We had an awesome tasting this past weekend in Denver (thankfully Beer Mail was still working while the forums were down so we could make last minute plans), primarily barrel aged barleywines but lots of other good stuff too. I only got a couple of pics, hopefully others have better ones. The rundown, at least the ones I remember: Goose Island King Henry Dry Dock Blighs Pelican Mother of All Storms Hoppin Frog Barrel Aged Naked Evil Deschutes Mirror Mirror (2009, but not infected, we had good luck) Schafly Oak-aged Barleywine Firestone Walker Sucaba Firestone Walker Abacus Hebrew 15:15 Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine Central Waters Y2K Backcountry Bourbon Barrel Barleywine Backcountry Barleywine (both of these in unlabeled bottles thanks to Alan the brewer!) Great Divide Barrel Aged Hibernation Surly Darkness Cigar City Marshal Zhukov's Founders KBS Founders Breakfast Stout Westy 12 Stone Old Guardian Town Hall Milk Stout (growler) Bells Quinannan Falls Lager (nice palate cleanser and rare bottle with a cool story behind it, thanks Corey!) New Glarus Cranbic New Glarus Apple Ale North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Saint Arnold Divine Reserve Twisted Pine Ghost Face Killah (almost everyone was afraid to try it, so there were 4-5 ounces left that I used in a marinade the next day) Wow, that list is even longer than I expected when I started typing it. Great beers, great people, great times. King Henry lived up to the hype, though a lot of people rated Bligh's neck and neck or even better. The BA Hibernation was the surprisingly awesome one for me, and I was also surprised how good the Central Waters non-barrel aged barleywine was, I think I liked it better than the BA version. Sucaba was very good, but couldn't hang with KH and Blighs.
Yes yes, nice list of beers we had. Great hosting! King Henry became much much better as it warmed up. Loved the North Coast Old Stock BA and Central Waters stuff. Always a fan of the Mother of All Storms--very nice.
Thanks for the write-up. It was a great group of BAs and beers and the hosts were outta this world. Looking forward to doing it again soon.
Definitely a great time! The Bligh's, Abacus/Sucaba, and King Henry were all great beers. I can imagine opinions on which was "better" varying a bit, but they're all world class. Alan's BA Barleywine was quite the beer, too. Thanks for hosting and I'm sure all of us would love to do it again.
I would love to join you guys next time, sorry I missed this one. I have a pretty good barrel-aged barleywine selection too.
Yup, the table was pretty close to full. I had to go earlier than most, but I got an "after" picture with about 75% of those (and a dozen or so more) empty. I even managed to brave a fair amount of the Ghostface, although the magic of cheesy bread and a numbed palate helped out.
Great time everyone, here are the pics that I snapped. We commented that this was the kind of tasting where a Darkness just got in line with all the other beers, no special treatment here.
Awesome avatar! I assume taken at the GD Tap Room, with the overhead spot going through the side of the glass. I have a similar photo. Thanks to everyone for a great time!
Thanks! Another neat feature with the new site...larger avatars! It's always been my av, but it was so tiny you couldn't tell. It wasn't taken at the GD taproom, but you're right about the spot/glass. The photo was actually taken at Hops & Pie.
I'd just like to say that this was awesome Oh, and in case you missed the beermail, here are the beers we tasted with photos, more or less in the order that we tasted them: Dry Dock Bligh's Barleywine Ale Notes: First BA Barleywine of the tasting...awesome! Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/SnuyOd Goose Island King Henry Notes: Amazing! Neck on neck with Bligh's, but I liked Bligh's slightly better. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/KYCCfX Pelican Mother of all Storms Notes: 2011, needs to age a little longer. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/lfQqQ4 Deschutes Mirror Mirror Notes: 2009 English Barleywine. Very good but below MoaS, KH and Bligh's for me. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/DIwDiT (512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter Notes: Only 8.2% ABV, really liked this one! Pecans, whiskey and chocolate. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/OV2f0V North Coast Old Stock Ale Cellar Reserve Notes: This version is aged in bourbon barrels, great oak, vanilla and maple aroma. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/qK4q3U Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #10 Notes: Sweet and mellow with butterscotch and raisin notes. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/nC5DvO Backcountry Bourbon Barrel Barleywine Notes: The brewer brought this to the tasting (thanks Alan!). 6mo in Breckenridge Bourbon barrels, really loved the hops! Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/GcqXOU Hoppin' Frog Barrel Aged Naked Evil Notes: Vanilla, brown sugar notes in this great English Barleywine. 11.3% ABV Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/bM5ESA Golden City Centurion Barleywine Ale Notes: Decent, but a class below everything else at this tasting. Rating: liked Full Details: http://fork.ly/zWpGv8 Stone Old Guardian Notes: Good, but not amazing in my book. Rating: liked Full Details: http://fork.ly/dhmG5d Firestone Walker Abacus Notes: Had 2011 and 2012 back to back. Both very good, but I think I actually preferred the 2012 (§ucaba). Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/CKIO7V Central Waters Kosmyk Charlie's Y2K Catastrophe Ale Notes: Liked this better than the bourbon-barrel aged version, really good balance. Figs and notes of dark fruit. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/1w2kAQ Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine Notes: BA version of the Y2K. While very good, I think barrel-aging this actually did it a disservice. Rating: liked Full Details: http://fork.ly/6uWz60 Great Divide Barrel Aged Hibernation Ale Notes: 2009 I believe, fared much better than the BA Old Ruffian I had a while back. Great beer, but not as good as BA Yeti. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/WBAgwK Bell's Quinannan Falls Notes: Super smooth and complex American Pale Lager. Yes, lager, but you wouldn't believe it! Want more of this. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/lF04Eh New Glarus Cranbic Ale Notes: Wow! Super creamy and buttery, tart cranberry and cinnamon. 4.8% ABV Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/1KDO7q Schlafly Reserve Barleywine Style Ale Notes: Sweet caramel and oak notes, really loved the smell. Surprisingly drinkable at 10.2% ABV. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/25oLE0 Minneapolis Town Hall Three Hour Tour Notes: Milk stout, from a growler. Lots of coconut, chocolate and vanilla. Very unique beer that I want more of but probably won't get. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/sRW5W3 Surly Darkness Notes: 2010 vintage. Surprisingly hoppy for a Russian Imperial Stout, but very interesting and well-rounded. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/zn3xDw SORRY, NO PHOTOS AFTER THIS ONE BECAUSE THE FORUM WOULDN'T LET ME POST MORE THAN 20, CLICK THE FULL DETAILS LINKS FOR THE PHOTOS Phantom Canyon Winston Smith's Notes: Aged in Stranahan's barrels. Very good, but below most other stuff at this tasting. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/5kgne3 Cigar City Marshall Zhukov Imperial Stout Notes: Typical Cigar City, this pours like motor oil. Very sirupy and coffeeish. Amazing mouthfeel, you can almost chew this Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/j12TGf Avery Muscat d'Amour Notes: Sour aged in Chardonnay barrels. Some Brett, but not overly sweet for an American Wild Ale. Nice job, Avery! Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/FCUiGI Weyerbacher Heresy Notes: Solid Russian Imperial Stout, but not world-class. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/mYEhZg Avery Récolte Sauvage Notes: Honestly, I can't remember exact details on this one, but I think I liked it. Rating: liked Full Details: http://fork.ly/4QFO1T New Glarus Apple Ale Notes: Wow! It's like a creamy mix between beer and apple cider. New Glarus masters these beers like nobody else! Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/hds44x Schmaltz Genesis 15:15 Notes: American Barleywine at 13.4% ABV. Grapes, malt and brown sugar, and of course whiskey, but nicely balanced. Rating: loved Full Details: http://fork.ly/sXdoOK Let me know if I missed any. Martin
Oh, I just remembered that some of us tried Ghost Face Killah, which I passed on. I did however try it last night: Twisted Pine Ghost Face Killah Notes: Spicy! Too spicy! Serrano, habanero, and 4 other kinds of hot chili peppers. Be careful with this one, and have food with it. Rating: liked Full Details: http://fork.ly/Vn4LIV I'm really glad that I didn't try this during our tasting, as I'm sure that the palate would have been ruined
Had a great time! Excellent beers and people. Heres How I rated the barlywines. 1.king Henry 2.blighs 3.naked evil And the cheesy bread was Off the hook! Thanks again Aaron and Katie for being such great hosts.
