Straffe Hendrik Xmas Blend Barrel Age Quadruple Blend

Posted on by Evan

I have been to Brewer De Haan Man in Bruges, Belgium. They produce Straffe Hendrik, and this particular beer is the Xmas Blend Barrel-Aged Quadruple, which is 11% ABV. This beer is only available at Christmas time in 750ml bottles. This quad is bottled fermented and aged in American or French oak, either a whiskey, rum, or Bordeaux, and Calvados. They also use young quadruple ale as well as barrel-aged beer. This quad pours brown with a one-finger cream beige head. That head sticks to the top of the beer like a creamy film. The aroma is of vanilla, sweetness, and it’s boozy. The flavor is sweet, vanilla, booze, and light nutty flavors. This has a full-bodied mouthfeel. Then this beer finishes with a rich vanilla and boozy flavor. The aftertaste is light, with sweet vanilla notes that do linger for a while. This Xmas Blend is a delicious beer that gets an A+. It is 11% ABV, but that is not really reflected in the flavor. I would highly recommend this to you. It has a good, strong flavor without being too overpowering. This would be a great addition to any holiday party. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk Emerald IPA

Posted on by Evan

I have been looking for Dragon’s Milk Emerald IPA. This New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk IPA is an 11% ABV barrel-fermented IPA dry-hopped with Lotus hops and aged in Oak barrels. Dragon’s Milk is a division of New Holland Brewing that does all the barrel aging of their beer and makes bourbon as well (www.newhollandbrew.com)(dragonsmilk.com). This beer can be purchased at Total Wine (http://www.totalwine.com) or on the Dragon’s Milk website. This IPA pours deep orange with a one-finger white head. The aroma is hoppy, citrus, and vanilla. The flavor is a combination of orange and vanilla, and it is strong and bitter. This beer has a full mouthfeel. Then it comes to a vanilla boozy finish with small amounts of citrus flavor. This IPA has a boozy vanilla oak aftertaste that lingers just long enough. This IPA sounds interesting when I heard about it on social media, and it is. It does taste almost like an 11% ABV beer, but the hops help it not taste like 11%. It has good barrel flavors without being overly oaky. I think Dragon’s Milk Emerald is an A, and I recommend it! Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Vista Brewing Zenith

Posted on by Evan

I purchased Zenith an Oak Aged Petit Saison from Vista Brewing in Driftwood, Texas (http://www.vistabrewingtx.com). This beer is 5.3 ABV and is a collaboration with True Anomaly Brewing in Houston, TX (http://www.trueanomalybrewing.com). This beer uses grisette with a touch of flaked oats, aged for six months in French oak barrels until it reaches its peak. The house cultures come from True Anomaly. I bought this beer will tour the brewery not long ago.

Zenith pours gold straw color with a two finger white head. The aroma is light, funky, fruity, and light on sweetness. The flavor is funk, fruity, (mostly green grape and apples). It does have some light semisweet flavor and is a bit dry, without being too dry. This has a light feeling in the mouth. Then it has a soft funk fruit dry finish. The aftertaste is not sweet as the initial taste, but it is light on fruity with some funky apple. This is a good beer. I give this a B. It is lighter than I was expecting and light on ABV. I would recommend it if you are at Vista Brewing. You can find this beer and other Vista beer at Spec’s (https://specsonline.com) or reach out to the Vista Brewery.

Now Vista Brewing itself is mostly outdoor with a huge acreage of land where the food is farm to table, the tap room and brew house are indoors.

The tour I had was with the same crowed, well almost, from my Belgian beer tour. This tour was with the owner Kent Killough. During the tour be had samples of some of the beer that will be hitting the tap room soon. At the end of the tour we had a nice outdoor dinner. Which was delicious.

We did have a flight of three beers during dinner. They were good. Over all the atmosphere at Vista Brewing was great as were the beer and the people. I highly recommend going there if you in Driftwood, Texas. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk Reserve Bourbon Barrel-Age Coffee Chocolate Stout

Posted on by Evan

Dragon’s Milk started as its own beer, then became the name of New Holland Brewing’s reserve series of stouts. This is Bourbon Barrel-Age Coffee Chocolate Stout. This stout is 11% ABV with Madcap Bolt Coffee. Bolt is the type of strong roast from Madcap Coffee, Grand Rapids, Michigan, not far from Holland, Michigan, where New Holland Brewing is located. This stout pours thick black with a two-finger milk chocolate colored head. The aroma is roasted coffee, chocolate, bitterness, and light bourbon. The flavor is roasted strong coffee, dark chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, and boozy. This has a full feeling in the mouth. The stout has a bourbon and chocolate coffee finish with a slight bitter dark chocolate boozy aftertaste. This is an okay bourbon barrel-aged stout. I would give the lowest C-. It is just too much strong coffee with not enough chocolate. But I have had much worse. Would I recommend this? I would halfway, but you have to like big coffee, chocolate, bourbon barrel-aged stouts. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Brouwerij Huyghe Delirium Black Berrel Aged

Posted on by Evan

From Melle, Belgium, Delirium Black Barrel Age by Brouweij Heuyghe is Delirium Nocturnum aged in oak bourbon barrels for nine months. I have only seen this bottle in Belgium, but I finally saw it at my local Whole Foods. This beer is 11.5% ABV. This beer pours a deep brown with a two-finger beige head That head is slow to fade. The aroma is of vanilla, bourbon, alcohol, and spices. The flavor is vanilla, almond, bourbon, and light-tasting dark fruits (some raisins). This has a somewhat full mouthfeel. Then, it comes to a woody bourbon and caramel aftertaste. This barrel beer finishes with a woody vanilla and caramel boozy flavor. This beer is a good barrel-aged beer that is not overly heavy and alcoholic. The Delirium Black is an A. This is definitely a beer worth drinking and sharing. It has such a great balance between the delicious flavors. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Chimay Grande Resérve 2019 Oak

Posted on by Evan

I bought this Chimay Grande Resérve from the Chimay taproom and restaurant while on a Belgian Trappist Beer tour with BBM! (Belgian Beer Me!). This Chimay is from 2019, February of 2019 to be exact. This Chimay is 10.5% ABV. This beer is aged 40% French and 60% American oak barrels. This beer undergoes three fermentation processes: cave, barrel, and bottle. Chimay does this type of beer, every year with a different barrel or liquor. This 2019 Chimay pours a deep brown with a two-finger steady beige head or cream. The aroma is boozy licorice, oak, and some dark fruits. The flavor is okay, boozy, caramel, licorice, and vanilla. This big beer is light-bodied and smooth. It has a fuller feeling in the mouth. Then this beer finishes with a sweet vanilla and caramel. The aftertaste is semi-sweet yet lightly boozy with hints of vanilla. This be is fantastic and delicious. I give Chimay Grande Resérve 2019 Oak and A+. This is a beer you don’t want to miss, I highly recommend this. It is just perfect and well-made. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Barrel-Age Torpedo

Posted on by Evan

Torpedo from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is their core IPA. But this beer is barrel-aged Torpedo. It is aged in bourbon barrels and is 8.6% ABV. This IPA has fresh Citra And Pacifica hops. This is a limited-release beer. This IPA pours a deep orange/copper color with a three-finger light beige head. The aroma is boozy, light vanilla, fruity, hoppy, and bitter. The flavor is boozy, tropical, fruity, light vanilla, light coconut, bitter, and hoppy. The mouthfeels medium. This IPA finishes with a fruity, earthy-bourbon flavor. That finish lingers into the aftertaste that has more boozy notes to it. I don’t see many Barrel-aged IPAs, and I think this Barrel-aged Torpedo is the first I’ve seen and tasted. This is not a terrible beer, but it’s not the best. I give this Barrel-Age Topedo a C+. It has a nice barrel flavor from the Bourbon barrel, and it doesn’t clash with the IPA, but I wouldn’t say they go great together. This is more of an interesting beer than anything else. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk Tales of Gold Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Golden Ale

Posted on by Evan

This beer, a strong golden ale From New Holland Brewing, is Dragon’s Milk Tale of Gold Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Gold Ale. This Ale is made in New Holland, Michigan. This is a year-round beer made with milk sugars. This ale comes in at 11% ABV. This beer is part of the Dragon’s Milk beers. This beer pours a deep orange/light copper color with a one-and-a-half-finger white head. The aroma of this beer is sweet, vanilla, malty, and boozy. The taste is sweet from the vanilla and milk sugars. This beer has a smooth, creamy, and malty note. The mouth feels medium. Then it has a sweet malted finish. Then you get a boozy sweet aftertaste. The aftertaste has a light malt flavor that tastes faded. Dragon’s Milk Tales of Gold is not what I was expecting. I thought this beer would be strong and have a more bourbon-like flavor. This beer drinks well for 11% ABV, smoother than some beers with the same ABV. I give this bourbon-barrel-aged beer a B+. The vanilla was a bit sweeter than some barrel-aged beers. It took over the flavor profile. I would recommend New Holland Brewing Dragon’s Milk Tales Of Gold Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Golden Ale. Please stay safe, be kind to everyone, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Triple C Brewing Pils of Funk Foeder Aged Pilsner

Posted on by Evan

So naturally, I bought it along with another beer. That will be a review later on in the week. When I got home, I found that it was only a pint (sixteen ounces). This pilsner comes from Charlotte’s Triple C Brewing and is foeder aged. Foeder is a Dutch word for a large wooden tank where beer is fermented. This beer pours a yellow color, with a half finger of white. The head is gone as soon as it meets the outside air. This beer’s aroma is slightly tart and a little fruity. It is bright, and the fruit aroma is lemony. This pilsner beer tastes yeasty, bright, floral, lemony tart, funky, and overall light. The mouthfeel is light but on the higher side of light. Then this beer comes to a tart and yeasty finish. Then you get a funky dry aftertaste. I was expecting this to be more flavorful than it was, and I’ve also had better-aged pilsners than this beer. I give Triple C Brewing Pils of Funk a B-. It wasn’t the worst beer. I believe there is a better version of this beer. I would recommend this beer, but I also wouldn’t get this as soon as possible. Please be kind, stay safe, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Rahr & Sons Brewing Company Drunken Santa Barrel-Age London Ale

Posted on by Evan

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday. I was recently in Dallas, Texas visiting my family there. My aunt bought Rahr & Sons Drunken Santa Barrel-Aged London Ale, 9.4%. This beer is classified as a winter warmer and comes in a box with two twelve-ounce cans from Fort Worth, Texas. This Christmas beer pours black with brown edges and a two-and-a-half finger beige head. The head is steady to fade and leaves little lacing. The aroma is cinnamon sweet, clove, light roasted notes, and malty. The taste is sweet cinnamon with light malt roast. It has a cola taste to it, which is like cinnamon cola. The mouthfeel is full but not too full. The is ale finishes with a cinnamon cola sweetness. The aftertaste is a very faint bitter note. Rahr & Sons Drunken Santa Barrel-Aged London Ale is a good beer, A+ here. Rahr & Sons are one of my favorite breweries. But unfortunately, it doesn’t get distributed anywhere close to the Carolinas. I wish it did, it would be awesome. They brew great beer. This ale is not overpowering on flavor. Some barrel-aged beers can be overpowering in some way or another. It almost had a light root beer quality to it. I highly recommended Rahr & Sons Drunken Santa Barrel-Aged London. You should act fast because it is only available during the holidays. Please be kind, be safe, and enjoy responsibly! Cheers!