I’m not much of an extreme beer fan, having gone on record as calling the big beer trend ‘gimmicky,’ ‘faddish,’ and ‘contrary to the social nature of beer.’ But only a fool closes his mind when he opens his mouth, so I keep trying them. Every now and then, a big beer blows me away, and not just in the sense of making me fall off the damn barstool.

Case in point: Avery The Czar Imperial Stout. 12.2% of murky goodness. It’s a sweet, vaguely chocolatey brew with a light, oily texture, with notes of raisin and roasted grain. For all of its alcohol and complexity, The Czar is surprisingly light on the tongue, and the flavor blend camouflages alcoholic flavor surprisingly well. Maybe too well. This beer will kill you, and, if you’re insane enough to order more than one, you probably deserve it.

You know, one of the things I admire about American indie brewers is their determination to keep working on improving mediocre beer styles until they’re perfect. The big beers on the market today are definitely tasting better than just a couple of years ago. They’re more refined, less brutish, less one-dimensional. Finally, extreme beers are deserving of the cult status they enjoy among beer devotees. It’s evident that there’s stil an element of the hobbyist in a lot of the people who make them.

I hope that never, ever goes away.

-Mark