Back in the saddle again. It’s been a while, we know.
Liquids: Allagash FV13, Thomas Hooker Barrel Aged Saison, Distilled Water

Brewery: Central Waters Brewing Company
Brew: Brewers Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout
Vintage: 2012
Style: Bourbon Barrel Aged American Double/Imperial Stout
ABV: 9.5%
Notes: Poured into a wine glass

Appearance -  Typical stout black, with a small coffee colored head that dissipates quickly.

Smell – Huge bourbon and chocolate, slight coffee, and a light malty background.

Taste – Just like the smell, rich chocolate mocha flavors hit hard, with bourbon both up front and in the finish.  The barrel aging is vivid, balanced, and in no way overwhelming (as it often can be).  Some coffee and a tiny bit of hop bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel – Medium body with moderate to high carbonation.  Gets even better as it warms.

Overall – Very impressed, even better than I remember.  The chocolate flavors were striking, the barrel aging near perfectly balanced, and it was rounded out by a nice mouthfeel and a delicious nose.  I notice some prickly carbonation (Jay’s minor issue with KBS), but even if this bothers you, the flavors more than make up for it.  I’d put this up there with the best of them in the category!

Final Score: 9.1 (Superb/Outstanding)

Cheerio. We take a short (skype) visit to the UK. My friend Rob (@rbdriftin) visits with us while we talk the usual: beer and cigars. Jay talks about his NEBCO experience, and we have a fun, spirited laugh with (at) Sam Leccia. We love your cigars, Sam! Honest.

Brewery: Rahr & Sons Brewing Company
Brew: Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer
Vintage: 2012
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 8.5%
Notes: Poured into a Duvel tulip

Appearance - If plumb and black had a baby, this is it.  A vigorous pour yields a healthy light brown head, which looks fluffy in texture.

Smell - There is definitely a healthy amount of bourbon, along with dark fruits and sweet malts.  Not overpowering, but definitely bourbon-y.

Taste - Closely matches then nose in the bourbon department, and the flavors are backed up by sweet dark fruits, caramel, and some roastyness- almost barleywine-like (a plus for me).  At first, I found the bourbon a bit overwhelming, but after a few minutes of warming the flavors start to shine.  Nice finish with lingering bourbon notes.

Mouthfeel - Highly carbonated, a bit too much, but fairly well balanced despite.  Medium bodied.

Overall - Rahr has created a well brewed, nicely barrel-aged beer with this offering.  The balance of bourbon and malty goodness is effortless, and I find the style quite interesting.  Fresh, I am really enjoy this, and could see myself drinking it throughout the season if I were in Texas.  With a bit of age to mellow out the bitey carbonation and initial bourbon overload on the nose, the could be a true gem.

Final Score: 8.5 (Very Good/Excellent)

Brewery: Jester King Craft Brewery/Mikkeller Collaboration
Brew: Drink’in the Sunbelt
Vintage: 2012
Style: Organic Hoppy Wheat Beer
ABV: 3.9%
Notes: Poured into a wine glass

Appearance - Light hazy orange, almost a light tangerine, with a fluffy white head.

Smell - Tangy citrus and a fresh, right yeast note.

Taste - Closely matches the nose up front, with the same bright citrus flavors and just the hint of a tingly, zesty tartness.  Orange and lemon show through over a Belgiany type yeast.  The hop notes show through in the citrus, but add little to no bitterness.

Mouthfeel - Fluffy, well carbonated, and delightfully refreshing, with a light body.  Highly drinkable.

Overall - Really enjoyed this beer.  It was fantastically refreshing, had a great balance of lively citrus flavors and a nice hint of tartness.  This would be a perfect summer beer, and with such a low ABV you could practically session this at work.  Jester King classifies this as an Organic Hoppy Wheat Beer (yep, its organic too, pretty cool!)  but I would say its more of a lighter Saison.

Final Score: 9.0 (Superb/Outstanding)

Brewery: Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Brew: Pumpkinator
Vintage: 2012
Style: American Double/Imperial Stout
ABV: 10.0%
Notes: Poured into a stout snifter

Appearance - Typical stout black, with a small, light coffee colored head.

Smell - BAM! Pumpkin!  Behind the massive, slightly spicy pumpkin are sweet malts and a faint cognac like sweetness.

Taste – Following the nose, this brew is a beast!  Pumpkin, nutmeg and spices dominate, with a sweet/bitter combo of hefty stout malts and some hops to follow.  Chocolate and molasses sweetness round out a lengthy finish.  The alcohol presence is no more than a warming feeling.

Mouthfeel - Medium carbonation, and definitely full bodied, though without being ‘thick.’

Overall - Very impressed by this brew.  I didn’t think there was anything that could touch Southern Tier’s Pumking as far as pumpkin flavors beers, but this nails it and proved to be a great imperial stout as well.  The huge flavors are well balanced, the body comfortably full, and the nose nothing short of epic.

Final Score: 9.4 (Outstanding)

Brewery: Jester King Craft Brewery
Brew: Thrash Metal
Vintage: 2012
Style: Farmhouse Strong Ale
ABV: 9.3%
Notes: Poured into a Duvel Tulip

Appearance - Hazy copper orange, with a faint brown/red tint.  MASSIVE whit, foamy heat in the initial pour.

Smell - Funk, light and fruity yeast, and some citrus.

Taste - Definitely a ‘Saison-relative,’ with a clear farmhouse yeast favor, slight funk (though this is more evident in the nose), and a fruity, citrus hoppiness.  The hops aren’t well defined, but provide a nice background for the grassy, floral malt notes.  The high ABV for the style isn’t ‘in your face,’ but it is noticeable in the finish.

Mouthfeel - Fluffy, prickly, and highly carbonated.  Surprisingly medium-full bodied, especially for a Farmhouse styled brew.

Overall - Jester King created a delightfully interesting ‘Farmhouse Strong Ale’ with this brew.  The nose on this was fantastic and the flavors kept my attention, but I would have liked to see a bit more ‘pop’ in the taste department.

Final Score: 8.2 (Very Good)

It’s official, our hiatus is over. Returning to our usual format, we get you caught up on where we’ve been, and what we’ve been up to. Thanks for hanging in there!

I’ll be updating this post with information as it happens. Or as I get around to it in between sips and bites.

So here is your author, ready to go in my Hill Farmstead shirt (thanks AJ!) and Brooklyn paraphernalia.

I’ll do my best to keep up. But I’m on an iPhone. And typing is sketchy without all the beer.

4:10 p.m. Fuzzy Baby Ducks. As deliciously hoppy as I remember.

4:28 p.m. Coffee Imperial Stout Trooper
WOW.

The nose is coffee beans. On top of the malty coffee that normal trooper has. It’s on cask, so the carbonation is PERFECT. Taste? Man, it’s what you’d think. This years trooper is killer. Really. It’s a 9.7 all day long. Throw in some coffee, but don’t overdo it. Perfection. If I had to give this a number… 9.9. Easy.

4:35 here is the crowd right now.

4:43 Gold Stock
Woo gold stock again. The nose is lemony citrus.

It took me a few sips to clean out the lingering coffee and malt from the trooper. Reluctantly, I might add. Taste is really pine and lemony hops. Fantastic. A great follow from trooper, but you have to give it some time. This year especially, trooper’s taste lingers in your mouth for LONG after. I’ve had 3 growlers of it, so just trust me. Heh.

4:45 The wonderful ladies from J.Timothys joined us. We just sat down for food. Can’t complain.

5:10 p.m. Double Dry Hopped Fuzzy Baby Ducks
Holy. Fucking. Shit. Pardon. My. French.

Take the duck, and dry hop it. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s intensely hoppy, and insanely good. I’ve got that hop tingle on the tongue. I’m also on cloud 9.

5:40 Ghost Pigeon Porter
Yum. It’s what is expected. And I love it for it. Pictured here is Steven from CT Museum Quest.

6:20 Premeditated Murder
I had to pee. The line was crazy. But what can I say. Malty death in a glass.

DEATH. Awesome. Die.

The current chalkboard as of 6:40.

7:09 Mosaic IPA
This kicked in 4 minutes. No kidding.

Holy. Shit.
I don’t know what to say. I’ll comment again in a bit.

7:36. I finished it. It’s absolutely amazing. Very unique hop flavor.

[EDIT] Right around 8:00 was Bourbon Barrel Stout Trooper. I seem to have forgotten to post it, though I took a picture. So here it is in its glory:

8:46. Our waitress said there are 54 pours of Cherry Vanilla Trooper. It goes on at 9. Cross your fingers.

9:02 I just heard yells and screams. It’s seems Cherry Vanilla Trooper is on. Pray to beerbasedgod for me.

9:17 I have tears in my eyes. This is the best beer I have ever tasted. Cherry Vanilla Trooper

My phone is dying. Cheers to you all. May you experience beer this amazing in your lifetime.

9:25 I just hugged my waitress.

Well, we’re back. Kind of. This is an informal episode, which was actually recorded a few months ago. On 1/19, we recorded episode 22. Stay tuned, we are back in full-swing.

Well, we’re back. Kind of. This is a very quick episode, which was actually recorded a few months ago. It will be followed soon by Episode 21. And lasts night (1/19) we recorded episode 22. Stay tuned, we are back in full-swing.

Pre-light – Smooth, leathery feel with some small veins and a slightly oily texture. A nice tug to the draw, as to be expected with a lancero.

First Third - The first few puffs yield black pepper spice in the back of my mouth, and sweetly nuanced wood up front.  In body this starts out at medium, but quickly ramps up to full as the ligero spice kicks in.  Drawing somewhat snugly, the skinny stick boasts plumes of thick smoke.  Loving the sweet edge to the heavy wood and spice flavors.  The burn, which started out razor sharp, is having some problems, though I attribute this to the humid night.

Second Third – Phew, better eat a big meal before this one! The body is huge now, while the spice has mellowed out.  More of the wood has come out, and the sweetness has morphed into a slight earthy note.

Third Third – Definitely more mellow this third, though the subtlety of the wood, spice, and leathery notes mix well, and bring you down nicely from the beastly first half.  Draw and smoke production are still spot on, while the ash has straightened out nicely.  Some espresso kicks in towards the end, which adds another nice dimension, and keeps my interest down to the nub.

Overall - Oliva nailed this.  The lancero is a difficult art to perfect, but the Cain F’s strength and rugged profile were perfectly blended into this vitola.  While the flavors were not the most complex, they were flawlessly executed and flowed nicely throughout.  The body was absolutely massive in the first half, even more than I had expected, but was toned down by the finish.  At a price point of around $7 these are a huge win for fans of both the vitola and the line, and anyone who enjoys (super) full bodied cigars.

Final Score: 9.2 (Superb/Outstanding)

Brewery: The Bruery
Brew: Black Tuesday
Vintage: 2011
Style: Barrel Aged American Double/Imperial Stout
ABV: 18.3%
Notes: Poured into two snifters

Appearance – Black, with a surprisingly light, khaki colored head.

Smell – Oak, bourbon, and roasty malts.  Some dark chocolate and minimal heat.

Taste – Huge bourbon up front, with chocolate and molasses sweetness and a hit of licorice.  In the finish there is a vanilla complementing the bourbon notes.  The substantial heat (to be expected from a beer of this ABV) is clearly noticeable, but in no way detracts from the beer or becomes boozy.

Mouthfeel – Great carbonation, despite almost no head retention.  Syrupy mouth feel, without being ‘thick.’

Overall – This is a fantastic beer that was meticulously brewed.  It nailed the finish, mouthfeel, and bourbon notes,  but could have displayed a better balance.  Though the hype is not unfounded, we agree the mystery behind such a beast probably adds a few points in popular rating systems.

Final Score: AJ-9.3, Jay-9.4

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Brew: Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)
Vintage: 2012
Style: Barrel Aged American Double/Imperial Stout
ABV: 11.2%
Notes: Poured into two wine glasses

Appearance – Black, black, and more black. There is a tiny head, with deep, caramel colored lacing.

Smell -  Up front the nose is straight bourbon with heavy chocolate and coffee notes.

Taste – Huge coffee up front, with dark chocolate malts, roasty sweetness, and bourbon both upfront and on the finish.  Substantially full in taste and body.  There is a but of heat in the throat, but no alcohol astringency.

Mouthfeel – Moderate to high carbonation, with a soft viscous texture and a long, lingering finish.

Overall – Founders nails the bourbon barrel aging and robust coffee and chocolate flavors in this brew.  The flavors are well balanced while being ‘rough around the edges.’  That said, the excessive carbonation (for the style) did detract some from the mouthfeel and could be distracting.  The legendary KBS didn’t dissapoint, though we agree that age should smooth out the carbonation and allow for more focus on the flavors.

Score: AJ-9.4, Jay-9.3

The Verdict:

Both Jay and I came into this review with excitement and reserve.  When you have the opportunity to crack such legendary beers, the esteem of near-perfect ratings is something that sits in the back of your mind.  While neither disappointed, our quest for the ‘best’ barrel aged imperial stout continues.  Jay preferred the massive Black Tuesday, though he found the bourbon a bit strong until it warmed up a bit.  The carbonation of KBS was also a factor, as he found this distracting.  While a loved the immense flavors and body of The Bruery’s offering, KBS was my preference as I particularly loved the coffee n0tes, and the carbonation was less of a factor for me.  Don’t get caught up the ‘beer-snobbery’ that surrounds these limited brews, but if you do get the chance to enjoy one, you can’t go wrong either way.