Moody Tongue Bourbon Barrel Aged 12 Layer Cake Imperial Stout

The last year and a half has kept me mostly away from the places i love to go, but on occasion, i'll get masked up, grab a seat outside somewhere, and enjoy a kind of imitation of the old times.  Last week, i made it out to a local bottle shop and popped a tasty brew to close out the evening to.  From Chicago's Moody Tongue, a restaurant and brewer of provocative beverages, i downed their Bourbon Barrel Aged 12 Layer Cake Imperial Stout, probably the best decision i made that day.  The 13.9% brew pours a dark black with a minimal tan head and smells of chocolate, bourbon, and oak.  The flavor is heavy on said chocolate, bourbon, and oak, along with some notes of graham cracker and caramel, a veritable desert in a bottle.  A fantastic brew, and a new brewer, for me at least, to try and get to know better.

Visit the brewer.

Odd Side Deleterious

Every now and then i stumble upon a beer that takes me the better part of an hour or more to drink.  It's just that heavy or complex or powerful.  Odd Side Ales' Deleterious, a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout, is one of those brews.  The 14.6% ABV beer pours a dark black with a tan head and has a general roasty aroma along with some notes of raisin, tobacco, chocolate, and oak.  The flavor is a nice and warming mix of roasted malt, oak, and bourbon with some subtle notes of vanilla, chocolate, and dark fruit.  It's a wonderful drink, a slow-sipper for sure, and a great beverage to close out a weekend to.

Visit the brewer.

Full Grown Beast

Wanna get nuts?  Let's get nuts.  And let's do it by sipping on this 16.3% ABV monster of a brew from Tupps Brewery.  The Full Grown Beast is a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout brewed with coffee and chocolate and pours a dark, brownish black with a tan head.  The beer smells of said chocolate and coffee, along with some notes of dark fruit and plenty of oak and booze.  The flavor is the same and gets a little smoother as the beer warms to room temperature, though it's obvious you've got to watch out with this one.  Outstanding.

Visit the brewer.

Bell's Old Fashioned Holiday Ale

And it seems that i may have just found my favorite brew of the season, the fantastic and delicious Old Fashioned Holiday Ale from Bell's Brewery.  The 10.8% beer is a bourbon barrel aged scotch ale with added dried cherries and orange peel.  It pours dark brown with a minimal head and smells of orange, spice, and alcohol.  The brew nails the cocktail taste and feel, flavors of orange, bourbon, and bitters highlighted up front, with the cherry and orange in particular becoming more evident as the beer warms.  It's a pricey 4-pack, but so, so good.

Visit the brewer.

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.

Visit the brewer.

Innis & Gunn Vanishing Point 01 Imperial Stout

There sure is a lot of bullshit going on out there.  So as it is, so as it has always been, so as it will continue to be.  And every so often, you have to take a breather for a moment, for meditation or reflection...or maybe just to have a beer.  One of the pleasures of this world is enjoying a strong brew at the end of the day, sitting on the sofa, the kids in bed, the world turned off for just a few minutes.  Vanishing Point 01 is a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout from Scotland's Innis & Gunn Brewery, and i will say that this 11% ABV concoction was the perfect libation to close out a weekend.  Pouring dark black with a creamy tan head, aromas of roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and oak abounding, the brew was slightly sweet, a smooth and creamy mix of said flavors with some very subtle dark fruit notes and an all around pleasant booziness.  Lovely.  I guess it's back to the real world now.

Visit the brewer.

Eureka Heights Nuke The Whales Bourbon Barrel Imperial Milk Stout

I love how when i visit a city i haven't been to in a little while, in this instance it was Houston, my friends there will somehow take me to a brewery...often times a new one i had no idea existed in the first place.  That's pretty awesome.  What's also pretty awesome is Eureka Heights Brewing, the brewery and taproom my Houston friends hooked me up with last month.  All their offerings were solid, but i did bring one home with me, a bomber of Nuke The Whales Bourbon Barrel Imperial Milk Stout.  Pouring a dark black with a tan head and weighing in at 13% ABV, this is as about a winter brew as i could hope for.  A mix of malt, molasses, coffee, toffee, cream, and booze both on the nose and on the tongue.  It kept me warm over Christmas.  I must get back some day.

Visit the brewer.

New Holland Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout

Sometimes you pick something up on a whim, maybe because it's got a cool name, or because you need a new beer to write about, or because of those magical worlds: Bourbon Barrel-Aged.  Either way, when the store clerk gives you a knowing nod, like you just found the secret treasure hidden within the store, excitement builds as you make your way home with your beer.  And the Dragon's Milk Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout from Holland, Michigan's New Holland Brewing certainly did not disappoint.  Coming in at 11% ABV, the brew pours a dark black with a moderate tan head, aromas of malt, chocolate, and vanilla hitting the nose with some subtle hints of bourbon.  The flavor is mix of chocolate, caramel, vanilla, and oak notes all swirling together with a malty and delicious finish.  The bourbon notes are there, but never overpowering, and given the high alcohol content, the beer is much smoother than i had anticipated.  I will certainly need to stock up on this one, as it feels like it may be the perfect companion for Thanksgiving dinner.

Visit the brewer.

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

With so many different styles of beer out there, each with its own pros and cons, and each with its own suitable weather for optimal drinking, it can be kind of hard to choose some days, especially here in Central Texas where it's hot all the time.  That being said, i think anytime is a good time for an abbey-style quadrupel, particularly when it's been aged in bourbon barrels.  The Bourbon Barrel Quad from Boulevard Brewing is a great way to start or end an evening or afternoon, but should be treated with a little caution, as its 11.2% ABV can certainly make things hazy.  Pouring a a dark brown with white head, the beer smells of dark fruit, oak, yeast, and booze.  Notes of toffee, spices, and bourbon abound with some slight hints of cherry all in a medium bodied brew.  It's quite tasty.

Visit the brewer.

Bourbon Street Rye Pale Ale

I'm pretty much going to be favorable towards anything aged in a bourbon barrel.  And for the longest time, breweries pretty much stuck to stouts and porters when choosing to age them in old liquor barrels.  Of late, i've noticed a upsurge in a wide variety of styles being aged this way...and i'm totally for it.  Abita Brewery out of Louisiana offers up their delicious Bourbon Street Rye Pale Ale, itself aged in small batch whiskey barrels to give it that extra oomph.  Pouring light brown, the brew smells kind of earthy, a mix of bread, dark sugars, and light alcohol.  The flavor is kind of nutty sweet with hints of vanilla and bourbon and just a smidge of citrus.  I really enjoyed this 9.5% ABV beer, and found myself somewhat disappointed when i had none left to drink.

Visit the brewer.

Kentucky Peach Barrel Wheat Ale

Very often when i'm shopping for beer, either at the grocery store, or a corner store, or liquor store, or just a place that specializes in craft brews, i'll encounter a brewery rep giving out samples of their wares.  This is always a good thing, and every so often, i'll be swayed to take some home with me.  Such was the case on Saturday at Hamricks Market in Cedar Park, Texas, when i was won over by the Kentucky Peach Barrel Wheat Ale from Alltech Lexington Brewing, a delicious wheat beer brewed with peaches and then aged in bourbon barrels.  Pouring a crisp golden hue with a white and bubbly head, the beer certainly lives up to its namesake, the peach aromas being at the forefront, along with some hints of bread, spice, and bourbon.  The flavor is very similar to the smell, an earthy mix of bread, peach, oak, and bourbon...and somehow it works.  And it proved to be a lovely 8% ABV libation to wind down with on a Saturday night.

Visit the brewer.

Jaguar Shark

I was pretty bummed out this weekend when Levitation (formerly known as the Austin Psych Fest) was cancelled due to bad weather.  I missed out on a ton of great bands...too many to dwell on here, but needless to say, a cloud hung over my 3-day weekend for the duration.  All that being said, i did get some pretty bitchin consolation prizes out of the deal.  I got to hang out with an old buddy who was also here for the fest, my amazing wife scored two tickets to one of the unbelievably difficult to get into makeup shows that the festival organizers were able to put together at various venues around town, and i scored a couple of bottles of the limited and elusive Jaguar Shark, a bourbon barrel aged, imperial dry Irish stout from Pinthouse Pizza, their second(?) ever bottle release.  And it's a tasty one.  Pouring dark black with a tan head, this 10.7% ABV masterpiece smells of bourbon and oak, a heavy brew that dwells on the tongue with notes of coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and a bit of heat from said bourbon.  It's a dry and sharp wonder, and i'm totally aging one of those bottles for a year at home.

Visit the brewer.