Ymm, Beer

[fuse]

Southern Tier 2XMas is a liquid Christmas cookie.
Good stuff!

[fuse]

Samichlaus Barrique aged in chardonnay barrels 2013

14% and proud of every bit of it.

Smells boozy, sticky maple.

Poured a clear amber.

We had this with a pork chop and mashed potato dinner.
I figured it would be fairly mild and pair with almost anything.

While that may be true, it is so bold in alcohol, and so thick and syrupy sweet, I'd recommend it as either a stand alone dessert or an apertif.

It has been so long since I have had a Samichlaus(I may have one in the fridge) that any comparison would be memory flawed.

I don't really get anything that really suggests complexity or barrel aging, which is a shame.

This limited edition beer was quite pricey, and frankly not worth the cost.
I am glad I tried it. I do think it would actually pair well with a cigar.

[mattman91]

Had the opportunity to check out Sweeten Creek Brewing, Asheville's newest (21st!) brewery a few days ago.

They had 4 guest taps available, along with four of their own beers - a pale ale, black ipa, pilsner, and a brown ale. I tried the pale ale and black ipa, and had a small sip of my aunt's brown ale.

Nothing spectacular, but not bad either. I found the black ipa to be less hoppy than the pale. The website says it is brewed with lactose, which could explain why it seemed so sweet to me. I'd recommend it to someone who normally doesn't like hoppy styles (Ricks68) as it's more of a lightly hopped stout.

Not a brewery to go out of the way for, but since it is only a dangerous 5 mile drive from my aunt's house, I can see myself paying the place a few more visits in the near future.

Oh yeah, the also have a small sandwich shop in the back that "proudly serves Boar's Head"

[mattman91]

2015 Asheville Winter Warmer ticket purchased! This will be the 3rd year in a row. By far my favorite beer festival each year!

[mattman91]

Pours very light gold, almost macro light lager like.

The nose is a mix of hops I can't identify.
My nose tells me at least one of them is Nelson Sauvin, or some other hop I can't name that I am not super fond of.

Finishes with a multiple of "ick to me" hop notes.

Glad for today's advent beer, even though it's not for me.
Worth trying, can recognize it is a good beer, couldn't personally recommend it.
Since everyone's palate is different, you might like it.
Troeg's makes great beer.


Anyone else see New Belgium may be putting itself up for sale?
I imagine Asheville area is abuzz about it.

I found this article the other day. Interesting. I can't wait for the taps to start flowing in Asheville...I drive by the place on my way to work every day.

[devildeac]

Samichlaus Barrique aged in chardonnay barrels 2013

14% and proud of every bit of it.

Smells boozy, sticky maple.

Poured a clear amber.

We had this with a pork chop and mashed potato dinner.
I figured it would be fairly mild and pair with almost anything.

While that may be true, it is so bold in alcohol, and so thick and syrupy sweet, I'd recommend it as either a stand alone dessert or an apertif.

It has been so long since I have had a Samichlaus(I may have one in the fridge) that any comparison would be memory flawed.

I don't really get anything that really suggests complexity or barrel aging, which is a shame.

This limited edition beer was quite pricey, and frankly not worth the cost.
I am glad I tried it. I do think it would actually pair well with a cigar.

I've got a few Samichlaus and Samichlaus Helles from 3-5 years back. We'll have to schedule a vertical sometime.

[devildeac]

Fearrington Summer India Tea Ale-Fullsteam Brewing

Yea, it's a month or three late but I got the bomber at Total Wine a two months ago for about $6 for the bomber so not a bad purchase. Their interesting twist to a session IPA. Poured a straw color with a moderate, fizzy head. Floral and lemony nose with lemon zest and light herbal and floral flavors from Ahtanum hops and lemon peel. Also brewed with grey tea from a Charleston tea company but I don't smell/taste much, if any of this. Our son and youngest daughter didn't take to this too much and can't say I blame them. Mild to moderate IBU #s at 48 and modest ABV of 4.5% so it fits the definition of a session IPA, which really appear to be pale ales. Not a Ycch, Beer, but not one I'd revisit next summer.

[devildeac]

Snow Storm (draft)-Mother Earth Brewing

Take Snow Flurry and add more wind, moisture and cold, err, hops and grains and you get a Snow Storm. Snow Flurry is their new juniper rye IPA brewed this winter and I have a 6er of that waiting to be shared with fuse tomorrow. This was a brewery only special and brewed in such limited quantities that growler fills were not even allowed. Poured a slightly cloudy yellow-straw color with a moderate lacy head, the aromas were tropical and citrus and the tastes were pineapple, orange, mango and papaya with light brown sugar sweetness. I'm not sure I could detect any juniper and the rye was pretty subdued. The hop menu included Cascade, Centennial and Citra. I'll estimate IBUs of 80 and the ABV was on the menu at 8.8% so clearly in IIPA territory. Paired nicely with my Wilber's BBQ sammich with slaw and some hush puppies. Sure would be nice to see them market this in 4 packs.

[fuse]

First a massive hat tip and a nod to devildeac for a special Christmas Eve delivery.

Always good to catch up with a friend and fellow beer aficianado.

Post church brought forth the 2015 Mother Earth Silent Night.
Perhaps its the mental build up as opening this has become a recent tradition.
2015 feels a bit like an off year- not to say it is bad- it may need to age a year.
I may crack a 2014 tomorrow (maybe not- a ton of fun beers to try tomorrow, a lot of belgian holiday ales like Scaldis Noel and Gouden Carolus beckon, plus my as yet unknown last day of advent 750ml Belgian).

Silent Night has been followed by The Bruery Eight Maids a Milkin- a belgian style milk stout. Really unusual- nose of a belgian with some belgian yeast notes interwoven with really beautiful milk stout flavour.

[mattman91]

Opened my first Christmas gift tonight..it was The Beer Bible.

Merry Christmas fellow beerivores!

[devildeac]

First a massive hat tip and a nod to devildeac for a special Christmas Eve delivery.

Always good to catch up with a friend and fellow beer aficianado.

Post church brought forth the 2015 Mother Earth Silent Night.
Perhaps its the mental build up as opening this has become a recent tradition.
2015 feels a bit like an off year- not to say it is bad- it may need to age a year.
I may crack a 2014 tomorrow (maybe not- a ton of fun beers to try tomorrow, a lot of belgian holiday ales like Scaldis Noel and Gouden Carolus beckon, plus my as yet unknown last day of advent 750ml Belgian).

Silent Night has been followed by The Bruery Eight Maids a Milkin- a belgian style milk stout. Really unusual- nose of a belgian with some belgian yeast notes interwoven with really beautiful milk stout flavour.

Bows humbly and acknowledges outstanding friendship and returns thanks for the pumpkin/chocolate chip and ginger bread loaves. May add to dessert tomorrow, may have for breakfast next couple days, may do both. Thank you, kind sir.

I also heard Samichlaus is coming to town...

[devildeac]

From 5/9/15 and 8/29/15:

Prometheus Unbound (draft/growler)-Big Boss Brewing

Drink local!

I'll thank Total Wine for printing $2 off coupons in their ad in Sunday's News and Observer, for if they hadn't done this, along with $1.50 off a 4 or 6 pack, I'd have probably not ventured into their North Raleigh store on Thursday evening and made any purchases. This was a fabulous find for $6 for a mini-growler that I shared with our son late last PM.

Poured a dark mahogany with a small, creamy head into a pint glass and sipped over 30-45 minutes. Enticing scents of red wine and dark berries were followed by taste explosions of the same with added bonuses of dark caramel, chocolate, sour patch kids dark fruits, oak and vanilla. Incredibly complex brew. I'd guess IBUs of 20-30 and the ABV is 8%. I wouldn't pair this with anything as the flavors are so rich that it's a stand alone/dessert beer. Worth seeking out today as it's a limited quantity release from their Strange Cargo series (http://bigbossbrewing.com/news.aspx) and won't be around long and might not be released/re-created again.


From August 29 (not West) PM (bottle):

The draft was better but the 12 ounce bottle I sipped over 60 minutes last PM from my Ommegang tulip was excellent also. Cost was about $4.50 with my 10% case discount so I bought 4 of these a few weeks ago from the Lafayette Village location of Raleigh's Crafty Beer Shop. This dark ale was aged a year in cabernet barrels which imparted the vinous notes, as expected. Maybe not so much sourness as a fresh draft. I've reconsidered and might pair this with some chocolate/fudge truffles or a slice of Black Forest cake for dessert, but, once again, it is a wonderful, stand-alone liquid dessert.

From last PM:

Prometheus Unbound (2014)-Big Boss Brewing

It's always nice to see/taste what a few more months of aging will do, in addition to allowing some family to arrive and share, something that almost always seems to make a fine ale taste even better. I think the only difference 4 months of additional cellaring did was to make this a bit smoother and more vinous and perhaps impart a few more dark berry-like nose mid-palate and to the finish. Spendy but worth a purchase of several to savor, share and trade.

[devildeac]

Silent Night (2011)-Mother Earth Brewing

Peace, Love and Beer.

Drink local!

This was included in my original trading session with fuse about 3.5 years ago. Last night seemed like a perfect night to have a mini-vertical with the 2012 edition, also included in that trading venture.

Poured from a briefly chilled, corked and caged 750 ml bottle and shared with our son, youngest daughter and her husband. Appearance was onyx with essentially no head. Fabulous aroma of semi-sweet chocolate with gentle waftings of espresso and whiskey. Tastes even more sensuous and decadent with dark chocolate, dried dates, figs and raisins, a drop of Jamaica's finest (beans, not weed) and a soft, gentle finish of bourbon, both the flavor and the burn. It's an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels and I'll guess IBUs in the 50s and the ABV is 9% but dangerously drinkable. Delicious night cap by its lonesome that would also make a great pairing with candied/spiced nuts or any chocolate/caramel dessert.

I'm not sure I'd ever sipped one of these before but with (many, many) thanks to fuse, this will be an annual purchase, starting with the two 2015 bottles procured directly from the brewery as I caught up with CB&B and completed my Christmas shopping for Mrs dd on Wednesday night.

d5fa62d8475cb282f63bab6a1c275c66_320x320.jpg

[devildeac]

Silent Night (2011)-Mother Earth Brewing

Peace, Love and Beer.

Drink local!

This was included in my original trading session with fuse about 3.5 years ago. Last night seemed like a perfect night to have a mini-vertical with the 2012 edition, also included in that trading venture.

Poured from a briefly chilled, corked and caged 750 ml bottle and shared with our son, youngest daughter and her husband. Appearance was onyx with essentially no head. Fabulous aroma of semi-sweet chocolate with gentle waftings of espresso and whiskey. Tastes even more sensuous and decadent with dark chocolate, dried dates, figs and raisins, a drop of Jamaica's finest (beans, not weed) and a soft, gentle finish of bourbon, both the flavor and the burn. It's an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels and I'll guess IBUs in the 50s and the ABV is 9% but dangerously drinkable. Delicious night cap by its lonesome that would also make a great pairing with candied/spiced nuts or any chocolate/caramel dessert.

I'm not sure I'd ever sipped one of these before but with (many, many) thanks to fuse, this will be an annual purchase, starting with the two 2015 bottles procured directly from the brewery as I caught up with CB&B and completed my Christmas shopping for Mrs dd on Wednesday night.

d5fa62d8475cb282f63bab6a1c275c66_320x320.jpg

Silent Night (2012)-Mother Earth Brewing

Thanks again to fuse for including this in our first "getting to know you" trading meet up long, long ago in a parking lot far, far away .

To conclude Christmas eve festivities, we divided (and conquered) the 750 ml bottle from 3 years ago. The only difference I could tell was that this edition had a Counter Culture coffee imprint on the label and the presence of the bean was a bit more prominent in this version. I neglected to mention that I tasted a bit of toasted coconut and vanilla in the 2011 pouring and I think the slightly stronger coffee flavors in the 2012 elixir pushed those flavors to the very edge of perception in our sipping.

My favorite of the 2? Probably the 2011 bottle (but by only a few milliliters) because it had a bit less coffee tastes and was more chocolate/bourbon forward. Looking ahead to my 2016 purchases already for a 2015/16 comparison.

[Tripping William]

An imperial stout (or, maybe, a double imperial stout) from Oklahoma, brewed with cinnamon bark. A little too heavy on the cinnamon. And at 11% ABV, it's not for lightweights. An interesting beer, but not sure I'd seek it out again.

[devildeac]

An imperial stout (or, maybe, a double imperial stout) from Oklahoma, brewed with cinnamon bark. A little too heavy on the cinnamon. And at 11% ABV, it's not for lightweights. An interesting beer, but not sure I'd seek it out again.

I've seen some Prairie brews before but never tasted any. Hmm...

[devildeac]

Deep River Pumpkin Pie Porter

Strange nose for a fall seasonal.

Almost a sprucey nose, hoppy.
An awful mix of spices on the palate.

Really a candidate for Yechh, beer.

Avoid. Terrible.

Ha! And he included one in our Christmas beer exchange yesterday. (Disclaimer: I was warned but still asked for a can .)

This was somewhere between Ymm and Ycch. I thought it over-spiced, had little pumpkin flavor and had a somewhat metallic/astringent finish. Four out of our five tasters tonight thought it OK but nothing special. The second pumpkin porter of the evening was more palatable...

[devildeac]

Gourd Rocker-Double Barley Brewing

Drink regional!

Well, it's brewed in Smithfield, NC but ricks68 found this in Beer City a couple months ago and included it in his ale package at the Pitt game. Poured a dark brown with a medium-sized, creamy head. Nose of pumpkin spices (beats the sheep out of me if I can tell you which ones) and tastes of the same with vanilla tipping the scale for me in favor of this brew, maybe with the addition of a small handful of milk chocolate chips on top of a slice of Mom's pumpkin pie. Palate pleasing at 27.4 IBUs (yes, it's on their beer page that way) and weighing in at 9.4% ABV so it's an imperial pumpkin porter. Reminds me Southern Tier's Warlock a bit. Serve with (nah, too easy to type pumpkin anything here) something caramel-y or chocolate-y. Or, make it a beer float with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Thanks to ricks68 for his delivery.

[fuse]

I'm certain if I figured out mobile search, I'd find my St Bernardus review from a year ago.

Pours deceptively dark with a rich coffee coloured head.

My nose is a bit stuffy so I know my palate is a bit off.

I think it smells like a Christmas cookie with Belgian candi sugar and yeast.

Dances on the tongue with fig, raisin, and spice notes.

Went as a wonderful complement to a caramel yule log.

[Tripping William]

I'm certain if I figured out mobile search, I'd find my St Bernardus review from a year ago.

Pours deceptively dark with a rich coffee coloured head.

My nose is a bit stuffy so I know my palate is a bit off.

I think it smells like a Christmas cookie with Belgian candi sugar and yeast.

Dances on the tongue with fig, raisin, and spice notes.

Went as a wonderful complement to a caramel yule log.

Good to know, as I grabbed a bottle the other day to consume sometime during this holiday season.