Beer Review: Batch 6,000

Reviewing Batch 6,000 from Bell's Brewery out of Michigan.
Score: 70

2003 vintage bottle served in a snifter glass and enjoyed on 08/18/12.

Appearance: Dark chocolate color with brown to coffee fade. No head. Minimal oily lacing and really poor retention. 3/5

Smell: Caramel, raisin, and fruity malt. Not very complex. There is a faint hint of oxidation. 4/5

Taste: Huge doses of sweet malt, brown sugar, caramel malt and plum. There is a hint of cocoa too. The finish is loaded with bitter, "warm" oxidized cardboard flavor that kills the upfront flavor of the beer. No hop flavor whatsoever. 2.5/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, no carbonation. Malty sweet and "warm" on the tongue from the oxidation. 3.5/5

Overall: This beer is clearly past it's prime. From it's residual profile, I never would have guessed this used to be a hoppy American barleywine. I was glad to finally get a chance to tick this beer, but I wish I would have been able to do it a year or two ago.

Recommendation: Skip this beer, it's past its prime.

Pairings: Cherries.

Cost: $17.99 for a six pack.

Beer Review: Unplugged Berliner Weiss

Reviewing the currently retired Unplugged Berliner Weiss from New Glarus Brewing Company out of Wisconsin. A big thanks to Mike for sharing this bottle with me!
Score: 91

2008 bottle with bottle code "1558 10:36." Served in a snifter/tulip hybrid glass and enjoyed on 08/23/12. Review is from notes.

Appearance: Pours a nice and transparent golden honey color with a thin film of head on top. Average lacing, but excellent lacing/cling. 4.5/5

Smell: Apple juice, white grapes and a fruity acidity. Peaches, Pinot Grigio, and a light "wheatiness." 4.25/5

Taste: Apple juice backbone with a little lemon and white grapes flavor overlaying. Slight tart acidity with an apple aftertaste. As the beer warms up, a faint funkiness comes out in the finish. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, medium carbonation. Juicy mouthfeel with slightly dry aftertaste. Moderately acidic and slightly tart. 4/5

Overall: Light, refreshing and flavorful! This beer has aged gracefully like a nice mild gueze.

Recommendation: Seek this one out if you get the chance; it's one of New Glarus' better Unplugged series beers

Pairings: Potato latkes with apple sauce.

Cost: $10.99 for a four pack.

Beer Review: Kuhnhenn Raspberry Eisbock (2007)

Reviewing the Raspberry Eisbock from Kuhnhenn Brewing Company. HUGE thanks to Mike for sharing this rare bottle with me!
Score: 97

2007 vintage bottle served in a Cantillon tulip glass and enjoyed on 08/23/12.

Appearance: Pours the color of maple syrup with a slight chocolate tint. Virtually no carbonation or head is apparent off the pour. No lacing. 3.5/5

Smell: Raspberry, milk chocolate and fruity malt. As it opened up, an aroma of fresh pureed raspberries takes over. There is also a very faint oxidation present in the nose, but it is only apparent off deep whiffs. 4.5/5

Taste: Fresh raspberry jam goodness! The raspberry flavor is absolutely out of this world -- smooth, moderately viscous and perfectly sweet. Zero booziness is present here, which is shocking given that this is a a 13.5% ABV eisbock! Fudge-y chocolate towards the finish with a hint of fruitiness in the finish/linger. So smooth and "light" without being light bodied. Hint of caramel in the background too. As it warms up, there's a little alcohol tingle in the finish. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied. No carbonation, but it works here unlike the Bourbon Barrel Barleywine I had from Kuhnhenns earlier this month. Sweet, but not too sweet. Oily, slick mouthfeel. 4/5

Overall: Every bit as good as I could imagined it! The raspberry flavor here is truly out of this world good. It's a good thing this beer comes in 6.3 oz bottles because this beer is entirely too drinkable for the ABV!

Recommendation: Unless you hate raspberries, make sure to seek this bottle out.

Pairings: Fluffy chocolate cake.

Cost: $10 for a 6.3 oz bottle.

Beer Review: Brandy Barrel Aged Dark Lord With Vanilla Beans (2011)

Reviewing the Brandy Barrel Aged Dark Lord With Vanilla Beans from Three Floyds Brewing Company out of Munster, Indiana. This is one of the most sought after beers in the craft beer world, so I have to give a major thanks to Robbie Moy for cracking this one open and sharing it with me. This beer was only released once, and only to those who were lucky enough to have a winning scratch-off ticket at Dark Lord Day in 2011. This is the 2010 vintage of Dark Lord, aged for one year in brandy barrels with Madagascar vanilla beans added. Only 433 bottles of this were released. We cracked this one, in addition to several other big name goodies, to celebrate the end of the Illinois bar exam, my birthday, and Robbie Moy's birthday.
Score: 99

Bottle number 332/433 (2011 vintage). Served in a wine chalice and enjoyed on 07/28/12. Review is from notes.

Appearance: Jet black, with a thin brown highlight strip atop the glass when held up to light. A think layer of creamy melted milk chocolate colored head at pour settles to a pencil thin ring around the glass. The lacing is incredibly oily and it coats the side of the glass, slowly oozing back down. 4.5/5

Smell: Sweet vanilla, fudge, milk chocolate and a hint of alcohol heat. Then brandy and more fudge. Complex, balanced and chocolatey. Sweet on the nose, but not nearly as sweet as the base beer. Mild molasses in the nose too. 5/5

Taste: Sweet and creamy Edy's vanilla bean ice cream and brandy layered on top of molasses and fudgey milk chocolate. Decadent flavors coat the tongue in rich, lingering goodness. Molasses and raisin too. Definitely a sweet stout (but not cloying), though this one is a little less sweet than the 2011 bourbon vanilla dark lord was. There is a nice alcohol warmth to the finish without any real "booziness" that gives this one some "life after death" on the tongue.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, low carbonation. Viscous, sweet and "sticky" mouthfeel. 5/5

Overall: One of the best beers out there with a reputation for the same for a good reason. This beer is definitely one of the sweeter stouts out there, but it never crosses the line into the land of cloyingly sweet. I found the base beer and others like Lindley Park to be much sweeter. This is not a beer I could load up my cellar with at its retail price tag, even if I had the chance to buy multiples, and it's even harder to get through trade, but this is a must-try beer to hunt down and split with friends.

Recommendation: Seek a bottle of this beer out. It is just as good as everyone says.

Pairings: Vanilla custard.

Cost: $50 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Apple Brandy Hunahpu's Imperial Stout (2012)

Reviewing the Apple Brandy-Aged Hunahpu's Imperial Stout from Cigar City Brewing out of Florida. Hunahpu's is Cigar City's most famous stout and it is released at an event that is essentially similar to Dark Lord Day. We cracked this one, in addition to several other big name goodies, to celebrate the end of the Illinois bar exam, my birthday, and Robbie Moy's birthday.
Score: 97

Counter-pressurized growler is from the summer 2012 release. Served in a wine chalice, shared with friends and enjoyed on 07/28/12. Review is from notes.

Appearance: Pours a pitch black color with a nice layer of cappuccino-colored head that settles to a ring around the glass. Very oily, coating lacing with a solid cling factor. 4/5

Smell: What a delicious medley. Fudge and sweet dark chocolate impart a bittersweetness. Then brown sugar, a little dark fruit and vanilla, and a sweet rum-like aroma that must come from the apple brandy aging then tips the balance of the nose towards sweet. The oak, peppers and a hint of cinnamon then give the beer a nice spiced anchor to the sweetness. There's a touch of booziness as the beer warms up, but nothing powerful or off-putting or overwhelming in the least. This is a really excellent nose! 4.75/5

Taste: Chocolatey fudge, smooth vanilla and a sweet apple-and-watermelon-like rum flavor (almost like a smooth and less sugary Bacardi grand melon flavor that is nothing like the off-flavors being reported in some bottles of the 2012 vintage of Dark Lord) are my first impressions. There is a faint oakiness and chili pepper flavor at first on the sides of the tongue that modestly grows as the beer warms and layers on the tongue. The apple brandy aging seems to have mellowed out the pepper heat substantially in comparison to the base beer, but there's still a little bit of life left in the peppers and the smooth, subtle heat they give off on the sides of the tongue and the roof of the mouth give the beer a nice bold complexity that makes the bitterness from the chocolate/fudge flavors pop on the tongue. The chocolate and rum sweetness really soak the tongue in flavor and linger with the faint pepper heat. There's some mild dark fruit flavor and a hint of molasses as well, though the aroma has more of each present. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Rich, thick and viscous. Full bodied and very low carbonation. There's a faint pepper heat on the tongue. Slightly sweet, but not a "sweet" beer. 4.5/5

Overall: The balanced pepper kick is what made me really love Hunahpu's, but even though it is largely missing here the apple brandy aging imparts more than enough additional complexity and flavor to make up for it. I need to get some more.

Recommendation: Seek this beer out; even those who are not good at handling spiciness (I am looking at you, Scott) should be able to enjoy this one thoroughly.

Pairings: Fresh strawberries.

Cost: $25 for a 32 oz (counter-pressured) growler.

Beer Review: Churchill's Finest Hour (2012)

Reviewing the 2012 version of Churchill's Finest Hour from Port Brewing Company (Lost Abbey's alter ego). We cracked this one, in addition to several other big name goodies, to celebrate the end of the Illinois bar exam, my birthday, and Robbie Moy's birthday. I believe each year's batch is a different stout recipe.
Score: 99

2012 vintage bottle. Served in a plastic taster cup, shared with friends and enjoyed on 07/28/12. Review is from notes.

Appearance: Jet black color. Pours a thin layer of creamy dark tan head that settles to a ring around the glass. Good lacing, but average retention. 4/5

Smell: Huge notes of fudge, plus bourbon and brown sugar. Dark fruit and subtle vanilla as well. There is a very light roastiness to the nose, which also emits a hint of wood as the beer warms. What an absolutely smooth and inviting barrel-aged stout nose! 5/5

Taste: Like the nose, fudge dominates the flavor with a little dark chocolatiness too. The fudge flavor is thick and luscious, and it coats the tongue with lingering flavor. Layered on top of the fudge is the bourbon, molasses and a hint of coffee. Not tasting any wood. There is some sweet dark fruit flavor as well, but the dark fruit characteristics are more subtle on the palate than it was in the aroma. There is a faint hint of alcohol towards the finish that gives the beer a little kick without throwing off the balance or drinkability. 5/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, minimal carbonation. Thick, viscous and slightly sweet. 5/5

Overall: A near-perfect stout that is easily one of the best that I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy. It is hard to fault a beer like this for not being "pretty" enough, but that's about my only real criticism here. This brew is complex and smooth, and it lives up to the hype. I sincerely hope I will be able to try this one again in the future.

Recommendation: Seek this beer out.

Pairings: Cocoa-rubbed filet.

Cost: $25 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.

Beer Review: Our Special Ale 1987 (Anchor Christmas Ale)

Reviewing the Our Special Ale 1987 from Anchor Brewing Company. In honor of my 25th birthday, I decided to trade for and open a beer almost as old as me. According to the bottle neck:

"WASSAIL! Every year since 1975 the brewers at Anchor have produced a special ale which we sell from early December to early January. These ales are different each year, and we hope our friends and customers enjoy the variety as we do. This year we offer a "wassail," following an ancient tradition of spiced ales at Christmas time."

Score: 79

This is the 1987 release of Anchor's annual winter warmer Our Special Ale. Served in a stemmed tulip wine glass and enjoyed on 07/29/12. Review is from notes.

Appearance: Pours a murky caramel color with tons of muddy dark tan flakes of sediment floating around the beer with a pencil thin fizzy tan ring of head around the glass. Poor lacing, average retention. Frankly, this is an ugly-looking beer. Then again, it is nearly 25 years old. 1/5

Smell: Ample caramel malt and almond nuttiness mixed with christmas spices. Some "pumpkin pie," peppermint and a touch of sweet plum. There is also a little "wet cardboard" in the nose (mild oxidation) that throws off an otherwise nice-smelling winter warmer. When I swirl the beer, more of the maltiness comes through, and there is less oxidation. 3.5/5

Taste: Surprisingly drinkable for a 25 yea old beer! There is a huge caramel-inspited malt profile mixed with pumpkin flavor and a faint hint of dark fruit. The christmas spices are less prevalent on the palate than the nose, but they are still there. There is also a mild fruitiness towards the finish. Less oxidation in the flavor than in the aroma, but it is still there throwing off the balance of the beer. 3.25/5

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, low carbonation. Very watery mouthfeel. Malty sweet. 2/5

Overall: Tastes surprisingly good for a beer that's almost as old as me, but it's hardly anything "special" outside the novelty of it's bottling date. The appearance of this beer is incredibly off-putting too. I would never trade $36 of beer, even off-the-shelf beer, for a bottle of this again, but it was really cool to celebrate my birthday with a beer from 1987. My father and girlfriend (neither are beer nerds), who I split this beer with, enjoyed the flavor of this more than me. Time to cleanse the palate and crack open something legitimately awesome.

Recommendation: Not worth seeking out.

Pairings: Pumpkin pie.

Cost: UNKNOWN cost (I traded two 2012 Goose Island Juliets for this and a four pack of Ghandi Bot) for a 12 oz bottle.