Wednesday Night Ramblings

So looks like there are some more great beer events tonight. Despite the dreadful weather there are some notable events ...depends where you live. Down in Brooklyn I see The Gate is having Pat's Picks featuring some great beers like "the incredible on tap" Founder's Breakfast Stout and Great Divide Fresh Hop. And in the city they are having a little mini cask festival of Harviestoun Ola Dubh at Rattle-N-Hum, featuring various vintages. I really enjoy the Ola Dubh line despite it's high price tag. Being partial to Scotch I love the flavor of peatiness backed up with nice viscous choc late malt. The flavor enhancement is subtle, just like scotch -- on cask this is a great opportunity.
I've been in kind of a beer lull...if there is such a thing? I haven't really had anything new lately and have been digging into the cellar a bit, something I never like to do, except on special occasions. I've been coveting some Bell's Hopslam and might have to make the trip to PA to pick some up soon. Other than that, tonight should spice things up and February looks like a great release month. Should I really drive to Portsmouth, NH to score some Kate the Great?

Midwest Beer Night!

So wow, Midwest Beer Night @ Barcade was incredible! They really out did themselves this year vs. all the previous editions I had gone to. I'm talking the fact that they had Three Floyds on tap, not to mention the incredibly different and much more complex than bottle, Founders Breakfast Stout. I hadn't had Great Lakes Blackout Stout, now I have. And then there was the Kuhnhenn Tenacious Cassis, which is just a bomb of a fruit beer. Clocking in at 15% it has intense dark fruit and chocolate flavors with a bright cassiss fruitiness. Just one of the many great beers Barcade pulled out for this event leaving my expectations fairly high for all future Barcade events. I suggest making your way over there before everything is gone, this one has been alebusted!

Great NYC Beer Events

For those that don't know, there is a great resource for NYC beer geeks like yourself at www.beermenus.com. This website is a great resource for all of us in NYC who are beer hunters like myself or better yet ale busters...Not only will it tell me what my favorite bar has on tap (update permitting), but it also has information on great events going on in town. There are two great events coming up: Night of the Imperials @ Blind Tiger Ale House tonight!! And then there is Midwest Beer Night @ Barcade tommorow, a personally favorite of mine. I believe this is the 4th year that they are doing Midwest Beer Night and it always offers rare (to NYC) beers that I covet. They haven't posted the list yet, but there should be some solid treats. I hope to see you there!

The Abyss and Dark Lord...Alpha Klaus too

Two of the biggest names in imperial stouts out there and then some other good treats. Been enjoying a lot of great beer recently, and it looks like we can put the Internet behind us...for now.
I was so excited when I received these beers in the package, i had never had any of them and with all the hype surrounding them, well you can imagine. They were enjoyed at their respective indulgent times and left me thirsting for my next trade.
I really enjoyed the Three Floyds Alpha Klaus, such a great beer and just so unique. from its beautiful combination of cocoa and fruit hop flavor,s to its incredible smoothness and drinkability, it is such a quality beer. I wish i could try it on tap, Three Floyds just continually impresses me, and with their limited distribution, it becomes all the more a rare treat.
Speaking of rare treats, the rarest of treats might be the Three Floyds Dark Lord. Until now, this beer was just a legend, a ratings monster, topping every single chart of the best beers you could ever find. It's known because of its rare availability and of course because of its monstrous taste. This beer is a monster, and let me tell you this is the best tasting beer I might ever have had. So thick and rich, such beautifully scented dark harmony. If I didn't live so far I could see myself going every year to Dark Lord Day, wait how far? This beer is just absolutely incredible, it's like chocolate fudge oatmeal. Indescribable chocolate flavors, with that signature Three Floyds fruity end. Darkness just ensues on the palette and this beer never lets up. I would seek this beer out again for sure, and yes it is worth the hype.
Deschute's the Abyss on the other hand might not be. I've had Deschutes before when I went to visit my brother in San Francisco. The Black Butte Porter and the Obsidian Stout were both excellent, I expected big things from The Abyss. It tastes like what it says it tastes like was the general reaction. Maybe it was the Dark Lord which was tasted the day before, maybe it was the massive hype, but it was kind of a let down. Lacked body and initial depth. It was good, it wasn't bad just not worth all the hype I thought. Definitely worth a try and still happy for having traded for it, but I wouldn't trade for it again.
Looks like Bell's Hopslam is now available, might have to get some...

Lost Abbey Angel's Share Bourbon Barrel

This is a beer I've heard about for awhile throughout the online beer community. Anyone in NY who approves of craft beer knows you can't get Lost Abbey/Port Brewing here. That makes this beer particularly special. This is also one hyped up brew that apparently can be quite hard to get a hold of, does it meet its expectation?
Pours quite viscous and a beautiful color for the often ugly barleywine. Big, thick and bubbly off-tan head. Beautiful scents of bourbon, honey, vanilla beans, maple syrup, chocolate and alcohol. Taste is well, incredible. Strong bourbon flavor upfront has a magical dissipating effect like vanilla syrup or something. The bourbon on the tongue just lasts and lasts and lasts. That's not to say that this beer is all bourbon. There is one hell of a beer underneath all that bourbon, and I don't know what it is. It's like an almost stout, or an amped up red ale? Maybe, but its got notes of a scotch ale or wee heavy. It's like no other beer I've ever had, and that counts for a lot. Flavors of wood-smoked caramel apple, vanilla, oak, honey, hops, tobacco and smoke. As it warms it seems to lose its initial scent of bourbon and takes on an almost hop related smell still accentuated largely by the caramel malt bill. Bourbon is still there in full flavor and finish. Alcohol is at no point overbearing, especially at room temp. The beer is so smooth -- its fizzy up front but turns smooth as silk with its instant dissipating action. These, people, are adjectives of one incredible beer. Thanks to this trader!

Package Received/Internet Problems

Hey there, its been a bit and I haven't been able to post. Time Warner continues to impress me with their standard in excellent service. They are just so convenient and I just loooove waiting on the phone for 40 mins. Anyways, it seems we got a little bit of internet so a great time to post about all the amazing things that have been happening. I recently finished my first ever beer trade and received quite an incredible package back indeed. Needless to say, it won't be my last. The beers were rare enough, but the trader threw in some great extras that I can't get here in NYC. The whole experience was incredible and exciting to finally receive the package, I would definitely recommend this to anyone out there who is looking to find that elusive Dark Lord or um....er.. anything else you are looking for. I am excited to review these beers and give them their proper coverage. We had the first of the package tonight.
I was incredibly excited when I opened the package to see an almost uncountable number of wrapped items inside. The original trade was just three bottles for three bottles. This "extra" was something I had never even heard of: Viking Whole Stein.
Huge fluffy and growing head with massive bubbles, slightly off-tan inverted ice cream cone. Intitial flavor notes are very milky with an almost grainy flavor. Definitely some serious coffee and oat notes. Finishes clean, probably from the carbonation. Very dry coffee and a little oat on the nose, maybe alittle bit of earth in there too...kinda non descript. A nice beer with great flavor, but lacks feel. The carbonation squashes the flavor with its soda like fizziness; it becomes much more enjoyable warm and less carbonated...liquor like enjoyment. I'll post pics as soon as I'm back on my own comp. Can't wait for the big boys...

Happy New Beer!

Well its been fun. I really enjoyed the last two weeks and all the beer exploration that has come with it. Yesterday, culminated the season for me with a quick stop at the Beer Yard after a day trip in Philadelphia. Picked up some Voodoo Big Black Voodoo Daddy which is quite an impressive Imperial Stout if I've ever had one, and then some Ballast Point Big Eye IPA, also quite impressive. The beer tasting party on the 27th went quite well. We didn't get to try as many beers as I had liked, I just had unrealistic expectations...But it went quite well indeed. We were all sharing our tasting notes and having a really good beery time. There have been some really great adventures in 08 and I look forward to even more adventures in 09. Cheers!