Barrel Aged Black Metal

Way back in the long ago when i first started getting into craft beer, there were only a handful of places in the greater Austin area to get it.  There were a couple of bottle shops that were actually gas stations with impressive beer selections, a couple of pubs with the same, and a small smattering of breweries whose taprooms were makeshift affairs, picnic tables in parking lots and whatnot.  Jester King was out in the country, a farmhouse with picnic tables on ranchland instead of asphalt.  It was a meager operation back in the day, especially compared to their layout and spread now, and it's where i tried their Black Metal imperial stout for the first time some 10 or so years ago.  One of my all time favorites, even if the style is not quite in the brewer's wheelhouse anymore these days.  Recently, they teamed with Tulsa's American Solera for a barrel aged version of the brew, and i was fortunate enough to get a bottle over the holiday.  The 12% ABV brew pours black with very little head, a thin, brown fizz that dissipates almost as quickly as it appears.  Aromas of chocolate, vanilla, nuts, and alcohol are present, with the flavor following the nose, a kind of boozy mix of chocolate, hazelnut, and oak, something nice to sip on during the melee of Christmas.

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I never would have thought i'd still be writing this blog 10 years later when i started it back in the day.  It's been a lot of fun, and i hope that any of you that ever came across it were able to try some of these wonderful beers.  Signing off.

Jester King Phylactery Phactory Double Hazy IPA

It's still hot here, so we can't be drinking Fall brews all the time.  Enter the Phylactery Phactory Double Hazy IPA from the good folks at Jester King.  The 8.5% ABV brew pours a murky, hazy golden orange and smells of citrus, pineapple, and a ton of tropical fruit.  The flavor is similar, with lots of citrus and juice, lightly bitter, and maybe even just a touch sour.  It's definitely something good to drink in the sunshine.

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Good Grief Fruited Strong Ale

Great things can happen when great minds come together.  At least that's the case with Good Grief, a fruited strong ale made in collaboration with 5 different Texas breweries to benefit first responders.  Coming to us from the good folks at Roughhouse Brewing (San Marcos), Jester King (Austin), Lazarus (Austin), Oddwood Ales (Austin), and True Anomaly Brewing (Houston), the 11% ABV brew pours a dark burgundy brown and smells of molasses, dark fruit, and a hint of oak.  The flavor is a complex mix of dark and stone fruits, tart black currants, oak and booze, and some nice hints of chocolate that starts sweet and finishes dry.  Delicious, and a damn good collaboration i must say.

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Jester King Detritivore

For the Thanksgiving break, i amassed a small collection of beers to imbibe whilst cooking turkey and snacking on meats and cheeses.  One of those beers was the fantastic Detritivore, a 5.5% wild ale brewed with cherries, from the good folks at Jester King.  The beer pours a cloudy pink with a white head and smells of tart cherries and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is a kind of subtle mix of those same tart cherries and wild yeast funk, never overwhelming and with a refreshing finish, a great day drinker to pair with cooking in the kitchen.

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Jester King Entombment

Looking for a wind down the other night and i found it in Jester King's Entombment, a 10.8% ABV Farmhouse Ale brewed with caramelized Texas wildflower honey and aged in Balcones whisky barrels.  The beer pours a reddish copper color with a small and dissipating white head and smells of tart fruit, oak, and some booze.  The flavor is sweet, tart, and boozy, almost feeling like you're drinking a cocktail, like a Sazerac or something, instead of a beer.  It's a wonderful way to end a stressful day.

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Jester King Moderne Dansk

Over halfway through January, and i'm finally getting around to writing about my Christmas beers.  All year long, i pick up bottles to store and save and age for use over my holiday, and here i am.  Moderne Dansk from Jester King is a 7.1% ABV wild ale aged in aged in Danish cherry wine barrels and refermented with Danish Stvensbaer cherry juice.  I picked one of these up over Father's Day weekend and had been waiting anxiously for it ever since.  Pouring a deep reddish hue with a pink head, the beer smells of cherries (naturally) and some subtle hints of oak.  The flavor is a tart, but not too tart, mix of cherry and oak with a slight hint of alcohol, a wonderful meal accompaniment.

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Jester King Montmorency Vs. Balaton

At the start of every year, i gradually begin a procurement of different bottles of beer that eventually amasses into a veritable smorgasbord of libations that i drink away at Christmas time, only to then start collecting again.  It's become kind of a ritual.  At any rate, of the several different bottles i consumed over the holiday, one of the very best was the meal time accompanying Montmorency Vs. Balaton from Jester King.  Acquired from the brewery on Father's Day, this 6.1% ABV barrel aged sour beer, refermented with two different kinds of cherries, pours a beautiful transparent red with a quickly dissipating pinkish white head and smells of fruit and cherries with tart notes abounding.  The flavor is sweet and tart with a light and crisp mouthfeel that gives the brew some wine and champagne characteristics, the sourness only slight subsiding from start to finish.  This was a wonderful brew, perfect for a big holiday gathering or meal, and i really wish i had purchased more than one bottle.

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Figlet

Two of my favorite things in Austin are the beers from Jester King and BBQ from Franklin...and lo and behold, the two collaborated on a beer earlier this year.  The Figlet is a 6.2% ABV farmhouse ale refermented with smoked Texas figs caramelized with heat and cold smoked at Franklin Barbecue.  The beer pours a nice amber and smells slightly bready and sweet with subtle hints of smoke and fig.  Fairly light bodied, the beer is sweet, the smoke and fig flavors playing well with the brew's overall sourness, the result of the wild yeasts the brewers at Jester King are so fond of.  It's different and it's tasty and i actually bought this bottle earlier this year and forgot about it in the back of my refrigerator until Saturday.  Kids man.

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Ol' Oi Barrel-Aged Sour Brown Ale

Sometimes i feel like i'm the only one, but i love a good sour beer every now and then.  Austin's Jester King Brewery often seem to be the master purveyors of that kind of thing.  While visiting the brewery a couple of weeks ago, i tried their Ol' Oi Barrel-Aged Sour Brown Ale...and loved it.  The brew comes in at 6.3% ABV, and uses a variety of wild yeasts and souring bacteria to give it its kick.  It pours a lovely brown with a light tan head and smells of wheat and spices.  To me, you can practically smell the sour on it.  Aside from the prevailing strong sour notes of the beer, their are also hints of bread, citrus, and some subtle malts.  All in all, this is a great beer if you dig on the sour.  And i do.

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Gotlandsdricka

I've been chiming in about this beer on Facebook and Twitter for the last couple of weeks, so i figured it was time to actually do a blog on the stuff.  Gotlandsdricka translates roughly to "Drink of the Good Land," and comes to us courtesy of central Texas brewery Jester King.  Aside from having one of the most awesome and creepiest bottle labels to ever grace a craft brew, the beer is pretty damn tasty too.  A farmhouse ale, the beer is brewed with rye, juniper, smoked malt, and birchwood.  It's got a light sour flavor to it and feels like it would go great paired with variety of cheeses.  Definitely worth your time, if anything just to feel like a Viking for a little while.

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