So what do you do when its an extremely ugly Thursday – National Stout Day – raining, freezing cold, ugly out? …..You drink a barleywine of course! Ugh! Face Palm!

Yea, this was a fubar. I thought this was a stout, so I grabbed it, poured it without reading it, and was about to dig in for National Stout Day…. and lo and behold…. it was a barleywine! But this was certainly a delicious mistake! And gee darn, it meant I had to go and drink a stout later in the day. Oh darn… oh no…. more beer…. oh gee, oh darn!

(And of course thats just what I did, having the S’Mores LazaRIS stout from Boneshire. Which made up for this “mistake”.)

Barleywines are one of my favorite styles, and I love the high ABV of them, which can be dangerous at 11AM; but I powered through like a professional. …and drank this fast. It was so easy to drink. I wish I had a whole six pack of this because it went down so smoothly and effortlessly and easily that I need more of it!

Beer: There’s Nuttin’ Butter Than a Nice Pair of Cam Pants
Brewery: Westbrook Brewing Co.
Collaboration with: Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company
Style: Barleywine – Other
ABV: 10%
IBU: 15
Untappd Write-Up: Nutter Butter inspired barleywine with peanut butter, lactose and vanilla. Collaboration with EOBC.

Well, this was far from a mistake to drink. Only mistake was drinking it so fast. This is pure gold. Barleywines are one of my favorite styles and this is no exception, if anything, it’s raised the bar for barleywines and what they can do and be. There is just so much flavor in this.

First off, appearance is when I noticed this was no stout so I read the can… and yep…. oopsies. The coloring is a golden brown, not quite what you see in the picture above due to the flash of the camera, its golden, brown, amber-ish in hue. It had a very healthy foamy head to it that was light in color, great bubbles and retained and stayed for a while. Sipping through it was delicious.

Aroma is peanut butter strongly, like a real nutter butter candy, strong peanut butter, strong vanilla, some caramel notes. It smells sweet, like it should be sugary. You get a good whiff of the lactose vanilla and peanut butter, you get some hints of a boozyness. You can tell your gonna be in for a good smooth drink.

First sip is magical. Its simply wonderful. Its smooth, its easy, its very sweet. Not overpowering or cloying sweet, but sweet. Which is a rarity or barleywines. (At least in my experience.) It has a fantastic mouthfeel. Nice, easy sipping, smooth and enjoyable. You get some booze on the tongue but its not really there. For a 10% its hidden extremely well and barely noticeable, which can be either very dangerous, or a great thing; depending on your plans for the day. This is extremely tasty, you get the vanilla from the lactose, and you get a great peanut butter taste that just is extremely well done, its not too much, its not too overpowering, its just right. I think taste and aroma this is a lot like the Molly Pitcher Peanut Butter Porter; its got just the right amount of peanut butter.

It is to be noted, that this does include peanuts. The can specifically states that it was made with REAL NUTS. So for those with allergies should stay very clear of this beer. So be forewarned about that! (Like I have to stay clear of oyster stouts that use healthy doses of oysters.)

My Untappd Rating: ****.25 (Easily could be boosted up to a 4.5 instead.)
Global Untappd Rating: 4.12 (as of 11.8.19)

Ok, 8 days down, 8 days still good. Kicking this month’s butt so far! (Though a few days have been harder than others.) Same with drinking a new beer a day. Not hard yet. Doing pretty well on that front as well!

Today is a special day as we’re double-dropping. Pretty much simultaneously here as it looks. In just minutes (check 1PM) J. Doncevic’s review will drop. Look for it here. It should be great! I always love reading his reviews! (I’ll link it in here once its fully posted.)

Ok everyone, cheers and enjoy your Friday!

-B. Kline

But have no fear, if I tell you it’s going to get published, it’s going to get published, it might be old, and all, but it’s still going to get published.

It’s a dark and stormy night, there’s thunder and lightening like crazy, raining to the point where there is cats and dogs cluttering up the gutters of the streets (and possibly a creepy clown trying to grab kids named George), what do you do? ….Well, the answer is obvious: you drink. ….And you read.

So spoiler alert to my own blog on this one: definitely try both of these if you can. That is; drink Wolf Prints by Imprint Beer Co (in collaboration with Wolf Brewing Co) and read Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. You won’t be disappointed by either of these; especially if you like beer, and especially if you like mythology or Norse, or Thor, or Loki, or like sour beer, or like IPAs, or like sour IPAs, or what have you.

But be forewarned about the beer…. it is an odd one. Odd in that way that its both sour and IPA. If you’ve had any of the sour IPAs from Hudson Valley then you have an idea on this one. If you haven’t had any sour IPAs or Farmhouse IPAs or similar styles, your tastebuds are definitely in for a surprise.

This one surely packs a punch and a wallop and a kick to the stomach. So strap on a seatbelt and get ready for it.

Beer: Wolf Prints
Brewery: Imprint Beer Co. (Collaboration: Wolf Brewing Co.)
Style: Sour – Fruited
ABV: 7%
IBU: No IBU
Untappd Write-Up: Sour IPA smoothie with mangoes, pink guava, Tahitian vanilla beans, hibiscus petals and lactose.

So right away, you can tell that the Untappd listing on it is “Sour Fruited” but the write-up on it is “Sour IPA”. With this beer, the terms are pretty interchangeable and I don’t think there’s truly a self-contained term “Sour IPA” yet, so things are a bit muddy and murky in this area.

The adjuncts are mangoes, pink guava, Tahitian vanilla beans, lactose, and hibiscus petals. Thus its obvious why it has this beautiful pink glow and hue to it.

If you are unprepared for sour IPAs, be ready now. Because its not like a traditional sour and its definitely not like a traditional IPA. So let’s break it down like I do; appearance, aroma, taste.

First off, appearance is a pink. A dark but sorta bright pink. Kind of like a glowing pink that is still dark enough not to see through. Its an interesting look and throws you off a bit. At least takes you aback and makes you wonder what exactly are you drinking and if its really beer. (It is… and its worth drinking, don’t worry.)

The aroma is an immediate whiff of guava and a very funkyness. You get an instant ‘whoah this is going to be funky’ as soon as you crack the can and then the guava hits you, followed by the mango. There’s some kind of floral backdrop not sure if thats the hibiscus petals or hops or what.

And at first sip…. oh boy… oh yea…. its funky. And you are down to the party immediately. It is extremely tart, extremely funky, and a huge wave of guava off of the start. As you drink and gulp her down, you get some floral, some smoothness from the vanilla beans and lactose, and you get the mango making a burst-in door-stomping appearance at the end like the Kool-Aid man.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.92 (as of 7.18.19, updated from the draft date to the published date).

-B. Kline