Talk about a pleasant discovery... not sure how much is left, but the keg was still going strong as of 3:00 this afternoon at the tasting room. Delicious stuff....
You can read about it on BA as well. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/173/54385 Four vintages of Jim were made (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009), and it was made specifically for the Holiday Ale fest (which is the only place I've ever seen it before). It's quite limited (I had thought it long since gone), and when I asked Wendy if she knew how much was left, she indicated she wasn't sure, but that she thought not much (that this might in fact be one of the last kegs). For what it's worth, I believe some folks were unhappy with the fresh version of the beer, as they thought the blue dot added to the blend too greatly dominated the flavor profile (which understandably, was no problem for me). The beer is still pretty hoppy now, and you can still taste plenty of blue dot in the beer, but I think it's rounded out a bit, with a lot more caramel and toffee flavor. Cheers!
Who knows? I might get lucky. I'll be in Portland tomorrow and again on Wednesday. I didn't think I was going to have time for HotD this time around but I just might have to tweak my plans a little.
I thought this vintage 2009 Jim was underwhelming. When it was fresh in 2009 it was Blue Dot forward and quite hoppy. I think the Blue Dot also caused this to not age very well. The thinner body resulted in a great deal of oxidization. If you never had 2009 Jim before, or any of the other Jim vintages then it might be worth it. However, I don't think there is cause to hurry down for this one. If you want my opinion, pay the extra $1.50 and get a bottle of Bourbon Fred. (Are they still $10 a bottle there?)
Thanks for providing a worthy review since this was my first Jim and can't do a review justice other than that I thought it was very tasty. I was eyeing the vintage Fred's until I learned Jim was on tap in lieu of a "? from the wood" and took the once in a lifetime opportunity. I will say though that I didn't pick up that it was all that hoppy. Very smooth. Given how some BA's have tried very hard to land one of these gems and I just fell into it, I definitely don't feel worthy. But I enjoyed it anyway.
The funny thing is, when the 2009 first came out, a lot of folks complained about the amount of blue dot in the blend, and felt it dominated the flavor profile. IMHO, the beer is still pretty hoppy, but I feel as if the blue dot has blended in better with some the other beers that went into the recipe. I actually enjoyed it more the other day then when I had it at the holiday ale festival a few years back. However, different strokes and all that... still a fun beer to try and I'm glad you were able to have some.
: My bad. I forgot to bring one along when I went to the tasting room last Friday. I'm sure Wendy would have been more than happy to fill one for me.... probably compliments of the house (not to mention Alan S., who was eating lunch right across from me while I was there). Besides Josh.... you had already been to a BA beer tastiing that day, so it would have been completely irresponsible of me to try to entice you into drinking a growler of 10% plus abv. beer. God forbid that I would ever do anything that might be perceived as irresponsible (stupid yes, but never irresponsible).
