What beer are you drinking now? #1535

Thanks, that is good to know. I will look for this one next when I'm south of of the border I have not tried Cuvée des Trolls before.
Cheers!

 

Kentucky Kolsch style ale. Not my usual thing but wanted to try something different. Must say the smell almost put me off, quite overpowering, but stuck at it and it's not bad. A little dry for me but that's probably the style more than the beer.

 

Adding something new to the BA database today...

You'll have to pardon my Petrus...

...but it was the only glass in my possession that matched their recommendation...

Stay classy, Chicago...

...with yo' wrapped cap and crap like dat...

Hey, what a handsome couple!

From the label: "Grand Prestige is a classic recipe from our friends at Hertog Jan in the Netherlands. We brewed this beer to their specifications here in Chicago, but we added new depth to the flavor by barrel aging it in a combination of first and second use bourbon barrels."

The original Grand Prestige was brewed in the Netherlands by Arcense Stoombierbouwerij (Hertog Jan Brouwerij), and is categorized as a quadrupel with a 10% abv. This Goose Island incarnation states that it is an imperial brown ale, bottled on November 28th, and coming in at 11.3% abv. It further states that is contains wheat, develops in the bottle over 1 year, and is best served in a wide-mouthed glass.

The beer pours a translucent brown into my wide-mouthed proprietary Petrus glass, yielding a dark brown, essentially opaque body in the vessel, with a finger of tan foam that slimmed to a flimsy cap and left some lace trailing down the glass.

Aromas of dark boozy fig and prune and raisin, with lighter notes of licorice, vanilla, and clove. The flavors follow suit, with more dark fruits and spices, and subtler influences of chocolate, dates, banana, and caramel. The sweetness is not at all cloying, perhaps even understated, and there is very little bitterness.

The body is remarkably thin with little carbonation. Vapors of wood and sweet bourbon caress the roof of the mouth, and there is something of a piney shellac left behind.

This is a complex beer that avoids easy classification, and it is neither exactly a brown ale nor a quadrupel, but somewhere in-between, having some characteristics common to English barleywines as well. It has a refined character and presentation, but may not appeal to all drinkers. I was not quite as enthralled as others may be, detracting from it for its thin body and banana and clove elements, as I expected something a little heartier. That said, the craftsmanship is likely authentic to the original, and will probably be enjoyed by devotees of fine ales.

So, technically speaking, I'm onto my second third pour, but it's a big bottle, and I'm just going to be capping off my pours as I go. As you can tell, I enjoy it, but it's not necessarily "my kind if beer" based on my tastes of late - I was kinda hoping for a rich, thick, decadent American brown ale - this was more like a thin-bodied quad with some English ale qualities.

Happy/sad that the regular NFL season has wrapped. I'm just glad to see the Steelers and Giants in the mix, regardless of how far they go. Great games ahead next weekend.

Alright, dudes and dudettes - I'm gonna fuck around in my Fallout shelter and polish off this bomber - in my Petrus glass, this is like a four-pour bottle. I'll check in again later when I've moved onto something new...

Cheers...

Music to my ears...

 

-a sweet interlude, perhaps a bit too sweet.

 

Southampton Publick House Imperial Porter
Cheers!

 

Then I recommend you should try their winter version called 'N'Ice', when you see it.
Cheers!

 

Meat has about an hour left in the smoker. The kids are building their own parade floats out of construction paper. I'm watching football. Great last day of vacation.

 

2nd and 3rd pours are so 2016.

 

FFF Crack the Skye. Let's go Hawks

 

Sounds like a Norman Rockwell illustration. Cheers!

 

Spent 4 hours between the AT&T and Apple stores today trying to get texting to work on my wife's new phone. Finally, the fifth person I dealt with noticed that they'd just forgotten to turn texting on for her line in the account. That calls for a beer!

 

Moving on here ba with a beer that I'm guaranteed to enjoy. A bit to much rain here for an outdoor shot, 10/13/16,

 

People's Porter:



Game is a huge snooze...Gators can't get going...

 

Winding down a great holiday season with Matilda.

Looking forward to the NFL playoff season.

 

Seriously impressed with this brew, if you see it fresh and give it a go.

 

Things fell into place very nicely for you! Great stout IMO. Cheers!

 

Fridge cleaning time. But even though it's a chore (using the term loosely), why not have some fun with it. So a Holiday Monday Throwdown, Battle 4-month-old Classic American Pale Ale:


(Okay, not going to go too deep with this, but...)

Look:
The SNPA is lighter in color, but both produced amazing, sustaining fluffy off-white head with wonderful lacing (SNPA a little more).

Nose:
The Dale's Pale Ale is a little more herbal and earthy, and the SNPA has a relatively significant citrusy note. Neither popped with vibrance, but what can you expect at 4 months; they still had more nose than some beers I try fresh.

Taste/Feel:
The SNPA is still pretty clean, leaning light of medium on feel, with a little pine needle and grapefruit, though it's more fruity than pithy. There's a coppery note that may be its age poking through. Obviously more tame than it is fresh, but still fairly tasty.

The Dale's Pale Ale has a fuller, little more bold feel. There is an earthy impression to the entire beer, more pine trunk and indistinct citrus pith. Maybe a little sign of age in the lingering bitterness; on that front, it's no different than the SNPA - a tamer version of its fresh self.

Overall:
Both of these held up ok. Four months isn't tremendously long, but it's not a time frame where I'd expect these beers to be putting their best foot forward. Pleasantly surprised that I think we'll easily be able to finish these off before our next beer.
The GF's official word is that she liked them about the same, and that the Dale's seemed "a little more bitter in the end."

(Note: the Dale's was late August, SNPA was mid-September)