As part of an awesome beer line-up this past New Years Eve, Nick opened his bottle of FiftyFifty Eclipse Elijah Craig 18 Year Imperial Stout. At 9.5% ABV just like the rest of the series, this variation has been aged in – you guessed it – Elijah Craig 18 Year old barrels. We’ve just reviewed the Four Roses variation, so lets see how this stood up in comparison.
I’m no stranger to Firestone Walker Brewing Company, based out of Paso Robles, California. I’ve sampled their 14th Anniversary, Double Jack and Velvet Merlin and now that they’re in the Philadelphia market – it’s going to be even easier to get my hands on them. Nick and I split a bottle of the 2011 Abacus, a barrel-aged American Barleywine, last night at Craft Ale House.
Situated in Portland, Oregon is small craft brewery that’s made a name for themselves across the US, Hair of the Dog. With use of organic malt during brewing and mastering the art of bottle conditioning, HotD creates some delicious beers. Their year round Adam, an Old Ale, demonstrates their craft to the brewing process and passion for their products.
Every now and then when browsing through the beer selection at your local store you stumble upon something you have never heard of, with a strange name and at a decent price. That is what happened with the Schneider Aventinus from Private Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH (that is the only time I’ll make you read that). This Weizenbock from Kelheim, Germany claims to be “Germany’s Original Wheat-Doppelbock,” this should have an interesting combination of flavors with an old world style.
Continuing on with our Unibroue quest, I’ve got their 341 mL bottle of Trois Pistoles, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. Noting that I’m typically more of a fan of paler Belgian-style beers (e.g. Tripel, Belgian Strong Pale Ale), I’m going into this not expecting too much and already have an idea of the flavor profile I’m in store for.
