Cato’s Ale House

Stopped by Cato’s Ale House last night in Piedmont. I tried Limb & Life and Big Bear.  Limb & Life is a extremely limited draft only release

that is part of the Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head collaboration which also produced the much bigger beer, Life & Limb (and it just so happens a bottle is sitting in my fridge, but I haven’t tasted it yet).  Here are the stats:

ABV: 5.2%
Orig. Gravity: 12.2 Plato
Final Gravity: 2.8 Plato
IBU: 49
Color: Mohagany
Bittering Hops: Magnum
Finishing Hops: Perle, Cascade, Magnum
Dry Hop: Experimental Hop #188
Malts: Second runnings from Life & Limb
Other: Maple and Birch Syrups

Right away I received a burst of a bitter coffee flavor, which was then washed away by the light malt backbone of this beer due to the fact that this brew was made from the second runnings.  There were hints of what I thought might have been vanilla, but I guess it was the maple and birch syrups.  After finishing the 10 ounce serving, I was left with a strange Ice Tea like experience.  For some strange reason, I was reminded of my childhood, drinking Lipton Iced Tea in the summer.  It was a very refreshing beer that left me wanting more.  Several other people in the group tasted the beer as well, and were not as impressed.  Most were looking for a  bigger kick from the hops, as is the trend these days.

Big Bear is a American-Style Stout by Bear Republic Brewery.  Although this beer is now one of the standard releases from the brewery, this was my first opportunity to try it.  I have to say that it was a nice follow up to the Limb & Life.  Here are the stats:

ABV: 8.1
IBU: 68
OG: 1.074
Color: Black

The color truly was a deep black, impenetrable by light.  I was surprised by how clean and smooth the Stout was. It has a big bold balanced flavor of caramel and roasted grains with not much head.  The Cascade and Chinook hops hid the 8.1 % especially well, and again left me refreshed, and wanting another.