A little over a year ago (I can’t recall exactly when) I first learned of Sierra Nevada’s plans for their 2014 Beer Camp Sampler. This isn’t the first year, of course, that they’ve done a Beer Camp 12-pack, and I look forward to the variety of beers they deliver, each a special formulation by a homebrewer. At least that’s usually the case, anyway. For 2014, Sierra Nevada wanted to do something a little differently.

Hence, Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America. This time around, the sampler would in fact offer 12 unique brews, each a collaboration with a highly regarded brewery. The beers would be brewed at Sierra Nevada’s two facilities: Chico, California, and Mills River, North Carolina. More than an eclectic gathering of special beers, this sampler shines through as a symbol of the collective spirit craft brewers hold, a spirit of respect and admiration for finely crafted beer that transcends the competitive drive.

The 12 beers in the sampler include (from the Sierra Nevada Website):

•Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, Maine -- Myron’s Walk Belgian-Style Pale Ale

•Asheville Brewers Alliance, Asheville, N.C. -- Tater Ridge Scottish Ale

•Ballast Point Brewing Company, San Diego, Calif. -- Electric Ray India Pale Lager

•Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich. -- Maillard’s Odyssey Imperial Dark Ale

•Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, Fla. -- Yonder Bock Tropical Maibock (CAN)

•Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, Calif. -- Torpedo Pilsner Hoppy Pilsner

•New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, Wis. -- There and Back English-Style Bitter

•Ninkasi Brewing Company, Eugene, Ore. -- Double Latte Coffee Milk Stout

•Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, Colo./Brevard, N.C. -- CANfusion Rye Bock (CAN)

•Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa, Calif. -- Yvan the Great Belgian-Style Blonde

•3 Floyds Brewing Company, Munster, Ind. -- Chico King Pale Ale

•Victory Brewing Company, Downingtown, Pa. -- Alt Route Altbier

It’s the Maillard's Odyysey Imperial Dark Ale that I’m drinking tonight, and more on that in a minute. First, though, I had to find the sampler, and I knew that wasn’t going to be an easy task. I e-mailed Sherlocks in Kennesaw about it, but didn’t get a response. Total Wine couldn’t tell me when it was coming in. I only found out when pictures started appearing in Honest Craft Beer Reviews, and then I made it a mission to get a 12-pack. Luckily, Sherlocks had just gotten them in, and I raced there in time to score (along with a bonus 13^th bomber of a Beer Camp West Coast Double IPA).

The price was not as welcome a surprise, however: $25 is steep indeed, and $5 more than I paid for last year’s Beer Camp 12-pack. That was overpriced as well in my book. Prices seem to vary across the country according to accounts in Honest Craft Beer Reviews, with prices as low as $17 and as high as $30 being reported. $25 seems to be the median price, and as much as I complain about price it’s important to note you are paying for 12 unique singles here, and that is a mitigating factor. Then too, these aren’t beers to pop in succession over a weekend, but to be savored over a series of nights one by one.

That was a year ago, though, and this sampler is now a part of beer history.

OK, now to the Maillard's Odyysey Imperial Dark Ale that I’m drinking tonight. This is the eleventh bottle (or can for that matter) that I’ve popped from the sampler. Only one left! The plan had been to drink them in order of strength, smallest to largest. But our own Tom Beer Whisperer Mulvihill teased me awhile back with the notions of sweet potato in beer in a brew that included them. Since Tater Ridge also used that tuber as an ingredient, it was the first to be popped. From there, though, I’m going (mostly) in order of alcohol content, and Maillard's Odyysey is close to the top on that score. I've aged it a year because, well, I lost in one of my beer fridges, but as you'll soon see it seems no worse for the wear.

Maillard's Odyysey is a collaborative effort with Michicgan's Bells brewery. Sierra Nevada says this of it on the label:

Rich, dark, and roasty. That was our shared vision, and Maillard's Odyssey is exactly that, taking its name in part from the famed  Maillard reaction—the “browning” of sugars and amino acids—that creates the wonderful caramelized toffee-like and roasted flavors so abundant in this beer.

Ingredients from the website:

Yeast -Ale

Bittering Hops -Magnum

Finishing Hops -Sterling, Cascade

Malts -Two-row Pale, Munich, Caramel, Chocolate, Wheat, Oats, Roasted Barley

Maillard's Odyysey has an alcohol content of 8.5% by volume and 40 IBUs. Mine was bottled on 5/21/14, I assume at the Mills River facility. I enjoyed it out of a Beer Camp glass I picked up when I visited the new brewery in Mill River this past July

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Across America Maillard’s Oddysey pours to a jet black color with a thick, very creamy tan head of tightly packed bubbles and a heady nose of coffee and chocolate. A thick layer of Brussels lace forms on the sides of my glass and follows the liquid all the way to the bottom.

Taking a sip, I get a fairly thick creamy mouthfeel followed by rich toffee and caramel notes, bittersweet dark chocolate, raisin,  and roasty coffee. The beer finishes roasty bitter and very much like a cup of black coffee.

They call this an imperial dark ale, whatever that is, but it really seems like an imperial porter to me. Whatever you call it, it rocks.  I think it needs just a smidge more body to be perfect, but I get they're calling this an imperial dark ale. It's delicious and has held up perfectly after a year. I'd love to see this one come back again folks!

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



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