Bourbon County 2018

Friday the 13th event at Goose with VR, Regal, Rare and Templeton on draft, and Backyard and a bunch of newer bottles on site at Clyborn.

 

Are they really adjuncts? Or are they additives??

 

I'm scared to try King Henry again because it's probably the best beer I've ever had and I don't want my perception of it to change.

 

Such a rare, scarce beer, yet some 10 years later GI just keeps pulling quantities out in force.

 

its still good. I never had it fresh but even this late in the game its still excellent

 

I mean, it wasn't crazy rare when it was released. I remember going to Binnys a few days after release and there were cases of it still.

 

It’s still very, very good, but it’s a shell of what it once was - which to be fair, was one of the best beers I’ve had.

 

This post is a bit of a head scratcher considering English Barleywines are one of a few styles considered to age incredibly well. Granted, I've never had the beer.

 

I might be off but aren’t we talking 7 years here? That’s pretty long for any type of beer.

 

Sure thats why it's still very good, and not a hot mess.

it still shows signs of oxidation, and the flavors have changed over time.

When it was relatively fresh, (fresh to a year or so), it tasted like liquid brownie batter. Super thick, with strong caramel, toffee, and bourbon. After a couple years, it mellowed out into more of just an awesome beer, and the uniqueness of the 3rd use Pappy Barrels didn't really come through as much.

 

I had King Henry about a month ago from Fulton, and it shot up the ranks of best tasting beers I’ve had pretty fast. The euphoria of finally getting it might be a contributing factor, but it tasted absolutely incredible. From my notes: “Toffee, caramel. Sweet. Big Mouthfeel. Barrel presence tying it all together”.

I never had it fresh, but I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to get it again should the opportunity arise.

 

KH was aged in the same barrels used for 2010 Rare, so many people noted stout characteristics in it. I would not describe it as liquid brownie batter, but the characteristics mentioned by prior of thick/caramel/toffee/bourbon were spot on with my experience. Top 10/15 all-time for me and best BW. Interested to see how it is holding up after all these years. Have one bottle that I was saving for the side by side with V2, but will have to come up with another plan.

 

Serious question... if the word "adjunct" gets used incorrectly to describe additives enough, will the meaning actually change? I've gotten to the point where I just bite my tongue when my beer friends use it incorrectly.

 

And that's when it will take over...basically has at this point. Like .00000001% of the beer geeks that throw the term adjunct around actually know about the brewing process, so it ain't going to change. And, it will eventually, or really already has, become to mean what it did not mean a short while ago.

 

I know originally adjunct was meant to describe corn in Budweiser, but people use it to describe both that and flavor additives these days. Breweries themselves use the term pretty frequently. I’d say it means both at this point.

 

Stay strong and fight the good fight, my friend. I think it has gotten difficult for people because sometimes adjuncts like fruit and honey have an obvious impact on flavor (not just body and other character). To make matters worse, sometimes fruit is part of fermentation and therefore an adjunct, and sometimes it’s just a flavor additive from an extract.

So much craft beer these days does liberally use both adjuncts and additives - almost makes you wish someone would just decree that real beer should be limited to 3, or at most 4 ingredients.

 

I see what you did there.

 

Adjuncts? Additives? I take the easy way out- just use "add junk". So they add junk before fermentation and they add junk after fermentation and it tastes pretty good and even better because no one is arguing about proper brewing grammar. Add junks....