Review: Group “Y” Analysis

Now that the last games have been played, let’s take a look at the results from group Y.

Oak Aged Yeti: Oak Aged was far and away the best of this year’s Group Y. And were it not for a late goal by a frugal Regular striker with a distaste for all things oak, Oak Aged would be advancing to the knock-out round completely unscathed.

Regular Yeti: Regular’s fate was unknown going in to their final game of the round. After a grinding 0-0 tie with Chocolate, a 2-0 beating of Espresso gave Regular the edge in goal difference they needed to advance.

Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti: Had Chocolate a few more months to play together, we might see them advancing over Regular. Unfortunately, the team hadn’t spent a lot of time playing together this year and there was too much clashing on the field.

Espresso Oak Aged Yeti: Where time would be Chocolate’s best friend, it would do nothing to help Espresso I’m afraid. Throughout the round it appeared as if the team had two captains, each wanting to go a different direction. Let’s hope next year’s squad is more in sync.

Ok, now that I’ve had my fun, lets get on to the review.

I recently had a chance to try all four of this year’s Yeti incarnations: Yeti, Oak Aged, Espresso Oak Aged and Chocolate Oak Aged. The first three I sampled at a Sixteen Tons tasting, the last was from a bottle I shared with some friends during game three of the NBA finals.

Yeti, the regular one, is Great Divide’s year-round and reasonable priced ( < $6.00) Imperial Stout. It is black and dense with roasted and chocolate aromatics; amazingly smooth despite a 9.5% ABV and 75 IBUs. This is the base recipe for the rest of the Yetis, who then go on to spend some time on oak chips.

All of the Oaked Yetis have a rich oak flavor, strong vanilla notes and the wood bite that is common when chips are used over barrels for aging; although that should fade with time. Oak Aged Yeti, my favorite of the four brews, has the most intense oak and vanilla of the bunch, yet remains incredibly smooth; at no time feeling sharp or forced.

Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti trades some of its IBUs for cocoa nibs and cayenne pepper. The chocolate cuts the oak quite a bit, resulting in a softer, rounder tasting brew. A fine brew, but when compared to the equally priced (~$9) Oak Aged Yeti, this one loses more than it gains with the addition of the cocoa. And when compared to the regular Yeti, there just isn’t quite enough to justify the premium price. Interestingly, none of the people that tried the Chocolate Yeti, myself included, noticed the cayenne. If anything, the pepper highlighted the alcohol that the other versions do such a good job of hiding.

While usually a fan of coffee stouts, the Espresso Oak Aged Yeti was my least favorite of the bunch. One of the hallmarks of a good coffee stout is the ability of the roasted flavors to meld together, creating depth and layers. In this brew, the flavors are isolated and distinct; roasted malts and coffee that has sat on a burner overnight. I have a feeling this contrast will only get worse with age, as the hops fade and the coffee bitterness becomes more assertive. Although, I see a lot of Beer Advocators gushing over year-old bottles of Espresso Yeti. So, perhaps aging will help. Or maybe last year’s batch was much better. Or it could just be that I’ve been spoiled on cold-drip Overcast for too long.

In any case, this year’s batch of Yetis is mostly great. The Regular Yeti is always a safe bet and I will try to pick up a bottle or two of the Oak Aged Yeti to age, before it disappears back into the woods. If the young-oak bite goes away with time, I can see this being one of my favorite oak-aged brews. As for the other two premium Yetis; I would consider splitting a bottle with a friend or two to lessen the impact on the wallet, purse, male fashion bag, or what have you. Or, in the case of the Espresso Yeti, just skip it until next year.

Cheers!
Kevin