Schlafly 2007 Oak Aged Barleywine

I picked up this bottle a couple years ago (possibly 2011?) when I was in St. Louis for a cousin's wedding. I saw this and a bottle of 2008 barrel aged Imperial Stout and thought to myself, how can I pass this up? Even more so since I'm pretty sure they were like $10 or something crazy. The stout I drank a couple years ago over Thanksgiving but this bottle has been sitting around getting lonely and older for a few more years now. When I realized it was nearly pushing 6 years old, I figured it was time to open it.

I'll be the first to admit that I expected an oxidized, cardboard-like mess. However, shockingly, it held up remarkably well! Sweet caramel, apples, and a hint of vanilla and cherry in the nose. Poured pretty thick though the mouthfeel was thinner feeling. Body followed with caramel, vanilla, and a sugary sweetness in the finish. No real signs of oxidation except maybe the cherry in the nose. The age was probably the cause for the thinner mouthfeel, but it wasn't a big deal. Pretty impressive. I should search out a fresh bottle at some point just to try it out but I don't know if they are available in NJ. Guess I'll just have to stumble across one at some point.

Schlafly Imperial Stout 2008

The Friday after Thanksgiving, I opened my bottle of Schlafly Reserve Imperial Stout from 2008. I bought this when I was in St. Louis earlier in the year. Turns out sharing it with my brother was a good idea as it would have been a bit too much for me alone I think.

Bourbon sweet nose, not much heat in it. While pouring it didn't look terribly thick, but on the first sip I realized the body was thicker than its appearance suggested. Lots of dark fruit, some oak, a bit of alcohol and a decent amount of bourbon flavor. As I drank more, the bourbon was the major flavor and slowly overpowered everything. There wasn't any heat at least and so it still tasted good but definitely different than the Bourbon County from yesterday.

I wonder what this is like fresh considering how strong the bourbon is three years later. I enjoyed the amount that I drank but the bourbon was getting to be a bit much for me and a full bottle would have probably worn out its welcome. Definitely something to share with friends.

St. Louis Brewpub Tour

It's the eve of Philly Beer Week so I'm going to combine my posts about St. Louis into one very long one. Or maybe not so long, I guess we'll see. Over Memorial Day my wife and I went to St. Louis for a wedding and since we had a couple days to kill, we decided to check out a couple of the brewpubs in the area. My wife was even the one that created the map! I'm finally affecting her!

We weren't staying in St. Louis proper so it took a short train ride and a longish walk to get everywhere. Our first stop on the trip was Square One Brewery and Distillery in Lafayette Square. Smallish interior that opened up on to a really nice courtyard area. Sort of villa-like with a waterfall on the wall and some nice tables. They had about 4 or 5 year round beers and 4 or 5 specialty ones so I started with a sampler to try to hit as many as I could.