Healthy Spirits 15th Anniversary Ale
FiftyFifty Brewing Co.

Wow, has it really been 5 years since this was released? Bomber into a snifter appears a chestnut brown with dark khaki head that fades leaving patchy lace.

Aroma of raison, caramel, dusty oxidation and alcohol tang.

Tastes raison, caramel, molasses, slight herbal bitterness, alcohol tang and mild dusty oxidation.

Medium in body with modest carbonation very enjoyable sipper that is starting to show its age.

 

 

Jumbo thanks to analogchainsaw for this want, as I try to consume everything FiftyFifty puts in a bottle. 22 oz. of beer split with my wife, as we warm up for ABR on the morrow. Woohoo!

The pour is the color of stained oak, plenty of carbonation (including a rather violent firework crackle on the open). Nose is interesting, heavy on the bourbon, very sweet, raw edges of roast. That doesn’t sound very interesting. It is.

Healthy Spirits is like a bourbon bath for your throat; pretty sure the brewer didn’t empty but three quarters of the barrel before tossing the beer in them. Hill Giant sized bourbon notes hide the brew pretty well, but it peeks out in the mid-palate. Toffee, an almost rum-like soaking, sharp bitterness (hops?) that would look in a G-string, boooozy with a capital B. Finish is smooth, alcohol-soaked, raw chopstick. I could drink this until I couldn’t see, happily.

Damn good. FiftyFifty is one of the elite when it comes to sticking alcoholic beverages in other containers that have held alcoholic beverages. Glad I got to try this excellent beer.

 

Pours a dark brown colour, with some colour when held up to the light. Head is light-beige, with notes of lace trails around the edge. Looks decent, not that amazing but nice.

Smells very oaky and sweet. Fairly dark with loads of dark fruit - raisins, fig and coconut character dominate with a kiss of brandy booze heat. Nicely oaked, it has a little lacking on the substance, but the oak adds good character.

Taste is dark, roasty with bitter characters around the edge, but a lot of complex dark fruits and sugars through the middle. Brandy-soaked raisins, pinot noir and unsweetened chocolate come through before oaky notes take over. Lots of coconut, vanilla, rum and raisin character with slight vinous overtones. It's big, but it holds back when it could deliver the killer blow, and that's a good thing. The oak's there to round off the flavour in intriguing and palatable ways.

Feels a little thin, for the strength. Nice wide mouthfeel from the oak, but one expects it to be thicker, even creamier, and it just feels a bit empty in the middle.

Nice, big, desserty beer. Where it maybe falls short in big syrupy power it would charmingly contrast with a similarly-themed dessert. Nonetheless, great, and deceptively easy drinking.

22oz bomber purchased from (where else) Healthy Spirits in San Francisco. Brought back to Sydney Australia, where I cracked it open with Sam.

Pours a dark, slightly murky brown colour, but surprisingly fluid in the glass for its 12% ABV. Head is a very fine and quite full crest of beige, that sits fairly firmly on top of the glass, leaving small specks and streaks of lace as it goes down. Carbonation is fine but fairly vivacious. Looks good.

Nose is solid stuff. Pleasing bourbon barrel characters give it some vanilla and wood, but there's a rather pronounced grassy tone as well that leavens it somewhat, making it seem a little bit sharper than it is. Booze is also noticeable, but it mingles with the roasted, darker characters to provide an almost coffee sharpness. It's certainly interesting at least.

Taste is pretty light on the front, with the feeling of heat that leavens it with a weird alcohol character. This mellows a lot by the back, when some smoother bourbon oak, vanilla and chocolate characters come through. Towards the finish we get a light aerated port-like character—slightly oxidised, and with the first hint of those grassy tones from the nose.

Feel is extremely light throughout—I'm not sure I've ever had a beer of this strength which quite feels as airy and fluid as this does.

Overall, this is a flavoursome beer. But I'm not sure all of the flavours work. There's plenty going on, but there's a slight lack of integration—with something slightly more coherent this would be a phenomenal beer. And really, this should be a phenomenal beer rather than just a good one.

 

Bottle pour at the pre-FWIBF bottle share held at the Adelaide Inn in Paso Robles, CA.

Pours a murky reddish-brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, brown sugar, caramel, toffee, bourbon, and wood aromas. Taste is much the same with brown sugar, toffee, and bourbon flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of wood bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty but has a slightly better barrel aged presence in the smell to me.

 

Delicious stuff. Grabbed a bottle at Healthy Spirits in San Francisco... I guess this is probably the only place you will find it.

A - Dark, dark brown - almost black. Small amount of head sitting on top - milk chocolate in color.

S - Sweet molasses, somewhat stout-y. Bourbon, dark fruit, sugar, slight coffee.

T - A little bit of a wine taste - slightly bitter, yet sweet at the same time. Reminds me a little of Deliverance by Lost Abbey with a bourbon twist. Anise, some chocolate, slightly boozy. I like the bourbon flavor coming from this. The guys at Healthy Spirits know their bourbon, and they seem to have selected some high-quality barrels for this one. It tastes a bit like one of the Elija Craig BA Ecliplse, but more... fruity... boozy...? I guess both.

M - Feels really smooth. Nice. Slightly warm in the finish from the alcohol. Almost like I'm drinking a stout and a glass of bourbon at the same time. A little syrupy in texture.

O - Really good stuff. I would say this is on par with the $30 bottle of Eclipse at $25. The blend of porter and barley wine is nicely done. The bourbon flavors are wonderful - definitely a whiskey-drinker's beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: Pours an essentially opaque black, with a fair amount of tan head. A good ring retains around the edge of the glass, along with a film over the surface, leaving pretty good lacing.

S: Very sweet and rich, with notes of bourbon, vanilla, and a hint of anise.

T: Rich complex notes of bittersweet malt, becoming dryer towards the finish. The overall blend is nice, sweet moving towards dry with a touch of bourbon.

M: Full body, medium carbonation.

Overall, very good, but I guess it's kind of average for the genre of high-end high-ABV bourbon-aged strong ales. You've probably had other similar beers, and it's good, but it doesn't break any new ground. Still recommended though.