I like it better than Old Raspy. In my opinion, Narwhal is more balanced and less in your face, but still has a great flavor profile.
guess I'll try Whole Foods then...still have never been in one. on a different, interesting note, I found some CCB Maduro in VA today!
SN Narwhal has been available in Charlotte, NC for 3-4 weeks now. Haven't tried it yet, but planning to this weekend. I'll keep you posted! Cheers.
It's been since last January I've had Rasputin. So I'm going to put it this way...I finished a 4pk of Narwhal and found another store that had cases of it and got me one. I didn't do that with Rasp... Now, in saying this, I need to revisit an old friend and give him another chance this weekend.
Very good brew. I easily had 2 back to back and could've had more if I really wanted to. The coffee and chocolate notes were delicious and the ABV was masked very well; even fresh. I'd buy again.
I don't think Austin is getting any... I grabbed a couple 4-packs when I was in Houston last week. My opinion: If you want a non-local RIS, save your money for the GD Oak-Aged Yeti or hit up Hyde Park Grocery for some 2010 Ten Fidy.
Good analogy, and confirms that I don't need to seek this out. I'll stick with Founders RIS for my regular stout choice.
Don't get me wrong - narwhal is really good. But yeah, if I saw the two on the shelf I'd reach for the FIS. Since their releases are a good three months apart, narwhal could definitely serve as a lead up beer to FIS.
I think Narwhal is a fine RIS, but it doesn't touch Old Rasputin imo. And the pricepoint is high. I can get O.R. for $8.75 / 4PK, as opposed to roughly $13.00 for the SN. I don't mind paying $13 for FBS, but it's much for SN. All of these stouts improve as they warm, but to my pallette anyway, Old Raspution is the most complex and definitely my personal favorite. Simply an amazing RIS.
8.99 for Old Raspy and 9.99 Narwhal here. Old Rasp on nitro is hard to beat but I think by bottle comparison, Narwhal is superior.
I don't know of anyone having better bottle art than Jester King. http://jesterkingbrewery.com/beers/
You said it. It's only solid. Not extraordinary. Sierra Nevada has a knack for creating beers that are good and often quintessential representations of the respective style, but, with the exception of a few, in my opinion, not great.
Unfortunately this is seeming more and more likely. I've been calling Specs about once a week and every time the beer guy says the rep he's been talking too prolongs the date every time. So he's basically given up. I still have some hope it'll show up, fingers crossed!
I don't think that this is that great. Has a big burnt malt taste to it. There are better Imperial Stouts IMHO. Not worth the hype.
Narwhal is a great stout! We have had no trouble getting it in the Midwest. Probably one of my favorite stouts for the money and availability!
Founders RIS is probably my favorite, easy to find RIS. Narwhal is damn good in my opinion. The smell is amazing. It's a little hot right now but still delicious. I'm going save a couple for a few months and see what it does. I let mine sit on the counter in the bottle for about 45 minutes and it was perfect.
Yeah, Narwhal has been all over SE WI for the last month, and is a great beer. I went with one 4 pack for $9.99, but have now gone back to Storm King 6ers at 10.99. My favorite widely available IS.
Where are you looking? Try Total Wine. I'm is West LA and I've gone through about 5 4packs. I see your Avatar is UCLA, try Beverage Warehouse in Culver City. Was just there today and picked 1 up, they had about a case left. BevMo might be worth a look too also. Good luck.
I can see this beer aging really nice. There's some bitter notes there right now, but I could see them mellowing with some time. Just reviewed it..... http://eriebetterbeer.com/2012/11/15/video-review-sierra-nevada-narwhal-reviewed-by-morey/
