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Readers of this blog will know that I enjoy beers created to taste like cocktails, Fort Point Beer Co. has a new release that would also make my late dad happy, his go to drink, an Irish Coffee in beer form.
Buena Vista, an Irish Coffee Inspired Stout, “Rich and roasty, this stout is brewed with Bittersweet coffee from our friends at Oakland’s @mother.tongue.coffee and aged in Irish whiskey barrels for layers of vanilla, oak, and caramel.”
Christmas beers have been thoroughly invaded by IPAs but the holiday still brings wintry styles such as the bock beer. Stone Brewing has a new One Batch Dispatch holiday bock.
Here is my take on Gimme Yule, Gimme Fire: It is nice and malty. Very Germanic. The barrel char is not coming through in the typical Stone mega proportions. I was expecting ash and charcoal and whiskey but this is a pleasant little bock that does not taste 9% at all with a touch of sweetness to it. If it was labeled a Christmas bock, I would probably have viewed it in higher esteem.
There are many beer styles that peek out only occasionally, wheatwine is certainly in that group but Firestone Walker is using it in their latest Vintage release from their Barrel Program. It is called Houses In Motion.
Here is the beer description, “After aging this wheatwine ale in whiskey barrels for 12 months, we incorporated whole roast coffee beans, cocoa nibs, and cinnamon spice to accentuate its core flavors.”
Been a long while since I have had a Rogue beer and even longer since a Dead Guy even though that is really the only one available in SoCal.
Here is my review of the Dead Guy variant Dead ‘n’ Dead.
Whiskey barrel chips meets Maibock amped to 9.5% abv. Oak and alcohol on the nose. Kinda hoppy red ale initially before the Germanic influence creeps in. Was not expecting the bubbly nature, thought it would be more placid on the palate. Even so, you can tell this is strong beer. Nothing hidden here. The whiskey chips do their job, adding the spirit without bowling over the beer underneath.
Since this is Bourbon trip month for me, I thought I would talk about the annual Bourbon County announcement that used to be big craft news before it became so brand extension-y. It came out this time last month and buzzed through social media and I half expected Oreos to come out with a Bourbon County cookie and then Goose Island make a variant with that cookie. Then two great tinkerers could work together.
Before going further, I strongly suggest finding a local brewery who does barrel-aged beers, here in L.A., Smog City has fantastic choices.
That said, let’s drop the seven variants for 2022 into three tiers. All of the BCS will probably be readily available upon release in November and will all probably be still available months to come since ABInBev decided to not do the whole scarcity thing and quickly made Bourbon County over supplied and less prized.
Oddball Tier – Hard pass on marzipan and figs but the cocktail version might work but could also be the worst.
Goose Island Bourbon County Biscotti Stout flavored with anise, buttered toffee, cocoa, and marzipan.
Goose Island Bourbon County Sir Isaac’s Stout aka the fig newton one flavored with Black Mission figs
Goose Island Bourbon County Proprietor’s Stout “jungle bird cocktail that combines banana, coconut, lime, and a new ingredient for the Bourbon County Stout family – pineapple.”
Simple Tier – The coffee might be the low key winner of all seven
Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout with Intelligentsia’s Burundi Turihamwe coffee blend
Bourbon Tier – actually earning the Bourbon County name with a barrel roster of big Bourbon names
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout – “blended from freshly emptied bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Buffalo Trace distilleries.”
Goose Island Bourbon County 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout with “a blend of Jim Beam barrels from their small batch bourbon collection barrels.”
Goose Island Bourbon County Two-Year Barleywine Reserve “aged for two-years in barrels from Old Fitzgerald.”
For safe bets go the coffee or the original.
Firestone Walker has been reading my mind again as they have done more gin barrel-aged beers and have dabbled in using bitters barrels too.
Let’s start with the bigger ABV of the two, which surprised me, the Daisy…
Imperial Blonde is sort of like imperial pilsner to me, I appreciate the level up game but it also defeats the purpose of a blonde ale. Daisy’s Favorite pours a dark orange color and their is a mingling of spices on the nose. A soft but sturdy botanical flavor leads to a bit of alcohol burn at the end. The spices pop as it warms and the ABV doesn’t show up as strong. I would have maybe liked a little more juniper beer or coriander to add an extra dimension.
Gold Rider has been the beer talked about a bit more. Mentioning Cognac will do that. This has a big barrel aroma. Very French mixture of whiskey and grape. Lighter mouthfeel to this one, the aroma leads you to expect one thing and then you sip and it is different. I am missing the lemon aspect to this though, unless that is what is contributing to the lightness.
To choose a winner: I would pick the Daisy. It had a simpler mission and hit the mark, the orange bitters in the Rider emerged well but it needed more Cognac and lemon.
If you want to learn about barrel-aged beer then the next Beachwood Beer Side Talks event is for you.
Here are the details:
“On May 12th we’re continuing our educational speaking event series with “Tales from the Rickhouse: Barrel-Aged Beers” featuring speakers Julian Shrago, Brewmaster and Co-Owner at Beachwood and Lindsay Langton, Creative Director (Lead Design of Barrel Blends program) at Bottle Logic with Brewmaster and Co-Founder Wes Parker.
$15 Ticket includes a flight of 3 specialty barrel-aged beers hosted at Beachwood Downtown Long Beach.”
I usually am not a breaking news guy but AleSmith has a new beer coming, like in an hour. It has been waiting though for much longer.
Here is the beer description: “We’ve matured our Russian Imperial Stout in premium bourbon barrels for up to one year to create Barrel-Aged Speedway Stout, with the perfect blend of flavors. Notes of oak, vanilla, and bourbon add another level of complexity to this beer’s already massive flavor profile of chocolate, locally roasted coffee, and roasted barley. Designed to be enjoyed now or aged in the bottle for years to come, this special release is truly a unique beer that is smooth as it is rare.”
Head to their webstore to pick-up a bottle or head to a finer beer bottle shoppe in the coming week to possibly find a bottle.
Readers will know that I like beer names that are a little deeper than pun level. And if there is a anecdote or story about the name, even better. With that…
New Belgium has some prize barrels there. You can tell just from the video playing on the Leopold website that they go extra.
I hope that you purchased your Infinite Wishes from Smog City Brewing, I bought two of the variants and here are my thoughts…
Coconut Vanilla – I always worry that coconut will be too overpowering. But this smells and tastes like a Mounds bar. Back when they were made with actual chocolate and actual coconut. So smooth. A little ABV and carbonation bite at the end but that just balances the books as it were. Nice lingering dark chocolate flavor.
Double Bourbon – I guess that I was expecting DOUBLE. Aroma times 2. Flavor times 2. Luxury times 2. Instead, this tasted a bit thinner than the coconut/vanilla. The aroma is nicely bourbon and the taste is nice and strong but it is a bit slight. Maybe because it is bubbly on the tongue that is cutting the strength.
Such a different duo.