I was at the Bell's tap take over last night at Uptown Grille in Commerce Twp with a ton of other people. My buddy and I were chatting with the taller English Bell's guy (I believe his name was Andy but can never remember) and decided to ask some questions both of us had about batches, processes and other stuff like that. I asked specifically how Black Note is blended and he explained it. It starts by aging Expedition in bourbon barrels and Double Cream Stout in separate bourbon barrels. The end result is about 16% BA Expedition and about 8% BA Double Cream, at which point they blend the two together to get what we call Black Note. I know there's been some speculation on here about when they actually blend the two together, so now you know. And knowing is half the battle.
Black Note lasted 10min solid. I was referring to the ABV. So 16% ABV for BA Expedition and 8% ABV for BA Double Cream. After blending I believe it is a little over 12% ABV.
That doesn't make any sense. Expedition is 10.5%. At maximum, you can pick up 1-2% from the barrel. Unless they are brewing a significantly higher OG expedition version, which I doubt.
When SN 30th brews came out, SierraNavadaBill mentioned -bal Bigfoot as part of the blend. That apparently picked up 3-3.5% ABV from the barrels.
I couldn't believe how packed Uptown was that night. I got there an hour before the Black Note tapping and it was already standing room only. Completely worth it considering I've been wanting to try the stuff for over 2 years.
