527. North Coast Old Stock Ale 2009 Cellar Reserve

“This tastes like everything Samichlaus wishes it tasted like.”

Jeffrey McElfresh

Hot damn. This beer is easily one of the best beers I’ve had in the last couple of years. Sorry all you other fancy beers, but you just got served. Old Stock Ale Cellar Reserve 2009 is North Coast’s regular Old Stock Ale aged in bourbon barrels. And the results are, well, stupendous. North Coast is no stranger to us in these here parts, although it has been a while; our final tabulations indicate that we’ve tried several selections, including Old Stock Ale 2004, Brother Thelonius, Old No. 38 Stout, Red Seal Ale, Cru d’Or Organic Belgian Style Ale and Old Rasputin XII. Prost to Fort Bragg!

Old Stock Ale 2009 Cellar Reserve pours a crystal clear maple syrup brown with orange and red highlights jumping out all over the place. While there was not much in the way of a head on the beer, I pretty much didn’t think about it or care because the aromas streaming out of this beer were phenomenal: brown sugar, molasses, caramel, maple syrup, bright oak, vanilla, bourbon, and hard butterscotch candy. In fact, I smelled and smelled and smelled this beer. Beguiling, alluring, and intoxicating. And no, I’m not talking because of the alcohol, although there were very evident legs on the glass with each swirl. Once I got around to drinking it, the front was a mix of brown sugar and maple syrup with lesser amounts of buttered toast. The vanilla and bourbon really came through in the middle, as did the bright oak flavor, although everything was restrained and in control. The finish offered honey and a tannic bite from the oak; there was a touch of alcohol and bourbon and some lingering warmth that was pleasant and reassuring. The gentle carbonation allowed the chewy & rich malt body to shine; it came with a touch of creaminess that helped round the beer on the palate. In fact, everything was even about this beer—it was complex and delightful with plenty of malt character, it featured a well-balanced use of bourbon and oak, and it was smooth and surprisingly easy-drinking for 13.16% ABV. There was nothing overpowering, and all facets of the beer were in harmony. It was like the warm blanket you wrap around yourself when sitting by the fire on a brisk winter evening, the one that relaxes you and makes everything perfect. In other words, it was super awesome. And it easily could easily handle a couple more years of aging—everything was still bright and fresh and clean. Although I’m not sure I can imagine it being better than it was: that would just blow my mind.

From the bottle: “Old Stock Cellar Reserve is a small batch, limited release that has been aged in oak bourbon barrels. The aging process gives this world-class beer an added layer of complexity. A memorable drink that should be enjoyed as a completely unique offering.”

ABV: 13.16%

(7/30/2012)

358. North Coast Old Stock Ale 2004

It’s been a while since our last beer from North Coast—February to be exact—although we did get that lovely shout out from North Coast in April. Anyway, this beer was a gift from Aaron Spoores—thanks, my man—and it marks our sixth beer from the brewers in Fort Bragg, CA, including Brother Thelonius, Old No. 38 Stout, Red Seal Ale, Cru d’Or Organic Belgian Style Ale and Old Rasputin XII.

Old Stock Ale 2004 began exuding a rich rum raisin malt nose as soon at the bottle was opened; pouring a crystal clear copper with luscious red highlights, it has a tan head that starts creamy before settling down to ring the glass. In addition to the rum raisin aroma from the opening of the bottle, the nose also has a sweet bready malt aroma that Elli describes as cake, and there are also some creamy components to it—put all together, the nose strikes us as a delicious boozy raisin cupcake with some light white frosting. But in a good way. Flavors start sweet, bready, and lightly biscuity with just an ever so slight taste of alcohol before rolling into an even dry middle. There is a bit of a return of sweetness at the end, accompanied by more of the alcohol flavor and low levels of bitterness that close out the beer. Old Stock Ale is medium bodied with a bit of stickiness and chewiness in the mouthfeel, although very smooth and even on the palate; there is also a slight alcohol warmth in the final third that blends nicely with the finishing sweetness. The carbonation is medium—the amount left in the bottle was actually rather impressive—although it doesn’t lighten the mouthfeel very much. Old Stock Ale is subtle and well-balanced overall; the flavors have had the time to marry across the profile, resulting in an excellent and delicious malt beverage. As already noted, this beer is very smooth and even; while it could use a bit more complexity of flavor (we would guess that this beer has peaked and is on the way down), it is still an excellent treat for which we are especially thankful—thanks again to Aaron.

From the North Coast website: “Like a fine port, Old Stock Ale is intended to be laid down. With an original gravity of over 1.100 and a generous hopping rate, Old Stock Ale is well-designed to round-out and mellow with age. It's brewed with classic Maris Otter malt and Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops, all imported from England.”

ABV: 11.4%

(6/23/10)

277. Highlands 15th Anniversary Auld Asheville Vintage Ale

Another beer from Highland Brewing Company, which is our third—the last two were Cattail Peak Oraganic Wheat Beer and Kashmir IPA. Auld Asheville emerges from the bottle a hazy toffee-colored brown with a light eggshell head. The nosy carries plenty of rich malt and smaller amounts of dark fruit—mostly of the raisin variety. There is also something slightly spritsy in the nose, but we can’t quite identify it. Auld Asheville has a big sweet malt front, moving into darker fruit flavors of raisin, currant, and cherry, and finishing with a bit of a spicy hop bitterness. The malt also reasserts itself in the final third, leaving the fruit flavors behind to set up the finish. The mouthfeel is chewy and rich; there is a medium to low carbonation level, and a medium to heavy body that is a little bit sticky. Auld Asheville is good, but not outstanding; it might benefit from a bit more aging to allow flavors to develop and marry together, and allow some of the stickiness to subside and mellow with age.

From the bottle: “Highland’s 15th Anniversary Auld Asheville Ale has been brewed to celebrate our tradition of brewing fine quality ales and lagers. This version of an English Old Ale has a bold profile from fine British Malts, woodsy and estery aromas from traditional British ale yeast, and bittering from Styrian Bobek hops. The addition of Sterling hops provides a hint of spiciness in the nose. These flavors combined with a bright cheery redolence create a savory “Auld Ale” that will warm the dreariest of winter nights.”

From the Highland Brewing blog: “According to John Lyda, Highland’s Head Brewer, Auld Asheville Vintage Ale is a high gravity ale in the style of ‘Old Ales’ or ‘English Strong’ ales which are traditionally released just prior to the holidays. Contributing to the beer’s complexity is the use of three different yeast strains, two of which were imported from England. Because of the hopping levels, alcohol content, and the completeness of its attenuation with time in the tanks, ‘the product should cellar incredibly well and increase in complexity for at least the next year.’ Its taste is described as ‘having a bold profile from fine British Malts, woodsy and estery aromas from traditional British Ale yeast, and bittering from Styrian Bobek hops. The addition of Sterling hops provides a hint of spiciness in the nose.’”

ABV: 9.5%

(4/3/2010)

238. Bluegrass Brandy Barrel Aged Queen’s Knickers

Another beer from Bluegrass Brewing Company; our last beer was Bluegrass American Pale Ale. We picked up a growler of this from the Party Source in Newport, KY on the way back from Louisville, and held onto it for a couple of days so we could have some friends over to share it. After all, a half gallon of 12.0% Old Ale shared between two people spells a trip to the hurt locker. Sure, we’d have fun drinking it then, but the next morning would spell ugly with like about six us and maybe three or four ls. And besides, this beer is too good to waste as a session beer.

Queen’s Knickers starts with a rich, sweet, floral nose—it smells almost like a mead, and has maple syrup undercurrents running amongst the various aromas. There is also a slight dose of oaky woodiness in the nose. It pours a clear tannish copper color with a creamy ivory head. Q’sK starts soft in flavor on the palate; it is malty sweet with maple syrup flavors in the front before moving into a middle that carries rose and flower petal hints along with oak and vanilla flavors. The beer finishes rather clean with some lingering creamy wood characteristics; it has a medium body and a good bit of creaminess to the mouthfeel. Overall, an excellent and nuanced beer. Flavors are light and well balanced—subtle complexity is the name of the game here. While the nose may be a bit bigger than the body, there is a nice balance between the beer, alcohol, and wood flavors across the profile of the beer—nothing sticks out or is obtrusive, rather a clean balance is created that gives depth and character to the beer. We’d love to get our hands on some more of the Queen’s Knickers, but I’m guessing that’s not happening in the near future. Nonetheless, a treat worth savoring.

There’s nothing about this on the BBC website, and barely anything on Beer Advocate. Why do I feel like I got away with something by scoring a growler of this?

ABV: 12.0%

(2/23/2010)

217. Founders Black Biscuit

This marks our third Founders beer; we’ve had their Harvest Ale and the Breakfast Stout. We had this on tap @ South Park Tavern as part of their Founders night; besides Black Biscuit, we had the Red’s Rye PA and their Porter. Joining us for the evening was Jeff “2 points away from Certified” Fortney, so we got to rely on his palate in sorting through the beer as well. All in all a good night.

Black Biscuit came served in a tulip snifter (see photo); it was a deep brownish black—more brown than black, but very dark—with ruby highlights and a creamy tan head that quickly turned into a ring around the glass. The nose was thick, rich and complex—there was creaminess mixed with oak, vanilla, and bourbon along with some evident alcohol aroma. Much like with the nose, there is a lot going on in the flavor profile; the front is dark, sweet, creamy, and rounded, moving into oak and biscuit in the middle, along with some alcohol and a dose of roastiness buried in there as well. Black Biscuit ends with low levels of burnt notes and vanilla, but is still remarkably smooth. The alcohol becomes a bit more evident in the nose and flavor as the beer warms, but it also smooths out as well. The body is medium, with a chewy, rich, velvety mouthfeel, but it is also a bit dry at the end. The carbonation is low to medium; it made itself felt, but didn’t significantly shape or steer the flavor.

Or, to put it another way: Black Biscuit is like you tried to make breakfast, but burned the biscuits, so you poured maple syrup over them to try and make it edible, then just gave up and had a glass of bourbon.

Elli found this disturbingly lovely graffitied poster back by the bathrooms. Creepy, yes. But also awesome.

Black Biscuit is a complex and enjoyable beer that is surprisingly drinkable. The nose itself is vastly rewarding; I spent a long time just smelling mine over and over. The only thing to add is that Black Biscuit is a Top 10 Best contender.

Since this beer was brewed once, there is nothing on the Founders website; however, Beer Advocate has some further information.

ABV: 10.5%

(2/2/2010)

127. Southern Tier Old Man Winter

Our first non-imperial beer from Southern Tier; we’ve run through Crème Brûlée, Mokah, and Jah*va. We had this on tap at Trolley Stop.

Old Man Winter has a slightly hoppy nose with some dark malt aromas. The color is a deep rich brown with red highlights. It starts with a clean malt front, followed by toasted and roasted notes with clean hop bitterness finishing the beer out. Old Man Winter has a light body and a smooth flavor, and a medium carbonation bite. There are aroma and flavor hop elements present in the beer, but the darker malt mutes them a bit, and makes it a bit more difficult to pick them out, as they are a bit buried. Old Man Winter has good flavor overall; it is well balanced enough that it makes it hard to pick out some of the individual elements within the beer.

From the Southern Tier website: “With the onset of winter, the brewer’s mind turns to providing warmth. For our winter seasonal, we offer a rich and complex amalgam of hops and barley that will put the feeling back in your toes and lift your spirits above the snow. OMW throws a deep and inviting hue with a thickness that clings to the glass and the warmth of an open flame. Because of its high alcohol content, Old Man is a heady brew that encourages sipping and pondering its essential richness. Drink it fresh now, or cellar a few bottles to see how this old man becomes wiser with age.”

ABV: 7.2%

(11/4/2009)

124. Great Divide Hibernation

We’re back to Great Divide—it’s been a while, but all good things come back around. Thus far, we’ve run through Samurai Rice, Hoss, Oak Aged Yeti, Fresh Hop, Double Wit, 15th Anniversary DIPA, and Denver Pale Ale, making Hibernation our 8th Great Divide beer.

Hibernation Ale has a dry sweet nose with some chocolate aromas; it is a crisp, clear mahogany—a very nice color to look at—with a light tan head. Hibernation begins with a dry, biscuit malt front, accompanied by chocolate and cocoa-like hints before moving into some bitterness with some lager malt complexity in the middle. It ends dry with a complex chocolate flavor—both cocoa and unsweetened flavors emerge, most specifically without any sweetness or lactose components—and some hop bitterness. There is not much is the way of fruitiness or the dark fruit flavors we’ve seen in other Old Ales (like Third Coast Ale, although that is a barley wine), and very minimal sweetness. The body is medium and well carbonated; some light warmth emerges as the beer warms. Hibernation seems a bit different from the standard Old Ale; while the dry biscuit and chocolate flavors create an interesting malt profile, it does lack some of the dark fruit and sherry-like complexity found in other Old Ales. Nonetheless, an enjoyable and interesting beer; we’re wondering if this could be seen as a more Americanized version of an Old Ale (and yes, we know it won GABF in 1997, and got second in 2003 and 2006).

From the the Great Divide website: “Hibernation Ale has been our celebrated winter tradition since 1995. This robust, dry-hopped ale has a malty richness balanced with a complex hop profile and a hearty warming character.”

ABV: 8.1%

(11/1/2009)