Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious

As part of a trade with Tim Dean from New York, I received a bottle of Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious, a beer very similar to my wedding beer. The beer pours a golden color with a lofty and frothy white colored head that almost leaps out of the glass. The aroma consists of banana, grass, apple, alcohol, and brandy. The taste is bold with lots of apple brandy on the front end that really attacks the mouth. The background flavors are from the triple and consist of banana and grass, with some apple accents. A dry and alcohol fueled finish dries the mouth with some oak accents and a light pepper spice. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. This triple is entirely infused with apple brandy flavor, and it was more than enjoyable on the palate. It was spicy and boozy, but had a very solid backbone as well.

Troegs Scratch 83- ¿Impending Descent?

While at the Troegs tasting room, I picked up a case of Scratch 83- ¿Impending Descent?, the imperial stout released just in time for the end of the world. The beer pours a black color with a lofty and frothy tan colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and sugar. The taste is bold and robust with lots of chocolate, toasted malts, caramel, vanilla, and almost a honey sweetness. Some touches of sugar hit before some alcohol booziness hits on the finish. The alcohol content is 10.9% ABV. I am absolutely in love with this imperial stout and I hope that Troegs makes this into a regular release. However, it was noticably hoppier from the bottle than it was on draft, and I liked the draft version better. I also feel it would benefit greatly from some different barrel aging experiments, such as rum, whiskey, and red wine.

Troegs Scratch 82- Belgian Style Trippel

I picked up a case of Troegs Scratch 82- Belgian Style Trippel from the brewery, a beer brewed with local honey and Westmalle yeast. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head that leaves lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of banana, Belgian yeast, grass, and spice. The taste is smooth with banana on the front end before a Belgian spice and honey sweetness takes over. The finish dries out a little bit and brings out some spicy and grassy hops. The alcohol content is 8.1% ABV. This trippel was decent, yet not great. The honey added some sweetness, but I think this beer will do very well with some age.

Rodenbach 2010 Oak Aged Ale (Barrel No. 144)

For the December shipment of the Michael Jackson Rare Beer of the Month Club, I received a bottle of Rodenbach 2010 Vintage Oak Aged Ale (Barrel No. 144) The beer pours a red-tinted brown color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of cherry, vinegar, tartness, sugar, pie crust, and oak. The taste has a nice pucker to it with a strong cherry and vinegar flavor to it on the front end before sugar and pie crust arrive on the finish. An oak dryness lingers after all the other flavors arrive. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. This was an absolutely spectacular beer and was even better than the typical Rodenbach Grand Cru. The age and oak added an entirely different dimension to this beer and made it more than enjoyable.

Victory Red Thunder

I picked up a bottle of Victory Red Thunder, a red wine barrel-aged baltic porter, from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a dark brown color with red hues and a frothy cream colored head. The aroma consists of chocolate, toasted malts, red wine, oak, and hints of vanilla. The taste is bold with strong chocolate and toasted malts hitting on the front end with some coffee interlacing. A red wine dryness and flavor arrives on the finish with oak and vanilla hints. The after taste leaves a bit of alcohol lingering on the tongue and more red wine, and that alcohol definitely comes back in the burps. The alcohol content is 8.5% ABV. I’d say that this was definitely a winner from Victory, as the baltic porter benefited very well from the red wine barrel aging process. The red wine interlaced well with toasted malts and chocolate, complementing each other nicely.

New Glarus Thumbprint Series Unplugged Enigma

As part of a beer trade with the Beer Club 4 Men, I received a bottle of New Glarus Thumbprint Series Unplugged Enigma. The beer pours a red-tinted amber color with a foamy white colored head that disappeared rapidly. The aroma consists of cherry, pie crust, sugar, and oak. The taste is puckering and has a strong tart cherry and raspberry flavor. Vinegar engulfs the tongue before actually causing it to salivate. The finish brings out an oak dryness and a sugary sweetness. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. The tartness of this beer mixed with the complexities of sugary fruit all bridged with an oak dryness led my tongue on a puckery joyride.