The Return - One New and One Old Project

Posted by: Stonecipher

Dec. 2, 2013

Funny, it's been almost exactly a year since the last time I posted.  My life has changed quite a bit since that point, mostly for the better, but one of the drawbacks has been that writing about beer has become very difficult.  In part due to time constraints and to a larger degree because I have felt that my current job may create some conflicts of interest.  In all honesty, I am torn on whether or not it is appropriate to publicly discuss exactly what my role is and who I work for.  On one hand, it is only fair to disclose when I am discussing a product that I represent.  On the other hand, I am still simply a fan of craft beer, and still fully capable of subjectively judging the quality of a beer, regardless of whether or not it is one of mine.  So maybe the best approach is to simply give you a heads up if I represent a certain beer that is being reviewed.  Eventually, those of you who don't already know me will be able to figure it out.

With all that said, my reason for getting back into this is twofold.  One, it is simply time for me to start writing about beer in a meaningful way again.  The last few weeks I have been itching to sit down on a quite night with no one else around except for a glass full of beer and a blank page.  Two, I truly want to finish up The Barleywine Project.  I have knocked out 12 beers already and I have written (but not yet posted) two others.  On top of that, at least one of the Barleywines on the list that had gone away for a while is scheduled to come back within the next couple months.

Of course, as it was before, The Barleywine Project will be slow going as obtaining the necessary beer is not always easy (or cheap).  On top of that, I have an ever-expanding cellar that really needs to be thinned out a bit.  So, in order to kill two birds with one stone, the plan is to begin the fourth project here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights - The Cellar Project.  The goal is to drink and review 20 of those beers and compare them to either a brand new review of a fresh one or to one of my Beer Advocate reviews from when it was initially consumed fresh.  I'll provide more details soon, but the beauty of this project is that anytime I find myself with a couple free hours I can post something.  I won't have to worry about whether or not I have a bottle in my fridge or not.

Anyhow, I can't promise that this is the beginning of me diving right back into regular posts, but I do have a desire to move towards that again.  We shall see what happens.  Thanks, as always, for reading.  I look forward to completing an old project and starting anew with #4.

Barleywine Review #12 - Tröegs Flying Mouflan Barleywine

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Oct. 10, 2012

Tröegs Flying Mouflan Ale is the next beer up in The Barleywine Project.  The twelfth beer on The List was not easy to get my hands on, but I obtained it as a part of the same trade that brought me the beer for our last review here at 20 Beers in 20Nights.  Yes, I had to give up a couple Russian River bottles, a few Crooked Stave bottles and a bottle of Hair of the Dog Fred from the Wood, but I was well compensated.

So here are the stats for the Flying Mouflan:

Location: Home

Cost: Trade

ABV: 9.3%

IBUs: “100-ish”

Brewery Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Style: American Barleywine

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.14

My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.5

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate/Rank in the Top 20: 515/9^th

Description: Tröegs Flying Mouflan Ale

Bottled On: 2012 Vintage

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) The actual beer here is not terribly good looking.  The color is a few shades darker than the standard deep mahogany that so many others on The List have been, but it is also cloudy and murky.  It isn’t bad, just not the best, and for lack of a better word, very quiet looking.  Weird word, I know, but that is what comes to mind right off the bat.  The head, however, makes up for the color not being stellar.  Off-white and very uniform, it rests quietly (yep, had to use it again) and regally on top of the murk beneath.  A fair amount of patchy lacing also graces the backside of the glass.

SMELL:  (5 out of 5) One sniff of the cap when it was popped revealed a boat load of brown sugary malts and when I stuck my nose in the glass it was more of the same.  The brown sugar then gives way to some banana, chocolate, cinnamon, clove and other spices.  Caramel and a bit of breadiness are also present.  This is the prototypical Barleywine smell.  I don’t think it can get any better.

TASTE:  (4.5 out of 5) Many Barleywines that have smelled sweet and malty like this one have ended up being very citrusy and bitter.  I have enjoyed that contrast a lot, but before I take a sip, I think it is worth noting that as I would not have expected citrus prior to beginning this project.  I have tasted enough now to know that that is a distinct possibility, but let’s see…

Yep.  The citrus is strong here in the forms of lemon and orange.  The catch with The Flying Mouflan, however, is that the citrus is not the flavor that greats the tongue, rather it provides the strong and bitter finish. The orange seems to be the segue from the brown sugar, caramel and the much-more-chocolaty-than-expected front end to the lemon and grapefruity tale end.  Some roasted malt flavors also linger throughout the finish providing a bit of a smoky aftertaste.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4 out of 5) I would categorize this beer as smooth and silky, but with a mild sparkle, just enough to tickle the tongue and make it feel playful.  Given the murky and solemn appearance of this beer I was not expecting to use an adjective like playful to describe it, but the darkness was probably obscuring a lot of action beneath the surface. 

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) I’ve been spoiled recently.  The Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine was phenomenal yet Tröegs’ Barleywine effort is no let down at all.  Back-to-back homeruns in my opinion.  The Flying Mouflan smells exactly like a Barleywine should and the taste lives up to the aromatic billing.  This is a classic and very well-done Barleywine. 

On a separate note, as I have been known to do, I am drinking this bottle with a plate of prosciutto di parma, blue cheese and crackers.  Not exactly knowing what to expect from the beer, I chose two of my old blue cheese standbys, Point Reyes Blue and Oregonzola Blue from Rogue Creamery.  While the Point Reyes normally edges out the Oregonzola in my book, the Rogue selection is a near perfect pairing with this Barleywine.  It is the less sweet and tangy of the two, which works perfectly with the dry and bitter finish of the beer. 

Barleywine Review #11 - Central Water Bourbon Barrel Barleywine

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau    

Oct. 5, 2012

Finally!  The Barleywine Project is back!  And we’re kicking off the second half of this project with a Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine, a beer I have been waiting a long time to get my hands on.

For those of you who have been counting, yes, it has been a little over four months since The Barleywine Project’s last post, but we knew back then that it was going to be a while before I was able to track down another one.  Summer isn’t exactly Barleywine season and all the low-hanging fruit out here in Colorado had already been picked.  So, there wasn’t much hope for a new review.

After a long summer of no Barleywine, however, I was ready.  I wanted to taste another one of those big, sweet (but still hoppy), deliciously bready concoctions again…and I wanted to write about it.  So, I managed to make a trade with a fellow beer enthusiast in New Jersey.  He sent me a few great Barleywines along with one of the elusive beers for me in this project – the Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine.

I have really been looking forward to this one and I was thrilled to track down two bottles of it, so let’s crack this thing open and get it in the glass, but first…some stats:

Location: Home

Cost: Some Russian River and a Bottle of Fred from the Wood

ABV: 11.5%

IBUs: NA

Brewery Location: Amherst, Wisconsin

Style: American Barleywine

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.26

My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.83

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate/Rank in the Top 20: 410/13^th

Description: Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine

Bottled On: 2012 Vintage

…And one more note, before we bust this beer open – this is the highest rated beer on Beer Advocate on The List for this project.  It is ranked No. 6 in the American Barleywine category and trails only a few very, very small batches in its category.  OK, enough is enough, let’s pour:

APPEARANCE:  (4.5 out of 5) A pretty aggressive pour yielded a full finger of head resting on top of a typical-mahogany colored Barleywine.  I read plenty of reviews prior to cracking this one open that the head retention was fairly weak, but it wasn’t too bad in this case.  Hundreds of tiny bubbles rush up to the surface around the edges of the glass, trying to feed the head before it slowly fades away.

In addition to the surprising head retention, the lacing on this beer is pretty decent as well.  It isn’t great, but some nice web-like lacing stretches from the bottom to the top of the glass.  This is not something I expected out of a barrel aged monster like this.

SMELL:  (4.5 out of 5) The smell emanating from the bottle was much stronger that that coming out of the glass, which was quite surprising.  Either way, there is a wonderfully complex aroma here.  A blend of cherries, vanilla and wood provide the most substance here, but hints of caramel and citrusy hops are also present.  Excellent smell, could be a touch stronger though.

TASTE:  (5 out of 5) The cherry from the nose is still very strong in the taste.  Other dark fruits and wood, along with a big helping of vanilla create a flavor profile just as complex as the nose.  The middle of each sip brings a slight hop balance to balance the sweeter fruit up front.  As the tail end approaches, however, the bourbon flavors come on strong with more vanilla, more wood and a pretty strong boozy heat.  Caramel, chocolate and a bit of bread also make an appearance, but one aspect that is missing (or maybe just overpowered) is banana, which is so typical is American-style Barleywines.  It doesn’t need it at all, just an observation.  All in all, this is truly an exception beer in terms of flavor.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4.5 out of 5) This beer is the definition of full-bodied; rich, thick, creamy and chewy.  Despite its malty sweetness up front, there is a little pucker from the hop bitterness from the middle to end of the sip.  Just as the aroma and flavor, the mouthfeel here is very complex.

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) This is a remarkably well-done beer.  Despite the very wide array of intense flavors from the malt to the hops to the barrel, nothing tips the balance.  What a treat; it makes me want to try some Doggie Claws right next to it, but I have to say, I think Central Waters is the new leader for me in The Barleywine Project.  Delicious. Actually, ridiculously delicious.

By the way, the decision to allow this one to warm up before pouring it was a very good one.  I imagine that above cellar temperature a lot of the complexity would have been lost.

Three Floyds in Colorado! Sorta.

Since we’re still at halftime of The Barleywine Project, when I came across this little guy (pictured to the right) earlier in the week I figured I would squeeze it in as Part II of the Halftime Show.  Given that it was my only chance to get Three Floyds out here in Colorado, it was also a no-brainer of a buy, even at a little more than a buck and ounce. 

Location: Hazel’s Beverage World, Boulder, CO

Cost: $11.99/11.2oz. bottle

ABV: 11.5%

IBUs: NA

Brewery Location: Fraserburgh, Scotland/Munster, Indiana

Style: American Barleywine

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.05

My Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.05

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate: 2

Description: Three Floyds/Brewdog Bitch Please  

Best Before:  March 19, 2016

APPEARANCE:  Dark, hazy and a little Hair-of-the-Dogish in color, meaning it is deep Barleywine-Mahogany, but more on the brown side and a bit murky.  The head is a nice, contrastingly, stark-white that dissipates at a moderate rate leaving a solid cap of foam over the surface.  The lacing is pretty solid with roughly 65% of the back side of the glass covered.

SMELL:  There is a lot of citrus in the nose, a good dose for an American-style Barleywine.  That said, it is still nicely accented with all the typical Barleywine aromas, beginning with some brown sugar, followed by banana, then bread.  Gorgeous smell.

TASTE:  Well, that went in a direction I didn’t expect.  This is, by far, the grassiest and smokiest Barleywine I have ever tasted.  This tastes like mowing the lawn up front and is closely followed by a big dose of pleasant tobacco.  There’s also more peat moss in this thing than in a nice, neat glass of Laphroaig.  Unreal.  I would kill for a cigar right now.  Honestly, this is weird; so much smoke, peat and grass in here, it is unlike any other beer I’ve ever had, but I like it. 

MOUTHFEEL:  Dry, crisp and well…not so clean.  The sparkle is impressive given the style and the flavor, but it is not too much either.  The finish is dry as a bone.

OVERALL:  For two breweries that seem to be so dead-set on creating the ultimate American beer, this was a shock to the system.  Smoke, peat and scotch-like characteristics are overwhelming, but also really good.  A lot of people say “Oh, I could have one, but never more” about a lot of beers.  I never feel that way, but in this case I do.

Addendum to The DIPA Project - Review #22 - Stone Ruination 10th Anniversary IPA

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

July 21, 2012

Well, we have reached the midpoint of The Barleywine Project here at 20 Beer in 20 Nights, so for your halftime entertainment; here is another addendum to The DIPA Project – a review of Stone’s 10^th Anniversary Edition of Ruination.  I’m thrilled to have a crack at tasting this beer.  The regular Ruination has become a favorite of mine since I first reviewed it last March.  And since the original was a part of The DIPA Project, I figured it would be appropriate to add a review for the celebration of its anniversary.   

The 10^th Anniversary Edition is the same recipe as the original except a healthy portion of malt has been added to raise the ABV from 7.7% to 10.8% and two and a half pounds of Citra and Centennial hops per barrel have been thrown in for good measure.  Sounds delicious. 

ABV: 10.8%

IBUs: 110

Brewery Location: Escondido, California

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.46

My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.88
Current Number of Reviews: 234

Brewery Description: Stone Ruination 10^th Anniversary Edition

Bottled On: June 2012

APPEARANCE:  (4.5 out of 5) Unlike the original version, the 10^th Anniversary Ruination is not a straw-yellowish color; instead this is a nearly perfect shade of light orange.  A large, fluffy white head sat on top for a good three minutes, not moving anywhere for the first two and then suddenly settling into a few small mounds of foam scattering across the surface.  The fallen head leaves behind a good dose of lacing, but as the beer level recedes, the lacing becomes a little less impressive.  This is a gorgeous beer.

SMELL:  (5 out of 5) Big, delicious, grapefruit completely dominates here.  It is clear that this is a 5 out of 5 in the aroma department.  I love that grapefruit and a nice hint of pine, flowers and tropical fruits lingers beneath it.  Wow.

TASTE:  (5 out of 5) Ah, a beer that tastes like it smells - this generally makes me happy, especially when it smells this good.  Again, grapefruit is out in front with a hefty dose of bitterness, followed by a bit of lemon.  The Citra hops are shining through and as the beer warms, more of their complexity, the sweeter, tropical fruits begin to develop.  These fruity notes combine with the extra malt to provide a very well balanced beer.  In fact, it is one of the better balanced DIPAs I have ever had and rivals Pliny the Younger in that respect.  Now, of course this is an unfair comparison, but the PtY never, at any point, during any sip becomes unbalanced in any direction.  The 10^th Anniversary almost gets there, but about three-quarters of the way through each sip the malty sweetness takes over a touch too much.  That said, I think this still gets a 5 for taste.  This is unbelievably good beer.

By the way, the finish is a bit less bright and a little more earthy, but it sets the palate up very well for more.  Aftertaste is grapefruity.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4 out of 5) The carbonation is fairly light.  Lighter than I typically like, but with the sweet, stickiness of the malt, that may be more appropriate.  While it is mouthcoating, the citrus provides enough dryness to clean the palate a bit. 

OVERALL:  (5 out of 5) This beer is most definitely still Ruination, and will still rip a novice’s palate to shreds, but to the hop head, this is luxury.  As Homer Simpson once said “Sweet, merciful crap!”  This is an amazing beer.  Stone Brewing has completely outdone themselves.  Either that, or I am just a sucker for more and more and more hops being tossed into a brew.  It isn’t magic I guess, when you double the amount of hops of the hoppiest beer you make (5 pounds per barrel – at least one of which is Citra and one of which is Centennial) and load it with malt to balance, you’re gonna end up with a good brew.

This is definitely a better beer than Pliny the Elder and probably Maharaja.  It also gives Pliny the Younger a run for its money, not something I say easily.

Barleywine Review #10 - Mad River John Barleycorn Barleywine Ale

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

May 18, 2012

I actually reviewed this beer last November during a trip to Oskar Blues in Longmont, but my words have been hiding in the notes on my phone for months.  I kept meaning to break the Mad River John Barleycorn Barleywine review out, but never remembered to.  Now that most of the low hanging fruit in The Barleywine Project has been picked, however, I figured it was time to scroll back through dozens of beer reviews and random thoughts to resurrect the Barleycorn. 

With this being Post #10 of The Barleywine Project it will be time for some half-time entertainment soon.  After that, onto half number two.  One beer is already reviewed for the second half, but it might get tough to track down the remaining nine beers.  Barleywine is no longer in season and many of those that are distributed here in Colorado have dried up for the year.  So, I anticipate the project not coming to a close until late winter or early spring next year.

Anyhow, how bout some specs on the Barleycorn?

Location: Oskar Blues Liquids and Solids, Longmont, CO

Cost: About $8/10oz. pour

ABV: 9.5%

IBUs: NA

Brewery Location: Blue Lake, California

Style: American Barleywine

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.73 – Very Good

My Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.88 – Very Good

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate/Rank: 318/18th

Brewery Description: Mad River John Barleycorn Barleywine Ale

Bottled On: NA

APPEARANCE:  (4.5 out of 5) The Barleycorn pours a pretty mahogany with a medium opaqueness.  The head is creamy, white and a quarter-inch thick in the 12oz. snifter.  It isn’t huge, but it is absolutely locked in place even after a few sips.  The lacing is very solid at the top covering about 95% of the back of the glass, but it eventually slides down as the snifter empties creating some holes.  This is a good looking beer.

SMELL:  (3.5 out of 5) Chocolate aromas make a strong appearance in this rich, malty smelling beer.  Some dark fruit and caramel also lurks in the background along with a hint of spice. 

TASTE:  (4 out of 5) The Barleycorn starts out surprisingly mild, but grows throughout the sip.  The ride begins with a semi-sweet maltiness that comes along with some dark fruit; cherries, maybe even strawberry?  A big wave of citrus and hops washes the sweetness away about half way through.  It teeters on going too far in the citrus department, but just as it’s about to go over the edge a wave of brown sugar covers it up and provides enough balance to pull it back.  This is really a complex, rollercoaster ride of a beer.

MOUTHFEEL:  (3.5 out of 5) This is a creamy and smooth beer.  It walks the line between dry and sweet, but ultimately falls on the dry side.  Actually, after a few sips that becomes even clearer, this is a pretty dry Barleywine, there just happens to be a couple little bursts of sweetness in each sip.

OVERALL:  (4 out of 5) The Barleycorn certainly improves with air and warmth.  It is a bit harsh and sharp at first, particularly in the citrus department, but as it warms the puckering lemon flavor fades away and the sweet, malty and sugary flavors emerge.  By the end it is a nicely balanced Barleywine.  It really does need time to warm if it is served cold though.  Oskar Blues does a great job of keeping all their draft beer cold.  I imagine that it was under 45 degrees when it was served to me and I probably should have waited to start it until it was a bit warmer.  Once it was finally there it really did show itself off as a strong Barleywine.