Mcmenimens - nitro terminator stout

OK so this is written almost a week after drinking, but I'm still going write about it, got a problem with that... didn't think so...
OK so I had this beer twice once during dinner with a friend then 2 days later... but oak aged on nitro tap... both were good, but the aged was out of this world.
The both follow the same flavor profile, malty stout with more of a cocoa nib flavor in the bitter department than coffee. It was perfectly carbonated just enough to make it drinkable, but not enough that it takes away from the heaviness of the beer. The regular version reminded me alot of Lagunitas Imperial stout, but the nitro was a whole different ball game. The oak aging was just enough to give the beer another level of depth, a slight tannin acidity kind of like a wine. But the oak just made the flavor that much more complex. The nitro tap definately helped add another layer, along with the gigantic head that a nitro tap produces it gave it a great creaminess that just pushed the beer over the top. If it was up to me I could have sat there at that restaurant table one the street in Portland all day drinking that beer. Actually in fact I did nurse that beer for quite some time since it was a perfect day and we were leaving the next day...
OK so to wrap it up, terminator stout, good. Oak aged terminator stout on nitro tap, f'ing epicly heavily good. Like Michael j Fox heavy. 4 and 5 stars respectively. If you are in portland ever these are beers to drink while you are there, however I can not guarantee weather or not the nitro will be available as I was told this was a special release that they got a couple days prior.

Deschutes - Conflux #2

I have had a really long past month,  one of my closest friends over the years died for reasons that i will not go into in a public forum,  but after the end of a long work week and mentaly preparing my self for his funeral tomorrow i decided to go on a beerster egg hunt.  Thankfully i found Conflux at gomers south and a 2 year vintage bottle of Arcadia Ales -Cereal Killer.  The latter is getting stashed into my file cabinet of goodies,  but one of the two bottles of conflux is being enjoyed as we speak. And i am impressed and totally get the 2 colaborations now.  Now i am even more excited to tour deschutes when i am in portland in early October.
Ok so this review isnt really a review.  Its more of a rant,  but here it goes...
I have heard alot of people complain about the differences between the two beers...  If they wanted the two to be the same,  they would have just made one damn beer. I think their whole basis of this is their own interpretation of the same idea.  Granted i dont know descutes product explicitly,  but from what i understand they venture more into a hop-centric brew and then lets face it,  boulevard really shines in the unfiltered wheat.
So the Deschutes version is a little hoppier with more lemongrass and citrus. Where as the Boulevards rendition is more smooth with a more earthy undertone and the definitive huge head that surrounds their smokestack series. Neither are bad. Neither stand out as being better.  They are simply two breweries combining their efforts to create something special but in their own unique style.  I really applaud this myself and i wish more breweries would take this as an example,  and do more beers in this vein.

Boulevard - Saison Brett

So tonight I had the pleasure of unwinding with a bottle of saison Brett. I am very thankfull that I bought a few bottles of it to cellar, and one to drink now. This is mainly for the fact that only being cellared 3 months right out of the bottle and being 8.5 percent it is pretty boozey now. But a year or two will take that edge off nicely.
That being said, this is a good brew as it stands, its just a little heavy on the alcohol now. It pours a beautiful orange that is very hazy, and has a huge head to go along with it in typical boulevard fashion. It smells of oranges and is kind of earthy in its smell, you can't really smell the alcohol in it like you can some others.
Taste wise it is pretty close to the smell. A very farmhouse taste of grains, some hopes, with some citrus (mainly oranges and lemon). It finishes fairly clean with a huge alcohol bite right at the end.
Really my only regret is that I didn't buy any last year to have an aged bottle ready to go now... I would love to taste what 1 and 2 years ages tastes like... Right now...

New Belgium - 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

I have had this beer many times before, and I never tire of it. This beer encapsulates everything I love about a black and tan, in one bottle, and with out actually being a black and tan...
This beer has a large aroma of malts and vanilla. Very earthy... it is accompanied by a huge, yet very light and froathy head that leaves pretty massive lacing behind.
Like I said before this is everything I ever wanted from a black and tan. A lightness that you can only get from an ale, but a dark robust creamyness that you can only find in a porter or stout. This beer blends the best of both sides. It is an earthy beer, while still being refreshing, and all while having a huge body. This is a beer that has won over a place in my heart as well as in my fridge. You may not be the zazziest beer or be the most expensive or rare or aged. You are just good... enough said.