Ymm, Beer

[devildeac]

I'll bet this one's not cheap:

Bourbon Barrel Aged Third Coast (on tap at Bottle Revolution)

[Tripping William]

Any sightings of this in the Winston-Salem area?

Attachment 9087

Not mentioning any names, of course ...

The call-out was subtle, but not *that* subtle.

I haven't seen any yet, but am keeping an eye out. Actually two eyes.

Update: An email today from Stella says that this is among their "new arrivals."

[devildeac]

Update: An email today from Stella says that this is among their "new arrivals."

We'll strike out about 930 AM next Thursday for our journey to the mid-Atlantic/Midwest region. I'll bring the beers, guns and money (extra of items #1 and 3, if needed) if you'll bring the lawyer/s. More details to follow. I'll save a little extra room in the trunk if you're/I'm "feeling lucky."

[devildeac]

Narwhal Bourbon Barrel Aged (2016?)-Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

"This beer is no longer brewed."

One of the older products (I think) from their Trip in the Woods series.

This was a corked and caged 750 ml bottle shared with myself () and divided over 2 nights earlier this week and probably bought at the River Mills, NC facility several years ago for somewhere between $15-20.

Pour was a slightly cloudy, cocoa color with a small, tan head. Nose of baker's chocolate with a mouth feel that was somewhat oily and viscous (it's an imperial stout). Lots of cocoa on the palate to accompany, some semi-sweet chocolate, charred wood, dried/dark fruits, a drop or two of coffee and a fairly soft, smooth bourbon finish. The regular Narwhal is 60 IBUs and that sounds about right for this, too. The ABV however for the BBA version is a potent 12.5%. I like the original version but also greatly enjoyed this variation, too. Here's the ingredient list for the parent "compound," copied and pasted from the SN site:

YEAST Ale yeast
BITTERING HOPS Magnum, Challenger
FINISHING HOPS Challenger
MALTS Two-row Pale, Caramel, Chocolate, Honey, Carafa III, Roasted Barley

[devildeac]

Wood-Aged I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.es Brew (bottled on 01/12/18 0802)-Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

I'm not sure who to credit for this one .

Here's the DFH explanation:

"Originally brewed in honor of the 40th anniversary of the release of Miles Davis’ 1970 landmark Jazz fusion record I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.es Brew, our ‘remix’ is a gustatory tribute to that analog masterpiece.

Much like Jazz fusion, which blends different musical styles, our Wood-Aged I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.es Brew is a fusion of three threads of Imperial stout aged on oak and one thread of Tej - a native African honey beer - aged on Palo."

I found this hidden in a DFH 4 pack carrier at the back of the top shelf of the beer fridge and, trying to go through some older beers before purchasing some new ones, this one jumped into my grasp this evening . Plus, female canines always remind me of a certain fake university with no morals/integrity .

The 12 ounce pour took about an hour to finish with the first four ounces at garage temperature (about 55 degrees), then fridge temp (about 40-45 degrees), then room temp (about 65 degrees). Probably not much difference except a bit more dark honey at the warmer climate. Color was dark brown and a bit cloudy with a head that was thin and tan. Nose was chicory and unsweetened chocolate. Palate sensors registered the same with some coffee, a bit of licorice, charred wood and dark caramel with a hint of dark/amber honey. IBUs of 38 (I'd have guessed a bit higher, perhaps 50-60 range) and the ABV is 9% so it is indeed in imperial territory. Pleased to have one that's a bit over a year old but happy not to have spent ~$20 on a 6er of these.

[fuse]

https://www.hopculture.com/best-new-...ipa-hazy-2019/

Literally heard of none of them.

[devildeac]

https://www.hopculture.com/best-new-...ipa-hazy-2019/

Literally heard of none of them.

Interesting they would suggest or "feature" 5 breweries likely only known by residents of that city or maybe state.

[accfanfrom1970]

First there was Foolery, then Trickery, followed by a Ruse. Hardywood’s milk stout aged in bourbon, apple brandy and red wine barrels. The Foolery and Ruse have been reviewed here before, both are award winning. Unable to get apple brandy barrels this year to make Trickery, Hardywood created a new beer called Hoax, aged in regular brandy barrels. I was able to pick up a couple bottles of Hoax and Ruse from the brewery and tried the Hoax last night.

First off, poured dark brown, bit of a foam head, 13.5% abv. It’s sweet and a bit boozy, with a bit of chocolate, marshmellow? Toasty aftertaste. Very good and a bit unusual. I think it suffers from not being as good as Foolery and Ruse. I’m going to let the 2nd bottle sit until the fall and try again. Just another great example of the barrel aged series of beers from Hardywood. Both their gbs and milk stout variants are well worth the price.

[devildeac]

First there was Foolery, then Trickery, followed by a Ruse. Hardywood’s milk stout aged in bourbon, apple brandy and red wine barrels. The Foolery and Ruse have been reviewed here before, both are award winning. Unable to get apple brandy barrels this year to make Trickery, Hardywood created a new beer called Hoax, aged in regular brandy barrels. I was able to pick up a couple bottles of Hoax and Ruse from the brewery and tried the Hoax last night.

First off, poured dark brown, bit of a foam head, 13.5% abv. It’s sweet and a bit boozy, with a bit of chocolate, marshmellow? Toasty aftertaste. Very good and a bit unusual. I think it suffers from not being as good as Foolery and Ruse. I’m going to let the 2nd bottle sit until the fall and try again. Just another great example of the barrel aged series of beers from Hardywood. Both their gbs and milk stout variants are well worth the price.

Which tailgate?

(shameless)

Seriously, Hoax sounds wonderful.

Taking the Caliente (not barrel-aged) and the Apple Brandy Barrel-Aged GBS on our Columbus/Chicago trip next week to share with our son. Slowly working my way through the 2018 GBS Complete set.

[devildeac]

Don't Be Mean to People (no "canned on" date)-Ponysaurus Brewing Company

A golden rule saison or NC farmhouse ale, both being printed on the can.

Pretty local!

Pint can stolen, err, collected from older daughter and her husband for kiddie and dog-sitting recently.

Poured vigorously into my oversized Ommegang tulip, leaving the last couple ounces in the can (for sipping a bit later) as the head was somewhat voluminous/frothy . Color was yellow-orange-amber with wet straw aromas. Tastes differed as they mellowed into apples, oranges and pears with a bit of barnyard, finishing with a pinch of black pepper. Untapped quotes 30 IBUs, an accurate number or maybe guess on their part. ABV was 6%. This would be very tasty with a plate of fresh fruits or an entree like sweet and sour shrimp or chicken. A very good brew.

[Tripping William]

A Charlotte client was insistent that we have lunch at Olde Meck and the visit Lenny Boy yesterday. “Ow! My arm! Quit twisting!” More to follow.

[Tripping William]

Don't Be Mean to People (no "canned on" date)-Ponysaurus Brewing Company

A golden rule saison or NC farmhouse ale, both being printed on the can.

Pretty local!

Pint can stolen, err, collected from older daughter and her husband for kiddie and dog-sitting recently.

Poured vigorously into my oversized Ommegang tulip, leaving the last couple ounces in the can (for sipping a bit later) as the head was somewhat voluminous/frothy . Color was yellow-orange-amber with wet straw aromas. Tastes differed as they mellowed into apples, oranges and pears with a bit of barnyard, finishing with a pinch of black pepper. Untapped quotes 30 IBUs, an accurate number or maybe guess on their part. ABV was 6%. This would be very tasty with a plate of fresh fruits or an entree like sweet and sour shrimp or chicken. A very good brew.

I really like this beer. Glad you enjoyed.

[devildeac]

A Charlotte client was insistent that we have lunch at Olde Meck and the visit Lenny Boy yesterday. “Ow! My arm! Quit twisting!” More to follow.

Any injuries involved?

Do we need a Tripping William "rotator cuff" or "beer elbow" vigil?

[fuse]

A Charlotte client was insistent that we have lunch at Olde Meck and the visit Lenny Boy yesterday. “Ow! My arm! Quit twisting!” More to follow.

A friend of ours daughter does the artwork for the Lenny Boy cans.

[Tripping William]

Any injuries involved?

Do we need a Tripping William "rotator cuff" or "beer elbow" vigil?

Liver vigil

[Tripping William]

As promised, here are some notes from Friday's trip to Charlotte (as well as a beer I had at Douglas Airport last night, en route to Vegas).

(1) Olde Mecklenburg. First time I have been to their facility. It's massive. Good food, with a heavy German bent. The sausages were delicious, and the pork schnitzel was quite good. A colleague reported that the jambalaya was terrific. As for the beer (mostly four-ounce pours):

(a) Fat Boy baltic porter was "meh." Not particularly flavorful, which made me feel like I was wasting the 8+% ABV.

(b) Hornet's Nest hefeweizen was decent. The expected banana and clove notes, but, again, on the really "subtle" side.

(c) Fruh Bock doppelbock. A very solid beer. Nice copper color. Good lager flavors. Worth drinking again.

(d) 1768 dunkel weizen. The best beer I had at Olde Meck, and may have ever had from Olde Meck.
It tasted basically like a combo of the Hornet's Nest and the Fruh Bock. Nice, warming flavors from the dunkel side, but discernible wheat beer flavors from the weizen side. I ordered-up a pint of this after the sampler

(2) Lenny Boy. As I mentioned, the client wanted to visit here, too, so away we went. Great space there as well, although definitely smaller than Olde Meck. Their six-beer flight-pours were six ounces, and I ordered three for me and three for colleagues (the IPAs, which I did not end up tasting). My three:

(a) El Mirage. A tripel aged in tequila barrels for a year and then blended with kaffir lime leaves.
A really terrific beer. Bright gold color, with wonderful notes from the barrel aging. I'd buy a growler of this in a heartbeat. Dangerously easy-drinking at 8.8% ABV. Almost like a golden strong ale.

(b) Ground Up: Their coffee milk stout, brewed with Counter Culture coffee. Also delicious. Heavy coffee notes (which I love; think something akin to Donut Skillet). Also easy-drinking at 5.3% ABV. I purchased their last two 16-ounce cans of this.

(c) Berliner Vine Volume 2. A wild ale brewed with NC muscadine grapes and aged in Pinot Noir barrels.
The beer of the trip. Absolutely terrific. Just enough sourness to cause some pucker, but not over-the-top.
The barrel aging imparts terrific wine-influenced flavors. I'd fill two growlers of this in a fraction of a heartbeat

(d) One last note is that I purchased cans of their Breakfast in Heaven breakfast imperial stout, which is also brewed with Counter Culture coffee, but aged in Heaven Hills barrels. Toss in cocoa nibs, lactose, and vanilla beans, and I couldn't pass this up. I also did a can each of their Citraphilia IPA (their flagship) and the Life in the South lager, brewed with stone ground grits. Look forward to sampling all of these

(3) Last night while awaiting my plane, I had a 16-ounce can of Sugar Creek's blood orange IPA. Nice and hazy, tons of citrus, and very tasty. I'd seek this out again.

As I said: Liver vigil . . . .

[Tripping William]

A friend of ours daughter does the artwork for the Lenny Boy cans.

Very cool. I'll have to take a closer look when I get home.

[fuse]

As promised, here are some notes from Friday's trip to Charlotte (as well as a beer I had at Douglas Airport last night, en route to Vegas).

(1) Olde Mecklenburg. First time I have been to their facility. It's massive. Good food, with a heavy German bent. The sausages were delicious, and the pork schnitzel was quite good. A colleague reported that the jambalaya was terrific. As for the beer (mostly four-ounce pours):

(a) Fat Boy baltic porter was "meh." Not particularly flavorful, which made me feel like I was wasting the 8+% ABV.

(b) Hornet's Nest hefeweizen was decent. The expected banana and clove notes, but, again, on the really "subtle" side.

(c) Fruh Bock doppelbock. A very solid beer. Nice copper color. Good lager flavors. Worth drinking again.

(d) 1768 dunkel weizen. The best beer I had at Olde Meck, and may have ever had from old Meck.
It tasted basically like a combo of the Hornet's Nest and the Fruh Bock. Nice, warming flavors from the dunkel side, but discernible wheat beer flavors from the weizen side. I ordered-up a pint of this after the sampler

(2) Lenny Boy. As I mentioned, the client wanted to visit here, too, so away we went. Great space there as well, although definitely smaller than Olde Meck. Their six-beer flight-pours were six ounces, and I ordered three for me and three for colleagues (the IPAs, which I did not end up tasting). My three:

(a) El Mirage. A tripel aged in tequila barrels for a year and then blended with kaffir lime leaves.
A really terrific beer. Bright gold color, with wonderful notes from the barrel aging. I'd buy a growler of this in a heartbeat. Dangerously easy-drinking at 8.8% ABV. Almost like a golden strong ale.

(b) Ground Up: Their coffee milk stout, brewed with Counter Culture coffee. Also delicious. Heavy coffee notes (which I love; think something akin to Donut Skillet). Also easy-drinking at 5.3% ABV. I purchased their last two 16-ounce cans of this.

(c) Berliner Vine Volume 2. A wild ale brewed with NC muscadine grapes and aged in Pinot Noir barrels.
The beer of the trip. Absolutely terrific. Just enough sourness to cause some pucker, but not over-the-top.
The barrel aging imparts terrific wine-influenced flavors. I'd fill two growlers of this in a fraction of a heartbeat

(d) One last note is that I purchased cans of their Breakfast in Heaven breakfast imperial stout, which is also brewed with Counter Culture coffee, but aged in Heaven Hills barrels. Toss in cocoa nibs, lactose, and vanilla beans, and I couldn't pass this up. I also did a can each of their Citraphilia IPA (their flagship) and the Life in the South lager, brewed with stone ground grits. Look forward to sampling all of these

(3) Last night while awaiting my plane, I had a 16-ounce can of Sugar Creek's blood orange IPA. Nice and hazy, tons of citrus, and very tasty. I'd seek this out again.

As I said: Liver vigil . . . .

I would certainly expect Mecktoberfest to have been out of season. It is their best beer I’ve had, and maybe the best Marzen/Octoberfest I’ve had.

[devildeac]

As promised, here are some notes from Friday's trip to Charlotte (as well as a beer I had at Douglas Airport last night, en route to Vegas).

(1) Olde Mecklenburg. First time I have been to their facility. It's massive. Good food, with a heavy German bent. The sausages were delicious, and the pork schnitzel was quite good. A colleague reported that the jambalaya was terrific. As for the beer (mostly four-ounce pours):

(a) Fat Boy baltic porter was "meh." Not particularly flavorful, which made me feel like I was wasting the 8+% ABV.

(b) Hornet's Nest hefeweizen was decent. The expected banana and clove notes, but, again, on the really "subtle" side.

(c) Fruh Bock doppelbock. A very solid beer. Nice copper color. Good lager flavors. Worth drinking again.

(d) 1768 dunkel weizen. The best beer I had at Olde Meck, and may have ever had from Olde Meck.
It tasted basically like a combo of the Hornet's Nest and the Fruh Bock. Nice, warming flavors from the dunkel side, but discernible wheat beer flavors from the weizen side. I ordered-up a pint of this after the sampler

(2) Lenny Boy. As I mentioned, the client wanted to visit here, too, so away we went. Great space there as well, although definitely smaller than Olde Meck. Their six-beer flight-pours were six ounces, and I ordered three for me and three for colleagues (the IPAs, which I did not end up tasting). My three:

(a) El Mirage. A tripel aged in tequila barrels for a year and then blended with kaffir lime leaves.
A really terrific beer. Bright gold color, with wonderful notes from the barrel aging. I'd buy a growler of this in a heartbeat. Dangerously easy-drinking at 8.8% ABV. Almost like a golden strong ale.

(b) Ground Up: Their coffee milk stout, brewed with Counter Culture coffee. Also delicious. Heavy coffee notes (which I love; think something akin to Donut Skillet). Also easy-drinking at 5.3% ABV. I purchased their last two 16-ounce cans of this.

(c) Berliner Vine Volume 2. A wild ale brewed with NC muscadine grapes and aged in Pinot Noir barrels.
The beer of the trip. Absolutely terrific. Just enough sourness to cause some pucker, but not over-the-top.
The barrel aging imparts terrific wine-influenced flavors. I'd fill two growlers of this in a fraction of a heartbeat

(d) One last note is that I purchased cans of their Breakfast in Heaven breakfast imperial stout, which is also brewed with Counter Culture coffee, but aged in Heaven Hills barrels. Toss in cocoa nibs, lactose, and vanilla beans, and I couldn't pass this up. I also did a can each of their Citraphilia IPA (their flagship) and the Life in the South lager, brewed with stone ground grits. Look forward to sampling all of these

(3) Last night while awaiting my plane, I had a 16-ounce can of Sugar Creek's blood orange IPA. Nice and hazy, tons of citrus, and very tasty. I'd seek this out again.

As I said: Liver vigil . . . .

Amazing list. Liver vigil, indeed.

[devildeac]

Olde School Barleywine (bottled on 10/27/14 1343)-Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

This was another aged beer that called my name from the beer fridge a few days ago and I divided the 12 ounce bottle (my last) over the last 3 nights.

Poured into a cute little 5 ounce snifter (one of four gifted to me at Christmas for sharing with family members; yes, the snifters and the contents ) and appeared a clear, medium to dark amber with a small, rapidly disappearing head. The last sample has some fine sediment and was rather cloudy without being chunky. Stuff smelled like dried, dark fruit elixir and tasted like it, too. Figs and dates (both were added) were very prominent along with dark brown sugar, dark rum (not barrel aged), dried cherries, molasses with a mouthfeel that was almost cloying and syrupy. IBUs were 85 (it's a barleywine) but I'd have never guessed so high as it was amazingly smooth. ABV reached the legal NC limit of 15% () and, after about 3-4 ounces each night, it was readily apparent.

I'm not sure whether this was a trader or a personal purchase so, if you remember including this in a 4 pack a few years ago, many blessings and thanks to you or I'll have to sustain personal injury (no lawyers necessary, thank you very much ) whilst patting myself on the head and shoulders for this purchase. And, I don't like barleywines much anymore but, if I saw a 4 pack of this rarity, I'd readily spend the $20ish it'd take to buy it.