While zooming around the Finger Lakes region of New York with my family a few weeks ago on a wine tour, we stumbled upon the best of both worlds – a winery with a brewery attached. The winery was Wagner Vineyards and the brewery is Wagner Valley Brewing. Splitting from the main group with a few others I sampled all the beers that Wagner Valley had to offer that day. One of those was the Sugar House Maple Porter, which I slipped a bottle of it into a mixed six pack planning to review.

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Three Heads Brewing Co. out of Rochester, New York has been in business for a few years now. They started out active on beer review websites and decided to open up their own brewery. They recently reached my local market and I recently grabbed a bottle of their Java Sutra Coffee Porter.

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During a recent trip to Maryland, I grabbed a bottle of Heavy Seas Bourbon Barrel Aged Siren Noire – an Imperial Stout brewed with chocolate and aged in bourbon barrels (of course). I hadn’t seen this one in the Philadelphia area yet, so the choice was easy. At 9.5% ABV, I’m expecting rich chocolatey notes with some bourbon and oak undertones.

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Oyster stouts have always been a, “Oh that’s pretty cool” beer for me and only recently have I begun seeking them out. They offer another twist on my favorite malt-centric style, bringing a bit of ocean saltiness and brine into play. When these flavors are kept local (to me), as with the Flying Dog Pearl Necklace, it makes it all the more irresistible.

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Big Imperial Stouts are mainstay of my winter beer fridge. With their bold robust flavors, warming characteristics, and filling mouth feel they make a great winter beer. One that I have been interested in trying for a while is Night Stalker from Goose Island. When I happened upon it while exploring a new beer store I had to pick up a bottle for review.

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