Thomas Hardy's Ale (2003-2008)

Thomas Hardy's Ale (2003 - 2008)
English Barleywine
O'Hanlon's Brewing Co. Ltd.
11.7 % ABV

2005 vintage poured from a 8.5 oz bottle into a snifter. Note that this is not the original Thomas Hardy's ale that was brewed until 1999 by Eldridge Pope & Co.

Poured the darkest copper color, like turpentine oil with brilliant clarity. Most vigorous of pours couldn't force much bubbles but whatever formed stuck around.

The aroma was dried fruit and toasted coconut, caramel, toffee, and some sweet alcohol at the back. Very delicious, rounded and complex. I am giving it a 4.5/5 but I might bump it to 5/5 once I test it against J.W.Lees in a side by side comparison.

This ale tastes of decadence and I am thinking that no one makes a beer that suits my tastes better than the British. Sweet and flavorfuly so, with a lot of dried fruit character of dates and figs, and a nice bitterness towards the end. Very very very delicious.

Just some CO₂ "oomph" on the perfect body... a perfect sipper!

Scores: Appearance 4.5/5; Aroma 4.5/5; Taste 5/5; Mouthfeel 5/5; Drinkability 5/5

Town Hall Barrel Aged Week 2011

Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery is one of the most buzzed brewpub in beer circles and their beers always draw a lot of attention. Especially their limited beers like Mango Mama and Czar Jack (A+ on Beeradvocate, yeah!). Every year, at least since the last one, they host a barrel aged week and a new beer is released everyday = trade bait baby! I couldn't attend last year but I made it four out of six days this time to enjoy the beers and purchase growlers. And now I am about 200 dollars poorer! Here are my reviews:

Port Odin

Port barrel aged Baltic Porter
7.5% ABV

Served in a wide mouthed 10 oz. glass at the brewpub on the first day of this year's barrel aged week. 02/21/2011 is the date.

Looks black but not thickly so, with a lighter colored head. Dark garnet highlights tell that the beer is quite clear. The head retention is poor, the lacing is not impressive either but all of that is forgivable for a barrel aged beer. Tartness, reminiscent of milder sours hits the nose first - sour fruit and green apple notes, followed by creamy oak. Smoke emerges as the beer warms up, and the glass gets emptier. Quite layered and complex aroma.

This beer feels fairly light on the palate - light to the extent of empty. There's plenty of tartness for an uninfected beer, some bitterness, and plenty of dark and sour fruit character with some roast. Finishes quite clean; actually tastes quite clean too, perhaps too clean. Later I find that it's not the taste that's disappointing, but the mouthfeel. The taste is actually very good, with layer upon layer of fruit, oak, alcohol soaked dried berries... and all that without much of roast - more like a regular Ale as opposed to a Porter. Eventually, the clean finish gives away to a longer and smoother finish with plenty of tart-bitter aftertaste but no tannic character.

The mouthfeel sucks. Thin and overcarbonated. I would want to ice distill this beer and have it flat. I could drink it as it is, but the mouthfeel... well, sucks.

Scores: Appearance 4/5; Aroma 4/5; Taste 4.5/5; Mouthfeel 2/5; Drinkability 3.5/5

Wee Jack

Jack Daniels barrel aged Wee Heavy
9% ABV

Served in a wide mouthed 10 oz. glass at the brewpub on the third day of this year's barrel aged week. 02/23/2011 is the date.

Dark, unsaturated mahogany brown, and clear, with a small and creamy off white head. The retention is quite good for a head this tiny.

First impression of the aroma is bourbony tart. The smell is familiar and not bad but unlikely for a beer of this kind. I look for malty goodness but don't get any, but I do get some fruity esters; however, eventually the barrel notes eclipse any other notes. I don't like this character in this beer.

The taste is "Scotch" sweet: the sweetness is pleasantly understated. Prune and oak. Hint of tannins and slight bitterness towards the end, followed by a clean finish. I think the heightened acidity plays its part here. Warming, certainly. This beer differs from similar beers and similar styles in the nature of its fruitiness that's not as much dry-dark fruit as a good English Barleywine, but much lighter. Again, this character might have its roots in barrel tartness. Towards the end, every sip starts bursting with sweet and ripe berries and becomes quite an experience.

The mouthfeel is creamy with just the right amount of cleansing carbonation and the drinkability is excellent in the sense that alcohol makes itself felt but never dominates the experience.

Scores: Appearance 4/5; Aroma 2/5; Taste 4/5; Mouthfeel 4.5/5; Drinkability 5/5

Port Frost

Port barrel aged Imperial Stout
9.3% ABV

Served in a wide mouthed 10 oz. glass at the brewpub on the fourth day of this year's barrel aged week. 02/24/2011 is the date.

Dark and shiny looking with barely any head. Smells tart and tastes tart. All the beers in this festival have had a strong fruit and tart character to them! This one is no exception: massive on fruitiness, mostly the darker kind; subdued but present roast towards the finish. Mildly bitter with a fruity and clean finish. Medium bodied and silky with perfect carbonation. Sweet alcohol raises head with warmth but doesn't hurt.

It's hard to say how much of the character is coming from Port wine, but whatever has come has melded very well.

Scores: Appearance 4/5; Aroma 3.5/5; Taste 4/5; Mouthfeel 4.5/5; Drinkability 4.5/5

Czar Jack

Jack Daniels barrel aged Imperial Stout
9.3% ABV

Served in a wide mouthed 10 oz. glass at the brewpub on the last day of this year's barrel aged week. 02/26/2011 is the date.

Shiny, brilliant, rich, "colorful" black, as opposed to the gray kind, with a thick and creamy coffee and cream colored head that just stayed there for a while. Among the best looking stouts and perhaps the best looking barrel aged example. Very beautiful.

Coconut, banana, other fruit, and roast is the first impression. With warmth the coffee and bourbon character takes off really well. The taste is similar: bitter chocolaty, fruity-tart, and coffee tart. Finishes very clean and leaves a roasty aftertaste with plenty of coffee. Quite warming. The body is thinner than I would like or it might be the higher carbonation lending the impression of lightness. Drinks well and the alcohol never interferes. A very good beer for sure!

Scores: Appearance 5/5; Aroma 4/5; Taste 4/5; Mouthfeel 4/5; Drinkability 4.5/5

Beer Trivia

This is a living post, will be updated as I find more random facts to share!

• Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is different in bottles and on draft! Proof

Old Ruffian & old Old Ruffian

    Old Ruffian brewed by Great Divide Brewing Co. tops Beeradvocate's list of American Barleywines at the moment. At 10.2 % ABV and 85-90 IBUs, this is quite a beer. I bought a bottle about 2 years ago that's at least 3 years old now because Great Divide changed their labels by the August of 2008 and this one has an older label, and no dates. One of the more accessible beers, I had no trouble getting a recent bottle for this tasting.

    22 oz. bombers: 2007 winter or older (minimum, and most likely 3 years old) poured into a 25 oz. snifter and 2010 winter release (bottled 11/08/2010) poured into a Duvel tulip.

    The older version was noticeably darker and hazier than the better looking newer one. Both poured amber-brown with different degrees of clarity but both had huge light brown heads and excellent, excellent lacing. Sticky lace decorated the glasses while chunks of foam floated on the surface, hiding garnet highlights beneath them. Some legs could be noticed when the heads subsided.

    It's amazing that the older one still had hops in its aroma! And lots of sweet caramel and fruity goodness. Figs came up with warmth, and the aroma was overall quite rich and complex. On the other hand the newer one was bigger on hops and sharpness of alcohol, but that's pretty much about it, especially in comparison to older.

    Both tasted equally bitter on palate with older one displaying less aggressiveness at the beginning, and letting the sweetness come through while the new one turned everything in its path bitter, up to the back of the throat. Older was mellow and flavorful, but none was exceptional. The fruitiness didn't shine in either but was present in both, obviously stronger in the older while hop flavor, specifically citrus rind notes, stronger in the newer.

    Carbonation was spot on, no doubt. And the older hadn't lost any. Even though the older one seemed sweeter, it tasted more attenuated. Both finished quite clean and drinkability was good FWIW. Alcohol didn't interfere but I don't find much to look forward to. Maybe I don't like American Barleywines all that much, but in the end, this is definitely a well done beer.

	Old (2008 Winter?)	New (bottled 11/2010)
Appearance	4	5
Aroma	4.5	4
Taste	4	4
Mouthfeel	4	4
Drinkability	4	4

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout

Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout
Imperial Stout
Lagunitas Brewing Co.
8.8% ABV
29.50 IBUs
OG 1.076

22 oz bomber bottled on 361^st day of the last year, I believe, poured into a big snifter on 2/17/2011. Quite fresh for a beer of this kind.

Appearance 3.5/5

Thinner looking and shades lighter than any other "Imperial" Stout and most regular Stouts and Porters, the color was thoroughly unimpressive although the magnificent creamy cappuccino head almost made up for it in it's excellent formation, retention, and lacing. Just doesn't have the looks of a stout.

Aroma 3/5

Chocolate, coconut & banana notes. Perhaps some sharpness of coffee underneath. Later some malty notes emerge, but aroma doesn't seem to be all about coffee as one would think.

Taste 4/5

Bitter and milky smooth, lives up to the name in taste. Not big on the roasted malt character until it gets warm. Long and bitter finish with some alcohol warmth. Very good.

Mouthfeel 4/5

Rather thin but not as thin as I anticipated. Low carbonation, silky mouthfeel and clean finish.

Drinkability 4.5/5

Good drinkability at the ABV. Good taste too. Overall recommended and killer at its price point.

Red Chair
Northwest Pale Ale
Deschutes Brewery
6.2% ABV

60 IBUs

12 oz bottle with a best by date of 05/11/11 poured into a pint glass sometime early 02/11.

Dark amber, slightly hazy with a good off white head. Good head retention and good lacing. Looks hoppy enough to me :) Mostly fruity smelling, with the sharp and clean citrus-pine notes emerging eventually, and perhaps some caramel. Not too impressive on aroma.
A good malt backbone carries the beer well but the malt character doesn't dominate. In fact, it's quite bitter and sticky with a clean and lasting bitter finish. I usually have a problem with higher carbonation but it seems that Red Chair could use more as it seems to struggle against a body that's bigger than needed, in my opinion. One of the maltier but even more hoppier American Pales.

Sierra Neveda Pale Ale

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
American Pale Ale (Quintessential)
5.6% ABV
OG: 13 degrees Plato
FG: 4 degrees Plato
37 IBUs

12 oz bottle, barely short of 3 months from bottling, poured into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint.

Appearance 5/5

Quite clear for a bottle conditioned ale, SNPA pours deep amber with a big off white crown with good retention and excellent lacing. A truly good looking and inviting beer.

Aroma 4/5

Perhaps the beer is too old, although I picked it from the fridge at a beer store of repute, but I do not get much hops in the aroma. However, there is a very delicate and delicious bready malt character, and some floral/perfumy esters.

Taste 4/5

Slightly sweet with a nice hop bite that is bitter but not big on any specific hop character. A good body to support the relatively light bitterness. As far as I am concerned this beer doesn't stand out in terms of being "big" or complex but is a nice drinking beer that one can have a few of without tiring the palate or straining the liver all that much, and is the defining beer for its style.

Mouthfeel 5/5

Right carbonation, right body, and the right finish. Nails it!

Drinkability 5/5

I got a six pack and had four without even realizing. SNPA is the beer!