Ymm, Beer

[Tripping William]

As if Christmas Day didn't bring enough, a mini-growler from the Barrel Chest (Roanoke, VA) tap was a Boxing Day purchase. I've been having mediocre luck with off-the-beaten-path imperial stouts lately, and that unfortunate streak was not broken with this one. The initial pour was as expected: dark, thick black, with a thin dark-brown head. The nose was as expected, too: Coffee'y, chocolatey, and boozy. But there is a heavy metallic bitterness to the aftertaste that was just off-putting (at least to me). And, at 12% ABV, it's a beer that needs to be savored slowly, but savoring was difficult with the back-end funk. I tried it over two nights, with no real change in the experience. Not Ycch, but not a do-again for me.

Now, the 12-ounce of DuClaw's Sweet Baby Jesus that is in my fridge, *that's* another story . . . .

[fuse]

Maduro-Cigar City Brewing

Another winner from CCB. This time it's a brown ale with a nuance, the addition of flaked oats to the grain bill, adding a bit of smoothness/silkiness to the mouthfeel. Poured a dark, almost opaque brown with perhaps a bit of ruby. The small head disappeared quickly, leaving only a rim of suds. Seductive nose of dark caramel, bakers cocoa, tobacco and espresso with tastes of the same and a hints of smoked almonds and hazlenuts. Rather low on the IBU scale at 25 but not surprising given the style. ABV about as expected, too, at 5.5%. I'd serve this with smoked/grilled meats, game or chicken or a hearty bowl of stew. Thanks to windsor and her "beer guy" for the selection.

I can't add much more than another thank you to windsor and devildeac. I'm picky about brown ales- this is a good one!

[mattman91]

I can't add much more than another thank you to windsor and devildeac. I'm picky about brown ales- this is a good one!

Have you had the Hiwire Bed of Nails? Still one of my favorite browns, along with the Bolo from Burial. Asheville bias

[fuse]

Have you had the Hiwire Bed of Nails? Still one of my favorite browns, along with the Bolo from Burial. Asheville bias

I thought the Hiwire was ok when I tried it.

The Bolo is good.

Brown ale is a tough style to develop a standout.

Definitely dates me, I think Pete's Wicked Ale was awesome.

It would be awesome to see a brown ale beer trend reinvigorate the style a la IPAs, sours, gose,...

[Tripping William]

Paying a visit this afternoon, in advance of seeing The Book of Mormon at DPAC tonight. Any recommendations (or things to avoid) from this esteemed group of beer aficionados?

[fuse]

Paying a visit this afternoon, in advance of seeing The Book of Mormon at DPAC tonight. Any recommendations (or things to avoid) from this esteemed group of beer aficionados?

Been a long time since I've been.
My memory says the burgers were better than the beer, and I recall the burgers being really good.

[devildeac]

Paying a visit this afternoon, in advance of seeing The Book of Mormon at DPAC tonight. Any recommendations (or things to avoid) from this esteemed group of beer aficionados?

It's been probably 2.5 years or more for me so I'd echo fuse's comments. I'd get a sampler (brews named for Derm historical figures/characters/events/locations, IIRC) and whatever seasonal tap they have (guessing an imperial stout), enjoy the show and report back to us tomorrow.

[devildeac]

Tocobaga-Cigar City Brewing

The 6th and final installment from windsor's beer delivery express from points south of the Triangle area. It's labeled as a red ale but this ain't yo' mama's Killians. This is a highly hopped and malted imperial red ale. WTH? Imperial red ale? Devildeac must be a few yeast short of a full mash tun. Well, at 75 IBUs and 7.2% ABV, it is not really a session ale. Poured a reddish-dark amber with a moderate, foamy head. Immediate aromas of pine and citrus with hints of brown sugar sweetness. Tastes are juicy, piney and herbal hops with some caramel bready presence, too. It's a bit lower ABV than the sticky, delicious Oskar Blues G'Knight but higher IBUs so it's still fairly balanced statistically but the tongue-o-meter thinks the hops win here. It'd make good friends with a spicy, peppery-rubbed hunk of cow or pork or with any spicy Indian or Chinese food, also. Speaking of OB, I'm going to find a litter of their imperial red ale named above and have a side-by-side on the next go-round of my Florida beverages, along with a Le Freak and the Unholy comparison as mentioned upthread. A hearty, hoppy thanks again to windsor and her beer buddy.

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[devildeac]

Devildeac likes me, he really likes me!!!! :-)

Another of my New Glarus white whales courtesy of devildeac.

Poured deep thick ruby red- looks brown in low light, but clearly deeply red translucent.

The smell alone is dessert- ripe, sugary dark cherry.
My wife says it smells like cough syrup, but she's not passing her glass for me to finish. Easy to see this is a hit.

Effervescent sour cherry juice-glorious!
Sweet, bubbly with a tart cherry fruit finish.
No discernable hops/bitterness, and really no discernable alcohol- nothing on the bottle, online suggests 4% ABV.

Served in a wine glass, someone might be able to convince you this is a glass of Brachetto d'Acqui.

It's been a challenging week. Opening New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red was a brilliant way to end it.
So good it is hard to savor. Going down easy and disappearing quickly.

Many thanks devildeac!

Sadly, pathetically, embarrassingly, I held on to my bottle until last PM for an ale to celebrate the safe return of our youngest daughter and her husband from their NYC trip to view the Pinstripe Bowl.

Wisconsin Belgian Red (2014)-New Glarus Brewing

Better later than never. Surprisingly, this low ABV ale (4-5%) in a green, wax-dipped/capped 750 ml bottle from mid 2014 was still rather tasty. Poured a dark ruby-brown into wine glasses with a rapidly disappearing thin head. Smells like my Ocean Spray Cran-Cherry juice that I've been drinking for breakfast the last couple days, but bubbly. A bit tingly, like champagne, with tart and sweet cherries tantalizing the taste buds along with a hint of citrus, likely from (one and done) Wisconsin wheat, with a bit of breadiness from the Belgian barley, gently roasted. Aged on oak for a year but I couldn't discern any woodiness or vanilla. There was a bit of sediment in the last 2-3 ml which I mostly avoided, thankfully. This was a huge smile-maker from our honored guests and didn't last very long in our glasses. I'm not sure when I'll ever sample this again so our brief liaison tonight was particularly pleasurable, almost as savory as a 68-63 victory in the NC game.

[devildeac]

Exit 3 Blueberry Braggot-Flying Fish Brewing Company

From the great (cough, cough) state of NJ with its numerous southern/central blueberry farms comes this (not really a) beer but I couldn't find the Ymm, Braggot thread. Poured a pale apple juice hue with a minimal head with no retention. Honey-ish smells not surprising as this is pretty much a honey-fermented beverage that is briefly acquainted with likely very small quantities of Horizon hops (IBU 10) and large quantities of Belgian pilsner malts and then fermented with Belgian yeast and champagne yeast strains because standard beer yeasts can't survive at ABV much above 10% and this "honey wine" rolls on and off the palate at a stunning 15% ABV (no typo). Tastes are honey, apple, honey, pear and (not surprisingly) more honey. Mildly sugary-sweet but not as much as I might have imagined with (sadly) minimal blueberry presence. This is a dessert wine, err, ale but would pair nicely with berry fruits, either fresh or baked into a tart/compote/pie. Quite the deal at Total wine for $6, including a $2 clearance discount for a discontinued ale, likely from 2014.

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[mattman91]

Reviewing while drinking...

Catawba Brewing - King Winterbolt Winter Ale

Having this one at Jack of the Wood Pub here in Asheville, home of the original Green Man Brewery, and a pretty tasty Shepherd's Pie.

Brewed with crystal and dark malts, Sorachi, East Kent Golding, and Cascade hops.

Poured a very murky brown, which reminds me a lot of the Catawba River (how fitting). A very small off white head that sticks around and leaves a thick coat of lacing.

Not much on the aroma, mostly spiciness, and maybe some cinnamon. A bit of a dark dried fruit smell, but very subtle.

Much more carbonation on the palate than what you would expect from the appearance. The spiy hop notes burst through first. The initial bitterness is tamed rather quickly by the sweetness of caramel and dark fruits. Finishes dry and makes you want to keep drinking.

The flavors of this one really comes out more as it warns. Very enjoyable. Pick one, or 6, up if you find it.

Happy New Beers!

[devildeac]

Hoppy New Year!

[devildeac]

We only added about 95 pages to this thread in 2015 after adding around 105 in 2014. Need more beer posts!!!! I'll start again tonight .

[mattman91]

We only added about 95 pages to this thread in 2015 after adding around 105 in 2014. Need more beer posts!!!! I'll start again tonight .

I blame Duketaylor!

[fuse]

We only added about 95 pages to this thread in 2015 after adding around 105 in 2014. Need more beer posts!!!! I'll start again tonight .

Not likely to see me post prior to February.

I guess I can search DBR features and figure out my year to year post counts.

Hoppy New Year to all- make 2016 a great one!

[devildeac]

Troegs Brewing Troegenator is now available at your local Harris Teeter. Buy a 6er! Very high quality (and high gravity) double bock style lager.

[devildeac]

Not likely to see me post prior to February.

I guess I can search DBR features and figure out my year to year post counts.

Hoppy New Year to all- make 2016 a great one!

You can always recycle some of your old posts, if you can find them, of course .

Or, keep us updated on your new winter purchases for after January 31 consumption (like you need more 'fridge stuffers).

[mattman91]

Having a Ninja Porter and being reminded of how good it is. The Ninjabread Man and Love Ninja are great, but sometimes it's nice to just enjoy the original.

[devildeac]

Having a Ninja Porter and being reminded of how good it is. The Ninjabread Man and Love Ninja are great, but sometimes it's nice to just enjoy the original.

The award-winning original, correct?

[devildeac]

I certainly was aware of White Rabbit.

I can't recall ever having their beer.

The leader in the Creme brûlée stout category has to be Southern Tier, although it and White Rabbit's The Footman may be the only two I am aware of.

No head at all, bottled on 8/4.

Opaque black.

Nose is vanilla, soy, and maybe some coffee, chocolate and caramel.

Southern Tier is always, always over the top.
Their Creme Brûlée is so thick and rich you could almost walk on it.

The Footman is a lot more restrained.

At 10.9%, the Footman is a split and share, sip slowly beer.
The alcohol shows up on the finish, immediately tongue numbing.

The Footman is thinner than Southern Tier, and not necessarily in a bad way.

An initial vanilla sweetness yields to caramel with a dry chocolate finish.

Another dessert in a glass.
If you find Creme Brulee from Southern Tier to be too much (after about 4 ounces, I'm done) then the Footman may be to your liking.

Worth trying.

I have two more White Rabbit beers to try. After the Footman I am a bit excited- Jabberwocky, a Belgian style, and Tea Party, a vanilla bourbon Porter.

The Footman-White Rabbit Brewing Company

Drink local! (Angier, NC)

Pretty much nailed it as above except the bomber 3 of us shared tonight was divided half for the post below and half "straight up" and had an overly generous foamy, tan head despite a slow, careful pour. Perhaps a bit more coffee perception in The Footman than in the Creme Brûlée from Southern Tier.