Ymm, Beer

[devildeac]

Late entry from Saturday PM:

Bourbon Barrel-Aged Biere de Garde (draft)-Ponysaurus Brewing Company

Drink local! Again!

Older son-in-law treated me to a pint of this before dinner, partially because he and his wife (our older daughter-D'oh!) felt guilty for not sharing any of their crowler of Bond Brother's Adult Daycare, a 10.5% ABV Belgian-style quad aged on cherries with me, and partially because I was paying for her birthday dinner at one of their favorite sushi restaurants after our pints. I "almost" said no to this .

Pour was a full pint and was a slightly cloudy, medium amber color with a small, light tan head. Pretty seductive aromas of pears, apples, almonds, vanilla and bourbon. Tastes were fairly typical for the style, a French farmhouse ale, with vanilla, caramel apples and pears, a bit of funk with the bourbon barrel-aging adding some coconut, wood and a very smooth, boozy finish. I'll guess IBUs about 30 and the ABV was on the electronic beer board at 6.8%.

Ponysaurus makes very good beers and this one is of very high quality.

[devildeac]

Big Operator was okay. Battle Dragon was okay. The EMMA NEPIA was okay. Their “X” Belgian strong ale was quite good. All four-ounce tasters. The 12-ounce bottle of Prometheus Unbound (a stout aged in oak barrels with cherries) is a very interesting beer. I think I purchased the last bottle of it.

From 12/25/15 (it was a very Merry Christmas):

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]

Speaking of Paul Johnson.

From 12/17/17:

Sour Monkey-Victory Brewing Company

Golden Monkey goes Brett!

They took their classic/true-to-style Belgian style tripel age and aged it with brettanomyces yeast.

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle into my large, lovely Ommegang tulip with a small, fizzy head and a gold-yellow hue. There's a bit of funk in the nose but mostly lemon and orange. Tastes are very slightly cloying (guessing there's some Belgian candi sugar used) with a noticeable Sour Patch Kids lemon-orange zip, some honey (not added) and a tiny sprinkle of black pepper that pretty typical of a Belgian golden/tripel ale. No mussels for me but I'd happily sip another one of these with some sweet and sour chicken or shrimp. I'll guess IBUs about 20 and the ABV is a seductive and dangerous 9.5%. There's 5 remaining from my 6er that was about $12 with my 10% off Total Wine coupon. What to do, what to do?

From last PM:

Sour Monkey (Canned on 03 AUG 2018 stamped on bottom of 12 ounce can)-Victory Brewing Company

Not much different than the bottle version above except maybe more lemon-lime than lemon-orange flavors and aromas. I really like the twist they put on their old standard, Golden Monkey. This is really quite a gem to include in a mixed 15 pack. I'm not quite profligate enough to spend $20 on a 750 ml bottle of White Monkey, another variant that I *think* is aged in chardonnay barrels but if someone wanted to share a bottle at a tailgate...

[fuse]

https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/gbh-...8-within-reach

A podcast for your listening pleasure...

[Tripping William]

It’s a Warlock kind of night.

[devildeac]

https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/gbh-...8-within-reach

A podcast for your listening pleasure...

Brewery Bhavana gets a paragraph!

[thedukelamere]

I put a lot of planning into last night's selections, so I'm happy to see it manifested into the shellacking we witnessed

Old Stock Ale (2015) - 11.9% ABV Old Ale - North Coast Brewing Company ~ A 2015 Reserve aged in whiskey barrels to kick off the season with hopes that this team will end up with similar accolades.
Union Jack IPA - 7% ABV American IPA - Firestone Walker Brewing Company ~ I've had this can for a little over a year waiting for Jack White to force me to open it... That Grayson-esqe steal and assist to Zion had me running for the fridge.
Sweet Baby Jesus! - 6.2% ABV Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter - DuClaw Brewing Company ~ Bought this for a signature Zion dunk, ended up needing it to express my disbelief in the final score!

[devildeac]

I put a lot of planning into last night's selections, so I'm happy to see it manifested into the shellacking we witnessed

Old Stock Ale (2015) - 11.9% ABV Old Ale - North Coast Brewing Company ~ A 2015 Reserve aged in whiskey barrels to kick off the season with hopes that this team will end up with similar accolades.
Union Jack IPA - 7% ABV American IPA - Firestone Walker Brewing Company ~ I've had this can for a little over a year waiting for Jack White to force me to open it... That Grayson-esqe steal and assist to Zion had me running for the fridge.
Sweet Baby Jesus! - 6.2% ABV Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter - DuClaw Brewing Company ~ Bought this for a signature Zion dunk, ended up needing it to express my disbelief in the final score!

An outstanding triumvirate. Almost as tasty as RJ, Cam and Zion .

[davec]

I can't believe you found any of that. That was released months ago. Congrats!

It's the 2018 release; just came out on Friday. No more mountie on the label, though.

[devildeac]

I'm searching for a 118% ABV ale I can enjoy tonight as a nightcap after an 84% ABV brew as a starter.

[devildeac]

It's the 2018 release; just came out on Friday. No more mountie on the label, though.

Thanks! I had no idea they were brewing that again this year as I thought I recalled reading (not always a correct process) that they'd never brew CBS again.

[fuse]

How do you celebrate an acquistion close notification, a transition position, and a former peer turned new boss hosing you?

By visiting Bond Brothers, of course!

Seasons Drinkings, a seasonal 10.5% stout, and Adult Daycare save the afternoon.

[Tripping William]

I’m guessing from the haziness that it falls in the NEIPA category, and (at least on draft) it’s all you want and then some from the style. Nice balance. I’m guessing IBUs in the upper 60’s. Worth seeking out when in NOLa.

[davec]

Thanks! I had no idea they were brewing that again this year as I thought I recalled reading (not always a correct process) that they'd never brew CBS again.

I did not realize they were releasing again either. I had heard nothing about it until last Friday when a co-worker asked if I was going to pick up any of the new CBS. Hard to keep track of everything beer-related these days...

[devildeac]

I did not realize they were releasing again either. I had heard nothing about it until last Friday when a co-worker asked if I was going to pick up any of the new CBS. Hard to keep track of everything beer-related these days...

Darn right. There are apparently now about 6500 US craft brewers, up from 5500 in 2017. If each one averages 10 different brews annually, that's 65K different beers every year. I'd guess there are many brewers who produce 15-20 different recipes annually so the numbers are truly staggering.

[devildeac]

Bourbon Barrel Aged Delirium Noël on tap a block and a half from my office. Be still my heart.

[devildeac]

Hardywood Gingerbread Stout also on draft 1.5 blocks from my office. I may not be able to wait until I get my/our complete GBS sets to sample this one.
Decisions, decisions...

[accfanfrom1970]

Hardywood Gingerbread Stout also on draft 1.5 blocks from my office. I may not be able to wait until I get my/our complete GBS sets to sample this one.
Decisions, decisions...

Saturday is the bourbon barrel GBS release at Hardywood. On tap is that, plus the gingerbread stout, the Christmas pancakes and they have Trickery on tap (13% abv)...I'll need the wife to drive...but I'm not waiting for the set

[devildeac]

Saturday is the bourbon barrel GBS release at Hardywood. On tap is that, plus the gingerbread stout, the Christmas pancakes and they have Trickery on tap (13% abv)...I'll need the wife to drive...but I'm not waiting for the set

You've convinced me. I'll treat myself and sample the BBA Delirium Noël AND the GBS. Small portions, of course.

[Matches]

You're welcome! Glad you only got one ()

Coconut beers are tough to make well, I think. Even Burial's Bolo (IIRC) had one can that was excellent and another, from the same litter of 4 (or was it 6?), tasted metallic and/or more like coconut shell than coconut milk/shavings.

Dragon's milk has a seasonal stout with coconut and banana right now that I am enjoying. You can pick up the coconut and the banana flavors but neither are overpowering. Worth checking out IMO.