Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

Luna de Miel-Bluegrass Brewing Company

Brewer's notes first:

Luna de Miel: Raspberry Meade
Historically a meade was made to celebrate the union of a couple and given to them for celebration of their marriage. Truly defined as a braggot, BBC Luna De Miel is a fermented honey ale flavored with a blend of raspberries and blackberries. Luna De Miel is a refreshing change from standard BBC offerings. Luna De Miel is effervescent, fruity, and light, yet warming from its moderate strength. BBC Luna De Miel is offered in a wine glass.
• ABV: 7.82% • IBU: 0.00




My thoughts:

More like a champagne than an ale/mead/braggot, this bubbly delight was one of our Christmas day beverages. Huge Belgian lace head which lasted a bit longer than I thought, it poured a pinkish-tan with a small amount of sediment. Made a fine companion to our feast. I'd disagree the IBU is 0 but it tasted low, as in the 5-10 range. ABV as above though neither was listed on the bottle. Slightly sweet and tingly, this concoction had hints of honey, light caramel and raspberries. Served chilled in wine glasses, it could just as easily be an after dinner drink by itself, with a plate of fresh fruit or a variety of fruit tarts. This was a gift from Lavabe in October for the father of the bride and we saved it for yet another special occasion. All 5 of us who shared the capped 750 ml bottle were highly pleased.

Now, let's see. what shall we have for our dessert ale, Blue Chimay or a Life and Limb collaboration from Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head...

[devildeac]

Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head Life and Limb...Was extremely fortunate to get a bottle of this as my local store received a whopping 6 bottles of it. Not sure what availability is elsewhere but very limited up here in MA. 24 ounce bottle with probably the best label I have seen...
http://www.life-limb.com/
I guess I would cal this a barleywine or strong ale...Pours an imperial stout-like black though much thinner and with a very small head. Taste is extremely complex. Lots of sweet carmel malts but balanced well with a mild pine hoppy bite. I'm not sure if it's the birch but there is a fairly substantial earthiness/woody taste that reminds me a bit of some scotch ales. The maple syrup is very noticeable but also subtle enough to not overpower everything else. No alcohol bite despite the 10% ABV. This is easily one of the best beers I have had. I thought it would be very sweet but it is balanced just perfectly. I have 12 ounces to finish tonight and I will be quite sad when my glass is empty...

Life and Limb 2 or 2011 edition-Sierra Nevada/Dogfish Head Brewing

I'm gonna quote bluebeer/bluebear with his original review of Life and Limb 1.0 from 2009 and then add a few thoughts of my own. His thoughts are on the money. I'd probably go with strong ale as it did not have the usually intense hop bitterness of a barleywine. I'd guess the IBU to be 50-60 however. I doubt they varied the recipe much for this year's edition except I thought the pour was not quite a RIS-like black. Four of us split the $10 750 ml caged and corked bottle late this afternoon as we had our family gift exchange and everyone found it absolutely delightful by itself, slightly chilled from red wine glasses. I have another bottle and I do believe it will be cellared until Christmas, 2012 .

BTW, the fish are still swimming on the label on the link but I could not get mine to even budge on my label. Maybe if I had 3 or 4 of these they might start moving .

[Lavabe]

For Christmas, I sent devildeac a Demolition Ale, from Goose Island. It's an ale that has officially been retired... well, sort of.
From what I can tell, Demolition 1800 Ale from Goose Island was retired, but DEMOLITION ALE is a recent release.

SO... what I sent devildeac may//may not have been retired. It sort of like the Brett Favre of beers!

[devildeac]

For Christmas, I sent devildeac a Demolition Ale, from Goose Island. It's an ale that has officially been retired... well, sort of.
From what I can tell, Demolition 1800 Ale from Goose Island was retired, but DEMOLITION ALE is a recent release.

SO... what I sent devildeac may//may not have been retired. It sort of like the Brett Favre of beers!

That would be a very long-lived ale as I remember my first tasting of it back in 1997 or so when I attended the 10th(?) annual Oregon Brewers Festival. It is an excellent beer.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I've got 4oz of chips soaking, and I planned on fermenting it for the full 10 days or so that it usually takes. I might change that thought now, and add the chips when I have about 6 days to go. Another thought is that I only use half the chips, and leave the other half to happily continue soaking until my next batch.

I added the chips today, with three days to go. I used half, which seems like a smart compromise. I'm sure it won't be too much, and after tasting I'll be able to decide if I could have either let them ferment longer and/or added more.

[devildeac]

Grand Cru (circa 2009)-Schlafly Brewing

This was a traveler's gift from Lavabe either last year or in 2009. The bottle is not dated like their barleywine or imperial stout so I am guessing here. Don't worry, AD, I'll review the bottle you selected next year or in 2013 . OK, on to the review.

This is an excellent representation of the classic Belgian golden ale. It is made with barley and wheat malts, which impart some of the cloudiness to the brew, in addition to Belgian candi sugar. Coriander and orange peel/zest are commonly added and this ale is no exception. Two (or three-see brewer's notes) strains of Belgian yeast are utilized and they lend the typical spiciness or peppery tastes to the final product. It is a bottle conditioned ale so the yeast left in the final product continue to ferment the ale, and, over time, create different tastes, too, generally those of light, crisp fruits such as apples and pears. It pours a hazy orange with a moderate fizzy head which creates the Belgian lace appearance to the side of your glass as the head disappears. It is sweet, yet spicy on the palate with minimal bitterness as the IBU are 17. It is a bit boozy with an ABV of 9%, again, pretty typical for the style. This was our nightcap last PM and the capped 750 ml bottle was shared 4 ways, with the host, yours truly, getting a couple extra ounces . This could be dessert by itself but would also be fabulous with sliced apples and/or pears or with some fruit tarts.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I've got 4oz of chips soaking, and I planned on fermenting it for the full 10 days or so that it usually takes. I might change that thought now, and add the chips when I have about 6 days to go. Another thought is that I only use half the chips, and leave the other half to happily continue soaking until my next batch.

I added the chips today, with three days to go. I used half, which seems like a smart compromise. I'm sure it won't be too much, and after tasting I'll be able to decide if I could have either let them ferment longer and/or added more.

Bottled tonight, I could definitely smell the bourbon as we were going through the bottling process, but could not detect any overpowering flavors when I tasted it, which is good. Came in around 6%ABV. Looking forward to tasting a full bottle in a few days; it's fun to see how the quality and characteristics alter, even in just a matter of days. I'll make sure I keep a few for March, too.

[devildeac]

I've got 4oz of chips soaking, and I planned on fermenting it for the full 10 days or so that it usually takes. I might change that thought now, and add the chips when I have about 6 days to go. Another thought is that I only use half the chips, and leave the other half to happily continue soaking until my next batch.

I added the chips today, with three days to go. I used half, which seems like a smart compromise. I'm sure it won't be too much, and after tasting I'll be able to decide if I could have either let them ferment longer and/or added more.

Bottled tonight, I could definitely smell the bourbon as we were going through the bottling process, but could not detect any overpowering flavors when I tasted it, which is good. Came in around 6%ABV. Looking forward to tasting a full bottle in a few days; it's fun to see how the quality and characteristics alter, even in just a matter of days. I'll make sure I keep a few for March, too.

DSC_0030.JPG

[devildeac]

Ommegang Adoration--One of two new offerings from Ommegang this fall (the other being a Tripel)..This one is a strong dark ale/winter warmer. Corked 750ml bottle. Pours a deep amber brown with a medium head. Taste is all malt. Lots of sweet carmel malts and candied fruit. A fairly substantial bready yeast taste..lots of spice. Some boozy alcohol taste but not overpowering given the 10% ABV. This is like drinking christmas dessert... A bit of a departure from the rest of the Ommegang lineup which seem to stick to more traditional belgian styles..but a nice ale that I would surely enjoy even more in December.

Adoration-Ommegang

After going back in this thread and seeing this ale at Bottle Revolution for $8 for the caged and corked 750 ml bottle, I simply could not resist. This is pretty traditional for a Belgian winter ale, considering it's from upstate New York. Spiced with above additives except for sweet orange peel (?) which replaces the cumin, this is quite the winter warmer. It's a dubble or Belgian brown ale which has been tweaked to an ABV of 10% (most dubbles are ~8%) and borders on being luscious with a creamy tan head and additional tastes of dark, dried fruits, typical of the style. Mild hop bitterness, probably not any more than an IBU of 20-30. Excellent by itself for dessert or with a thick slice of nutty, rummy high quality fruit cake. I have another one and we shall share it some time late next year.

[devildeac]

Winter Welcome Ale-Sam Smith

Fat Tire from Tadcaster, England. I am not sure I have ever tasted this before, and, if I have, it has been many years. Three of us shared the 12 ounce bottle one night this week and all of us found ourselves a bit disappointed. It is an amber ale with a toasted bread nose and buttery croissant taste which pours with a small head and also has tastes of light caramel and subtle floral notes. I'd guess the IBU low, around 30, and the ABV is on the bottle as 6% so we were able to divide another winter warmer the same evening. Not a bad beer but we have generally greatly enjoyed most of the other Sam Smith brewings more than this one. This would be fine with lighter grilled fare and sandwiches but might be overpowered by rich winter soups and stews.

[devildeac]

Winter Ale-Weyerbacher Brewing

This reminds me of several of the West Coast winter warmers I have sipped while visiting family out there over the last couple decades. I am referring to Ebenezer Ale by Bridgeport and Wassail Ale by Full Sail in particular. Jubelale by Deschutes is another excellent winter offering. All these are brewed with no special additives and derive their aromas and tastes form the unique and complex combinations of hops and malted barley they use and various degrees of roasting their grains. This pours a medium to dark brown with a light tan head and has hints of dark chocolate from malts of the same variety. It also has a crisp nuttiness to its flavor and I think this is generally from some English malts that are often used by U.S. brewers in their winter creations. IBU probably 30-40 and ABV is 5.6% so it was a nice second sampling after the Sam Smith's we had just prior. This would be fine by itself as we tasted it but would pair well with hearty winter soups, stews or stronger grilled fare.

[August West]

I was at Total Wine this afternoon picking up some supplies for tonight and picked up a bottle of The Dogfather Imperial Stout by Laughingdog Brewery. Question for all the beer experts out there. Should I open it right away or let it be for a while? Thanks and Happy New Year to everyone. AW.

[devildeac]

Most horrible review of the best beer ever...
"Damn this is good"
Samael from Avery. That's all I got for a review. "Damn this is good". I've saved this for a loooong time, too. I drank it out of need, not celebration. I brewed tonight, OG is 1.090. In brewers terms, this beer will be a monster. I needed a yeast that could hang with that, and Samael is bottle conditioned, so I poured the dregs in. I'll find out in a few days if I'm lucky enough to have gotten a winner from the yeast, but from the bottle I know I did. High octane, high pepper notes, suprisingly low sweetness. It's an ale with a LOT of spice. Flavors only though, the yeast is the source of the spicyness..I'm pretty sure none are added. TW marks it on their shelf at 14.5%, the bottle says 16%. Either way...it kicks yer ass. Just like Duke! "Damn this is good!"

I found 4 of these at TW about a month ago. I'll have 1 each year for the next 4 years. ;)

Samael's Oak-aged Ale (batch 5, April, 2009)-Avery Brewing

Ahh, where to begin with this fabulous brew. Not sure it "fits" into the English strong ale category as Avery describes it but I'd have difficulty with characterizing it as any other type brew either. Guess it has features that make it resemble an IIPA, barleywine, Belgian triple and strong ale. And a sherry. Pours a slightly cloudy golden-orange hue with little head. Most ales this strong have next to no carbonation due to the high ABV, in this case not the 14.5% as they list on their site but an astounding 16.45% so it is pretty boozey but not fiery. The IBU are 41 so it is not a hop bomb but has some citrus notes of grapefruit and orange. Significant amount of malty sweetness (with Turbinado sugar added in the brewing process) in the form of light caramel and tofffee but not overly cloying. I split a 12 ounce bottle ($8 or 9) with my son one night this week to celebrate the Christmas season and all the children being around for several days with their new spouses, and his fiancee. Served slightly chilled in wine glasses, this makes a great after dinner drink or nightcap. I have 2 of these left, enjoying 1 last year to celebrate the 2010 NC (but I can't find my review anywhere. Unless I traded one with CB&B .) and plan on keeping the other 2 for additional celebrations in the near or even distant future .

[devildeac]

I was at Total Wine this afternoon picking up some supplies for tonight and picked up a bottle of The Dogfather Imperial Stout by Laughingdog Brewery. Question for all the beer experts out there. Should I open it right away or let it be for a while? Thanks and Happy New Year to everyone. AW.

I'm going to beat everyone to this. What a great opportunity/set-up line.

I'd just let sleeping dogs lie.

(Man, I kill myself sometimes. Either that, or I am far too easily amused. )

Seriously, I'd have 1/2 tonight and 1/2 tomorrow night and then go back to TW and pick up another bottle and save it for a year.

[devildeac]

For AW:

The Dogfather-Laughing Dog Brewing

http://www.laughingdogbrewing.com/ldb/brews/dogfather

Bought for the name and because CB&B had traded an Alpha Dog with me after Christmas. Guess I'm gonna have to try Dogzilla, too. CB&B will find a Devil Dog in his next batch of trader bombers and not the cream filled chocolate kind, either .

On to the brew review. Licorice, blackstrap molasses, cappucino and mocha all in a nearly black imperial stout with a modest head. 7 malts, 4 hops as the linky will tell you with an ABV of 11% (only 10.85% on the bottle ) and the IBU are 71 which is a bit low for the style but still well hopped. Serve this at about 55-60 degrees and sip for a while. You could enjoy this with a savory brisket, a spicy bowl of chili or as dessert, with or without a scoop of vanila ice cream. Certainly worth a try at $8 for the bomber which I sampled over 2 nights.

[August West]

The over/under on you jumping on my set up line was one hour. You won. Have a good time tonight and be safe. AW.

I was at Total Wine this afternoon picking up some supplies for tonight and picked up a bottle of The Dogfather Imperial Stout by Laughingdog Brewery. Question for all the beer experts out there. Should I open it right away or let it be for a while? Thanks and Happy New Year to everyone. AW.

I'm going to beat everyone to this. What a great opportunity/set-up line.

I'd just let sleeping dogs lie.

(Man, I kill myself sometimes. Either that, or I am far too easily amused. )

Seriously, I'd have 1/2 tonight and 1/2 tomorrow night and then go back to TW and pick up another bottle and save it for a year.

[devildeac]

Festive Ale-Dundee Brewing

New brew and brewery to me. This is another in a long line of spiced Christmas/seasonal ales populating shelves in your local specialty shops and grocery stores over the holiday. Today's entrant has nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and orange peel and I'm not sure I could have named all of them after sipping this brew this week, but the orange and cinnamon were leaders. Basically an amber or light brown ale, it had a modest head, minimal hop profile with an IBU of 30 and moderate ABV, discovering after the fact that the ABV is 6.2%. It would be nice to make a comparison among several of the flavored winter brews which, if any, would be a favorite. This was not but it was pleasant and worthy to be tasted and discussed.

[devildeac]

Hop Notch IPA-Uinta Brewing

This brewery's offerings are growing on me. There are not many breweries in Utah (AFAIK) and for years, this really has been the only one with which I have been acquainted and unimpressed. Since "beer laws" appear to have changed there, these folks have assembled quite an assortment of session and specialty ales and lagers. The first thought/taste/aroma here is grapefruit juice, fresh and pungent. After all, an IBU of 82 will quickly grab your palate's attention. Somewhat higher than I would have guessed but not too bitter or unpleasant as the toffee-ish, malty balance is well done. The ABV is 7.3% and the overall character of the brew would make it a fine IPA to enjoy and pair with spicy Asian dishes. Definitely worth a trader and a taste. Part of my traded 6er from the week before Christmas.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Bottled tonight, I could definitely smell the bourbon as we were going through the bottling process, but could not detect any overpowering flavors when I tasted it, which is good. Came in around 6%ABV. Looking forward to tasting a full bottle in a few days; it's fun to see how the quality and characteristics alter, even in just a matter of days. I'll make sure I keep a few for March, too.

DSC_0030.JPG

Tasted tonight. So far, I'm very happy. Next time I won't be so scared and I'll let the chips soak for more days, but I'm loving the body of this brew...very heavy, and great color. Holding the glass up to a bright light, I can't see anything coming through. In a few more days this will be mighty fine for drinking.

[devildeac]

Immort Ale-Dogfish Head Brewing

Welcome back to my palate, old friend. I have not sipped one of these in quite a while which is rather sad as this is one of my top 10, maybe even top 5 brews of all time. Its release is limited and I never seem to find it on the shelves, either due to its quick disappearance or bad timing on my part. Best characterized as a barleywine with a bit low IBU for the style at 50 but a potent 11% ABV, this sweet, dee-luscious brew is so easy to enjoy. Dark amber in color with next to no head, its initial impressions on your senses are maple syrup (added to the brew), oak and vanilla (also added). Juniper berries are also added but not sure I could identify that flavor. I had forgotten they age it in oak barrels and that imparts the "woodiness" to the flavors. Serve slightly chilled in a snifter for a nightcap or dessert and savor its complex nature. I bought a 4 pack last week (about $16) and it ages very well so I will add the other 3 to the cellar and embrace them as the special occasions arise over the next year or three.



Note worth reading from the brewer, too:

Pour this over pancakes. Vast in character, luscious and complex, Immort Ale was born at our brewpub in 1995 and made its way into bottles in 1997.

For this beer, we use maple syrup from Red Brook Farm -- Sam's family farm in Western Massachusetts, peat-smoked barley, juniper berries and vanilla.

Immort is fermented with a blend of English and Belgian yeasts, then aged in the big oak tanks at the brewery.

The sweet and earthy flavors meld magnificently in the Immort Ale. But be warned, the ABV is 11%, so after one or two you may start feeling immortal (even though we promise you won't be).

For more on the Immort Ale (including a bit about the artist who did our 4-pack artwork), watch Sam's Quick Sip Clip.

.

Original Release Date:
07/1997
Food Pairing Recommendations:
Spicy meatballs, meatloaf, corn, dried fruit, balsamic vinaigrette
Wine Comparable:
Red wine with dried fruit, zinfandel
ABV
11.0
IBU
50