525. Marin Brewing Old Dipsea Barleywine 2009

This particular beer was part of our evening of plenty: we tried four different beers from Yazoo Brewing in Nashville, TN (the Rye Saison was the best of the four, by the way, although we thought the APA and the IPA would be better if they were both fresher and on tap) and the collaboration between Jolly Pumpkin and Maui Brewing, Sobrehumano Palena ’Ole, which was fantastic and should only get better with more time in the bottle. So why did we make this our selection for the day, you ask? Because I actually wrote down some notes, that’s why. After all, when the drinking is all done, and you’ve got nothing but empties, you need more than vague assertions and empty descriptions like “that tasted good” to build a following. Not that that hasn’t served in the past, mind you. And the clamoring numbers to get up on this blog are, well, stunningly inconspicuous. Any-hoo, I bought this beer a couple of years ago in San Francisco, and meticulously socked it away in the basement as is my wont; after all the sticker indicating it had been “Bourbon Barrel Aged for 10 Months” told me that it needed to sit back for a while. So there you go—you’re all caught up and the likes. Oh, and this is our first beer from Marin Brewing, kicking it out there on the Left Coast. Although they seem to have some sort of relationship with Moylan’s, who we’ve tried before.

Old Dipsea pours a brown infused with both red and orange—it looks, quite honestly, Belgian—with a wispy, wafty tan head that swirls in arabesques over the beer. It also features red highlights and is crystal clear. The nose packs a decent punch of oak and dark fruit—mainly raisin, plum, and cherry—with a corresponding touch of alcohol. Taken collectively, you get an oaky rum raisin with chewy caramel. Flavors start with brown sugar and caramel malt, followed by vanilla, oak, and fruit in the middle—again, raisin, plum, and cherry—with a touch of alcohol flavor and warmth, and rounding out with a tannic bite, a touch of alcohol, and then oak and bourbon. While the tannic bite lingers, the beer is rather clean and dry in the finish. The mouthfeel has a couple of odd contradictions: it is chewy and rich with a touch of vinous character and yet also has a bit too much heat from the alcohol. And at three years in, I’m not certain that’s going away. There is also a surprising amount of oak for the time spent in the bottle, but that is more balanced, and is spread out across the beer’s profile. We’d  like to see less sharp alcohol in the flavor and mouthfeel, but everything else is pretty much in line.

From the bottle: “Our richest ale has a deep copper color, is full-flavored and very hoppy in the finish. We use East Kent Goldings and Styrian Goldings to hop the balance of flavor just right. Ideal for sipping after dinner.” The website says pretty much the same thing.

ABV: 9.0%

(7/24/2012)

499. Founders Nemesis 2010

Nemesis is a beer Founders makes once a year, and every year (well, all two thus far) it is different; as it says on the label, “every batch diabolically brewed to decimate ordinary-average-run-of-the-mill tasting beer.” Sounds about right for Founders. Make it big, make it meaty, make it for Michigan’s brutally long winter. How else do you end up with a 12% beer with 100 IBUs? How else indeed! Fittingly, this is our tenth beer from Founders, including Newaygo County Cherry, Devil Dancer, Pale Ale, KBS (as a bonus beer), Centennial IPA, Black Biscuit, Harvest Ale and Breakfast Stout.

Described on the label as “anti-establishment ale,” Nemesis 2010 pours a rich deep chocolate with ruby highlights; it is crystal clear, albeit dark, and has just the waftiest skiff of tan foam with miniscule almost invisible bubbles slowly climbing through the viscous fluid. And, not surprisingly with the 12% ABV, this beer has visible legs on the glass. The nose is interesting—there is a fair amount of caramel and molasses mixed with spiciness, dark fruit, and chocolate, which simultaneously works and doesn’t work. I’m leaning towards works right now, but I reserve the right to change my mind. As it warms, alcohol also becomes evident, although more as a floral accompaniment than as anything distracting. Flavors start soft and delicate on the tongue, with first the light caramel and dark fruit—raisin, fig, and cherry—followed by chocolate as it heads into the middle. There is also a fair amount of bitterness in the middle, but it has to work pretty hard to fight through the viscous fluid and heavier flavors, although the hops could be the source of the spiciness in the nose—either that, or some rye malt. Bitterness is also evident in the finish, coupled with a fair amount of caramel sweetness; the effect is very similar to the bigger, thicker DIPAs and Imperial IPAs, including the light alcohol warmth, but the residual chocolate and nutty flavors set it apart. The body is thick and chewy, but at the same time surprisingly clean—I expected more stickiness from this big a beer. My guess would be the lighter effects are created by wheat or rye in the body that couples with the slight warmth from the alcohol to brighten the whole. Further warmth produces some sherry-like fruit and alcohol flavors that bring further lightness to the palate, mostly in the middle and finish, but also in the nose. To be honest, Nemesis 2010 is both darker and better than I expected—there is balance and subtlety developing in this beer that will be even better in another couple of years.

From Ratebeer: “The 2010 release of Nemesis is best described by our brewing team as ‘a dark barley wine that pours black with a subtle mahogany hue. Brewed with 5 malts and no shortage of hops for a pleasantly bitter booming flavor. Roasty and toasty with a multitude of tastes that melts on your tongue.’”

ABV: 12%
IBU: 100

(12/13/2011)

446. Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Jack & Ken’s Black Barleywine

We’re closing out the year with a bang—the final Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary beer, Jack & Ken’s Black Barleywine. Sure, there is technically another day left in this year, but I seriously doubt I’ll be blogging just for the sake of my one consistent fan (hey Jeffrey!). While I’d like to apologize to all of you out there who feel slighted by my favoritism, since I’ve been told that the second Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week is about to become a reality, I’m all about playing favorites. After all, what have the rest of you done for me lately? But enough about my blessed good luck: previously from Sierra Nevada, we’ve sampled 30th Anniversary Our Brewers Reserve Grand Cru, Homegrown Estate Ale, 30th Anniversary Charlie, Fred, & Ken’s Imperial Helles Bock, Southern Hemisphere Harvest, Bigfoot, 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken’s Ale, Kellerweis, Celebration, Torpedo Extra IPA, Anniversary Ale 2009 and Harvest Wet Hop Ale 2008. If it wasn’t your damn anniversary, Sierra Nevada, I might have to complain about the long-ass anniversary beer names. I get it—you’re old and awesome, so stop name dropping.

30th Anniversary Jack & Ken’s Black Barleywine pours a rich, clear chocolate with a creamy cardboard colored head. When we first poured this, it was straight out of the fridge, and it smelled and tasted rather neutral—not much in the way of anything that jumped out and said awesome. So we put it aside for a half an hour, and then came back to it, and that half an hour was helpful. The nose is creamy, with a touch of dark fruit along with caramel, toffee, and licorice—and surprisingly, not much in the way of roasted malt. Chocolate and caramel open the front—more chocolate than caramel—and the roasted malt comes out in the middle, along with a light touch of the dark fruit, but very very little. I’m guessing that will be on the up and up in the next couple of years. There is also bitterness in the middle, which lingers through the finish. The chocolate also comes back at the end; along with the previously mentioned bitterness, there is also some alcohol that lingers on the palate. Black Barleywine has a rich but uneven mouthfeel—the creamy chewiness is nice, but the alcohol warmth and flavor is a bit too forward currently. The creamy carbonation helps, but this beer does need a couple of those “graceful” years alluded to below to balance the beer and allow flavors to marry, as well as allowing the alcohol to fade back into the beer. The current strength is the bitter roastiness, but even then a bit more time is needed to blend the current alcohol warmth. Happy Anniversary Sierra Nevada, you glorious hoppy West Coast bastards...

Somewhere, the Abyss lurks...

From the bottle: “Jack McAuliffe was the first American ‘micro’ brewer. His tiny New Albion Brewery in Sonoma, CA inspired countless dreamers to start small-scale breweries of their own. Jack agreed to brew this very special ale with us in honor of our 30th anniversary. This Black Barleywine Ale is a nod to the legendary ales New Albion served at their summer solstice parties. Rich with bitterness and roasted malt flavors, balanced with whole-cone American hops, this robust ale should age gracefully for years.”

ABV: 10.2%

Hops: 100% Cascade

(12/30/2010)

427. Skinny Dave Williamson Barleywine

The latest homebrew to grace my presence; this beer is based upon the Big 10/20 recipe that Dave found on the Brewers Association website. Dave gave this beer to me on National Homebrew Day (May 1) when we brewed a Dunkelweizen on his system, and I dutifully stuck it in my basement. When I came across it the other day while rooting around in the cellar, I decided it was time to pull the trigger on this bad boy. So here we go.

Pure beefcake...

Skinny Dave Barleywine pours a slightly hazy rich caramel copper with a creamy rich tan head; while it has a brilliant and active carbonation made up of very tiny bubbles, the carbonation is very light on the palate. It does, however, look awesome in the glass. The nose is equal parts creamy and rich malty caramel; as it warms, the creaminess comes to the forefront, although the rich malt is still present. Flavors start with balanced caramel malt sweetness, moving into a creamy softer middle, and finishing dry and sweet on the tongue. There is no alcohol or stickiness—just a nice even clean malt flavor across the palate. This beer has had time for the alcohol and flavor to marry together—there is an ever so slight warmth that develops in the back of my throat, but that is it. The mouthfeel is smooth and balanced; there is a slight carbonation bite in the final third, but it mostly helps to put the dry finish on the beer. While good as is, the malt character still needs further time to develop complexity and depth, although the creamy sweetness in the front and middle is delicious. This beer is on its way to someplace better; I’ve cracked it after the first stage of marrying and coordinating flavors, but prior to the second stage of the full development of complexity that comes with age. But it was such a delicious learning curve.

OG: 1.098
FG: 1.016
Malt: mostly 2-row with some crystal
Yeast: WLP002 to 1.034; champagne yeast in secondary to 1.016
Brewed: Easter weekend, 2009
Bottled: June 1, 2009

(11/16/2010)

346. Heavy Seas Cabernet Barrel Aged Below Decks

Another beer from Heavy Seas; this is our third beer, following Clipper City IPA/Loose Cannon Cask and Loose Cannon 420 Cask. Sadly, we couldn’t go three for three on the cask beers from Heavy Seas, although this one was at least barrel-aged, so that has to count for something, right? This beer is part of their Mutiny Fleet of beers—all of their big beers above 8.0% ABV. We took this with us to the monthly DRAFT meeting, as having our beer for the day after the meeting would have meant that our palates would have been wrecked. Instead, we decided to just start with the big beer and wreck our palates from the get-go.

CBA Below Decks pours a hazy chocolate with a caramel colored head; the nose was creamy with chocolate, dark fruit, and some of what we’ve officially dubbed Elli’s classic red Twizzler aroma. Flavors open with chocolate, malt sweetness, and more Twizzler before opening up into the rich dark fruit that makes up the middle; the finish is dry with a fair amount of alcohol warmth. CBABD has a heavy body and something of a sticky mouthfeel with a medium carbonation. The creamy, thick, body works well with the flavors, although this does taste a bit young—it needs some more age to marry the flavors, allow the alcohol to smooth out, and to develop the complexity and nuance in the flavor and mouthfeel.

From the Heavy Seas website: “Our award winning barleywine which has been aged two ways - in either wooden bourbon barrels or cabernet barrels. While great at their release, they will evolve with aging. VINTAGE DATED and VERY limited release.”

ABV: 10.0%

(6/11/10)

310. Avery Anniversary Ale Ten (2003)

Tonight was a humdinger of a sampling night; we rolled through a whole buncha fun stuff, so I’m gonna stick to the highlights, since rambling on about the bottle-hopped Two Hearted clone and the couple of other Hefeweizen homebrews we tried would take away space from our two big champions of the evening, Avery Anniversary Ale Ten (2003) and St. Feuillien Brune Belgian Abbey Ale. Elli and I were joined by our friends Jeff Fortney and Jeffery McElfresh for the evening—it was a redux of our night playing Brewmaster, although we didn’t bust that out this evening. For all of the obvious reasons, we've going with the Avery as our beer of the day, since I don’t think another will be coming our way soon.

Avery Anniversary Ale Ten is from Avery Brewing; we’ve previously run through Brabant Barrel-Aged Wild Ale, Ellie’s Brown Ale, 16th Anniversary Ale and duganA IPA, making this our fifth beer from Avery.

Chug it! Chug it!

Bottled in 2003, Avery Anniversary Ale Ten was originally a DIPA, but has since mellowed into something more like a barley wine. Pouring a hazy golden yellow copper with a minimal white head, Avery Anniversary has a minimal white head, but is still decently carbonated. The nose is intriguing and complex; we got creamy and fruit aromas, including yellow raisin, apricot, and orange preserve, a light spicy aroma, which could be the remaining hops, and a soft tobacco aroma. The body, while medium to heavy, is still smooth and has mellowed very nicely with age—there is very little perceptible alcohol flavor or warmth, although a small amount did emerge once the beer warmed to room temperature. The carbonation is medium to low, but still most certainly present in the beer. Avery Anniversary starts with a dry flat maltiness mixed with a bit of sweetness before moving into some spicy hop characteristics in the middle; the finish is dry and clean, although slightly chalky. A very good beer that has aged well, and still has some further life in it, making me wish I had more than just this bottle. Our only real critique would be that there is a slightly disjointed feel between the nose, the flavor profile, and the finish. While it is still very good, the chalky ending is not as exciting a finish as the nose initially indicates. The nose is certainly one of the highlights of this beer—I smelled mine for a long time before I even bothered trying it, and spent a good portion of my time slowly enjoying the subtle aromas this beer presented.

And it’s probably no surprise that there is no description of this beer on the Avery website. Here’s what Beer Advocate has to say, though.

ABV: 10.0%

Here’s another hand full of trouble.

The second victim of our evening was St. Feuillien Brune, which is a Belgian Abbey Ale dubbel from Brasserie St. Feuillien in Le Roeulx, Belgium. Not surprisingly, this is our first beer from St. Feuillien.

Brune sits a caramelly dark copper with red and orange hints in the glass; it has a creamy tan head and a dark fruit nose consisting mostly of raisin and prune with a fair share of accompanying caramel sweetness. The front is mostly a rich sweet caramel flavor, moving into a darker fruit middle with a fig flavor emerging to compliment the raisin and prune of the nose. Brune ends with a lingering rich Belgian candy sweetness; it has a rich chewy mouthfeel with medium carbonation that has some brightness at the end that helps clean up the finish. A very good and drinkable dubbel, although very rich—the proliferation of this term in the review slightly shocked me in the re-reading, but Brune was still certainly enjoyable, and never excessive in its richness. We’ll be checking out St. Feuillien again.

From the St. Feuillien website: “This brown ale has a marked ruby brown colour with a generous and lasting head. It has a distinctive aroma reflecting the wide range of ingredients used in its production. The fruitiness resulting from its fermentation blends harmoniously with a dominant liquorice and caramel flavour.The body is decidedly malty. The bitterness is the result of a complex alchemy between the fine hops and special malts used. These give St-Feuillien Brune a typical dark chocolate appearance. This beer creates an endless variety of sensations with a lingering taste and powerful aroma.”

ABV: 7.5%

(5/6/2010)

296. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot

The latest and most recent Bigfoot from Sierra Nevada (well, besides yesterday’s beer); we got a growler of this from the Party Source last week when I was passing through to get some new ink work done at Ink Well Tattoo in La Grange, KY. Including yesterday’s beer, our previous Sierra Nevada beers include 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken’s Ale, Kellerweis, Celebration, Torpedo Extra IPA, Anniversary Ale 2009 and Harvest Wet Hop Ale 2008. As well, I would like to point out that I am still not completely convinced of Sierra Nevada’s sincerity...

Bigfoot 2010 is a deep rich copper that pours with very little head; the nose is malty, with just a touch of hop bitterness, but nothing very distinct. The front is very malty—big and sweet and caramelly, and the middle is equally big with the bitterness, although not much in the way of distinct hop flavor. The end is a partial combination of both the front and the middle: the sweetness returns, and concludes with a good dose of lingering bitterness. You can almost taste the youngness of this beer—the big caramel and big bitterness do need some time to marry and mellow to make this beer more linear and drinkable, although the bright fresh flavors are very enjoyable. While the carbonation is a bit low (well, it was a growler), some more age is gonna be the key to bringing this beer together. Nonetheless, a delightful beer as it currently stands

From the Sierra Nevada website: “This year marks the 25th release of Bigfoot. Our award-winning barleywine boasts a dense, fruity bouquet, an intense flavor palate and a deep reddish-brown color. Its big maltiness is superbly balanced by a wonderfully bittersweet hoppiness.”

ABV: 9.6%

OG: 23° P

FG: 6° P

IBU: 90

Malts: 2-row Pale and English Caramel

Bittering Hops: Chinook

Finishing Hops: Cascade & Centennial

Dry Hops: Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook

Our friend Jeffery also brought over a bottle of Nøgne Ø #100 to drink along with the Bigfoot. #100 has a fruity raisin nose, and a good share of fruit in the body; the front is fruity, while the middle has chocolate and brown malt flavors along with some bitterness. The carbonation was rather low, and there was some slight warmth from the alcohol, although it was very well-balanced for a 10% ABV beer.

From the Nøgne Ø website: “Our 100th batch, brewed for the enjoyment of the brewers, but popular demand forced us to release it commercially. This malty, yet light bodied ale has a massive hop bitterness. Most enjoyable in a comfortable chair in front of a roaring fire.”

ABV: 10.0%
OG: 23.5° P

IBU: 80

Malt: Maris Otter, Wheat, & Chocolate

Hops: Columbus, Chinook, & Centennial hops

(4/22/2010)

273. J. W. Lees Harvest Ale 1999

Coming to us from J. W. Lees & Co. Brewers, located in Manchester, England. They’ve been in business since 1828. Jolly proper for them.

Pouring a rich clear deep caramel copper with a quickly disappearing white head, Harvest Ale 1999 has a malty toffee nose with low levels of alcohol and a subtle clean fruitiness that adds complexity to the nose. When swirled, short alcohol legs are left along the walls of the glass. The flavor begins with a lighter caramel flavor before shifting to the luscious toffee that dominates the beer, front to back. There is a small bit of bitterness and fruitiness in the middle, and alcohol flavor in the final third of the beer, but all the flavors are rounded by the presence of toffee. Harvest Ale 1999 has a medium to heavy body with medium to low carbonation that still leaves the beer full bodied and chewy, with richness and a smooth alcohol warmth. I’ve had other bottles of the same beer that had a delightful oxidized sherry-like finish; this particular bottle has none of that—instead it is slight caramel with loads and loads of toffee. Nonethless, while this bottle is not as complex, it is still an enjoyable and well crafted beer. The smooth blending of maltiness and alcohol creates an enjoyable and pleasant sipping experience, front to back.

From the J. W. Lees website: “Vintage harvest Ale: Released in limited quantities in Decemeber, Harvest Ale gives a rich, strong flavour, beloved by beer connoisseurs. It can be laid down like a vintage wine for enjoying in later years. We also provide Harvest Ales fermented in casks with sherry, port, whisky or calvados. ”

ABV: 11.5%

(3/30/2010)

122. Bell’s Third Coast Ale

More Bell’s makes for happy drinking. This is our fourth beer from Bell’s Brewery; we’ve tried Two Hearted, Octoberfest, and Oberon. We had this on tap at the Trolley Stop.

Third Coast Ale has a delicious and complex nose; besides the sweet malt and the more complex dark sugar aromas, there are dark fruits and some low level alcohol notes as it warms. Color-wise, Third Coast is a dark brown with a white head; it appeared clear, although maybe a bit hay, but the bar was kinda dark, so you’ll have to forgive the environmental influences. The front is sweet with fruit flavors—there is both caramel and raisin running across the mouth at the start—before moving into some bitterness and dark malt sweetness mixed with molasses, and finishing with roasted malt and chocolate flavors as well as a return of the raisin flavors that linger on the palate. Third Coast has a thick, heavy mouthfeel that may be a bit syrupy; the carbonation is a bit light, and there is not much bite in the profile—it is even a bit light by English standards. There is some warmth in the mouth as well. While there is a lot going on, Third Coast is a complex and interesting beer; it has an excellent profile in terms of flavor and balance. We would be interested to see how this aged; while good drinking now, we’re wondering if some of the dark fruit flavors would continue to develop and get more complex across the flavor profile.

From Bell’s website: “A barley wine with deep amber color. The brandy of ales, this beer has vintage character and will mature in the bottle at cellar temperature for years.”

ABV: 10.2%
OG: 1.098

(10/30/2009)