Bottleworks Anniversary Beer

Picked up three after work today. No time to try it @ the store. Will probably open one tonight.

 

any of you that do not like gin try this yet? would be interested to get your thoughts...i dont ever drink gin and dont like gin but am interested to try this beer...not interested enough to buy it unless i think there is a chance i will actually enjoy it though

 

Try the beer, it is surprisingly good!!! The gin character is very subtle and if i tried it blind i would prob not say it was gin barrel aged.
I am not exact here but the beer is not %100 gin barrel aged...part of the beer spent less time or no time in the gin barrel but it is a mostly gin barrel aged beer. I think they said %60 of it was aged in gin barrels for a longer time

I liked it a alot

 

Have to agree, I just opened a bottle and I am impressed, Well done Ram.
EDIT: Just noticed I entered the profile under the wrong Ram (U Village, not Northgate). Update request sent. Please don't create another profile.

 

I thought it was Tacoma location or something?

 

Well there's this post, which of course is just rumor/hearsay.
The label says "Brewed by RAM Restaurant & Brewery, Seattle WA" but no indication whether it's Northgate or U Village.

 

Brewer Kevin told me this was made at their dedicated brewing facility that does not have a restaurant attached. The location escapes me, but I believe he said it was down South(Tacoma).

 

I must say, I'm quite pleased with this. The gin notes are there if you want them, but they aren't the centerpiece. Being a Baltic porter lends it a nice smoothness that is kicked into overdrive with the oak.

 

BTW, anyone pick up a bottle of $120 Deviation or $85 Bottleworks XII?

 

Nope, just a bottle of Matt.

 

How much was that cardboard-flavored bottle of Matt?

 

Was it the original XII? Or the 2nd batch?

 

I didn't ask. I presume the original, based on the price. They also had the Cascade Bottleworks XIV, I believe that one was $35 but not sure about that.

 

For the folks averse to gin, I'd say the description Bottleworks / Ram gave was fairly accurate - juniper and licorice notes. If you've ever had any herbal licorice candies, particularly unsweetened ones, that's the note I got in the finish. Chocolate and molasses up front, herbal licorice at the end. I didn't get any of the faintly sour tang I associate with a more traditional Baltic porter.

Really nice beer IMHO.

 

Really curious what they'll jack the price up to in the coming days. Or maybe they won't since a Ram beer is hardly coveted as this thread demonstrates (I don't say that as a dis obviously, as someone who defended the selection of The Ram).

 

Deviation is $120 now? Yikes.

 

Deviation was $85 in house. Bworks 16 is a complete snooze imo. I had my glass, but can't fathom ever having another. if you didn't like the sound of a gin barrel baltic porter, you're in luck though

 

Spokane's Ram property (C.I.Shenanigan's - demolished to make way for a convention center expansion) had a brewer that was really into doing a lot of unusual seasonals and one-offs, and was pretty highly regarded by other brewers and general beer geeks in the area, so I'm not surprised Northgate's Ram has a quality brewer. Having said that, the regular RAM beers were decent, but nothing to write home about. I mainly went there for the $5 Sunday growler fills, as that's the kind of price worth paying for 64 ounces of middle of the road beers.

 

Haha. The u village ram had 5$ growlers every Friday AND Saturday. I lived across the street and was more than happy to drink any of their beers for 5$. None were a wow but all were fresh, solid, "tavern" beers. Would do again

 

So I just came home from Bottleworks after trying this year's anniversary beer. I'll try and put this mildly but I think if this beer were released under another more hyped brewery's moniker the hype would be much more deafening. Pants would be liberally soiled with unmentionable fluids, and mules likely would be stuck with desperately high chiropractic bills, incurred from hauling unspeakable amounts of bottled beverages to trade for ill gotten gains.

OK, sorry, out of work wannabe writer mode off.

This beer is great. The barrel character was deftly blended to accentuate this Baltic Porter. The more I drank the more complex it was. This absolutely lives up to the long line of great beers that have been selected to celebrate Bottlework's anniversary. Bravo to the Bottleworks crew for changing it up on all of us and going with a low key (but very deserving) local brewer for this year's vintage. For the skeptics, go try it and decide!

Lastly, I have to say @dirtylou it seems as if you decided long before you even tasted it that you wouldn't like it.

But hey ... drink whatever name you like I guess.