Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Barleywine Ale

 

BCB Barleywine is a BIG beer. The notes say that Goose Island ages it in bourbon barrels previously used to age BCB Stout. This aging imparts faint hints chocolate and coffee from the stout in addition to vanilla and bourbon from the barrels. The result is a complex explosion of flavors. It was a great complement to salted caramel chocolate cake from Shyndigz that I ate in celebration of the birth of a grandchild. I had taught that evening and ate and drank in solitude. COVID prevented visits to the hospital and my wife had gone to sleep well before I arrived to help her watch children of the new mother.

An accurate rating is difficult. I drank the beer 12 days ago and it is COMPLEX. I am going to go with 5 glasses. It might be 6 glasses. Beeradvocate rates as the 2nd highest English barleywine and 97th overall. I understand why the rating is so high. The beer wonderfully crafted and interesting. I want more. 

I am not sure that bourbon-barrel aging is a good complement for barleywine but this beer is the best version I have tasted. I want to try it again and would like to see how a little less bourbon affects the flavor.

Rating = 5 glasses.

Spaten Optimator

2 Jan. 2021

My first review in the new year. I am drinking the 5th bottle in the six-pack. The beer continues not to impress. Too much malt flavor. I am downgrading the rating. I wonder if the problem is the beer or the style.

Beer Advocate.

Rating = 3 glasses

05 Oct. 2020

Nice caramel malt. Rating of 4 glasses is perfect.

13 Sept. 2020

Opimator is a fine doppelbock. It features caramel malts. I picked up a six pack in a case sold in Cosco. I remember it being a favorite and it failed to meet my expectations. It needs more humph and complexity.

Rating = 4 glasses.

Birds Fly Sout Rustic Sunday

I really like the beer but sometimes I think it is fantastic and other times I think it is not. My bottle last night was good but not worthy of 6 glasses imho.

Rating = 5 glasses (down from 6).

Earlier review.

St. George IPA

An old friend. A nice rendition of an English IPA. Caramel maltinesss with Fuggle hops. 

Rating = 4 glasses.

June 2009
Beer: IPA 

Brewer: St. George 

Style: IPA 

Tasting notes: (0905) A pint @ Beach Deli after a bike ride. Nice English style hoppiness. (0708) A glass @ Crab Shack. ENGLISH. A pale ale with a tiche more hops. Less bite than an American Pale Ale. Pleasant.

Comment: St. George is located in Hampton, VA. The beers tend resemble European versions of styles. 

Rating: 4 glasses.

Alewerks Chesapeake Pale Ale

Chesapeake Pale Ale is a nice pale ale. It is balanced, flavorful, and quaffable.

Rating = 4 glasses.

Drie (3) Fonteinen Oude Geuze

A recent bottle did not impress me as much as before. Good, but not great. Complex and interesting but I wanted more tart.

Rating = 5 glasses (down from 6).

Here is the earlier review.

Ommegang Idyll Days Pilsner

Here is a second review of the beer. It is what Ommgang ssys it is, a Belgian-style pilsner. I think they combine pilnser malt and Be;gian yeast. The result is more a Belgian blond ale or a light Belgian pale ale. 

Rating = 3 glasses (still).

Here is the first review.

Weihenstephaner Vitus

Vitus is an old friend. Click here for an earlier review. It remains a favorite. A heavier version of a hefe. The brewery calls it a strong wheat beer. The brewery's description is spot on. Vitus is a wheat single bock. 

Rating = 5 glasses.

Big Woods Pineapple QTFO

Pineapple QTFO is an IPA with pineapple added. I don't know why anyone would try this combination and advise you not to. The beer is not listed in BeerAdvocate.

Rating = 1 glass.

Back Bay Nothing Better to Do

Nothing Better to Do is a double dry hopped American Pale Ale. It is all about the hops and reminds me more of a session IPA. I think it needs for malt and body.

Rating = 2 glasses.

Tired Hands Sticky Drippy Crystals

Sticky Drippy Crystals is a tart saison. I thought that it lacked complexity. It is pleasant and drinks easily. 

BeerAdvocate rates it as Outstanding, the 2,236th best beer overall, and the 97th best Belgian Saison. I am not as impressed.

Rating = 4 glasses.

3 Floyds Gumballhead

Gumbalhead is the classic American wheat ale. The notes say it best.

Notes: An American wheat beer with a refreshing, crisp citrus finish. This delicious session beer is brewed with boatloads of Amarillo hops.

Here is a previous review.

BeerAdvocate rates it as Outstanding, 1,472nd best beer overall, and the 3rd best American pale wheat ale.

Rating = 4 glasses. May rate 3 glasses. Nostalgia may be affecting my affection.

25 Dec. 2009

Brewer: Three Floyds Style: American Pale Wheat Tasting notes: (0912) A hopped up American wheat ale. Citrus and lemon and a hint of banana. I think that the beer needs more body to carry the hops. Downgraded from 4 glasses. (0707) Interesting, light yet flavorful. A dark wit? May rate 5/8. (0606) Red wheat and lemony hops. Fuller than a Hefe. No cloves or bananas. Top 100: 29 December 2005. Not 10 March 2007. Rating: 3 glasses

Smuttynose Vunderbar Pils

Vunderbar Pils is a fine German pilsner. It drinks easy and has light slightly lemon flavor.

BeerAdvocate rates it as Very Good, the 29,905th best beer overall, and the 127th best German pilsner.

Rating = 3 glasses. May rate 4 glasses.

Elk Creek Poe Paddy Porter

Poe Paddy Porter is a fine porter. It has a chocolate and roasted malt kick and is easy to drink. I want more.

BeerAdvocate rates it as Very Good, the 14,950th best beer overall, and the 241st American porter.

Rating = 4 glasses. May rate 5 glasses but I want more to be sure.

Ardent Pilsner

Ardent Pilsner is a fine German pilsner. Goes well with food.

Rating = 2 glasses. May rate 3.

Trappistes Rochefort 10

10 continues to impress. The best one-word description is complex. It is a wonderful balance of malt, hops, and je ne sais quo.

Previous review.

BeerAdvocate rating = World Class, 91st best overall, and the 2nd best quadruple.

My rating = 7 glasses.

Ommegang Idyll Days Pilsner

Idyll Days Pilsner is a pleasant European pale lager. Delicate may be the best adjective. Here is what Ommegang says. 

"Inspired by the tradition and ambience of the pastoral world around us, Idyll Days is a beautifully rustic Belgian-style pilsner. Brewed with authentic floor-malted barley from the Czech Republic, fermented with a Belgian lager yeast, and then patiently cellared until mature. Presented in its essential, unfiltered form, Idyll Days is glorious in its simplicity."

BeerAdvocate does not have enough review to rate the beer. It classifies the beer as European Pale Lager, not a Pilsner.

Rating = 3 glasses. I wanted more hop bite.

Leffe Bruin

Leffe Bruin is a Belgian dark ale. The description on the bottle is a good summary, "The authentic Belgian Abbey ale: Enjoy this delicious malt forward ale, accentuated with subtle caramel and roasted notes from dark malts." The taste combines bits of sweetness, caramel, and clove into a pleasant table beer. A more subdued version of Trois Pistoles, which can have too much clove.

BeerAdvocate rates it as Very Good, 17th best Belgian Dark Ale, and 22,889th best overall.

Rating = 4 glasses.

Smuttynose Vunderbar Pils

Vunderbar is a nice, easy drinking pilsner. The taste is grassy with a titch of lemon. I bought a six-pack on almost a whim. I generally like Smuttynose and am looking for a replacement to Prima Pils because I am having difficulty finding Prima in stores.

BeerAdvocate rates it as Very Good, the 125th best German Pilsner, and 29,779th best overall.

Rating = 3 glasses.

Schilling Alexandr 10°

Alexandr 10° is a delightful bohemian or Czech-style pilsner. The flavor combines a little sweet and a little bready. The beer is what you might want when you want a "beer", totallly quaffable and great with food.

BeerAdvocate rating is Very Good, 11th best Bohemian Pilsner,  1,763rd overall.

Rating = 4 glasses.

Allagash Saison

Eh? Ok but nothing stands out.

BeerAdvocate: Score = Very Good, 1,006th best Belgian Saison, 16,707th best beer.

Rating = 2 glasses.

Aleworks Protocol Porter

Protocol Porter is a pleasant beer. It is easy to drink with a smokey background. Probably similar to what the porters drank back in the day. Thinness in the body represents well how porter differs from stout.

Rating: 3 glasses.

Brooklyn Black Ops

Black Ops is a bourbon-barrel-aged imperial stout. For such a big beer, abv = 11.6%, it is remarkably easy to drink and subtle. The primary flavor is the bourbon but even the bourbon is faint. The beer is interesting and difficult to describe. 

BeerAdvocate ratings: 93 (Outstanding), 2,031 overall and 122th imperial stout.

My rating: 4 glasses.

Drie (3) Fonteinen Oude Geuze

Oude Geuze is a fantastic beer. It is complex and tart but not puckering. The taste is difficult to describe. I taste lemons and oranges and wheat.

BeerAdvocate rating = Excellent, 300th best beer overall and 6th best Belgian Gueuze.

Rating = 6 glasses.

Boon Geuze Boon Black Label No. 3

"Oude Geuze Boon Black Label is an oude geuze first released by Boon in November 2015 to commemorate the brewery's 40th anniversary. A subsequent second batch was released in 2016 and a third batch was released in 2017. It is bottled in 750ml bottles and labeled as 7% ABV" (https://www.lambic.info/Oude_Geuze_Boon_Black_Label). 

Geuze Boon Black Label No. 3 is a wonderful beer but my recollection is fuzzy. I think the flavor features apple and hay with only hints of tartness.

Beer Advocate rating = 4.08 but the beer lacks enough review to be rated.

Rating = 5 glasses.

Commonwealth Big Papi

Big Papi is a juicy New England style IPA with plenty of grapefruit and orange zest flavor.

Rating = 3 glasses.

This review is from 2018.

Great Divide Yeti Barrel-Aged Chocolate Stout

Yeti Barrel-Aged Chocolate Stout is smooth and easy drinking imperial stout. Oak and chocolate are subdued and create a more mellow version of Yeti.

I think "Chocolate" is in the name and that the beer was a special release to celebrate an anniversary.

Notes from Great Divide on Yeti Barrel-Aged Stout : This unique version of our monstrous Yeti Imperial Stout is aged for at least 12 months in whiskey barrels. The spirited aging process produces a hugely complex but mellowed Yeti, with its signature roasted flavors, hints of vanilla and oak, and a whiskeyed finish. Who says you can’t tame a beast?

Rating = 6 glasses.

Note: this is a review from 2018.

Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait

Kriek Mariage Parfait is complex and totally quaffable. I drank one bottled in 2014 tonight. Low carbonation dissipated quickly and left ring of bubbles on the glass as I drank. Color was plum. The dark color surprised me because I think of Kriek as being pale pink. Perhaps Mariage Parfait uses different cherries or masticates/smashes them before letting the beer sit on them. Taste leads with almost sweet cherries, something like cherry juice with most sugar removed. It reminded me of wine that was definitively not dry but not really sweet either.  Good to sip or to gulp, the beer blurs the line between beer and wine. The finish contains some faint tastes of tartness and vinegar. I want more.

Rating = 5 glasses. I thought about 6 glasses but want another to confirm.

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Barrel Aged

Ten Fidy Barrel Aged ages a great imperial stout in bourbon barrels. The result is a fantastic beer. The flavor is big and bold and the bourbon complements the stout. I think I would prefer a little less bourbon but an not sure. 

Rating = 6 glasses

The Answer These Hops Weren't Photoshopped

These Hops Weren't Photoshopped is another nice Double IPA from An Buong. It has good balance and is a bit hazy form double dry hopping.

Rating = 4 glasses.

Huyghe Delirium Noel

Delirium Noel is a Strong Dark Belgian Christmas Ale. Spices, brown sugar, molasses, and dark fruits.

Rating = 4 glasses, may be 5.

Sierra Nevada 40th Hoppy Anniversary Ale

40th Hoppy Anniversary Ale is a wonderful, balanced, easy-drinking American IPA. I ordered a glass at Savory Grain and liked it so much that I ordered another.

Rating = 5 glasses.

"Notes: Hop-forward beers weren’t popular when we started brewing in 1980. But we loved them, and we knew that if we were going to open a brewery, we’d better make something distinctive. It’s been 40 years since then, and we’re still brewing what we love. This beer showcases the bold flavors and aromas of a classic West Coast IPA: intense pine and citrus with a deep gold color and slight caramel sweetness. Here’s to following your passion, and to the next 40 years."

An old friend and a new one

Trader Joe's Stockyard Oatmeal Stout is an old friend. Still a nice oatmeal stout and still a great value. I am upgrading the rating from 3 glasses

Rating = 4 glasses 

Oskar Blues Mama's Little Yella Pils is a pleasant pilsner. 

Rating = 2 glasses but may deserve 3.

Kent Falls Flourish is an interesting and complex beer. It is a blend of saison conditioned on cherries and wild ale aged in wine barrels with spent cherries. Top of bottle is sour vinegar. Bottom brings into play sweetness and flavor from the cherries.

Rating = 5 glasses

Ommegang Pale Sour

Ommegang Pale Sour is an easy drinking Wild Ale. Good with food. Slightly tart.

"A mixed-culture fermentation in open copper vats is followed by months of aging in stainless steel. Master blenders regularly mix new batches with older ones to achieve the ideal combination of flavors and the perfect balance of sweet and sour."

Rating = 4 glasses.

Carolina Bauernhaus 18 Mile Red Plum

18 Mile Red Plum is a fantastic wild ale. The label says the brewer uses a local lactobacillus and ages the beer for 6 months in wine barrels and then lets the beer sit another 3 months on local, tart, red plums. The predominate flavor is tart. I drank my last bottle on Halloween because the beer is so tart it is scary. Some plum with a little sweet peeks through the tartness but just barely. 

Rating = 6 glasses. I want to buy more. The beer may rate 7 glasses but I don't want to jump to conclusions.

Birds Fly South Parachutes

Parachutes is a saison aged in wine wine barrels and fermented with Pinot Noir juice, skins, and stems. Imagine mixing beer and wine. If you want a beer + wine cocktail then this is the beer for you. If not, ... . It is interesting but not my cup of tea.

Rating = 2 glasses

Stone Espresso Totalitarian Stout

Stone Espresso Totalitarian Stout is a wonderful Russian Imperial Stout. It is BIG, with loads of hidden alcohol and a nice dose of coffee flavor. The coffee is a perfect balance to the sweet beer and is not too much. I had a glass at Postbellum on Happy Hour. It was too cold and I had to drink it too fast to really appreciate the beer. I need another try to figure out whether the rating is 4 glasses, 5 glasses, or even 6 glasses. 

Rating = 5 glasses.

As I work my way through a 30-pack of Summertime and Goose IPA, I decided to revise my ratings a second time.

Summer Time is a decent kölsch (search for kolsch) that would be a decent substitute for pilsner and other light lagers, wits, and hefeweizen. The more I drink, the more I think it is too sweet and uninteresting. Downgraded from 4 glasses.

New rating = 3 glasses.

Goose IPA is a decent IPA. I liked the last can. Upgraded from 2 glasses.

New rating = 3 glasses.

Devil's Backbone O-fest

Festbier v. Märzen

A decent Oktoberfest. A titch tinny. Had one on draft at Post Bellum. Liked it enough to have another

Rating = 2 glasses.

Stone Tangerine Express

Tangerine Express adds whole tangerines and pineapple to an American IPA. It is NOT a fruit bomb. It is an American IPA with added flavor. The citrus complements and smooths the hops. I liked the first one so much that I drank another.

Rating = 4 glasses.

Lickinghole Creek Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night is quad version of a Christmas ale. The recipe adds several spices to the wort. The result is awful. I poured almost all of 750 ml down the drain.

Rating = 0

Revision of Goose Island Summertime and Goose IPA

As I work my way through a 30-pack of Summertime and Goose IPA, I decided to revise my ratings.

Summer Time is a decent kölsch (search for kolsch) that would be a decent substitute for pilsner and other light lagers, wits, and hefeweizen. I might buy more going forward to have something on hand that goes well with, say, pasta or salad. Upgraded from 3 glasses.

New rating = 4 glasses.

Goose IPA is a decent IPA. However, decent IPAs abound and the more I drink this beer the less interesting it becomes. Downgraded from 3 glasses.

New rating = 2 glasses.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Barleywine

Bourbon County Brand Coffee Barleywine (say that fast five times) is a big barleywine with bourbon and coffee flavors. I think that it is an interesting hot mess. Lots of flavor and flavors but I think that the flavors don't form a cohesive whole. 

Rating = 1 glass.

Straffe Hendrik Wild

Straffe Hendrik Wild is a tripel refermented with Brett. It is an interested Orval-like take on a triple. The bottle I drank was dated 2015.

Rating = 4 glasses.