What beer are you drinking now? #2214

Wow, this was amazing as expected. Aromas and flavors of huge sour/tart/tangy raspberries, cherries, fruit skin/seeds, cranberry, strawberry, plum, lemon, lime, citrus peel, green apple, red grape/wine, peppercorn, oak, hay, straw, grass, and leathery/musty funk; with some light wheat/cracker malts, red wine vinegar, and yeast earthiness. Good sized fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and yeast/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Medium-high carbonation, light-medium body, and moderately crisp finishing. Balanced lactic acid, fruit tang, and oak tannins, and light grainy wheat in the mouthfeel. Moderate increasing acidic/tangy/tannic dryness; lightly increasing pucker, but not overwhelming. Amazing balance of juicy/jammy berries, funky barnyard Lambic Brett/bacteria complexity, and oak presence. Easy drinking despite high levels of acidity. Just as good as it was for my 4400th review. Bit lighter in ABV however.


Amazing as expected. Decent head retention, no lacing. Aromas and flavors of huge raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, caramel, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, coconut, toasted oak, nuts, and brown bread; with lighter notes of leather, tobacco, milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, and yeast earthiness. Slight booze in the aromas as it warmed, but not overwhelming. Mild herbal/roast bitterness and bourbon/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full body. Amazing creamy, silky, velvety malt mouthfeel; slightly slick, syrupy, sticky hops, and bourbon/oak tannins. Slightly increasing lingering bitter/tannic dryness, no cloying. Dangerously smooth sipping, mildly increasing warmth of 14.4%, minimal barrel booziness. A bit better than when I first reviewed it 4 years ago. Perfectly balanced rich malts, fruity yeast, and bourbon barrel integration. Not overly boozy/tannic. English barleywines are still my favorite style. 4.35


Cheers

 

Getting loaded for the 21 plus our trip. Cheers all.

 

Oops a glass of juice also.

 

Awesome stuff as usual. Glad they are canning it now, and dating them. Aromas and flavors of huge peanut butter and red grapes; with brown bread, toasted biscuit, light caramel malt balance; and some mild herbal/peppery noble hops. Light herbal/spicy hop bitterness and slight fruit tartness on the finish. Medium bodied; nice bready/grainy creamy malt mouthfeel; some light sticky hops and chalky PB notes. Lightly increasing bitter/chalky dryness, no cloying/astringency. Refreshing as hell, and super flavorful for 5%. Perfectly balanced PB, fruit jam, and biscuity malt sweetness; with just enough earthy hops to balance. They really nailed the sandwich idea of this beer, even better than Odd Sides did with We Be Jammin. More malt presence/body.


Fantastic hazy IPA. Glad they are canning everything now. Aromas and flavors of huge tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, light peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate wheat, white bread dough malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; balanced creamy/bready/grainy wheat/oats and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light resins/rinds, light-moderate increasing dryness, no hop astringency. Very drinkable, not overly aggressive, 7.2%. Centennial, Chinook, Cascade, Amarillo, Citra, Crystal hops. Extremely juicy, vibrant, dank, and earthy balanced hop complexity; great wheat/oat/malt balance, minimal residual sweetness from lingering resin dryness. Just as impressive as I remember from last year.


Cheers

 

Still waking up, but with 5" of snow on the ground, this Stone Xocoveza seemed appropriate. Last year's batch, but holds up OK. The rest is going into a pork shoulder 8 hour braise for a bunch of different dishes over the next few days. Cheers! (Apologies to the germaphobes, this is a FILTHY glass).

 

Amazing IPA. Aromas and flavors of huge tangerine, grapefruit, lemon, peach, pineapple, apricot, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, blueberries, citrus peel/rind, light peppercorn, and pine hops; with moderate cracker, toasted bread, light honeyed malts; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium carbonation/body; balanced creamy/bready/grainy malts and sticky hops in the mouthfeel. Light resins/rinds, light-moderate increasing bitter dryness, no hop astringency. Very smooth, not overly aggressive; minimal warming 7.5%. Just as amazing as the base beer, but this time also has Simcoe and Kohatu for extra hop complexity. Insanely juicy, vibrant, dank, and earthy hop complexity; nice bready malt backbone, mild residual sweetness with lingering dryness. Would get more singles, getting near 3 months old.


Outstanding fruit stout. Aromas and flavors of big lightly tart cherries, fruit skin, milk/dark chocolate, cocoa, caramel, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of coffee, coconut, and smoke. Light roast bitterness, bourbon/oak tannin spice, and cherry tang/tartness on the finish. Light-medium carbonation and medium-full body; very smooth, creamy, silky, velvety, and rich mouthfeel that is fantastic. Light cherry tang/acidity, bourbon/oak tannins, and slight chalky roast. Lightly increasing tart cherry and oak tannin dryness. Slightly increasing cherry pucker. No cloying/astringency. Minimal warming 9.3%. Absolutely perfect balance between imperial stout malt complexity, cherries, and bourbon barrels. Great barrel integration with zero booze at all. I really enjoy the base beer, and this is definitely a nice step up from that. 12 month aged in barrels according to the label. The silky barrel smoothness is definitely a highlight, along with the added barrel complexities. I thought the 30th reserve on oak was similarly impressive. Still on the shelf for both.


Cheers

 

Belgian waffles for brekkie...


Then...

Breakfast Beast imperial stout (10.5% abv) from Clown Shoes...

Random 10/20/17 bottle, conveniently store-aged on the shelves at Total Wine... Aromas of charred chocolate, woody oak, old coffee, and bourbony molasses on the nose... Sip is sweet up front with chocolate syrup, molasses, bourbon vanilla, and sweet black coffee, but dries out with a bittersweet char, some ash and oak on the finish... Full-bodied and smooth, with smoky, wet molasses coffee aftertaste... Very nice bourbon barrel coffee stout - I imagine the coffee has faded a bit over the year and the bourbon has mellowed and melded into the body - for better or for worse, I don't know...

Certainly a worthy grab if you spot one...

Cheers...

 

Stayed up late watching Braveheart last night, so late start this morning - Narwhal:



A gloomy 40 degrees here. Some chores today but otherwise taking it easy. Cheers!

 

Congrats on having the equivalent of 14 miller lites in your system by 10 am Monday. Gonna be a productive day.

 

I woke up this morning to a temp of 34 degrees. It's going to be a sunny but cool day. Stout weather.

 

Lunch beer - Stroh's from my brother #2, who got a case in Tennessee:

 

Port Orleans brewing Dorada Mexican Style Lager . . .



Nice golden color with white cap and lacing.

Clean aroma of light malt with a touch of floral hops.

Taste of mild grain with more substance than the usual regular AAL or light beer. I get some light hop presence in the background. This is a simple yet clean beer that doesn't intrude beyond the point of introducing itself.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

Port Orleans take on the so called Mexican Style which is to say a pale lager without the rough edges of industrial grade stuff.

 

Having a beer!



Cheers!

 

My finishing pour of Breakfast Beast (second-pour pic, baby!)...

Figured, Geralt slays monsters, I'm slaying this 'Beast...

But seems like I've been drinking this for days, so maybe its slaying me... whatevs...

Cheers, BA...

 

I really like this one.
Complex and delicious.
Cheers!

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4/206088/

 

Harpoon - Dunkin' Coffee Porter.. cheers!

 

Melvin's Drunken Master IIPA