A Barley Wine for Every Day

This guy is on the lighter end of the spectrum. 7%. I'd swear I was getting a metallic taste, but the reader can be skeptical and chalk that up to a mental trick due to the container. Goes down easy otherwise. Nonetheless, it's awesome to see a company like Narragansett put something like this in a can (and such a good looking can at that). I'd drink more of this. Good to know the current Lovecraft beer is a bock. I'm assuming these are "brewed once" and that's too bad. They should do a Colour Out Of Space beer. Who knows what that would be?

 

At 6 years old, oxidation was present here, but not in an unpleasant papery way... more in a fruity layered way. This had much more going on than the Narragansett beer that preceded it. This beer bottle was packaged in a cardboard tube as if it were an architect's blueprint. If I took a second to realize the size of the bottle within, I would have passed on it for the price. This beer was packaged like a moth with "eyes" on its wings - designed to look bigger than it actually is.

 

Nimbus sort of came (barely) and then went in my region. I put one of these aside for keeping. Here it is 1 year later. I've had QC issues with this brewery. This is a nice beer. Chocolate up front that goes into a vinous tart realm. I couldn't say if this was more QC issue, but it's nice to have some of that character in the spectrum of barley wines this month. A few ounces of it went into my pot roast:

 

This is the first time I got it with a Narragansett, but it was like sucking a penny.

 

This beer just arrived at the store. I've had it multiple times in the past. It reminds me of an American pale ale (in regards to the hops) but with the malt brought up a couple of notches. The combination makes it an odd (and nice) beer - I haven't had another like it. The hops are really pronounced, but the result is nothing like the weight of Bigfoot

 

Tonight I was at the in-laws for Hanukkah, and I decided to bring the wheat wine. Christmas will be spent at my parents' place, but I doubt I will bring any beer for the occasion. The wheat wine went over really well with the family. They loved it. This might be a great choice of beer for bringing to a dinner.

I've only had a "wheat wine" maybe three times before. Despite this, the beer tasted as if it wasn't a stranger - it provides a familiar experience. This particular beer was over three years old. It's unlike me to hold onto something like that. There was a sweetness from the age. Sweetness is what hits first, but there's a nice balancing bitterness at the end. There's some woodiness.

It's appropriate that the label features wheat dancing, because unlike a barley wine, this beer dances in the mouth. I could have easily drank more... it's a dangerous brew. A winner.

 

Note that I commandeered a wine glass for the wheat wine above since I was out of the home. Did they think I would need a glass for silly grape wine? Let's open the wheat wine.

 

Maybe

 

I haven't had that. I disliked Mash & Grind (clashy), but thought that Sucre was fantastic (and Bois was great too). Those beers are just over my price threshold though (even though Mash isn't as bad as Sucre).

 

The "best by" date was in 2013.
I think it's a case of: more people would drink them if brewers made more of them, and/but more brewers would make them if more people drank them. Where do you go from there?

 

When I put this Pretty Things beer in the fridge, I thought it was going to be a farwell drink to one of my favorite breweries, but as it turns out, we had to put my cat to sleep today - and this beer became a farewell drink on a much deeper level. The name, "Our Finest Regards," is a fitting salute to my friend. This month of special beer was filled with much to celebrate, but an unexpected commemoration also took place.

The beer itself is a couple of years old. It's walnut stain appearance gives off a rare hint of red if you look for it. The beer is much too hot for my tastes. The alcohol also hits the head hard, but the stress of the day is a contributing factor.