This is our original blended beer - the Shortbus.
This is still the best! You pour a half pint of Foothill's Seeing Double IPA and then carefully layer North Coast's Old Rasputin Imperial Stout on top.
Dan came up with this one last fall, and this was so good that it encouraged us to try other blends of high-quality beers. They don't have to layer as nicely as this one does. These two beers do separate exceptionally well.
These two beers are both aggressive, huge and very potent brews. The Old Rasputin gives you a mouthful of complex, rich malt flavors - chocolate, coffee, caramel - and then the Seeing Double slaps you upside your head with its massive, complex hops profile. It's quite amazing how neither beer dominates the combination. They complement each other nicely and the blend is tied together by both beer's subtle, but distinctive fruity sweetness and the anything-but-subtle alcohol (both just over ABV 9).
This is our original beer blend, and it is still my favorite. Based on this, we were encouraged to experiment with blending other beers to find other compelling combinations. It might not always be easy to find some of these beers (Foothills only distributes in NC at this time). And some of the blends we explore might be a bit - uh - risky. But it's all good fun. And never boring. Remember: Life is too short to drink just one beer at a time.
1 comment:
Of course, the best feature of the shortbus is the way the layered beers blend in the mouth out of a pint glass. The layers remain separate, but tilting the glass gives you a liberal dose of stout on top with a trailing shot of double IPA following close behind. This is my favorite way to enjoy this blend, although there is also something to be said for the messy shortbus (stirred, not shaken). Two totally different ways to experience the flavors of both beers. Yovo is right - the original is still the best.
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