A Whale A Week: Jester King Nocturn Chrysalis

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!  I've been kind of bad about keeping up on this the past few months--maybe I should rename this to A Whale Every Other Week...

Jester King Nocturn Chrysalis Blend 2

Jester King Brewery is a wonderful brewery out of Austin, Texas specializing in sour beers.  Their beers eschew classic Belgian styles and really chart their own course, but still have the quality and complexity that good sours should have.  I've reviewed their Atrial Rubicite HERE for a previous Whale A Week.  

Nocturn Chrysalis starts as a sour red ale, and is then barrel aged with a large amount of fresh blackberries.  For this second batch (April 2014) they used Marionberries from Oregon.  ABV is 5.9%, Final Gravity 1.000, pH 3.3. The beer has a score of 93 on Beer Advocate and 99 on Rate Beer. 



Cast of characters: Me (homebrewer for over 25 years, lover and brewer of sour beers); Sarajo (my wife and fan of sours); and fellow Jack Of All Brews member and award winning brewer Josh Welch. 

Nocturn Chrysalis 

Aroma: 

Eric: Mellow blackberry aroma.  Light tartness.  Hint of sweet berry.  Light sulfur notes.  Brett--funky leather as it warms up.

Josh: Strong smells of wet hay, slight solvent, light jammy fruit.  

Appearance:

Eric: Deep red to nearly magenta.  Persistent wispy off-pink froth.  Excellent clarity and ruby sparkles.

Josh: Slight white head.  Good clarity.  Nice purple color from the fruit.  No legs, rolls easily in the glass.

Flavor:

Eric: Ooh!  Up front very dry and tannic--almost leathery.  Middle of taste coats the tongue with dry berry and cherry pit flavors.  Finish lingers with distinct blackberry, funk, and oak tannins.  Spritzy and has a very light mouthfeel.  Dry but not astringent.  Fruit still shows through nicely despite age and dryness.  Not overly acidic.

Josh: Less aggressive than the aroma.  Dry, light acidity, effervescent.  Modest apparent sweetness.

Overall:

Eric: Wow!  I really love this use of blackberry!  Dry but mellow and the fruit is really present.  compared to last week's Beatification which was all acid and little brett, this one is mostly brett and mild acid.  Refreshing, palate cleansing--makes me want to keep drinking it.  4.75

Josh: 4.5

Sarajo: Tart and refreshing.  4.5

Overall Score: 4.67

A Whale A Week: Russian River Beatification 2013

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!  I've been kind of bad about keeping up on this the past few months--maybe I should rename this to A Whale Every Other Week...

Russian River Beatification 2013

Russian River Brewing has been putting out some amazing beers over the years (Pliny the Elder and Blind Pig IPA's) but have really been one of the first American breweries to put out sour Belgian style beers.  Not content to do everything by the book, the the brewers certainly put their own spin on things.  Not available here in Minnesota, I managed to get my hands on some vintage bottles and figured this would be a good time to break one out!

Beatification is a golden ale that is based loosely on old school Belgian wild fermention like that seen at Cantillon.  The hot wort is left in a wide, open, coolship overnight to cool and become inoculated with wild yeast and bacteria from the brewhouse.  It is then transferred to oak wine barrels and fermented several months.  It comes out about 6% ABV and of variable tartness/funkiness. Beer Advocate gives this a score of 99 and Rate Beer a 100.  

The word beatification is used by the Roman Catholic Church as a papal declaration that a dead person is enjoying the pleasure of heaven and is worthy of religious honor.  This is the first step toward becoming canonized or sainted.  Interesting!

Cast of characters for this tasting: Me (homebrewer for over 25 years, lover and brewer of sour beers); Sarajo (my wife and fan of sours); and fellow Jack Of All Brews member and award winning brewer Josh Welch. 

Beatification

Aroma:

Eric: Bright.  Pineapple is very strong.  Tartness is powerful.  Tangerines or Mandarin oranges.  Light plastic notes as warms.  Wax--honeycomb.  Thai basil.
Josh: Strong phenolic funk aroma.  Fresh leather.  Light solvent.

Appearance:

Eric: Straw in color, very light.  Crystal clear.  Small white head with tiny tight bubbles.  Head fades to edge of glass quickly.
Josh: Very good looking beer.  Crystal clear, pale golden.  No head.

Flavor:

Eric:  Very tart up front.  Fades to a tart middle.  Ends with a tart finish.  So...tart.  Puckering.  Unripe pineapple and green apple skin.  Very mild wheat malt.  Acetic acid is very strong in this beer.  Some mild brett funk, but mostly acetobacter.
Josh: Acidic tangy, lemon, salty.  Slick on the mouth.  Light.  Acidity lingers for some time.

Overall:

Eric: A very zippy and interesting beer but somewhat one dimensional.  All acid all the time!  I want more brett character in the flavor like I get in the aroma.  Not quite refreshing since I feel the need to wash my palate with water after this.  And a Zantac.  I have had another version of this that I gave a 5 to, but this one is a 4.
Josh: 4.25
Sarajo: Acid-O-Licious!  4

Overall Score: 4.08

A Whale A Week: Upland Blackberry Lambic

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try! 

Upland Blackberry Lambic

Upland Brewing Company is located in Bloomington, Indiana.  They have quite a range of beers, many made with unusual ingredients, and are known especially in beer geek circles for their sour beers.  Our first taste of Upland was when Andrew Gieseke opened up the stellar Persimmon for us.  Minds were blown.  I then accumulated a few bottles of various sours in a bulk cellar buy a few years back.  Upland has a lottery/membership program to get first dibs on their rare beers (like this one) but one still has to buy the beer locally or have a local mule who can send it to you.  

This bottle of Blackberry lambic was from my dragon's hoard of sours, and is from 2014.  The beer has a rating of 92 on Beer Advocate and 98 on RateBeer.   The website gives this information:  "We like sour.  Made with real blackberries."  Very informative!  

Our tasting panel this session is made of: Me (homebrewer more than 25 years, brewer of lambics), Sarajo (my wife, lover of sours); Hassan Saffouri and Chris Kunz (beer geeks, Happy Gnome beer dinner alumni, veteran travelers with us on beer trips to Belgium).  We tasted this beer out on their backyard patio surrounded by a plethora of flowering plants, on a cool and overcast late afternoon.

OK, sad picture this week, but I needed to get this done!

Aroma:

Eric: Very tart and acetic.  Almost nail polish.  Raspberry and dark cherry.  Makes my mouth water just smelling it!  Light barnyard aromas as swirled.  Mint as it warms up.  Hints of melon?
Hassan: Slight funk.  Fruit doesn't come through right away but expands.

Appearance: 

Eric: Color reminds me of watermelon--slight orange/red.  Moderate haze.  Very delicate white head fades quickly.  
Hassan: Rust.  Cloudy and opaque with slight head.

Flavor:

Eric: Initial sweet-tart candy flavor fades to a very sour acetic acid finish.  A cross between blackberry and melon flavors is strange but not off-putting.  I almost get rhubarb out of this!  Very dry with a sharp finish redolent of apple peel.  
Hassan: Similar to aroma.  Fruit doesn't come through right away.  Sourness lights up the edges of the tongue.  More tart with bigger sips and as it opens up.

Overall:

Eric: A nice beer and a fine one to sip on a warm afternoon.  This is very very sour.  Not as complex as many fruit lambics.  I'm wondering if the fruit has faded too much with age. 3.75
Hassan: Good, but fruit (blackberries) doesn't come through enough. 3.7
Chris: Lack of balance.  3.6
Sarajo: Acidic...I think I need a Zantac.  3.75

Overall Score: 3.7

A Whale A Week: Perennial Sump

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try! 

Perennial Brewing Sump

Perennial Artisan Ales out of Saint Louis, is one of my very favorite breweries.  With as many breweries as I've been to and reviewed, this is high praise from me!  They put out consistently high quality beers, often challenging and unique as well.  Possibly my favorite beer of all time is Barrel Aged Abraxas--also from Perennial.  When I discovered a bottle of Sump at a bottle shop in Oregon, I had to bring it back to Minnesota with me.  

Sump is a Russian Imperial Stout made with coffee from local Saint Louis coffee shop/roastery of the same name.   The beer has a solid 100 rating on RateBeer and a 96 on Beer Advocate.  

Our tasting panel this session is made of: Me (homebrewer more than 25 years, beer fan, self coffee roaster), Sarajo (my wife, lover of RIS style beers); Hassan Saffouri and Chris Kunz (beer geeks, Happy Gnome beer dinner alumni, veteran travelers with us on beer trips to Belgium).  We tasted this beer out on their backyard patio surrounded by a plethora of flowering plants, on a cool and overcast late afternoon.  

Aroma:
Eric: Strong but mellow earthy coffee aroma--I get more of an African, dry processed character to it.  Sweet malt.  Dark chocolate.  Some light vegetal green pepper on the finish.
Hassan: Tobacco and leather.

Appearance:
Eric: Black.  Just plain black.  Deep brown colored head that is fairly large and persistent.  Thick.
Hassan: Swarthy (plus!)

Flavor:
Eric: Up front sweetness, dark chocolate malt.  Medium roast African coffee.  Thick creamy mouthfeel--like a thick shake.  Hint of leather on the finish.  End is slightly astringent.  Dark cherry notes.  Hint of vegetal from fading coffee.  Coffee actually comes out better as the beer warms up.  
Hassan: Deep flavor, but astringent.  Leathery-er and sharper than expected.  

Overall:
Eric: A very good beer, but not as complex and rich as I expected.  The coffee was less front-and-center than I thought it would be.  Looking at the bottle it suggests drinking within 60 days, and this was bottled January 2016, so we're past that point.  From previous tasting of aged coffee beers, the coffee fades and often leaves that astringent and vegetal finish.  I think this would have rated higher if it were fresher.  3.75
Hassan:  Very good...if you want a challenge in a stout with unexpected overtones.  3.9
Chris: The nose is very "green" and not enough coffee.  4
Sarajo: I wish it was a bit sweeter.  4.25

Overall Score: 4

A Whale A Week: Revolution Brewing's Deth's Tar

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!  This week we try something different.  Tired of just trying out one beer (and lets be honest how can I really shrink my cellar at this rate) each week, we're going to break out a bunch of them! 

Revolution Brewing's Deth's Tar

Revolution Brewing is one of the very best breweries in Chicago as of this writing.  Revolution was started by former Goose Island pub brewer Josh Deth in 2010 as a brewpub, and has since added on a second production facility in the Chicago area.  We visited the latter on a trip about 2 years ago and picked up this little gem at the brewery.  Named after Josh, but evoking images of X-Wing squadrons and an exploding Alderaan, this is a big 11.4% ABV Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout.  The brewer uses Warrior hops for bitterness and English Fuggles for aroma.  The beer spends about 10 months aging in bourbon barrels before bottling.  The bottle comes in a cool red box which makes it totally worth more!  We did get to try this fresh at the brewery, and now this bottle is about 2 years old and ready to go! Beer Advocate puts this at 94 and RateBeer at 99 for scores.  

Our judges for this session are me (Rogue Leader); Sarajo (my Leia); Matt Messier (Wookie co-pilot); Teresa (masked and mysterious bounty hunter).  As most great adventures do, this one started with meeting Matt and Teresa over some blue drink at our local Cantina (the Iron Tap)--a wretched hive of scum and villainy.  Later, in a rusted out R2 unit, we discovered a message...and a bottle...

In 

a beer

glass far

far away...

Aroma: In which the rebel scum attempt to steal the plans...

Eric: Molasses.  Dark chocolate.  A bit of strong alcohol on the nose.  Coffee--more of a dark espresso with some burnt character...  Some mild oxidation with a hint of Endor's mossy forest on the end.
Matt: Light and smooth.  Not much on my palate.

Appearance: In which the dark depths of space hide many enemies...

Eric: As black as Vader's helmet.  Head dark tan to almost brown, like the murky bubbling froth of Dagobah's swamps.  Tight bubbles and very persistent.  Deep as quicksand, hiding a sunken X-Wing.
Matt: Dark as night with a small froth.  Layers nicely on the glass.

Flavor: In which the moon that is not a moon positions itself...

Eric: Lots of bourbon right off the bat.  Plenty of vanilla.  Tart cherry notes as it warms.  Super boozy like something Figrin D'an would drink during a set.  Harsh as princess' retort.  Dry and astringent bitterness of coffee and dark chocolate on the finish.  Thick and coats the mouth like mynocks on a ship hull.  Finish has a touch of metallic--like licking said ship hull.
Matt: Initially tastes chocolaty, but burns off inside of the mouth very quickly--leaving and alcohol flavor at the end.

Overall: In which the rebels zoom down a trench and bulls-eye some poorly guarded exhaust ducts...

Eric: A very good beer.  Boozy and creamy, but ends a bit dry and rough.  The bourbon is strong in this one...  4
Matt: I like it.  Being a victim of marketing, a good label with lure me in.  I expected the Deth's Tar to explode my world.  It didn't.  Still a great beer to drink around the fire.  4
Teresa: I taste root beer.  3.5
Sarajo: I give it 4 big black fists...

Overall Score:  3.9 

Your moment of Zen: Sj with her Revolution big black fist tap handle...

A Whale A Week: Deschutes The Abyss 2010

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!  I've had a brief hiatus in these posts due to lack of time and travel to Oregon (check out my extensive travelogue of that trip here as well...)

Deschutes The Abyss 2010

This week we focus on a classic beer from Deschutes Brewery in Bend Oregon.  I've loved this brewery since I had my first Black Butte Porter while visiting my cousins out in Eugene many years ago.  Sarajo and I got a chance to visit the brewery a few years back when one of aforementioned cousins was kind enough to get married in Bend.  The Abyss was one of the early commercially available Russian Imperial stouts that got a lot of attention and was eagerly hoarded when it came out.  We'll call it a Proto-Whale.  Also back in the day Deschutes didn't have quite the availability across the USA that it currently boasts and getting a bottle in Minnesota was only through bootleg channels.  Enter my mom (Heddy) who lived in Oregon for several years, and would mule me back 6-9 bottles each November when it released out there!  Luckily now we get at least a nominal amount of Abyss here each year.  

The Abyss released in bottle for the first time in 2006.  There was a hiccup at one point in 2009 when the batch was infected (probably with the sour cultures from The Dissident) and is still gleefully called "Abyssident" by beer geeks like me.  The beer is complex, made with brewer's licorice, blackstrap molasses, vanilla beans, and cherry bark.  Portions of the beer are then aged in a combination of new oak, bourbon barrels, and wine barrels--then blended together before release.  As a result of this, the beer is more subtle than some bourbon booze bombs, making it easier to drink.  Ratebeer puts this beer at 100, and Beer Advocate rates it at 99.  While this beer is now readily available (and hence not super whale-ish) the 2010 vintage is certainly hard to come by in 2016, so I'm doing it!  Of course now, they've released some even more rare variants with rye whiskey and cognac barrel versions.  I hope to get to try these soon!  If anyone wants to share one for AWAW tasting I'll share my 2008 bottle...

Our judges for this session are me (BJCP National ranked judge, homebrewer 25+ years); Sarajo (my wonderful wife, lover of stouts); and Matt Messier (former Oregon native, beer geek, self proclaimed Deschutes fan-boy); Theresa (Matt's lovely wife, beer drinker but not a beer geek).  We met Matt at our local watering hole the Iron Tap in Waconia and realized we were neighbors...yet another way in which the social aspect of beer has led us to meet new friends!  

Aroma:  In which some of us are more sensitive to oxidation than others...

Eric: Deep earthy notes invade the nasal passages in a way that I can almost taste on the back of the tongue!  Licorice root present, but not overly anise-y.  Dark coffee roast notes.  Sweetness and molasses caramelized sugar.  Mild vanilla.  Light oak, bordering on papery oxidation as it warms up. 
Matt: Proper to the nose--makes me want to devour it now!
Theresa: I'm sensing wet dog.

Appearance: In which we gaze into The Abyss and hope it does not gaze back...

Eric: Pitch black.  Like staring into a...what's the word I'm looking for here?  Pit?  Chasm? Hole?  Rift?  Crevasse?  Void?  Hmmm, it'll come to me.  Mid-tan head with large bubbles, which fades to a wispy finish.  
Matt: Looks like a good root beer--a bit bubbly.

Flavor: In which we taste lots of coffee

Eric: Complex as anything!  Off-sweet up front, but the end is fairly dry with lingering flavors of dry cocoa, coffee grounds, and light anise.  Mouthfeel is medium to high with lots of mouth coating action.  Burnt sugar.  Mild dark fruit and cherry as it warms up.  Oxidation present, but adds complexity rather than detracts from the beer. 
Matt: Lasting flavor!  Starts smooth with molasses flavor, but ends with a coffee tinge.

Overall: In which the ladies bring down the curve with their hating...

Eric: This has more coffee flavors than I remember, but I love coffee so no harm no foul.  Great balance of sweet and dry in such a strong beer.  Mild oxidation for such an elderly statesman of a beer.  Hold up remarkably well and I'd place it in the top echelon of my favorite Russian Imperials.  4.5
Matt: Very enjoyable.  Being a Bend, Oregon native, I'm biased.  I would never turn this away!  4.25
Theresa: It was pretty good until I swallowed it.  2
Sarajo: A little cardboardy.  3.5

Overall Score: 3.56

A Whale A Week: Bent Paddle Double Shot Double Black

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!  This week we try something different.  Tired of just trying out one beer (and lets be honest how can I really shrink my cellar at this rate) each week, we're going to break out a bunch of them!

This week one of my old friends Rob Wengler invited my wife Sarajo and I over to his place for a couple of rare beers.  Rob had discovered this little treasure at an out-of-the-way liquor store that somehow fell off the beer hoarders' radar this past month.  Bent Paddle Brewery in Duluth is one of my very favorites in Minnesota--and frankly one of my favorites in the nation.  I've met brewers Bryon Tonnis, Collin Mullen, and Peter Mack many times over the years--before Bent Paddle was even formed.  When Tonnis and Mullen (and their wonderful wives who are much involved in the business aspects of the brewery) formed Bent Paddle I was incredibly excited.  Here were two of my favorite under-rated brewers--who both put out amazingly balanced and consistent beers--forming a super-group of sorts.  I've been to the brewery several times (usually our first stop as we roll into Duluth for All Pints North beer festival each summer) and the offerings just keep getting more varied and more impressive.  Currently Bent Paddle has been involved in some controversy up north due to their stance on opening a new mine in the area.  Apparently the municipal (owned by the government) liquor stores have boycotted their beers in response.  To me this is fine for a personally owned business to decide, but for the city government to do so (and encourage other businesses to do it as well) seems like stepping over the line.  Check HERE for a link to a really impressive statement from the brewery that was published in The Growler.  That's as political as I get on this blog...

A few years back Bent Paddle did their first barrel aged beer--Double Black--an Imperial version of their Black Ale aged in bourbon barrels.  We had it at All Pints and were blown away.  The next year we tried the coffee infused version (Double Shot) and had found a new favorite beer.  This year they released that version in bottles and they went like hot-cakes in the Twin Cities market.  Sarajo and I searched but did not score any bottles at all for our dragon's-hoard.  Luckily Rob was willing to share!  This is a 11.2% ABV stout with cold press locally roasted coffee and whole bean Madagascar vanilla beans.  We had to hack at the thick wax on the bottle with a dangerously sharp knife to get
into it!  

Bent Paddle Double Shot Double Black

Aroma:

Eric: Powerful strong cold press coffee!  Hints of vanilla.  Mild alcohol zippiness.  As it warms I get tons of rich dark chocolate.  Mild oak tannins.  No hops to speak of.  The aroma complex and like a chameleon seems to change with each sniff.  I spent several minutes just smelling this beer before actually going in for a taste.  Impressive.

Rob: Coffee grounds.

Sarajo: Smells like chocolate.

Appearance:

Eric: Nearly pitch black and opaque.  Very fine dark tan head is pretty persistent for such a strong beer.

Rob: "So black it sweats oil..."

Flavor:

Eric: Sweet at first, but quickly drops to an almost chalky dry dark chocolate finish.  Coffee is very present--seems like a freshly brewed medium roast with some earthy character.  Vanilla comes across at the tail end--adding a hint of sweetness to even out the dry almost bitter chocolate aftertaste.  Mouthfeel is mouth coating and thick and creamy--but finish is off-dry.  Mild tannic oak or coffee grounds.  Balance is pretty even between bitter and sweet.  

Rob: Like a plain biscotti soaked in a sweet espresso 'til its soft--then sucking the juice out of the biscotti.  

Sarajo: The vanilla is strong in this one...but not cloying--perfect balance.

Overall:

Eric: Wonderful complexity in both the aroma and the flavor.  Strong coffee, even-handed vanilla, chocolate. Barrel is subtle.  Masterfully crafted beer.  One of the best I've had so far this year.  4.75

Rob: 4.5

Sarajo: Goes well with chocolate chip cookies!  :)  4.75

Overall Score: 4.67

A Whale A Week: Special April 1 Edition...This Bud's For You!

This very special A Whale A Week is one I've been saving up for just such a day as today!

Bud Light

This amazing crowd-pleaser has been around since 1982 and its about time someone gave it the whale treatment!  AB-INBEV--formerly Anheuser-Busch Brewery--is known for its incredible market clout, Superbowl ads, horses, and of course it's famous eagle!  Currently touted as American, the company is owned by a business conglomerate located in Belgium.  I've been on the VIP tour at the old flagship St. Louis brewery and it was quite an eye-opening experience.  They were bottling "imported" Beck's beer that day.  

#Merica

For this tasting I invited over AWAW alumni Dave Manley and Steven Mathistad.  My wife was unwilling to take part in this one--choosing instead to sip on some Waconia Brewing Mo' Winta' Stout.  The beer was lovingly served into the appropriate drinking vessel.

Aroma:

Eric: They've really brought out the best here!  I know there's no corn in this beer, but I swear I smell it.  Corn?  I don't remember eating corn!  

Dave: Aromas of jock sweat and toe jam.  A hint of athlete's foot remedy--but can't decide if its Desinex or Tinactin.

Steven: Aroma is subtle with a hint of bad decisions and scary flashbacks.

Appearance:

Eric: Very light in color, almost full albino but minus the red eyes.  About the same color and appearance as a freshly collected urine specimen--just more foamy than it ought to be, perhaps someone suffering from proteinuria?  

Dave: Dead ringer for an Onterrio Smith urine sample run through a Whizzinator.  Wispy head (just like Onterrio Smith).  

Steven: Looks crisp and clean, like a nice hardy cider.  Not much head--although it lead to plenty in college!

Flavor:

Eric: Pretty sweet, with a hint of frog sweat--not poison dart frog, just regular frog.  I can't taste the Triple Hop at all!  Body is a bit thin, but less filling!  Slight taste of desperation.  I can tell that this was brewed the hard way just from the lack of any distinguishing characteristics.  Makes me want to party with Seth Rogan.  

Dave: Malty like a steamed hot dog bun sitting in a Metrodome vendor box.  Hot dog water used in the brewing process, I'm sure.  Hops: I'm sure there was a picture of hops somewhere in the brewhouse when they made this...

Steven: Flavor profile gives the impression of emesis and defecation.

Overall Impression:

Eric: I'm not sure this really gives me the #UpForWhatever kind of feeling that I was promised by clever marketing.  I'm pretty sure that the Clydesdales were a bit over-watered on the day they collected this sample--I want more pungency and Premarin horse estrogens out of this! 

Dave: Solid 5.  Makes me want to paint my face and go to a Devil's game with Puddy.

Steven: Makes me want to build a time machine and go back to my college years to beat the crap out of myself for ever cracking open one of these liquid bottles of monkey piss. 

In Search Of Bigfoot...Barleywine!

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!  This week we try something different.  Tired of just trying out one beer (and lets be honest how can I really shrink my cellar at this rate) each week, we're going to break out a bunch of them!

This week we do the first of a two-part series on Sierra Nevada's classic Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale.  This is a beer that I first tried back in the 1990's and promptly spat out in disgust.  How and why would someone create such a bitter beast of a beer?  Sierra Nevada was really one of the first American craft breweries, and is still sitting pretty today as one of the biggest and still most popular.  Their Pale ale was one of the very first commercially available, and really set the guidelines for the whole category (local Summit Brewing was right up there though!)  Anchor Old Foghorn was released back in about 1975 so they held the lead on the modern American Barleywine, starting with a fairly English barleywine malt bill but jacking it up with American hops.  Bigfoot really took the style to new hoppy levels. Bigfoot was first released in 1983 and is now known by most as the default for what the style should taste like.

Screen shot from the infamous Zapruder film...perhaps he's on his way to the pub?

I tried Bigfoot again at a cellared beer tasting by a member of our then-fledgling homebrew club, Brett Schneider. Tasting aged (and more mellow) versions of this hop monster really opened my eyes to the changes that can occur in a beer over time--some good and some bad.  That tasting was around 2006 or 2007 and I've been getting a pack of Bigfoot every year since.  A few years ago Brett moved out of the area and downsized his cellar of vintage beers, leaving me with a fairly epic collection of aged Bigfoot to add to my growing stash.  I've cracked some at brewclub meetings over the years, but this year I wanted to do a more controlled vertical tasting of the beer.  While this beer isn't as rare as some we've tried for A Whale A Week, getting to try a huge vertical going back as far as 1995 is pretty difficult to pull together.  Perhaps I should call this Sasquatch Of The Week?  Yeti Of The Week?  Abominable Snow Man Of The Week?

I invited over Dave Manley--one of the most barleywine enamored guys I've ever known--for this one.  Discovering that Waconia Brewing's illustrious brewer Tom Schufman is a huge fan of this beer, I made sure he could take part as well.  And of course my wife Sarajo helped out despite her lack of love for the hoppier beers.  With 19 years of beers to try, we decided to split this tasting into two parts.  I really wanted to try all of them together in order to better pick our favorites compared to each other--but barleywines are high in alcohol and even two tastings is pushing it!  The second half of the tasting is available to read HERE.  Feel free to crack any old bottles you have in your cellar and taste along with us!  Without further ado, let's raise a glass to the crypto-zoologists of the world!

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Vertical Part 1

For this first tasting we started back in time...the 1990's!  All of us took notes and came up with a score for each vintage...occasionally going back and either tweaking our scores or retrying the previous vintages to compare.  Your results may vary!  Oh and all of these bottles have been stored in a cool basement out of the light and have twist-off caps.

Bigfoot 1995

Eric: Aroma--lots of sherry, borders on cardboard.  Some cherry and hops are mild.  Very little head--just  wisp.  Plenty of oxidation on the flavor.  Still some bitterness that I pick up as minty.  Still better than expected for its age.  2.75
Dave: Heavily oxidized.  2 sips are plenty.  Hops still present.  2.5
Tom: Peach notes.  Light CO2.  Deep caramel.  Low oxidation flavor, but high in the aroma.  3
Sarajo: Blech.  2.5
Overall Score: 2.67

Bigfoot 1998

Eric: More hops in aroma than 1995.  Earthy, almost musty basement aroma.  Carbonation still pretty dead.  Flavor is vegetal and fungus-like.  "Kids, grow mushrooms in your basement!"  Hopping present but comes off as English hops (EKG or Fuggles).  Bitter cardboard finish.  2.5
Dave: Some oxidation, less than 1995.  Aroma--caramel. Taste--about the same, just 3 years newer.  A bit of a flip from the '95 in that I like the aroma better than the taste.  2.75
Tom: Mold aroma, high oxidation.  Wet cardboard.  Higher CO2 than '95.  Flabby.  Sherry notes.  2.5
Sarajo: Yech.  2.5
Overall Score: 2.56

Bigfoot 1999

Eric: Minty hops mix with oxidation in aroma.  Caramel noted in aroma as well.  Slight carbonation rousable with swirling.  Flavor is getting better.  Caramel but not sweet.  Some sherry cask.  Bitter finish.  A bit aqueous on mouthfeel.  Dark fruit as it warms up.  3.25
Dave: Aroma getting better, flavor improves as well.  A bit fruitier, less caramel on the tongue.  This tastes more British.  3
Tom: Less cardboard, smells like 1998.  Somewhat tart.  Tannic flavors but hoppy finish.  3
Sarajo: 3
Overall Score: 3.06

Bigfoot 2000

Eric: Hoppy aroma--mild citrus--like an orange marmalade with oxidation.  Carbonation still super low, but up from previous vintages.  Caramel increased in flavor, but still not sweet.  Bitterness stronger in flavor.  Oxidation still present but dropping.  Hop flavors of cooked orange rind present.  3.5
Dave: OK, We're getting closer...  3.25
Tom: More plum and dark brown sugar, but yup, still oxidized.  Nice bitterness.  More rounded flavor.  3
Sarajo: 3.25
Overall Score: 3.25

Bigfoot 2001

Eric: More hops and some sherry aroma--increased oxidation from 2000.  Wispy carbonation, but more noted on mouthfeel.  Increased hop citrus flavor.  Bitterness on the end, but not overwhelming.  Brighter overall.  3.5
Dave: Can we get rid of the musty aroma already?  Other than that, starting to really dig it.
Tom: Minty.  Bitter.  Same beer as 2000.  3.25
Sarajo: 3.25
Overall Score: 3.31

Bigfoot 2002

Eric: Seems like less hop aroma this year.  Less oxidation.  Flavor brighter, more orange character.  Easy to drink this one.  Balance is better than any so far.  3.75
Dave: Now we're talkin!  3.75
Tom: Aroma has a hot alcohol note.  Solid malt profile.  Well in balance, but sweet.  3.75
Sarajo: Best of them. 4
Overall Score: 3.81

Bigfoot 2003

Eric: Seems sweeter and more caramel and prunes.  Figs?  Less hop bitterness than 2002.  Oxidation up from previous year.  Drop in score from 2002.  3.25
Dave: A little more oxidation from 2002.  Hotness.  3
Tom: Tannic bitterness is back.  Not much to say.  3
Sarajo: 3
Overall Score: 3.06

Bigfoot 2004

Eric: Sweeter aroma, not much hop.  Mild oxidation.  Flavor has more oxidation and dark fruit along with some hop bitterness to even it out.  More orange/citrus character.  3.5
Dave: Still some oxidation, a little less than the '03.  Still not as good as the '02.  3.25
Tom: Marmalade is back.  Still a bit astringent.  3.25
Sarajo: 3
Overall Score: 3.25

Bigfoot 2005

Eric: Hops are back in the aroma and citrusy.  Carbonation is better, prickly.  Milder oxidation.  More hop bite.  Carbonation improves the mouthfeel on this and makes it more dry.  3.75
Dave: Carbonation helps.  3.5
Tom: Hoppy aroma.  Best balance of the vertical thus far.  Cascade hop on finish?  3.75
Sarajo: 3.5
Overall Score: 3.63

Bigfoot 2006

Eric: Carbonation!!!  Still some oxidation present, but more of a wine barrel effect.  Earthy, piney hops.  This is the stuff!  Orange and pine hop flavors--candied kumquat.  Sweet and sugary, but not cloying.  Finish is off-dry.  Smooth and mellow.  Seems like a cross between and English and American barleywine.  4
Dave: Picking up some nice malt complexity--figs and raisins.  3.75
Tom: Nice carbonation.  Somewhat thinner.  Bright flavor.  More spicy and citrus notes.  4
Sarajo: 3.75
Overall Score: 3.88

This was a fun tasting.  Frankly, I had low expectations for the older vintages and that mostly played out as expected.  Still it was fun to try a beer from 21 years ago!  Heck one of these was probably that vintage I tried fresh back in the 1990's and spat out in disgust!  I enjoyed getting Dave and Tom to take part since both of them are big fans of this beer.  There was a distinct progression of slow loss of oxidation and improved carbonation from oldest to newest with the 2006 being the overall favorite of the bunch.  However, 2002 was an enigma, coming in second overall.  We are currently planning on our second tasting: covering 2007-2015, topped off with a bottle of barrel aged Bigfoot.  If any of my readers tasted along with vintage bottles, please comment on your findings here!

A Whale A Week: Russian River Sanctification Batch 006

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!

This week we try a rare (at least in Minnesota!) sour beer from the famed Russian River Brewing Co.  in California.  The brewery started as an offshoot of Korbel vineyards.  In 2003 Brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo and his wife Natalie took over the business. In 2004 they built/opened a new brewpub in Santa Rosa, and then expanded with a production brewery nearby in 2008.  Since then they continue to put out some amazing beers, but in small enough quantity that all of them are much sought-after.  The brewery is probably most well known for putting out what was possibly the first Double IPA Pliny the Elder, as well as it's incredibly rare tap-only cousin Pliny the Younger.  They were one of the first American breweries to start working with brettanomyces yeast and other wild/sour organisms in their beers as well.  This place is on my bucket list for breweries to visit.

I've tasted both Plinys as well as several of the sours over the years, thanks mostly to my mom muling some back for me from her trips out to Oregon.  I also received a few vintage bottles in a large cellar buy a few years back.

Sanctification is a fairly low gravity (6.75% ABV) golden beer that is fermented with 100% brettanomyces yeast.  The beer is bottle conditioned (initially with standard yeast, but now using brett for that as well).  The beer was first brewed in 2004 and was one of the first commercially available all-brett beers.  The brewery's website actually has some of the brew logs from the first several batches of their beers which is fascinating to see.  The first few years of this beer they added lactobacillus, then the third year they added some mixed wild culture to it.  In 2009 and 2010 they moved to pure brett fermentation for this beer.  I believe that it is fermented in stainless steel and has no oak contact.  I'm pretty sure that batch 006 came out in 2012, but batch 005 is the last one on the brew logs so I'm not sure of this.

This week's tasting panel was made up of: Me (Eric Wentling)--Homebrewer for over 20 years, BJCP National ranked judge, lover of sour and brett beers.  Beau Hammel--Homebrewer of tasty Belgian ales.  Sarajo Wentling--My other half.  We served this beer into tulip glasses.  We did do this tasting at the tail end of a couple others, so our write-up was a little shorter than usual... By this point Beau and I were perfectly calibrated in our judging.

Russian River Sanctification Batch 006

Aroma: 
Eric: Pineapple.  Tart apple.  Sweet honey and malt.  Light barnyard funkiness.  Some lemon-orange citrus character.
Beau: Acid.  Rotten hay.  Lemons.  Tropical fruit--guava.

Appearance: 
Eric: Very light straw to golden color.  Fine tight white head.  Excellent clarity.
Beau: Light golden.  Clear.  Medium head.

Flavor:
Eric: Very tart and dry apples.  Sour mango rind.  Slight sweetness, but that fades fast--like the first bite of an orange slice.  Body is light, but not thin.  No hop flavors.  Not incredibly complex.
Beau: Pleasantly sour with lemon flavors.  Slight funk of decomposed grass or hay.

Overall:
Eric: Very fruity. Dry and tart but not really puckering.  This is infinitely drinkable and refreshing.  Complexity is not crazy, but for what this beer is, it's near perfect.  I wouldn't mind a little more funk. 4.5
Beau: Very well balanced.  Nicely sour without being too dry or puckering.  Nice lemon and fruity flavors.  Nice complimentary funk.  4.5
Sj: (Too distracted to come up with a pithy comment this week...) 4

Overall Score: 4.33


Photo info:  I simply used a shot of the bottle label and did an overlay layer with another shot of Val Dieu Abbey (a brewery in Belgium but not actually run by monks).  The abbey picture was very underexposed and was almost a silhouette, so I just accentuated that before blending the two photos.

A Whale A Week: Goose Island Backyard Rye

Now in my second year, A Whale A Week is my challenge to try (with an array of beer loving friends) a rare beer for every week of the year.  Last year I had a great time with this and have continued it for 2016.  Not every beer will be a truly "white whale" beer, but all are hard to find and a treat to try!

Goose Island Backyard Rye 2013

This week we try another special Goose Island beer from the Bourbon County line-up.  I've been drinking BCS since before it was cool (I was in Chicago prior to 2000 and had it at the brewpub) and have been excited to see all the new things the company is doing with the base beer.  Again--perhaps Goose Island is now owned by the evil overlords of beer, but they're still putting out some amazing beers.  This particular version is a Russian Imperial stout aged in rye whiskey barrels with mulberries, marionberries, and boysenberries.  I had to bone up on my fruit knowledge in order to do this write-up. Mulberries look a lot like raspberries, but grow on trees, and come in a variety of colors including white.  Boysenberries apparently are a cross between raspberry, blackberry, American dewberry, and the loganberry (I'm imagining a bramble bush key-party is to blame for this).  This cultivar was first documented in the 1920's and later grew to fame for its soft, tart-sweet maroon colored fruits. The last berry in question is the marionberry: turns out this is a fancy name for a cultivar of the indigenous blackberry from Oregon.  Now that we've refreshed our knowledge of bramble fruits it is time to taste!

This week's tasting panel was made up of: Me (Eric Wentling)--Homebrewer for over 20 years, BJCP National ranked judge, and grower of an out-ofcontrol raspberry bramble patch.  Beau Hammel--Homebrewer of tasty stouts.  Katy Hammel--Excellent wife who was willing to come out late on a work night!  Sarajo Wentling--My other half.  We served this beer into snifter glasses after warming up a bit.  The ladies didn't want to write stuff up--just taste the beers.  Because they are lazy!

Aroma:

Eric: Initially I get an almost artificial sweet-tart candy aroma.  As this blows off I get more real berry mixed with tartness--I pick up raspberry, blueberry mostly.  Some alcohol zip to the beer.  Vanilla and some tannic bite from the barrel (or seeds).  Dark cherry as it warms up.  Not as much roast malt as expected. Hint of chocolate. No hops. 

Beau: Moderate bourbon barrel.  Vanilla, coconut, fruit--generic berries.  Almost get strawberry whipped cream.  Sweet malt.  Cherry candy. 

Appearance:

Eric: Deep brown to an almost black color.  Very fine dark tan head--but it fades almost instantly to the edge of the glass. Opaque.

Beau: Very dark brown.  Opaque.  Very small dark tan head.  Poor head retention.

Flavor:

Eric: Burst of mixed berries and tartness up front.  Black raspberry sweetness.  Tart cherry.  Dark chocolate roast malt.  Sweet but the tart fruit balances the sweetness with some acid.  Warming but not hot.  There is so much going on here!  I keep picking up new flavors--raspberry, blackberry, strawberry.  Some vanilla from barrel and some tannin.  Almost no carbonation present.  Mouthfeel is medium to almost thick.  Finish is semi-sweet with a lingering fruit and tannic bitterness. No hops noted.

Beau: Very well balanced.  Alcohol.  Sweet but not cloying.  Strawberry, cherry candy, deep raspberry flavor.  Booze soaked dried fruit.  Alcohol balances perfectly.

Overall:

Eric: So balanced!  Sweet and slightly tart without being sour or funky.  The berry flavors come through amazingly well.  So good.  5

Beau: This beer is incredible.  Great balance between booze, roast, fruit, and sweet.  5

Katy: Good enough that I won't share my pour with Beau.  4.5

Sarajo: Its berry-riffic!  4.5

Overall Score: 4.75


Photo info:  I took a shot of the label, then superimposed it with a shot of the ripening raspberries in my own backyard bramble from last fall.