Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Fantôme Nuit Noire Calvados

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The ghost is infamously cryptic and mysterious, so when rumors started spreading through the Serious Knowers (of all and nothing!) community of a new series of Fantôme beers aged in various barrels, I knew I had to find a way to procure a bottle.

This particular iteration of Fantôme Nuit Noire is described in typical Dany-speak as “Fantôme Special stored from Long date in Calvados wood barrels” and it clocks in at a whopping 16% ABV. While this is more information than you can usually glean from a new tôme, I still had no idea what to expect from this. It was the perfect beer to crack open on Halloween night though, and it wound up knocking my socks off:

Fantôme Nuit Noire Calvados

Brasserie Fantôme Nuit Noire Calvados – Cap pops off the bottle with nary a hiss. Pours a deep, viscous black color with no visible carbonation or head whatsoever. Smells of boozy oak, sweet, almost stoutlike in nature. Taste starts off rich and sweet, with a bitter roast element emerging in the middle, finishing with boozy oak and vanilla tamping down the roast. Mouthfeel is rich, full bodied, dense, and thick, completely still, no carbonation at all, and as such a little sticky, with a bit of not-unpleasant alcohol heat. The lack of carbonation feels oddly appropriate, and I suspect something more effervescent would not work nearly as well. If tasted blind, I think I could peg this as barrel aged, but probably would not guess Calvados and definitely would never, in a million years, have guessed this was made by Fantôme. Definitely a pleasant surprise coming from them (who are pretty famously difficult to peg down in the first place). A-

Beer Nerd Details: 16% ABV bottled (250 ml capped). Drank out of a tulip glass on 10/31/22. Lot 11 c20, “best before end 2028 or many more”

It’s nice to know that the ghost can still surprise me after all these years of strange brews… The bottle does mention that this was brewed “for our good friend Franco Fratoni, best beer connaissor [sic] in the world”, and that guy seems to be pretty well plugged into the beer world – Cantillon made a beer for him as well, so you know, good company (he owns a bar in Italy, so it’s not just some rando who drinks a lot).

There are several other Nuit Noire barrel variants, including Vermouth Barrels (side-eye, but it could be good I guess), Laphroaig (always suspicious of peated Scotch barrels, but the base seems strong enough and it has pretty good ratings), Rhum (would definitely be my top choice of the remaining, even if Rum barrels are wildly varying in quality), and De Garde (they make sours, so this might not work out so well and the ratings seem to bear that out, but then, who the hell knows?)

Barrel of Monks Double Feature

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South Florida’s Barrel of Monks has been a solid discovery and I’ve really enjoyed checking out their standard takes on Belgian styles (a lot of American breweries dabble in this sort of thing, but few succeed as well as BoM), not to mention their more funky efforts. There’s something to be said for an expertly brewed Dubbel or Tripel, but you know me: I’m not going to turn down a barrel-aged effort either.

Speaking of which, the first of our double feature is a Bourbon Barrel Aged variant of their Father Christmas beer, basically a Belgian style strong dark brewed with mulling spices (like clove, cinnamon, and ginger). As an added bonus, Barrel of Monks is living up to their name… now I just need to procure more of their Barrel Aged wares (limited as they may be). Due to a mix up in the Kaedrin procurement department, this didn’t arrive until well after Christmas, but hey, why not extend the season a little:

Barrel of Monks Bourbon Barrel Aged Father Christmas

Barrel of Monks Bourbon Barrel Aged Father Christmas – Pours a deep, dark brown color with a finger of tan head. Smells very nice, dark fruit, raisins, plums and the like, a little spice, cloves, coriander, and whatnot, plus a little bourbon, oak, and vanilla. Taste starts off rich and sweet, with that dark fruit character coming through, followed quickly by spicy phenols like clove, finishing with a boozy bourbon note. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, but nimble, perhaps due to the high-ish carbonation which cuts through the richness and the booziness. Overall, this is really enjoyable and they managed the bourbon barrel aging well, imparting complexity without completely overwhelming the base. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV bottled (750 ml copper waxed cap). Drank out of a tulip glass on 1/19/18. Vintage 2017.

Next up in the double feature is a pretty straightforward Belgian style stout. This is perhaps not the most common or popular of the Belgian styles (inasmuch as you can really categorize them), and I must admit that this is the sort of thing that usually makes me wish I was drinking one or the other (i.e. a straight up imperial stout or a standard Belgian strong dark). On the other hand, this does fare well when compared against others of the style, which has become my expectation for BoM:

Barrel of Monks Parade of Souls

Barrel of Monks Parade of Souls – Pours a black color with a finger of light brown head. Smells sweet and a little spicy, maybe some dark fruits. Taste is very sweet, lots of Belgian yeast character, fruity esters, spicy phenols, a little caramel and maybe a faint hint of chocolate. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated, but still medium-to-full bodied, plenty of residual sugar there, but not cloying. Overall, this feels more like a Belgian Strong Dark than an Imperial Stout, but it comports itself well enough. Still, pretty good for a style that has often left me cold… B+

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV bottled (750 ml). Drank out of a tulip glass on 1/21/18. Vintage 2017.

While I don’t think these guys are lighting up the ISO trading boards, I’m quite glad to have a somewhat regular Florida connection who can snag me some bottles. Many thanks to Kaedrin beverage compatriot Steve for slinging these my way.

Ommegang 20th Anniversary Ale

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According to my records, I haven’t done a proper review of an Ommegang beer in almost 5 years. Can you imagine that?! Yes, well, you are pretty sharp, so I’m not surprised that you can, indeed, imagine that. My three readers are the best. Anyway, it’s perhaps fitting that the last review was Ommegang’s XV Anniversary beer, a rock solid Belgian Strong Dark. Since that time, Ommegang seems to be most famous for their Game of Thrones series of beers, popular but mostly unremarkable. Ommegang does occupy a special place in Kaedrin history though (being that they were the ones that introduced me to great beer way back during the turn of the century timeframe), so I’m glad they’ve stepped up their game for this 20th Anniversary brew.

This beer starts out as something similar to that XV Anniversary beer, a Belgian Strong Dark, but then it spent a few months in old Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels. Sometimes I find that bourbon barrels overwhelm the more subtle Belgian ale characteristics. Will that be the case here? Spoiler: nope, this is great!

Ommegang 20th Anniversary Ale

Ommegang 20th Anniversary Ale – Pours a clear, very dark amber brown color with a finger of off-white head. Smells great, lots of fruity esters, dark fruit, some spice, clove, and hints of boozy bourbon. Taste hits more of those spice notes than the nose, lots of clove, some sweet, rich caramel, molasses, a little of those fruity esters, finishing on a boozy note. A light touch on the bourbon and oak character, but it’s clearly there. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated, medium to full bodied, moderately rich, a little booze. Intense, but very well balanced. The bourbon contributes while not overpowering the more subtle Belgian notes. Overall, this is pretty darn good. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 11.8% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a tulip glass on 10/14/17. Vintage: 2017.

Good ol Ommegang. It’s been far too long, old friends, and I see you’ve been doing some more interesting stuff, like brett-dosed beers and more barrel aged variants. Nice.

September Beer Club

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Tonight was beer club! For the uninitiated, beer club is a monthly gathering of like-minded coworkers and acquaintances at a local BYOB for drinks, food, and general revelry. This time, we stopped in at a local Pizza place for some deep fried dough, strombolis, and yes, pizza. It’s not a big place and the pizza isn’t as spectacular as the last beer club gathering, but we always manage to make due. Good attendance tonight too, and plenty of beer.

September Beer Club Selections

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For the sake of posterity, some half-addled thoughts on each beer are listed below. Standard disclaimers apply, this was a social gathering, so I wasn’t paying too close of attention to what I was drinking and you should totes ignore what I’m writing and make up your own mind because I’m totally the worst and this post is definitely an ill-advised idea that I’m only doing out of tradition because I’ve done it for all previous iterations of beer club and are you even reading this? Why? The beer notes are below, in order of tasting, not necessarily in the order pictured (and some later attendees brought some stuff that is not pictured):

  • Platform Speed Merchant White IPA – Not expecting much out of this Ohio beer brought back by a visitor, fantastic citrusy nose, more typical IPA-like taste. Quite solid though, and worth a look on its own. B+
  • Pizza Boy Hop Test #1 (Cascade Single Hop) – Yep, it’s a pale ale. The very definition of cromulence, this does nothing particularly special, but it’s an enjoyable little pale ale. B
  • New Belgium Pumpkick – Whoa there, this is quite perfumey, moar ginger than anything else, but that perfumey character really overpowers everything else with this beer. Not horrendous, but not a particularly good pumpkin beer either. C+
  • Firestone Walker Union Jack – Back in the early days of this blog, this would have been an A worthy beer, but grade inflation is a bitch. It’s still an accomplished and emminently accomplished IPA, well worth checking out. Delicious citrus/pine/malt balance. B+
  • Weyerbacher Tarte Nouveau – Very nice little tart beer, tart, crisp, refreshing, very light bodied and easy going, sorta beginner sour stuff but quite nice on its own. B+
  • Overshores Tripel Brun – Bottle a bit of a gusher, and thus carbonation levels a bit off, but this is basically a very raisiny Belgian strong dark. B
  • Brasserie De Blaugies / Hill Farmstead La Vermontoise – I know I’ve had this before, but apparently I never reviewed it. It’s not quite up to speed with the best of Hill Farmstead, but it’s a rock solid saison, earthy and spicy, quite delicious. B+
  • Fantôme Coffee Ruby – One of my contributions, this came off as surprisingly muted. There’s some coffee character that is definitely present, but it’s not overpowering at all, despite the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a ton of other stuff going on with this beer. It’s got a very, very mild funk to it, and the combination of the base with coffee doesn’t entirely blesh, but it’s certainly an interesting beer. A little weird, but could more interesting with more funk. Keeping in mind my legendary indifference to coffee, I’ll give it a B
  • Cascade Figaro – This is typical Cascade sour here, which is to say, it’s a fantastic little sour. I don’t get a lot of fig or lemon peel out of it, but it’s got that trademark Cascade lactic sour and oak character that just work so damn well. Generally agreed to be one of the best of the night. A-
  • White Birch Indulgence Ale (2014) – Not sure which version of this beer I tried (I think it’s this retired 2014 version), but it was labeled as a Belgian Imperial Stout, and it definitely had a sorta brighter take on the imperial stout style that worked really well. Lots of rich malt, light roast, some hints of Belgian character, but with the style’s inherent dark malt sweetness (i.e. not a dry or highly carbonated beer). Actually quite nice and among the better of the night. B+
  • Brewmaster Jack Barrel Aged Prinsipia Quad – Sounds great, but came out kinda limp, very boozy, a little raisiny Belgian character, but not at all balanced. Not terrible, but not quite getting the job done either. B-

And that just about covers it. We just got this one in under the wire, last day of the month. Will need to try and plan the next beer club soon. Great time, as always.

December Beer Club

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For reasons outside of my control, I was unable to attend the November Beer Club. I am, myself, doubting my commitment to Sparkle Motion, but I managed to pull it together and attend this month’s beer club. For the uninitiated, beer club is a monthly gathering of like-minded coworkers at a local BYOB for good food, optional libations, and fun (which is not optional). This month, we hit up our favorite local pizza joint (and a regular delivery option here at Kaedrin HQ), America’s Pie. Most attendies partook in the off-menu Pizza Pocket Pie option, a delightful deep-fried stromboli-like concoction that I have certainly devoured on occasion. Oh yeah, and we had beer too:

December Beer Club

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For the sake of posterity, some completely unreliable thoughts on each beer are listed below. Standard beer nerd disclaimers apply, if you disagree, you’re probably right and I am wrong. It has long been established that I am totally the worst. Stop harping on it, ok? In order of drinking (not necessarily the order in the pic):

  • Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose – Salty and sweet, with lots of that tart blood orange character making itself known. Not a mind-blower, but very nice nonetheless, would make a great summer beer. Decent way to start the night though! B+
  • SoChesCo Marianne IPA – A homebrewed IPA from one of our regular attendees, this is part of pair of IPAs brewed as one batch, then split in secondary. This one is straight up IPA. The other was does with fresh chopped ginger (it would be titled Ginger IPA, get it?) As IPAs go, this is pretty standard stuff, clearly using Chinook somewhere in the recipe. Very nice! B+
  • Kaedrin Christmas Ale (2011) – My homebrewed Christmas Ale… from 3 years ago! It’s holding up reasonably well. Much of the spice character has faded away, but the base was robust enough to make for a decent light drinking option. When fresh, this was probably right up there with my favorite batches of homebrew. After 3 years, it’s definitely degraded a bit, but it’s still worth drinking. B
  • Maredsous 8 – Brune – Pretty standard Belgian Dubbel stuff, though this seems much more raisiny than I remember. B
  • Spring House The Martians Kidnap Santa! Egg Nog Stout – Wonderful nose, milk stout with a heaping helping of vanilla and a light spice. The taste doesn’t quite live up to that, though it’s certainly fine. Definitely worth trying. B+
  • Jack-O-Traveler Shandy – I’m not much of a shandy kinda guy, but this is bad even for a shandy. Something about the Pumpkin mixed with the lemon just doesn’t work. As noted at the table, it kinda tastes like Lysol. I’m feeling particularly ungenerous at the moment, so we’ll go full F
  • Earth Eagle Puca – A pumpkin porter, this had a fabulous, spicy nose, though like the Spring House beer above, the taste just didn’t hold up to the nose. It’s certainly a fine beer though, and worth trying if you like that sorta dark pumpkin option. B
  • Shiner Bock – Tastes like Texas! Obviously nothing special, but it still holds a nostalgic value with me. B
  • ShawneeCraft Frambozenbier – Despite yesterday’s disappointing, mildly infected Bourbon Barrel Porter, I shared this beer with everyone, and they seemed to love it, just like I did. B+
  • Hardywood Gingerbread Stout – I’ve heard many things about this sucker, and now that Hardywood is distributing up here, I’m starting to see these things show up more often. Alas, I have to admit that amongst the typical Pumpkin/Holiday spices, Ginger is probably my least favorite, so this was good, but not quite the mind-blower I’d been lead to believe. (Oddly, I love gingerbread cookies and gingersnaps, but I guess this just had the wrong proportions). I’m sure I could easily drink an entire bottle of the stuff, but I’m glad I got to try it in this tasting atmosphere. Now, the Bourbon Barrel version of this beer is another matter entirely! That’s something I really want to try. B
  • Victory Earth & Flame – A collaboration with a tiny local brewery called Earth+Bread brewery, this is a smoked Scotch ale aged in Bourbon Barrels. The smoke is pretty well muted by the Bourbon Barrels, leading to a nice fruity, bourbony character. Not quite top tier (and not quite at the level of Otto in Oak, another BBA smoked Victory beer). Something I’d definitely like to revisit in more detail. B+
  • Vicarus Winter 2013 – This is great up front, Belgian Strong Dark, highly carbonated and very dry up front, with some raisiny character apparent in the finish (which is not as dry as the initial taste would have you believe). That being said, I can’t help but feel that this would probably have been better if it were fresher. Still quite decent B
  • Terrapin Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout – Holy coffee, Batman! My ambivalence to coffee in beer is legendary, though I’ve grown to appreciate some of the more subtle varieties that have a lot of other things going on. This one is almost pure coffee grounds, which I imagine folks who love coffee would be really into, but which doesn’t translate well to me personally. B
  • Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout (2014) – The latest incarnation is as good as ever, and if anything, it’s not as hot as the past couple years (it’s actually “only” 13.8% ABV this year, apparently an artifact of a cool spring and summer). The great satan of AB/Inbev or not, I love this beer. A

And that’s all for now. Already looking forward to January.

The Bruery 6 Geese-A-Laying

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So I either drank this about 2 months later than I was supposed to, or about 6 years before I was supposed to, depending on how patient you are. Yes, this is the latest installment in The Bruery’s 12 year long mission to create a beer for each verse of the 12 Days of Christmas. For the perseverant among us, the idea is to cellar each installment until 2019, when 12 Drummers Drumming is released and you can have an epic vertical tasting of a dozen 11%+ ABV beers and then die happy. For the rest of us, it’s a fun annual exercise.

Last year’s release, 5 Golden Rings, was a bit of a misfire. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think it came together the way The Bruery had hoped and it currently holds the lowest grade I’ve ever given to a Bruery beer (others were less generous). That was disappointing, as I really loved 3 French Hens and 4 Calling Birds wasn’t half bad either. So, will 6 Geese-A-Laying represent a return to form? Only one way to find out, even if I am drinking it 2 months late (or 6 years early, though screw all that – I’m drinking it now, you gotta problem with that?):

The Bruery 6 Geese-A-Laying

The Bruery 6 Geese-A-Laying – Pours a deep, dark amber color (chestnut?) witha finger of off white head. Smells of Belgian yeast, light spice and high esters, dark (but not roasty) malts offset by fruity aromas (clearly the gooseberries). As it warms, the nose takes on a very nice pie aroma, cherries and plums, or something like that (probably gooseberry pie, but I’ve never had that). Taste is very sweet, malt-forward, crystal malts up front with Belgian yeast spice coming in the middle and those berries making themselves known towards the finish. As it warms, some booze comes out to play, and that pielike character hits the taste too. Mouthfeel is full bodied, rich, a little sticky but with enough carbonation to make it approachable. Not a lot of booze until it warms up a bit, but it’s fine. Feels pretty heavy, low attenuation stuff, though it works and it should give the beer legs for aging. Overall, this is very good stuff. I can’t say as though it’s mindblowing or anything, but it works. I’ll give it a B which is technically the same grade I gave 5 Golden Rings, but due to escalating grade inflation in the past year, I’m going to downgrade that one to a B-, as this was clearly superior, even if it’s not blowing my mind.

Beer Nerd Details: 11.5% ABV bottled (750 ml capped). Drank out of a wine glass on 2/7/14.

I’ll be curious to see how age treats this one, so I’d like to track down another bottle (incidentally, I haven’t seen this in PA for some reason, which is odd). When I picked this one up, there were still bottles of 5 Golden Rings laying around, which further underscores its disappointing performance. Anywho, I pine for the return of barrels to this series, which were great in 3 French Hens and apparently spectacular in 2 Turtle Doves. According to Ed, The Bruery doesn’t know what 7 Swans-A-Swimming will be “as we haven’t brewed a pilot batch yet”, which leaves little time for Barrel experimentation. I’m crossing my fingers anyway. In the meantime, I’ve got a couple other Bruery beers burning a hole in my cellar, so keep an eye out for more reviews in the next few weeks.

December Beer Club

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In 2009, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men and women promptly escaped from a maximum-security stockade to the West Chester underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as drinkers of craft beer. If you have a problem… if no one else can help… and if you can find them a local BYOB in which to meet… maybe you can hire… The Beer Club Team.

Well, that didn’t work as well as it did in my head, but I’m going to leave it there as a reminder to myself that my stupid references aren’t as funny as I think. Take that, self! What was I talking about? Oh yeah, Beer Club, a gathering of beer minded folks from my work. We meet up once a month at a local BYOB and sample all sorts of beers. Decent turnout tonight, and some great beers too:

Beer Club

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Half remembered thoughts on each beer are below. For posterity, you understand. In order of drinking (not necessarily the order depicted above:

  • Harpoon UFO White – I could have sworn we’ve had this at beer club before, but I can’t find any reference to it… Holy coriander, Batman! Very powerfully spiced for a simple wheat beer, but it made for a nice, bland start to the evening. B
  • Kaedrin Saison – Man, this thing is drinking perfect right now! Huge carbonation, spicy, crisp, and dry. Great with food, and I’m really disappointed that I only have a couple bottles of this left. This may end up being one of my better beers of all time. B+ or A- material here.
  • Kaedrôme Saison – Alas, this has not quite carbonated itself so well just yet. Disappointing. I had one last week, and it seemed like it was doing well, but nope, tonight’s was lower carbonated than the last one I had. Weird. I’ll give it a few more weeks before opening another (it seems that the regular saison is peaking right now, after several months) and leave it at that for now…
  • Ken’s Homebrewed Winter Warmer – Very solid example of the style, very well spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, it came out really smooth and almost creamy, with that spicy kick. I really enjoyed this, even more than the other Winter Warmer/Holiday beers of the night. B+
  • Sly Fox Christmas Ale – Another winter warmer, and one I look forward to every year. Alas, they change up the recipe every year, and I have to admit, I’m not in love with this year’s version. It’s fine, to be sure, but not as good as previous years (or Ken’s homebrew!) B-
  • Lexington Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale – It’s amazing how little repetition there is in beer club. I can probably count on one hand the number of times that someone has brought a beer that’s been at beer club before… This one was just at beer club back in September, which wouldn’t be that bad except that no one really likes this beer! It’s so thin and the bourbon barrel treatment doesn’t really come through in any meaningful way (it’s got some of that bourbon flavor, but it feels watered down and just flat). It’s not a hideous abomination, but it’s not particularly good either. C
  • Trappistes Rochefort 6 – A classic that I’ve already reviewed, and a welcome relief from the previous beer!
  • Affligem Noël – This was one of my favorite beers when I started the blog… but I didn’t respond quite so well this time around. Not sure if it’s just the context of beer club and a beleaguered palate, or if this really isn’t as good as I remember. The balance is certainly off here, a little boozy, not enough malt and spice to counteract that. It’s certainly not bad at all, and I do still really enjoy it, but perhaps not as much as I originally did… Let’s call it a B or B+ now.
  • Southern Tier Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale – A late arrival, this perhaps should have been opened earlier in the night… but even then, I suspect this would underwhelm. C+
  • Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad – Dana and I shop at the same beer store. She shared hers, I greedily drank mine by myself. As I rated on Monday, B+
  • Stone Suede Imperial Porter – It’s a fine porter, light roast, some complexity from those weird flower and jasmine adjuncts, but ultimately this is a beer that doesn’t really float my boat. It’s fine, I could probably take one down on my own, but I’m glad I was trying it in a tasting setting… B
  • Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout – Another Dana special, I’m really glad she brought this… mostly because it’s just awesome beer (that I’ve reviewed before). Still an A
  • Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout – And this one was my contribution for the night. I had this last year and loved it, but it had aged for a few months before I cracked it open. This year, I had one fresh and thought I absolutely had to share this. I don’t particularly love coffee, and this thing is a huge coffee bomb. It’s amazing how much the coffee fades in the beer after a few months (I know the coffee is different every year, so maybe that’s a factor this year too, but it’s still dominated by coffee, to the point where I can barely get the bourbon barrel out of this, though it is there). Since some members of beer club are big coffee fans, I thought I should share it while it’s fresh. It did not disappoint.
  • Fort Collins 1900 Amber Lager – I will refrain from talking much about this because after the Bourbon County, this was basically like water. A simple palate cleanser. That being said, it does not seem like my kinda thing…

And that wraps up yet another successful beer club. Already looking forward to ringing in the new year with beer club…

November Beer Club

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Tonight was Beer Club, a gathering of beer minded friends from work who get together every month at a local BYOB for libations and fun. This month, we hit up a local BBQ joint, which is always nice. Got me some smoked Chorizo, Brisket, and some fixins which made for a great accompaniment to all the beer. And there was a lot of it this time around. The picture is actually missing a bunch of bottles because we did not account for people showing up later with their own stuff.

beerclub-november13.jpg

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So yeah, lots of stuff this month, so these notes are almost certainly useless, but for the sake of posterity, I’m including them anyway. Because I’m a good person, that’s why. Yeah, let’s get to it: in approximate order of drinking (not necessarily pictured):

  • Southern Tier Krampus – An “Imperial Helles” is sorta like a contradiction in terms, but hey, it’s an amped up Helles, and it works well enough. Nice uncommon hop character gives an otherwise clean beer the punch it needs. Really quite nice. B+
  • Ithaca Excelsior! White Gold – Bottle wasn’t quite a gusher, and we managed to not lose any, but it was hugely carbonated and most of us poured a cup of foam that resolved into more normal beerlike appearance in a minute or two. Once we got to it, it was pretty damn good. Nice Belgian yeast character, wheat is there but not as dominant as you might think (slightly reminiscent of something like St. Bernardus Tokyo). This was one of the first beers we tasted, and I liked it a lot, but we revisited it towards the end of the night and damn, it got almost (not quite) sour. Big fruity esters started showing up when it was warm. Again, not quite sour, but it was going in that direction. All in all, I enjoyed this more than the Ithaca Excelsior Rye beer I had recently… B+
  • Victory Root Beer – Yep, it’s a root beer! I’m no expert (hay, there’s no alcohol in this!?), but it’s really good as root beers go.
  • Sprecher Bootlegger’s Bourbon Barrel Hard Root Beer – Not sure I would have pegged this as having anything to do with a bourbon barrel, let alone an alcoholic beverage at all, but perhaps the power of suggestion lead me to believe that there was some bourbon present in the taste. Or something. Ultimately, it drinks like a good root beer, which is nice…
  • Avery White Rascal – A beer I’ve had before and greatly enjoyed, it doesn’t quite fit in with a tasting like this – it is easily overwhelmed by the other brews of the night. Still, I like this as a lawnmower beer on a hot day (alas, it’s pretty cold here these days). B
  • River Horse Double Wit – I don’t know if it’s the 7% ABV or the way this was spiced, but it didn’t really connect with me. It’s not bad at all, and other folks appreciated the different take on spice and booze level, but it never quite hit me where I wanted it to. B-
  • Ken’s Homebrewed Schwarzbier – We need to get on Ken to start entering his beers into untappd or something, because these are getting good. Not my favorite style, but it’s a nice dark lager style beer, clean and crisp, lighter than it looks, and quite flavorful. Toasty but not quite full on roast. Me likey. B+
  • Kaedrin Xmas Dubbel – My homebrewed dubbel, with a slight dose of cinnamon when I was bottling, is actually drinking really well right now. The regular dubbel has really matured and changed a lot over time, getting more and more raisiny, but this one was more subdued (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I’ll leave it at B+
  • Lost Abbey Deliverance – One of my other contributions, and a beer I’ve reviewed before! It’s still great. A-
  • Atwater Vanilla Java Porter – While opening this directly after Deliverance was a supremely bad idea, I still get the impression that this would underwhelm. It does have a nice vanilla character, but it’s a little thinner than I generally want out of a stout and while I’m not a big fan of coffee, it’s nonexistent here. Certainly a drinkable beer and would be welcome change of pace at a macro bar, but it’s not something to really seek out. C+
  • Spring House Big Gruesome Chocolate Peanut Butter Stout – Can I just point you to a review from a couple weeks ago? No? Well too bad, cause that’s what I’m doing. Still a B+ in my book.
  • Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale – The younger, weaker, smaller sibling to Really Old Brown Dog is a rather straightforward brown ale, which naturally has its merits (nice toasted malt and some heft to it) but again, should’ve probably opened this earlier in the night. Still glad I tried this, just to give context to Really old Brown Dog if not for its regular solid nature. B
  • Saucony Creek Chocolate Cherry Schnickelfritz – An object lesson in things sounding better than they taste, this seems to be a relatively well made imperial milk stout, but it’s got this artificial feeling cherry aspect that sorta ruined the beer for me. Not an abomination, but not particularly good either. I guess all the beers I bring can’t be winners! C
  • Ommegang Game Of Thrones #2 – Take the Black Stout – These Game of Thrones beers are actually pretty solid introductions to the whole Belgian beer world, and they work well enough for beer dorks too (a neat trick, appealing to the jaded hardcore and mainstream alike). I actually would call this more of a roasty Belgian Strong Dark rather than a full on stout, but to each their own. It’s got a nice Belgian yeast character, spice and light fruit, with a hint of that roasted malt too, but the carbonation (and presumably attenuation) cuts through more than your typical stout. Still, it’s very good, if not my favorite Ommegang beer. B+
  • River Horse Special Ale – No idea why this was opened so late in the night, but it’s such a profoundly average beer that I doubt it would have made that much of an impression earlier in the night. There’s absolutely nothing wrong wit it, and it’s certainly a step up from fizzy yellow stuff light lagers, but its not really something to get excited about. C+
  • Victory Harvest Ale – I totally fell in love with Victory’s Harvest Ale last year (and while I’m not a big Pils guy, the Harvest Pils was pretty good too), but this year’s take fell completely flat to me. Not bad, per say, but something about this is rubbing me the wrong way. Perhaps it was a different hop variety, perhaps they used their Kolsch yeast instead of their normally clean IPA yeast, but whatever the case, it didn’t inspire like last years. Again, it’s pretty good, but it’s disappointing. And I had this a couple weeks ago straight from the source too, so it’s not just palate fatigue talking here! B

Yikes, that was a lot of beers. Luckily there were a lot of people in attendance, so my tastes were limited on most of these (yet another reason to take my notes with a grain of salt), but this was a really fun installment. Here’s to hoping the December one will be just as great!

Evolution Menagerie #8

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Evolution sez that the Menagerie series is comprised of one-off brews that will “probably” never be seen again. Each entry in the series is different and numbered sequentially, with most also featuring some sort of barrel aging and blending (except when it’s not). Their website sez that #8 is the latest one, but I feel like I’ve been seeing it pop up again this year. Has this been brewed again? Or maybe the bottles are just well aged. Not that I’m complaining, as this Belgian Strong Dark aged in Red Wine Barrels (not for souring purposes) is right up my alley and since I’ve been overloading on IPAs of late, this was a welcome change of pace. Rev up that Star Trek episode and prepare for court martial:

Evolution Menagerie #8

Evolution Menagerie #8 – Pours a deep, dark brown, with massive amounts of tan head. Smells of Belgian yeast, lots of spiciness, clove and the like, with some fruitiness showing up too. Maybe even some oak and vinous character as well. Really great nose here. That red wine barrel comes through much more in the taste, which hits those notes hard without reaching towards sour. There is a nice fruitiness to it, some molasses-like sweetness, maybe even some chocolate (a nice match for the fruity notes), and plenty of spice up front, with the wine character reasserting itself in the finish. Mouthfeeel is highly carbonated and dry, making this feel lighter than it is. The alcohol is very well hidden, and you only really feel it as it warms your belly (because it is very easy to drink too quickly…) In the past, I’ve found that non-sour barrel-aged Belgian styles were sorta hit or miss. I’m happy to report that’s not the case with this beer. I’m putting it somewhere in the A- range, though it’s a borderline affair…

Beer Nerd Details: 9.5% ABV bottled (750 ml capped). Drank out of a Tired Hands glass on 9/14/13.

Another solid showing from Evolution, and I naturally need to check out more of their Menagerie series (if they continue!) and their Migration series (I’d definitely like to retry the Winter Migration at some point, but they all sound interesting enough)…

Trubbel De Yards

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This beer was once a regular seasonal brew, but it eventually sorta faded away. After a 5 year absence, Yards has brought it back on a limited basis, this year even bottling a few in their brand new 750 ml bottle format. I feel so special. They call it a Belgian style Tripel/Dubbel hybrid, which basically means it’s a stronger than average Dubbel.

Trubbel De Yards

Trubbel De Yards – Pours a dark chestnut brown color with a couple fingers of tan head, solid retention, and plenty of lacing. Smells lightly of spicy Belgian yeast, but also of dark crystal and chocolate malts, maybe some brown sugar character too. Taste very much follows the nose, with a light Belgian yeast character that takes a back seat to a complex malt bill. I’m getting some dark chocolate, molasses/brown sugar, and maybe a hint of dark fruits like raisins (guess: this beer incorporates a not insignificant amount of Special B malt). Mouthfeel is medium bodied, reasonably well carbonated, a little sticky in the finish, strikes a pretty good balance. Overall, a solid, craftsmanlike effort. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 9% ABV bottled (750 ml capped). Drank out of a goblet on 2/23/13.

Not to toot my own horn, but this reminds me of my homebrewed dubbel, which technically came in at a higher ABV than I was really going for, right in the range of this beer.