October and November have been especially good for beer! For one, Jester King opened up big time with their beers Commercial Suicide (A whiskey barrel-aged dark mild at 3%ABV) and Wytchmaker Rye IPA (7% ABV). I got to taste both during Austin Beer Week at the Draughouse.
Though the Wytchmaker was a spectacular Rye IPA, it was the Commercial Suicide that really won me over. These guys are going to be doing great things for the Texas beer scene. Putting a mild beer in a whiskey barrel for aging is nearly unheard of, but it tasted excellent. From what I have heard, these guys are going to be doing all sorts of experimental brews with barrel aging and wild yeasts. I've even heard people at the pub saying they are going to be the next Russian River. We can only hope so. If any of Austin's up-and-coming breweries can put us on the proverbial 'beer map', (exclude Live Oak Hefe) then these are the guys to do it. I'll be keeping an eye on Jester King in the upcoming months and hopefully include them in an upcoming Texas Beers segment.
Besides the excitment of Jester King and La Muerta day, the October beer tasting was a success. Some of the highlights of this past month include a growler of Freetail Rye Wit, New Glarus Rasberry Tart, Darkside Fermentation Mark of the Yeast (Funky), Steel Reserve, 07 Storm King Stout, 09 Sam Adams Imperial Stout, Voodoo Brewing Black Magick Stout, North Coast's Brother Thelonious Belgian Abbey Ale, Sierra Nevada Black Barleywine, Real Ale Octoberfest, New Belgium Mothership Wit, a mini-vertical of 09/10 Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, and my personal favorite: this year's Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale!
To start with the beer at the tastings, the Black Barleywine and Black Magick Stout were big hits. I'm glad I waited for a tasting to crack the Black Magick. The stuff poured like sludge and tasted like the blackest, roastiest, malt-bomb of a 15%ABV monster that it is. No way could I have finished that bottle in a sitting.There is no telling how old the bottle was, but considering the previous owner, I would have to put at between 3-6 years old. Highly recommended.Putting the New Belgium Mothership Wit against Freetail Rye Wit in a side-by-side had some surprising results. Though I would prefer the Freetail Wit by a long shot, (freshness and the use of rye take it home for me) the Mothership held her own. Mothership was much sweeter and spicy, while the Rye Wit was dry and much of the flavor was attributed to the rye characteristics.
The 07 Storm King aged incredibly well, and at about 4 years, this is nearly perfect. There is not a hint of alcohol presence and it is very robust and smooth. The 09 Sam Adams Imperial Stout aged well also. Though I would have liked to let that one sit for a few more years. The 09/10 Palo Santo vertical was very surprising. It was like they were two different beers even after only a year. The 10 was boozy and harsh to the extreme, while the 09 was very gentle and smooth. Even the mouthfeel was much different. The woodiness seemed to come out more (probably because it's not fighting with the alcohol for attention). I think everybody there agreed that it's much better after a year.
The Steel Reserve 211 was especially nice. For this bad boy, we brought out a wine glass for sampling. Swill that it is, it really wasn't as horrible as I remember it to be. For the next month's tasting, I'll be picking up a Four LOKO, and if you don't know what that is, it's a malt-liquor with caffiene added. Clocking in at 11%ABV, it also contains as much caffiene as four cups of coffee. It's being banned by the FDA currently, so now's a good a time to try this fruit-flavored wretch of a beer.
I got the chance to share some beer and dinner with a couple of friends, Andrew and John, who were generous enough to show up with New Glarus Rasberry Tart, North Coast Brother Thelonious, and Darkside Fermentation Mark of the Yeast. Lucky for us all, John was able to snag a 'funky' bottle, whatever that meant. As it turns out, 'funky' meant delicous! The beer was sour and dark with lots of sweet licorice and dark fruits. One of the few Belgian style beers that I really like. Thelonious was great as well. Surprisingly my girlfriend (who hates beer) liked the Bro. Thelonious and loved the Rasberry Tart. She has since taken an interest in Lindeman's Framboise and similar beers. I think I may have a reason to buy more sour/wild ales.
And my very favorite for last: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale! My favorite time of the year is when I can go and buy as much of this stuff as I want. It's the perfect beer in my humble opinion. It's full of in-your-face citrus and pine needle hop flavor backed by a solid caramel background. There is an everlasting debate about whether or not to age Celebration. I've decided to test out whether there is any benefit to aging this beer. For the Nov 27 tasting, I'll be cracking an 09/10 mini-vertical. I'm sure the fresh version will be much better, but I thought this beer was excellent at 6 months also. I'll post the results soon.
And that concludes a couple months in beer-time. Hopefully December will find me coherent enough to blog about it, and if not, then that's okay too!
