So while I usually write articles concerning beers that I've taken notes on/am drinking at the current time, unfortunately a lot of traveling over my week long break from teaching hasn't given me too much time to do so. I will however provide a top 5 of my most recent (un-reviewed) brews and a short description of each.
1. Firestone Walker Sucaba: What can I say about this big, barrel aged barley wine? Firestone Walker did a fantastic job. I wasn't lucky enough to snag a bottle of this fantastic brew (which is now in my top 5 all time favorite beers), however I was lucky enough to try this last Thursday night at Rattle N Hum in NYC. Big sweet bourbon flavors, nice vanilla and caramel, just a hint of spice. Overall Rating: 5/5
2. Oskar Blues Old Chub Nitro: If you can get past the phallic joke of a name and order this, I promise you won't be disappointed. Extremely smooth Scotch Ale, thanks to the nitro (Nitro version is only on tap, I'm pretty sure the canned version is carbonated). Nice sweetness, but not too much. A really impressive beer, and glad I got to try it on tap at The Gingerman NYC; Oskar Blue has yet to let me down (though I've only tried this and Ten Fidy by the brewery thus far). Overall Rating: 4.5/5
3. Clown Shoes Billionaire: Another big barrel aged barley wine - this time aged in cognac barrels. Barrel aging really does fantastic things to some of the heavy hitting beers, specifically imperial stouts and barley wines. This is just a notch or two below Sucaba, and really a fantastic beer for my intro into cognac barrel aged brews. Overall Rating 4.5/5
4. Boulevard Brewing Company's Rye-on-Rye: Saw this at a bottle shop in San Antonio, Texas during my visit and I knew I had to try it. A rye beer aged in rye whiskey barrels - a unique concept, or at least one that I hadn't seen before. Usually when I think of rye, it tends to be part of big, hoppy DIPAs, but this beer was significantly less hoppy and incredibly smooth. Still a bit of a spicy rye bite though the almost Scotch ale like sweetness, which I was really impressed with. If you can get your hands on a bottle of this Missouri based brew, I'd say it's definitely worth the $13 or so you'd pay for it. 4.5/5
5. Stone Imperial Russian Stout: Big chocolate flavor and solid malt and coffee backbones. An extremely archetypal Imperial Russian, but that doesn't stop it from having big flavor that won't disappoint. Fairly low price for a bomber at around $8 and without a doubt worth the purchase if you see one (or more) laying around. Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Side Note: 2-5 are essentially all tied in my book, really just depends on what kinds of flavors you're looking for. Sucaba, however, is a clear favorite for me (up there with Bourbon County Brand Stout and Lagunitas Sucks), as the flavors literally blew me away, though at $9 for a 9 oz. pour, I would 100% expect the quality that FSW delivered with it.
Honorable Mentions: Founders KBS (4.25/5), Newburgh Brewing Co.'s The Newburgh Conspiracy (4.5/5), Keegan Ales Joe Mama's Milk (4.35/5), and Canaster Winterscotch by Kleinbrouwerij de Glazen Toren (4.35/5)
I must admit that while Founders KBS was really a great beer, in my eyes it did not live up to the hype that surrounds it among craft beer enthusiasts.
1. Firestone Walker Sucaba: What can I say about this big, barrel aged barley wine? Firestone Walker did a fantastic job. I wasn't lucky enough to snag a bottle of this fantastic brew (which is now in my top 5 all time favorite beers), however I was lucky enough to try this last Thursday night at Rattle N Hum in NYC. Big sweet bourbon flavors, nice vanilla and caramel, just a hint of spice. Overall Rating: 5/5
2. Oskar Blues Old Chub Nitro: If you can get past the phallic joke of a name and order this, I promise you won't be disappointed. Extremely smooth Scotch Ale, thanks to the nitro (Nitro version is only on tap, I'm pretty sure the canned version is carbonated). Nice sweetness, but not too much. A really impressive beer, and glad I got to try it on tap at The Gingerman NYC; Oskar Blue has yet to let me down (though I've only tried this and Ten Fidy by the brewery thus far). Overall Rating: 4.5/5
3. Clown Shoes Billionaire: Another big barrel aged barley wine - this time aged in cognac barrels. Barrel aging really does fantastic things to some of the heavy hitting beers, specifically imperial stouts and barley wines. This is just a notch or two below Sucaba, and really a fantastic beer for my intro into cognac barrel aged brews. Overall Rating 4.5/5
4. Boulevard Brewing Company's Rye-on-Rye: Saw this at a bottle shop in San Antonio, Texas during my visit and I knew I had to try it. A rye beer aged in rye whiskey barrels - a unique concept, or at least one that I hadn't seen before. Usually when I think of rye, it tends to be part of big, hoppy DIPAs, but this beer was significantly less hoppy and incredibly smooth. Still a bit of a spicy rye bite though the almost Scotch ale like sweetness, which I was really impressed with. If you can get your hands on a bottle of this Missouri based brew, I'd say it's definitely worth the $13 or so you'd pay for it. 4.5/5
5. Stone Imperial Russian Stout: Big chocolate flavor and solid malt and coffee backbones. An extremely archetypal Imperial Russian, but that doesn't stop it from having big flavor that won't disappoint. Fairly low price for a bomber at around $8 and without a doubt worth the purchase if you see one (or more) laying around. Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Side Note: 2-5 are essentially all tied in my book, really just depends on what kinds of flavors you're looking for. Sucaba, however, is a clear favorite for me (up there with Bourbon County Brand Stout and Lagunitas Sucks), as the flavors literally blew me away, though at $9 for a 9 oz. pour, I would 100% expect the quality that FSW delivered with it.
Honorable Mentions: Founders KBS (4.25/5), Newburgh Brewing Co.'s The Newburgh Conspiracy (4.5/5), Keegan Ales Joe Mama's Milk (4.35/5), and Canaster Winterscotch by Kleinbrouwerij de Glazen Toren (4.35/5)
I must admit that while Founders KBS was really a great beer, in my eyes it did not live up to the hype that surrounds it among craft beer enthusiasts.
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