Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

(creepy Santa)

American Brown Ale

12%

"An unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this beer comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood from which these tanks were crafted. Palo Santo means "holy tree," and its wood has been used in South American wine-making communities. "

I found this last bottle in my cellar a few weeks ago and decided I would review it. I'm not expecting much of a difference in terms of booziness.  When I had this fresh the last two times it was a solid beer but just overly boozy.  With time that will mellow out but that experiment will have to wait!

Pours a deep, dark brown out of the bottle and turns to black once in the glass.  Had a nice two finger head on it (poured aggressively) that disappeared quickly with no lacing.  Swirl of the glass leaves behind big alcohol legs that stick around on the walls of the glass.

Aroma of dark fruits just dunked into alcohol.  Raisins, figs, then alcohol and sweetness.  Slight woody character to it as well.  

Upon first sip I am hit with that dark fruit note mixed with chocolate and caramel.  On the back end is where the vanilla starts to show it's face in a subtle way.  This almost remind me of a belgian style quad with the amount of dark fruit I'm getting in this. Delicious

Carbonation is on point and the mouth feel is velvety smooth. Coats the mouth and lingers leaving behind trace amounts of flavor.  

I highly doubt that 6 months changed this beer that much.  Possibly my palate has changed a bit or my palate is just really on tonight but is excellent.  I plan to get more and let this sit for as long as I can.  This is already delicious and I think it will be something special with some age on it.

Cheers ladies and gentlemen!

Zwanze Day 2012

This Saturday is Zwanze Day 2012.  One beer is being served in 13 different countries and only at 34 locations!

Jean Van Roy on Zwanze 2012
“Zwanze 2012 is a Lambic mix with rhubarb. The process is the same as our fruit Cuvées like Lou Pepe or Fou’foune. An average of 300g rhubarb per liter Lambic, the mix was made begin July with a 20 months old Lambic. The maturation took 2 months and we bottled the beer on 6th of September. Beer is fruity and dry with a very good balance between the Lambic acidity and the rhubarb acidity, for some flavors, beer is close to rhubarb wines.”


These are all of the places holding the event this year:

America - USA :

• Armsby Abbey - Worcester, Massachusetts
• Avenue Pub - New Orleans, Louisiana
• ChurchKey - Washington, D.C.
• Crooked Stave Barrel Cellar - Denver, Colorado
• Holy Grale - Louisville, Kentucky
• Hop and Vine - Portland, Oregon
• Lord Hobo - Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Monk's Café - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Novare Res Bier Café - Portland, Maine
• REAL a gastropub - Honolulu, Hawai'i
• Redlight Redlight - Orlando, Florida
• Spuyten Duyvil - Brooklyn, New York
• The Foundry - Kansas City, Missouri
• The Trappist - Oakland, California
• Toronado - San Diego, California
• West Lakeview Liquors - Chicago, Illinois

If a place near you is hosting this event then I highly encourage you to attend.  I'm not sure how other venues are doing it but this is how West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago is doing it:

Draft:
Imported
• Zwanze 2012- Brasserie Cantillon, Belgium
• Fou’ Foune- Brasserie Cantillon, Belgium
• Band of Brothers- Brasserie de la Senne, Belgium
• Der Kollaborator (Ægir Collab) - Nøgne Ø, Norway
• Mooi & Meedogenloos – Brouwerij de Molen, Netherlands
• Kopi Loewak 2011 – Brouwerij de Molen, Netherlands
• Hel & Verdoemenis – Brouwerij de Molen, Netherlands
• Boogoop (Three Floyds Collab)– Mikkeller, Denmark
• TBA…
Domestic:
• Tart Lychee – New Belgium Brewing Co, Colorado
• La Folie 2010 – New Belgium Brewing Co, Colorado
• Devil Dancer – Founders Brewing Co, Michigan
• La Petit Prince – Jester King Brewery, Texas
• Black Metal – Jester King Brewery, Texas
• Gotlandsdricka – Jester King Brewery, Texas (Gravity Keg)
• ??? - Perennial Artisanal Ales, Missouri
• TBA…

$40 unlimited pours including a 2 ounce sample of Zwanze 2012.

Cheers ladies and gentlemen!

Founders Backwoods Bastard

"Expect lovely, warm smells of single malt scotch, oaky bourbon barrels, smoke, sweet caramel and roasted malts, a bit of earthy spice, and a scintilla of dark fruit. It’s a kick-back sipper made to excite the palate."


Mmmmmm, I love this beer.  Possibly my favorite beer that Founders makes.  I wish more breweries would barrel age their scotch ales/wee heavy's.  The combination of peated malt and the oakiness and vanilla from bourbon barrels really just make for the perfect beer during cold weather months.  I was only able to grab two four packs of it this year so I plan to try and make this last.  I had originally planned to drink and review this on Thanksgiving but we all know how that turned out.

Now for the review:

Pour was a reddish brown and somewhat murky once in the glass.  You can actually see sediment floating in the glass but it really just adds to the experience of this beer.  When held up to the light it was a dark ruby red.  Hardly any head to speak of once in the glass.

The aroma on Backwoods Bastard is awesome.  Very first whiff and you are hit straight away with big bourbon and vanilla but then also notes of dark fruits like figs and raisin.  Same peated malt character to this as there is to Dirty Bastard which is the base beer.  Just a really awesome and fantastic smelling beer.

On the initial sip, like the aroma, you are hit up front with vanilla and a bourbony character.  The raisins and figs come into play and a nice peaty or smokiness help round it out and bring all of it together.  As it warms you get more barrel character from it but also more of the dark fruits in it.  Truly heaven in a glass and I wish I would have been able to get more of this.  Only a few left so next year needs to hurry up!

Mouthfeel on this way full/heavy.  Layers of flavor coat the mouth and leave you with a lasting impression of what was and what will be upon the next sip.


This beer was one of the first barrel aged beers I had and even now I am still blown away by it.  Buy it, trade for it, do whatever you can to acquire this.  It is well worth the price.


Cheers ladies and gentlemen!

Three Floyds Alpha King

Well, I finally got my chest freezer that I am going to convert to my cellar AND i am off work now and I finally don't have to wake up before 7 a.m!  Since I get to relax now I figured this would be a good time to sit down and enjoy one of my favorites with all of you.

"3 Floyd’s flagship beer, Alpha King is a big American pale ale that pours a deep amber with a creamy head. This ale is brewed with Centennial, Cascade, and Warrior hops giving it an intense citrus aroma and a crisp hoppy finish."

And a hoppy finish it has.

It pours a nice looking amber/dark orange with a 1 finger head that doesn't sty around too long but sticks to the glass slightly on the way down.  A bit darker than a lot of pale ales I have had but it looks beautiful.

The aroma on Alpha King is always a favorite part of the beer for me.  Such a great smelling beer.  A little pine, a little orange/citrus and a little tropical fruitiness with a slight caramel and breadiness in there as well and only adds to the aroma.

First sip you get hit with big hop flavor and big hop bitterness!  Pine and citrus lead the way and a subtle biscuityness in there towards that end before a fruity, bitter, and delicious finish. 

Light to medium mouthfeel on it and leaves you wanting to take sip after sip.  This is one of my beer I would want if I was stranded on an island.  Crisp and refreshing and packs a whole lot of flavor.  Whether I am drinking 1 or 3 I am always pleased to drink it.  Always impressive.


If you trade or have access to Alpha King I highly suggest acquiring some if you have never had it.  Actually, even if you have had it I still suggest going to pick some up.  I always ask myself why I don't buy this more often as it is such a great beer.

Cheers ladies and gentlemen!




Also, ill be posting pictures of my new cellar when I finally get my temperature controller and beer put into it.  

Southern Tier Pumking

Before today I had never had this beer.  I always heard a lot about it and that is was pretty much pumpkin pie in a glass.  A lot of people drink this around Halloween or on Halloween but I decided I needed to open one of these up on Thanksgiving and see what all the fuss was about.

The pour was an orange pour right out of the bottle and once in the glass it had a good solid 2 finger head that didn't stick around too long and was a beautiful bright orange.  Definitely a pretty looking beer.

Aroma on this beer started with big pumpkin and cinnamon and spice.  Bigger whiff gives way to a subtle caramel maltiness but is mostly pumpkin and spices. Does, in fact, remind me a lot of pumpkin pie which is exactly what i was hoping for.

First sip and boom. Big spices and pumpkin.  Tastes like pumpkin pie.  Maybe a bit too much in the spice department but it was a solid beer that I could see myself enjoying once during this time of year.

The mouthfeel on this was syrupy and full bodied.  Given how sweet the beer was, the mouthfeel on it just made it seem sweeter. I did not have a problem finishing it but by the last sip I was kind of glad it was done with.

I'll look for this beer again next year but I'll try to split it with someone as I think 22ounces of this was just too much.


Overall, I recommend giving this a try especially if you like pumpkin pie.


Time for bed now everyone, I have to be at work in a little more than 5 hours.

Cheers,

Daniel

Founders Breakfast Stout

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving so far!  Mine was actually only decent. Company was great, food was great, beer was great (of course!) but I was incredibly tired from a long shift at work last night and i never really caught my second wind.  This isn't going to stop me from posting a few reviews before bed. I apologize in advance for not getting to all the beers I had in mind for tonight but the last one is a big favorite of mine and I will review it for you guys in the next week.

The pour on this beer was a deep dark brown/black and looked completely black in the glass. Due to the aggressive pour I got a solid 1 finger head on it and a quick swirl left a nice lace around the glass.

The aroma is where the greatness of this beer starts. Really deep dark chocolate and a very nice coffee aroma up front and a nice sweetness mixed in with it as well. Very, very nice smelling beer.

I absolutely love the taste on this one.  Upfront you are hit with dark chocolate and roasted coffee bitterness that leads into a slight sweet milk chocolate. Finishes is smooth and a slight lingering sweetness and bitterness.

This beer just coats the mouth with a velvet like mouth feel.  This is easily one of my favorite beers period and a definite favorite for this time of year.  I go through a lot of this throughout the winter and late fall months.  If you have never had this beer but enjoy something you can sit back with and sip on during a cold crisp night then this is a must buy.

Heck, this is perfect as a pick me up during the afternoon game on Thanksgiving :)

Cheers ladies and gentlemen,

Daniel

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Turkey Day everyone! I hope you enjoy a fine day with your family watching football and eating copious amounts of turkey and all the sides and desserts your heart desires, I know I'll be doing that.

Other than eating I will of course be enjoying a few good beers throughout the day (Sorry, no Boltcutter review yet.)  I'll bring you reviews of some favorite seasonals of mine and I hope they become some favorite seasonals of yours after you see what I say about them.

Cheers and good eats,

Daniel