Category: Stouts and Porters

Last Week in Untappd – 11/24 – 11/30 – (The Untappening)

Posted on by Drews Brews Reviews

CaponesWell, it finally happened.The day I anticipate in a continual 364 day loop, that most wonderful of beer days, Black Friday, has come and gone and I think we took full advantage of its bounty. In the past, this meant waking up at the crack of 9 and sheepishly making our way to Capone’s in Norristown for a solid 6 hours of drinking in an atmosphere that can best be described as a bar from a bowling alley crashed into a 70’s diner and someone hung up Vaseline smeared TVs from the 80’s. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Not that I see much else beyond the beer list, looking to see what’s kicked and trying to anticipate what’ll kick next as I order 4 or 5 beers at a time. Yes, Black Friday is Capone’s day for me. Except for this year…

A detour to find the highly-coveted Bourbon county Vanilla Rye (we failed) eventually took us to Teresa’s Next Door Black Friday Sour Event and to indulge that artisanal siren call that is Tired Hands before ultimately arriving at the threshold to Capone’s. We were successful in getting a 4pk of BCBS, a bottle of Avery’s Tweak, and 2 bottles of Abyss. Not too shabby. Here are the best of the best from a full day of rare beer drinking and Untappening (20+). The Tired Hands beers will be coming in a separate piece as a follow up to my original brewery visit.

Cantillon Fou FouneCantillon – Fou’ Foune
Location: Teresa’s Next Door
Style: Lambic
Score: 4/5
Original Comment: Metallic, tropical, lemon/ orange acidic, slight dank yeast aroma, Salty/sour sting front, tongue raking mineral, dry, biscuity fin. Good

Additional Comment: The final part of my original comment that I didn’t have room for is “…but not great.” I don’t always understand the hype behind many of Cantillon’s offerings. They are typically good but no better than any other expertly crafted sour I’ve had. This is the first where I feel like I had a fleeting glimpse of something special even if the overall experience didn’t wow me.  I will admit that knowing Fou’ Foune is the highest rated sour on Beer Advocate (#14 as of this publishing) brought some expectations with it. I think a blind taste test could yield interesting results, but I don’t have the bank account nor the resource to make that happen. Glad I had it and definitely a tasty sour, but in the future I’ll probably pass over it for something new.

Continue reading “Last Week in Untappd – 11/24 – 11/30 – (The Untappening)” →

Last Week in Untappd – 11/17 – 11/23

Posted on by Drews Brews Reviews

This was actually a busy beer weekend for me, but I stockpiled written beer reviews that will release over the next few weeks rather than check them in with a few brief comments. So, Untappd (drewsbrewsreviews) is a little light on check-ins. That will change with the impending Black Friday event at Capone’s unleashing the flood of fantastic beers that will surely culminate in the Untappening. I look forward to highlighting the best of my favorite yearly event, so that’ll be ready next week. In the meantime, here’s what I checked in the week past.

Narwhal - BBASierra Nevada– Narwhal (Bourbon Aged)
Location: Bulls Head Pub
Style: Imperial Stout (Bourbon Aged)
Score: 3.5/5
Original Comment: Buttery bourbon, vanillian, roast aroma, med mf, dark malt, chocolate/vanilla, raisin/plum finish, lingering heat. Decent, but too expensive.

Additional Comment: My “too expensive “comment is slightly disingenuous as I didn’t actually pay for it. A friend of mine did and was kind enough to share some with me. Plus, this was also purchased at a bar, which comes with a markup. That said, there are very few beers I will pay $30 for, and this is no where near one of them. A price around $12 – $15 seems about right based on what I had. Narwhal is on the lower end of imperial stouts I enjoy, I like mine on the heavier, near Russian Imperial levels, and Sierra Nevada’s imp stout is too thin and dark fruit heavy for my tastes. Obviously, if Narwhal is your jam, I can’t see you disliking a bourbon barreling of it. The difficulty in landing a bottle, at least around the Lancaster PA region, makes this a buy it when you see it beer. Mostly likely you aren’t going to see it again anytime soon.

Continue reading “Last Week in Untappd – 11/17 – 11/23” →

Last Week in Untappd – 11/10 – 11/16

Posted on by Drews Brews Reviews

The beers of Untappd (drewsbrewsreviews) mostly came from the personal collections of beer enthusiasts this week, so many thanks to the people and their sharing spirit. Sad to say that a portion of this was guzzled during the Green Bay routing of the Eagles, but at least we had a big beer to make that big loss go down easier. We are nearing some major releases and events, so my Untappd is probably going to blow up soon. In the calm before the storm, I’ll be sneaking in some traded Gandhi Bot and maybe a Prairie Bomb. Looking forward to it!

bcbsGoose Island – Bourbon County
Location: DBR Bar
Style: Imperial Stout (Bourbon Aged)
Score: 4.5/5
Original Comment: Why not drown the Eagle sorrows in a vintage 2013 bourbon. Can’t wait to try the 2014 offerings.

Additional Thoughts: Always good to revisit an old friend right before we get to experience its 2014 brethren (and when your team is getting pulverized by the Aaron Rodgers TD machine). Obviously this wasn’t much of a beer review, but I’ve had this beer plenty and didn’t feel like adding much. A year on and the BCBS remained largely unchanged . The sweetness might have bumped up a touch, a dangerous aspect with such a syrupy booze blast of a beer that teetered on medicinal to begin with. Actually two of our group, one a major boozy beer fan, couldn’t handle it. Not for everyone indeed, but it got me pumped for the 2014 Vanilla Rye BCBS.

Continue reading “Last Week in Untappd – 11/10 – 11/16” →

Dark Horse Brewing – Plead the 5th (Bourbon Aged)

Posted on by Drews Brews Reviews
Plead the 5th
Forgot to take a picture, but trust me, it looks dark.

All You Need to Know

Brewery: Dark Horse Brewing
Style: Russian Imperial Stout (Bourbon Aged)
ABV: 11%
Cost: ???? (12oz)
Glassware: Snifter, Teku
Temp: 55°F
Availability: Fall/Winter
Purchased@: Beer Trade

Quick Take: Going into this beer, I had a good idea that I would like it. The base beer is one of my favorite Russian Imperials and few beers get worse when rubbed up against some bourbon barrels. With the confidence and craftsmanship to add woody vanilla and spicy, almost pepper-like heat to a near perfect RIS, Dark Horse’s BBA Plead hits huge and satisfies as a layered, full-bodied body warmer. Fantastic RIS and an all time favorite.

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Firestone Walker – Parabola 2014 Review

Posted on by Drews Brews Reviews

ParabolaAll You Need to Know

Brewery: Firestone Walker
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 13%
Cost: ???? (24oz)
Glassware: Snifter, Teku
Temp: 55°F
Availability: March
Purchased@: Beer Trade

Quick Take: While 2014 Parabola is not the pinnacle of the Parabola series (that goes to the boozy complex and black cherry undercurrent having Parabola of 2012), it is an improvement over 2013, being smoother and less boozy. Warm, sensuous, delicious…Parabola is as close to bourbon-aged perfection that I’ve come across. Firestone has crafted and continues to craft one of my favorite liquids of all time.

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