Recently in United States Category

Stone Oakmeal Bourbon Barrel Stout

| No Comments

Hard to believe, but it's been twenty years since Stone declared that we weren't worthy to drink their beer. This turned out to be a successful reverse psychology gambit, as they've enjoyed quite a bit of popularity over the years. For their 20th Anniversary, they embarked upon a series of Anniversary Encore beers. Back in January, they released a rebrew of their 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, but they also reserved some for the Bourbon Barrel treatment, released in August and dubbed Oakmeal, which is what I have here.

For a brewery as big as Stone, it's always been surprising how small their barrel program was, but they started beefing it up a couple years ago. That initial batch of Fyodor's Classic was superb, but subsequent batches lacked that one's pop. I know, I don't like it when people proclaim that "Last year's batch was better" either, but in this case, there's actual cause for speculation. The great batch was aged 12 months, the not-as-great batch was only aged 7 months. Length of aging isn't the only variable, but it seems like an important one and the difference was palpable. Now, Oakmeal's base is a little less hearty than the Fyodor's base and it also incorporates healthy doses of bitter chocolate and oats (cerealously, oats!), but it also only got the 7 month aging period. How will that work out this time? Only one way to find out, which is to ask Wilford Brimley. Ok, two ways, we can drink it too:

Stone Oakmeal

Stone Bitter Chocolate Oakmeal Bourbon Barrel Stout - Pours black as a politician's soul with a finger of gorgeous brown head that sticks around for a bit. Smells nice, lots of roast malt, chocolate, coffee and little caramel, oak, and vanilla from those barrels too. Taste starts off sweet, rich caramel, vanilla, and then we move on to more prominent roasted malt, dark chocolate, finishing on a small amount of a boozy bourbon note. The barrel character is nice, but not exceptional, and again, I noticed that it's at 7 months, where the best Stone BA stuff I've had was at 12 months... Not sure if that is the culprit, but it seems likely. Mouthfeel is rich and full bodied, moderate carbonation, a little warming booze. Overall, a rock solid bourbon barrel stout, not going to open new vistas of the mind, but worthwhile in its own right. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 11.4% ABV bottled (500 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a snifter on 10/8/16. Brewed: December 5, 2015. Bottled: July, 2016.

Stone seems to have focused this year's barrel aging efforts on creating variants of their Xocoveza beer, which I'd gladly try... but I'm still jonesing for well-aged Fyodor's again. Fingers crossed.

Union Chessie

| No Comments

To celebrate their underrated brewery's anniversary, Union brewing makes a barleywine named after local legend Chessie, a sea monster said to live in the midst of the Chesapeake Bay. As with most local legends of this ilk, there are many sightings but no actual evidence of its existence. Funnily enough, speculation meant to explain the sightings sound even more far fetched than a legendary sea monster and include a "mutant eel" theory, large river otters, prehistoric Zeuglodons, and South American anacondas escaping from 18th- and 19th-century sailing ships.

Fortunately, there's plenty of evidence for the beer's existence: namely that I was able to purchase and drink a bottle. It's a little over a year old and I get the impression it would be better fresh, but as it is now, it occupies that same strange territory in the DIPA/TIPA/Barleywine triangle. Regardless, Chessie's come out to play and behold! Photographic evidence:

Union Chessie Barleywine

Union Chessie 3rd Anniversary Barleywine - Pours a dark amber brown color with a finger or two \ of fluffy off-white head that sticks around for quite a while. Smells of faded citrus and resinous pine hops with some crystal malts lurking in the background. Taste also hits the citrus and pine hops pretty hard, with a light crystal malt backbone and dry, bitter hop finish. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated, medium bodied, and surprisingly dry for the style. Not red wine dry, but still much more attenuated than your typical barleywine. Overall, this is an interesting beer, somewhere in that DIPA, TIPA, Barleywine triangle, tasty too. Would like to try fresh (or aged in a barrel). B

Beer Nerd Details: 9.8% ABV bottled (750 ml). Drank out of a snifter glass on 9/23/16. Released: August 2015. Bottle No. 336/800.

This was the third anniversary beer, but they also released the second anniversary Chessie that had been aged in Elijah Craig 12 barrels last year. Here's to hoping I can snag the BA version later this year...

2SP Chardonnay Barrel Aged Tripel

| No Comments

Take a Belgian Style Tripel and pop it into Chardonnay barrels for 10 months. Sounds groovy, but to be honest, if it doesn't also include Brett and/or souring bugs, this sort of thing hasn't worked out spectacularly for me in the past. This is a matter of personal taste, not quality. Often well made beer, but not something that bowls me over. For instance, I wasn't a huge fan of Victory's White Monkey, but I know lots of folks who love it. I have a feeling my reaction to 2SP's take on the style will fall into the same bucket. Well crafted and I enjoyed drinking it, but it never really wowed me or got me revved up...

2SP Chardonnay Barrel Aged Tripel

2SP Chardonnay Barrel Aged Belgian Style Tripel - Pours a warm orange gold color with afinger of slowly forming white head. Smells quite nice, lots of that white wine character, vinous fruit, expressive Belgian yeast, hints of spice. Taste starts off very sweet, we get that Chardonnay barrel character right away, fruity yeast with just a hint of spice, finishing with a little booze. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, moderately carbonated, with a bit of boozy heat. Overall, it's a decent take on a non-funky barrel-aged tripel, not my favorite style in the world to be honest, but it's getting the job done. B

Beer Nerd Details: 9.8% ABV bottled (750 ml). Drank out of a flute glass on 9/24/16. Batch Date: 8/16/15. Bottle No. 53.

I've generally enjoyed 2SP's offerings and will continue to explore them. Nothing in the immediate pipeline, but I'm looking forward to the return of The Russian, and its bourbon barrel treatment as well (perhaps the next bottle won't be overcarbed!)

Casita Cerveceria Del Árboles

| No Comments

Casita Cerveceria is a contract brewery (funny and yet welcome that they don't go for the formerly trendy "Gypsy" designation) mostly based at Hill Farmstead. Let that sink in for a moment. It turns out that brewer Ryan Witter-Merithew has a long history with Sean Hill, having collaborated on Hill's initial run of Grassroots beers in Europe as well as working together at Denmark's Fanø Bryghus. Heck, rumor has it that Hill considered him a sort of unofficial successor in case of tragedy ("I told my brother Darren that if I died or something he should reach out to Ryan and have Ryan take over the brewery."). After a stint at England's Siren brewing (where he again collaborated with Hill Farmstead on that Lemon Cello IPA), Witter-Merithew returned to the US to work at Hill Farmstead for a spell, and now he's heading up his own operation, using some of the excess capacity from Hill's recent expansion.

My one prior exposure to Casita Cerveceria beer was something I didn't even realize at the time, a collaboration with Stillwater called On Fleek, a big 13% Imperial Stout that was wonderful (I neglected to take notes whilst drinking because I was not expecting it to be anything particularly special - I was wrong, because I am the worst).

Del Árboles (Spanish for "The Trees" and featuring a nifty, anthropomorphized evergreen on the label) is a saison brewed with Juniper, Pine, and Cedar. It's also brewed in collaboration with another contract brewery operation centered in Vermont called Wunderkammer. The label sez: Del Árboles tienen ojos, meaning that the trees have eyes. Ok, this is getting scary, let's see how it stacks up:

Casita Cerveceria Del Arboles

Casita Cerveceria Del Árboles - Pours a hazy golden orange color with a finger of white head and ok retention. Smells fabulous, lots of funky, fruity twang, some more earthy notes, a healthy dose of oak. Taste starts sweet, some spicy phenols, earthy funk but not quite barnyard (perhaps the spruce and juniper give it a fruity, floral kick), finishing with a well balanced sourness and oak. I say oak, but I can't find anything saying it's barrel aged, so perhaps it's cedar? I don't know cedar well. Whatever, it has the character of something barrel aged. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, highly carbonated and dry up front, but that lessens as the sour acidity takes over in the finish. Overall, this is a very well done saison in the Hill Farmstead mold and certainly compares favorably, which is high praise indeed. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 5% ABV bottled (375 ml). Drank out of a wine glass on 9/16/16. Brewed in May 2016.

Two beers, two winners. So yes, this is a brewery to look out for. I know I will be hunting down more as soon as possible. Alas, I only have more of this beer readily available. I know, boo hoo, right?

Hill Farmstead Table Dorothy

| No Comments

So if Shaun Hill was such a big fan of the Golden Girls and if this beer is brewed with wheat, wouldn't it be better named Blanche? What's that? It's named after a family member? Well that makes more sense. Thank you for being a friend.

What we have here is a low alcohol version of regular Dorothy, their Citra dry-hopped saison made with wheat and Brett. This one drops the alcohol down to 4.5%, but is supposed to otherwise be the same. The concept of a "table" beer, something appropriate for anytime drinking in a wide variety of circumstances often served with food, is great, but a little rough when it comes to a smallish brewery like Hill Farmstead. That being said, if I had an inexhaustible supply of this stuff, I'd be a happy camper. As it is, I traveled down the road and back again to get some bottles:

Hill Farmstead Table Dorothy

Hill Farmstead Table Dorothy - Pours a hazy straw yellow color with copious, bubbly white head that sticks around for a while and leaves a bit of lacing as I drink. Smells of spicy farmhouse yeast, a little funky earthiness, some fruity esters peeking out and complementing a light citrus hop character. Taste hits a cereal note, earthy minerals, only a hint of funk, a little bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is light bodied, highly carbonated, crisp, bone dry, and eminently quaffable. Overall, this is a very well done light saison with hints of hops, but less farmhouse than I'm used to from HF. Really solid and crushable. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 4.5% ABV bottled (750 ml). Drank out of a tulip glass on 9/9/16. Bottled: 2016 07 07

Luckily, I did buy a few bottles of this stuff so I think maybe I can use it as a table beer. Only for a couple of dinners, but hey, better than nothing. No more Hill Farmstead in the immediate pipeline, but an adjacent brew that holds much interest, so buck up, fair readers. More fun incoming soon enough.

The Bruery Mélange No. 14

| No Comments

The Bruery's Mélange series is their line of experimental blends. They've amassed quite a few barrels of beer and have been siphoning off small portions of those barrel aged wonders for blending purposes for quite a while now. Most appear to be one-offs, but a few are recurring. They've generally had limited availability, but this particular iteration looks to have been spread far and wide. The components used in this beer are 85% of "some of our most vintage barrels of barleywine and old ale" (presumably stuff like their Anniversary beers and Mash) and 15% of "both Tuesday-themed releases and Share This" (i.e. imperial stouts).

I would be genuinely curious about exact proportions of components, as blending is a tricky beast. Of course, I don't have any particular experience with it, but my blatant speculation is that it would be very difficult to blend such strongly flavored beers in such a way that would allow them to become more than the sum of their parts. Indeed, I suspect many attempts at blending lead to one component dominating the others, or perhaps even resulting in a beer that is less than the sum of its parts. Blending in other arenas is often done to smooth out rough flavors, but that also has the added effect of making the result blander and more homogeneous. I don't think that's what the Bruery is going for here, and most of these Mélange beers seem to be well received, so I guess they're doing a pretty good job.

The Bruery Melange No 14

The Bruery Mélange No. 14 - Pours a muddy looking, vivid dark brown color with a half finger of light tan head. Smells of rich caramel, bourbon, oak, vanilla, toffee, a hint of something darker lurking in the background. Taste is very sweet, lots of crystal malt, much more on the fruity side, dark fruits, maybe coconut, plenty of booze. As it warms, the fruit subsides a bit and the bourbon and oak come out more, but it's still distinct from your typical Bruery BBA lineup. Mouthfeel is on the lighter end of full bodied, moderate richness, finely carbonated, some pleasant boozy heat. Very complex, lots going on, a slow sipping beer for sure. Overall, this is really nice, typical Bruery barrel character, complex, maybe a bit off balance and muddled, but still delicious. More delicious than its components? I'm not so sure. I definitely have a thing for the Anniversary beers and I love Mash and Black Tuesday. This is a nice change of pace, I guess. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 13.4% ABV bottled (750 ml). Drank out of a tulip glass on 9/9/16. Bottled: 05/23/16.

Always fun taking a trip through the Bruery's barrel program. I've always wanted to try Melange No. 3 (a blend of Anniversary, White Oak Sap, and Black Tuesday) and would be really curious about Melange No. 1 (a blend of Oude Tart and Black Tuesday) even if it seems a bit odd to blend a sour with a stout. I also realized that I neglected to review this year's anniversary beer, but then, I've reviewed most of them already, so there's little else to say... No more Bruery on the horizon, but we'll certainly see more from them on here sometime.

Burley Oak Sour Diesel

| No Comments

Not wanting to (literally) beat around the bush, beer has a relationship with weed. Not one that I'm especially interested in or care much about (not my thing), but it's hard not to recognize the affinity amongst certain infamous brewers. There's often an almost certainly false speculation that hops and marijuana are biologically related, mostly because they sure look and smell similar. Then again, this requires a working knowledge of biology and, well, my main takeaway from this examination is basically: "1) Don't become an angiosperm taxonomist unless you love frustration, because 2) taxonomy can be a giant pain in the butt." Which is to say, well, they're both plants and it passes a literal sniff test, so that's probably good enough for most.

So what the hell am I talking about weed for? Well, after my exhaustive research session of searching Google for "Sour Diesel", this beer is clearly named after an infamous strain of Marijuana. Not sure why that's a great name for weed or beer though. I mean, yeah, I guess it indicates a certain dynamic flammability, but that's not generally something I look for in beer. Anywho, starting life as a stout made with chocolate rye malts and fermented in oak barrels, this was then soured (er, sour dieseled?) with lactobacillus (no mention of Brett or Pedio, for what it's worth). The label sez it's a "satisfyingly dank experience", so let's find out:

Burley Oak Sour Diesel

Burley Oak Sour Diesel - Pours a very dark brown color, almost black, with practically no head whatsoever. Smells nice, fruity, that sour twang, maybe some cherries. Taste hits those sour cherry notes hard, lots of dark, sour fruits, some heft from the dark malt, a little one note, but tasty. Not particularly dank, but sure, it's sour. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, low carbonation (maybe just enough, but lower than I usually want out of a beer like this), moderate sourness. Overall, this is a nice lactic sour, a little one note, but a good enough note. B

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV bottled (750 ml). Drank out of a flute glass on 9/10/16.

One more Burley Oak sour in the pipeline, but I've had it before. It's also a sour stout, but it felt like it had more character than this one, even if I feel like it might strip all the enamel off of my teeth if I drink a whole bottle. Stay tuned!

Tired Hands Bottle & Can Directory

| No Comments

The other day, someone posted a thread on Facebook asking folks to post their top two breweries with the highest count of unique beers tasted (Untappd helps keep track of this sort of thing). For me, number two was Victory with 60 different brews.

Not too shabby, but regular readers (all 3 of you) who remember my epic recaps of hundreds of Tired Hands beers might guess that brewery would place number one. And they'd be correct! How correct? Oh, you know, something to the tune of 356 different beers. That's all. Ok, fine, before you start preparations for my intervention, there are a few mitigating factors. One is that, according to Untappd, there are 975 different Tired Hands beers (Beer Advocate only lists 769 beers though). So I haven't even had half of them! Second, the grand majority of these have been 4 or 8 ounce pours, with the occasional bottle and very rare pint (i.e. there were times where I've visited and had the equivalent of two pints, but that's 8 beers in 4 ounce increments). Finally, this is over the course of three years and while I used to pop over to Tired Hands every week, I've slowed my roll considerably of late.

Anywho, I've mostly given up on writing up notes when I visit, but I do tend to take note of their bottled offerings, so I'll probably continue posting these roundups from time to time, even if they're nowhere near as comprehensive as they once were. I've also managed to snag some cans from time to time, but they're generally released on Wednesdays at 4 pm or 5 pm and I have this thing called a job that prevents me from waiting in line for a few hours. I know, priorities, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Some of these are more detailed tasting notes, and others are more general observations, so take them with the appropriate mountain of salt.

Tired Hands Only Void Single-Origin Awake Minds Ethiopian Coffee

Tired Hands Only Void (Single-Origin Awake Minds Ethiopian Coffee) - Cold conditioned on heavy amounts of Awake Minds Ethiopian coffee from ReAnimator Coffee - I feel like people slept on this release, as I just kinda walked up an hour after the release had started and snagged a couple four packs. You all know I'm not a big coffee person and while this doesn't exactly change my mind, it was a superb example of the style. Tons of roast and coffee, rich, intense but incredibly well balanced. Not sure how these cans are drinking now (released in April), but worth looking out for the next release. Since I didn't take formal notes and it's been several months, I'll refrain from rating, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

Tired Hands Living With Ourselves As We Are

Tired Hands Living With Ourselves As We Are - French oak fermented wheat Saison conditioned on heaps of Meyer lemon purée - Pours a very pale straw yellow color with a finger of white head. Smells of tart fruit, those lemons coming through here, but a nice dollop of funk and oak pairs well. Taste has a nice sweet backbone, plenty of tart fruit, again with the lemons, but maybe some other fruity notes making themselves known (vinous fruit?) and plenty of oak, finishing on those sour lemons. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, medium bodied, moderately sour, quite well balanced. Overall, this is very nice, one of the better bottles of the year... A-

Beer Nerd Details: ??% ABV bottle (750 ml). Drank out of a flute glass on 7/16/16.

Tired Hands Rustic Pentagram

Tired Hands Rustic Pentagram - Sour Mango Saison. Brewed with Wheat. Hopped with Amarillo. Fermented in one of our large French oak foudres. Conditioned atop freshly made mango purée. - Had this at the Fermentaria anniversary and loved it, but it's even better out of the bottle. Pours a very pale, almost radiant yellow color, only slightly hazy, with a finger of white head that leaves some lacing. Smells amazing, a beautiful funk character mixed with a well balanced mango aroma and some oak playing go-between. Taste is sweet up front, with those mangos coming through strong, almost immediately followed by a big sour bite, then comes something a little more earthy, funky, almost cheesy and gueuze-like, and a well balanced oaky streak ties the whole thing together, finishing with another sour bite. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, well carbonated, moderate to high acidity, but very well balanced. Overall, this is spectacular, best TH bottle in a while. A

Beer Nerd Details: 6.9% ABV bottle (750 ml). Drank out of a wine glass on 7/29/16.

Tired Hands Pineal
(Click to Embiggen)

Pineal - Have had this a few times on tap, one of Tired Hands' first recurring IPAs (and by recurring, it's like, once a year for the first two years? Though more often since they've started canning), it's always struck me as a pretty standard Tired Hands IPA. Fantastic, especially when compared to most other breweries, but not quite top tier TH single IPA. In the can? It's cloudier and juicier, I rather like it better. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6% ABV canned (16 ounce pounder). Drank out of the can, like a man, on 7/31/16.

Tired hands Milkshake IPA
(Click to Embiggen)

Tired Hands Milkshake IPA - I went over the origins of this before in discussing the Northeast IPA, basically an IPA brewed with lactose, wheat flour, and strawberries - Pours a turbid, chicken broth looking pale yellow color with a finger of white head (I poured some out to see, but drank most out of the can). Smells great, huge wafts of juicy citrus, pineapple, orange, vanilla. Taste hits those big juicy citrus notes hard, lactose sweetness, mild bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is full bodied, thick, and chewy, well carbonated, did I mention thick? Overall, surprisingly enough, this is absolutely delicious. A

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV canned (16 ounce pounder). Drank out of the can, like a man, on 7/30/16.

Tired Hands Believers Club Bottle 1

Tired Hands Believer's Club Bottle 1 - Fermented and conditioned with our magickal Saison yeast in French oak barrels. It was conditioned atop a copious amount of mango at a rate of one and a half pounds per gallon of beer and then dry hopped with Mosaic. - Pours a slightly hazy but still radiant straw yellow color with a finger of white head. Smells great, lots of musty funk, stone fruit, mangos, oak. Taste is sweet and tart up front, some of that mango showing itself, followed by some earthy notes and oak, finishing on that sour mango swerve. Mouthfeel is medium to light bodied, a tad lower on carbonation, moderate acidity, all very well balanced. Overall, this is fabulous, very, very similar to Rustic Pentagram and I could see it growing more complex over time too. We're splitting hairs here, so let's just go A- for now, though I'm guessing it will continue to evolve over time.

Beer Nerd Details: ??% ABV bottle (750 ml). Drank out of a flute glass on 9/2/16.

Tired Hands ROOMARAK

Tired Hands ROOMARAK - Saison brewed with local Deer Creek Malthouse barley and wheat, fermented and aged in a Vin Santo foudre with a ton of Merlot grapes from local Karamoor Winery - Pours a striking reddish orange color, robey tones, very little head that doesn't stick around at all. Smells very nice, musty funk, vinous fruit, oak. Taste hits that vinous fruit character hard, apparently that Merlot making itself known, even getting some wine tannin here, a little oak, finishing with a sour bite. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, medium bodied, only mildly acidic. Overall, an interesting wine/beer hybrid and a tasty beer. B+ or A-

Beer Nerd Details: ??% ABV bottle (750 ml). Drank out of a wine glass on 9/3/16.

Phew, I think that's enough for now. Next up on the Tired Hands bottle front: Parageuisia 6 and 7 are being released this Sunday. If you are in the area, it's worth trying to snag a bottle, they're wonderful.

Categories

Monthly Archives

OpenID accepted here Learn more about OpenID

About

Hi, my name is Mark, and I like beer.

You might also want to check out my generalist blog, where I blather on about lots of things, but mostly movies, books, and technology.

Email me at mciocco at gmail dot com.

Follow me on Twitter

Like me on Facebook

Toast me on Untappd

About this Archive

This page is an archive of recent entries in the United States category.

United Kingdom is the previous category.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.