T-25 Question

I hope so - will likely risk it either way to be honest

 

Yes, when I said "they're releasing 1200 bottles" I meant just at RR. I figured someone would ask, since 4*12*25 is HARD MATH. No one will ever know how many Toronado releases.

And I'm assuming that they're 12 because I've never seen a non-belgian beer in a case of 6.

(EDIT: And the only way I'm going up there is if enough friends want to go on Sunday, who's going to be there on Saturday????)

 

i was really hoping for a mid week release. i had plans to go up thurs but that got crushed. plan b i guess.

 

Can someone confirm whether the Toronado will be selling bottles upon opening on Saturday? And whether the anniversary patry begins upon opening?

 

Toronado will be selling bottles during the anniversary party, which starts upon opening. It can reasonably be assumed that bottles will be available at the outset, but we don't know that for sure. There will also be a totally killer taplist. Last year was a down year, and they had 2010 Cable Car, T-20, Older Viscosity, NB Foedre #4, and many, many, more. This will blow it out of the water.

 

Looking forward to this. Can't decide whether to go up Thursday night or Friday morning....

 

For those interested:

Just returned back from the Toronado pre-release party of T25. Very nice event thrown by Toronado, thank you for the great time.

As far as the final blend for T25 (according to Vinnie):

4% Sonambic (barrel aged for 15 months)
16% Blonde Ale (barrel aged for 8 months)
36% Strong Pale Ale (barrel aged 12 months)
28% Ale Aged with Currants (barrel aged for 8 months)
12% Strong Dark Ale (barrel aged for 12 months)
4% Baltic Porter (barrel aged for 10 months)

We got to try each component individually as well as the final T25 blend and T20 from a 3L bottle. I consider myself a straight shooter, so here are my final thoughts/rankings.

Many components were better than the final T25 blend. T20 has fallen off dramatically.

My rankings:

Sonambic > Strong Pale Ale >> Ale Aged with Currants > T25 > Blonde Ale > T20 > Strong Dark Ale > Baltic Porter.

If I were to rate T25, it would probably score about a 3.75/5 for me. Hope this helps all of you. Not trying to hype or degrade the taste of T25. Just giving my opinion.

Cheers, Kevin

 

Was waiting for the blend info....Thanks for the write-up.

 

Thank you very much! Along with CenCalMario, I too was waiting for a review.

***Edit, would also like to add that I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt T-20 had fallen off. I had a glass at last year's anniversary party and thought that a glass of Consecration would taste better.

 

That was my first impression, I thought it got better when it warmed up. I think the choice to make the Strong Pale the largest individual component was interesting. I didn't really like that one at first, and I figured out it's because it tasted like pineapple. A buddy said that can come from brett, which is interesting. I liked that one better as it warmed too.

I think the highlight for me was Sonambic, it was as good as I had imagined. Which is interesting, because I haven't liked straight lambic (although I've only had Cantillon's, they do a few kinds). It's amazing how different it is from the Cantillon lambic I've had.

ETA: Oh, I did get Vinnie to sign one of my bottles, because I AM A NERD.

One last edit: The bottles explicitly say that the container is only collectable after the contents have been emptied.

 

That statement on the label seems to be there specifically for the eBay crowds

 

That the bottle is only collectible after it's empty, and that the liquid is meant to be consumed. According to Tomme Arthur, Oe Te Meulick means "How can this be?" in Flemish.

 

According to Vinnie it's "How is this possible?" but that's basically the same thing. He said it's in reference to Toronado being 25 years old now. And apparently it was on the 20th anniversary shirts.

 

Count me on the "It's incredible!" side, but I really liked the base beer a lot. It's definitely not meant to be drunk super-cold (don't go for blue mountains). I intend to try it several more times before I do an actual review, but I assume my average will come out to 4.5+. Probably not as high as the 2009 Cable Car I had in December, but damn near -- and much, much better than the T20 we opened at the end of the night. Probably better than T20 was fresh (when it was its best), too.

 

Liked the T25 quite a bit, though I was hoping for a bit more funk up front. Shame we couldn't buy additional bottles last night beyond the 1 bottle included in the ticket price. Guess I'm lining up as originally planned!

 

Ditto. I'm thrilled they threw in one bottle per ticket, but the opportunity to buy two more would have made it perfect. I assume I'll see you back in line on Saturday!

 

Good to know. I'm heading up Friday morning for a few glasses & bottles of it. I assume its going to be worth it from these few comments.

 

Hey...anybody from eastbay thinking of heading to toronado this saturday? Maybe we can carpool...

 

Cannot wait to drink a glass...or 3. Sounds awesome. Hardest part finding a dd

 

All you lucky guys get to go to this. I want to try it on tap, dammit.