New Beer Weekend #131

Back to the Future?



Today’s new beer is allegedly a re-brew of an old beer: Stone Ruination IPA.

On the side of the six-pack box (and can) it states (with emphasis in bold by me):

“Throughout our history, we’ve built a (fairly deserved) reputation for being obsessed with massively hoppy IPAs. And this groundbreaking creation you see before you is largely responsible for that legacy. Did you know that Stone Ruination IPA was the first year-round, brewed-and- bottled West Coast Double IPA on the planet? True story. As the technology and techniques for maximizing hoppy goodness evolved over the years, so too did this beer. Yet we still look back fondly on the impression it left on the palates of many. As a tribute to its roots, we’re bringing it back for a limited time in its original old school form– the quintessential representation of a West Coast Double IPA.”

From the Stone website:

“Style: Double IPA

ABV: 8.2%

IBUs: 100+

Featured Hops: Magnum, Chinook, Centennial

Flavor Profile: Intense resiny hop flavors with a light malt balance, a touch of alcohol warmth, and a strong, long-lasting bitterness on the finish.

Palate: Medium-full body with no perceptible sweetness and an intense bitterness throughout the palate.

Appearance: Pours a clear, deep golden color with a white head.

Aroma: Piney and resin with citrus-like, fruity cereal notes.

Overall: One of the first regularly brewed and bottled imperial IPAs.”

So, is this 2022 brewed beer really “in its original old school form”?

Below is from a post in the AHA forum in 2017:

“This is the 1.0 recipe but it should give you a starting point.

Stone Ruination IPA

94.2% 2-row pale malt

5.8% C-15 crystal malt

Magnum and Centennial hops

Finishing ABV=7.7%; IBU’s=105”

There appears to be a difference in ABV (i.e., 7.7% -> 8.2%) and a difference in hops used (i.e., Chinook is added to the 2022 version).

To the best of my recollection, I have never tasted the original version (or the 2.0 version) of Ruination so this will be my first drinking experience with this beer.

Served in my Spiegelau IPA glass:

Appearance:

Golden colored with a big white head; pretty clear appearance.

Aroma:

I am picking up mostly a resin-like aroma (almost piney) but in the background there is also some floral/herbal aspects.

Taste:

The flavor follows the nose with mostly a resin-like flavor but there some floral/herbal as well. There is just enough malt to provide a sense of balance. I do not perceive any aspects of alcohol. The perceived bitterness is moderate – high but nowhere near what I would expect of a beer that lists 100+ IBUs.

Mouthfeel:

Medium bodied with an off-dry finish.

Overall:

This beer is very good.

It is cleanly brewed such that for a 8.2% ABV beer you really do not perceive/taste the alcohol. I suppose this could be a ‘dangerous’ beer for the uninitiated?

Cheers!

@rotsaruch @RobH @KOP_Beer_OUtlet @o29

 

Seems for this one we had similar reactions…I too picked up something floral like in nature and agree 100% dangerous beer with how smooth it is..oh and on it’s a very good beer

Share some pics of that beautiful white stuff @Roguer. Something tells me we may not get any this year, the way our weather has been.

 

I didn't intend to do dry January, but ended up not having any for the first three weeks and thought "maybe I'll go the full month". That fell apart when I realized I have nothing ahead of me this weekend other than football (go Birds), soccer (go Arsenal) and maybe a little bit of work. That + a cellar that is around 52 degrees right now and fully stocked with excellent beer was enough to get me to crack one open.

This is Balam - Hale a BBA Imperial Stout with Hale Coffee and Mexican Vanilla Beans from Blood Brothers Brewing in Toronto. Both the beer and glass come courtesy of one of the most generous BAs around, none other than @Coronaeus


Appearance is typical for the style. Some reddish brown on the pour that settles into a deep, deep brown in the glass. Head wasn't robust (maybe half an inch), but did have an excellent, rich brown appearance.

I could tell the aroma was powerful from a couple feet away, but still ended up taking a big, up-close whiff which promptly made me start coughing such was it's strength. A more cautious approach revealed plenty of barrel and alcohol, but with a really nice vanilla sweetness that I really liked. I'm not getting any coffee on the nose.

Taste is interesting. As with the nose, vanilla and bourbon barrel dominate and the coffee is playing hide and seek quite effectively. I'm also getting some spice, almost like Westbrook's Mexican Cake. I have no idea why I'm picking this up as there aren't any ingredients I associate with having a little spicy bite, which makes me think it's probably the barrel. Feel is plenty viscous, fully coating the mouth.

Overall, I'm definitely enjoying this. A little more balance would take this from very good to outstanding, but that's a nit. I'd be happy to drink this any time. Thanks, Peter!

 

Yeah, likely no snow for us. One storm is coming through tomorrow and middle of next week but they are just calling for rain in our area.

I watched a weather report on 6abc (Philly) a couple of days ago and the weather guy speculated that for the rest of January and February we will likely not see any snow. Not much fun for the skiers and kids who like to go sledding on a snow day.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for getting things started, @Roguer. Enjoy your time in Maine.
My morning chores are completed, and it's getting time for some football.
My new beer for today is from the folks at Beer Drop. Cloud 9 Saison is brewed by Aspen Brewing Company and has an ABV of 6.8%.

A clear gold color with a medium-size white head. A small amount of lace.
Not much aroma. Grassy, a hint of spice.
Taste of clove, a little pepper.
Medium mouthfeel.
An OK beer, wouldn't want to drink a lot of it.

 

Thanks to @Roguer for kicking it off this morning. I have a couple from Duluth, MN-based Bent Paddle.

First up is Double Shot Double Black

Appearance: Black, good sized head.

Smell: strong coffee, chocolate, vanilla, wood, nice blend of aromas.

Taste: Weird, a tale of two beers in one glass. Starts out really nice with dark chocolate bitterness, nice mix of coffee and chocolate/vanilla/barrel flavors. Creamy feel. Then it takes a sudden left turn with a nasty metal/plasticy/bad bourbon hit. It corrects itself somewhat, the weird plastic note fades to almost nothingness and the dark chocolate comes back as I finish the glass.

Overall: Well, that was a different experience! I don't know I've ever had a beer show so many different faces within a single glass. Starts like your typical coffee-forward big stout, hard left into the ditch of terrible, small barrel/plastic whiskey crap, then saves face somewhat at the end. I suppose it was mostly good? I don't know that I've ever had a beer where the first taste was yum! Then second taste was gack! First time for everything I suppose! I'm also glad it was in a 12oz for $7 instead of a 22oz for $25.

Bent Paddle Cold IPA

Appearance: Clear yellow, ok head.

Smell: Mild lemon aroma.

Taste: Mild sweetness, lemony, bready note, clean feel and dry finish.

Overall: I can definitely see how “cold IPA's” are seen as similar to lagers, this one fits that description. Some lemony hops but otherwise bready and clean like a lager.

 

When I saw another Ruination post on NBW, I was wondering what would be said about the hop profile. I started thinking my recollections I brought up last week might have been from RuinTen, though my reviews of neither include the sensations of cattiness/onion/garlic.

I'm definitely going to pick this up if/when I see it.

 

Craig, my suggestion is that you look for this sooner rather than later. When I picked up my six-pack my local Retail Beer Distributor only had two six-packs on the shelf (only one after my purchase). I also visited a local beer shop to do some browsing and there was only one six-pack there. My guess is that only a small amount of Ruination was produced so there is a limited supply.

Or maybe the DC area got a larger amount delivered vs. the Philly area?

Cheers!

 

I was out at Equal Parts yesterday, a brewery on the east end of Houston. I don't get out to this part of town often, but I always enjoy Equal Parts when I do.

This is an interesting new lager from them...

La Grande, 4.5% ABV.

This is called a "French-Canadian" Lager by Equal Parts. Using a Canadian yeast strain, apparently, with Quebec-harvested malt, and French Barbe Rouge and Mistral hops. So its not an easy Lager to classify, American Lager is good enough for me...maybe if there was a North American Lager category (I kid ,I kid)



Pours with just a touch of haze, an orangish/yellow color. A two finger white head forms with good retention and lace left behind.
A fairly neutral nose. Some grains and light fruity hops in the mix. A perfectly fine subtle aroma, but could use just a bit more oomph.
Taste wise, a bit more pronounced here but still enjoyably subtle. Toasted malts and grains are noticeable. An almost fleshy fruity character of apricots and apple. Which gives this a candied fruity sweetness. A light lingering bitterness.
A light to medium body. An effervescent carbonation that is clean, but could finish a little drier for my tastes. Still, this is a very enjoyable lager to drink.

This has a combination of modern fruity hops within a subtle traditional lager base. Which I like. Tone down the sweetness a bit, and I would love this. Even so, I probably enjoy it more than the rating would suggest.

Overall score is 3.92, a solid B+ which on further tries might up the score to A- range. Another quality lager from Equal Parts.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44383/637516/?ba=champ103#lists

I also finally finished Orhan Pamuk's wonderful new novel.

 

Yeah, I'm obviously not sure. I recall I never got a shot at... I think it was Liquid Poem... because I never saw it around me. Although it'd be great to grab (even if I don't dig it as much as I expect, the GF will be glad I got an IPA), but I won't be too upset if I miss out.

 

It is a very good beer but we are fortunate that there are plenty of other very good beers out there.

A potential 'downside' for Ruination is that it is quite pricey. I paid $17.49 (plus sales tax) for my six-pack.

Just from a financial perspective this will not be a repeat purchase for me.

Cheers!

 

Up next is a beer I receive from @Pinz412 in March of 2021. Justin was an active BA member when I first joined then more or less dropped off the face of the map. I hope all is well (I always worry a bit when people just disappear off BA)

Anyway, this is St. Eldritch, an American Wild Ale from Cellar Works. The bottle description is "Dark Belgian inspired ale aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with brettanomyces. This beer has been further conditioned in the bottle and will continue to evolve if cellared in a dark and cool (55-60 degrees) location" (which it has been)

2.97/5 rDev -18.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75
On the pour this is an almost bright amber, but once in the glass it's a much deeper reddish brown. Roughly a finger of khaki colored head that receded to a long-lasting cap and ring. Aroma is largely muted. I can pick up some faint funk and wine barrels, but it's pretty reserved overall.

Taste is......not my thing. I tend to love saisons, farmhouse ales and wild ales. I like barnyard funk, sour, tart, whatever. What I don't love is in your face brett, and that's what this beer brings. I can get a little of the Cabernet Sauvignon barrel flavor, but the brett is so in my face that I can't really enjoy this. Glad I got to try it, but not my thing.

-------------------------

I remember the first time I paid $3 for a beer at a bar. Now under $3 a beer purchased at retail seems like a bargain.

@champ103 how is the book? I find the cover and title intriguing. I'm in the middle of reading a book about the United States in the run-up to WWII (The Borrowed Years by Richard Ketchum). I read Five Decembers (Edgar winning book...was excellent), then The Mosquito Bowl, both of which were set in WWII, which led to me busting out some of my dad's old WWII books. I think (know) I'm getting old!

 

Its excellent. Starts off as a Covid allegory, as the plague has shown up on this imagined island in the Mediterranean, which is called Mingeria. A Provence of the Ottoman Empire. It goes into detail on how the doctors would treat patients and quarantine measures for the time (in 1901). The plague gets out of hand from the doctors, then France, Russia, and Great Britain shut the island off from the rest of the world with a navy blockaded so people can't escape the island. Then it morphs into a story on nationalism as the island declares its Independence from the Ottoman Empire. 100 years later it morphs again to the multi generational story of a family traced from the first Queen of Mengeria to her great grand daughter. The great grand daughter turns out to be the Historian documenting and writing a book on all of this.

 

I couldn't finish the last beer, so I've moved on. Up next is JuneBug (Batch #2 bottled April, 2019) received courtesy of @adrock314


Pours an interesting peachy color with fizzy, short-lived head. Aroma has plenty of metallic funk with faint, generic fruity notes. Taste largely follows. There's a good amount of funk, again with a little bit of a metallic edge to it. The plum is there, but its presence is discrete, like the guy at the party you vaguely remember but might have trouble picking out of a lineup. Light, lively, fairly dry, and easy going down.

--------------------
@champ103 sounds interesting. I may have to check it out!

 

Hey now! Then Ruination is the beer for you!!

Just a few short years ago I was able to purchase locally brewed, high quality beers by the six-pack/12 ounce can (or bottle) for around 10 bucks. Those beers are now closer to 12+ bucks. 'Welcome' to the world of high inflation (and don't get me started on egg prices).

Cheers!

 

You gotta find someone with chickens, we get ‘em fresh down the road $5 a dozen. Better quality, better chicken life, way cheaper…we’re lucky x3.

I know two people to get them from and both have yet to raise price. They could for sure but I guess chicken people are good people, like us beer people.

 

4.04/5 rDev -3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Bottled 5/11/2021 (best before end 2026) - enjoyed on 1/21/2023 - poured from a 750mL capped-and-corked bottle into my Troubadour tulip.

Rosewood body shines a cardinal tinged madder when held to the light. Dark, clear, with a fist of beige resolving to a lasting dense creamy finger. Rich tendrils of fine lacing; faint legs.

Tart funky aromatics, faint red wine vinegar, goat milk, and some vague winter spices and fallen leaves.

Quite malty, reminiscent of an English brown ale almost - toasted grain, oak/cedar, peppercorn, and spices. Low but persistent grassy bitterness. Moderate, phenol-laden yeast character. Fairly dry finish with a tart not-quite-floral edge. Hints of Assam tea.

Medium-bodied, soft, well carbonated with some lingering tannins.

Rustic, style-defying (as usual) dark, lightly (mysteriously) spiced winter saison.

 

Are you calling me chicken!?!

 

I tried this beer (any version) for the first time last Friday, a day short of New Beer Weekend. I enjoyed it but found it a bit challenging to work through the 16 oz between the strong alcohol (complete opposite of your reaction - felt much stronger) and sticky full resinous body. Enjoyed it overall, but felt more like drinking a triple IPA, and definitely could not drink a second back to back.

Had 10 oz of their Russian Imperial Stout after, and it was one of my favorite beers of the trip. Slowed down after that, with a final beer (Pliny) a few hours later before heading back to the hotel.

I saw Ruination at the store here, but bought too much Revolution previous (plus won’t be home in February). The one beer I want to run into a six pack or two here or Vegas is FW Wookey Jack, which was also incredible. How these beers drop out of sales and circulation is a mystery.

Will be back shortly with one of two from a solid suburban brewer.

 

Maybe the brewery one was slightly different or not the OG one?? I hate any hint of booze and didn’t get anything at all from mine other than the slightest sinus hint. I’d be curious to read your response if you try a can and find them to be different, let us know.

I agree on these older zombie beers…wookey jack is so perfect, let’s hope it’s a yearly return.

 

Yeah, you appeared to 'react' to this beer quite differently than me. I was a bit surprised that as I was about 2/3rds through that I was not picking up any sensory aspects of the high(er) ABV. I didn't perceive any heat or other facets from the alcohol. This beer went down 'smooth' for me.

Jon (@jonphisher), did you find it "challenging" to drink Ruination?

Cheers!

P.S. Perhaps time, once again, for my well worn adage: we all have our own unique palates and preferences for what we enjoy in a given beer style.

Edit: As I discussed in my post one thing that sorta 'surprised' me with Ruination was that the beer did not taste super bitter to me which is what I would have expected from a beer that is specified to be 100+ IBUs.

 

Just want to add 8.2% ABV is within my preferred range for IPAs, which Ruination was in. It reminded me of Hopslam in terms of body and feel, sans the honey part.

I have a local WCIPA, one of two from Roaring Table planned for the weekend. Since this is one of my favorite styles, I'm always curious to try new offerings, as we don't have the depth in this style I can find out West.

Roaring Table Concision



Can Notes: $6.00 after tax single purchased at Beer on the Wall on January 10th. 16 oz canned 12/22/22. "Drink". California-Style Double IPA. 8.8% ABV. Lupulin ablaze a pilsner malt firmament. Hops Strata, Mosaic & Nelson. Brewed & canned by Roaring Table Brewing.

Appearance: Several pours into a shaker pint glass. Clear straw base, light carbonation, creamy soapy foam leaves generous lacing and a creamy covering over the base, a layer carbonation bubbles trapped underneath waiting for a sip to escape. 4.0

Aroma: Nice fruity, moderately dank aroma emerged upon cracking the can open, and persists throughout. Citrus, dank weed, tangerine and white grape is what I'm getting, all come together well to create a very appetizing aroma. 4.25

Taste: Consistent with the body, though the dank weed is clearly front and center, with tangerine, white wine and citrus sitting back and admiring. Hard to restraining gulping this down before finishing the review, always a good sign. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Drinks much easier than the listed 8.8% ABV, dry and slightly bitter, slight isolated alcohol feel with light burn throughout. Carbonation light, body light to medium, watery, very easy drinking. 3.75

Overall: This is a solid local dank WCIPA style offering. Enjoying this, would definitely pick up again, even with the higher price point, and hope Roaring Table comes back with this. 4.0

Having Revolution's Legal Hero a few days ago, I liked that beer slightly more, more dankness and a fuller taste flavor profile, no alcohol burn / feel. Wish I tasted what I got aroma wise here, would have been able to compete. Have a second, much lighter styled beer from Roaring Table planned for tomorrow.

 

3 Floyds Brewing BA Blot out the Sun. This brewery's batting average of quality is probably higher than any other brewery, in my experience. This beer features a gorgeous black color, with a light beautiful brown foamy crown. The smell is unique to 3 Floyds Brewing. Very recognizable. If you smell it, you know good beer and heavy metal music is impending. Brown sugar, bourbon, brown bread, chocolate, vanilla, and graham cracker. But different from other beers of the same style and description. The taste is also proprietary 3 Floyds Brewing. This is a BA stout, with no adjuncts. It fits the profile, but the experience is so unique to 3 Floyds Brewing. Huge fudge, bourbon, and vanilla flavors, but there is also a desirable vegetable flavor, like Thanksgiving dinner-style delicious vegetable flavor. Toffee, graham cracker, and brown sugar finish the ride. The mouthfeel is oily, creamy, thick, luscious, and velvety, with low carbonation. Overall, this is a very delicious BA stout, at a great price, from one of America's most important craft breweries. The label art and quote from the finest business mind of our generation, C. Montgomery Burns, solidifies this beer as an absolute treasure.

 

Brewing Projekt Drawbango Puff Tart Fruited Sour, 4.8% ABV. Pours opaque rust-red with a one-finger light-pink head that left puree residue. Nose is strawberry, mango, and marshmallow. Taste follows with the fruit prevailing, moderately sweet, slightly tart. Decent mouthfeel, overall outstanding.

4.27/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Another melty, sunny, and warm (25F) winter day. People are out doing stupid things, like climbing up on their roof and shoveling the snow off. Thanks, but I'll stay on the ground and patiently wait for it to melt off, always has. I'm not plummeting 25ft off a roof.

 

Jester King Brewery -- Super Ultramega Hyperforce
Intergalactic farmhouse ale with ginger, salt, taragon & refermented with cantalope
ABV: 3.7%; pouring temperature: 45 °F; bottling info: Batch #4 - September 2020
Source: Tavour



3.83/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Very pale straw color; clear body; dense, lively carbonation; thick, frothy, white head. Very pleasant aroma; fruity; citrus notes of lemon and lime; interesting light, funky sourness. The taste follows along with the nose; light, delicate fruity sweetness and sourness; clean. Medium-light body; tart with a mild sweetness offsetting things.

A nice, fairly delicate tasting farmhouse ale. The horse blanket sensation is pretty subdued, instead mild citrus notes dominate the taste and feel. It's not overly complex in character but is a nice, easy sipper.

 

Varietal + Barley Brown: Dammit Bobby WCIPA

 

I may be biased, but this GIF fits better with your previous "fly eagles fly" post

 

Sierra Nevada Juicy Little Thing Hazy IPA, 6.5% ABV; 4.06 overall

Pours a hazed gold with 3+ fingers of eggshell colored head. Great head retention & good head retention

S: Tropical & citrus fruits. fades as this warms

T: Guava, passion fruit, tangerine, plus dryness up front. Pomelo, dryness & Passion Fruits as this beer warms up. Some Guava sweetness in the finish, plus dryness & a little pineapple

MF: Medium body, pretty firm carbonation, pretty good balance

Easy to drink, starts out great, but the flavors fade & then resurge. I would probably buy this again, solid flavor & nice price point for this style of beer

 

Oh how I’ve missed all of you, it’s a pleasure to join once again on this lovely Saturday. Got some good one kid time over with my dad earlier and now cooking up breakfast for dinner as we do on Saturdays. The never ending box from @snaotheus continues, I thought a dry Irish stout paired well with dinner so here it is…

Fast Fashion Brewing - Is Fast Fashion Old News (dry Irish stout 5%)



Pours a dark brown, light brown head, quick to dissipate, minor lacing.

Nose is a tangy cocoa powder, with characteristics of darker chocolate, and chalky roast.

The taste carries the same tangyness which almost reminds me of cherry skin; a long lingering dark cocoa taste coats the tongue and lingers, there is a little bit of espresso bite on the finish.

Light body, lightly sweet, little bit of bitterness on the finish; ashy dryness, residual dark fruit feel is left on the tongue, again like cherry skins to me.

This is a pretty tasty beer it actually reminds me of guiness in some ways. I’ve always felt guiness has a slight acidic tangy thing going on and this beer has that, slightly magnified.

———

@cavedave you were the motivation for this post, I remember a dry January post where you said you used to enjoy Guiness with eggs, I think…? Here’s my dinner version with a PNW Irish stout…

 

Guinness, or others in that style, with breakfast is definitely one of life's finest pleasures. Your memory is excellent. .That looks amazing, like I want to jump into the pic and just go for it. Cheers!

 

Thank you…I felt ambivalent about sharing but I know you have strong will power hanging with us on the weekends so I knew it was safe. Cheers Dave!

 

KBS Chocolate Cherry
11.6% stout by Founders Brewing Company

Poured from a twelve ounce bottle, the body is a black with tan head. Good lacing at first but none as the stout warmed. I let this one sit in glass for over an hour before drinking.

Aroma has chocolate, coffee and oak notes to complement the bourbon. A classic Founders stout nose but the cherry is barely noticeable if at all.

Taste follows nose with a bit of background cherry. At first I could taste more cherry on my lips after drinking than in the swallow. Sweeter than the base KBS but not as sweet as other variants. The barrel dominates but isn't too hot.

Compared to a recent Bourbon County Cola that I finally tried, this stout is much less sweet and the flavor is more subtle. Less bourbon sweet and more alcohol presence without going over the top.

Mouthfeel is creamy and substantial. Carbonation good. The finish dries up quickly leaving the mouth covered with a cherry-chocolate film after the barrel fades.

This one feels like a course correction after the likes of Maple Mackinaw Fudge and Vanilla variants to a more subtle variant that features the barrel, coffee and oak. That's okay with me.

 

Well, let's hope the Eagles don't lay an egg tonight.

 

Here's the summary for my next beer....I don't like it

3.25/5 rDev -26.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
Pours a murky, dirty orange with a medium amount of somewhat short-lived white head that receded to a thin cap & ring. Solid looking, but unremarkable. Aroma is bursting with tropical notes. Mango, guava, grapefruit and more. I'm not a huge Tree House fanboy (I don't love IPAs in general), but they do tend to nail both the aroma and feel.

On the tongue, my overall impression is decidedly "meh". It's too heavy on the hops, leading to some clear hop burn and loads of bitterness. There are some nice tropical notes hiding behind all that, but not enough to make me enjoy this beer.

Overall, I'm sure there are loads of people out there who would love this beer. Unfortunately I'm not one of them. Doubtful I'll finish it.

 

Snookum Brewery -- Caverns
Barrel aged strong ale
ABV: 11.8%; pouring temperature: 50 °F; canning info: n/a
Source: Tavour



4.13/5 rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Dark, opaque brown body; moderate sized head, dense and velvety. Fantastic aroma; warm and sweet; cocoa and chocolate; lightly roasted grain; a light sense of brown sugar. Huge flavors; sweet milk and bitter chocolate; boozy; a suggestion of anise. Heavy body; chewy; big alcohol warmth.

A very fine, robust dark ale with some great fine taste and feel character. The barrel aging and high ABV are quite evident but are tamed just enough to make this an enjoyable sipper.

 

Although more supply should lead to lower egg prices, my economics class said

Though that was years ago and we've determined in this thread how well my memory works.

Speaking of, apparently I rated but did not review Wookey Jack six and a half years ago. I try to stick true to the purely "new" when posting in this thread and wasn't going to post it, but it seems to fit this weekend, right or wrong.


More or less pasted from my revisit rating yet initial review (original ratings: 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4)

Well, the looks obviously kept up from my original review, but my mentality now is even more impressed. Not sure I'd want much more than a dark beer with a beige-to-tan head that mushrooms in the snulip and provides copious lacing.

My old thoughts on Cascadian darks/black IPAs were that they needed a little citrus vibe in the hop profile to really work for me. I'm not sure I'd argue I don't want that citrus, but after this brew, I'm not thinking "need" is near the right term at all.

The aroma is slightly roasty, but the hops push through in an oddly distinct way. They're not in my face, but there is definitely a mix of floral/herbal with a fruit skin edge that floats above the oddly light dark chocolate malt scents. Put another way, this definitely says to me, "I'm an IPA, not a hoppy American stout."

The taste walks back from the nose's promise just a bit, but it's not disassociating itself at all. I feel the roasted malt bitterness and classic C-hop vibe pair well. I can't say I can pick out the rye, but when I consider it, I can see how it might be bridging the two components of this beer quite nicely. Warmth leans into the hops more than the roast, which backs it up with a more and more distinct rye impression as it warms.

Fairly robust and medium plus in body and leaning full in boldness, this beer is stopping short challenging my palate to a fight. My original rating [only] came of a different time with both a different beerscape and personal palate. As of this review, I'm on board with this beer being produced more often.

Side note: I was happy the GF wasn't as enthralled with this beer when I gave her a taste. She argued it was still a little cold and I am sure she will grab at least one on her own, but I might have to hit the beer store again soon to grab more of this and look for the potentially elusive Ruination.

 

I fully support your post @cjgiant not that that means anything but I felt obliged to show support

I want to buy another six of wookey but I’m so slow to get through beer I haven’t yet. Then again it’s warm on the local shelves so maybe I should get it in my fridge before it’s to late…