Ymm, Beer

[Tripping William]

<opens Virtual Pub door; flips lamp switch; looks around; sees no one left; wonders where the manager might be; pulls a chair up to the bar; uses key’ring bottle’opener to crack bottle open>

So, thanks to devildeac for the trader in exchange for 2017 BBA Sexual Chocolate. Raleigh Brewing Company’s Grapes & Grains is a saison aged in Chardonnay barrels. Pours a hazy gold with a small’ish white head. A ton of grape and oak flavors on the palate, with a nice taste of stone fruits. A touch of pepperiness (is that a word?), and just a smidge of funk. Needs to be sipped slowly at 9.0% ABV. Borderline Cat 3. Good stuff; I’d have shared some with the barkeep, but it seems he skipped town ...

[devildeac]

<opens Virtual Pub door; flips lamp switch; looks around; sees no one left; wonders where the manager might be; pulls a chair up to the bar; uses key’ring bottle’opener to crack bottle open>

So, thanks to devildeac for the trader in exchange for 2017 BBA Sexual Chocolate. Raleigh Brewing Company’s Grapes & Grains is a saison aged in Chardonnay barrels. Pours a hazy gold with a small’ish white head. A ton of grape and oak flavors on the palate, with a nice taste of stone fruits. A touch of pepperiness (is that a word?), and just a smidge of funk. Needs to be sipped slowly at 9.0% ABV. Borderline Cat 3. Good stuff.

I thought/hoped you'd like that and found it a fair/favorable and interesting trader for the BBA SC. It was a big hit at the NC A&T tailgate with a couple folks sipping a glass of wine finding the Grapes and Grains to be quite good.

[fuse]

Had a Clouds Strawberry Rhubarb gose tonight.

Strawberry Rhubarb is not my thing, and yet I could not resist.

Tart and sour were pretty much what I tasted.
Nary a strawberry rhubarb to add to the flavours I detected.

[devildeac]

Had a Clouds Strawberry Rhubarb gose tonight.

Strawberry Rhubarb is not my thing, and yet I could not resist.

Tart and sour were pretty much what I tasted.
Nary a strawberry rhubarb to add to the flavours I detected.

Oh, how I wish my Chicago connection could have obtained the New Glarus Strawberry Rhubarb earlier this year (or last year) when it was available.

I guess we'll simply have to wait for tbyers11 to review his...

[Reilly]

You shoulda joined us last Saturday for our Virtual Pub on Ymm, Beer with Oktoberfest in Sempetmber .

1. I hadn't drank the entries yet.
2. We had not won 45-10 yet (and hence, I had not drank them yet).
3. I re-read the postings -- like many things this time of year, it went off the rails into pumpkin land.
4. It's never too late to get things right (still waiting on the correction to that 10/31 Miami game ... ) -- seek out the Devils Backbone, clear winner of my four.

[devildeac]

Saison Day DNP-CD:

Veil's Melancholia (still may be lurking outside, trying to gain entry...)

Blackberry Farm's Alban Farmhouse Red (was soooo tempted to pour 250-375 ml of this last PM which would have been too much at such a late hour)

[devildeac]

1. I hadn't drank the entries yet.
2. We had not won 45-10 yet (and hence, I had not drank them yet).
3. I re-read the postings -- like many things this time of year, it went off the rails into pumpkin land.
4. It's never too late to get things right (still waiting on the correction to that 10/31 Miami game ... ) -- seek out the Devils Backbone, clear winner of my four.

Fair enough. Stay tuned for October's Ymm, Beer Virtual Pub with host, date, time and beverage selection TBD if we can ever locate the manager/bartender from yesterday. We're starting to worry about him...

[Tripping William]

Fair enough. Stay tuned for October's Ymm, Beer Virtual Pub with host, date, time and beverage selection TBD if we can ever locate the manager/bartender from yesterday. We're starting to worry about him...

Maybe he was the Whisteblower & is now under federal protection (?)

[Tripping William]

The Toll imperial breakfast stout. Nice & dark. Thin brown head. Heavy coffee notes, but just a hint of vanilla. Good dessert beer. 10.5% ABV, so sip slowly. Another solid Cat 2.

[devildeac]

Maybe he was the Whisteblower & is now under federal protection (?)

Ukraine't be serious.

[mattman91]

I'm alive!

I'm the worst Virtual Pub host. The wife and I were on a wine trip yesterday and I thought I may have been able to find a saison afterward to review. I was wrong. Then, we had some family stuff to deal with after getting home this afternoon (nothing serious, thankfully).

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all of the tasty saisons you all had.

[devildeac]

The Toll imperial breakfast stout. Nice & dark. Thin brown head. Heavy coffee notes, but just a hint of vanilla. Good dessert beer. 10.5% ABV, so sip slowly. Another solid Cat 2.

Hmm, will have to search for the BBA version of that one for a future trade consideration...

[Tripping William]

Ukraine't be serious.

He was supposedly here in Winston’Salem on Friday, so ...

[devildeac]

I'm alive!

I'm the worst Virtual Pub host. The wife and I were on a wine trip yesterday and I thought I may have been able to find a saison afterward to review. I was wrong. Then, we had some family stuff to deal with after getting home this afternoon (nothing serious, thankfully).

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about all of the tasty saisons you all had.

All good to hear. I thought for sure you'd find a tasty Burial saison/farmhouse ale or three with your gift card. Would you like to try again in October or pass the keys to the pub on to someone else?

[mattman91]

Visited Incendiary Brewing Friday night and Small Batch Saturday evening.

Incendiary has an incredible location. Sadly, the beer was disappointing. Not awful, but definitely below average. I tried a sip of my wife's blonde ale, which was slightly better than the two IPAs I had. All were probably on the low end of a Fuse Cat 2. Maybe even a 1. I think they are fairly new, though, so it may be worth revisiting in a year or so. The facility itself was very cool, certainly a great place to watch Duke kick Virginia Tech's butt!

Small Batch. The food smelled and looked very good. Sadly, the beer I had was absolutely a Cat 1. Yccch, Beer for sure.

Disappointing, because Winston has some real gems with Wise Man and Fiddlin' Fish (and obviously Foothills!).

[mattman91]

All good to hear. I thought for sure you'd find a tasty Burial saison/farmhouse ale or three with your gift card. Would you like to try again in October or pass the keys to the pub on to someone else?

I could have found something at Burial I'm sure, but I just got back in town a few hours ago!

[Tripping William]

Visited Incendiary Brewing Friday night and Small Batch Saturday evening.

Incendiary has an incredible location. Sadly, the beer was disappointing. Not awful, but definitely below average. I tried a sip of my wife's blonde ale, which was slightly better than the two IPAs I had. All were probably on the low end of a Fuse Cat 2. Maybe even a 1. I think they are fairly new, though, so it may be worth revisiting in a year or so. The facility itself was very cool, certainly a great place to watch Duke kick Virginia Tech's butt!

Small Batch. The food smelled and looked very good. Sadly, the beer I had was absolutely a Cat 1. Yccch, Beer for sure.

Disappointing, because Winston has some real gems with Wise Man and Fiddlin' Fish (and obviously Foothills!).

Sad to hear. Incendiary is the newest, so hopefully they’ll improve a la Southern Pines.

I haven’t been to Small Batch in quite a while, and now it may be even longer.

[richardjackson199]

1. I hadn't drank the entries yet.
2. We had not won 45-10 yet (and hence, I had not drank them yet).
3. I re-read the postings -- like many things this time of year, it went off the rails into pumpkin land.
4. It's never too late to get things right (still waiting on the correction to that 10/31 Miami game ... ) -- seek out the Devils Backbone, clear winner of my four.

Will do. I loved spending a day at Devil's Backbone and another at Blue Mountain. Such a beautiful stretch of breweries on the Brew Ridge trail.

I haven't tried those Oktoberfests yet but will look for them. The one I'd recommend from my tastings is Foothills - such a flavorful malt bomb.

[richardjackson199]

I could have found something at Burial I'm sure, but I just got back in town a few hours ago!

Glad you're good Mattman. I've been AWOL too. My reviews were like this - Fuse Category 2, 2, 3. Sometimes life happens, and we've all been experiencing that first hand recently. But good beer, good company, and Duke football blowing out the Hokies helps. I vote Mattman host the virtual pub again on a date that looks favorable.

[devildeac]

I could have found something at Burial I'm sure, but I just got back in town a few hours ago!

Ahhh, I had forgotten your travel itinerary.