What beer are you drinking now? #2208

This is tasting amazing. 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 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. Still have plenty left, was so easy to find last year. Also got some warehouse back stock a month ago, with some 30th.


Fantastic. Aromas and flavors of huge vanilla, cream, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, raisin, plum, cherry, fig, apricot, apple, rum, toasted oak, and brown bread; with light notes of roast, coconut, butterscotch, and herbal/peppery/piney hops. Mild pine/herbal bitterness and rum/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel that is fantastic. Slight sticky hops, oak tannins, and increasing dryness. No cloying sweetness or tannic astringency. Dangerously smooth sipping, mildly increasing warmth of 11%, zero rum barrel booze. Absolutely killer stuff, spot on English barleywine. Perfectly balanced vanilla, dark/bready malts, fruity yeast, and rum barrels. Never overwhelming on any aspect. Vanilla fits in perfectly with the barrel characteristics as expected. Hope they make another English Barleywine again next year in a different barrel, because they always nail them. My favorite style of all time. Will seek this out again if they are still in the wild.


Cheers

 

Always amazing, one of the best pumpkin ales I've ever had. Flavors of big pumpkin, clove, allspice, caramel, brown sugar, gingerbread, toast, cinnamon, nutmeg, and herbal spice earthiness. Light balancing herbal/spice bitterness against sweetness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; bready malt creaminess and light spice stickiness in the mouthfeel. Lightly drying spice finish, no astringency. This is probably the most authentic actual pumpkin-fruit forward beer I have had, with an amazing balance of spices. Love it just as much as Pumking; but this has more malt/pumpkin sweetness, and less intensely drying spice/seedy pumpkin presence. Top tier stuff for the style. Oddly only available at Meijers this year, but whatever. As long as I can still find it, I'll buy it.


Fantastic IPA. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, peppercorn, wood, and pine hops; with moderate cracker, lightly toasted biscuit malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body, and fairly crisp finishing. Balanced bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Some resins/rinds, moderate increasing dryness, no hop astringency. Very smooth, not overly aggressive, 7%. Amazing Simcoe/Amarillo profile. Extremely juicy, vibrant, dank, and earthy balance hop complexity; nice bready malt backbone, with no residual sweetness from crisp/resin dryness. Best of the whole series so far.


Cheers

 

Fantastic as usual. Aromas and flavors of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, mango, melon, citrus peel/rind, light pepper, and pine hops; with moderate toasted biscuit, light honeyed malt balance; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body, and fairly crisp finishing. Balanced creamy/bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Some resins/rinds, light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no astringency. Very juicy, vibrant, and fairly dank/earthy hop complexity; nice bready malt backbone, with minimal residual sweetness from lingering dryness. Grabbed 2 packs already. A top favorite harvest ale every year. Feels like Centennial/Amarillo this year, a bit more dank than last year. Used to have Simcoe in some previous years I believe.


Fat Orange Cat. Awesome white stout. Lasting thick head retention and soapy lacing on the glass. Aromas and flavors of big milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, nutty medium roast coffee, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, vanilla, cream, and toasted biscuit malts; with light notes of smoke, char, herbal, floral, grassy, and peppery hops. Light herbal, floral, grassy, peppery hop; and roast/char bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; very creamy/silky/bready malts; light sticky hops and chalky coffee in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing hop/roast bitterness; no cloying/astringency. Very smooth, mildly warming 7.2%. Really spot on stuff, one of the better ones I've had. Very rich oats/malts, cocoa, coffee, and vanilla flavors; with nice earthy hop balance against sweetness.


Cheers