Kuhnhenn Winter Solstice 2016

Solstice has never been anything by jammed. Has to be a combination of the weather and people not being aware of the location switch.

 

The warren tap room is pretty slow too.

The 2007 stout isn't bad.

The American Barleywine is way too sweet.

DRIPA is a hot mess.

 

Such a weird question but are they doing growlers of All Hallows? Long time want and I feel like it hasn't been on in a long time.

Edit. Guessing not since it was in the tent.

 

Am I crazy or were the bottles supposed to be new batches?

The bbbw is 2014 and the 4D is 2015???

 

lol....this just seems right for some reason

 

I noticed that today and was surprised also. The tenacious cassis is 2015.

 

So the real question... how are they tasting???

 

I've only opened The Sherry BA Nine and was happy. The base beer was was just an average to good beer, but the wine notes from the sherry barrel on the finish made it a pretty good overall beer for me.

I am not a huge 4D fan, but the 2013 4D they had on tap at the party was a huge malty monster of a treat.

 

Ditto. Picked up my bottles yesterday around 3:00 (Taproom was dead) only to get home and find out they're vintages.... Which Honestly, I'm cool with. But why no mention of this on the Eventbrite details or bottle order page?

 

Because Kuhnhenn is as Kuhnhenn does

 

Beat me to the punch with that one. At this point, you'd have to be surprised if there wasn't some kind of quirk with a Kuhnhenn event/release, right?

 

Can someone who grabbed a 4D crack it and tell me what you think? Buddy and I are pretty convinced it isnt 4D. Whatever it was had some fruity undertones to it. Thin and not an old ale.

 

Damn, that's the one I was really looking forward to with this release. One of my all time favorite Kuhnhenn beers. Seems they're losing their touch at brewing the BBBW and 4D/BB4D, as quality seems to have been on a downward slide the past couple releases. Combined with the prices I can't see myself buying/trading for as much Kuhnhenn as in years past.

 

Per Facebook

To all our valued fans and supporters:

It has come to our attention that two separate issues have arisen within online beer groups in regards to recent bottled product released. While there are no issues with the quality of the liquid, whatsoever, we felt it necessary to clear up some confusion.

First, in regards to our most recent release of Raspberry Eisbock, some fans have noted flavors of cherry in this particular batch. While this is not inherently a problem, it was brought up in the context of a consumer who has an allergy to cherries and other stone-fruit. We have gone back and tasted this latest batch and did detect a flavor that comes across as slightly reminiscent of tart cherry. HOWEVER, there is no actual cherry in this beer. We have been alerted to someone on our team mentioning the addition of cherry to this batch. That information has been confirmed as NOT true. Regardless, we make it a point to be as transparent as possible in regards to ingredients that could potentially lead to health concerns. The consumer who brought up the original concern was contacted directly and the issue was handled in that specific instance several days ago.
So, to reiterate, there is NO cherry in Raspberry Eisbock.

Second, in regards to our recent Solstice bottle release, some fans have raised questions in regards to the dating of specific bottles. This release of our Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine was billed as a new batch/new release, yet featured the date “2014” on the bottle. Obviously we see how this could be confusing. We never intended to specify the years of the bottled beers in any release information, as these are all new batches, never before released to the public. To break it down, this particular batch was brewed in December of 2014, racked into Bourbon barrels several months later in 2015, then racked out of barrels, brightened, carbed, and bottled the first week of December 2016, in time for Solstice. It sat and abnormally long time on the wood, because it was deemed too young to bottle and release in 2015 (having only spent a few months in barrels at that point). We also brewed a batch in February of 2016 that was put into barrels a few months ago, although that will not be ready until next year.
What it comes down to is semantics. This beer in question WAS brewed in 2014, but did not see the light of day until being packaged a few weeks ago in 2016. Many breweries put the year of release on the bottle, but that was not the case with this beer.
So, to reiterate, YES, this IS a new batch of Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine – it just sat for an exceptionally long amount of time in barrels before being released. We all agree the label could have been more specific. We've noted that for the future. However, the label is not wrong, and it is not old stock.

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the fervor of the moment. Remember that we are a small, family-owned brewery with over 70 dedicated team members who all share a deep passion for what we do. We understand why you take it personally – beer has that power. We will not, in the future, feed the rumor mill. We will be happy to address any concerns any of our fans may have, and in the same respect, if we deem something important enough to discuss more in detail, we will do so on a larger scale.

We will continue to stick to our mission of brewing Beers with Distinct Personalities™ - beers we love and are proud of, and hope that you enjoy them as much as we do. This is our passion, and thank you for sharing it with us.

From all of us at Kuhnhenn Brewing Company: Thank you and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

 

When are they going to answer my prayers and bring solstice stout back?

 

So why do my previous solstice bottles of BBBW say 2015? The explanation above makes no sense.

 

Kuhnhenn is as Kuhnhenn does. It amazes me why people go so gaga over this place. Some decent beers, but I haven't been that impressed anything to cause a fervor.

 

Lol this is all too kuhnhenn. I really hoped they would get their shit together more over the years. Unfortunately, IMO, the business side hasn't improved and the brewery side has degraded. Not sure if it was there back story or how they blew me away almost 10 years ago when I found them, but I've always wanted them to succeed more than almost any other brewery. Things just don't seem to be working out that way.

 

rofl. so many better options

 

Hey, well if anything the announcement gave them a chance to employ their trademarked "Beers with Distinct Personalities" phraseamajig.