The Beer Circle » Blend
December 2nd, 2013 | 1 Comment | Written by Russ Beck, Paige Deckert and Greg Bruce
About four months ago Greg had the idea that sparked a movement: A chili stout tasting. The movement wasn’t necessarily one of social importance, but more a movement of beers from the cellars of Paige, Greg, and Russ to make the tasting happen. After a delightful, two day event that including amazing beers including Barrel Aged Abraxas, Prairie Bomb!, and Red Wine Barrel Aged Mexican Cake, we ended with Stone’s Crime. Crime’s base is bourbon … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Strong Ale, Beer, Blend, Stone Brewing Co.
February 18th, 2013 | 3 Comments | Written by Russ Beck
We here at The Beer Circle are no strangers to Goose Island’s famed Bourbon County Brand Stout–Kenton took a chance on the regular BCBS and I have already reviewed last year’s Bramble Rye variation–and we never miss a chance to say how good it is. When I finally landed a bottle of this year’s special variety, Cherry Rye, I was overjoyed. Cherries come third only to bourbon and coffee when it comes to things that … Read entire article »
Filed under: Beer, Blend, Goose Island Brewing Co., Imperial Stout
November 4th, 2012 | 2 Comments | Written by Kenton Martin
For my first TheBeerCircle review, I decided to review a beer that I got my hands on from Brass Rail Beverage via their V.I.P. program – Bourbon County Stout. I was told by some friends that I needed to give this beer a taste, so I jumped on the opportunity and picked up a bottle. Given the rave reviews I heard from others, I decided to find out for myself.
Bourbon County Brand Stout
Beer Stats
Style: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial … Read entire article »
Filed under: Beer, Blend, Goose Island Brewing Co.
June 6th, 2012 | Add a Comment | Written by Russ Beck
Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head are two breweries that we here at The Beer Circle are familiar with, and you should be too. I went to Churchkey for the second straight night to check out Sierra Nevada’s tap-takeover, featuring no less than 55 Sierra Nevada beers on-tap at one time. Slightly overwhelmed, I grabbed a glass of their collaboration with Dogfish Head: Life & Limb (the second running of the beer), and it’s bourbon barrel … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Strong Ale, Better From The Barrel?, Blend, Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
May 11th, 2012 | 4 Comments | Written by Russ Beck
Founders Brewing Company is a popular brewery on this blog (earlier this week Greg delved into Curmudgeon’s Better Half). Tonight I’m taking a look at the two most recent releases of their famed KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout), a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout. Please note that this is NOT simply Founders Breakfast Stout aged in bourbon barrels, it is actually a completely different base beer–the same used to create CBS. KBS is aged in a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Blend, Cellar, Founders Brewing Co., Imperial Stout
April 4th, 2012 | Add a Comment | Written by Jeff Kupko
On a lovely Saturday, Russ Beck, myself, and my two friends Matt and Adam got together to partake in a tasting of five varieties of FiftyFifty Brewing Eclipse. Of the seven barrel aged versions, six make it to the retail market, five of which were for sale in Pennsylvania. Four of them were picked up at Al’s of Hampden by my fiancee, and one (the 18-Year Elijah Craig) was secured at Capone’s outside of Philadelphia … Read entire article »
Filed under: Beer, Blend, Elijah Craig, FiftyFifty Brewing Co., Four Roses, Rittenhouse
March 28th, 2012 | Add a Comment | Written by Russ Beck
First of all I would like to introduce a new column to The Beer Circle: Better From The Barrel! In this series of posts, our writers will taste a beer and barrel aged version of that same beer to determine which is better. You may ask, “wasn’t there a post on Flying Dog Gonzo and BA Gonzo before that did the same thing?” The answer is yes! and it is being retroactively added.
This post will … Read entire article »
Filed under: Beer, Better From The Barrel?, Blend, Cabernet, English Barleywine, Heavy Seas Beer
March 22nd, 2012 | Add a Comment | Written by Russ Beck
Epic Brewing Company’s claim to fame is being Utah’s first brewery since prohibition to brew exclusively high alcohol content beer. I came across some of their stuff in my typical Northern Virginia beer spots, the bottles catching my eye as it’s a brewery usually not seen in Pennsylvania. When I read on the label that this stout was brewed with coffee, cocoa, and aged in whiskey barrels…suffice it to say I had the beer purchased … Read entire article »
Filed under: Beer, Blend, Epic Brewing Co., Four Roses, Imperial Stout, Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey
March 3rd, 2012 | Add a Comment | Written by Russ Beck
On the evening of January 10th, RFD in Washington offered up a dinner my friends and I could not refuse: a 5 course dinner paired with Bell’s Brewery beers including Black Note. We thought the $60 price tag seemed a bit steep up front, but we went for it anyway.
RFD stands for Regional Food and Drink and is located a block away from the Verizon Center, near Washington DC’s Chinatown. It’s the “sister bar” of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Bell's Brewery, Blend, Fruit, Imperial IPA, Imperial Stout, IPA, Oatmeal Stout, Rye, Tastings
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