What beer are you drinking now? #2009

Good morning BA, have a great Saturday! Finally supposed to have a nice weather weekend after all of that crap last couple weeks. Not sure what to do today just yet.

12 year old JW Lees. Been sitting in my cellar for a least 7 years now after I bought it. This is tasting amazing! Huge flavors of caramel, toffee, molasses, honey, brown sugar, butterscotch, raisin, prune, cherry, fig, date, toasted biscuit, light chocolate, leather, tobacco, and a touch of herbal/woody hops in the far background. Some cardboard oxidation. Minimal carbonation with a full bodied creamy, silky, slick, and thick mouthfeel. Minimal bitterness/drying. Zero cloying sweetness and easy smooth sipping. Zero warming ABV. A little more oxidized than I would have preferred, but the complexity is off the charts as expected. Previous 10+ year vintages I've had were some of the best beers I've ever had. This isn't quite measuring up to those, but still incredible. I grabbed two 2007 off the shelf a few weeks ago, will give those a go eventually.


This is insane! Officially the easiest year to find distributed Black Note of all time. I got twice as many bottles last year than I have gotten in the previous 4 years combined. Flavors of huge milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, vanilla, cream, toffee, molasses, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coffee, licorice, raisin, plum, fig, and dates. Very mild roast/char bitterness and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and very full body; with a very creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel that is amazing. Slight chalky roast, oak tannins, and dryness. No acrid/astringent roast or barrel flavors. Insanely smooth, minimal warming 11.2%, zero barrel booze. Bell's has the BBA game on point as usual. While I still prefer well aged Expedition and the BBA version more, this is still definitely better than I remember when I reviewed it initially. Richer and silkier mouthfeel. Perfect barrel integration and complexity. Wow!


Cheers

 

Amazing NEIPA! Aromas and flavors of huge tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, berry, lemon zest, orange peel, and light pepper/pine hops; with balanced honey, wheat, toasted bread, light caramel malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light pine, citrus peel, herbal, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; very creamy/bready malt mouthfeel; some sticky hops and slight resins. Slightly increasing lingering bitter dryness, never astringent. Glad they finally brought this back. Used to be Boxer, but some legal crap made them change the name. I prefer it over M43 a bit. More malty from the Vienna/Munich malts; and also prefer the hop profile more because of Equinox/Mosaic additions.


To Øl 1 Ton Of...Blackcurrant. This is amazing! Aromas and flavors of big juicy/tart/tangy black currants, fruit skin, cherry, berries, lemon, raisin, plum, green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, herbal, and grass; with moderate wheat, bread dough malts; light leathery/musty funk, pepper, and yeasty earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and light yeast/fruit tannin spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; balanced creamy/bready wheat, lactic acid, fruit tang, and light tannins/stickiness in the mouthfeel. Light-moderate increasing lactic/tangy fruit dryness, no pucker/astringency. Super drinkable, not overly lactic, 7%. Insanely jammy currants with balanced Brett/Lacto complexity; and a great bready malt backbone against acidity. Reminds me of Schramm's Black Agnes a lot. The currant presence is nearly the same level. I keep grabbing this one, worth the price. This brewery never disappoints.


Cheers