Iron Hill Oak Aged Quad

I bought this bottle of Iron Hill Oak Aged Quad nearly two years ago I think. Originally, I bought it because my friends and I were going to do a quad tasting but that never actually happened. Oh well. So, I finally just decided to drink it myself this past weekend.

First, notice there aren't any bubbles at all in that glass. This was nearly completely still even more flat than Kevin's ODD barleywine from the other day. But, I didn't let it deter me! Super complex nose, almost port like. Chocolate, caramel, raisins, and plums. It also smelled thick, probably because it was kind of syrupy looking and pretty sweet. And yes, I said it smelled thick, deal with it even if that makes zero sense.

The first sip still reminded me a lot of port. Big cherry up front followed by tons of caramel, chocolate, molasses, and raisins. The cherry lingered in the aftertaste too. Considering this was 12.5%, I didn't get any alcohol which is just crazy. Don't get me wrong, the beer was boozy, it just didn't have any burn. It may have been flat and syrupy, but I still thought it was really good. A little bit of carbonation would have brought it to another level I expect. Wonder if it had any when it was first bottled. Who knows, I guess.

Also, with the holidays coming up my posts will be sporadic at best for the next two weeks or so. Look for normal posting starting again on January 3rd. I'll probably put up one or two over the holidays but we'll see.

The Bruery Five Golden Rings

Last Friday, Kite & Key had a holiday beer spectacular with a thorough list of christmas beers. I saw they put on The Bruery Five Golden Rings, the newest beer in their 12 days of Christmas, and was happy to see it still available yesterday for my weekly visit.

Got nutmeg or cinnamon in the nose without much else. First sip, the major thing I got was a pineapple sweetness, though more like sugary fruit juice than real pineapple, and then a little spice in the middle. As it warmed up and I got used to the fruit sweetness, I started noticing a little of the Belgian yeast strain used to brew it in the form of a little clove and mild banana. Never got much of the spices though other than in the nose. The beer definitely grows on you but for some the pineapple sweetness would probably be a bit much. My friend Craig thought so at least. I mostly liked it and thought it was at least unique for a Christmas beer even if it won't appeal to everyone.

Kevin Mudrick's Odd Barleywine

I recently saw Kevin at an Allagash event at Tria and he was kind enough to give me four bottles of his homebrew. I've had his stuff once before and it was really good even compared to professional stuff so I was excited to check it out. The first one I decided to open was his Odd, a barleywine. Or at least I think he named it Odd, it's what was on the cap at least!

Complex and boozy nose. Not hot or alcoholic at all, just kind of sweet and well boozy. Also figs, apples, prunes, and raisins. Impressive really. As far as carbonation, he warned me it was "Tomme Arthur" style meaning incredibly low. Honestly it was almost still which didn't put me off even though it made it quite thick. My first sip wasn't quite as impressive as the nose unfortunately. Similar flavors existed up front, but the back end was a little empty for some reason.

This sort of reminded me of a beer that was getting a little old but he said it was only from about six months ago. There was still a lot of caramel, raisin, and brown sugar and they weren't boozy at all, they just didn't last very long in each sip. If those flavors were more prevalent through every sip this would have been quite awesome but even so it was still pretty good. He has a version of this mixed with a flemish red or something that I bet is good. Hopefully the latter fills in the light emptiness from this. Looking forward to trying his oaked imperial stout some time this week!

Update: Kevin has informed me ODD is an acronym and stands for Old Draft Dodger. He may have told me that when he gave me the beer too but I clearly forgot. That makes a lot more sense though I liked the idea of naming the beer Odd.

Another Trip to Tired Hands

This visit to Tired Hands actually occurred way back before Thanksgiving but I half forgot about these notes and half just hadn't gotten around to writing about it. But today I make up for it! I made this visit so soon after the previous one for two reasons: to fill a growler and to try the new Westy 13. Since it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, man was it busy. I got the last seat at the bar and showed up only a few minutes after it opened. Funny but totally great for them.

So since it was new and special, I started with the Westy 13, a quad.

Lagunitas Brown Shugga at Kite & Key

With the ongoing expansion of their brewery last year, Lagunitas wasn't able to brew Brown Shugga. Since it's a 10% barleywine, it just took up too much space in their limited number of fermenters for too long for them to be able to afford it. However, the expansion is finished now so it made its triumphant return this year!

Grapefruit hoppy nose. Body followed, sort of, with the grapefruit hoppiness starting things off. Quickly following was a big brown sugar sweetness and that's where this becomes kind of different than other american barleywines. The finish was sort of a mix of the two with sweetness and bitterness playing next to each other. At first they don't mix well and it was a little odd, but as you drink more and the hops faded into the background, the sweetness came to the front. It's a pretty interesting barleywine, that's for sure, and worth trying. It can be a bit polarizing as some think it's too sweet, but I thought it was pretty tasty.

Boulevard 2011 Saison Brett

Other than a couple of 12oz bottles, the Boulevard Saison Brett is the last beer I brought back from Houston. When I bought it, I had a choice of 2011 or 2012 and decided to go with the year old version. I figured with this style and Boulevard's reputation, it would be a bit more interesting with a year of age on it.

Minty and herbal nose with a light fruitiness. Like tropical fruit almost with a bit of lemon. Thicker body than I expected, actually, but not in a bad way, just different than is usual for the style. Spicy, herbal, minty body but lacking the fruitiness of the nose. Still, very tasty. Lightly bitter in the finish with a little more of the herbal edge in the aftertaste.

This was quite good, very refreshing and clean tasting. Nice with the latkes and some other food we had that night. It's why I'm so frustrated when I have a mediocre Boulevard beer since I know they can make such good ones. Oh well, I'll just have to keep trying them all and hope the quality is high.

Jolly Pumpkin Noel De Calabaza

I wasn't able to get to the Kite & Key on Sunday for their latest Savage Sixtel Sunday, but when I showed up on Monday everything was actually still available. Lucky for me! Through a huge effort of will, I managed not to order the Goose Island Bourbon County even though I really wanted to because, well, I still have like 18 bottles at home. Kind of silly to get it on draft or at least that's what my wife keeps telling me. I'm not so sure she's right since it's awesome, but this time I listened. Instead I got a glass of Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza.

Tart plum and raisin flavors are the name of the game. All of Jolly Pumpkin's stuff is spontaneously fermented which is why most of their stuff has some basic tartness to it. Sort of clashing flavors though. Like a soured brown ale with a little roast, some bitterness, and finishing with a big tartness and some sour. The latter just didn't mix well with the former in my opinion though they got a bit better as I got used to them all.

It's a problem I've had with other Jolly Pumpkin beers where the tartness just doesn't sit well with the base. Oh well, the issue is definitely on my end since other people seem to really like their stuff. Maybe one day I'll find one I like more.

Beers with Friends

My friends and I had been trying to get together for this bottle share for quite a few months, but one of them has a job that makes it a bit tough to schedule. However, he finally had a Monday off and so messaged us that it was time. As it happened I was walking home from Sabrina's, kind of drunk already, so of course I said totally! I was originally planning on not even drinking the Monday before Thanksgiving but oh well, sacrifices must be made right?

We started off with one of the better beers of the night, Goose Island Bourbon County Rare. This is a special version of Bourbon County, aged in barrels for two years instead of the eight months or so. It did sell for quite a bit more per bottle (about $40 vs $12 for two regular bourbon county).

Squatters Outer Darkness

I'm working on the longer post about a bottle share I had with some friends, but it's going to take me forever so I'll fill in the gaps with some smaller posts. Over the weekend, I drank a bottle of Squatters Outer Darkness, an imperial stout. I picked it up in Houston in early November along with a few other things.

First, let me say the bottle is super cool looking. It looks really cool in this picture, really capturing the flaming eyes peering out of the label. Neat stuff. Great nose on it. Chocolate, roast, and that slightly salty soy sauce character that I find real interesting in stouts. In the body, chocolate and an earthy hop character are the two main points with an underlying roastiness throughout. After the first few sips, I realized the saltiness in the nose may have been a result of the earthy hops mixing with the chocolate. Either way, pretty tasty with lots of different flavors. Glad I picked this one up.

Fun at Dock Street

Just before Thanksgiving, Dock Street had their annual bottle release (I think it can be called annual since they have had it for a few years now). This year they had quite a few different styles for sale including a couple of old gems. Probably the last year for the Barrel Aged Barleywine and Barrel Aged Prince Myshkin though as they finally may have exhausted their cellar reserves. We'll see next year if that's true!

After ordering bottles for myself and a couple friends that put in orders, I got a glass of their newest batch of Barleywine.

Bear Republic Big Black Bear Stout

Still working on my backlog, but taking a break today since it's full of ridiculously long posts and I just wrote one of those yesterday. Instead, I'm going to be lazy and write about the Bear Republic Big Black Bear Stout I had at Kite & Key on Monday.

Smooth chocolate nose. Light on the roast and more sweet smelling than anything. Body was similar with chocolate, a light licorice roastiness, and some roast in the finish. Basically what you'd expect from a stout. Nothing that will blow you away, but still tasty and worth trying.

Beers at Sabrina's

Just before Thanksgiving, some friends of mine decided that their cellars were getting too large. To try and start to fix the issue, they asked on twitter if people wanted to go to a BYOB and share some beers and have dinner. I had nothing to do that night and Jo didn't care about eating dinner alone so I figured why not. After some back and forth, we decided on Sabrina's in Fairmount as I figured it wouldn't be too busy as it's mostly a brunch place and it's informal enough that they wouldn't mind us sitting around drinking forever.

After ordering some food and settling in we decided to start with Deschutes The Dissident, the one sour Matt brought along.

Firestone Walker Sucaba

Back from Thanksgiving and after a number of days off I'm still not that rested. It's amazing how quickly four days go by. At least I have some time off during Christmas to look forward to since after that it's nothing until Memorial Day.

I've still got a bit of a backlog from before Thanksgiving so I'll continue working that off. To start, I drank my bottle of Firestone Walker Sucaba a couple weekends ago. It's a blended barrel aged barleywine that used to be called Abacus but was turned backwards due to a trademark dispute. Hence the odd, current name. I still contend they should have named it Manual Calculator, but I guess that's too goofy. Would have been hilarious though.

Tired Hands!

I haven't made a trip to Tired Hands in forever but finally made up for it last Thursday. I'm going later today too actually but that's unrelated to this post. I arrived a little before five and the downstairs bar was already filling up with a few people sitting at the tables. Seems like they are doing pretty well which is awesome. I'm certainly hoping so as it's just getting better and I can't wait to see how things continue to progress.

I started with one of the newer beers, Slava Oner, a Kvass, which is a style I've never had. I'm unsure how to actually pronounce that style but I just pronounce the K and V and move on with my life. I'm sure that's wrong somehow but whatever.

Boulevard Nommo Dubbel

Not sure when I drank this, maybe a week ago Sunday? I have a backlog of things to write about that's just getting worse at the moment. Going out every night this week isn't really going to help with that but oh well. Boulevard Nommo Dubbel is a dubbel, obviously, with some spices added to it. I picked it up in Houston when I was there in early November.

Unfortunately, right from the beginning, I was thinking this was a big miss by Boulevard. Some spice in the nose and also a really noticeable metallic note that is just completely off putting. The body was luckily missing the metallic portion of the nose but there were other issues. Sweet up front, slightly spicy, then super sharp biting alcohol in the finish that was remarkably unpleasant. Flavors didn't blend well either with the spiciness not meshing with the little sweetness that peaked through in the beginning.

Since I'm crazy, I powered through my bad feelings about it and drank the whole bottle. I'll admit it got a tiny bit better as I got used to the alcohol. The sweetness came up a bit and I felt like I got a view into what Boulevard was aiming for with this beer. However, it was really not very good and either Boulevard agrees with me or consumers do as they discontinued this one for 2013. Maybe they'll retool the recipe for 2014 or they'll just cancel it forever, but regardless I hope they do something.

Brunch at Kraftwork

Two weekends ago, Jo and I decided to stop at Kraftwork for brunch before heading over to Greensgrow to pick up our CSA allotment. On top of being on the way, I'd heard the food was quite good and their beer list is always top notch. Turns out their food really is that good as both Jo and I had excellent meals. Their biscuits especially were delicious and if you go definitely order them. To drink, I decided to start with Bell's This One Goes to Eleven. I think it's supposed to be an imperial red ale by style but I don't know 100%. I do know the name is from This is Spinal Tap, a pretty funny movie if you've never seen it.

Alesmith Decadence 2011

Every year, Alesmith puts out a new version of Decadence and each year it's a totally different style. I'm unsure what the 2012 version was, but the 2011 I drank over the weekend was a Maple Smoked Barleywine. Meaning smoked with maple wood, not brewed with maple and then smoked. I was slightly confused by the wording so I figured I'd explain.

Smoky nose, quite noticeable but still pleasant. Smoke was basically on the campfire side of smokiness which I enjoy. On the first sip, there was a mix of smoke and caramel which led into a smoky aftertaste. Not overpowering just delicious. The smoke faded a little after the beginning sips as I got more used to it but still stayed present in the finish and aftertaste. I will say that the 11% ABV was amazingly well hidden. Other than some light heat, it was just nonexistent. Pretty unbelievable really and nice when you are drinking a whole bottle by yourself. This was sent to me from my buddy in San Diego a while ago and I'm glad he included it. Thanks Eric!

Allagash Cookbook at Pub & Kitchen

Last night I was invited to the release party at the Pub & Kitchen for Allagash: The Cookbook. I hadn't heard anything about the cookbook up until last week when the invite arrived in my inbox but apparently it's about two years in the making. That a ton of time was put into the book really shows in every piece of it: the pictures, the recipes, and the overall build quality.

The event had Allagash's Rob Tod and Suzy Woods along with the photographer for the book, Brian Smestad. In the below picture, Brian is in the middle, Rob to his left, and Suzy is to his left.

Victory Ranch R at Kite & Key

Stopped in at Kite & Key yesterday and was happy to find quite a few beers from Saturday's Craft Beer Express still available. I wasn't able to go this year so missed out on a few things but there was still tons of Victory left. I settled on the Ranch R, a double IPA, as I've heard good things about it.

Really enjoyable nose. Very clean and bright with tons of orange citrus. The beginning sips had some nice balance with a mix of some caramel sweetness and a little lemony bitterness. As I drank more, it became quite a bit more piney and earthy. Interesting change, that's for sure. Kept that way through the rest of the glass with the citrus basically fading out. Pretty good double IPA.

Bell's Bourbon Barrel Batch 9000

On Friday, I was sort of bored at work and decided a trip to Varga for lunch was the perfect thing to pass the time. I chose Varga because I heard the Bell's Bourbon Barrel Batch 9000 was still on draft even though it had been available for a week and I really wanted to try it. Really glad I did since it was pretty awesome. I was pretty shocked to even see it in Philly since I thought it was only available at the Bell's General Store at their brewery. Always happy to be wrong about stuff like that though.

Bourbon and caramel nose, quite sweet without any sign of the 15% ABV. On first sip, very fruity up front with chocolate, caramel and a little heat from the alcohol in the finish. Some plum and raisin as well. Definitely tasty but also incredibly strongly flavored even if the alcohol was well hidden. This beer wasn't fooling around. While I probably could have drank a little bit more of it than what was in the small glass, it was nearly enough considering the strength and sweetness. Still, pretty excellent beer and very happy to get a chance to try it.

De Struise Sint Amatus 12

Following on my fun beer Wednesday, I grabbed this one for last night. It's been in my beer fridge for a while now and grabbed my eye last night so why not. Sint Amatus 12 is a quad that I think was partially bourbon barrel aged, but I'm not 100% sure.

Bourbon in the nose though whether it's from actual barrels or my imagination I don't know. Along with that I found caramel, vanilla, and plum. Quite complex. Medium carbonation. Body followed the nose with plum, caramel, some cherry, and maybe a little of that bourbon flavor in the back as well. As I drank more, some chocolate appeared which was just delicious. Very solid quad and no hints of alcohol. Delicious stuff.

Lost Abbey Deliverance

I decided to open up something fun last night because why not? Best way to end the worst day of the week is with a fun beer. Lost Abbey Deliverance is a blend of the Brandy Barrel Angel's Share and Bourbon Barrel Serpent's Stout. You can't get the latter beer for the most part but the Brandy Barrel Angel's Share is usually available.

Wow, absolutely powerful nose. Huge bourbon with a hint of brandy sweetness. No whiff of the 12.5% ABV which is really impressive. Just crazy strong though. Thick as oil with limited carbonation. Bourbon caramel up front, some vanilla, light alcohol burn but not astringent or sharp. Chocolate and caramel in the finish with a nice sweetness rounding things out. This beer isn't fooling around at all but it was delicious. Totally lived up to my expectations. As I said, though, it's a sipper and quite powerful. You have to like that bourbon flavor to like this.

I just wish Lost Abbey stuff wasn't so expensive because when it's on, it's quite amazing. But I generally don't like spending close to $20 for a small 375mL bottle so oh well.

Goose Island Nut Brown

After voting last night, Jo and I decided to go out for a quick dinner. When we saw the Goose Island Nut Brown on the menu, she told me I should order that since I'd been ignoring her demographic, people who like brown ales.

Nice nutty nose, quite pleasant. Hazelnut beginning with a light roast in the middle following it. Some more nuttiness in the finish and aftertaste. This won't blow your socks off, but if you like brown ales that are more nutty than burnt it was quite a good example. And that's my brown ale post for my wife and probably the last one for a while since I rarely drink them. Should fulfill my quota for now though.

Evolution Lot Three

I had Evolution Lot Six a while ago at Capone's and really enjoyed it. So when I saw Lot Three on tap at Kite & Key I figured I'd give it a try and see how Evolution does with regular IPAs.

Pleasant citrusy, grapefruit nose. Not strong, but noticeable. Bitter up front then a little sweetness and caramel appeared in the middle. Not strongly sweet, but present. There was a little breadiness hiding in there too. Bitter aftertaste and somewhat lingering. Decent enough though I found the breadiness slightly odd in an IPA. I liked the Lot Six a little better I'll admit but this was pretty good.

Real Ale Sisyphus

Over the weekend, my wife and I took a trip to Houston for a friend's wedding. I got to have a bunch of Texas beers Friday night but didn't take any notes or pictures since, well, we were there for the wedding and I wasn't going to be rude. The sour from Real Ale, Scots Gone Wild, was pretty decent though so if you see it somehow, give it a try.

But, to make up for that, I went to a liquor store named Specs on Saturday and picked up some beers to bring home. I also picked up some bottles of Real Ale Sisyphus, a barleywine, and opened one before the wedding to give it a try.

Trip to Moe's!

I was in Lee this past weekend so of course that means a trip to Moe's! For those that don't know, Moe's is a small bar in my wife's home town of Lee, Mass. It opened up about five years ago and it's been where I go to drink ever since then. They don't have food, but you can always order some to be delivered if you want it. We always just go before or after dinner so whatever.

Alpine Exponential Hoppiness

Over the weekend, I drank a bottle of Alpine Exponential Hoppiness. This is from a real small brewery outside of San Diego and came by way of my friend Matt Rittenberg. He was nice enough to give me one of the bottles his friend sent to him. Exponential is a triple IPA coming in at 11%.

Incredibly clean citrus orange nose with a hint of caramel. Jo thought it was super strong smelling but I didn't see it. Well, smell it. She does tend to be way more sensitive than me though. Huge orange juice body with a blast of citrus up front, more orange hanging around with just a bit of bitterness coming through at times. The aftertaste is mostly bitterness, not sweet even with the fact that the body isn't that dry. No alcohol that I could find for the most part though it felt a bit like alcoholic orange juice. Very impressive mix of sweet and dryness that never became cloying. Just delicious and excellent use of hops. I imagine it's amazing when it's even fresher. Thanks Matt!

Founders Breakfast Stout at Kite & Key

I've had Breakfast Stout before but I haven't had it this year yet. Figured Monday seemed like a good time to rectify that especially since nothing else jumped out at me. Breakfast Stout is a coffee imperial stout coming in a little over 8%.

Nice clean coffee nose with a little hint of chocolate. On first sip, the coffee was front and center and moved into chocolate and roast. Some bitterness in the finish either from the coffee or the hops. Stays pretty steady through the rest of the glass with the coffee fading just a tad. An excellent coffee stout and it's no surprise this is one of Founder's more popular beers.

Wrecking Bar Brewpub in Atlanta

I recently had to go to Atlanta for work and what does that mean? It means I find somewhere sweet to eat dinner the first night! After a little research on BeerAdvocate, I settled on the Wrecking Bar brewpub because I love brewpubs and it had quite a few positive reviews. Turns out it was also two blocks from my friend's apartment so that worked out real well.

After a long cab ride from the airport followed by a short walk, I arrived in the Little Five Points area of the city and the Wrecking Bar. Nice looking place, smallish bar with about fifteen seats. A decent number of tables too. Not a ton of people were there when I walked in around 6 but it was a Tuesday and it did fill up during the few hours I was there though. The first thing I did was order a flight which came with six of their nine or so beers.

Epic Brewing Brainless on Cherries

I haven't had much from Epic Brewing at this point. I'm not even sure they distribute to Philly actually. I picked this up after having Brainless on Peaches thinking I'd like it more since cherries work really well in most beers, but I was unfortunately wrong. Either my tastes have changed since February (not terribly likely) or this one isn't anywhere near as good as the Peach version which was really only above average.

Sort of an odd nose for a tripel, now that I think about it. I wrote that it smelled of wheat and spice with a little bit of clove. The odd part is the wheat notes but maybe I'm just crazy and smell wheat in everything. Who knows. Kind of a blah body, unfortunately. Lightly spicy but very sweet with only a hint of cherry. Got a little better as I drank more and the cherry became stronger but the base tripel just didn't do it for me. Compared to the peach version, I think the fruit just didn't cover up the inadequacy of the base tripel. Oh well.

Pete Giovinco Socktoberfest

The other bottle Pete gave me was his Socktoberfest. While I didn't feel yesterday's beer suffered from the age, I'm thinking this one faded quite a bit since it was fresh way back when. Not sure when he brewed it either so it might even be a bit older than August.

Sweet caramel nose though a little milder than I expect it used to be. Caramel and apple started things off, which were nice, but then a little bit of oxidation and cardboard flavors came out. The latter flavors are almost definitely from the age of the bottle which is totally my fault. If it tasted only like the initial caramel flavor when it was fresh, then this was probably pretty decent then. As it is, it was totally fine and still enjoyable but not as good as his Holy Smoked Rye Lager.

Pete Giovinco Holy Smoked Rye Lager

Pete gave me this near the end of August and I sort of misplaced it in a box with some other beer. I was a little worried it wouldn't be as good now since it's a few months older, but turns out it was still pretty tasty. I'm assuming it's a smoked rye lager as otherwise the name would just be confusing.

Chocolate, caramel, roast, and slightly smoky in the nose. Pretty complex. Smoky rye body followed with chocolate and caramel finishing things up. Nice creaminess to it all as well. The rye adds a little spice, keeping it from being too sweet which is good. Really enjoyed this one. Nice job by Pete and his friends.

Duck Rabbit Hoppy Bunny

I'm really not a huge fan of Black IPAs as I've said before but as most of you know I have serious issues about wanting to try everything. So, here we are, with a glass of Duck Rabbit Hoppy Bunny at Kite & Key.

Nice nose, strong grapefruit mixed with a nice roast. Basically what you'd expect from a decent black IPA so that's a good start. Unfortunately, the nose didn't follow through to the body. In the first sip, the grapefruit faded immediately and I just got roast and caramel with a light bitterness in the finish. Honestly was almost a little sweet which is just crazy for this style. This ended up more like a lightly hoppy porter than a black IPA. Even the body was slightly thicker than I'd expect. It wasn't terrible or anything just not very true to style. Jacquelyn, the bartender, liked the name at least so it has that going for it.

Karl Strauss Wreck Alley

My buddy in San Diego sent me this a little while ago. I've asked him for a couple of their anniversary beers before so he decided to send me this one presumably so I could check out some of their normal lineup. Plus, I love stouts so it's an easy choice for filling out a box.

Sweet nose with a hint of saltiness. Medium body. Flavors followed the nose with caramel, roast, a little soy sauce saltiness, and some bitterness in the finish. This isn't the first time I've found saltiness in stouts and so I didn't find it odd. I realize it doesn't seem like a great flavor in a beer, but think about how salt contrasts with chocolate and you get an idea of why it works. Plus it makes for a nice change between stouts from different breweries.

Troegs Mad Elf 2010

I was pulled away to Atlanta for work so didn't have a chance to write much last week. But, I'm back now and starting with a bottle I opened a week or two ago, a 2010 Troegs Mad Elf. I've been drinking Mad Elf for years now and it really may be my favorite beer. In fact, I have seven different pictures of it at this point for whatever reason. Considering I normally don't have more than one or two of most other beers, that's kind of funny.

I bought this bottle a couple years ago when my friend and I went to Troegs for the Splinter Blue release. Which also made me realize they haven't released a splinter beer in a long time. Too bad though Black wasn't that good so maybe not.

Honey, clove, and a little spiciness in the nose. Smelled smoother than a fresh one with a distinct lack of alcohol. Bananas, clove, honey, and hints of cherry followed in the body. The clove came and went, but the honey and the cherry hints were there through most of it. Some people find Mad Elf too sweet or medicinal but I just love it for some reason. I totally understand the issues, they just don't bother me.

Victory Dark Intrigue 2010

I've been slowly yet steadily drinking through the bigger bottles in my basement just because I realized I had too many beers down there. Well, actually, my wife realized it and was making fun of me about it. So yeah. I never really planned on making a cellar, it's just that I drink big bottles slowly. Hence, drinking random things regardless of whether I can get them again or not. So, this past weekend I drank my one bottle of 2010 Victory Dark Intrigue, a bourbon barrel version of their stout Storm King.

Bourbon vanilla nose, actually pretty nice though not very strong. Very thin body. Kind of ridiculously thin but unfortunately the base Storm King is like that. Some light bourbon and vanilla started things off, a little earthy hoppiness, and then some bitterness in the finish. Storm King is very hoppy so the hoppiness is actually toned down quite a bit which was nice.

Not too bad, but I didn't think it was that good either. Basically about average. I've had samples of this before during bottle shares and thought it was below average so at least it was better than I expected. I'll admit I like my bourbon stouts huge and chewy, though, so this already had a knock against it immediately starting off. This was Victory's first attempt at barrel aging so hopefully as they experiment more, they'll get better. I've heard the Barrel Aged Otto was decent so maybe it's just a matter of time. We'll see, I guess.

City Tap House Pumpkin Smash

Yesterday, City Tap House held an event called Pumpkin Smash. The main emphasis was obviously on pumpkin beers with the stars coming from Elysian, a brewery in Seattle. They sent over 7 different pumpkin beers, possibly the most of their pumpkin beers available at once outside of their own brewery and their own yearly pumpkin event. Pretty cool, ya know? Well, as long as you like pumpkin beers, I guess. I've only had one pumpkin this year, too, so it seemed like a good time to drink a few.

I started with a glass of the Elysian Night Owl. Not sure if it was from the pumpkin firkin or not unfortunately. And, yes, they turned an actual pumpkin into a firkin. It was pretty neat.

Arcadia Cereal Killer

This is part of what Arcadia calls their "Vintage Collection" but I'm not 100% sure why. I guess the case I bought was supposedly brewed in 2010 or something. Cereal Killer is a barleywine.

Smelled of caramel, raisins, and alcohol solvency. The latter isn't quite what you want to smell in a strong beer as it's not a great sign of things to come. And, I was right as it started with a sharp alcohol bite up front followed by some caramel and plum-like sweetness. The finish and aftertaste, though, contained even more alcohol unfortunately. Now, the flavor that wasn't the alcohol wasn't too bad at least, but if you easily notice alcohol in beers, probably best to avoid a full glass of this. I'll say it got a bit smoother near the end of the glass. Something to get a sample of to see if the pros outweigh the cons, but I wasn't too impressed by it.

Avery Uncle Jacob's Stout

A lot of Avery's barrel aged stuff isn't distributed at all, but lately they have been sending out a few of them. I guess their barrel program is growing large enough at this point to spread the love. Uncle Jacob's Stout is a monster of a bourbon stout coming in at 17% and was either the first or second offering to become available. Not sure if Rumpkin was first though it doesn't really matter.

Super thick pour, like motor oil. Really impressive and exactly how I like a stout. Smelled of chocolate, graham cracker, strong bourbon, vanilla, and a mostly complete lack of alcohol. Body followed with chocolate, caramel, plum, raisin, bourbon, and even more chocolate in the finish. Pretty complex obviously. There were some hints of the alcohol in the aftertaste but amazingly smooth for 17%. Like, ridiculously smooth. This maybe should be a weekend beer considering the strength, but who cares about that. Clearly not me. If you like bourbon stouts, this one is right up there.

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

I opened this last Friday as a nice change of pace. Been drinking a lot of stouts and ipas and such, so I figured this would be different. The style of Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad is pretty self-explanatory as it's a quad base blended with a portion aged on cherries in a few different types of bourbon barrels. Some people thought it was infected (which can happen with barrel aging) as a result of the cherries, but after trying it those people are crazy. The tartness is very clearly a result of the cherry.

Pleasant nose. Bourbon, vanilla, and a very recognizable cherry note. Medium body that almost felt thicker than it really seemed to be. Not sure why, maybe a good mouthfeel, but it was nice. On first sip, the cherry came first and then bourbon and vanilla appeared with a little caramel from the quad base. Remarkably easy drinking for 11+% abv. Drinking it along with dinner did made some alcohol bite appear at times but as soon as I stopped eating, it faded away again. Enjoyed this a lot with the tartness from the cherry blending really nicely with the bourbon and vanilla. The only surprising part was how little of the quad base seemed to come through for me but it still tasted great so who cares.

Left Hand Oktoberfest

Things are getting back to normal at Kite & Key after last weeks Savage Sixtel Sunday leftovers. At this point, the only thing left was the keg of Nugget Nectar. So, yesterday, I tried a Left Hand Oktoberfest.

Malty biscuit nose, nice. Body followed with a caramel maltiness, breadiness, and a fruity finish. Some hops appeared near the end making it crisper and kept the sweetness from coming on too strong. I'm not much of an expert in oktoberfest beers as I don't drink them very often, but this one seemed pretty decent. It's sweet, but never too sweet as the hops keep it clean. Worth a try.

Yards 4th Annual Smoke 'Em

Last Sunday, Yards held their 4th Annual Smoke 'Em if Yous Got 'Em event. This is a celebration of all things smoked with amateur bbq and quite a few smoked beers. In a change from last year, though, Yards included other styles of beer and reduced the number of smoked ones to around 8-10 from a little over 20. It seems that people thought they were getting smoked out in year 3 and told Yards so in their feedback. Honestly, while I love smoked beers and had no problem drinking a ton last year, it does make more sense to balance the bbq food with non-smoked beers as the similarities in both can make everything taste the same instead of making flavors stand out.

This year the weather was absolutely beautiful and the tents were all set up when I arrived a few minutes before opening.

Deschutes Jubel 2010

I've had this bottle for a few years at this point. Luckily this is one of those Deschutes beers with a "Best After" date so it was built to last. Yes, that's after, not before. It was originally a surprise gift from my sister in law living in San Francisco. I think I asked her to bring me a bottle of Abyss or something and since she's great, she also brought a whole bunch of other stuff.

Unfortunately the bottle didn't have a description on it, but apparently it was aged in Pinot Noir barrels for nearly a year according to the BeerAdvocate entry. That's sort of a rumor without a description on the bottle though.

Awesome nose, very impressive. Caramel, vanilla, plums, kind of port like. Knowing now that it was apparently aged in Pinot barrels, that last point actually makes some sense. Very thick body, limited carbonation as you can see in the picture. Basically a mix of chocolate and caramel with plum and some other dark fruits. Sweet and strong but never astringent or sharp. Just super smooth. Pretty awesome and very complex. Even at over 10% abv, I believe, no hint of alcohol. So glad I had this as it was delicious.

A Couple Beers at Tired Hands

I may start a lot of posts lamenting how long it has been since I visited somewhere, but it's always true! This time it had been nearly a month since I last visited Tired Hands. But, whatever, I'll just have to do better moving forward instead of complaining now. When I arrived the first level bar was actually completely full so I went upstairs for the first time. Man, I had forgotten how nice it was upstairs. Just a huge space, decent number of tables, and another beautiful bar. Not quite as big as the one downstairs but still a decent size.

The first beer I ordered was OoeyGooey, a wine barrel fermented saison made with five different grains.

Bear Republic Tartare at Kite & Key

This past Sunday was the first Savage Sixtel Sunday at Kite & Key since Beer Week in June, but I was still a bit drunk from the Smoke 'Em beer fest at Yards so I didn't make it. However, everything was still pouring yesterday when I stopped in for my normal Monday visit! Huzzah! Specifically, I couldn't wait to try the Bear Republic Tartare, a berliner weiss I've heard a lot of great things about.

Fantastic nose. Definitely a wheat base but a delicious base, lemony and tart. At first, decently sour with a lot of lemon acidity. However, I got used to the sourness pretty quickly and it developed in complexity with the lemon, the wheat, and the tartness blending incredibly well. This totally lived up to my expectations and it is definitely a top two or three berliner weiss. Just awesome.

I also got to meet a guy who works at Akkurat in Sweden. Lots of really interesting information about how they serve beer, importing US craft stuff, and prices. We can complain about beer prices all we want, but man stuff is expensive in Sweden.

Ommegang at Devil's Den

Last week I was given the chance to try a new Ommegang beer at Devil's Den. Pretty neat to get invited to press stuff since I don't really consider myself press (for good reasons, I'd say) but I do get emails sometimes so why not? For this event Devil's Den was doing some new appetizers, some made with Ommegang beers and others just being fancy along with serving the new beer, Scythe & Sickle, a Harvest Ale.

When I got there, the person in charge of the event had a few of us sit at one of the tables. Got to catch up with Steve Hawk and Mat Falco which was nice. A waitress came by and brought us a sampler of the Ommegang beers that were on draft for the night.