Day 33 & 34 (8/26/2011 - 8/27/2011): Jackie O's Brewpub bottle release

Holy hangover, Batman! Yesterday my wife and I went to Athens, Ohio to visit Jackie O's Brewpub for a special bottle release. I'm not going to get detailed about it, because I'm saving that for an upcoming CincyVoices post, but suffice it to say that it was a blast. Thanks to a lot of generous folks at the release, not only did I get to try some great offerings from Jackie O's, but some of the most rare, amazing beers I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. Some of those included:

Jackie O's Brandy Barrel Superfly: The house amber fortified with extra hops and malts and then aged in brandy barrels. Didn't like this one a ton. The brandy was a bit too dominating and it was a bit sweet. (This was one of the bottles released this morning.)

Jackie O's Oil of Aphrodite: A very delicious imperial stout brewed with black walnuts. Only got a hint of the walnuts, but it was delicious regardless, especially when it warmed up. A little bit thin, supposedly because the old recipe was changed to make it less syrupy.

The Funky Buddha Lounge No Crust: This was easily one of the most amazing smelling beers I've ever experienced. It is a brown ale that is supposed to be like a peanut butter an jelly sandwich. I have no idea how they did it, but they nailed smell and, to a lesser degree, the taste of it. Definitely an experience, for sure.

Stone 2008 Imperial Russian Stout aged in bourbon barrels: This was from a growler since it has never been bottled before. It's on pretty much all top 100 beer lists and definitely deserves to be. Regular Stone IRS is probably one of my favorite beers to begin with and the barrel aging takes it to the next level. A substantial flavor without being overwhelming, the bourbon is integrated perfectly.

Russian River Perdition: A super, duper rare Bière de Garde. I have no idea why people pine for it other than the rarity, though. It's solid, but a little boring. Not close to the same level of some of the stuff I tasted last night.

Great Divide Belgian Style Yeti: Wasn't too memorable, but I had to drink it down quick to try something else that was opened. Would like to revisit.

Kern River Citra DIPA: This was one of the standouts of the night. An awesomely balanced DIPA that is still super hoppy, with a ton of pungency from the citra hops. This one was from a growler.

Half Acre Galactic Double Daisy Cutter: Sampled with the Kern River DIPA mentioned above. Didn't stack up to it in pretty much any way whatsoever, but I have a bottle of it that I would like to revisit. This was from a growler.

Bootlegger's Brewery Kuckle Sandwich DIPA: Not too memorable, but remember that it was better than the Galactic Double Daisy Cutter, but not quite as good as the Kern River.

Sun King Brewery Johan the Barleywine: This was one of my modest contributions to the epic tasting. It was a solid barleywine, but the smell was better than the taste. I could have used a little more of the caramel and breadiness of the smell to be in the flavor.

Sun King Brewery Timmie: Another beer that I brought. This was a pretty darn tasty imperial stout. It was pretty sweet, which is how I like my stouts so it definitely was appreciated. It wasn't at the level of some of these other beers opened, but it was cool to try a delicious brew that was never canned and sold publicly.

Trinity Brewing Company Old Growth: Literally the sourest beer I have ever tasted. It was so sour (not tart, but sour) that I didn't really enjoy it at all. The taster was definitely enough for me. Nothing but funky, overwhelming sour vinegar. Pretty nasty.

After this, it gets a bit hazy. It was late, I was inebriated thoroughly, and my record keeping on Untappd fell apart. I believe what is left was Territorial Reserve Oak Aged Imperial Stout, Westvleteren 12, Westvleteren 8, and Westvleteren Blonde. This morning I tried a couple of sips during the bottle release, but I was not feeling any more beer drinking.

I can not believe the generosity and kindness of everyone there who brought some amazing beers that I never had the chance to try before and probably never will again. The fact that someone sought me out to open Westvleteren 12 & 8 (two of the best beers in the world) just because I had never tried them before and he knew I wanted to is an amazing example of great beer advocacy. I probably overdid it a bit last night, but I wouldn't take it back at all. I can always get more sleep tonight, but I'd never got to have the fun I did if I didn't attend.

Keep an eye out for a more detailed post on the event itself on CincyVoices!

Day 27 (8/20/2011): Bloatarian Brewing League Beer and Sweat

On Saturday night, I volunteered at the annual Beer & Sweat homebrew competition put on by the Bloatarian Brewing League. This competition consisted of almost 300 keg submissions from brewers all throughout the Midwest. It was hosted at the Drawbridge Inn and Conference Center in Northern Kentucky.

I did the easy job of selling t-shirts from 3PM-5PM, in exchange receiving entry to taste the beers, a tasting glass, and they even fed me! I made out like a bandit, right?

When I started the shift, judging was still going on, so the hall was still pretty quiet. You can see the huge number of kegs in the tasting hall below. I couldn't wait to go explore once it was 5:00.

Right about when my shift ended, food was put out for the judges, stewards, and volunteers and things got a bit more busy as BBL members started to show up.

They even had a band to keep all of us merry drinkers entertained. During this time, I was perusing (and drinking) the offerings. Of course, in my truly negligent fashion, I took no pictures of any of them and almost no notes.

I do know that one beer stole my heart. I kept returning to it and bringing folks with me. It was a remarkably well-crafted unblended lambic brewed by Chris Meta of the Three Rivers Alliance of Serious Homebrewers (T.R.A.S.H). Crisp and sour as you could ever want, this was by far my favorite beer of the night. It nailed everything from the funky and tart nose to the mouth-puckering finish. As a fledgling homebrewer, I have no idea what is necessary for making a lambic or wild at home, but he nailed this.

As the clock ticked towards the announcements of the style and overall awards, it got a little packed in there, but never too hot or uncomfortable.

Awards awaiting their rightful recipients

 Raffle board awaiting its winners (Including me!)

Between my buzzed chatting and just plain being buzzed, I didn't catch most of the awards, but two things stand out to me. The first is that Keith Cost won a number of awards, including runner up best of show, with his obnoxiously-named, yet delicious beers. The second, was that Chris Meta's lambic won best of show! In my opinion, it definitely deserved it. Chris: if you ever happen to read this, I'll gladly take any of that off your hands!

Overall, what a tremendous event. Kudos to those at the Bloatarian Brewing League who put this thing together, to those who entered beer which they painstakingly crafted into the competition, and to the volunteers (especially those who were busting their butts at the end of the night). It's hard to beat a night of good beer, but good beer and good company takes the cake every single time. It's was a pleasure to see and meet old  and new acquaintances, respectively. I even won a couple of pint glasses and some brewery swag in the raffle! See you next year!

More info on the Bloatarian Brewing League and Beer & Sweat!

Day 7 (7/31/2011): Hyde Park Craft Beer Symposia

Yesterday my wife and I headed over to Teller's in Hyde Park to attend the 2011 Hyde Park Craft Beer Symposia (ignore the fact the the graphic above says 2010). This will be a small teaser of a larger review that will be featured over at CincyVoices with Chris Nascimento, a fellow Cincinnati-area craft beer lover (who happens to know infinitely more about beer than myself). Hopefully this will tide you over for the time being.

I'm going to focus on my two favorite beers I was able to try there. I was impressed with many, but none like these two.

The first of these, from Goose Island, is Madame Rose, a sour/wild ale. From the source:

"Madame Rose is a crimson colored Belgian style brown ale fermented with wild yeast and aged on cherries in wine barrels. Layers of malty complexity, sour cherry, spice and wood notes make Madame Rose an ideal beer to suggest to Bordeaux enthusiasts and beer drinkers fond of Belgian Kriek and Flanders Brown Ales."

This was a wonderful beer. The tartness from the wild yeast fermentation and the cherries was substantial, but not over the top. It's a refreshing beer for the current hot, hot heat. It has a funky, tart smell, with a little bit of the cherries shining through. They are a lot more evident in the taste, luckily.

The other beer that really impressed me was Kaiser Curmudgeon from Founders Brewing Company. This special release is their regular Curmudgeon old ale, aged in bourbon barrels that were used to age maple syrup in.

There is a ton of sweetness and bourbon-y notes in the nose, with vanilla and butterscotch. At just over 10% ABV, the booze isn't particularly hidden well, but it's not overly harsh. I actually didn't care for this a ton at first but it improves markedly as it warms up. It is certainly a sipping beer, though. Between the high ABV, the moderate booziness, and complex flavor, you won't (or shouldn't) be chugging this.

These were definitely my favorite of the night, but with 32 offerings from 16 breweries, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Keep your eyes peeled for a more comprehensive review of the beers and the event itself hopefully later this week!

Madame Rose:
Beer Advocate
Ratebeer

Kaiser Curmudgeon:
Beer Advocate
Ratebeer

(Note: I had a tough times matching the pictures I took with my tasting notes this morning. I believe I have the two correct above, though. Also, they were taken with my cell phone camera, so excuse the crappy quality.)