2001 Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

Wow, so its been quite a holiday of consumption. Tonight is New Years Eve already, I can't believe it. I recently made a local trade of some of my rarer out-of-state brews and something I got in return was the 2001 Dogfish Head World Wide Stout. I did my research and decided that it was an '01 based on the fact that the bottle had the words "vim and vigor" combined with a copper cap. DFH beers, especially the higher ABV ones, can tend to be astringent, a lot of them age incredibly well. This is no exception. Clocking in at around 18% ABV fresh, this beer needs to age!
Pours a beautiful oily black, as thick as can be. The smell is amazing: toasted marshmallows, caramel, honey, port and sherry. It just tastes so smooth for its ABV, having been aged almost 8 years that is no surprise. Its sweet but with a beautiful port like character, its vanilla and rummy... almost buttery. It is definitely a rare treat indeed - I'll probably never have this same vintage ever again. But I figured today was as good a day as any to bust it out. I think it's a great afternoon sipper, a nice warm up to what will most likely be an extravagant evening. The beer is just so sweet it really is like fine port, but with the dark maltiness you'd expect. This is quite possibly one of the best beers I have ever had, and really shows the incredible depth and complexity aging can really add to the appropriate beers. It is smooth and mellow but maintains it's incredibly complexity, everything you want in a perfect beer.

Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine

Well this beer just had to be saved for a special occasion and it was. One of the last beers left (and for a reason) in the WLV package, this beer is a big bold style from an even bolder brewery. An American Barleywine, i.e. more hop-oriented is a favorite style of mine and this beer is an excellent example.
Three Floyd's beer just impress in so many ways and a big part of that is the carbonation and the smoothness it entails. Behemoth Barleywine just epitomized so many of their great flavors in true form. A hop bomb completely, this beer much like the Dreadnaught seems to possess every single type of hop descriptor in one beer: citrus, pine, earthy, grapefruit. This beer is so thick and smooth, the hop and malt bill do gooey battle over your tongue with the hops winning. But that is not a problem, the malt note flashes toffee and butterscotch and fits quite nicely with the gooey hops. It has incredible drinkability for a 12.5% barleywine, but much like all their other beers alcohol is just not a factor in the flavor.
So it's almost time for my first ever Cellar Reserve night on Dec 27th. I have been saving and collecting for this event for quite some time and I can't think of a better opportunity to try some of these world-class beers with friends. Keep posted for me information on what will be a momentous occasion to say the least.

Thanksgiving beers

Holiday beer season is upon us. I will be called upon once again to bring the beers to Thanksgiving, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Not only am I particularly well-stocked this year (in the cellar) to provide a wide-range of styles, but I can think of some great beers currently out to bring along as well. I should have a good balance of rich malty, as well as hoppy upper-tier session beers to sample during the meal, with great dedication taken to the dessert/post-dessert/all night imperials. We'll see how deep I dig into the cellar for these treats, but needless to say a lot of these are purchased for the sole reason of consuming during the holidays. And once the holidays pass, a lot of those beers will not be considered again til the following year. Reviews will of course be kept record and posted for you all to share in the experience.

Anchor Holiday 2008

It's a great time of year. Holiday season is the best for those dark, warming beers I love so much. Although not quite as dark and rich as am I biased to, Anchor Holiday has and always be one of my favorites of the season.
Having had this beer many times its exciting to think about how this year's version will taste and how it will compare to the inevitable tasting of the 06, 07 and 08 side by side. Unfortunately those are the only other years in the cellar right now. Let's get to the review.
Pours with just great viscosity developing into that signature thick Anchor head. Smell seems more tame this year, not as much cherries but with usual hints of nutmeg and dark berries.
The taste is good, what you'd expect -- but you can tell that it will benefit from some aging. Plenty of dark fruit on the palette with alittle more chocolate than usual. Carbonation seems alittle over active right now -- preventing the beer from coating my tongue. This no doubt will improve with age as well. Overall Anchor Holiday is a great beer, one for festive occasions and good winter nights. But it will improve greatly with age, and my main reason behind the purchase was to age the beer. My previous memories of the 06 were that it was an incredibly complex and delicious beer, with the spices more subdued, allowing the true malt flavors to develop. I've had the '98 as well a couple of months ago and that was not nearly as enjoyable as the 06. Perhaps because it had developed a cloying sourness that some are a fan of but I am most certainly not. It was still complex and good, but with a muted "here it comes" sensation in the mouth. Anchor Holiday is a great beer and symbolic entry into my favorite beer season of the year.