Style

Hill Farmstead Triple Feature

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We love Hill Farmstead here at Kaedrin, so when we took a slight, uh, 9 hour detour into Vermont to nab some of their prized beers, we availed ourselves of everything we possibly could. While I’m not a particularly huge fan of growlers, I absolutely had to fill up my limit whilst I could. Growlers are not known for their longevity but fortunately, these are beers that do not last long in this household. First up, Harlan, a beer I cracked open for a little scenic drinking just a few hours after returning from my trip.

Harlan IPA

Hill Farmstead Harlan IPA – A slightly bigger version of Edward Pale Ale that is dry hopped with additional Columbus hops. Pours a very pretty, cloudy pale orange color with a couple fingers of fluffy white head. Smells intensely of citrus hops, stone fruits, oranges, and your typical grapefruit notes along with a big dank note that isn’t quite pine (I suspect the pine would be more prominent if this weren’t so fresh). The taste follows the nose with tons of citrus hop flavors and that fresh dankness too. Light malt backbone, but not as bitter as you’d expect from such a hoppy beer. Mouthfeel is perfect, medium bodied, well carbonated, quaffable. Overall, this reminds me a lot of the type of stuff you see at Tired Hands, and I think that speaks well of both breweries. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6.3% ABV from a growler (fancy 2L swing top). Drank out of a Hill Farmstead Charente glass on 8/14/14. Growler filled on 8/14/14.

Society and Solitude #5

Hill Farmstead Society & Solitude 5 – As of right now, this is the best received entry in this series of experimental DIPAs. This one features a rather fantastic blend of American and New Zealand hops. Pours a murky yellow color with a finger of white head that leaves lacing as I drink. Huge citrus aroma, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, mangoes, the whole shebang. The taste is dominated by those citrusy hops, with that same melange of tropical fruit notes. It got a well balanced sweetness to it, evened out by hops, but not bitter. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, perfectly carbonated, absolutely quaffable. Overall, a spectacular IPA, the clear winner of this trip so far (and that’s saying something!) A

Beer Nerd Details: 8.4% ABV from a growler (750 ml swing top). Drank out of a Hill Farmstead Charente glass on 8/16/14. Growler filled on 8/14/14.

Friendship and Devotion

Hill Farmstead Friendship & Devotion – Brewed in collaboration with Luc Bim Lafontaine, formerly of Dieu du Ciel! (and soon to be heading up some sort of special Japanese brewery), this is an IPA that is described as “citrusy, salty IPA with notes of grapefruit”. Pours a very pale orange color with a finger of white head that leaves some lacing as I drink. Again with the big citrus hop aroma, tropical fruit, herbal and grassy notes, but also some sweetness… Taste goes along similar lines, lots of citrus hops, hints of pine in the background, and something else playing around in the middle. HF sez that it’s salty, so maybe that’s what I’m getting, but it’s not like it’s a gose or something – if its salty, it’s tucked into the rest of the flavor profile pretty well. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, well carbonated, and yes, quaffable. Overall, another winner, though perhaps not quite as much as the above two… A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6.6% ABV from a growler (750 ml swing top). Drank out of a Hill Farmstead Charente glass on 8/16/14. Growler filled on 8/14/14.

So there you have it. I’m getting pretty close to exhausting Hill Farmstead’s standard brews. Someday, I may have to fill a growler with something I’ve had before, like Abner. The horror! Already looking forward to it!

Billy’s Pale Ale

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This is the first in a series of what I’ll call “Vermont Roulette”, wherein I purchase some random Vermont beer that I’ve never heard of off the shelf and see what happens. In this case, it turns out that the beer is from Massachusetts, but I bought it in Vermont, and it appears to be a rather obscure beer. I didn’t take a picture of it, but the bottle caps were clearly those Brewery’s Best thingies that homebrewers use. I suspect this is a rather small operation. Only 2 reviews on BA, and this Howler Brewery doesn’t even have a website. All the bottle sez is that it’s a pale ale brewed with Nugget and Cascade hops, which, you know, sploosh. But then I opened this sucker and bam, Belgian yeast. Unexpected, but cromulent enough, I suppose:

Howler Billys Pale Ale

Howler Billy’s Pale Ale – Pours a golden orange color with a finger of white head. Smells… like Belgian yeast, lots of spicy, musty, estery yeast, maybe a hint of those advertised hops. That Belgian yeast follows into the taste, which has a nice spicy character, cloves and the like, and some citrus hop notes melding with the yeast character, some hop bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated, medium bodied, and relatively dry. Overall, it’s an unexpected but pretty straightforward Belgian pale ale with just a hint of a hoppy kick. Worth trying, but don’t let that label fool you – this ain’t no straight pale ale. B-

Beer Nerd Details: ? ABV bottled (22 oz bomber). Drank out of a tulip glass on 8/18/14.

Not an entirely encouraging start to Vermont Roulette, but then, when your points of comparison are Hill Farmstead, The Alchemist, and Lawson’s Finest Liquids, there’s a pretty tough bar to clear. Stay tuned for some more obscure Vermont brews…

Black Butte XXVI

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Bend, Oregon brewers at Deschutes started their brewery off with a pretty standard porter for a flagship beer. In the current craft beer bonanza, this wouldn’t be that unusual. Boring, even. But considering that Deschutes opened 26 years ago, this was actually a bold choice. Fast forward twenty years, and they could see that it was the right choice. That’s when Deschutes started brewing up a special anniversary beer to celebrate their success. They took their old flagship, amped it up a few notches, chucked in some adjuncts (different every year, but usually including chocolate), and aged a portion in old Bourbon barrels.

This year’s iteration (their 7th) is a complex blend of ales incorporating adjuncts like pomegranate molasses, cocoa nibs, and cranberries. 50% was aged in Bourbon barrels, and the final product clocks in at a hefty 10.8% ABV. So grab yourself a plate of mashed potatoes and start sculpting yourself a butte*:

Deschutes Black Butte XXVI

Deschutes Black Butte XXVI – Pours a very dark brown color with a finger of tan head. Smells of brown sugar, caramel, marshmallow, maybe a hint of roast and chocolate, with some of that bourbon, oak, and vanilla. The taste is very sweet, hints of roasted malt, chocolate, a light caramel, molasses, marshmallow character that intensifies as it warms up, maybe even some tart, fruity notes (presumably that cranberry peeking through, and that also gets more prominent as it warms). Mouthfeel is well carbonated, on the lighter end of full bodied, feels more attenuated than your typical BBA porter. It’s certainly not thin, and not really dry, but it doesn’t have that huge, chewy mouthfeel either. It is, however, very well balanced. Overall, this is an excellent, well crafted beer. It’s not like a lot of BBA porters, but it’s still really good. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 10.8% ABV bottled (22 oz waxed cap). Drank out of a snifter on 8/8/14. Best After 06/16/14.

I still can’t help but wonder what a full BBA version of this (or their famous Abyss) would be like, but I guess that’s not to be. As it is, this winds up being rather unique, so you can’t fault them for that sort of thing. Also, someday I’ll remember that Deschutes uses a “Best After” date on their big beers like this.

* If I actually knew what a butte was, I would have totally cooked up some mashed potatoes and gone all Richard Dreyfuss on that stuff. In fairness, a nice plate of meat and potatoes would probably be a decent pairing for this, so it’s not a totally unrelated reference. Well, probably not, but work with me here.

Duvel Distilled

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While beer is obviously my main squeeze, I do like to dip my toes into other realms of boozy glory. I’m far from an expert in these other worlds, but that’s part of the fun, and it turns out that there are a lot of intersections between beer and other libations. Witness my near obsession with beer aged in wine or spirits barrels. But there are other intersections beyond that… one of which is distilled beer.

I read a fair amount of beer blogs, but I also check in on a fair amount of whiskey bloggers. One of my favorites is Sku’s Recent Eats, and as it turns out, he has a penchant for distilled beer. This has always intrigued me, so when I saw his recent post on Duvel Distilled, I commented that I’d love to try the beer and the distilled version together, just as an experiment. Well it turns out that the fine gentleman who sent Sku his samples saw my post and arranged to send me some samples as well. A month later, and I get to partake in that experiment. Many thanks to Dimitri for sending me this sample (and a few others, which I’m sure I’ll post about at some point as well).

I’ve had a somewhat rocky relationship with Duvel in the past. I was distinctly unimpressed the first few times I had it, but I’ve had it twice in the past year and in both cases, it turned my head. Perhaps I had gotten bad bottles before. Whatever you may think of this, Duvel is generally known as the quintessential ur-example of a Belgian Strong Pale Ale (this is a pretty generalized category, but that’s Belgian beer for you).

I’m no expert on this aspect, but as fodder for distillation, Duvel doesn’t seem particularly well suited. It’s mostly pale barley malt and very lightly hopped with mild European hops (i.e. very little inherent flavor from those ingredients). Instead, Duvel gets its distinct character almost entirely from the Belgian yeast – huge fruity esters and spicy phenols, with a high attenuation (resulting in a highly carbonated, dry beer). So what we have here is distilled Duvel that is then aged for six years in bourbon and sherry barrels. It’s apparently somewhat rare and highly sought after, so it seems extra thanks should be sent Dimitri’s way.

I know from reading Sku’s posts that heavily hopped beers retain their hoppy character in the finished product. So the question is whether or not Duvel’s yeast character will survive the distillation and aging process. Alas, it appears the answer is “not really”.

Duvel and Duvel Distilled

(Click for bigger image)

Duvel – Pours a slightly hazy straw yellow color with several fingers of fluffy white head. Smells fantastic, primarily a Belgian yeast joint with huge fruity esters and spicy clove in the nose. The taste follows the nose with big spicy yeast notes, clove and the like, with some fruitiness peeking through. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated and effervescent, but light bodied and dry, making it a good match for food. Overall, definitely better than my first few tastes, and clearly a classic Belgian Strong Pale. I keep upgrading this every time I have a bottle, and so we’re up to a B+

Beer Nerd Details: 8.5% ABV bottled (11.2 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass on 8/6/14.

Duvel Distilled – Pours a very, very light yellow color. The nose smells pretty bland, definitely light on the fruity malt presence and heavy on the booze. I get none of the great fruity or spicy notes of the beer in the nose at all. It feels like that generic booze I first sampled as a teenager (not an entirely unpleasant memory, but then, not a particularly trustworthy one either). The taste doesn’t change all that much, lots of general alcohol flavor, some grainy malt presence, but that’s about it. None of the fruit or spice from the beer, nor any real discernible barrel character either (Sku’s comment: “It’s hard to believe this was aged in six years unless it was in seventh fill barrels or something like that.”). Mouthfeel is actually pretty harsh and boozy, almost rougher than that 60%+ single barrel Four Roses stuff I got a hold of recently. Perhaps that’s a bit unfair, but at least the Four Roses has some semblance of balance or at least an intensity of flavor that matches the booze level. Here, the balance is off… Overall, this is a bit of a disappointment. There’s no way I’d peg this as being related to the beer at all, and even as a spirit in itself, it feels like a young, unrefined potion. There’s nothing inhernently wrong with it, and it’s certainly drinkable, but it’s not something I’d recommend seeking out. This apparently has a cult following and fetches high prices on the secondary market, but I’m not entirely sure why… C

Spirit Nerd Details: 40% ABV bottled (sample size). Drank out of a glencairn glass on 8/6/14. 2013 vintage (I think?)

Despite not being in love with the actual Duvel Distilled product, I have to thank Dimitri yet again for the opportunity, as I love exploring these intersections between my potion of choice and the rest of the booze world. I felt a little bad about this until I realized that both Sku and Dimitri mentioned that they weren’t the biggest fans of this stuff either…

Now if I can just get ahold of some of that Charbay whisky (distilled from Bear Republic’s excellent flagship Racer 5 IPA), things might turn around. And some day, I really want to try New Holland’s Beer Barrel Bourbon (which is bourbon finished on a third use barrel, with the first use being Bourbon and the second use being New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk Imperial Stout).

Forest & Main Lunaire

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I’ve been hitting the local brews pretty hard this past week or so, and I don’t see any reason to stop now. Here we have another two year old local brewpub specializing in English and Belgian styles, with a particular focus on saisons. As I’ve mentioned before, they share a fair amount of DNA with what makes Tired Hands a Kaedrin favorite, so you know I’m interested when they do a bottle release. They’re a bit further away from me, so I don’t always get up there for bottle releases, but on the other hand, they tend to be low stress affairs, much like the laid back atmosphere they cultivate.

Here we have the second release of Lunaire, a saison aged in Chardonnay barrels for about six months. So strap in, it’s time we take Le Lunaire Voyage*

Forest and Main Lunaire

Forest & Main Lunaire – Pours a cloudy golden orange color with a finger of tight white head that sticks around for a while as I drink. Beautiful nose, musty funk, bright citrus, wine, and lots of oak. The taste amps up that funk a bit, lots of earthiness, a little citrus tartness, vinous fruit, and tons of oak. I suspect there are some who’d say this is over oaked, but I’m not complaining at all. That being said, I’d be really curious to see what this does over time, perhaps that oak will mellow out some (fortunately, I have a few extra bottles to lay down). Mouthfeel is well carbonated, crisp, and effervescent, light bodied, tannic, with just a bit of acidity. Overall, this may be my favorite Forest & Main beer yet. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6% ABV bottled (500 ml waxed cap). Drank out of a flute glass on 8/2/14. Batch 2 (I think… definitely the second bottling), bottled May 21, 2014.

I seem to be drowning in excellent, funky, local saisons aged in wine barrels of late. I’m not really complaining about that, I love me some farmhouse and I’ve been trying to live off my cellar for the past few months instead of continually buying more than I could even drink, but I also try to write about more diverse stuff. I’ll have to see what I can do in the near future about that. Incidentally, I’ve got a line on some midwest Gold, and even a potential trip to Vermont next week, so I’ll most likely be stocking up again in the near future. Stay tuned!

* For the non film nerds amongst you, I was trying to evoke the early cinematic classic Le Voyage dans la Lune (aka A Trip to the Moon)with that quip, but the fact that I’m even writing this footnote is probably a bad sign, no? I’ll just stop then.

I Am The Emptiness

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Another in an ongoing series of saisons aged in wine barrels with various local fruits sourced from rockstar farmer Tom Culton, this is what happens when you add strawberries and your cellar is full, so you just release it on tap because there’s no space for any bottles. This sort of thing will be remedied shortly once their new facility is up and running, but for now, I’ll just have to suffer through drinking this excellent beer on tap and in a growler:

Tired Hands I Am The Emptiness

I Am The Emptiness – Pours a deep, dark orange color with a finger of off white head. Smells fantastic, strawberries, fruity funk, musty, just a hint of earthiness, some yeasty spice, a little oak and vanilla, did I mention strawberries? Taste has a more prominent oak character, lots of fruitiness with those tart strawberries really coming through well, but not dominating. Sour, but not overpoweringly so, because there’s that typical saison backbone, a little spice, and even a little citrus hops poking through, with perhaps more bitterness than expected from this Emptiness series. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, reasonably well carbonated (less than the last couple bottles, which were perfect), only a bit of acidity from that sourness. Overall, though I may prefer the persimmon variant, this is still another winning entry into the Emptiness series. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV from a growler (1L swingtop). Drank out of a flute glass on 7/26/14, growler filled earlier that day.

I had this on tap last week too (it kicked while I was sitting there finishing up a glass), and I found it slightly better than in the growler (but that’s my general feeling with growlers). Up next in the Emptiness series are The Emptiness is Not Eternal bottles. Jean sez the bottle conditioned version is better than the one that was on tap during the Second Anniversary, which makes me wonder if I Am The Emptiness would similarly improve if bottled… Anyway, after that one comes You Are The Emptiness, which is made with peaches, and therefore represents some sort of beer nerd singularity that will draw quite a crowd when released.

Victory Wild Devil

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A few years ago, Victory siezed on the trend of the day and put out a Brettanomyces laced version of their flagship IPA. The result was Wild Devil, a beer I remember enjoying, but truth be told, I had no idea what Brett was or what it was contributing to the finished product. As I got up to speed with wild ales and sours, this beer mysteriously disappeared off shelves, victim of the same capacity issues that plagued Old Horizontal and a few other Victory rarities. Well, now that Victory’s new production brewery in Parkesburg is up and running, we’re starting to see the return off these excellent, but more time intensive beers . I was very curious to see how my more Brett attuned palate would react to this beer. I’m happy to report that is as good as ever. It’s not going to fetch you any interesting brews on a trading board or anything, but it’s an interesting and worthwhile take on an old classic:

Victory Wild Devil IPA

Victory Wild Devil – Pours a clear amber orange color with tons of billowy off white head that leaves lacing as I drink. The aroma has a very nice, well matched funk to it, lots of earthy aromas mix with the typical floral hop and bigger-than-typical malt character of Hop Devil. Taste follows the nose, very nice earthy, barnyard funk shows up right away and lasts pretty much throughout the taste, but there are plenty of dank citrus and pine hops in the mix along with some sweet crystal malt character, and your typical IPA bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated and medium bodied, only a moderate Brett presence, but enough to add a twist. I find that Brett IPAs can sometimes feel a bit muddled, but Victory has found an excellent balance here. Overall, the Brett adds a welcome dimension of complexity to an old standard, and it’s even better than I remember it. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6.7% ABV bottled (750 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a tulip glass on 7/26/14. 2014 vintage.

I am curious to see how this sort of thing would last over time, and it seems like a good sort of beer to have laying around, just in case. I meant to grab myself a regular HopDevil to compare, but it turns out that this was not necessary, as the Brett, while mild, was immediately noticeable. I’m long overdue for a trip to the brewery. It used to be a regular stop, but I’ve fallen out of the habit and have been patronizing some other locals in its place (which has its own benefits, to be sure!).

Beer Clubbing

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Tonight was beer club! For the uninitiated, beer club is a gathering of beer minded individuals at a local BYOB for libations and fun. Tonight we returned to a mainstay of our beer club experience, a local sushi place that we have all grown to love. Reasonable turnout, and some rather fantastic beers:

Beer Club for July 2014

For the sake of posterity, some basic thoughts on each below. Usual disclaimers apply, this is clearly not an isolation chamber environment, so please take this with the requisite grain (or boulder) of salt. In order of tasting (not necessarily in the order pictured):

  • Forest & Main Palomino – One of my contributions and a favorite of the night, this is just as good as it was when it was fresh, if not even better. A-
  • Ken’s Homebrewed Pilsner – Nice typical pilsner hop nose, incredibly light and quaffable, this is the sort of thing that would be a perfect hot day drinking beer. This was Ken’s first all-grain brew, and it turned out really well, even if it’s not my favorite style. B
  • Anthony’s Homebrewed ESB – Another homebrew (we seem to attract those types at beer club, I don’t know why), this one has all the hallmarks of a good ESB, nice muted hop character, some solid biscuity malt, but also an almost brown sugar component that works really well. Another beer that would make for a great session, even if it might be slightly too much ABV… B+
  • Crown Valley Big Bison Ale – A fairly malty, well carbonated take on the dubbel style, though it’s a bit more raisiny than expected, with maybe even a hint of diacetyl, which we never really appreciate here at Kaedrin. Not at all terrible, but a bit of a disappointment. B-
  • Anderson Valley Boont Barl Bourbon Barrel Amber Ale – Not as much bourbon barrel character as expected, and as such beers go, this is decidedly low cctane, but it actually drinks reasonably well. Decent balance, the bourbon is there, but it’s very light. Not something I’d seek out, but it’s a reasonably decent beer. B
  • Terrapin Pineapple Express – The bottle sez this is a smoked pineapple Helles, not something that seems like it would work out. In reality, it’s not as bad as I feared, but it was cromulent enough. Very sweet, with only a light smoky character (it’s not one of those beers where you’ll wonder who put their cigar out in your beer!) I’m glad I tried it in this setting, as I don’t know that I’d want to take down a full bottle of this. B-
  • Kaedrin Barleywine – I’m pretty sure I screwed up the carbonation factor of this beer. The flavor and aroma are there in spades, it just hasn’t quite carbed up to the point where I thin it works well. And actually, this regular version is probably the best carbonated of them, which is not encouraging. The Bourbon one tastes a lot better, but it’s also flatter… B-
  • Oskar Blues Old Chub Nitro – Much better than the standard Old Chub (which I always felt was too dry and too well carbonated to be a great Scotch ale), really smooth and creamy (typical of the nitro), malty, tasty stuff. B+
  • Green Flash Road Warrior Imperial Rye India Pale Ale – Tons of Moscaic hop character out of this, tropical fruits with that spicy rye character, this is a really solid beer worth checking out. B+
  • Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break – I’ve actually had this a few times before, and it’s really nice, especially if you like coffee. As I’m pretty much ambivalent to coffee, I thought this was fine, if not the best evar, though it seemed to go over really well. This was another favorite of the night amongst the beer club peeps, but I’ll go B+, but only because my coffee feelings are well documented (could easily be higher for most other folks).
  • Blue Point (Sour) Cherry Imperial Stout – I have to admit that I’m not the biggest sour stout fan out there, but this worked well enough, with that rich malt and sour twang, maybe even a hint of that cherry. A few of us tried blending this beer with the Imperial Biscotti Stout, just to see what would happen, but it didn’t turn out particularly great. This beer by itself is better, but still around a B level beer for me.

So there you have it. August may be a weird month in terms of beer club, but I’m sure we’ll work something out. In any case, stay tuned for some moar local awesomeness this week on Kaedrin.

Dock Street Prince Myshkin

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Dock Street has been around for forever and has had its ups and downs, but this is a beer that I’ve had a few times in the past few years, and it’s one of my favorite local beers to revisit. Dock Street is tiny, so naturally these bottles don’t come around that often, but it flows on tap throughout the winter months and is possibly the best local imperial stout that is regularly available (notwithstanding various one offs from the likes of Tired Hands or Tröegs – though both of those beers did return, you never know if you’ll see them again). Are those fighting words? Maybe a bunch of Shackamaximum fans will come out of the woodwork and drown me in hateful scorn, but I’m doubting it.

The Barrel Aged version of Prince Myshkin suffered from an intentional lack of carbonation (generally a deal breaker for me), but aside from that, it would have been truly great. As it is, I’ll settle for this base beer, a hefty but not overpowering Russian imperial stout. This particular bottle is getting a bit old, but it’s still doing quite well:

Dock Street Prince Myshkin Imperial Stout

Dock Street Prince Myshkin Russian Imperial Stout – Pours a dark brown, almost black color with a finger of beautiful light brown head. Smells very sweet, with the roasted malts taking a back seat to the sweet, almost fruity aromas. Taste also goes the sweet route, though nothing cloying here, and there’s ample bitterness on the back end to balance it out. Roasted malts come out to play a little more in the taste than the nose, and you get some of that almost fruity character too, along with hints of caramel and chocolate. Mouthfeel is full bodied, rich, and chewy, well carbonated, smooth and creamy, not a trace of booze. It’s a beer that could serve as a sipper if you so desired, but it’s easy going enough to be dangerous too. Overall, this may be my favorite thing I’ve had from Dock Street (I’ve had it a couple times before, and my opinion has not changed), a rock solid imperial stout. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 9.5% ABV bottled (750 ml). Drank out of a snifter on 7/25/14. Bottled 1/30/13.

If you’re ever in the Philly area in the winter, it’s worth stopping in at Dock Street for a glass of this and some solid pizza (sorry, I’ve never had anything else there, but the pizza is good). Here’s to hoping they age this in barrels again sometime soon (and that they let it carbonate this time).

Lost Abbey Agave Maria

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It used to be that you’d see the occasional Bourbon barrel aged beer. Everyone would lose their minds, and they’d fly off shelves, and it was all well and good. I, for one, welcomed our bourbon barrel overlords, but the past few years have seen brewers diversifying their barrel aged offerings. You’ve got rum barrels, apple brandy barrels, and wine barrels galore.

Enter the dreaded tequila barrel. Lost Abbey brewer Tomme Arthur even decided to double down on this offering, brewing the base beer with Agave syrup. The fine folks over at Lost Abbey run a pretty tight Keebler tree, so despite some rightfully dubious responses, I figured I’d drop some coin on a bottle of this stuff and see what the deal is. In short, while not “worse than undrinkable”, that’s also setting the bar too low. I’d rather drink this than most macro slop, and it is a unique, interesting beer, but it’s not something I’d go out of my way for again.

Lost Abbey Agave Maria

Lost Abbey Agave Maria – Pours a murky dark brown color with a finger of khaki head. Smells very sweet, with an almost honey-like note, something kinda like char, and plenty of barrel character. The taste explodes with sweetness up front, very sugary sweet, something like honey (presumably that agave doing its thing), and less of that barrel character than I’d like. I suspect that a 750 of this would get cloying, but the 375 format just barely clears the bar. But then, I’m an odd duck, so your mileage may vary. The mouthfeel is full bodied and rich (so that part of the barrel treatment works), sugary, highly carbonated (way to go Lost Abbey!), with a bit of saccharine stickiness in the finish. Overall, this is an interesting, unique little beer. Not something that makes me want to try a lot of other tequila aged beers, but I’m glad I tried one. B

Beer Nerd Details: 13.5% ABV bottled (375 ml caged and corked). Drank out of a tulip glass on 7/19/14. Vintage 2014A.

I’m all for barrel diversification, but you know what, you should probably also just throw some Serpent’s Stout in Bourbon Barrels, because that would be killer. Yeah, Deliverance has BBA Serpent’s Stout in the blend, but I’m sure the straight up juice would be even better. Ah well, I’ll just stop pretending like I actually know better than people who do this for a living now. I’m a moron.