t seen in awhile, Rob, was able to join us this time around, and we all had a chance to catch up and enjoy a few cold ones.

Belgian Blonde – 7% ABV. Just the easiest drinking beer you could ask for. Really light, hints of that Belgian character, and it leaves you with a nice grain flavor on the way down. Bright and golden, it was a thing of beauty.

Belgian Dubbel – 7.2% ABV – I was a little surprised that this was darker than the Tripel, but I have to admit, I’m not terribly educated on the Belgian beer styles, and I was expecting the Dubbel to be somewhere between the Blonde and the Tripel. This was rich and malty, had that Belgian character, amber to copper in color.

Belgian Tripel – 9.8% ABV. I really couldn’t believe this was almost a 10% beer, especially after taking my first sip, it was so smooth. Again, and I’m sure your tired of me saying it, there was that Belgian character, and a slight hint of spice. Finishes fairly dry, and was pretty balanced.

Nitro Oatmeal Stout – 5% ABV. Smooth, smooth, smooth. This was just nice and creamy, with what I thought was a subtle coffee, or maybe roasty flavor. Great mouthfeel on it. I loved it.

Chocolate Oatmeal Stout – 5.8% ABV. I really lucked out on this one. I ordered it, and they tapped out just before our server was able to get back there, except for a quarter pint of it, which she so thankfully brought to our table. This was an amazing beer. It combined all the smoothness of the Oatmeal stout, with an incredibly soft chocolate flavor. Drinking it was like a really good milkshake or some other malted beverage. I’ll make sure I order a full pint next time.

[Jesse Notes]

Normally, Mike and I try to coordinate a little bit on the beer choices we make so we don’t have any overlap. Unfortunately, this trip, I was a bit late and Mike and Rob had ordered their beers before I got there, so I just got what looked good. But, we only had two beers overlap.

As I have mentioned in a recent post, I have been on a Belgian kick as of late and, Lo!, what’s this? The gents at Cogstone have been working hard getting several Belgians on tap. I couldn’t resist.

Belgian Blonde – 7% ABV – I concur with Mike’s assessment. This is a very drinkable beer. Beautiful golden color. Definite Belgian flavor to start with, clean finish.

Belgian Tripel – 9.8% ABV – Another beer that I very much enjoyed. My lack of experience with Belgian beers is coming to light here since I’m not able to analyze it with the detail it deserves. I expected it to be more malty (based on the color), but that wasn’t the case.

North German Altbier – 5.1% ABV 32.0 IBU – Again, I don’t have much experience with this type of beer to use as a benchmark, however, I know what I like, and I like this beer. It had just the right amount of bready/malty flavor with a little dryness at the finish.

Belgian Dark Strong – 10.0% ABV 0.0 IBU – Another nicely malty beer but this time with some interesting flavors. I got a slight licorice flavor but only a little.
I felt that I have to use the description from their we site:
At over 10 percent ABV, it remains deceptively light and smooth. This beer is like James Bond: complex, rich, smooth, but dangerous.

Cogstone Crushed Pineapple IPA (firkin) — Cogstone Crushed Pineapple IPA
(It looks like a milkshake!)

One nice surprise of the day was that once Mike and I agreed to go to Cogstone, I noticed on the Facebook page that they were tapping a firkin that evening as well – a Crushed Pineapple IPA.
Hoo-boy! That was one tasty beer. I couldn’t get it as a sampler in a flight, so I just went with a 10 ounce glass. My only disappointment was that I didn’t get a full pint. It wasn’t very carbonated (but not quite flat) and that definitely worked for this beer. I think the dulled effervescence allowed the sweetness pineapple to shine rather than the tartness. My concern when I try beers like this is that it will be cloyingly sweet. Not the case here. I think the hops took just enough of the edge off the pineapple to keep that from happening.
It seems like I wasn’t the only one that enjoyed the beer, as I was finishing off my glass the server told us that they had just run out. I hope they decide to do this one again.

When I have business or other associates visit town, they invariably ask me for recommendations on where they should go to eat and enjoy themselves. I usually ask if they like beer and pizza. If they say yes to both, I insist they give Cogstone a try. I’ve not gotten any complaints yet.

Beers we’ve Reviewed at Cogstone: