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Beers that have been rated A-, A, or A+

February Beer Club

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Yeah, so I’m still running dry on beer puns. Fortunately, there’s a pretty good chance you don’t care about that, so I’ll just explain that Beer club is a meeting of beer minded individuals from my work who get together for a meal and lots-o-beer once a month. It ended up being a rather small gathering this month, with just the core group showing up… and yet, plenty of fantastic beer was had by all.

Beer Club February 2013

(Click for bigger image)

Despite the less than ideal conditions, I’m going to record my thoughts on each sampled beer. For posterity! Yeah, the sip test is often unreliable, so take this with a giant boulder of gourmet sea salt, you nerd (he sez, as if it’s a bad thing). Roughly in order of tasting (not necessarily the order in the above picture):

  • Samuel Smith’s Organic Lager – Pretty standard Euro-lager affair here, though perhaps a higher quality version of such. Nice noble hoppiness and a surprising yeast character (nowhere near a Belgian strain, but it did add character to an otherwise normal beer). B
  • Eagle Rock Jubilee – One of my contributions for the night, or should I say, it’s actually Jay’s contribution, as this was part of our trade. I figured I shouldn’t hog all of it to myself, though perhaps I should have, as this was reallly good. Smooth, creamy, spiced but not harshly so, this was a beauty. They call it a spiced old ale, but it feels a whole lot like a winter warmer and heck, let’s just call it good beer. Beer Club crowd seemed mighty impressed as well. A-
  • Cisco Lady of the Woods – My other contribution, I liked it so much the first time, that I just had to share another with everyone else. I’m always surprised at how well received sour beers are by the Beer Club crowd, though perhaps I shouldn’t be. I tend to call this beer club, but it originally began as beer and wine club, and this beer certainly has a nice Chardonnay character that turned some heads. Still an A by my reckoning…
  • Heavy Seas Black Cannon – One of them semi-local Maryland breweries, this wound up being a very solid black IPA. Beautiful nose, slight roasted malt character dominated by piney, resinous hops and maybe a bit of citrus. Alas, the taste didn’t quite hold up, though again, still a very solid beer. B
  • Flying Fish Grand Cru Winter Reserve – Hoo boy, I hope you like clove, cause they must have packed this thing to the gills with cloves. Fortunately, I do like that, though the beer is pretty straightforward otherwise. B
  • Ommegang Three Philosophers – One of my long time favorites, just as good as ever. Fancy new label, too…
  • Heavy Seas Bourbon Barrel Aged Siren Noire – Holy chocolate milk, Batman! Seriously, like drinking slightly boozy yoohoo. Not getting much bourbon at all, though perhaps it’s contributing to the almost creamy, vanilla character that goes so well with the chocolate flavors that dominate this beer. Really enjoyable and perhaps the most interesting beer of the night, if not exactly the best. B+
  • BrewDog Tokyo* – Another beer I’ve had before, this thing is a total monster. Clocking in at over 18% ABV, it’s a pretty potent beer, though the solid malt backbone and addition of cranberries and jasmine help even that out a bit. Still a B+ in my book.

And with that, we had to cut things a bit short. A few sad beers were left unopened, but it was starting to snow and we didn’t want to crack open that bottle of 14% Samichlaus (seriously, beer club compatriot Anthony brought Samichlaus and Tokyo*, which average out to somewhere around 16% ABV, pretty badass if you ask me. As a fan of older vintages of Samichlaus, I advised him to cellar this 2010 vintage until at least next Christmas and he seemed pretty excited about that prospect). So that just about covers it for this beer club. At the next beer club, my Fat Weekend IPA should be ready to go, so I’m pretty excited.

Imperial Eclipse Stout – Elijah Craig (12 Year)

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We all know I love me some Bourbon barrel aged stouts. I won’t shut up about it. But what is it about the glorious marriage of bourbon and beer that makes me love it so much? And how important is the provenance of the barrels used for beer aging? Can you really pick out different makes of Bourbon by drinking the beer aged in said Bourbon’s barrels?

There are, of course, many factors to consider. What’s the base beer like and how well does that match with the Bourbon? How old is the barrel? How big is the barrel? What’s the physical condition of the barrel? How long has the barrel been empty? How good is the Bourbon? And there are even more factors to consider.

Now, I’m no expert, but the general rule seems to be: if there was quality bourbon in the barrel, you’ll get quality beer out. Now, is using an Elijah Craig barrel all that different from using an Evan Williams barrel? If you took the same beer and aged a batch in each barrel, would you be able to pick which was which? Do Pappy Van Winkle barrels really contain magical properties above and beyond all other barrels? All bets are off when it comes to other spirits. Scotch barrel aged beer varies widely depending on the prevalence of peat smoke. Rum barrels are distinct. And so on.

So I realize that the grand majority of this post thus far has been unanswered questions. Fortunately for us, FiftyFifty Brewing Co. out in sunny California releases a series of barrel aged stouts every year, using a wide variety of barrels so that we can at least do some comparative drinking. What I’ve got here, courtesy of a cross-continental trade with Jay from Beer Samizdat, is a variant aged in 12 year old Elijah Craig barrels. Looking at the groupthink at BA and RB, these Elijah Craig versions seem to be the highest rated, though not by that much more than most others.

Speaking of which, those other variants have been showing up in local bottle shops, so I’ll have to lighten my wallet a bit and pick them up. Research, you know. For science. Anwyho, I couldn’t really wait to try this one, so I indulged pretty quickly:

FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout Elijah Craig 12

FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout – Elijah Craig (12 Year) – Pours a very dark brown color, almost black, with a finger of tan head. Smells of bourbon, oak, vanilla, and caramel, a really nice balanced aroma here, music to a bourbon barrel lover’s noseballs. Taste is filled with a well balanced, rich flavor profile that is similar to the nose: plenty of bourbon, a little oak and vanilla, lots of caramel. Light, pleasing roasted notes also come through in the taste, so it’s retaining its stoutness too… the mark of a balanced barrel aging job. Mouthfeel is full bodied, well carbonated but smooth and almost creamy. It’s not a chewy monster, but it’s not a chugging beer either – it’s really easy going for such a big stout. Overall, it’s a very well balanced, complex bourbon barrel stout. A

Beer Nerd Details: 9.5% ABV bottled (22 oz wax dipped bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 2/1/13.

I’ve already got my hands on the Heaven Hill Rittenhouse Rye variant, which I imagine being distinct due to the fact that it’s a Rye barrel, not Bourbon, but I guess there’s only one way to find out!

Speedway Stout

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Ticking another top 100 coffee-based imperial stout, though this one is definitely more my speed than most, as the coffee adds complexity without being too prominent. Trolling Alesmith’s Beer Advocate page reveals that there are over 20 variations on this beer, some using different varieties of coffee (including the dreaded weasel poop coffee, Kopi Luwak), many aged in bourbon barrels (amongst other spirits barrels), and some really weird ones with shit like Pistachios or Spearmint.

What I’ve got here is the regular, widely-available version, brewed with fancy Ryan Bros. coffee, featuring the silkscreen bottle and silver foil wrapping. Newer bottles seem to have a grey/black color in the wrap, so I’m not sure what’s up (and I’m pretty sure this dude on BA who suggests that “The silver foil contained a substance that, when heated sufficiently and ground to powder, could be used for the mass production of meth” is just a wiseass). Regardless, this is a beer to seek out, and if you ever see those barrel aged variants, buy two, drink one, and send me the other (though I’m pretty sure you’re more likely to drink both once you realize how awesome it is…)

Alesmith Speedway Stout

Alesmith Speedway Stout – Pours a thick, very dark brown, almost black color with a finger of light brown, creamy looking head that has great retention and leaves tons of spotty lacing as I drink. Smells of rich, dark crystal malts, a little roast and some coffee notes too, but they’re in the background. Taste starts with those sweet, rich caramel flavors, quickly moving into a light roasty flavor, not much in the way of coffee at all, perhaps some chocolate showing up in its place. There’s a nice hoppy component as well, with some resinous notes showing up and even a slight bitterness that goes well with the roast and chocolate character. Some hot booze shows up in the taste as well. Mouthfeel is rich and chewy, full bodied, a little alcohol burn in the mouth followed by the warming sensation in the belly. Overall, I can see why this is a prized brew and would love to try, well, just about any of the variants (of which there are many). A-

Beer Nerd Details: 12% ABV bottled (750 ml). Drank out of a snifter on 1/27/13.

Alesmith is truly awesome, I’m going to have to find a way to get ahold of some of their barrel aged stuff. In the meantime, I’ll have to settle for their standard lineup… which is still pretty awesome.

Hill Farmstead Arthur

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In the great fetch quest of life, breweries like Hill Farmstead are a boon to beer nerds because when all is said and done, you’ve got your hands on really good beer (unlike most fetch quests, which normally result in the equivalent of 20 cases of flat Bud Light). Fittingly, fetch quests are also sometimes referred to as FedEx quests, which, given the distribution reach of Hill Farmstead, is quite appropriate for most beer nerds. Fortunately for me, I’m within that narrow window of distribution, so periodically scanning the taplists and following twitter feeds of local bars sometimes pays off:

Hill Farmstead Arthur

Hill Farmstead Arthur – Pours a hazy yellow gold color with a finger of white head that leaves tons of lacing. Smells of typical peppery saison yeast with some fruity notes, maybe lemon… Taste starts sweet and spicy, nice herbal character, eventually giving way to that lemony character. Just the faintest hint of funky tartness in the finish. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, smooth, the spice is there, and a very slight acidity that hits in the relatively dry finish. Overall, fantastic saison. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6% ABV on tap. Drank out of a goblet on 1/20/13.

One of these days, I’m gonna have to get me to Vermont and visit Hill Farmstead, Lawson’s, and Alchemist. That or start engaging in more FedEx quests.

Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude

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In the rough and tumble world of beer blogging, it’s easy to become jaded. That’s why it’s sometimes good to throw caution to the wind and take a flier on something obscure, like this fanciful New Zealand brewing duo who have a punnily named brewery and take some ridiculous chances with their beer. Case in point: Rex Attitude, a beer with an absurdly simple recipe. No fancy specialty grains here, just a single golden malt (ok, I’m being a bit facetious here, but we’ll get to that in a moment). No trendy hop blends, just 31 IBUs driven by the mild character of Willamette hops. No estery, phenol driven Belgian yeast monsters, just a clean fermenting US yeast.

The thing that makes this beer so interesting is that that single golden malt also happens to be smoked. And not just any smoke: peat smoke. Scotch fans just raised an eyebrow. Most smoked beers burn traditional wood to get that smokey flavor – stuff like beechwood, hickory, ash, maple, and, uh, vampire stakes. But historically, you used what you had, and Scottish folks had lots of peat moss. So that’s what they use to smoke their malt. These days, that malt is mostly used in service of Scotch Whisky (I’m unclear as to whether or not Scottish breweries used to use peat moss to dry their malt back in the day, but Scotch ales don’t usually feature peat smoked malt).

So these wacky Kiwis took that heavily-peated Scottish distillers malt and made their beer with it. And thanks to the simplicity of the rest of the recipe (mild hops, clean yeast), that peat smoked malt is the true star here. This is an absolutely ludicrous idea and I expected disastrous results. But that’s just this jaded blogger being a goober, because this thing is a real eye opener. I cannot believe they got this to work as well as it does, and it’s nice to know that after years of obsessing about beer, I can still be blind-sided by something this surprising:

Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude

Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude – Pours a cloudy golden color with a couple fingers of billowy, fluffy head and tons of lacing. Smells of smokey, peated malts and not much else… but it works shockingly well. I could sniff this all night. It’s like the nose from peated Scotch (think Islay), but it won’t singe your nose hairs. The taste has a nice sweetness to it, well balanced against the smoke, which is ever-present, but not at all overbearing. Indeed, it’s extremely well balanced and quite tasty. And we haven’t even gotten to the best part, which is the mouthfeel. Highly carbonated and relatively dry, reminiscent of the feel you get from a well attenuated Belgian yeast, but without the fruity or spicy notes. Medium bodied, but this thing drinks like a champ. It’s like drinking an Islay Scotch, but without any of that burning booze. Probably not for anyone, but I’m a bit of a peat freak, so this beer pushed the right buttons for me. Overall, this beer has no business drinking this well, one of the most unique and interesting experiments I’ve had in a while. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV bottled (11.2 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass on 1/19/13.

There’s a doubled up version of this very beer called XeRRex that is supposedly just as audacious and successful, despite being a 10% monster. I must find that beer. In the meantime, I’ll have to hit up my local bottle shop for their Pot Kettle Black (which they call a hoppy porter, otherwise known as Black IPA). Yeastie Boys came to my attention by way of Stephen Beaumont, and I’m glad I caught that post. Yeasty Boys is a contract brewing operation, but Stephen notes: “in New Zealand, where a small population base is stretched across a long and isolated land mass, or rather, masses, that is a status without the perception issues that tend to dog it still in North America and parts of Europe. Indeed, contract craft brewing seems at times almost the Kiwi norm rather than the exception.” So this is the only one of their beers I’ve had, but if it’s any indication, these guys are worth seeking out. And thus ends Smoked Beer week. I hope you had fun, I know I did. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a fresh box of West Coast beer to scarf down this weekend. Stay tuned.

Tired Hands MotherAnimal and another Speed Round

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I have a bit of a dilemma when it comes to Tired Hands. They’re awesome, and they’re close, and it’s a fun place to visit, so I go there pretty often. Now, I’ve enjoyed covering the rise of the brewery these past few months, and I’m sure I’ll be posting more about them, but the strange thing about all this is that for the most part, they don’t make the same beer twice. They’ve got two house beers, HopHands and FarmHands, both quite tasty and only 4.8% too, but other than that, everything else has been a one off. Now, someday, I hope they will repeat some of their more interesting brews. Stuff like Zombie or FlavorAroma or Westy13 (which may be coming to bottles someday). But for the most part, I’m writing about beers that will not only never see the light again, but will probably only have been available for 2-3 weeks.

Is that interesting to read about? Heck, tasting notes in and of themselves aren’t all that interesting. I mean, I’ve found them personally useful, but why subject the rest of the world to them? I do try to use these reviews as a jumping off point for other discussions, but I still resort to pretty straightforward posts from time to time. And in most cases, even the rare beers I get are things that are made on a yearly basis. What about these one-offs? I suppose when the beer is something strange or otherwise special, it could warrant a post, but I should probably ease back on these posts. Or not. I guess we’ll see what happens.

Tired Hands Mother Animal Drawing

Today’s focus, though, is Tired Hands’ first barleywine, which just happens to be “conditioned on locally roasted coffee and Madagascar vanilla beans”. Given the emergent theme of coffee beers this week, I figured it was worth pushing this one up the queue and talking about it today:

Tired Hands MotherAnimal

Tired Hands MotherAnimal – Pours a gorgeous ruby toned brown color with a couple fingers of khaki head. Not getting a lot out of the nose, but there’s a sorta mellow coffee and vanilla character going on. Taste is very sweet, but it has a really well balanced blend of caramel, coffee, and vanilla going on here. The coffee is actually quite nice, not roasty or bitter at all, and it doesn’t overpower the other flavors while still making itself known. The vanilla sweetness is probably more prominent, but it works well. Mouthfeel is a little light on carbonation, but that just makes it feel smooth and velvety, with just the faintest note of booze. Despite that, you really can’t tell that this beer is as strong as it is, so I’d say the booze is hidden pretty well. Overall, really nice brew. B+ Would like to try again, possible A- stuff here.

Beer Nerd Details: 11.5% ABV on tap. Drank out of 8 ounce glass on 1/23/13.

This one isn’t really turning a ton of heads in the RateBeer/BeerAdvocate set, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It’s got a really uncommon array of flavors going for it, stuff you don’t normally see in barleywines, which I appreciated. Alrighty then, here’s a few more quick hits from Tired Hands, compiled over the course of the past month or so. I’m going to refrain from posting my full tasting notes for these, because like I said before, that might be overkill for brews that will never see the light of day again (and some of which are already long gone).

Singel Hop Saison, Motueka – A unique hop character, really bright tropical fruit, non-tart lemon, light saison pepperyness, and it works. This has been a really interesting series of beers, and I’d put this one a step above the Nelson Sauvin, but not quite the heights of the Simcoe (or, for that matter, the next one, listed below). B+

Singel Hop Saison, Amarillo – The perfect balance of citrusy Amarillo hop aromas and flavor with the rustic saison qualities of bready spice. A little light on carbonation, but its just so damn quaffable, it’s taking me longer to write these lame notes than it is to drink! Delicious. Not sure if its just that Amarillo hops are awesome, or if Tired Hands is getting better, but who cares? This is the best Singel Hop Saison yet. A

Falco’s Nerd Flight – All hops, all the time. Bright grapefruit citrus character with floral and pine notes, a strong bitterness throughout, and a great, crisp, dry mouthfeel that makes this easily quaffable. A-

Domo – Barrel fermented black rye saison, aged in a wicked combo of Chaddsford red wine barrels and old Weyerbacher Insanity barrels. Huge sour cherry notes, light oak/vanilla, maybe a hint of chocolate. I was lucky enough to sample this a couple times, and it just got better. Tired Hands sour beers tend to be rather sharp and abrasive, but they grow on me, and this is no exception. A-

California Über Helles – Tired Hands has occasionally been putting out some lagers, but I gotta say, this thing drinks more like a really well balanced IPA. Brewed with Falconer’s Flight hops, this shares that hop character with Falco’s Nerd Flight, though the hops are toned down considerably here. Still, really bright and compulsively drinkable. A-

Nigel – Probably more IPA than Black, but it’s delicious nonetheless. Very light roast, but big hop character, citrus and pine, you know the drill. A-

Whatever, Nevermind – A strong saison, it’s got a really nice lemon zest, light tartness to go along with the more typical spicy, bready saison yeast character. It feels kinda like Fantôme light, more approachable, but perhaps not as complex. B+

Well, that’s a lot of B+ and A- ratings. Another reason to ease off ratings for a bit, I guess, as this is just getting ridiculous!

Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout

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A few years ago, the non-Inbev-tainted Goose Island took their already spectacular Bourbon County Brand Stout and started making some one-off variants. There was a vanilla one, a raspberry one, not to mention the infamous Bourbon County Rare, which was like the original, except it was aged in 23 year old Pappy Van Winkle barrels. It retailed for $40-$50, but has become one of them .rar wales that drives beer nerds completely bonkers (so yeah, it’s living up to that “Rare” designation). Alas, I will probably never see a bottle of that stuff. I will just have to settle for this most recent batch of Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout.

Yet another top 100 tick for me (actually, this is currently slotted in at #8 in the world right now, the highest of the BCBS series), it’s like the original BCBS, but with Intelligentsia La Tortuga coffee beans added (I’m no expert, but Intelligentsia is arguably the best coffee in the world, with the possible exception of that weasel poop coffee). As recently discussed, coffee beers are not really in my wheelhouse, but sweet merciful crap, if they were all like this, I’d have no problem at all. Heck, with beers like this, I could really get with the program and crack this sucker open at breakfast.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout (2012) – Pours a deep black color with just a cap of light brown head that quickly fades into a ring around the edge of the glass. Smells of equal measures bourbon, oak, caramel, vanilla, and coffee, a winning combo if ever there was one. Taste is sweet and sugary, filled with rich caramel, chocolate, and bourbon, a little sting from the booze, and a smattering of coffee. Mouthfeel is big, thick, and chewy, though perhaps not quite as much as I remember the regular BCBS so the flavors don’t stick around as long. It’s got reasonable carbonation for such a gigantic beer, and plenty of warming from the alcohol. Compared to the normal BCBS, this is a little smoother, a little more palatable, a little more approachable (none of which is to say that this is better or worse than BCBS, just that it’s a little different). Overall, yeah, it’s spectacular, just like its unmodified brother. A

Beer Nerd Details: 14.3% ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a snifter on 1/12/13. Bottled on 11/12/12. Label also has cryptic number on it: 0240.

To be honest, I think I might still prefer the original BCBS, but hot damn, this stuff was fantastic too. There’s another 2012 variant making the rounds too, called Cherry Rye Bourbon County Brand Stout. My local beermonger has mentioned that it’s on its way, so fingers crossed. In the meantime, I’ve got that bottle of Dark Lord, also made with Intelligentsia coffee, burning a hole in my cellar. Of course, that one’s been sitting around for a while and coffee flavor is supposed to fade with time, so who knows what that will be like.

Lady Of The Woods

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There once was a man from Nantucket. He brewed great beer. The end.

So yeah, I need to work on my dirty limericks. In the meantime, here’s some spectacular beer from that great brewer in Nantucket:

Cisco Lady of The Woods

Cisco Brewers Lady Of The Woods – Pours a bright, almost glowing straw yellow color with a finger of bubbly white head that quickly subsides. The smell is filled with funky Brett, musty earth, a little more traditional Belgian biscuit and spice. Taste is very sweet, plenty of Brett funkiness, some earth in the middle, even some welcome but well balanced oak, but then that vinous Chardonnay character starts to assert itself too, finishing of with a big fruity bang. It’s tart, but not super puckering or anything, actually struck that balance really well. As it warms or maybe just as my palate adjusts, that big tropical fruit character becomes even more well blended into the rest of the flavors. Mouthfeel is light, bright, and refreshing, with a little pleasant acidity. Just compulsively drinkable stuff. This is a really impressive beer, among the better American Wild Ales I’ve ever had and it makes me want to revisit Russian River’s Temptation and due a cage match to see who comes out on top. In any case, this one’s a winner. A

Beer Nerd Details: 5% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a tulip glass on 1/11/13.

Well, I guess this means I need to seek me out some more of that Cisco goodness. Everything I’ve had from them so far has been their basic, regular line up. Pale Ales, Belgian Wits and the like. Nothing bad, per say, but nothing that would indicate greatness like Lady of the Woods. There’s a whole series of “Woods”, sour beers aged on oak, and then a series of Brewers Reserve series that also shows some promise (yeah, a promise to lighten my wallet – zing!)

Founders Bolt Cutter

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What do you do when your bank threatens to chain your brewery’s doors shut if you don’t make your loan payments? Well, the owners of Founders went out and bought a pair of bolt cutters. Fortunately, they didn’t have to resort to that backup plan, and the brewery has grown into one of the country’s most respected beer makers. To celebrate their 15th anniversary, they released a beer named after said backup plan, a whopping 15% ABV barleywine. It’s another blend, with some of the beer aged in bourbon barrels, some in bourbon barrels that were also used to age maple syrup (which, by the way, I’d like to get ahold of sometime), and some just straight up barleywine.

It’s part of Founders’ backstage series of beers that were previously only available on tap at their brewpub in Michigan, and as such, their was a fair amount of attention paid to the release by beer nerds. Nowhere near the shitstorm surrounding CBS, but not quite the resounding “meh” of Frangelic Mountain Brown (which I enjoyed well enough). So these showed up on shelves, but they didn’t last long at all…

Founders Bolt Cutter

Founders Bolt Cutter – Pours a beautiful looking bright orange/amber color (roby tones, so much clarity), with half a finger of quickly subsiding head. On the other hand, I’m getting some lacing and there’s a thin film of head that kind of retains itself all throughout the experience. Smells of rich caramel and vanilla, with some fruity malt character peeking through, some light citrusy, grassy hops, and maybe a hint of boozy bourbon heat. Taste is full of rich caramel, some fruity notes, with those citrusy hops taking on more of a flavor component than expected, a very light bourbon note hitting in the middle, and a surprising but welcome bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is much lighter than expected. Still on the upper end of medium bodied, but not as heavy or foreboding as I’d expect. Certainly not a quaffable beer, but not really a sipper either. Something you can take a swig of, but not quite a gulp (these are scientific terms here). As such, there’s a big warming alcohol component, maybe a little burn in the mouth, but I gotta say, it’s cold outside, so this is nice. A little stickiness in the finish, but it works with the tenor of the beer. Overall, this is really good. Not mind-blowingly spectacular, but close. Really strong, well crafted, complex, and tasty. Truth be told, it might be my favorite Founders beer… A-

Beer Nerd Details: 15% ABV bottled (750 ml capped). Drank out of a tulip glass on 1/4/13.

Another rock-solid offering from Founders. I don’t know what’s next for them. There’s supposed to be another Backstage release in April, but I don’t think it’s been announced yet (beer nerds are still salivating over the March release of KBS). Oh, and then there’s that bottle of Founders Breakfast Stout that’s been sitting in my fridge for almost exactly 2 years at this point (yes, I know, coffee is supposed to fade with time, but I actually didn’t care for the regular Breakfast Stout, so that will probably be a good thing in my book).

January Beer Club

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I’ve more or less run out of beer puns for beer clubs, so you’ll just have to deal with it. I know, you all love puns, so you’re all broken up about it, but you’ll just have to deal. Beer club is a meeting of beer minded individuals from my work who get together for a meal and lots-o-beer once a month. As per usual, this gathering is anchored by a core group of stalwarts, along with assorted return guest stars. So it was a solid turnout, lots of beer, good BBQ and just an all around good time.

January Beer Club 2013

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In accordance with tradition, my thoughts on each beer we sampled are recorded below for posterity. Standard disclaimers regarding non-ideal tasting isolation conditions apply, so all you pedants better stay frosty, as nearly all of this will be untrustworthy/awesome. Roughly in order of tasting (not necessarily the order in the above picture):

  • Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer – Things started off on a bizarre note. It’s basically alcoholic ginger ale, which is fine for what it is, I guess, and definitely attracts the non-beer folk due to it’s high sweetness and ginger spicing, but I found it kinda poopy. It’s actually good that we had it in this sort of setting where I only had to try a tiny sample, but I’ll give it a D, because fuck ginger beer. Seriously guiz.
  • Belhaven Scottish Ale – Belhaven is supposed to be one of the top Scottish ale styles out there, but man, we must have gotten a bad bottle. It has that gross diacetyl buttery flavor that I get out of a lot of British pale ales and have grown to hate. I’m not sure if that’s just the beer, or if it’s the clear bottle, or what, but it felt kinda skunky too. Not totally undrinkable, but I was again glad that I only took a very small sample of the stuff. D
  • Abita Jockamo IPA – While a big improvement over my first two tastes of the night, this strikes me as being a fairly unremarkable IPA. It reminds me of the sort of thing you’d get in a John Harvard’s brewpub, circa 1998. Totally an improvement over BMC (or, since we’re talking about my college years, Natty/Beast), but nothing special at all. A nice hop aroma, but a taste that fell a little flat and bland. B-
  • Old Forge Overbite IPA – Ahhh, now that’s more like it. A really nice semi-local IPA, lots of that citrusy, floral hop goodness, maybe a little pine too, was a real breath of fresh air after the first three beers of the evening. It’s not a world beater, to be sure, but these guys are totally making a name for themselves in the Philly area, and this makes for a pleasant enough IPA. B+
  • Birrificio Del Ducato Nuova Mattina – Guest star Steve contributed this very nice Italian beer to the proceedings, a Belgian style pale with lots of sharp carbonation, sweet and spicy (lots of spices used in making this, and they contribute, but not overwhelmingly so), bready, with a touch of light fruit. Overall, it’s got a really nice rustic quality, an almost quaffable beer, really enjoyable. B+
  • Widmer Brrr – A totally solid winter warmer, pretty light on the spices actually, though it works well enough. It’s not the sort of thing that stands out in a tasting like this, but it’s totally serviceable and would probably get the job done if needed. B
  • Kaedrin Christmas Ale (2011) – A vintage bottle of my very own homebrew? It’s still doing pretty well, actually, though I do believe it has peaked and is now on a bit of a downward swing. It’s still retained that sorta creamy vanilla caramel base, and the spices are still there, particularly clove with a hint of cinnamon, though those are diminished from last year. It’s held up about as well as I could have hoped, though it’s not quite as fantastic as it once was. B+
  • Allagash Fluxus 2012 – Another of my contributions for the night, it’s a totally solid Belgian pale ale, actually quite similar to that Nuova Mattina beer, though with less carbonation. Still, a very nice Belgian yeast character, spicy and biscuity. Not especially a standout, especially amongst Allagash’s lineup, but a solid beer nonetheless. This could be tasting fatigue setting in, but I’ll go with min instinctual rating of a B
  • Traquair House Jacobite – Ah, now this is a Scottish brewery I can get behind. Of course, this is a slightly stronger style, but I like me some Wee Heavy/Scotch Ales, and this is a pretty superb example of the style. Big rich malt character, brown sugar, some fruitiness, a light booziness, and all of this is very well balanced against each other. Truly a solid beer, and widely available too, well worth checking out for the Scotch Ale fan and a contender for best of the night. A-
  • Lagunitas Imperial Red Ale – Once again, this might be tasting fatigue setting in, but I was expecting more out of this. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a totally good beer. Not very red in appearance, but it certainly smells/tastes like an imperial red, big, well integrated citrus and pine hops mixed with those crystal and red malts. Very nice, would like to try again in better conditions. For now, we’ll give it a provisional B+
  • DuClaw Sweet Baby Jesus – Perhaps the strangest beer of the night, but it worked surprisingly well. You could say it’s gimmicky, it being a “Chocolate Peanut Butter Porter”, but this is quite possibly the perfect beer for a tasting like this. Exclamations of “Whoa” and “It smells like peanut butter” all around the table. It tasted like peanut butter brownies that were perhaps a bit overcookied so that you got that roastiness. Kinda like the edge/corner piece (which, you know, I love). It worked surprisingly well in this setting. I have no idea how I’d react if I were to drink an entire bottle, but I’m feeling generous enough to hand it a B+ (though it’s probably more of a B)
  • Victory Oak Horizontal – Another of my contributions for the night, it’s just as good as I remembered it. The bourbon, while prominent, was not overpowering at all, which endeared it to some folks who don’t tend to like bourbon. Still an A- and a fitting end to the evening.

So there you have it. After a shaky start, things livened up quickly, and this sort of ratings distribution is actually quite nice. I mean, this isn’t the most exclusive of beer clubs, after all, and only a few of us a really huge beer nerds, but it’s a lot of fun and I always look forward to beer club. February’s meeting will come soon enough!