Last of my flight and the reason I came to Hardywood today - to pick up my purchase of their 8th Anniversary Ale, 12.8% abv. Best two reviews on untapped were to paraphrase “ a scotch barrel and a wine barrel aged ale got together” and “holy sh$&#!t I need more of this in my life.”
Hardywood aged ale in bourbon barrels, brandy barrels, wine barrels and port barrels - then mixed it together and aged it some more. 58 total months of aging. There is a lot going on, but it’s all good. This is a dessert, end of the night sipper. You get sweet (wine?) cherry, apple (brandy?) , oak , caramel and leather. It is full bodied and smooth. It’s $25 a 750 ml bottle and I could only afford two. I hope to save one for the holidays and one about a year from now...if I can wait. Wow.
Maybe I am bad at the maths.
Re-reading what is written above, either the beer is 22 months old (4 barrels for 12 months in parallel, followed by 10 months more combined) or if the aging was done serially, 58 months.
Either is impressive; as Jack Webb would say, just (curious about) the facts.
For everything, there is a season.
Thankfully in honour of the Duke UVa football game today, Veil has just such a beer.
Veil R.I.P. Me
Great thick head, murky pineapple juice appearance.
Smells like oranges and pineapple.
Another mimosa like NEIPA.
Another outstanding beer from Veil.
Sadly, not strong enough (not sure a full bottle of Utopias or Brew Dog End of the World, Sink the Bismarck, etc) to offset the beating my eyes are taking watching Duke football today.
Cheers and thanks again accfanfrom1970! 🍻
Veil Never Never Sorry Sorry
Every can of Veil beer makes me feel like Methuselah.
I literally need to hold each can under a super bright light to be able to make out what I am about to thoroughly enjoy.
Another loaded with fruit gose- apricots, blueberry, raspberry and black currant.
That’s two for four of fruits I really like.
Maybe one of the most gorgeous pours.
Thick like a blueberry smoothie, with a vibrant pink head.
The nose is apricots and vodka/alcohol.
Its fascinating to me that given the other fruits, that apricot would dominate.
The appearance and flavour are not in harmony, although I suppose black currant can also contribute to the rich colour.
There is definitely a sour finish which the massive amounts of fruit take off the edge.
If Veil had skipped the black currants and apricots, I’d be raving about Never Never Sorry Sorry.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a beautifully structured and well put together beer. There are just a couple of notes to this song that are not my favorite. (Movie quote trivia- too many notes? 😂 )
I will savour NNSS until my glass is empty. Its good to explore a broad spectrum of beer.
Thanks again accfanfrom1970! 🍻
Mangotangelo - Casita Cerveceria - 8% - NEIPA
They call this a NEIPA, which is accurate, but I'd also call it kind of a hybrid with West Coast. The hops are Motueka, Cashmere, Idaho 7, and Medusa. For me the hops were pretty strong and bitter which was a little too much for me, overpowering the balance of this beer. But if you love a strong West Coast IPA flavor, and want a good beer that balances that well with hazy tropical fruits, this would be worth a try.
It's lightly hazy and golden with thin white head. Nose is tropical with lots of mango.
The beer has lots of fruit but is definitely not sweet, which is good. The flavor starts malt, mango (throughout), tangerine, papaya, fresh fruit, and finishing strong grapefruit. The bitter hoppy flavor is strong middle to finish and aftertaste. Medium mouthfeel. It's pulply with some fruit (like mango) which is fun. Overall good beer, very well-crafted beer, but the West Coast hop flavor wasn't for me. Fuse Category 2.
Thanks to Devildeac for this one! It was fun and beergoddess enjoyed smelling/tasting the mango/tangerine citrus. Alcohol was well hidden and I enjoyed it!
This is why Ymm, Beer is soooo interesting to read. My palate perceived almost all berries with this one (observational comment only). I'd be interested if they made a Never Never with raspberries and blueberries only and could taste it blindly and see if I thought it was only berries or several fruits in the mix.
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.
Time to go to work on some Sierra Nevada traders tonight and for the next few days...
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.
Founders Curmudgeon's Better Half
This is one that had been laying down in the storage facility for maybe a year. I decided to drink it in the late afternoon on Saturday, hoping it would spur something better than what I saw I saw from our football team in the first half. Alas. Still, a terrific ale. Coconut notes from the barrel aging were excellent. Definitely a Cat 3 offering, regardless of its inability to influence football.
"Amazing what a minute can do."