Kane Brewing...

I read a review that said Kane intends for you too essentially keep this beer cold. That struck me as odd and sounds like it would only be kept cold to prevent infection from taking over. I bought 5 bottles on Friday anyway. Might regret that. I HOPE THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

 

In other news, I just crushed a growler of Head High with bum732. Every glass was delicious and I'll find my way back to the brewery soon!

 

Nothing beats head high. except double dry hopped head high. and hm. interesting point about ANTEAD. kind of unfortunate if it's true. will have to drink mine soon to avoid any possible problems.

 

I had A Night to End All Dawns at their tap takeover at Barcade in the fall and found it tremendous.

I have had it again out of two bottles so far. The first time was the day after we accidentally left it in a freezer overnight and obviously it did not taste right. The second time was last night and I split it with three other people. The other three thought it was really good but I didn't seem to enjoy it, but I also got the last pour out of the bottle and had a ton of yeast floating around whereas the other three didn't have anything floating in theirs. I'm thinking maybe I didn't like it because my glass was too heavy on the yeast. I guess I'll have to try this beer out again to see if it really is as good as I remember from that night at Barcade, or if I was just too drunk that night by the time I ordered A Night to End All Dawns.

 

It's only a matter of time before the Kane brewing is overrated posts start to spring up. Which they aren't

 

I'm opening a bottle on Wednesday or Thursday. Will report back.

 

I love all the "I didn't like ANTEAD, but I (was already bombed when I had it / drank a bottle from the freezer / am judging based on a glass full of dregs / had my tongue cut out in a tribal ceremony)" posts. Why???

 

I picked up a bottle of this on Saturday and drank it that night after 1 other beer (so sober), and I went into it expecting a bourbon barrel aged stout, based off of the reviews and hearing some people talk about it. I did notice the label saying it was a dark ale, but was still expecting a stout-type beer, after reading the back label and reviews.

My bottle was completely fine (no off flavors like cola and nail polish, no dregs or large amount of yeast) and like most stouts I have, I let it warm up a bit before I opened it and as I drank it.

Overall I liked the beer quite a bit, though I would not put it anywhere near other top BA stouts like BCS, Black Note, or BBPT5. I can see how some people are confused as to whether it should really be labeled a stout or not, as the nose doesn't have a ton of stout characteristics, and the body is thinner than you'd expect, but either way, it is a good beer so I didn't really care. I didn't find a ton of bourbon to it, especially in the nose, and thought it had a lot of cream/vanilla to it, and that it was very easy to drink for 13% ABV. Also like a lot of stouts, I thought it improved and I got more bourbon as it warmed up, so I wouldn't drink it too cold personally.

I think it is a very good beer, though I wouldn't buy it hoping for the next BCS, a bourbon bomb, a thick heavy stout, etc. I think it is their best non-IPA and their best bottled beer (from the ones I've had so far). I have one more bottle of it so will probably revisit it in September or so.

 

Doesn't the extended aging contribute to the thinner body? 15 months is a pretty substantial amount of time for a stout to sit in a barrel, which can cause some base beers to thin out a bit (ie - CW15 which people are killing each other over, then complaining about 'lack of body'). Most of these beers that seem to go over a year+ in the barrel tend to be thinner than other benchmark BA stouts (BCBS), with the exception of anomalies such as Rare.

That said, I still haven't tried ANTEAD yet, so I'm curious to find out for myself.

 

Am I the only one who thinks the dryness is desirable? I tend to balk at the maple syrup consistency of BCBS and the likes. Can't even bring myself to drink that stuff until it's been in the cellar for a year. The reason I'm so crazy about ANTEAD is because it's so quaffable despite its incredible complexity.

 

I think it's just personal preference. Personally, I enjoy the thick, chewy mouthfeel of a stout like BCS much more than a dryer, thinner body, like ANTEAD. While BCS ages very nicely, I love it fresh as well.

I still enjoyed it quite a bit and I'm glad I've got another bottle to try down the road.

 

I might just have to get into a bottle of ANTEAD tonight. Can't take all this waiting. Bum732 - Consider this an open invitation after your trip to Frederick. If you stop by I'll open one up.

 

I think it's a watered down mess

 

Ha just figured I would continue the trend. I will now look for a tribal ceremony that involves tongue-chopping and then try this beer again and see how it affects the flavor, thanks for the suggestion.

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the beer should be kept cold. The other bottle I have was purchased a few weeks ago and I have had it sitting in a kitchen cabinet since then. I can't imagine the beer has been changed just because it wasn't kept constantly cold, but does anyone else have an opinion/experience with this?

 

A week at NJ ambient temps shouldn't cause any detectable changes, in theory...

 

The brewery said to keep it cold. Im unsure as to why 55 wouldnt be ok for this beer. Seems to me that keeping it cold slows down the aging on it, so maybe they feel it is aged enough and is going to start declining? I have no idea.

 

I opened up a bottle this evening with brees6221 and we both enjoyed the beer. No signs of infection so far as we could tell. I have two more bottles and that's plenty. I enjoyed it but didn't love it. I'd rate it about a 3.75 if I were to 'had' it. Already wanting more of that mosaic overhead...

 

I plan on stopped by Kane on Saturday for some growlers and hopefully a bottle or two of ANTEAD. Does Kane do only fill 64 oz growlers or can I bring some 750ml swingtops? Also, they do not need to be Kane's own growlers right?

 

Doesn't matter what's printed on them, but they do have to be 64oz.

 

I was told only 64 oz growlers - they wouldn't do my 750 ml swingtop. But they filled non-Kane growlers for me.