BetterBeerBlog

From: Peter at BetterBeerBlog

At the Reunion 09 fundraiser/tapping party at Firehouse Brewery & Grill last night, I ran into some friends who had just gotten back from Firestone Walker Brewing Company. In addition to sampling the great beers they make down there, my friends Pete and Arie were able to sit in on the blending of the new Firestone Walker Quercus Alba XIII Anniversary beer. Not only did Pete and Arie sit in during the blending process, they actually submitted their own blends for consideration. I’m thinking to myself, “Wow, what an experience to have been a part of”.

Unsurprisingly, this week on Hopinions I wanted to talk about blending beers. The idea of blending beers to create the Firestone Walker Quercus Alba was inspired by the wine industry. As such, Firestone Walker usually invites over a group of winemakers to assist in the blending process. They each take measured amounts of barrel aged beer from various vintages, if you will, and come up with their own blends. The “winner”, as if there really could be any losers from this sort of thing, will then have their blend be the next Quercus Alba.

While the idea of blending beers may seem new and exciting, brewmasters have been blending beers for hundreds of years already. While I could be wrong, English brewers blended together a third “ale, beer and twopenny” to create the style of beer that would be the precursor to the porter style of beer. In Belgium, brewers were blending together young and old lambics to create gueuze. In a more modern example, Anheuser-Busch has been blending Budweiser for years to insure consistency from location to location. Closer to your neck of the woods, Russian River creates Beatification by blending as well..

I purchase two bottles of Quercus Alba XII last year with the intention of drinking one right away and aging the other. As a testament to my hoarding nature, both bottles are still intact. So is my single bottle of Beatification from Russian River, their spontaneously fermented lambic style/inspired beer.

Throwing this over to you, what do you think of blending beers? Do you have any personal favorites? Do you recall any blends that were absolutely horrible?

From: Mario at Brewed For Thought

Blending amazes me to be honest. I opened a bottle of the Firestone XI recently with some friends and the documentation that comes with the bottle is staggering. I wouldn’t even know where to start.

Recent examples I’ve tried include the cask that Lagunitas unleashed on us up here, their Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Censored Brown Shugga Stout. This beer was as delicious as it sounds. The blend was as follows:

• 70% Imperial Stout aged 7 months in a bourbon barrel
• 20% Brown Shugga aged 6 months in a bourbon barrel
• 10% fresh Censored

While the idea of blending different brews together like this is definitely more difficult and rare, most barrel-aged beer you’ll find commercially bottled have been blended for consistency, the same way AB does it. In fact it was also at Lagunitas where I was part of a discussion regarding one of their other recent barrel-aged casks and a conscious decision to not blend the barrels as each batch had their own strong suits.

To be honest, a horrible beer doesn’t spring to mind when thinking of a blended brew. I am sure there are some out there, but none stick out.

You asked if I like the idea of blending, and I have to say I do.  While one thing I like about small batch breweries is the excitement of finding one of their kegs that’s tasting excellent (and camping out on that keg until it’s gone), when it comes to these more expensive releases, I wouldn’t be too amused to find a bottle tasting off. The Deschutes Reserve Series comes to mind instantly, as the bottle states the percentage aged in barrels.

For large releases with any kind of barrel-aging, it has to be assumed the beer has been blended.  A whisky barrel holds less than the equivalent of 17 cases of 750 mL bottles. Without blending I doubt some individual batches would even leave the brewery (and some may not).

I guess the question to you then, is do we want unblended barrels to hit the market? As a beer geek who hordes (which I do as well), could we handle the idea of dozens of batches of the same release floating around on stores shelves across the country? Personally, I don’t know if I could handle the decision making process holding a bottle of 2009 Bourbon County Stout Batch 79 and Batch 45 knowing that there would be at least 77 other batches out there and probably others on the same shelf. It’s like Verbal Kint said about shooting the devil in the back. “What if you miss?”

From: Peter at BetterBeerBlog

You bring up a great question. I don’t know what I would do if brewers started releasing single batch beers. Well, I take that back, I do know what I’d do: I’d just buy a bottle and hope for the best. At best, it would be cost prohibitive of me to try and pick up every single batch of unblended beer. At the worst, I might be taking on a fool’s errand trying to run around the country collecting a bottle from each batch. I’d imagine it’d be a never ending affair as the brewery can make more beer faster than you could go around collecting each bottle.

If I remember correctly, Allagash does list on their labels what batch the beer came from. I remember being at my local BevMo and looking at two bottles of Tripel from Allagash and noting how they came from the different batches. While this caught my interest, I eventually settled on a single purchase. The way I see it, if a brewery is going to go through all the trouble of releasing a beer for public consumption, it’s going to be a good beer. Great even if it was a barrel aged beer. What brewery in their right mind would release a beer knowing it was poor to begin with?

Barrel aged beers are beasts unto themselves. Even though the beer you put into each barrel is the same, each barrel has a personality of its own resulting in a slightly different beer barrel to barrel. This is exactly why brewers decided to blend beers in the first place. The brewers and their customers demanded consistency.

Yet, because of the surging popularity of blended beers, I see more and more breweries doing what they can to minimize the uncertainty of barrel aging. Take Avery Brewing Company out of Boulder, Colorado for example. I was there when they released their Sui Generis blended barrel aged beer. What struck me most about Avery was how much attention and resources they’re giving their barrels. They know the contents (critter wise) of each barrel. They chart how much character the barrels impart to the beers that are in them over time. Avery even has a full-time person who’s sole job is to watch over the barrels themselves. With such strict quality controls in place, the hope is to be able to create predictable barrel aged beers in the future.

In case you were interested, here’s how this beer broke down:

• 39% Cabernet Sauvignon barrels
• 35% Chardonnay barrels
• 13% Port barrels
• 13% Bourbon barrels

I bought a sixer of this beer for $8 per 12 oz bottle! This beer wasn’t cheap. All these types of beer aren’t cheap. Brewers aren’t stupid people. They realize that for a little more work they can charge super premium prices for product. Why wouldn’t you want to have a barrel aged beer? Yes, I realize I am greatly oversimplifying the barrel aged brewing process. But the greatest cost to barrel aging a beer isn’t even a consumable product, it’s time. Just ask your local whisky distiller.

To wrap things up on my end, is it an issue that brewers are starting to demystify barrel aging beers? To explain a little further, do you think that a brewery has taken all the fun out of barrel again once they’ve cataloged what’s inside of the barrel and how it performs? I know that at the end of the day, being able to predict the effects of a particular barrel on a beer will help increase a brewery’s production. I get that. At the same time, you no longer get the same Christmas morning feeling when opening a barrel of beer. Color me and adventurous but I still like a little bit of mystery with my barrel aged beers. Your thoughts?

From: Mario at Brewed For Thought

Briefly, when I brought up batches I was taking it to the extreme. I am certain those Batches of Allagash are a way for the brewer and the consumer to identify which specific blend is in a particular bottle.

It’s funny you chose this topic today because I happened to find myself at the Russian River Brewery to take a picture of Natalie Cilurzo for the upcoming Brewing News. It only seemed appropriate that I bring this up with Vinnie Cilurzo, who is, as you and I are quite aware, head brewer/barrel-wrangler of Russian River Brewing.

He explained the process of blending a batch of Supplication as an example. In this case, the barrels that are ready are emptied into the fermenter, all of them. While he has monitored each barrel, and each barrel has its own character, he says the idea of a reserve line of the best barrels might be tempting but would ultimately take away from the final blended product. If a certain barrel fails to meet his standards he would pour it out.

This fermenter full of beer would be left alone for a few days in order to allow the beer to recover from the shock of the transfer as well as be cooled to a serving temperature. With bottle and keg aging effects in mind, this beer is then blended with Perdition and other non-sour beers to bring the beer to the final mix.

One thing that became apparent during our discussion was that barrel-aging is still an art and far from a science. A perfect example were a pair of barrels that caught my eye. Each barrel had the word “pumpkin” scribbled on with chalk. These batches were destined for the Elysian Pumpkin Festival, but Vinnie felt the barrels were still too “sick” with pediococcus and were left to age in the barrels. Despite having plenty of evidence as to how a beer should react to the carefully maintained conditions, the results can and do vary.

If you ask me (and you did) I still think most barrel-aged beers are like Christmas day. Even having tasted a sample out of one of the barrels of Supplication, I still have no idea what’s in the other 39 barrels and how they will taste. Vinnie might know, but I certainly can’t look at a piece of paper and say the beer has been ruined for me.  Although, I may start using that as an excuse to scam free beer from a brewery. They all seem to know the mouse in a bottle trick.

NOTE: The image used above was provided by Mario from Brewed for Thought.

I had the opportunity to judge a preliminary round for the California State Homebrew Competition, better known in homebrew circles as Stern Grove, at Firehouse Brewery & Grill last night. Stern Grove holds a special place in many a homebrewer’s and BJCP judge’s heart for a variety of reasons. It is one of the oldest homebrew competitions in California. Stern Grove also signals the end of homebrew competition season. It is one of the last, if not the last, homebrew competition in California.

Judging Stern Grove is a bit of a departure from your typical BJCP/AHA sanctioned event. The biggest difference is the way the beers are scored. In a typical homebrew competition, beers are judged against a 50 point scale. Beers are evaluated according to aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel and overall impression. Because the competition has been around for so long, Stern Grove has it’s own competition forms. They’re not really trying to be different from your typical BJCP event more than they’ve been grandfathered in.

The Stern Grove worksheets are evaluated on a 20 point scale. This poses a slight conversion issue for judges in the sense that a point given or taken away from a Stern Grove worksheet will have a greater impact than your typical BJCP score sheet. That being said, it takes a little bit getting used to.

Most homebrew competitions will have preliminary rounds. This allows the judges to cull the field of entries, weeding out the stronger ones from the entries that need a little more work. By the time the final rounds of judging at Stern Grove actually takes place, the majority of the beers there will be pretty good.

In last night’s preliminary round, we had the opportunity to judge the wheat beer category. There were 3 judging groups. Two of the groups had 3 judges while the final group had only 2. Unlike other preliminary rounds I’ve judged at, we actually had 2 stewards to help us out. Big thanks goes stewards Bobby and Anthony for keeping things fluid.

There were a few issues that kept cropping up as the night wore on. Weizen beers are supposed to be lighter, effervescent, refreshing and flavorful. Yeast character needs to be the dominant, yet balanced, character in a weizen beer. Just about all the entries we tried were lacking banana esters and clove phenolics. In their place were generic fruit esters slightly reminiscent of Belgian yeasts while the phenolic character was equally generic and varied from spicy to plastic/band-aid. Body was an issue as well as many beers were watery while other samples were undercarbonated. Surprisingly a few beers were clear and lacked the “mit hefe” cloudiness one would expect from the style.

To bring out more of the weizen yeast character, start with a viable weizen strain of yeast and then ferment one’s beers at a slightly higher temperature (70º F +). Having a thin body in a hefeweizen is unusual since the addition of wheat malt is usually the prescription for thickening up a beer’s body. For the hefeweizen though, the brewer can implement a decoction mash to both thicken up the body and darken the beer slightly to get a gold color. Wheat malt will also help with head retention. When bottling beers, make sure to measure out one’s priming sugar correctly. Weizen beers are noted for their effervescent character and a flat beer is not a good sign. Lastly, always be mindful of one’s sanitation.

It was good to get back on the beer judging horse. It had been at least 6 months or so since my last competition. I may have been a little rusty with filling out score sheets and with my descriptions but my palette’s been okay. For whatever reason, I haven’t been all that interested in judging competitions this year. You could probably count on one hand how many competitions I’ve judged. What’s ironic is that I received my BJCP exam results (I retook the tasting portion of the exam) and I moved up a rank. There’s always next year.

As you may or may not have noticed, I haven’t been publishing on the blog very much as of late. Part of it was because it started to feel like work. Whenever something I’m doing for fun starts to seem like work, it’s no longer fun. If you take into account how much money I “earn” doing this blog (essentially $0), there’s not much financial incentive to keep going.

So, I decided to take a little bit of a break. Not walking away entirely but not posting as much. I decided to turn my brain off for a bit when drinking a beer and just drink the beer. No more notepad jotting down the aroma and flavor. No more whipping out the camera to take a photo of my beers. Just sit back, relax and have a cold one. Truthfully, it felt good to just enjoy a beer.

The other part, the main reason I’ve been away from the blog, is because I’ve just wrapped up my first professional writing gig. Yep, I am a “professional” writer. Now, make no mistake, I do not honestly consider myself a professional writer in any capacity other than novice. There are people who write for a living. They’ve gone to school and learned how to write properly. They’ve busted their asses and paid their dues. And frankly, they’re talented. Me? I just happened to raise my hand.

So it’s no surprise that I contribute to Beer Connoisseur magazine’s online content every so often, probably not nearly as often as I should be. Their inaugural issue is set to come out early December and one of their regular series of articles is going to be their Innovator Series where, as the name would heavily suggest, they profile innovators in the craft beer industry. What better way to start off the Innovator Series than with the man who basically started it all: Fritz Maytag.

That’s where I come in.

I interviewed Fritz a couple of weeks ago and spent the time after the interview until just a few days ago writing up my article. It’s going to be one of the main pieces in the magazine. Altogether my piece should be about 5 pages or whatever approximately 2,400 words can fit into (truthfully I went a few hundred words over 2,400 but they were okay with it).

Writing for a personal blog and writing for someone else are completely different experiences. On this blog, I am able to free write. Sometimes I make sense, sometimes not, there’s no editor and no deadlines. How I write here is basically how I am when you meet me, except a little less handsome because this is just text. Writing for the magazine was a completely different experience altogether. My first draft was heavily edited and my editor basically told me to start over. Once I got the hang of it, it was just honing my prose down finer and finer until it was deemed complete. I had to change the tone of my writing entirely, hell, I had to change everything entirely.

I can only imagine how professional writers must do this day in and day out. I’d work on my article a few hours a night before bed and I would sleep like a baby each and every single time. Chalk it up to mental exhaustion.

Truth be told, Beer Connoisseur probably tapped me to write this article simply because I lived here in the San Francisco bay area. I am not naive enough to believe that my writing is good enough to warrant a major article right off the bat. It was a marriage of convenience.

Still, it feels pretty kick ass to say I’ve written a major article.

I’ve heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder. I’ve missed my time away from blogging. After all, this is blog is the beginning, it is the reason I even had this opportunity in the first place. Now I can refocus on the blog and bring you all the content I’ve been stockpiling over the past weeks, months really.

If you want to help a blogger out, namely me, subscribe to Beer Connoisseur magazine using my promo code of FBC-0110. I get a little cut (emphasis on little) every time someone subscribes to the magazine with my promo code. My editors would greatly appreciate it and I would greatly appreciate it. The longer the magazine sticks around, the more chances I have to write more articles.

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, I thank you. I thank you for your patience and for your time. There’s a lot of talented people out there writing and blogging and I appreciate everyone who comes to my site.

P.S. - Since I’ve pimped out Beer Conniosseur magazine, I might as well pimp out Google and Amazon. If you click on any of the Google ads on my site, I get a couple of cents. Feel free to click on an ad or two every time you visit, especially if it’s something you’re legitimately interested in. Amazon is a little different. I don’t get any money from the Amazon banners unless you actually convert and purchase something. The holidays are coming up and if you’re going to be doing any of your shopping via Amazon, I’d appreciate it if you click on one of my banner ads to get to Amazon.

I feel so dirty after whoring myself out like that.

Pete Slosberg, founder of Pete’s Wicked Ale, will be hosting the launch party for Reunion ‘09: A Beer for Hope at Firehouse Grill and Brewery on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 from 6pm to 9pm. For $10, receive a commemorative pint glass and beer. Additional beers will be $3. 50% of the proceeds from the sale of this beer will go towards the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research.

Reunion ‘09

This year’s release will be a Double Wheat Ale available in draught only. Bison Brewing in Northern California returns for a third year as a production and fundraising partner.  Joining Bison this year as production partners are Elysian Brewing in Washington, Pizza Port in Southern California, and Terrapin Brewing in Georgia.  Taco Mac restaurants throughout Georgia will feature Reunion starting July 24, 2009. Please check our Reunion Links section for updates on events and pub listings.

The Cause

Worldwide over 1,000 people per day are diagnosed with this cancer of the plasma. IMBCR is one of the world’s leading independent researchers. Their work not only affects myeloma patients, it also produces benefits in areas such as lymphoma and breast cancer.

We loved bringing Reunion beer in bottles to the market and hope to do that again starting in 2010. For now, the best way to support Virginia’s vision of bringing hope to others is for you donate the $5 or more you may have spent on pints or bottles of Reunion directly to IMBCR. Please visit the donation links on this page to help us make a difference.

Donate to the cause directly.

Launch Party

Who: Pete Slosberg, Firehouse Bar and Grill, Bison Brewing
What: Reunion ‘09 Launch Party
Where: Firehouse Brewery & Grill, 111 S. Murphy Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94086 map
When: Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 6pm to 9pm
Why: 50% of proceeds to benefit Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research
Cost: $10 gets you a pint glass and beer. $3 pints of Reunion ‘09 afterwards.

I hope to see some of you there to support a good cause.

This week is Mario’s turn to host Hopinions. The topic of the moment is the new guidelines the FTC recently published that is forcing bloggers to disclose whenever they receive something from a manufacturer. As it pertains to Mario and myself, that would mean we’d have to disclose whether or not the beers we are reviewing have been sent to us from a brewery or if we picked them up out of our own pockets.

There’s a lot of gray area to talk about, first and foremost if the FTC even has authority to do so. But I won’t spoil the piece for everyone so head over to Mario’s and read up!

Hopinions: Will Work for Beer

This Sunday at the San Jose Gordon Biersch brew pub is the Organicfest Tapping Party. This special tapping party will be right on the heels of the 2009 National Organic Brewing Challenge (NOBC) homebrew competition that will be held earlier in the day at Gordon Biersch. San Jose Gordon Biersch brewmaster Dan Satterthwaite is part owner of 7 Bridges Cooperative Organic homebrew shop in Santa Cruz, California. 7 Bridges is the sponsor of NOBC and I think it’s great of Dan to let them hold the competition and afterpart at Gordon Biersch.

Here are the details:

Join us on Sunday, October 18th, from 6pm to 8pm, for an Organicfest Tapping Party to celebrate the winners of the 2009 National Organic Brewing Challenge!

The annual competition takes the craft of homebrewing to a whole new level, as participants are challenged to create a unique, flavorful brew with completely organic ingredients. The top winners of the 2009 Challenge will be announced during the tapping party!

Admission to the tapping party is just $15 and includes…

• Complimentary Gordon Biersch Organic Blonde Bock and Weizenbock*
• Complimentary Gordon Biersch signature appetizers*
• Live funk/soul music by “Timeless”
• For an additional $5, also receive a commemorative pint glass

33 East San Fernando St.
San Jose, CA  95113
408-294-6785

I had initially planned on judging the competition but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen. I think I’ll just stop by for the after party instead. Maybe I’ll be seeing some of you there.

Reno, NV (September 2009)—As Reno gears up to host the first ever international canned beer competition, appropriately named CANFEST, the competition is unfolding into an event complete with enticing festivities for attendees, more than 25 breweries from all around the globe, and great ticket/room packages.

The competition will take place in the Grand Sierra Theater October 23, from 6:30 p.m. -10:30 p.m. Tickets are now available through the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino’s website for $35 per person. Special room rates for attendees are available at $35 per night. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Nature Conservancy and The Great Basin Bird Observatory.  Please visit the Grand Sierra’s website at www.grandsierraresort.com or call 1-800-648-3568 to book rooms and tickets using the promotion code CANFEST.

Among the festivities lined up for CANFEST, Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association, will be speaking on the history of American beer, craft beer, and the trend of canned beer. Ginger Johnson, founder of WomenEnjoyingBeer.com, will give a presentation on the reasons patrons enjoy canned beer, why women love beer, and the relationship between beer and the arts. A question and answer forum of canned brewery owners and brewers specifically intended to answer the public’s questions regarding beer and canned beer is another great addition to the competition.

A display of mobiles built by local artists entirely from recycled beer cans, a promotion that directly benefits Sierra Arts, a local non-profit that helps establish and spread arts programs in the Truckee Meadows.

Each brewery has been asked which cheese, chocolates and ice creams pair best with their individual beers. Many stations will feature exclusive pairings with these foods for the public to sample.

The following breweries have confirmed their attendance:

USA

• 21st Amendment - CA
• Anderson Valley Brewing Company - CA
• Big Sky Brewing Company - MT
• Bohemian Brewery - UT
• Buckbean Brewing Company - NV
• Caldera Brewing - OR
• Capital Brewery - WI
• Coors - CO
• Four Peaks Brewing - AZ
• High Noon Saloon & Brewery - KS
• Mammoth Brewing Company - CA
• Maui Brewing - HI
• New Belgium Brewing Company - CO
• Northwoods Brewing - WI
• Oskar Blues Brewery - CO
• Prescott Brewing - AZ
• Rochester Mills Brewing Company - MI
• Sleeping Lady Brewing Company - AK
• Steamworks Brewing Company - CO
• Surly Brewing Company - MN
• Ukiah Brewing Company - CA
• Uncommon Brewers - CA

MEXICO

• Tecate

BELGIUM

• Brouwerij Bavik

ENGLAND

• Greene King

IRELAND

• Guinness

JAPAN

• Sapporo

CANADA

• Archibald Microbrasserie

For more information, please contact Constance Aguilar from Abbi Public Relations at constance@abbipr.com or by calling 775.323.2977. Visit www.buckbeanbrewsnews.blogspot.com for regular updates and new information regarding CANFEST.

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ABOUT BUCKBEAN BREWING COMPANY:

Buckbean Brewing Company recently expanded into the Las Vegas and Northern California markets. The craft beer company produces its two signature beers, Original Orange Blossom Ale and Black Noddy Lager, in 16-ounce, environmentally-friendly cans, giving beer fans the opportunity to take their favorite brew with them hiking, biking, golfing and boating without the worry of glass breaking. www.buckbeanbeer.com

About Grand Sierra Resort and Casino:
Grand Sierra Resort and Casino (GSR) is in the heart of Reno/Tahoe - America’s Adventure Place. GSR is northern Nevada’s most complete resort destination with nearly 2,000 guest rooms and suites. The property offers a wide variety of accommodations for the everyday business traveler to the complete family vacation with amenities that include 200,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, branded retail shopping, headliner entertainment, a cinema, a 50-lane championship bowling center, outdoor thrill rides, aqua golf driving range, the largest casino north of Las Vegas with 24 hours of heart-pounding action plus so much more. GSR is a proud member of Summit Hotels and Resorts, a prestigious brand of Preferred Hotel Group. For more information, please visit www.grandsierraresort.com or to make reservations call 1.800.648.5080.

Way back in the 15th century, a crazy Italian had the idea that if he sailed far enough west, he would eventually end up east. The crazy Italian, of course, was Christopher Columbus and the whole reason he wanted to go west was to get to the spice routes of the east. This was especially ballsy since people at the time thought the world was still flat.

For this month’s Session, I’m taking a page out of Columbus’ book, but instead of traveling west to head east, I am traveling east to head… east? The two beers I am reviewing for this month’s session are from the “Land of the Rising Sun”, better known as Japan. It would be easier for me, living here in California, to just head west to reach Japan. But Girl Likes Beer specifically wanted us to head east to find our beers. So east is where I headed and the far east is where I ended up.

In her own words, here are the details of this month’s topic:

So to sum up I would like you to pick your favorite beer made east form your hometown but east enough that it is already in a different country. It can be from the closest country or from the furthest. Explain why do you like this beer. What is the coolest stereotype associated with the country the beer comes from (of course according to you)? And one more thing. If you do a video or picture of the beer (not obligatory of course) try to include the flag of the country.

So set your compass to east and enjoy that Eastern Beer.

Hitachino Nest Espesso Stout, Kiuchi Brewery, 7.5% ABV

Very dark brown in color, clear as a dark brown beer can get, with cola highlights and a thin, brown head. The coffee aroma has a very phenolic character reminiscent of unripe (green) hot pepper with deep roast, almost burnt malt undertones and slight dark chocolate character. Kinda reminds me of Folgers instant coffee. The beer tastes much better than the aroma to me. There’s a rich, dark chocolate flavor, black coffee notes, deep roasted malt flavor with a slight, green pepper undertone. The hop bitterness is medium-low/medium and is enough for balance. The beer is medium bodied with a medium level of carbonation.

Not my favorite beer. Coffee based beers tend to be hit or miss with me and this is more on the miss side of the spectrum. I know it’s an attribute of coffee but the unripe, hot pepper note is not my favorite characteristic. I like my coffee black, and this Espresso Stout is reminiscent of black coffee, but bad, black coffee.

Eikoku-Koshu 2002, Yo-Ho Brewing Company, 8.5% ABV

This beer is a reddish-brown in color, clear with almost no head. The beer has a rich, savory, roasty malt aroma with a slightly sweet, molasses-like character. There is a slight, cherry-like oxidative quality. The flavor is reminiscent of the aroma: rich and savory malt sweetness, slight cherry-like flavors, with a medium-high, lasting hop bitterness that doesn’t taste nearly as bitter as it is because it’s in balance. Eikoku-Koshu is a full bodied beer, low carbonated with a hint of alcohol warming and character.

For a 5 year old beer, this is pretty tasty. The flavor profile is that of a classic, English barleywine with just enough oxidative character to show its age. I actually enjoy when barleywine developes cherry-like oxidative qualities and would appreciate if this bottle was aged a few more years. I am kicking myself in the ass for not purchasing additional bottles of this.