I opened a 2013 Hemel & Aarde last night. It is a perfect beer for the table whereas the 2009 Hel & Verdoemenis was for the couch post-meal. Hemel & Aarde is much drier, leaning towards the bitter end of the scale. The peated aspect of the beer had integrated and was an uber umami Nori characteristic that I really enjoyed. The beer has a vinous vein that must be rooted in some barrel &/or brett imprint left from the elevage of the beer. I am a big fan. It went down so easily and so perfectly with a carrot fennel soup.
Tree House SAP IPA 7.3% ABV Brewed almost exclusively with Chinook hops. Pours hazy orange with a bright white cap. The nose is pine forest. The flavor profile is piney resins, sweet orange and grapefruit in a soft juicy body. An amazing take on Chinook, unlike any Chinook based IPA I have had, what they have coaxed out of this hop is simply great beer making. It finishes bone dry and leave a nice citrus profile. The best of East and West coast styles. Another fantastic IPA from Tree House. Thanks Mr. McCarthy.
Cheers,
Bud
Had a meeting at the local tap house with some other brewers about a collaboration beer.
I drank my own Roggenbier and we shared a 750ml of Timmerman Oude Gueuze. It was just of the edge of acceptable (sourness) for my palate, and was very good.
Tree House Eureka with Mosaic Blonde Ale 4.3% ABV.
As good a Blonde Ale I’ve had in a long time. Complex layers of juicy Mosaic hop flavors on a soft lite body. It is bone dry and has a grassy minerality twinge mid palette that I love. Finishes crisp and dry with a nice lingering bitter citrus note on the back of the tongue. I could crush these during the hot summer months. Another great Tree House beer. Thanks Greg.
Cheers,
Bud
Had Bell’s Hopslam several times this weekend (at 3 different bars ranging from $5 to $8.50) for a tulip.
It’s really good this year.
Sacramento’s finest
ABC HFS, 6.5% ABV.Citra Mosaic and Simcoe hopped. It’s all about these special recipes now at Alpine, after all its all thats left of the real deal. Brewed at the source these continue to show why Alpine is at the top of the tier when it comes to hoppy ales. Shows beautiful juicy complexity on a very approachable body. The tap list was insane when I was there yesterday, left with a box full of growlers of amazing special releases. As I said before, get Nelson dialed in to 95 % of OG and keep cranking out these gorgeous ales and all will be well for us hop heads.
Cheers,
Bud
2014 Stone Brewing Company Fyodor’s Classic Imperial Russian Stout - USA, California, South Coast, San Diego County (2/4/2016)
Officially three years old now. This beer is 13.9%, and is a BBA booze monster. Bourbon presence is strong, but it somehow maintains a smart elegance. Sweet bourbon/molasses tang, offset by a strong roasted malt flavor typical of Russian Imperial Stouts. Is ageing very nicely, and is nowhere near going downhill. Drink or continue to Hold.
So I can now find AleSmith, Alpine, and Crooked Stave at retail around here. So much beer, so little time and liver capacity.
Last night went with to Left Coast Brewery’s tasting room with some buddies, had an Asylum (Belgian Tripel) and a Galaxy Supernova (single hop IPA). The nose on the Galaxy was incredible - mango, pineapple, and not overly-hopped as I’m not a fan of all this hop-it-until-you-can’t-taste-it trend, bitter finishes, etc. Really nice IPA. Bought this in bottle as they ran out in tap (barrel-aged Belgian Tripel with cherries). Funny story about it…I went to the cooler to buy a bottle, as I wanted to try it and they didn’t have the tap, and the fellow working there saw me pull that one out and whispers to me ‘those are $20 a bottle, is that ok??’ and I laughed a little, thinking ‘buddy, I buy wine - expensive beer is still cheap to me!’
Haven’t tried it yet, promised my neighbor (who went with me to the tasting room/bar) that I’d save it for him
Tried this with a 3F Oude Geuze. The analogy to a Joly Chenin is absolutely accurate. Tightly wound, discrete, subtle and hinting at where age might take it. The 3F Oude Geuze was expressive, stunning and, above all, balanced. The acidity was in check with the fruit. The oxidized notes were muted and the beer felt fresh.
Two remarkably different styles. Two very good results. 3F was the more complete beer now. I would love (LOVE) to see where these go with 5 or 10 years of bottle age.
Looking forward to checking PtY off the beer bucket list. Currently trying Melvin 2x4 DIPA and PtE at falling rock tap house
Man I love Falling Rock
Modern Times Floating World IPA 7.8% ABV, hopped with South African J-17 hops, Citra and Southern Passion.
Last week I revisited the City of the Sun IPA when the last fresh batch was released and I absolutely loved it. So when my brew guru suggested this I didn’t hesitate, just the description on the bottle made me thirsty. So what we have is another one off IPA from Modern Times concocted with yet another crazy hop varietal, this time the uber rare South African hop J-17 which is supposedly known for its amazing juicy tropical fruit notes, most notably Kiwi and Citrus, hmmmm, how bad can that be ? This as you can see is another hopped haze beer, lots of hop oils are noticeable on the very fragrant nose, great smelling beer. The flavor profile is unlike any MT beer I have ever tasted. It is Kiwi, it is also massive tangerine juice, this J-17 hop just exudes all kinds of juicy deliciousness. The body for a 7.8% beer is ultra soft and beautifully balanced, the finish shows sweet melon and berries.This is one complex utterly crushable IPA and IMHO, the best beer I have had from MT. I will be restocking this one for sure. So there, you heard it, I LOVE a Modern Times beer. Must be age.
Highly recommended,
Cheers,
Bud
Grab some of that AleSmith Speedway Stout. Great stuff.
Got 2 6-packs at Trader Joe’s today. In cans this year.
WTF? Trader Joe’s?
Deschutes Black Butte XXV. My wife made chili for the Super Bowl. “Honey, do you have some dark brown beer? I need a cup for this chili recipe.” No alcohol sales on Sundays in Minnesota. The only dark beers were the BB XXV, three vintages of Surly Darkness, and Westvleteren XIII. I asked her how necessary it was. Her reply: “Oh, c’mon. When you cook something you spare no expense.” So the Black Butte it was. Drank the remainder with a bowl of the finished product. Very nice beer. My guess is that it would have been more booze-y at time of release. It was nicely balanced.
Bells is a corporate entity now, and Hopslam allocations go to the places with the highest volume sales.
No Hopslam in my local MI TJ’s lol.
Paul - What did you pay for the Hopslam?