Pizza Boy Brewing Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Solid Gold Bock

On a recent visit to Al’s of Hampden, I ordered a glass of Pizza Boy Brewing Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Solid Gold Bock. The beer pours an amber color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of sweet apples, caramel, a hint of oak with a dash of of cinnamon, and very reminiscent of apple pie. The taste is powerful with apple flavor right of front and a sharp brandy alcohol bite. Caramel smooths things over before a slightly tart finish. The alcohol content is 5.3% ABV. This barrel-aged beer provided a wonderful blend that is pie-like with a lightly sour aspect to it as well. I highly recommend trying this one if you get the chance.

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.

Grandview Brewing One Bad Apple

My buddy Brad brought me over a bottle of his home brew, Grandview Brewing, One Bad Apple, a apple brandy trippel. The beer pours a pale golden color with plenty of rising bubbles and a frothy white head. The aroma consists of apple, banana, yeast, grass, and has a hint of bourbon. The taste is dry and light on the tongue with banana, grass, and pepper on the front end. Apple brandy warms the finish and leaves a little bit of a dryness behind on top of the light sweetness of the triple. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. I’d say that the bourbon really accented this beer well, as it was very dry and complimented the sweetness of the beer.

Captain Lawrence Smoke From the Oak Imperial Smoked Porter Aged in Apple Brandy Bottles

As part of a beer trade, I received a bottle of Captain Lawrence Smoke From the Oak Imperial Smoked Porter Aged in Apple Brandy Barrels. The beer pours a black color with a bubbly tan head. The aroma consists of peat, oak, brandy, lots of smoke, toasted malts, and apple. The taste is bold and dry with plenty of smoke right on the front end. An apple sweetens accompanies toasted malts, chocolate, and caramel. The finish emphasizes the smoke again with some oak, vanilla, and peat. The after taste has a brandy dryness that lingers, warms, and dries the tongue. The alcohol content is 12.0% ABV. The intense flavors that come from the apple brandy barrels make this beer extremely enjoyable, but you must be a brandy fan as well, or this could be a bit intense.