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Here at Kaedrin, we pine after Hill Farmstead like Wolverine, and I just got done explaining how I took a day out of my vacation to drive to Vermont and pick up some of their beers. Some of those beers were only available in growlers, which are not vessels to age in your cellar. Fortunately, it's not like we're going to slack off when it comes to Hill Farmstead beers, which don't last long in this household. So let's get this party started:

Hill Farmstead Susan - Another in HF's ancestral series, this is one I hadn't heard of, so I jumped on it. It's an IPA brewed with Citra, Simcoe (par for the course, everyone loves these suckers), and Riwaka (I'd never heard of this, apparently a New Zealand varietal) hops. Pours a cloudy golden yellow color with a finger of fluffy white head and lacing out the yin yang. Holy mango nose, Batman! Huge, juicy citrus hops in the nose, grapefruit and mango, just a fantastic aroma here. Taste follows the nose, lots of that juicy citrus hop flavor up front, with a pleasant, well-matched bitterness doing its thing towards the middle to finish, but ultimately the fruity citrus returns in the finish. I'm actually guessing that the Riwaka hops are what's giving this that unique mango twist that isn't quite like your typical trendily-hopped beers. Mouthfeel is light bodied, smooth, and almost creamy, well carbonated with tight little bubbles that give it that smooth/creamy texture. Utterly quaffable, my first glass was gone before I finished the first draft of this paragraph. Overall, superb. A

Beer Nerd Details: 6.2% ABV from a growler (750 ml swing top). Drank out of a flute glass on 8/17/13. Growler filled on 8/15/13.

Hill Farmstead Society & Solitude #7 - The latest in HF's philosophy series of beers inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was apparently quite the hophead (the Society & Solitude series is all about experimenting with hops). This one is made with Simcoe and Amarillo, music to my tastebuds. Pours a slightly darker golden yellow color with a finger of fluffy white head and lots of lacing. The nose here is much more grapefruit-like, with some floral notes for good measure. Taste is sugary sweet, with those hops balancing it all out and plenty of those floral and grapefruit notes to keep things interesting and tasty. Mouthfeel is a bit heavier, medium bodied, same carbonation profile, ultimately still pretty quaffable for an 8% beer (not quite Heady Topper territory, but close). Overall, this is a delicious hop bomb, though perhaps not quite as spectacular as Susan. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV from a growler (750 ml swing top). Drank out of an Alchemist stemless glass on 8/18/13. Growler filled on 8/15/13.

Hill Farmstead Amarillo Single Hop Pale Ale - Another in HF's series of single hop beers, always an enlightening exercise, though it's more fun to try them side by side (I was limited to three growlers, otherwise, I would have also picked up the Nelson Sauvin single hop pale ale that was also available). That being said, I pretty much know what I'm in for with Amarillo, which is one of my favorite hops. Pours a yellower golden color with a finger of white head and again with the lacing. Smells of juicy citrus hops, and lots of them. Taste follows suit, lots of bright citrus notes from that Amarillo hop, with a sharp, astringent bitterness towards the finish. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, light, and crisp. Not quite as quaffable as Susan, but perhaps moreso than S&S #7. This reminds me a lot of some of Tired Hands' Amarillo-based brews, which, uh, is a compliment to both breweries! Overall, yep, it's awesome. Duh. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 5.2% ABV from a growler (750 ml swing top). Drank out of a tulip glass on 8/19/13. Growler filled on 8/15/13.

The growlers held up pretty darn well, I think. The only one that might have really been impacted was the Amarillo, and it was still superb, so whatever. I'm already looking forward to my next irresponsible trip to Vermont to fill up on more HF growlers.

Posting will be light this week as I head op to Kaedrin North for a respite from the daily grind. I really kicked the vacation into gear a couple days ago with a Firestone Walker Parabola, a beer which I had inexplicably "only" granted an A- to last year. Let's up that to an full-blown A, shall we?

"But it is a curve each of them feels, unmistakably. It is the parabola. They must have guessed, once or twice--guessed and refused to believe--that everything, always, collectively, had been moving toward that purified shape latent in the sky, that shape of no surprise, no second chances, no return. Yet they do move forever under it, reserved for its own black-and-white bad news certainly as if it were the Rainbow, and they its children...."

See you next week, though I'm sure I'll post a thing or two on twitter, in case you're afraid of withdrawal.

Back in college, I expended some of my few electives on Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. I did so exactly for monster beers like this, but my defensive techniques were no match for Voodoo brewery's most prized beer. Indeed, this sucker sits atop the Top New Beers list on Beer Advocate, with sky high ratings and ISOs all over the place.

I used to think this was Voodoo's standard Big Black Voodoo Daddy (a hearty 12.5% ABV imperial stout) aged in bourbon barrels, but it appears to be its own beast (Voodoo has barrel aged BBVD as well, and I'll get to those soon enough). Depending on who you believe, it clocks in at somewhere between 13.5% ABV and 15.5% ABV, and in this case, it was aged in old Pappy Van Winkle barrels. As it understand it, PVW barrels impart mystical healing powers, but being black magick, there is usually some corresponding damage being done elsewhere. This ain't no second year "tickling curse" dark arts here. So sharpen your wands and prepare your counter-jinxes and defensive charms, we're going in:

Voodoo Pappy Van Winkle Black Magick - Pours a thick, gloopy black color with a full finger of lightish brown head. Really pretty looking. Smells heavily of caramel, bourbon, vanilla, and oak, classic bourbon barrel aged stout stuff here. Taste is extremely sweet, lots of rich caramel notes, and that heavy bourbon, vanilla, and oak character pervading the whole thing. Some hints of chocolate and roast open up as it warms. Maybe a hint of booze too, but not nearly as much as you'd expect. Mouthfeel is thick and chewy, rich and full bodied, even reasonably well carbonated for such a monster. Some booze heat as well, and it coats the mouth and lingers for a while too. Overall, this is spectacular stuff. I can see it being too sweet for some, but it hit the spot just right for me, so I'll say it just barely cleared the bar for an A

Beer Nerd Details: Somewhere around 13.5% - 15.5% ABV bottled (12 oz. red waxed cap). Drank out of Voodoo Barrel Room snifter on 7/26/13. Bottle #47, bottled 1/18/13.

There was a single bottle limit on this stuff at the Philly release, but the folks at the brewery release fared a little better. Still, by my count, only 667 or so bottles were made, so I'm pretty happy I got my grubby hands on it (as well as the two other variants). The release was in April, so I'm not sure what the hell I'm waiting for. Expect some more reviews of Voodoo's barrel room collection in the coming weeks. They only make Black Magick every other year (last release was 2011), but they've got plenty of goodies in their barrel room right now and I just saw that they're doing another release in September. No details on that release yet, but I've got my fingers crossed for some BA Barleywine and Wee Heavy.

I'm not generally one for the pomp and circumstance of serving beer. Maybe it's just because the most elaborate process I've seen is the ridiculous 9 step ritual for serving Stella Artois. That's a lot of work for very little payoff, if you ask me. So anyway, whilst perusing the beer menu at a local establishment, I spied some of that prized Cantillon Fou' Foune and went in on a bottle with some friends. Now we all know Cantillon's stellar reputation, but the hype surrounding this particular loon (a lambic made with apricots) goes well beyond even that. It cost a pretty penny too, but that's softened somewhat by splitting the bottle (that being said, if you can find it, ordering direct from Belgium and paying the obscene shipping would probably work out to a similar price) and we were pretty happy to ritualize the tasting of this stuff.

Our original plan was to take it home and enjoy there, but the bar requires the bottle to be opened on the premises, as they've apparently run into douchebags who would buy bottles from them, then turn around and sell them online for a stiff markup. This is a topic I've bludgeoned to death before, so I'll leave it at that. But one advantage to having it at the bar was that pomp and circumstance. Check out the proper brewery glassware and that swanky lambic serving basket:

But as with the likes of Stella, ritual sez nothing about what's in the bottle, so let's find out if this khaki whale lives up to the hype:

Cantillon Fou' Foune - Pours a very pretty golden color. Nose is pure apricot and musty funk. Very nice. Taste has that beautiful oak aged character, with a big fruity, tart pop, moderate sourness. Intense and complex, but very well balanced. Mouthfeel is very well carbonated, crisp, a little acidic, some vinegar, perfect proportions. Overall, superb, delicious, would drink again (for the sarcasm impaired, this means that I'll be scouring the earth to find more bottles). A

Beer Nerd Details: 5% ABV bottled (750 ml capped and corked). Served from a lambic basket to a Cantillon flute.

I would have taken better notes, but then, I was trying to be social and felt bad enough scribbling in shorthand into my phone for a minute. Anywho, it's been a pretty fantastic few weeks here at Kaedrin. Things will likely not remain so exciting, but stay tuned, there's lots of fantastic beer on deck here at Kaedrin HQ, and a potential Vermont trip in the near future may result in more fun.

The Alchemist is a tiny little brewpub in Waterbury, Vermont. Yeah, you know what that means, right? They've been around since 2003, but their notoriety has gone through the roof in the past few years due to their flagship (and, for the most part, only commercially available) beer Heady Topper. Back in 2011, their brewpub was destroyed by Hurricane Irene just days before their cannery went online (the cannery was luckily spared from the devastation). Already a well respected brew, once Heady hit cans, its reputation exploded. Even today, The Alchemist supposedly can't produce enough of the stuff. I've heard tell of small caches of these suckers making their way to Boston and Philly, but that seems to happen rarely. Somehow, I managed to get my hands on a few cans (my purveyor wishes to remain anonymous, but I'm very grateful).

On BeerAdvocate, it's the number one rated beer on the planet (those nutbars over at RateBeer are more sanguine, placing it at 31), which has, of course, only fueled the hype. I'm guessing at least part of the reason this stuff is so well regarded is that almost everyone is drinking it fresh. It comes packaged in a rather beautiful looking can that is, well, quite pushy. It orders you to "Drink from the can!" (and it also sez "Don't be a D-Bag, recycle this can!") Head Brewer John Kimmich sez that pouring it into a glass is all well and good, but it releases a lot of "essential hop aromas" which smells nice at first, but fades quicker than if you drink from the can. The idea is that the can has a little protective layer of carbon dioxide that keeps those aromas sealed in. Well fine then, when I cracked my first, I drank it straight from the can, as ordered (the notes below were mostly compiled during this first taste):

The big problem I have here is that beers like this really make me want to smell what's going on. Does this protective layer of carbon dioxide work if I keep sticking my nose into the can and huffing? Can't resist a beer that smells this good. It actually worked well enough at the beginning of the can, but as I got towards the bottom, that aroma was more difficult to come by. Curious, I tried rebellion with my next can, and poured it out:

The Alchemist Heady Topper - Pours an, um, aluminum can color, with black highlights. Yeah. (Ok, so when I poured one out, it's got a hazy orange glow thing going on, nice heady head too.) Holy grapefruit, Batman! I was worried about sticking my nose in the can, but just cracking this open resulted in a waft of pure hop grapefruit, oranges, and other assorted citrus aromas. Alas, as I drink, the aroma is harder to get at. The perils of drinking direct from the can, I guess. Taste his those same big grapefruit and orange notes, fruity, juicy citrus hops all the way. It's sweet up front, but a nice counterbalancing bitterness emerges in the middle and lasts through the finish. Taste evolves a little dank pineapple towards the bottom of the can. Mouthfeel is smooth and almost creamy, finishing with that crisp bitterness. It's got a nice quenching feeling, too. Not even a hint of booze. Overall, yep, this is one spectacular beer, melting faces and playing with the big boys at Hill Farmstead and Tired Hands (and probably some of them west coast folks I haven't wrangled yet, like Alpine or Kern River). A

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV canned (16 ounce pounder). Drank out of the can, like a man. (Or a snifter).

So yeah, this is the real deal (and I ain't the only one who thinks so: Jay, Ed, DDB, Dave, and Rich all seem to love the stuff). They do make other beers on occasion (and I even had the good fortune to try their most excellent collaboration with Hill Farmstead, a 4% "blonde" called Walden, which was kinda like Heady's even more drinkable little brother), but this one alone is worth the stretch. That trip to Vermont is getting more attractive by the moment.

Tonight was Beer Club, a gathering of beer minded folk from my work who get together every month at a local BYOB for drinkening and fun. Minor error in tonight's choice of establishment in that it's summertime, so it's super hot, and this place isn't air conditioned. Great pizza and sandwiches though. It actually wasn't that bad, but it's off the list for summer events from nows on... Anywho, solid turnout and lots of great beer. I event remembered to take a picture (unlike last month):

One of my friends was all scared about what she should bring and so she was trying to downplay her contribution, but then was all "So my friend from Vermont thought you might like this," and pulled out two cans of Heady Topper. She wins beer club.

For the sake of posterity, random thoughts on each beer below. Standard disclaimers regarding small samples and less than ideal conditions, but don't worry, next month we're renting out sensory deprivation chambers and using industrial grade palate cleansers between each sip. But for now, you'll have to settle for imperfection:

• Kona Wailua Wheat - A pretty straightforward take on a wheat beer, unremarkable, but a nice first taste for the night. B-
• The Alchemist Heady Topper - Hard to believe, but I actually scored a 4 pack of this stuff last week, so there will be a more detailed review in the next couple days. In short, it's superb. Stay tuned for more (review probably posted on Thursday). A
• San Miguel Pale Pilsen - From the best beer of the night to the worst. This was actually a can of beer from 2007. Vintage! A friend at work visited the Philippines and brought a couple of us back a can of this stuff. It's pretty generic, bland pilsner stuff, but let's just say there's a reason you don't age pilseners. It's actually not undrinkable, but it's definitely started to get that apple-like off flavor and not something I'd ever want to drink except in small quantities as a joke, like it was tonight. D
• Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse - From unintentionally sour and bad to intentionally sour and pretty damn good. One of my contributions! Berliner Weisse (translates to "Jelly Donut Wheat") is a style that's hit or miss for me, but this one is a definite hit, and it was perfect for the hot summer night. Super light, crisp, refreshing tartness, really nice. Definitely worth trying. B+ or A-
• Horny Goat Watermelon Wheat - Watermelon can work in beer, but it did not work at all for me here. It had this weird artificial twang to it coupled with a sorta almost spicy note? Really weird and unpleasant. Lots of strange faces made around the group, though one person liked it enough. Me, I give it a D
• Ommegang Fleur De Houblon - One of the recent Ommegang releases that I've been slacking on, this one is a pretty straightforward Belgian Pale Ale, with a nice floral hop character, maybe some herbalness, but it all matches well with Ommegang's standard Belgian yeast flavors (spicy and banana). I wouldn't describe it as super hoppy, and there isn't a lot of bitterness, but there are some hop flavors here. Not an amazing beer, but definitely worth drinking. B
• Jolly Pumpkin Baudelaire IO - One of my contributions and a beer I've reviewed before. Yep, still a great beer, more fruity and less funky than I remember, but that may be a function of drinking a bunch of other beers and eating food and whatnot. Still fantastic, no matter what, and everyone seemed to enjoy it and would come back to this after some of the next beers (though one person noted that the label artist was stealing the style of another artist!) Still an A- in my book, and I've got another one in the cellar just in case I want another taste.
• Heavy Seas Holy Sheet (Brandy Barrel) - I like it. It's got a typical Belgian dubbel sorta vibe, but nice rich, boozy Brandy notes hit at the front of the taste before those raisins and molasses kick in during the middle to finish. It was a little too warm when we opened it, but I'll give it a solid B+ for now.
• New Holland Envious - I got a very cough syrupy vibe off this thing, which wasn't the grossest beer evar, but not particularly great either. The fruit comes through a bit, but there's that syrupy feel that sorta drags it down, and I didn't get much oak at all. Actually very disappointing. I suppose my palate could have potentially been shot by this point, but it still was not very good. D
• Victory Otto in Oak - My last contribution, I was a little worried about this because I hadn't tried it since it first came out (when I loved it) and I'd traded a few of them out recently, so I was curious to see how it's held up. Apparently pretty well! Indeed, the smoke has faded even more than it had when I first tried it, and the rich bourbon and oak character was really nice. It's not something that beer nerds will go completely wild over, but I really enjoy it and think it retains the A- rating I initially gave it.

At this point I got a phone call telling my that my neighbors (the folks who live under me) had water dripping into their condo, so I had to leave (fortunately, I think we were mostly finished at this point). It turns out that the water leak was not coming from my condo, so all is well at Kaedrin HQ. Stay tuned, some exciting beer on its way, including that Heady Topper review (so good). So all in all, a successful night and naturally, already looking forward to the next meeting.

Just when you think you've got your head wrapped around the saison style, Dany Prignon drops a bomb like this on your face. No stupid memes necessary, just look at the damn stuff. Brewed with Green Tea (and Prignon's usual secret spices), it looks like friggin' Ecto Cooler, so strap on your proton packs. We've got some ghosts to drink:

Fantôme Magic Ghost - Sweet merciful crap, look at that stuff. It looks like straight up ecto cooler. A vivid green color with a finger of, yep, very light green head. Calls to mind crappy St. Patricks day stunts, but this is anything but. Listen! Do you smell something? It actually smells utterly fantastic, great tangy funk (none of that smokey stuff that you see in recent regular Fantômes), some spice, and green tea - a surprisingly harmonious combination. Fortunately, the taste bears that out. The funky Brett character is perfect right now, slight fruity tartness, well balanced with traditional saison spice and sweetness, with that tea taking a bit of a back seat, but still present and harmonious. Lots of complexity, tea coming out a little more as it warms up. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, medium bodied, crisp, and a little on the dry side. Really pleasant to drink. Overall, this works shockingly well. Matching this sort of complexity with this sort of balance is difficult. I cannot believe this sucker, probably my favorite Fantôme since my first taste. A

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (750 ml capped and corked). Drank out of a tulip glass on 7/5/13. Lot no: b. Best before: February 2014.

I've heard that the color can vary on these, that some pour out an almost neon green, and some are darker or more of an olive green. I found mine to be more on the brighter side, not quite neon, but dark enough that I found it difficult to photograph (I took some pictures that were barely green at all). Anywho, Fantôme continues to blow my mind. Even when I don't particularly love something, it's always an interesting experience, and while some may poo-poo the inconsistency between batches, I find that to be part of their charm. Stay tuned, more Ghost reviews in the coming weeks.

The Bruery's Anniversary beers have become an annual tradition around here at Kaedrin (see Coton, the second anniversary beer, for more on why this is so). Each beer is based off an old ale recipe that is blended with previous batches using the Solera method. Initial offerings were blends of barrel aged and young beer, but the last couple have been 100% barrel aged.

The names of the beers follow along with the French translation of traditional wedding anniversary gifts. Bois is French for "Wood" and I believe it's pronounced *Inception Horns*. Hard to believe it's only been 5 years since The Bruery popped up and started melting faces.

So I buy one of these every year, but clocking in at 15% ABV and packaged only in 750 ml bottles, it's a big beer and not exactly an everyday thing. Let's make this a week of stupid memes and continue my lame Inception joke at the same time:

We need to go deeper. It's funny, but the dream within a dream structure sorta matches the beer within a beer Solera method thing going on with these Anniversary beers. Or I'm full of shit (or a piece of shit, full of shit?) Alrighty then, let's get incepted by some monster beer:

The Bruery Bois - Pours a viscous, deep, murky brown color with just a cap of light tan head. Smells strongly of Bourbon, vanilla, and oak, lots of booze, with some sugary fruit notes creeping around too. Taste is full of rich caramel, sticky toffee, and dark fruits (raisins, plums, and so forth), with a big wallop of boozy bourbon, vanilla, and oak. Very complex, evolving as it warms. Mouthfeel is thick and syrupy, very rich, with enough carbonation to cut the sweetness, but still very smooth. A heaping helping of booze burn and a nice warming as you drink too (even if you drink slowly). It would be difficult to call this balanced, but it's my kinda unbalanced (others will certainly find it too rich), and the barrel aging is very well done. Overall, it's spectacular and I love it. A

Beer Nerd Details: 15% ABV bottled (750 ml capped and waxed). Drank out of a Only Void snifter on 6/29/13. Bottled 4/10/13.

This was the standard Bourbon barrel offering, but to mark their 5th year, The Bruery did some next level aging in other kinds of barrels like Brandy, Rye, and new American and French Oak. Alas, those variants aren't getting distributed beyond the brewery and some are only available to their society members. We'll just have to make due with Bourbon, I guess.