Great Divide Barrel Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

Great Divide's Yeti Imperial Stout is great enough on its own, but barrel aged...man.  The 12.5% ABV delight pours a dark black with a tan head and smells of roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, oak, tobacco, and a hint of vanilla.  Flavors of chocolate, toffee, oak, booze, and some dark fruit notes abound in a medium sticky mouthfeel that gets better and better as the beer warms.  It had been awhile since i last enjoyed a Yeti, but i'm back on that wagon now.

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Deschutes Black Butte XXX

I'm going to be writing about my Christmas beers for weeks.  It's a shame they're all gone, when i really could have used one last night after the refs stole the NFC championship and a trip to the Superbowl from my Saints.  But, moving on.  Deschutes consistently knocks it out of the park, which is probably why they've been around for 30 years.  To celebrate that milestone, the brewery released their Black Butte XXX 30th Birthday Reserve, a barrel aged imperial porter that weighs in at 13.6% ABV.  The beer pours a dark brownish black with a tan head and smells of malt, oak, chocolate, and some hints of dark fruit.  The flavor is a boozy mix of chocolate, oak, malt, and again those hints of dark fruit, all in a heavy mouthfeel that hangs on the tongue for a while afterward.  And you can really feel that 13.6% ABV.  An outstanding anniversary brew from an outstanding brewery.

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Fremont B-Bomb Bourbon Abominable Winter Ale

My habit of amassing bottles of beer to consume at the end of the year over the holidays yields all kinds of goodies that i'm then spending weeks to catch up on and write about.  Over Christmas of 2017, an amazing friend of mine was visiting from Washington state and delivered a veritable smorgasbord of fantastic brews from the Pacific Northwest.  One of those was the B-Bomb Bourbon Abominable Winter Ale from Fremont Brewing.  Keeping it stowed away in a cupboard for a year was a challenge, as i desperately wanted to try the thing, but i'm glad i did, as it was the perfect brew to spend Christmas Eve with after the kids had gone to bed and we'd finished wrapping and putting out the presents.  This wonderful 14% ABV brew pours a dark brownish black with a light tan head and smells of oak, bourbon, spices, vanilla, coffee, and maybe even a little bit of tobacco.  The flavor is a warming mix of caramel, vanilla, roasted malt, oak, spice, and booze.  I should drink one of these every Christmas.

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Hole Lang Syne

Here we are, a week into the new year, and while i didn't really do much on New Year's Eve (stayed in with my wife and kids, a fire, some football, and some kind of serial killer hunting game after the kids went to bed), i did have a fantastic beverage in hand as the proverbial ball dropped.  Hole Lang Syne, a Belgian strong ale brewed with raspberries and blackberries from the good folks at Rabbit Hole Brewing near Fort Worth, was the perfect libation to ring in the new year.  The 10% ABV brew poured a lovely amber with a white and quickly dissipating head.  Aromas of fruit (raspberry and blackberry of course), sugar, and some mild spices were prevalent, while the flavor was sweet, but not too sweet, fruity, but not too fruity, and with just the right amount of subtle tart and alcohol notes.  May our 2019 be as great as this beer was.

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