Ymm, Beer!

[August West]

I've been shopping for Saturday's tailgate and have picked up a special treat. Let's see if DD can guess what it is. Hint, it is from Delaware and has a double figure ABV and it's not an IPA. AW.

[devildeac]

I've been shopping for Saturday's tailgate and have picked up a special treat. Let's see if DD can guess what it is. Hint, it is from Delaware and has a double figure ABV and it's not an IPA. AW.

If it's of the 12 ounce variety, it'll be Immort Ale. I'm gonna have to check some of their 750 ml releases.

[August West]

I've been shopping for Saturday's tailgate and have picked up a special treat. Let's see if DD can guess what it is. Hint, it is from Delaware and has a double figure ABV and it's not an IPA. AW.

If it's of the 12 ounce variety, it'll be Immort Ale. I'm gonna have to check some of their 750 ml releases.

Nope, not an Immort Ale although it is a 12 ounce variety. Right brewery though. Of course they make more than few variety's of beer. Guess again. AW.

[devildeac]

I've been shopping for Saturday's tailgate and have picked up a special treat. Let's see if DD can guess what it is. Hint, it is from Delaware and has a double figure ABV and it's not an IPA. AW.

If it's of the 12 ounce variety, it'll be Immort Ale. I'm gonna have to check some of their 750 ml releases.

Nope, not an Immort Ale although it is a 12 ounce variety. Right brewery though. Of course they make more than few variety's of beer. Guess again. AW.

Burton Baton.

[August West]

I've been shopping for Saturday's tailgate and have picked up a special treat. Let's see if DD can guess what it is. Hint, it is from Delaware and has a double figure ABV and it's not an IPA. AW.

If it's of the 12 ounce variety, it'll be Immort Ale. I'm gonna have to check some of their 750 ml releases.

Nope, not an Immort Ale although it is a 12 ounce variety. Right brewery though. Of course they make more than few variety's of beer. Guess again. AW.

Burton Baton.

Nope. AW.

[devildeac]

I've been shopping for Saturday's tailgate and have picked up a special treat. Let's see if DD can guess what it is. Hint, it is from Delaware and has a double figure ABV and it's not an IPA. AW.

Nope, not an Immort Ale although it is a 12 ounce variety. Right brewery though. Of course they make more than few variety's of beer. Guess again. AW.

Burton Baton.

Nope. AW.

Must be Palo Santo Marron. Final answer.

[devildeac]

Southern Pecan-Lazy Magnolia Brewing

A brewery in Mississippi? WTH? I'm not sure I've ever had a Mississippian beer before sharing a 12 ounce bottle with our son tonight that duketaylor traded at the VT tailgate grease fire. Poured a medium brown with a small head, this smelled like toffee-dipped pecans and tasted like them, too. It's a pretty simple brown ale base with pecans listed as the only additive. I'll guess IBUs of 20-30 and the ABV was 4.5%, so it'd be fine with ribs, burgers and brisket. I still like Rogue Hazlenut better in the flavored brown ale category but this was nice to try.

[devildeac]

Imperial Brown Ale-CameronBornAndBred Home Brewing

Reviewed a couple weeks ago up thread and again today after about 2 more weeks of bottle conditioning. This was a bomber shared 4 ways at our tailgate yesterday. I think a bit of the barelywine edge/roughness/bitterness has matured/decreased a bit by a short period of "aging." Dark brown pour with a modest mocha head, the nose was still Belgian dubble and the tastes still of roasted nuts with some dark caramel sauce, coffee dark fruits. Can't remember my IBU guess on first tasting but I'd guess 30 with its master brewer stating about 8-9% for the ABV. I got another 12 ounce bottle as a trader yesterday and believe I'll tuck that into the cellar for at least 90 days and revisit late this year.

Well, it didn't quite make it 90 days but it was close .

Interestingly, this "aged" 12 ounce bottle has taken on more herbal and woody characteristics and more resembles a brown ale now than a Belgian dubbel. I also think the hop profile shines through a bit more now. A bit of dark, aged rum presence is sensed, also. A nice way to close out a brown ale evening.

[August West]

Looks like I've finally stumped DD. See ya Saturday. AW.

[devildeac]

Hefe Weissbier-Weihenstephaner Brewery

Graciously contributed by Bob Green, we started our tasting with this classic offering from the oldest brewery in the world. Poured gently from a 500 ml bottle, this highly rated (98 on Beer Advocate), unfiltered wheat beer was a cloudy straw color with a generous, foamy head which lingered for a while. The aromas were underripe bananas with a pinch of cloves with tastes to match, along with a bit of orange from what is likely about 50% wheat malt. Many German breweries still abide by the Reinheitsgebot, the German Beer Purity Law, which originally stated only hops, water and barley could be used to brew beer, allowing for natural fermentation without yeast. Very easy to sip at 18 IBUs, it made a nice beginning to our session, aided by the ABV of 5.4%.

[devildeac]

Jingle Brüe-Brüeprint Brewing

Ho, ho, ho! It's growler time. The fuse gang (to be differentiated from #Dukegang) brought a growler of this spiced amber ale. Poured a slightly cloudy, medium brown hue, the nose was cinnamon candle and the tastes included a bit of toffee, toasted wheat bread and, of course, cinnamon. Their website mentions a hint of chocolate and I'm not sure if it's cocoa nibs, processed chocolate or just dark roasted chocolate malt. Whatever the source, it was quite smooth at 31 IBUs and ABV of 5.1%. This, along with pretty much the remainder of the sippings, were paired with penne pasta, outrageously thick, chunky and delicious homemade marinara sauce and grilled sausage and meatballs.

[devildeac]

Holiday Bash-Raleigh Brewing

Another highly appreciated growler from Mr and Mrs. fuse and friend. A story behind this one from their website explains the name as a "bashing" of two holiday beers into one offering as they took Thanksgiving stuff (squashes, including pumpkin and butternut, plus cinnamon) and threw them together with mulling spices, (more) cinnamon and vanilla and brewed it with 6 other malts and lactose, a few East Kent Goldings hops and ended up with a final product that I guess is part winter warmer and part wassail. Poured a medium brown with a small, light tan head, the nose was toffee (a bit more than Jingle Brue) and lots of cinnamon with tastes of the same, fooling all of us as none of us thought about any gourds and we all believed ginger was in the melange, too. Shows how much we know. I guess we need to practice tasting more. A very quaffable, pleasant seasonal ale at 21 IBUs and a small step up the ABV scale at 7.4%.

[Bob Green]

I guess we need to practice tasting more.

You are wise beyond your years.

[devildeac]

I guess we need to practice tasting more.

You are wise beyond your years.

I dunno, Bob. I got a lot of years and I'm not that wise .

[devildeac]

And now, your tailgate heavyweights:

Big Bad Baptist (Batch #10, sometime 2013)-Epic Brewing

August West gets a huge credit for this bomber. Basically, it's a cuppa Joe with a shot of Jack Daniels and a generous squirt of Hershey's syrup with a teaspoon of cocoa powder sprinkled on the top. Or, in other words, an imperial stout brewed with coffee and cocoa nibs aged in whiskey barrels and then cellared at AW's house for a year. This was a delicious brew that I think we actually shared between fuse's two growlers. Poured an inky black with little head and a huge, boozey, espresso nose. Tastes are darkly roasted grains, more booze and 70-80% cacao. And darkly roasted coffee, too. I can't access the Epic website but would guess IBUs around 60 based on the style and I think the ABV was 10.5%. This was wonderful divided among 5-6 people and was delicious with Mrs. fuse's addicting chocolate chip cookies, Mrs. dd's first attempt at some sinful German Chocolate Pecan Pie bars and some chocolate chip cookie dough cups enrobing mini-Reese's PB cups. And it gets better, too.

[devildeac]

Old North Coast Ale 2014-North Coast Brewing

August West provides another winner. This is not a barleywine but is probably best classified as an old (English) ale (http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style19.php). Poured a dark brown with little head and a complex nose and even more complex tastes. Scents of toffee, slightly over-cooked dark caramel with dried figs and raisins. Tastes were dark dried fruits, dark brown sugar, whiskey and chocolate-covered dark caramel squares. Brewed with classic Maris Otter malt and Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops, all imported from England. Incredibly easy sipping at 34 IBUs and frighteningly smooth and deceptive at 11.8% ABV. I'll guess we also shared this 12 ounce bottle among the remaining 4-5 of us who were still standing at this time during the pre-game activities. Paired nicely with the desserts from the prior post but would be outstanding by itself over an hour by a fire or shared with some other beer lovers over conversations about QBs and/or playing time.

[devildeac]

Old Stock Ale 2014-North Coast Brewing

August West provides another winner. This is not a barleywine but is probably best classified as an old (English) ale (http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style19.php). Poured a dark brown with little head and a complex nose and even more complex tastes. Scents of toffee, slightly over-cooked dark caramel with dried figs and raisins. Tastes were dark dried fruits, dark brown sugar, whiskey and chocolate-covered dark caramel squares. Brewed with classic Maris Otter malt and Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops, all imported from England. Incredibly easy sipping at 34 IBUs and frighteningly smooth and deceptive at 11.8% ABV. I'll guess we also shared this 12 ounce bottle among the remaining 4-5 of us who were still standing at this time during the pre-game activities. Paired nicely with the desserts from the prior post but would be outstanding by itself over an hour by a fire or shared with some other beer lovers over conversations about QBs and/or playing time.



Old Stock Ale 2009 Cellar Reserve-North Coast Brewing

I've had a number of vintages of Old Stock Ale over the years for many good reasons (and seasons) but this version of it has to be among my favorite ales of all time. Take the above, throw it in some oak bourbon barrels and allow to mellow/age for 18 months, bottle it and then let it sit for another few years. Good friends of ours gave me this painted, ceramic, corked and caged 500 ml bottle about 3.5 years ago when our first daughter got married and instructed me to uncork and sip for a special occasion. Well, the last home FB game of 2014 made an excellent event to celebrate and share with about a half dozen friends. Poured a viscous, dark brown with a nose of bourbon along with dark caramel, raisins and figs. Very little head. Sips were even more complex with semi-sweet chocolate covered dark caramels, more dried fruit to accompany more bourbon and dark, pure Vermont maple syrup. I'll guess IBUs about 30-40, on the same magnitude as the standard version. ABV is even higher at 13.16% and is dangerously smooth and quaffable. Don't even think about pairing this with anything comestible, if you can even find a bottle of it. This is to be sipped slowly and savored. Truly outstanding beverage.

[devildeac]

Back to reality.

Tap Room No. 21-Taproom Brewing

A new brew and brewery to me. Our son's friends left several 12 ouncers of these after a holiday session visiting our hot tub. I think of it as a rental fee. It's an amber ale brewed with a lager yeast so it poured a light, clear brown hue with a medium, creamy head. Aromas were toasted wheat bread ladled with honey. Tastes duplicated that with very little hop presence and the IBUs of 18 support that impression. There's a bit of light brown sugar and caramel that I taste, too. It's a bit thin, but at 5.5% ABV, I'd kinda expect that. Good for a session at a cookout with the usual grilled fare whether it's chicken, pork, burgers or brats.

[devildeac]

Big Leaf Maple Autumn Red-Anchor Brewing

Part of my December buy and trade case last week on fuse's suggestion from last year and last month. Poured a reddish-brown with a mildly foamy, creamy head, meaning it was probably a bit warm. Pine and resin scents with hints of maple. Tasting thoughts alternated between herbal and pine bitterness and a bit of sweetness from the maple syrup. IBUs not listed anywhere but I'd guess 50-60 as it has a moderate bite to it. Hops include Nelson Sauvin, Citra & Cascade. I got no vinous notes. Balance is reasonably achieved with ABV of 6% from two caramel and pale malt. This 12 ounce pour was very happy in a pint glass and would be even happier if one were to unite this with a stew, a pork or beef roast or some burgers and brats.

[devildeac]

Old Jubilation Ale-Avery Brewing

One of my favorite winter warmers. Cascades out of the 12 ounce bottle with a dark reddish-mahogany hue with nutty, herbal and toffee aromas and tastes that echo the aromas. There are no additives to this recipe so they achieve these tempting scents and taste bud stimulants with Bullion hops (new to me) and malts that include two-row barley, their "special roast," Black, Chocolate and Victory (I thought this was a hop variety.). It's called an English Old Ale and the IBUs are 45 (a tad higher than I'd have thought) with a very malty, chocolate-y ABV at 8.3%. Sip by the fire or serve with a prime rib dinner or stew. Certainly worth seeking out, especially if you'd like compare with some other traditional winter brews.