Better From The Barrel: Stone’s Vertical Epics
Churchkey’s night of Vertical Epics not only featured Stone’s yearly special releases all the way back to 2003, it had a few of the offers aged in various barrels as well. Having never had a true barrel aged beer from Stone, I saw this as a unique opportunity to discern whether or not any were better from the barrel! Churchkey had the 07.07.07 Belgian strong pale ale (BSPA) and the 09.09.09 Belgian strong dark ale … Read entire article »
Filed under: Beer, Better From The Barrel?, Oak, Stone Brewing Co., Strong Dark Ale, Strong Pale Ale, Wine
One Night: Nine Years of Stone’s Vertical Epic
12.12.12 at Churchkey in Washington, DC was truly a day we all won’t soon forget. The bar managed to tap nine years worth of Stone Brewing Company‘s Vertical Epics: 03.03.03 through 12.12.12, including special versions of ’07 and ’09 aged in red wine barrels and ’10 aged in French Oak barrels. To top that, Sam Calagione (yes, of Dogfish Head) was in the building to promote his collaboration with Bluejacket. I got to have a quick conversation … Read entire article »
Filed under: Beer, Belgian Pale Ale, Belgian Stout, Cellar, IPA, Oak, Stone Brewing Co., Strong Dark Ale, Wine
Upland Sour Reserve
Upland Brewing Company is known for producing top notch American Wild Ales,* so it came as no surprise when batch 1 of their Sour Reserve sold out in mere minutes on Upland’s website. Much to my dismay, I was not fast enough to get a bottle. Luckily, Upland opened up batch 2 to a lottery system and this time my luck turned for the better! I tasked a friend of mine who was studying at … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Wild Ale, Beer, Gueuze, Upland Brewing Co., Wine
Nørrebro Bryghus Seven Bordeaux Barrel
Have you ever wondered what it’d be like for a group of superstars to come together and collaborate to put out a release? In the music scene, this is called a supergroup, popularized by the bands Cream, Temple of the Dog, The Dead Weather, and Chickenfoot. But in 2008, seven Danish breweries put their heads together and combined their own individual recipes to create a massive imperial stout. After brewing, Seven Bordeaux Barrel was put … Read entire article »
Filed under: Barrel Aged, Beer, Bordeaux, Imperial Stout, Nørrebro Bryghus, Reviews
Better from the Barrel: Stillwater Artisanal Ales Folklore
Stillwater Artisanal Ales is an interesting brewer to say the least. They operate under the “gypsy” brewer moniker (of Mikkeller fame) and brew beers at different breweries across the land. They have really cool label art–which you can see in the pictures below or at their website–which follows their modus operandi that I found on their Facebook page: The goal of Stillwater Artisanal is just that, living art. Although packaged within a medium often overlooked for its … Read entire article »
Filed under: Beer, Better From The Barrel?, Bordeaux, Stillwater Artisanal Ales, Strong Dark Ale
Better From The Barrel: Heavy Seas Below Decks Barleywine
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
Firestone Walker 15th Anniversary Ale
Earlier this month, I reviewed Firestone Walker’s 14th Anniversary Ale, which featured a big proportion of stouts compared to their latest anniversary ale. The official blend ratio according to Firestone Walker is: -76% Barley Wine style beers, 19% Stout and 5% Imperial IPA -Beers included: Helldorado, DDBA, Sticky Monkey, Parabola, Velvet Merkin, Good Foot, Bravo, and Double Jack Add in aging within bourbon, brandy, and wine barrels and this seems like a recipe for success. Firestone Walker 15th Anniversary … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Strong Ale, Barleywine, Beer, Bourbon, Brandy, Firestone Walker, Imperial Stout, Wine
Firestone Walker 14th Anniversary Ale
Each year, Firestone Walker releases an anniversary beer that celebrates both their brewing techniques as well as their wine and barrel-aging programs. Their 14th Anniversary Ale marries six different beers that are each aged in varying types of barrels, ranging from wine to brandy to bourbon. Here’s what Firestone Walker has to say about this beer and the specific proportions: The Goal: To create complexity centering on oak, in a multitude of forms, by brewing high … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Strong Ale, Beer, Bourbon, Brandy, Firestone Walker, Wine
Recent Comments