Berliner Weisse

Out of the Emptiness comes a Tired Hands Compendium

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Tired Hands bottle releases happen about once a month or two, but in the past month, Jean has seen fit to hold 3 bottle releases. In January. I suspect Jean is trying to breed a new cold-resistant strain of beer nerd. Or perhaps to kill off lesser beer nerds, thus keeping the line to a manageable size. Judging from the incredulous Main Liners driving by and asking what the hell everyone is waiting in line for (“Justin Bieber tickets”), sitting around on the curb for 2-3 hours out front for just a few bottles of beer is a dubious way to spend time, but I usually manage. Best case, the folks around me are cool and we partake in much discussion and merriment. Worst case, I put in my headphones and zone out to an audiobook (chances are, if I were at home, I’d be in bed reading anyway). Still, after 3 releases in the freezing cold, I’m ready for my Believer’s Club membership to go into effect.

Most releases are announced well in advance, but there are the occasional stealth releases, and sometimes they’re at weird times. One such occasion was Thanksgiving eve, 2013. Jean announces that bottles of the first Emptiness series beer, Out of the Emptiness, would be available when they open at 4. Now, typical bottle releases range from about 400-600 bottles, with a bottle limit of 2-4 (generally optimizing it so that 150-200 folks can snag a bottle). I don’t remember the specific number of bottles available that day, but Jean must have been feeling capricious and whimsical, because that day was on the lower range of bottles available, but the bottle limit was 6. I managed to get off work early, but missed out on bottles by about 10 folks in line. Dejected, my new friend Andrew (met in line) and I retired to the bar upstairs where we drowned our sorrows in the always stellar taplist and discussed the merits of aging Samichlaus (it being the holiday season and all). Then Jean saunters up, pours three glasses from an unmarked bottle, and gives them to three of us at the bar (in fact, this generosity may have been the result of the third guy, who seemed to be friends with Jean).

So thanks to that, I actually did get to try Out of the Emptiness, a wine-barrel fermented saison conditioned atop local Italian plums. As fate would have it, a second batch was made, and released just a couple weeks ago. So I finally got to enjoy a bottle of this stuff in the comfort of my own home:

Out of the Emptiness

Tired Hands Out of the Emptiness – Pours a beautiful, almost radiant amber orange color with a finger of fluffy very light pink (almost white) head. Smells of vinous fruit, cherries, plums, fruit by the foot, with some barnyard funk. The taste hits with that fruit up front, cherries, plums, grapes, with a bunch of oak tannins kicking in rather quickly, a bit of sourness emerges later in the taste. Finishes oaky and dry. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, well carbonated, and effervescent, mildly acidic, dry oak. From memory, batch one had a much less carbonated mouthfeel, which is something that does make a big difference for me. Not sure if the b1 bottles ever carbed up better, but I’m glad this new batch turned out well. Overall, really pleased I waited in line to snag some of these. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV bottled (500 ml waxed cap). Drank out of a flute glass on 1/31/15. Batch 2 (2015 vintage).

In case it’s not abundantly clear, and if you’ve gotten this far, it really should be, I end up at Tired Hands often. They usually have 8 taps on, and at least 2-3 will change over from week to week (and sometimes even more). Two and a half years in, they’ve remade a handful of their favorite stuff, but for the most part, once it’s done, it’s done, and you won’t see it again. To that end, I figure I need to lord it over all you plebians, and post whatever notes I’ve taken over the past, yikes, year or so. In fairness, I don’t take notes upon every visit (especially if, for example, I’m with a friend or otherwise conversing with the friendly folks at the bar), but I’ve still got quite a few notes piled up. I’ll start with a recent one, but after that one, we’ve got beers dating back a year or so.

StonerWitch

StonerWitch – 10.5% ABV Black Barleywine brewed with clementine juice and zest – I gather a lot of folks found this weird and off style. I found it strange and beautiful, which I believe was the intention, and really, really enjoyed it. Pours a deep dark brown, indeed almost black, with half a finger of short lived tan head. Looks almost like a stout, but the smell is decidedly more barleywinish, some juicy fruit aromas, wheat, toffee, caramel, very slight dark malt component too. Taste is rich and hearty, some caramel and toffee up front, a bready middle, with juicy citrus in the finish (presumably that clementine juice at work). Mouthfeel is rich and creamy, dense and full bodied, just enough carbonation to tie it all together. Overall, I actually love this beer. It’s quite an unusual take on a barleywine, but it still hits the right notes, and is downright delicious. A-

Shep’s Memory – 3.7% ABV Bitter – Good for the style, biscuity malts with a very light hop component, light bodied and crushable. B+

BrainHands – 5.5% ABV Pizza Inspired Gose – Whoa, this is unexpectedly fantastic. Nice lemony citrus sourness tempered by earthy spices (does not taste like pizza, but who cares, this is great!) tingly and spicy, even a little heat… A-

Al Baby – 6.8% ABV Hoppy Honey Brown Ale – Nice hoppy brown, solid, easy going stuff. B+

Uyawa Pog – 8% ABV Imperial IPA – Really bright citrus and a sorta honeyed malt backbone, really nice. The citrus is super peach-like too, which is not common (and I don’t think they actually used peaches for this, perhaps they’re getting this out of the Simcoe/Nelson Sauvin combo?) A-

Stout Budino – 6.3% Dessert Stout – Smore like ingredients, not quite as sweet or rich as that would imply, but a really nice stout, chocolate and roast, like. B+

I Love You, Friend – 7% ABV Rye IPA – Juicy citrus hops up front, rye finish, great… A

Broken Basement – 6.3% ABV IPA – Hopped with Ahtanum and Simcoe, a typically fantastic IPA, maybe some more malt character than usual, still great. A-

Shambolic – 6.5% ABV dry hopped spelt saison – Nice, I feel like it’s been a while since TH did something like this, great peppery saison character with a citrus, vinous hop kick… (Update: I opened a bottle of this recently, after a few months in the cellar), and while the hop character is still there, the farmhouse saisony elements came to the fore as well. Great.) A-

Lord Ladybug – 6% ABV dark sour cherry Berliner Weisse – Very tart, puckering sour beer. Chocolate covered cherries. Me likey. B+

EXTOL – 7.6% ABV Imperial Porter – my kinda porter, sweet, low roast, dark chocolate (hint of coffee?), very nice B+

Wilbur – 5.9% ABV Rye IPA – nice rye character, floral hops, well matched, very good! B+

Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt – 6.6% ABV Black Coffee Saison – Interesting mixture of elements, earthy saison yeast, fruity hops, and just a bit of that roasty coffee. B+

PowerChord – 4.2% ABV Crushable IPA – Beautiful citrus hop nose (clearly Mosaic hops involved here), more floral and piney in the taste, quaffable. B+

Exact Negative Charge – 7.7% ABV emptiness saison – Typical funky TH saison, very nice, really fruity, light earth, not a ton of funk, but really nice! B+

Sunulate – 6.4% ABV blood orange & chamomile saison – Solid stuff, not as funky, but really nice floral and citrus notes… B+

Go Ride A Bike – 5.5% ABV crushable IPA – Motueka bomb, lots of citrus and a little dank pine, crushable! A-

Exploding Nuclear Cauldron – 5.1% hoppy honey Grissette – Lemon zest, light spice, grassy hops, soft feel, really nice and refreshing… A-

Experience Neutral Chamber – 5.7% ABV emptiness saison – Bright, fruity funk, light salinity, lemon zest, quaffable… B+

Modern Artisinal Tragedy – 6.8% honey saison – Straightforward saison stuff, typical TH quality, very nice peppery spice and light hop character… B+

BloodRoot – 6.6% hoppy red saison – Brewed with rye, and you can tell, big spicy note along with peppery yeast, and a good amount of hop character, including more bitterness than I’m used to from TH – nothing wrong with that, of course… B+

Only Void 2014 – 11% imperial stout – This year’s version is slightly less alcohol and not as sweet as last year’s version. As a result, more roast and chocolate come to the fore. Still very nice. A

Here Lies – 2.5% hoppy bitter – Whoa, very tasty for such an extremely low alcohol beer. Beautiful hoppy nose, perhaps not as intense, but really tasty. Totally quaffable, not as thin as you’d expect, but very light. Crushable! B+

Gose is My Copilot – 4.7% Gose – Wheated Gose with sea salt, lime juice and zest, and cilantro from Jeans garden. Well balanced, sour, a little sticky. I’m not really a huge Gose fan or anything, but this is very nice (I got a growler, made a Top Gun (“Talk to me, Gose”) joke on twitter, but no one got it, or they did and didn’t care). B+

Savage Gold – 5.2% ABV IPA – Nelson Sauvin and Hallertau Blanc… Typically great tired hands ipa, beautiful hop character, crushable. A-

Boogie Board – 5.2% ABV blended saison (some 4 month cab franc barrel aged saison in the blend) – Very nice saison, light barrel character, but a big juicy fruit kick, tart lemons and grapes, some typical saison spice, super smooth, a little acidic, highly drinkable. A-

Fool in the Full Moon – 6% ABV coffee wheat porter – So I entered the name for this beer, but took no notes. I’m the worst. I’m pretty seriously doubting that anyone will ever actually read this though. Why am I even doing this?

Carpet on your Heart – 6% ABV Rye IPA – Darker and more substantial than your typical TH IPA, perhaps even more bitterness than usual, but great hop presence, juicy citrus, very well composed. B+

Watching Trees Decompose – 7% ABV blueberry IPA – Very pretty, a striking amber purple with light purple head… Taste has an extra sweetness that battles with the citrus hops, still decent beer though. B+

Reincarnated as a Cloud – 6.1% ABV Wheat IPA – More of a bitter bite here than normal, but a very nice citrus and pine hop character and clean wheat makes this worthy. B+

Green Fuzz – 7% ABV Cucumber Galaxy IPA – holy cucumber, Batman! I don’t think of cucumber as being a particularly powerful aroma or flavor, but it’s here in spades… Though more standard ipa notes come through too. B+

Red Fuzz – 6.5% Raspberry & Sumac Saison – Another one where I wrote the name, but not any notes. I really am the worst.

Psychic Facelift – 6.5% ABV Citra IPA – Beautiful, juicy IPA, all sorts of citrus, super quaffable, absolutely superb! Drank, like, 3 liters of this stuff during the one week it was on tap (it’s rare that I get something more than once, so that’s saying something). A

Yeast & Cats – 6.4% ABV wheat saison – Typically great TH saison, distinctive farmhouse awesome. B+

Ambassador Aardvark – 4.5% ABV Berlinerweiss – I seem to be relying on the “typical TH style” description for these reviews, and this is no exception – this is a typical TH Berliner and it’s quite nice. Tart, tasty, and refreshing. B+

I See A Darkness – 8.5% ABV imperial honey espresso porter – Relatively light on the coffee, which is a good thing in my book, but it’s really tasty, nice roast character, a little espresso, really solid stuff. B+

Singel Hop Saison Cascade – 5% ABV – This is a really interesting melding of farmhouse and hops, with neither element dominating. This represents a more balanced take in the series, and it’s really nice… A-

Purple Fuzz – 6% ABV blackberry and purple basil Saison – Nice farmhouse going on here, spicy and fruity, though the fruit is not super powerful, well balanced, a little weird in a good way… B+

Yellow Fuzz – 7.2% ABV peach ipa – Beautiful juicy citrus, quaffable, typically great TH IPA! A-

Many Mouths With Pointy Teeth– 6% ABV Rye IPA – Very nice ipa, citrus hops and spicy rye, well carbonated and quaffable. A-

Cyclical Paranoia – 6% ABV Mohogany Hued saison – Light farmhouse with typical saison yeast character, but also some almost vinous notes. B+

Aphillyation – 6.6% Cabernet Franc IPA- Interesting, floral hops, a little grape character and an almost creamy mouthfeel. B+

Paranormalized – 8.2% blended barrel fermented super saison – Very nice saison, spice and fruit, with a very light sourness and decent oaky character. Delicious! A-

Pope Lick Monster – 8.5% imperial Porter – nice and dark, creamy tan head, sweet and roasty, with a mallow finish. B+ or A-

Mind Meet Mind – 6% ABV Coffee IPA – My ambivalence towards coffee is world renowned, but I still enjoyed this well enough. Great hop character, juicy citrus, with some coffee peeking through… B

Funny Top Hat Serenade – 7% ABV Classical Progressive Saison – Very nice saison of the TH house style, with a nice fruity hop character (not bitter though) B+

The Still-Beating Heart of the Hummingbird – 7% ABV Barrel Fermented Saison – Whoa, slightly lactic sourness, but not really that sour. A little oak, and that TH funk, very good! A-

GrassMan – 8.7% ABV Honey Double IPA – Hugely dank DIPA, Nelson Sauvin coming through strong, tropical fruits all over. I’m sure the Citra is contributing to that, but it’s got a distinctly grassy character too. A-

Deathtripper – 6.7% ABV IPA – Fabulous, dank, juicy ipa, lots of citrus and pine, delicious. A-

Ekstra – 6.6% ABV collaborative saison – Collab with pizzeria beddia, first TH use of Hallertau… B

Cannibal Okt – 6.2% Sweet Potato IPA – A sorta heftier IPA, more of a balance between hops and sweetness here, quite nice! B

Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp – 6.2% ABV IPA – Another great TH house style IPA, less juicy, but still citrus and pine all over, higher than normal carbonation, great! A-

Chupacabra – 6.6% mole Porter – Whoa coffee! A little thinner than your typical Porter, but that matches nicely with the roasty coffee, so it’s still tasty! If only I liked coffee more. B

Dobhar-chú – 4.2% heirloom squash bitter – Very nice, clean, malt forward, tasty… Not on cask right now, but would be perfect from the hand pump! B+

Watcher in the Dark – 6% ABV India Black Ale – whoa, beautiful citrus hops is the nose, with that slight roast coming through a little more in the taste, utterly fantastic! A

Corpse Finder – 4.4% ABV Galaxy IPA – Nice citrus, substantial considering the ABV, maybe a little more bitter than typical, but still quite crushable B+

Foliage – 8% ABV Double IPA – awesome, darker than typical TH IPA, sweet, citrusy and floral hops, smooth, medium bodied, delicious! A-

Infinite Universe Mind – 6% ABV sour IPA – Nice! I don’t normally go in for sour IPAs but this is very well balanced, light sourness, well integrated, tasty! B+

Fifth Level – 6.2% Single Hop Motueka IPA – Typical TH house style IPA, very nice, juicy hops, yum. B+

Alien Church

Alien Church – 7% ABV IPA – My only notes were: Must. Get. Growler. (And I did. This was a great IPA) A

Window Mirror Section – 6.8% Hearty Wheat Saison fermented in oak barrels with our Emptiness culture and conditioned on oranges – Holy hell, this is Emptiness level stuff. Nice balanced with the oak, funk, and juicy, tart fruitiness. A

ALTAR – 4.6% ABV Berliner Weisse with hibiscus, Madagascar vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks – I usually enjoy TH’s berliners, but this one is a step above the norm. Very well done. A-

Such Passion – 7.5% Simcoe IPA conditioned on passionfruit purée – Um, yes please. Very good. A-

Whatever, Nevermind – 8.1% ABV barrel saison – According to Untappd, this was my 200th checkin at Tired Hands. Holy Crap. A-

So I’ll end it there. Despite waiting in line several times over the past month, it’s actually been a few weeks since I’ve made my way over there. I love the Winter, but it’s cold and so easy to just stay home. We shall rectify that soon enough, and in time, the new production facility will open and I’ll be drinking as much as ever… Alas, I don’t know that I’ll keep doing these posts. I can’t imagine anyone actually reading through all of this, and it’s starting to get repetitive (not to mention that just about everything gets B+ or A-, TH breaks my grading scale. Can’t even do a curve, really.)

Tired Hands Compilation

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It’s been a while since I’ve recapped recapped some recent Tired Hands beers, and these notes just keep piling up, so here goes nothing. Note that the earliest of these is from late August, so it really has been a while since I’ve attempted to stoke the jealousy of my readership with these local gems. Most are one-offs that will never be brewed again, but we’ve gotten to a point where I’m starting to recognize rebrews of some of their beers, so you never know.

Screeching Loud Thrashing Death Metal Offensive Song

SCREECHING LOUD THRASHING DEATH METAL OFFENSIVE SONG – 10.5% ABV blended old ale – Named after a review on Yelp where someone complained about the, shall we say, eclectic mix of music you hear when at TH (it looks like someone told her that they brewed this beer in her honor, so she updated her review, but the original one is still there.) A blend of 9 month old Flemish red (25%), fresh Barleywine (65%), and rye whiskey barrel fermented Barleywine (10%). Very interesting! Not a ton in the nose, but the taste is unique and interesting. I’m getting lots of chocolate, and maybe even coffee-like notes. Faint hints of cherries and a note of something bright escaping in the finish (prolly that Flemish red). Unique beer, never had anything like it. B+

Singel Hop Saison Citra – 5% ABV saison – Hurm, either this has gotten a lot better since my last glass (my previous note expressed surprise that Citra wasn’t that potent – but it was great this second time), or my palate got destroyed by Vermont beer and is only coming back… Juicy citrus hops and saison spice. Glad I gave it another shot, upgrade! A-

Tabel, Sacred – 4.2% ABV spiced saison – Brewed with oats and Holy Basil, fermented with a touch of grapefruit and pomegranate. Is there a touch of funk in here? Not sure, but it’s a nice, quaffable saison, with some citrus rind character, maybe a hint of lemon, an herbal note, and slight spicy yeast notes. B+

Mt.Sharp – 7.2% ABV Citra and Columbus IPA – Interesting sticky icky citrus and pine combo. Sticky and yet creamy? This is striking a chord that I can’t place, but who cares, because its awesome! A-

SuchUnique – 8.2% ABV Double IPA, Simcoe & Centennial hops – Nice floral and citrus notes, mango, flowers, good stuff. Well hidden ABV. Good! A-

Pub Style Ale – 4.5% ABV pale ale brewed with oats & Centennial hops – Great nose, lots of citrus, big floral hops in the taste. Quaffable! B+

Sad State of Affairs – 8.2 % ABV DIPA – A less profane reference to the cease and desist for FarmHands? Regardless, this is a rock solid DIPA, citrus and pine, a little slickness but still well balanced. Fantastic! A-

Lizard Queen – 5.2% ABV Motueka & Centennial Pale Ale – Yep, another great pale ale, juicy citrus nose (maybe even a lemon note), some earthy floral notes too. Crushable. A-

Euphoric Sunshine Drip – 5.7% ABV spiced saison with Meyer lemon and pink peppercorn – Another typically great Tired Hands farmhouse saison, not quite funky, but that lemon makes overtures in that direction, and the peppercorn accentuates the yeast well… A-

The Multiverse – 8.1% ABV pear farmhouse DIPA – Wow, really nice pairing (pearing?) of farmhouse spice (funk?) and hops, with neither dominating, but instead melding into something different. Really nice! A-

Critical Anxious – 7.8% ABV Biere De Garde – And I didn’t take any notes on this one, though I did write down that I had it, so, um, I dunno. Mulligan.

Oktüberfest – 6.1% ABV Ser Gut Yam Bier – Very nice Oktoberfest style beer, mild, light toasted bread, but still relatively sweet. Great mouthfeel on this one too. Not really my style, but this is my kinda take on the style. B+

My Favorite Show – 5.7% ABV classical modern saison – Typically great Tired Hands saison, almost funky, nice peppery notes, highly drinkable, like a slightly amped up FarmHands (er, SaisonHands). B+

Communication is the Key – 5.5% ABV crushable Simcoe pale ale – Typically great Tired Hands pale ale, big juicy fruit notes, hint of pine, crushable is a perfect descriptor. A-

Tired Hands Murky Growlers

(Click for larger picture)

So I’m at the bar one night and Jean fills a couple of growlers. He gives them to some guy who’s making a trip to Hill Farmstead and says that Shaun Hill likes his beer extra cloudy, so he renamed “Communication is the Key” to “Communication is the Murky” and “We Are All Infinite Energy Vibrating At The Same Frequency” to “We Are All Hazy As Hell Vibrating at the Same Cloudiness”.

Fall Precious – 6.6% ABV autumnal saison – Really nice saison, it’s got that typical Tired Hands farmhouse character, but it’s carving out an identity of its own. Sweet up front, maybe some fruit, with the spice emerging towards the finish. A-

H.C.S. – 5.9% ABV viscous and delicious saison – Power of suggestion, or is this really viscous? Definitely a fuller body than your typical TH saison, very cloudy, a little yeasty spice, well done. B+

MortalGrade – 8.2% ABV DIPA brewed with wheat, oats, Chinook, Citra, Zythos, and Simcoe – Fantastic, one of my favorite Tired Hands DIPAs! Huge juicy citrus, some grassy, floral, and pine hop notes too. Obscenely quaffable for its ABV, no real hint of booze. Great stuff! A

MoMoCoe – 5.5% ABV Motueka, Mosaic, and Simcoe pale ale – Great juicy hop character, lots of grapefruit, nice bracing bitterness, really good! A-

Singel Hop Saison, Chinook – 5% ABV – The 8th singel hop saison, and probably around the middle of the pack. Indeed, the hops and saison yeast seem a little at odds here. Still good, of course, but not the best of the bunch. B+

Under Pressure – 7.6% Blended Artisanal Farmhouse Biere de Garde – Excellent malt forward Brett beer, some nice malty fruit notes, with some peppery yeast and complementary Brett. Great! A-

Coulton Hop – 5.5% heirloom cider/pale ale – 49% of the fermentables came from cider made of apples, pears, and quinces. Hopped with Simcoe and that’s really what stands out, but it’s amazing that they were able to coax something so beerlike out of something comprised of so much cider… As I drink more, the cider twang becomes more pronounced… Really nice. B+

Coulton Sour – 5.5% heirloom cider/Berliner Weiss – Similar approach with the cider used as fermantable. Holy sour patch kids, this is super tart, and you really get that cider side of things here too. Really interesting beers here. A-

Cosmic Slop – 8.3% DIPA – Tired Hands’ 200th batch is a typically great fruit and hop forward DIPA, lots of citrus, pine, and floral notes, very well done B+

Hail Santa – 6.4% ABV Rye IPA – Slightly darker than typical, but still a pale yellow, beautiful juicy hop nose, with some floral and spicy notes hitting in the taste. Really good! B+

I See a Darkness – 8.5% ABV porter brewed with coffee and honey – Collaboration with Sante Adairius, very nice, bigger than normal porter. Tried getting some a few days later, but they were out… B+

Sgt. Salamander – 5% ABV Holiday Sour Berliner Weiss – Wow, this has a typical Berliner nose, but the taste is all sorts of great. Really tight lactic sourness, puckering really, and it’s great. Also had some dosed with cinnamon & vanilla bean syrup that just puts this miles ahead. Super flavorful. B+ (regular) and A- (with syrup)

Trendler – 5.5% ABV alt bier – Very interesting and different, Jean is branching out here, malt forward but not heavy at all… B+

Praise Bee – 9% 2X honey IBA – Zombie rides again… Sorta! Doesn’t quite live up to zombie levels, but it’s really good, nice hop character, well matched dark malts, excellent. A-

Circumambulation – 7.2% biere de garde – Fermented with kolsch yeast and lagered three weeks, this is a subtle beer, super creamy head, not a typical TH feel, but still very good, lots of muted flavors, complex but not overwhelming… B

Bucolic Overlord

Bucolic Overlord – 8% DIPA – Brewed with oats, Citra, Columbus, and Simcoe hops. Great stuff, dank and resinous, with floral and citrus notes rounding it out. Superb! A

VOID ego VOID – 9.8% ABV blended imperial stout – Partially barrel aged in Tuthilltown rye whiskey barrels for 7 months… Not a lot of barrel character, roasty up front, sweet towards the finish with a nice hit of vanilla. Not as thick or heavy as you’d expect, but it still has admirable heft. I really enjoyed this! A-

Principal Eel – 6% sour farmhouse IPA – Well this is unusual, better than the last sour IPA I had from TH last year, but something about the strong hop and sour combo doesn’t completely work for me… B

All-O-Gistics – 5.9% Experimental IPA – Experimental hop #05256 – Whoa carbonation! Not that I’m complaining, but this is more carbonated than your typical Tired Hands beer. Great juicy hop nose, citrus, pine, and grass. Maybe something like green onion. Taste is more piney and it’s got a sharp bitterness. Definitely not your typical Tired Hands IPA, but still great. A-

Can’t Keep Up – 6.2% Spontaneous Saison – Fermented in old Tuthilltown rye barrels that had previously been used to make some apple cider (by frequent TH collaborator, Tom Culton), only 10 gallons produced. Amazing, nice oak character, sharp but very pleasant sourness, almost vinous tart fruit, really great. I love this! A

And that just about covers it. If you’re local and heading over to the next release on Sunday, let me know!

Tired Hands Anthology

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It’s been a few months since I recapped some Tired Hands brews, and these notes have just been piling up, so I figure it’s time to pull that trigger and share the wealth with you all… Of course, most of this stuff will probably never see the light of day again, but some of the big ones will probably be brewed again…

Tortoise – 6.7% ABV Brett Amber Ale – Dark amber brown, funky nose. Funk is reminiscent of the Darwin Solera series, some earthiness and even a touch of salinity. Stronger malt backbone makes this a little more complex than the Darwin series, which is nice. Good stuff! B+

Perfect Hole in One – 6.5% ABV IPA – Counter programming because the PGA tour was in town… A typically great IPA, huge citrus & pine notes, very Simcoe, really nice. A-

Guillemot – 8.5% ABV Dense & Dark Oak Aged Saison – This is sorta the base beer for Guillemot Nebula (and Prunus). Dark, slightly sour, nice balance with a creamy malt backbone. Really smooth and creamy, with a slight acidic kick in the finish. Strong beer, maybe not quite as great as Nebula was, but still a worthy A-

Cassie – 6% ABV Motueka Farmhouse IPA – A delicious mash up of the saison and IPA styles, really well matched hop to saison ratio, better than their singel hop saison Motueka (and most of the others in the singel hop series)… Delicious and quaffable. I really loved this beer. A

Tired Hands 5 out of 5

5 out of 5 – 10% ABV Imperial Stout brewed with cacao, peanut butter, marshmallow, PA maple syrup, vanilla beans, and One Village Coffee espresso beans. They gave a concise tasting note at the brewpub: “Notes of everything in the description” Big roasted malt notes in the nose, with all that wacky stuff showing up more in the taste. Definitely a stout, but lots of other stuff going on… Super complex, really weird, but really well done. Not even a hint of booze. Not quaffable or anything, but not a monster either. Some folks don’t like Tired Hands’ stouts, but I actually really enjoyed this. A-

Sunbather IPA – 5.8% ABV honey Meyer lemon hibiscus IPA – Wow, very pretty orange amber color, not your typical tired hands pale (which is cloudy straw yellow). Lots of floral hop notes (or maybe that’s the hibiscus?) and lots of citrus (again, both from hops and other ingredients). Tasty stuff, really nice. A-

Due to an equipment malfunction TH lost a batch of DIPA and to fill the taps, they dipped into their cellars supply of aged, Brett dosed saisons:

Tavna – 6.6% ABV blended Brett saison – Solid beer with Tired Hands’ trademark Brett character, salty, spicy. Great nose. Solid taste, not super quaffable, but good stuff. B+

Whalagos – 7.5% ABV Well aged blended saison – Similar to Tavna, but with more of a smooth, creamy mouthfeel, really nice. Mouthfeel definitely puts this one ahead of Tavna… A-

Singel Hop Saison Pacifica – 5% ABV – Usual cloudy straw yellow, bubbly white head. Nose hits with a sorta green hop character, reminiscent of the Pacific Jade version, and the taste bears that out. Grassy, a little earth, and typical peppery saison goodness. B+

Sleep – 7.6% ABV chamomile saison – Cloudy golden orange color with a finger of creamy head. Seems to have that trademark Tired Hands salty funk going on, but it works well. B+

We Are 138 – 7.6% ABV India Black Ale, brewed with pineapple – Black color, tan head, very nice nose, that pineapple coming through and matching well with those citrus & pine hops. No roast in the nose, but it comes out a bit in the taste, which is still very hop forward. Nice balance though, and very tasty. Overall, really great, delicious beer. A-

We Are All Infinite Energy Vibrating At The Same Frequency

We Are All Infinite Energy Vibrating At The Same Frequency – 6.2% IPA – Mostly clear golden color, amazing juicy citrus hop nose, tastes fantastic. Top tier IPA! A

Mr.Alien – 4% ABV Berliner Weiss – Nice refreshing beer, just a bit on the tart side, really easy drinking, decent stuff… B+

Tired Hands Ellipses

… (Ellipsis) – 7.6% ABV red hued Brett dubbel – Nice amberish color, that Tired Hands Brett in the nose, but hot damn does it match well with the base beer. Nice spicy Belgian yeast, with those dark fruit flavors, and that almost salty funk character tying it all together. I originally pegged this as an A-, but had another glass on a subsequent visit and it totally warrants an upgrade. Really superb stuff. A

Tired Hands Phantom With Three Different Colored Eyes

Phantom With Three Different Colored Eyes – 8% ABV citrus IPA – Whoa! Nice citrusy pine hop nose, but the taste and mouthfeel are absurdly great. It’s got an almost creamy texture, with a great balance of sweetness from the malt and bitterness from the hops, and that juicy citrus holding it all together. Just superb! A

Penelope – 6.4% Farmhouse IPA – Typical cloudy light yellow color, nice Tired Hands funk in the nose along with some citrus hop aromas. Taste has that Tired Hands funk too, a little Belgian yeast spice, and some hops. Crisp, smoove, very easy drinking. B+

Kickphone iFlip – 5.5% ABV Citra & Amarillo IPA – A great light IPA, typical Tired Hands profile, beautiful citrus hop character, off the charts drinkable. A-

Pleasant – 5.8% ABV hoppy black ale, Simcoe single hopped – Nice looking beer, black with light brown head, but I’m not getting as much Simcoe out of this as I was hoping for. Still a nice beer, and if I didn’t just have some superb TH stuff, this might get rated better. B

HappyHands – 5.2% ABV heirloom tomato Berliner Weiss – Well, yeah, that tomato actually comes through. Nice sharp acidic bite to this one. I’m not a big tomato person, so this isn’t my favorite, but it’s obviously well crafted. B

The Rest of Your Life – 6.4% ABV classic modern saison – A really nice saison, not quite funky, though its got that farmhouse feel. Typical Tired Hands stuff here, which is to say that it’s great, if a bit straightforward. B+

Safe & Sound – 4.5% ABV crushable IPA – Pours a surprisingly dark color, murky brown (maybe some amber highlights), nice malt and hop combo, maybe some rye or oats going on here, surprisingly full bodied for such a small beer… I don’t know that I would have ever pegged this as an IPA, but it’s still pretty good for whatever style it is… B+

Singel Hop Saison Citra – 5% ABV – I’m surprised that Citra is not quite as potent as some of the others in this singel hop series, but this is still pretty damn good! A-

And that takes us up to stuff that was just tapped yesterday. See you in a few months with more Tired Hands goodness. Or maybe sooner if they have another quick bottle release…

Beer Club: Part Whatever – The Clubbening

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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):

Beer Club - July 2013

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.

Telegraph Reserve Wheat Ale

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One of the great and yet simultaneously frustrating parts of reading a lot of beer blogs is when people go on and on about fantastic beers that are only available locally (I’m as guilty of this as anyone, of course). It’s great because everyone loves their local breweries and it makes for a nice communal experience with other folks in the area. But sucks when you’re on the outside looking in because you’ll have these situations where seemingly everywhere you look, people are raving about this or that small brewery… and they don’t distribute anywhere near you.

As I’ve become more of a beer dork, my beer hunting prowess has certainly increased, but there are always things that are uber-local. Think Surly or The Alchemist, both of whom don’t distribute outside their state, and yet it feels like everyone’s drank some of that stuff. I’ve not yet tipped my toes into the illicit realm of beer trading, but that’s certainly one way to get a hold of the stuff. Or you can just patiently wait for the beer to be distributed to your area, which has somewhat recently happened with California’s own Telegraph Brewing.

Of course, I’ve been hearing raves about these beers from everyone. For instance, The Beer Rover has covered tons of their beer. Jay also loves them, and I found out about their plans to distribute to PA from an interview he did with the founder and brewer. So when I saw a bottle on a recent beer run, I immediately snapped it up without even really looking too closely at it… I immediately squirreled it away in my fridge, hoping to get to it quickly. Then I went and looked it up and… oh noes! Jay lists it as “unrateable”. When I dug into his original review, it appears that this may have just been a reaction to the Berliner Weisse style… but then, my only real experience with that style was Dogfish Head’s Festina Pêche, which is a beer I hated. Seriously, C- maybe even D range beer for me. Fortunately, my fears were mostly unfounded. I still wouldn’t call this a style I prefer, but I can’t imagine it being better executed:

Telegraph Reserve Wheat Ale

Telegraph Reserve Wheat Ale – Pours a clear, bright straw yellow color with a finger of quickly disappearing white head. Smells of lemon and funk, with lots of wheat beer character too. Really nice nose, actually. Taste starts off a little sweet, with a pleasant lemony tart character emerging quickly, followed by a slightly more intense sourness in the finish. Not a lot of wheat in the taste, but it does have that sorta mouthfeel. Effervescent, well carbonated (but not overly so), and very lightly bodied. The sourness prevents gulping this down, but it’s not a slow sipper either. Overall, this is well balanced, tart, but not overpowering. I’m surprised at how much I’m enjoying this given how little I enjoyed the Dogfish Head take on the sytle. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 5% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a goblet on 3/24/12.

So my first experience wasn’t the bust I was dreading, and I will certainly be on the lookout for their more celebrated brews, like the California Ale or Gypsy Ale. I actually saw the California Ale recently, but it was in PA, so I would have needed to buy a full case of the stuff. I’m sure it’s great and all, but I’ve got way too much beer sitting around here to justify that!