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.

Martin House Campfire Whiskey Barrel-Aged Imperial S'mores Stout

Martin House Brewing has a reputation for getting a little crazy and out of hand with their beer ideas every now and then, but when they hit it, they hit it out of the park.  And the 2021 edition of Campfire, their whiskey barrel-aged imperial s'mores stout does just that.  The 11.6% ABV brew pours black with a light brown/dark tan head and smells of chocolate, vanilla, and a little bit of booze.  The Flavor is a nice, thick, and sweet mix of said chocolate and vanilla, along with marshmallow, some graham cracker and roasted maltiness, and a nice bite of whiskey to tie it all together.  Enjoy this one outside on a moonlit night.

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Põhjala Öö XO (Cellar Series)

I opened up a bottle of the good stuff over the Halloween weekend as one is wont to do.  Enter the Öö XO (Cellar Series) by Põhjala, a Cognac barrel aged Baltic porter brewed in Estonia.  The 11.5% ABV brew pours a dark black with a brown head and smells of chocolate, dark fruit, cherry, Cognac, and some hints of spice.  The flavor follows the nose, with some added notes of honey, liquorice, coffee, and molasses, everything jiving quite well together under the ever-present notes of Cognac.  A very tasty beverage to wile away the nighttime hours to.

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Saint Arnold Old Fashioned

A thing i've discovered about myself over the last year is that if a brewery makes a beer that's modeled after the Old Fashioned cocktail, i'm probably going to drink the hell out of it.  Back at Christmas time, it was the Old Fashioned Holiday from Bell's, and now it's Saint Arnold's Old Fashioned, a rye whiskey barrel aged barleywine with orange peel.  The 12.9% brew pours a nice amber hue with a white, quickly dissipating head and smells like an Old Fashioned, notes of molasses, dark fruit, oak, and whiskey.  The flavor is also very much like the cocktail, those same notes of molasses and dark fruit mingling nicely with the oak from the whiskey barrels, along with some other hints of toffee and spice.  Here's hoping this kicks off a new trend in craft beer.

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Tornado Shark Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Strong Ale

I'll admit it.  Sometimes a goofy name or some cool label art are enough to get me to try a beer.  And sometimes it pays off.  The Tornado Shark Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Strong Ale from Lone Pint was brewed in conjunction with the brewery's 7th anniversary, and it's a tasty celebration.  Pouring an amber-ish brown, the 8.3% brew smells of apple, cinnamon, and a little bit of booze.  The flavor is a nice mix of said apples and cinnamon, along with more notes of dark fruits, booze, and oak.  It makes for an excellent dinnertime beer.

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Independence Barrel-Aged Convict Hill Stout

I'm still working my way through writing about all the fantastic beers i drank over Christmas.  These posts will probably take me well into February, because i had a lot of great stuff.  One of those excellent brews was the Barrel-Aged Convict Hill Stout from Independence Brewing.  The 9% oatmeal stout pours a dark, oily black with a tan head and smells of chocolate, malt, vanilla, oak, and whiskey.  The flavor is a smooth and almost creamy mix of the same with some very subtle notes of licorice in for the ride.  Convict Hill has always been a pretty good stout, but the barrel-age variety is on a whole different level.

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Rumpy Rum Barrel Aged Pumpkin Ale

Let's get one more pumpkin ale in as the season comes to a close.  Rahr & Sons make it even livelier by making it extra boozy.  Finishing off a strange but still fun Halloween comes Rumpy, a rum barrel aged pumpkin ale.  The 9% ABV brew pours a goldish brown with a quickly dissipating white head and smells of rum, pumpkins, and spices.  The flavor is similar to the aroma, plenty of rum and pumpkin spice to go around, with some additional hints of brown sugar.  A wonderful Autumn brew.

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Bombon De La Muerte

Got positively decadent over the weekend with my beer selections, probably most notably with the Bombon De La Muerte from Odd Side Ales, a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with chocolate and dead sea salt.  Oh my.  The 14% ABV brew pours black with a brownish tan head and smells of chocolate and booze.  The flavor is a malty mix chocolate, bourbon, oak, with some additional notes of vanilla and molasses.  It paired great with ghost stories and horror movies, and i want more of it.

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Friends & Allies Batkeeper Imperial Stout

I'm at the beach, and the Batkeeper, a barrel-aged imperial stout from Austin's Friends & Allies Brewing, is most certainly not a beach beer.  Maybe a beach by night beer.  But not a beach beer.  That being said, it's a wonderful and strong concoction to wind a day down to.  The 9.5% ABV brew pours brownish black with an off white head and smells of caramel, chocolate, molasses, oak, and booze.  The flavor is a roasty mix of molasses, malt, dark fruits, and hints of chocolate with lingering notes of whiskey and oak.  Real nerve soothing stuff and definitely for the end of the day.

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Lazarus Jacob's Ladder

I dig a complex beer, and Jacob's Ladder, a Tepache style wild ale from Lazarus Brewing, is certainly a complex beer.  The beer is brewed with pineapple, peppercorn, ginger, and more, fermented with two different strains of Brettanomyces, and aged in tequila barrels.  Pouring a clear gold, the 8.5% beer smells of pineapple, spices, oak, and funk.  The flavor is similar to the aroma and pleasantly tart with a dry finish.  Gonna need more of this one.

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(512) Young Funkenstein

Every year, i slowly stockpile a collection of beers to age from 1 to 12 months, opening and enjoying it all around Christmas time.  This stockpiling almost always includes a dinner beer or two as well, and i think i may have found my dinner beverage of choice for this year's Christmas dinner (if we make it that far), the 2020 edition of Young Funkenstein from (512) Brewing.  The 7% ABV beer is a copper ale aged in cabernet barrels for 2 years with wild yeast and dried Ranier cherries.  It pours a coppery, red-tinted brown and smells of cherries and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is an enjoyably sour mix of cherry and oak with a dry and slightly funky finish.  I look forward to having a few more of these.

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Whitestone Rated R

There's a lot going on right now.  A lot.  I found myself fighting an oncoming panic attack every other day.  At least i'm drinking more.  Anyhoo, Cedar Park's Whitestone Brewing recently released an insane blended brew called Rated R (the R stands for Ridiculous).  The beer is concocted from 6 different barrel aged brews, as follows:

1. Melted Snowman (winter warmer) aged in Treaty Oak rum barrel for 5 months.
2. Slappin' Da Base Russian Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrel for 12 months.
3. Lovely Day IPA aged in Treaty Oak rum barrel for 27 months.
4. 1431 Amber Ale aged in Madeira wine barrel for 27 months.
5. Boondoggle Brown Ale aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel for 29 months.
6. A different batch of Boondoggle Brown Ale aged in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrel for 29 months.

The 10% beer pours brownish black with an off white head and smells of rum, oak, and vanilla.  The flavor is a complex and boozy mix of rum, bourbon, and oak along with notes of dark fruit, malt, and maybe a hundred other things.  The dark ale is probably not for everyone, but i found it to be delicious and unique.

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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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Hedgehog Ericius Russian Imperial Stout

Hedgehog Brewing, one of the new kids in town, and just a couple of miles from my house, have like so many other craft breweries and small businesses around the country been doing their very best to stay afloat during these tumultuous and uncertain times.  And man i hope they make it.  On Friday i enjoyed a bottle of their Ericius Russian Imperial Stout, a 13.5% ABV brew aged in bourbon barrels with some added molasses.  And holy cow was it good.  The beer pours black with a brownish tan head and smells of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, oak, and booze.  The flavor is similar to the aroma, a sweet mix of chocolate, malt, and dark fruit with a generous side of booze and oak on the back end.  This one can pack a wallop too, and serves as a fine companion for B-movie viewing on a Friday night.

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Community Barrel-Aged Mocha Legion

While it's warming up, and my weekend daytime palate usually consists of lagers and IPAs, evenings at home (all of them these days) call for something a little more robust.  And i can think of nothing better to sip while watching Joe Bob Briggs on a Friday night or a 10-part Michael Jordan documentary on a Sunday than Community Beer Co's Barrel-Aged Mocha Legion, a tasty 12% ABV Russian Imperial Stout that totally rounds out my weekends.  The beer pours a dark black with a beige head and smells of chocolate, malt, oak, booze, and a hint of coffee.  The flavor is heavy on the chocolate and oak, but with the malt balancing it out, the booziness hitting on the back end, and subtle notes of coffee and toffee throughout.  Sip slow and enjoy.

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Lazarus Blushing Bride

I wish i could do more.  I wish i could go to every brewery in Central Texas every week and buy beer to go.  I wish i could help keep the lights on indefinitely.  I'll do what i can, but we've already lost at least one brewer to the virus (RIP NXNW).  Just try and stay afloat.  Anyway, Lazarus Brewing is doing what they can too, beginning to can some of the beers for easier access as well as setting up some collaborative brews that we will hopefully be sipping very soon.  They've also got bottles of their Blushing Bride, a delicious, 10% ABV Belgian Tripel with orange blossom honey and aged in white wine barrels.  The beer pours a nice straw color with a white head and smells of orange, fruit, and white wine.  The flavor is dominated by the white wine notes but with hints of orange and pear and a dry finish.  It's a wonderful beer, and i'll have to procure some more of it soon.

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Austin Beerworks Sakuma Sour Ale with Cherries

Still doing what i can to help out as many breweries in the greater Austin area as possible, my most recent beer-to-go purchase came from local mainstay Austin Beerworks.  The 5.99% ABV Sakuma Sour with Cherries pours a mix of red and brown and gold and smells of cherries and tartness and just a little bit of funk.  Flavors of tart cherries abound in this barrel aged brew with a lovely all around sourness that never gets to be too much.  I'm going to have to get more of these.

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Martin House Half Baked

Fort Worth's Martin House Brewing probably makes some of the best and most complex beer here in Texas, and i've got to tip my hat to them as their Half Baked Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Pumpkin Pie Ale (that's a mouthful) was an excellent dessert beverage post Thanksgiving dinner a couple weeks back.  The 12% ABV beer pours a dark black with an off white head and smells of oak, whiskey, and pumpkin spices.  The flavor is a heavy mix of said whiskey and pumpkin spices, along with some actual pumpkin notes and some hints of vanilla.  Wonderful stuff.

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Pinthouse Breakfast at Klaus

Saturday brought us Pinthouse Pizza's annual Jaguar Shark release party, this time around with a number of variants of the brewer's barrel aged imperial stout. Unfortunately, i was not lucky enough to make it out there to wait in line and cop a couple of bottles. But fortunately they still had some when i went yesterday. Hooray! Anyway, while there, the wife and i sampled Breakfast at Klaus, a Jaguar Shark variant brewed with maple syrup, cinnamon, and blueberries. The 10.5% beer pours a dark black with a tan head and smells primarily of maple syrup and oak, with some hints of blueberry, chocolate, vanilla, and booze. The flavor is a boozy mix of malts, maple, and blueberry with the cinnamon spice on the back end to keep things lively. Ain't no party like a Jaguar Shark party cause a Jaguar Shark party don't stop.

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The Bruery Vermont Sticky Maple

We're getting closer and closer to the holiday season, so it's time to start seeking out a more decadent variety of beer.  The Vermont Sticky Maple, a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout from The Bruery, is one such beer.  Pouring a dark, brownish black with a tan and bubbly head, the 11.3% beer smells of malts, oak, maple syrup, chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon.  The flavor is similar, a sweet and sticky mix of said maple syrup, chocolate, vanilla, and whole lot of oak and bourbon.  Have one before or after your big family meal.

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