The Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head breweries really helped me pave my way into craft beer with readily available, relatively cheap, and undeniably tasty beers that even a complete beer n00b could appreciate. When I read about the two breweries revisiting a collaboration that occurred before I really knew anything about craft beer called Life and Limb, I was quite excited. Dogfish Head describes the beer on their website:

Life & Limb is a 10% ABV strong, dark beer that defies style characteristics – brewed with pure maple syrup from the Calagione family farm in Massachusetts and estate barley grown on the Grossman “farm” at the brewery in Chico, CA. The beer is alive with yeast-a blend of both breweries’ house strains-bottle conditioned for added complexity and shelf life, and naturally carbonated with birch syrup fresh from Alaska.

Life & Limb is dedicated to the family of beer drinkers and enthusiasts worldwide who continue to support the little guys, iconoclasts, entrepreneurs, and pioneers who risk life and limb to shape the vibrant craft-brewing community.

The first batch was brewed in 2009, batch 2 in 2011. A friend of mine held on to her Batch 1, and decided to open it up once Batch 2 finally hit the shelves so that we could compare. Here are the results:

First off, Batch 1 is a capped 22oz bottle, Batch 2 is a corked and caged 750ml bottle. A brown pour escapes the bottles, and leaves a small white head. Hazy, but some light makes its way through. Batch 1 is a bit darker and muddier than Batch 2. The aroma of Batch 1 has a lot more raisins than Batch 2. Although, I believe that of Batch 2 is a bit more balanced. Booze, malts, and raisins predominately. The nose of 2 is the only factor that is better than the 1. The taste of 1 is FAR more balanced than 2. 2 has a ton of booze. The mix with malts and raisins just doesn’t seem to work as well for Batch 2. Batch 1 is a much superior taste. The years have allowed the beer to mellow and become balanced and delicious. The 2011 version just seems to be not meant to be opened fresh. Medium body, Batch 1 has a good amount of carbonation, Batch 2 is a bit higher. Alcohol is certainly noted. Overall, Batch 1 was delicious and Batch 2 just doesn’t do it for me. Definitely needs some age on it. Hope they do a Batch 3!

Overall I gave it a 4.33 / 5 A

Bottle 57/1188. From 2009

A: Pours like an under carbonated old ale, absolutely no head. Nothing, no pop of the bottle, no head at all. 2

S: The smell is nice. Whiskey, booze, malts, molasses, really deep and balanced. 4

T: Wow this is not great. Tastes like a watered down whiskey. A malt character, but the barleywine base is gone. Disappointing. 2

MF: Flat, stale, boozy, bad 1

O: Huge disappointment. Wish I could have had this a bit younger, hope my BA yeti doesn’t do this. 2

2.3 / 5 D+

Name: Breakfast Stout

Brewer: Founders

Style: American Double/Imperial Stout

Original Tasting: October 22, 2010

Darkness, brown head that doesn’t stick around for a long time, but laces nicely as I drink.  Really smells like I’m about to drink some coffee with a little chocolate in it. Earthy tones as well.  I was ready to hate the taste. I really was. But wow, I get the hype. Smooth chocolate starts it off, like a melted candy bar. Then it takes a backseat to the coffee, which isn’t too dry or too much like coffee, its just an enjoyable flavor. Then it all subsides to a wonderful aftertaste.  Full bodied and heavy. Creamy, but smooth.

Score: 4.58 A+ (rDev +3.3%)

Cellared On: February 27, 2011

1 Year Tasting: September 13, 2011 (Bottle dated 9/10/10)

The appearance is pretty much the same. Deep, dark brown pour with a light brown head. Not a great retention, but the lacing is great. The coffee aroma, as expected, has really stepped back. This has become a chocolate bomb with hints of vanilla and molasses. Gotta say the taste has stepped back already on this guy. I remember fresh FBS being absolutely top notch, this taste is ordinary. Chocolate, molasses, a bit watery. Reminds me a lot of their Imperial Stout, but not quite as good. The defining characteristics that made this a great beer have gone. Not quite as full bodied, certainly still creamy. Carbonation is still fine but the finish is not as dry. Drinkability is fine, but overall this aged version is but a small glimmer of its former phenomenal self, but I do still like it.

Score: 3.55 B (rDev -24.8%)

Next Tasting: September, 2012

Stone Brewing Company is one of the premier United States breweries, and is well recognized across the globe. It was founded in 1996 by the now quite famous Greg Koch and Steve Wagner in San Marcos, CA. They sold a keg of Stone Pale Ale on July 26, 1996 and never looked back. After moving to Escondido, CA in December of 2005, Stone saw Port Brewing Company/The Lost Abbey move into their old facility. Opened in November of 2006, the Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens is a MUST SEE for any craft beer enthusiast, and is consider the top beer location in the United States.

One of their more recent releases, the Imperial Russian Stout (IRS) is the beer of focus for this week. I was lucky enough to come across a 2010 version of it a few months before the 2011 was released. So I placed it in the cellar and waited. I’m glad I did! I always enjoy trying a beer to its aged self, to see if future aging would prove fruitful. Also, the Stone webstore had IRS glasses for sale, figuring it would make for a good picture, I ordered two and enjoyed the beer it was made to be enjoyed. Let’s see how the IRS held up.

They look exactly the same. Light-er brown pours with a big light brown head. Retention is great and the lacing down the side of my Stone IRS glasses is very nice. A ton of malts on the aroma for both versions, but the 2010 has a stronger malt nutiness. The 2011 is full of chocolate instead. A very light hoppiness coming through on both. The 2011 has a bit more of a balanced smell. Although neither are mind boggling. The taste of the 2011 is much more robust than the 2010, which seems to have thinned out a bit. Tons of chocolate, subtle maltiness, some roasty flavors and a dry finish. Full and heavy body. Like I said before the 2010 is a bit more thin. They are both carbonated very well. I sadly thought this was going to be better. The 2011 is clearly the better of the two, but neither are over the top delicious. They are both solid, and I would recommend them to anyone, but top notch? No.

Living near a major city like Washington DC, I have unique opportunities like the one that occurred this week. Cantillon’s Zwanze Day. The description from the website is quite lengthy, but certainly worth a read:

Since lambic is a type of beer produced through spontaneous fermentation, its characteristics will by definition vary from one batch to another. On top of this, the types of barrels, fruits and hops used during production can sometimes cause the beer to mature in new and unexpected ways.
For this reason, I have for several years been experimenting with my lambics and trying out new kinds of blends, barrel woods and fruits.

Some of these beers, such as Blabaer, Goldackerl or Don Quichotte, are intended for sale outside Belgium while others are produced exclusively for consumption at the brewery.

It’s interesting to note that even for brewers the inner workings of lambic continue to have a mysterious side to them, with on occasion surprising results. The kind of experimentation I do is important to me because it allows me to learn more about my beer and look at it from different angles. Following on from this, to make a distinction between these experimental beers and Cantillon Brewery’s other products, in 2008 I made the decision to call this beer Zwanze.

Taken from the Dutch dialect spoken in Brussels, the word «zwanze» describes the typical humour of the city’s inhabitants, which is characterised by a finely-balanced mix of self-deprecation and exaggeration. I quite like the idea of my lambic «Made in Brussels» having the same jovial and slightly derisive spirit as the people of Belgium’s Capital City, and of it also taking a light-hearted look at these blends, which I admit can seem a bit strange at times.

In 2008, I blended 20-month-old lambic with rhubarb and was happy to see that the beer’s acidic taste struck a very nice balance with the plant’s tartness. The following year, we decided to cold-soak elderberry flowers and the resulting product was so different from other lambic-based beers that we decided to start producing it under the name Mamouche.

The 2010 vintage of Zwanze was a white beer developed together with Yvan Debaets. It was a top-fermented product but, because of the specific bacteriological environment of a lambic brewery, the beer was certainly naturally inoculated and as such it was in fact a mixed fermentation beer.

In keeping with our approach to brewing and selling beer, as well as out of respect for the product and the attitude implied with the name Zwanze, we don’t want these vintages to become marketing tools designed exclusively to make a few bucks. A case in point: Zwanze 2010 was bottled with numbered stickers, and after one bottle had been sold at the brewery for 6 euros another one ended up on eBay less than a week later with a price tag of 80 euros. Because of my dedication to my work as a brewer and out of respect for the product itself, it is very important to me for prices to stay reasonable. Unfortunately, there are those out there who couldn’t care less about spontaneous fermentation beer but who do care a lot about making easy money. For this reason, it has been decided that not a single bottle of Zwanze 2011 will be sold by Cantillon Brewery.

The story behind Zwanze 2011 is one of friendship between a brewer of organic lambic and an «organic» winegrower, Olivier Lemasson. In a lot of ways, working with lambic is similar to winemaking, and so we in fact have much in common with viticulturists who use a biodynamic approach to agriculture. Although our products are different, we speak the same language: that of devotion to our respective trades, natural methods and harmony with nature. Olivier Lemasson, who produces Vins Contés, is an organic viticulturist in the French region of Val de Loire who works with what are often long-forgotten local grape varieties.

In 2010 we tried something new by blending lambic with Pineau d’Aunis. The result was quite surprising and wine-like with specific accents of fruit, pepper and other spices, both as regards smell and taste. With Olivier’s approval, and despite a substandard harvest due to poor weather conditions, we recreated the same beer for Zwanze 2011. I subjected it to some very limited cold hopping using Bramling Cross hops, which yields a slightly bitter fruitiness. My friend Rob Todd of the Allagash Brewing Company calls it the «kiss of the hops», and I’ve decided to use this fantastic expression. The balance struck between the lambic, the grapes and the delicate bitter fruitiness is surprising yet very pleasant.

As a side note, in 2010 I had called the first experimental batch Pinot d’Aunis Lambic while making use of the term Pinot in the sense of the Pinot gris, noir or blanc grape varieties. Despite the fact that this incorrect use of the name stayed on the brewery’s blackboard for several months for everyone to see, nobody ever made a comment to the effect that the right term was actually Pineau. Ultimately, I only discovered that I had made a mistake while looking for information on the wines produced by another renowned biodynamic winegrower named René Mosse. But on the other hand, since we are talking about Zwanze, so in other words a good joke, I think I’ll stick with the name Pinot d’Aunis and hope that the purists will find it in their hearts to forgive me.

So to recap, there will not be any bottles of Zwanze put on sale so as to avoid any overpricing. On top of this, contrary to what was done with the Zwanze in previous years (with 80% of the production going into bottles), 2/3 of the Zwanze production for 2011 has been put into barrels. The goal here is to try to make certain that Cantillon enthusiasts everywhere will have a chance to taste the beer while short-circuiting those whose just want to make a fast buck.

In order to create an ephemeral event for this ephemeral beer, I decided to have all these barrels opened and enjoyed on the same day, when possible at the same time, by our friends throughout the world in places like Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the United States, Japan, Canada, France and Belgium.

Churchkey in DC was one of only 20 bars in the world to get a keg, and it was to be tapped at 3pm. Alongside 2011, they had bottles of 2010, and Cantillon Iris all for sale. I enjoyed a couple ounces of each!

Zwanze 2010

Hazy yellow pour with a small white head. Very little head remains. Acidic smell full of barnyard funk. I liken it to a sour saison with cherries underneath. The acidity and funk start the taste off, followed subtly by the cherries. The cherries finish it off cleanly, nice and tart. Light, acidic, a tad under carbonated. Dry throughout, especially on the finish. Very funky, the cherries were only noted in the background. The funky saison really took over. I really enjoyed it overall, but wanted the fruit flavor to be a bit more forward.

Zwanze 2011

Clear red/pink pour with no head. The smell is far more fruity than the 2010. Grapes, cherries, hints of funk underneath and much less acidic than 2010 overall. Very fruity taste for a Lambic. Grapes and cherries really take this beer over, it is a very interesting taste. Very dry, under carbonated, light and drinkable. This was a lot better than the 2010. The taste is more full, great balance. Solid.

Iris

Very hazy yellow pour with a nicely sized white head. A nice cap of which remains atop the beer as I drink. The smell is very balanced. Acidic, funky, some cherries. None seem to overpower the others. Seems to be a bigger taste than the Zwanze’s. Like the smell, it is balanced, both the funk and the fruit play together nicely. Light to medium body, carbonated well. Not very dry overall. While the flavors are bigger, I still preferred the Zwanze’s. This was a very well balanced and a very good beer.

This has been an interesting week in the nation’s capital (earthquake, aftershocks, hurricane). A group of friends and I decided to enjoy the weather with a few great brews. Here are the pictures and what reviews I did!

Founders Blushing Monk (My Favorite)

This beer pours crazily red with a beautiful pink head. It basically smells like raspberries. Everyone at this tasting compares this to wine, grape soda, or raspberry jam. The taste is so fruity. The most raspberries I have ever tasted in a beer. No alcohol, nothing else, only raspberries. And man do they taste good. Really surprised me. Medium body, tinge of carbonation, warming alcohol feeling. Crisp and clean finish. Phenomenal beer. I can see why this is only a limited release though, they had to use every raspberry in the midwest!

Cigar City Jai Alai Cedar Aged IPA – Humidor Series

Yellow-brown clear pour with a wispy white head. Very bubbly. Malts, cedar, oak all prominent on the smell. Hoppiness in the background. Doesn’t specifically smell like an IPA. The taste of the malts blend nicely with the cedar and oak flavors. The hops are there, and add a bit of fruit, but the hit of hops is small. Light body, carbonation is low. Alcohol is not noted at all. This was a big strange. Not bad, certainly an interesting taste. Don’t think I’d have it again.

Bruery Saison de Lente

Clear yellow pour, noticeable sediment. Head explodes out of the beer, as do bubbles from the bottom of the glass. The smell is very faint. Spicy, hints of brett. The taste follows the smell, sort of faint. Spicy, light fruits to starts, followed by Brett. Dry finish. Light, bubbly, well carbonated. Great drinking beer. This was forgettable. But needed in amongst a couple big beers.

Sly Fox Christmas Ale 2009

This beer exploded out of the bottles. Head foaming out all over the counter. Clearer brown pour, hints of red and a big white head. The winter warmer spices have remained and seems to have mellowed nicely. Cinnamon and booze are most noted. A bit medicinal.  I was worried this had turned for the worse, but I don’t think it has now that I try it. Cinnamon, booze, caramel malts. Not as over the top as most winter warmers I’ve had, much more mellow and developed.  The carbonation is honestly a bit high, which surprised me. The alcohol is surprisingly noticed for it only being 6.5%. Not terribly drinkable. I’m glad I got to try this. It was very interesting, on to the 2010 version next!

Sly Fox Christmas Ale 2010

This beer flowed out of the bottle much like 2009 did, but not as intense. Bubbly off white head, nice lacing, brown pour. The smell is much more strong than the 2009. Winter Warmer spices, caramel malts, and hints of booze. The taste, while not as developed as the 2009, is better. The spices start the beer off, followed by a maltiness before the taste just falls off. Light, carbonated much better than the 2009. Less boozy. Better in every faucet compared to the 2009. Don’t think I’d get a 2011 version though.

Ommegang Adoration

Brown pour, relatively see through. White head, not a lot of lacing. Smells of spice, cinnamon, coriander, caramel malts. A bit too strong. Light, typical winter warmer tasting notes. I really don’t like how this whole style essentially tastes the same. I don’t really like it, so read these reviews with that in your mind. Spicy, hot on the backend. Light, carbonated well. A bit tart. Just another beer to remind me to not buy beers in this style anymore. It was good, and I can see why other people would like them, but I just don’t.

Breury Trade Winds Tripel

Ithaca TWELVE

Deep brownish red pour with an off white head. Hardly any retention or lacing. Dark fruits, plums, grapes on the smell. Tons of candied sugar and perhaps some grain, all built on a backbone of booze. The taste starts with the dark fruits and involves into candied sugar and booze. Leaves a strange taste on the back of the mouth. The beer coats the mouth, is medium bodied, and full of alcohol. Not all that balanced.  Only average. Considering I just got to try a bunch of De Struise quads, this falls short.

Blue Moon Grand Cru (Overall Worst)

Infected. Awful. Mess.

Otto’s Jolly Roger Imperial Stout (Best Surprise)

Pitch black pour with a very nicely sized brown head. Hardly any lacing, retention is good. Full of coffee smells, molasses, roasted malts. Really good smell, deep and balanced. The taste is sweet. Molasses, light roasted malts then a big hit of coffee. Cocoa throughout the taste, with a slight smokey hint. Nicely balanced, no singular big flavor. Heavy body, carbonated well. Dry finish, hardly any hint of the booze. Love this beer. Otto’s is a solid brewery, and this is a solid beer. Can’t wait to see how this ages, maybe they’ll drop some into bourbon barrels?

Hoppin’ Frog Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S. (Overall Favorite)

This was viewed as the overall best beer, I didn’t think so, and don’t rate it as high as it probably should be because I think it’s going to improve greatly with some age on it. The alcohol and bourbon are just too hot fresh. Pitch black pour with a really dark brown head. I only wish the head stuck around longer. A very thin ring remains after a few minutes. A pretty sweet smell overall. Bourbon and whiskey mixed in with chocolate. Smells like a heavy beer for sure. Perhaps some vanilla and definitely some alcohol underneath. My very first reaction from the taste is: Wow this is hot right now, needs some time. The chocolate comes out first and is obliterated by huge hits of bourbon, oak, vanilla, and a ton of booze. The finish is dark chocolate mixed with booze that last well into the next sip. Heavy body and a nice amount of carbonation. The drinkability, however, isn’t terribly high. Sweet and hot, not a great combination. Disappointed here. Would love to have one with a year or so on it, have to head back to the store!

Bruery Cuir

Light brown pour without much head. Bourbon, malts, raisins, sugar, and dark fruits all mix together on the smell. Leather, tobacco, dark malts, bourbon. Really interesting taste. I HATED Papier, this is better. A little more balanced. Still not anything great though. Medium heavy body. Nice amount of carbonation. Lots of booze. Good beer. 14.5% is not noticed on that level, but it is noticed. Wouldn’t pay the money again for this beer.

“The Aftermath”

DC Beer Week 2011 (#DCBW11) was a week filled with phenomenal events, beer, and people. I am just going to post the list, along with reviews of pics, of all the great beers I enjoyed this week. To single out one would be unfair to the others!

1. Dogfish Head
1. 120 Minute
1. Hazy yellow pour with about a finger of white head. Lot of bubbles rising to the top. Grass. This basically smells like grass. Perhaps some malts in the background, some booze certainly. I don’t get slammed by hops like I was expecting. Amazingly a couple of my friends who don’t drink craft beer (past a 60 or 90 minute here and there) really like the taste. It gets some bonus points there. A huge hit of hops to start, but it fades quickly to malts and a big hit of booze. Very sweet. Tons of grapefruit. Most grapefruit I have ever tasted in a beer. Bit of a burn of alcohol at the end. Sips like a nice Bourbon honestly. Nicely carbonated, light in body. I thought this was great. Really glad I got to try it. Can’t wait to see how it ages.
2. Word Wide Stout
1.  Dark pour with a small mocha head. Decent retention and lacing. Smell is heavy on the malts, chocolate, a slight booziness, and barley. Also I’m getting some dark fruits and molasses. Really interesting smell. Taste is of barley, roasted malts, and warming alcohol. Chocolate/Coffee flavor finishes it up to balance the intensity up front. The alcohol is a little too dominant for me. Lots of heavy flavors in this one. I don’t think that more than a glass or so should be consumed at once. Lots going on here, take it slow and enjoy them!
3. Heaven and Hell Black and Tan
1. Black pour, a little lighter than WWS. Hardly any head remains. Boozy smell. Seems like the majority of the smell is 120, even though I thought it had more WWS in it. Grassy hops, some malts, and a ton of booze. The taste really follows everything else I’m seeing. While WWS makes its presence known, 120 Minute really shines through. Getting similar hops, grapefruit, and booze profile as 120, with the heaviness and slight maltiness from the WWS. Heavier than 120, nicely carbonated. Thought this was great. Better than WWS, not on the level of 120.
2. Great Lakes @ Churchkey DC
1. De Molen Hel and Verdoemenis
1. Motor oil thick pour without any head or lacing. Deep chocolate smell, roasted malts and some booze. A ton of chocolate on the taste as well. Creamy, rich chocolate. Mix that in with roasted malts, some coffee, and a hint of booze and you get a great taste. Really heavy body. Thick and creamy. Low carbonation. Great beer. Been waiting to try this for a while and it did not
   disappoint.
2. Mikkeller Barrel Aged Black Hole: White Wine
1. This was a mess, did not taste good.
3. Wild Dog Barrel Aged Gonzo Imperial Porter
1. Balked at buying a bottle of this, man was it good though. Well balanced, full body.
4. Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Cask Dry Hopped w/ Cascade Hops
5. Harpoon Summer Beer
6. Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA Cask Dry Hopped w/ Bravo Hops
3. De Struise Brouwers
1. Black Damnation
1. 2010 Vintage I believe: 50% Black Albert and 50% H&V. I just had H&V on tap at Churchkey DC today, continuing that trend with this! I’ve had Black Albert, which was infected, but Batch 0 was really good. Thick brown pour with a huge brown head. The thick, billowing, head leaves a ton of lacing and a nice cap on top of the brew. Beautiful smell. Chocolate, a lot of coffee and roastiness, oak, tobacco, hints of alcohol. Sweet, roasted, balanced, phenomenal. The taste begins with oak and char, then the coffee takes over in a big way. Wow the coffee has a great flavor. Chocolate and some dark fruits lead the beer into a dry finish, with coffee lingering around for a while. Only hints of alcohol are noted, which is amazing considering the ABV. The flavor is balanced phenomenally. Really this blend brings out the best in both beers blended to create it. Thick, heavy, creamy, a bit low on carbonation. Just a great beer, I wish I could have more of it!
2. Struise Rosse
1. Lot B, Best before September, 2011. Noticeable sediment at the bottom of the glass. Wonder how old this is? Hazy golden brown pour with a huge white head. Bubbly and thick, the head sticks around for a while and laces down my De Struise goblet nicely. Belgian yeast and candied sugar on the smell for sure, which surprised me being it’s listed as an American Amber/Red Ale (a style I typically avoid). Caramel maltiness sits in the background. Wow the amber ale taste is there certainly. Dry hops and some musty Belgian-ness are present as well. Candied sugar and some dark fruits are around as well in the background. Light and carbonated well. Very dry with a bit of booziness. I thought this was really good. My friends brought it back from Amsterdam for me, not sure if I’d have him pick it up again though.
3. Elliot Brew
1. Lot A 4 15. Deep golden brown pour with a billowing off-white head, beautiful lacing. Bubbly, creamy, impressive. I can tell I poured a bit of sediment into the glass, rookie mistake. Sweet fruity hops, booze, malty backbone, candi sugar all come to mind when I catch a whiff. Wow it smells so sweet, certainly doesn’t smell like a hop bomb. I believe this is relatively old, so I expected the hops to have faded a bit. Still, this tastes a bit strange. A ton of booze, malts, piney hops hit you in a big way in the middle and carry throughout the finish. Grapefruits all over the place. Not greatly balanced, but it also isn’t terribly so. A bit watery, medium carbonation, alcohol is definitely noted. Underwhelming, forgettable. Wish I had it fresh!
4. Sint Amatus 12
1. Lot B 09 15. Vintage: 2010. Reddish brown pour with an impressive light brown head. Very thick, the head laces in chunks down the sides of my De Struise Goblet. The smell on this is extremely interesting. Booze, Belgian Yeast, Candi Sugar, Plums, Dark Fruits, Brown Sugar. Definitely complex. You get the dry taste up front I’ve come to expect from quads. Brown Sugar, Molasses. Followed by Booze and Dark Fruits. Raisins and Plums to me. The fruits stick around on the backend and blend nicely with lingering booze to finish the beer off well. Warming alcohol feeling as you drink. Medium bodied, nicely carbonated. I was excited to get this beer, excited when I first poured/smelled it, and the taste came through. Very happy with this offering. Solid all around.
4. Schneider Aventinus 2003 @ Pizza Paradiso
1. I got the rare opportunity at Pizza Paradiso in DuPont Circle, DC to try Schenider Aventinus aged from 2003. This was one of the first beers to get me into craft beer, long before I joined this website! I was very excited to try this. $15 for 500ml, wrapped much like a present! Deep brown pour with an initial big white head. It recedes quickly to basically nothing after taking a few pictures. Boozy, dark fruits, lots of grapes on the smell. Hints of the original remain. The taste has certainly changed. But it matches the smell pretty well. Dry, boozy, grapes, remnants of candied sugar, very sweet taste, as it is fresh. Extremely mellowed. Not a lot of cloves or bananas are left. Light, low carbonation. Warming boozy feeling as the drink fades from the palate. Really interesting to see how it held up over 8 years. I’d say pretty well!
5. Great Lakes @ Meridian Pint
1. I went to this event basically solely for the Barrel-Aged Blackout Stout, which they didn’t end up getting in time, while I understand these sorts of things happen…I wish I had seen some heads up before I had already sat down at the bar.
1. Commodore Perry IPA
1. Bubbly white pour with a nice white head. Fruity hops, very sweet smell. Lots of citrus, perhaps some pine. Wow this is a fruity tasting beer. Hops dry out the backend a bit. A light maltiness. Not a lot of balance, just all citrus/grapefruit. Nicely carbonated, light body, alcohol hardly noted. Went down great on a nice hot day.
6. Shmaltz Rare and Obscure @ Churchkey DC
1. Heavy Seas Buffalo Trace Bourbon Barrel Siren Noire Cask
1. Black pour with a wispy bubbly white head. Not a lot of retention or lacing. Very light, the bourbon is certainly notable. Problem is that’s all I get. No roastiness or stout characteristics. Perhaps some vanilla. Follows the smell. Vanilla, bourbon, water. Not a lot going on. Medium bodied, low carbonation. Disappointed. Just not enough taste.
2. Shmaltz Reunion ’11: A Beer For Hope
1. Foamy light brown head with a lot of lacing. Retention on my friend’s glass is a lot better than mine. Malty. Chocolate. Really doesn’t smell like it has been aged in everything it says it has been aged in. The malts from the smell come first, followed by the coco nibs and at the very backend the chile peppers. Heavy body. Medium to low carbonation. Very dry overall. Pretty good. Not great but good.
3. Vertical Jewbelation (Sazerac Rye Barrels)
1. Black pour with a small white head and nice lacing. The smell starts with a blast of whiskey and mellows with chocolate and roasted malts. The taste begins with chocolate and improves to the whiskey. Man the taste is strong. Malts, molasses, hints of alcohol, chocolate, whiskey. All nicely balanced. Perhaps some coffee on the backend. Heavy, low on carbonation and a twinge of alcohol. Impressed. Really liked how the whiskey pulled it all together.
4. Barrel-Aged Messiah (Sazerac Rye Barrels)
5. Barrel-Aged Origin (Sazerac Rye Barrels)
1. Light brown pour, sort of see through, without head. Sweet smell filled with fruits, mostly pomegranate. Wow, the taste has a big hit of alcohol. Fruits , whiskey. Strong. Nicely carbonated. medium bodied, boozy. This was way too strong. Expected more balanced taste.

I really can’t introduce this beer better than the Firestone Walker Press Release announcing it. You’ll remember me talking about the brewery when I reviewed Parabola in Week 24. Both beers came in boxes, quite fancy, and involved an intense aging process. This beer is a blend, consisting of 31% Double Double Barrel Ale, 29% Sticky Monkey, 27% Parabola, 7% Velvet Merkin, 3% Good Foot, 3% Black Xantus.

Since founding our brewery in 1996, we have specialized in the rare art of brewing beer in oak barrels. In the fall of 2006, we released a limited edition oak-aged strong ale called 10 to commemorate our 10th anniversary. The experience was greater than any of us could have ever imagined. We now present 14, our fifth release in what has become an autumnal rite at our brewery.

Our 14th Year!
This beer is a celebration of another amazing brewing year! The FW family continues to grow along with the depth of our offerings. Our excellent team broke all of the records again this year making not only the largest volume but the largest varieties of beers the brewery has ever made. 2010 goes down as the year Parabola and Velvet (Merkin) Merlin were bottled as single components, Solace was born as our summer seasonal, Bavarian Hefe yeast thrived in the cellar and Double Jack was brewed for distribution outside of California! We also celebrated our 3rd World Beer Cup Championship in 2010 —winning the most awards of any brewery in the world’s largest international competition. Later in the year we stormed Denver and took home 6 medals at the 2010 GABF including the Gold for Pale Ale, Gold for Barrel aged beers (the Velvet Merkin included in this blend) and Gold for American Amber Ales. Most recently, our brewery took a gold medal in Germany at the prestigious European Beer Star awards … We are blessed with an amazing team and excellent fortune —I am truly the proudest brewmaster in the land!

The Winemakers
We were once again honored to draw in five of the best winemakers from the Paso Robles region. The blend was created in a single evening session followed by a few subsequent winemaker visits during the actual barrel blending days. Matt Trevisan (www.linnecalodo.com) helped us again this year and continues to be one of my favorite Paso wine makers. His creativity and out of the box thinking never ceases to amaze me (along with his ping pong skills). Kevin Sass (www.justinwine.com) made his first appearance on the blending team this year. Kevin has been a great friend to the brewery providing some excellent wine barrels to our program including barrels for the Lil’ Opal project. Brock Waterman (www.Brochelle.com) is a brewer turned winemaker living on the Central Coast. Brock’s wines are bold and well executed. My very good friend Steve Martell (www.kaleidoswine.com) joined us for the fifth straight year and once again proved that he has a keen nose for both wine and suds. Eric Jensen (www.bookerwines.com) who developed the amazing Booker vineyard and winery on Paso’s west side was a vocal part of the blending this year and his blend pushed us to the final cut. Along with the wine makers, Tom Griffin who provides many of our barrels, BA Army General Justin Crossley (www.thebrewingnetwork.com) and Arie Litman sat in on the winemaker session. For the first time our owners, Adam and David, sat the session and watched the magic unfold. Special thanks go out to Jim Crooks and George Numair, for organizing the sessions and keeping the notes. This was our most organized and well executed blending session to date.

The Finished Piece
As a finished beer, 14 is brimming with amazing flavors and textures. DDBA leads the blend lending American toasted oak, English caramel toffee and light leather nuances. Newcomer, Sticky Monkey, folds in the taste of brown sugar, molasses, cinnamon, ginger and ripe figs. Parabola brings the familiar flavors of bitter dark chocolate and cherry pit. Velvet Merkin carries silky bourbon soaked chocolate cake goodness to the party while a touch of Black Xantus teases coffee and tobacco. Last, but not least, Good Foot brings the hops… hints of citrus zest and tangerine, which adds a pop to the aroma and nice finish to this big, sexy brew. 14 is best enjoyed in a half filled brandy snifter or wine glass. Allow it to warm to 55F to fully enjoy the pleasing and complex aromas. If left in a cool dark place, I suspect this beer will age well. It was an absolute pleasure making it and I truly hope you enjoy our fifth oak–aged blend! The journey continues.

This beer was released 9 months ago, and most of the beers blended spent plenty of time in barrels before hand. Truly a long time in the making! Brown pour, not particularly thick coming out of the bottle, but boy does it look so in the glass. A small white head grows up after a hard pour. Not a lot of lacing. Damn this beer smells good. Lots of Bourbon Stout notes coming up, but it’s all based on what seems like a nice amount of hops. Truly one of the most complex smelling beers I’ve come across. Chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak, hops, a sweetness I can’t quite place, some alcohol. Smelling this beer really sets the bar high, hope the taste holds up! Oh it does. My word it does. As complex as the smell is, this has to rival it. It starts off light, a hit of malts, some chocolate, hops, followed by a growing sensation of Bourbon Barrel Stout. It’s like Parabola, but better if you can imagine that. Once the Bourbon flavors start I get vanilla, wood, bigger chocolate taste, a hint of booze, and the bourbon. The very back end, showing up a while after the beer has left the palate, is dry, almost like some coffee is sticking around just long enough to say hello. All mellowed and blending perfectly. This is what I dream certain beers will taste like with a few years on them. Heavy body, a little bit of creaminess, but not thick like a melted bar of chocolate. Carbonation is fine, not a lot, but not too little. A bit of a dry finish, the booze isn’t offensive at all. Honestly one of the best beers I have ever had. I can’t believe this qualifies as an American Strong Ale. Hell I’d give this almost straight 5s as an Imperial Stout.

Welcome to my blog, thanks for stopping by. The focus of this is to document my adventures in the world of craft beer. You can find me on BeerAdvocate as well. The blog as a whole can be found by scrolling down below this sticky post

For 2011, I decided to try my hand at 52 Beers in 52 Weeks. I do a post on a special beer I try each week, take a picture and review it. It can be found here: 52 Beers in 52 Weeks

I am also randomly doing posts as I pull beers out of the cellar, or get to try certain beers that have been aged. Those posts are compiled here: Cellar

Anything else that pops into my head I will post here: Other

I am putting together ideas of posts to do in 2012, I might do something like a different style for every month, or just keep the 52 Beers in 52 Days thing going, and suggestions are appreciated. You can reach me on twitter (@russwbeck) or at russwbeck (at) gmail.com. Thanks again!

I had a real treat up for week 23 straight from a friend’s cellar: Deschutes Black Butte XXI. Released in June of 2009 for the 21st Anniversary of Deschutes Brewery, it pays homage to their Black Butte Porter that has been a staple of the brewery since 1988 (the year I was born!) The brewery itself is located in Bend, Oregon and is named for the river it overlooks (Deschutes River). This is a porter on steroids. Coined an Imperial Porter it boasts 11% ABV and was bolstered by a number of brewing techniques. The evil geniuses of Deschutes added Theo’s Chocolate cocoa nibs from Seattle, dry-hopped it with 100 pounds of Bellatazza’s locally roasted coffee, and then aged roughly 20% of it in Stranahan’s Colorado whiskey barrels. After almost exactly 2 years in the bottle, I would expect the beer to have mellowed a bit, the flavors becoming more blended. I’m sure the beer was phenomenal fresh, but I didn’t have that luxury!

Now for the review. The bottle states that the beer is only best after 10/17/10, seeing that it is 2011, I think I’m safe! It starts off with a dark pour and a light brown head. The dark brown head I’m accustomed to seeing with big dark Bourbon/Chocolate/Coffee beers is not present and is missed and the retention and lacing are lacking a little. This I assume is one of the lone side effects to aging this beer, I’ve seen pictures of it poured fresh and the head is deep, dark, and full. Moving to the smell, we certainly do not have a Bourbon bomb here. With that said, the smell isn’t very impressive. Faint chocolate and Bourbon mostly, but sort of musty almost. It does, however, improve as it warms. The Bourbon and chocolate really come out a lot more and bring out that strong aroma I was hoping for. The taste is where the beer shines. Wow, just wow. Extremely complex and well balanced. Lots of flavors going on, but they have mellowed a bit. The taste starts with chocolate, very light to begin with. The Bourbon comes up next, not dominating, just popping up to say hello. At this point the beer is sweet, but not quite Dark Lord sweet (thank God). Roasted malts and a slight booziness (and I mean slight, it’s only slightly noticeable) end the beer. Far after the beer has been consumed, the coffee and roastiness come back in a big way. It could not be any more on the backend, but is welcomed immensely. As was noted by my drinking partner, the complexity evolves and strengthens as the beer warms. It seems to coat the tongue in a way that negates the booziness that was previously noted. Medium bodied, not thick or creamy. What I keep reminding myself is that it’s a porter not an imperial stout. The carbonation might be a tad low, but it certainly isn’t off-putting. Overall it was really a wonderful treat. This beer is aging very well. I wish I could have had it fresh to compare, but I can’t imagine it being any better.