Stickman brew works

We're as confident as you can be that this beer isn't contaminated without having a very expensive lab set up, ph is 4.7 which is on the high side for a dark beer, and the same ph as it was when it went into the barrels, so there hasn't been any acid production we've been able to detect in the time it was aging. the one guy who commented about it being infected on untappd is the same guy who commented on instagram, everyone else at the bar and on various sites who's tried it has seemed to have a pretty positive view of it.

This beer is dryer and therefore sharper then most bourbon barrel beers, and the barrels it went into were second use sour mash whiskey barrels, and it has a pretty high black malt content, so all of that definitely makes it a great "drink some now, drink some later" candidate.

I personally found the beer pretty nice on its face, which is why I went ahead and released it when we did, but could definitely understand how someone may have a different expectation for it then what's in the glass, it is definitely not the sweet aged imperial stout most have come to expect. We've tasted it 3 days in a row and found the tannins to be softening rapidly.

 

Picked up some cans last night, there is definitely a brightness I wasn't expecting for a barrel aged porter. Not that I didn't like it, just not what I thought it would be after enjoying yoga pants on tap last week.

Cans of double deuce & meh were sold out, I liked both more than Distinctly Incorrect & it looks like everyone else did too =) I would rate DI almost as good as Homemade is Best & Flip Phones, where as Deuce + Meh were both equally great.

Either way, every stickman IPA can release has been a killer. I would be ok with Project fish stick not making the jump to cans, everything else in the rainbow fridge just set the bar too high.

 

Swung by last night to pick up cans of The Nuclear Option and Yoga Pants. Also picked up a growler of one of the new IPAs, Plagiarism for Fun, to drink with dinner at a BYOB place.

It was really good - nice aroma, the taste was a great balance between the fruity flavors and enough bitterness, the mouthfeel was great - smooth,soft, and enough body.

Once I crack a can, I'll weigh in on my opinion of Yoga Pants.

 

So I drank a can of the Yoga Pants last night. I thought as it warmed it had a nice pleasant bourbon aroma. But to my taste buds, the flavor was fairly dominated by what I would have described as a mildly tart twang, that was more reminisant of fruit than oak. Not bad, but not what I expected and seemed to overshadow the dark malt flavors. I didn't really pick up any spices. I'll wait another couple weeks to drink another can.

It tasted very similar to the flavor I had in one of my homebrewed beers, a porter that I added bourbon soaked vanilla beans in secondary. It was not Brett as it never got worse in bottles up to a year old. My amateur guess was acetaldehyde or some other type of yeast off-flavor. Although that doesn't seem to have made sense either as the beer had a chance to condition both in secondary and in the bottle. But maybe it's just something with my palate as everyone else liked the beer and didn't seem to describe it the same way.

I also have drank a can of The Nuclear Option, I thought that was quite good. Spot on for what I'd expect for the Baltic Porter style.

 

In cans now, is Mafia Movies. A tirimasu black IPA......sounds good. Anyone try it yet?

 

I picked up cans of Mafia Movies + the new Celis Hates Me IPA for myself & my neighbor last night. MM is great, probably my favorite black IPA. I would describe it as similar to the PSL shake without the earthy pumpkin notes. I wouldn't be surprised if it sold out by this weekend.

 

Nice I have been pining for a new black ipa since FW took Wookey away.

 

So the Black IPA is sweet? I was having a hard time squaring the "sweet coffee and cream" flavors of a Tiramisu with "IPA" .

 

You ever have Uinta Dubhe? That one's pretty good and seems to be widely available.

 

I have but wow it's been years now.

 

Yeah it's been awhile for me to, might have to pick up some now. I know that hoping for Victory to bring back Yakima Glory is just wishful thinking.

Based on the commercial examples I like and homebrew attempts, I think traditional "C" hops and other "dank" hop varieties and high bitterness work best in Black IPA/CDA/Black Ales whatever you want to call them. Chinook, Centennial, Cascade, Simcoe, Nugget, etc. So I am really curious the hops Stickman mixed with the sweet dessert flavors without clashing.

 

Canned Yoga pants reminded me of Bruery's Tart of Darkness, or even Tired Hands Red Wine Barrel Only Void. Tart, dry, and roasty.

Was this flavor profile the intention? I dunno. But I found it enjoyable.

 

I bought a 4 pack yesterday of MM, still plenty left.

Boy, what a surprise when I cracked one open last night. Huge roast and chocolate notes and you can acutally taste the tiramasu sweetness. I didn't get much in the way of hops bitterness akin to other black IPAs, but it was velvety smooth and an easy drinker and not all that sweet actually. I really liked it.

 

With that description, it's interesting that they labeled it a Black IPA and not a porter or stout

 

Well as they said...ipas sell baby!

 

Agreed, the roast wasn't as deep as a stout I would say, but the chocolate was huge. You can tell there were hops, but it was more Storm King like, maybe even less so, and not traditional IPA like.

 

I really enjoyed Mafia Movies. Cracked a can this past weekend. Big coco notes. Not overly sweet at all.

 

Picked up some cans of Eckhard & the Funky Bunch yesterday, imho the best stickman IPA release this year.

 

To circle back on this - I was at the Phoenixville Sly Fox location last night and the Dunkel Lager was on tap. Got a growler fill, $9 for 64oz. Good stuff.

 

This beer sounds tasty - Breakfast for Dummies, bourbon aged stout with maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and coffee.