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The Woodcutter pours a dark black color. Almost a spiced apple aroma behind a pina colada. Initial taste is toasted coconut. Does not taste 11%+ ABV at first, then it begins to warm the cheeks. Almost more rum in direction than rye whiskey. Maybe the two woods combine to give off the coconut. Little bit of spice at the back end but that is quickly gone. A fine collaboration for FWIBF.
Since I am in Paso Robles, it behooves me to visit Silva Brewing. It is my annual first stop.
This new IPA from the mind of Chuck Silva was quite interesting. West Coast hop bitter more than expected from a beer using this yeast. A little grapefruit and general citrus notes to it. Has a rustic and rough but not quite Belgian quality to it.
Foedre Friends canned by Almanac Beer Co. pours a deep orange color. Woodsy, botanical. Hops are not coming through but this tastes different without too many bells and whistles. Leather and dried fruit come to mind.
Now I have not seen a collaboration with this many hands in the kitchen…
Since it is an Orange County themed month, I went down to the Cellar (aka the car park, aka the garage) and pulled up a beer from The Bruery from way back in 2013.
This is what the website says about this anniversary ale. “Bois is our fifth anniversary ale, loosely brewed in the English-style Old Ale tradition using our house Belgian yeast strain and then blended using the solera method. A portion of each of our anniversary ales is saved in our barrels and blended in with the next year’s production, providing more complexity and depth of character that comes with age. Layered with complex flavors of dark fruit,vanilla, oak, and burnt sugar, Bois is a robust ale, surely the perfect beer to mark this major milestone.”
Damn this is a really sweet beer. Even the aroma is sweet. Boozy on the tongue and it does burn the throat a bit. Still hot after 6 years. Not much bourbon or barrel notes left. For a beer named after the Wood anniversary, I was hoping for some oak. Getting a vanilla maple syrup combo. Maybe better served to have held longer.
The Ur beer of California, the oft cited influence for many a brewer across the country is the green labeled Pale Ale from Sierra Nevada.
And if memory serves (often it doesn’t according to my significant other), I have not reviewed it. So for my first #FlagshipFebruary review of the month, it is time to rectify that error.
Pale pours an dark orange color nary a haze to be seen. Orange notes in the aroma that follow through into the flavor along with a bit of pine needle. Rugged hop flavor. Not weak at all. Would stand up to many an IPA. Bit of caramel peeks through at the end to add an extra flavor to the result. It is easy to see why this was such a game changer if you were used to light watery lagers.
This new Beer Rose from Firestone Walker pours a vivid rose color prompting my wife to say that it was the prettiest beer that I have had in a while. (probably a comment on recent hazy beers) The Hibiscus is in full effect. Rosalie smells like a light wine wine and is almost spritzer like, in a good way. The grape taste is strong but more in a winery pressing after a harvest way. It is fizzy on the tongue and has a light kiss of malt at the back along with some jam notes.
This is myy second beer from La Cervecería de Colima and it pours a vivid yellow. Seeing a nice amount of bubbles floating to the surface of the beer. This pilsner is crisp and sharp at the outset. Slightly toasty bread grain flavor in the middle. Mini touch of sweet and mixture of orange and pear. It does become little viscous at the back end which is not my preference but overall this is a quite nice light beer and a great Christmas gift.
I probably tallied north of 60 beer reviews this year. I know that there are some who hate the practice or don’t think that personal preferences can be of use, but I think it is instructive to see which beers struck a chord and which elicit such little word count as to telegraph the yea/nay response.
On to the last review of the year, I have dug into the cellar and brought out the famed barleywine from Sierra Nevada, Bigfoot.
2013
Faint port like aroma. Bitter at the end. Showing some age I think. Caramel notes and a slight oak-y bourbon flavor. A bit vinous.
2017
Lighter and brighter. Bitterness is there but not pounding. A little burnt tasting. More pine notes on this one.
Of the duo, I would take the 2013 first. It had a swirl of different flavors and aromas going on in it’s 12 ounces.
We have reached my last beer from the The Bruery and their 12 Days of Christmas.
Numero 6 – The Six Geese is lightly Belgian with a little bit of fruit to it. My first thought was that this hadn’t aged well so I let it warm a bit. But it was better colder. There is a strong ale base but not much else. The cheeks ear, eventually and it doesn’t have any ABV heat but it is kinda boring. Maybe an additional fruit or a spice would add a layer to this.
Next in our local, cellared and high ABV beers for review is The Nothing from Smog City of Torrance.
Another beer from the year 2014 and one that I thought I would bring up after the Wood Cellar festival.
The Nothing pours jet black with a toffee head to it. 4 years might be too much for this one. That would be my bad for losing track of it in time and not recognizing that it is under 10% which is the generic threshold for cellaring. Bit of a wine vinous thinness has crept in. Sapping some of the velvet nature that an Imperial would normally possess. The chocolate has a bit of tang and is in second place strength-wise to a coffee roast note.