Stout - Imperial / Double - The Beer Thrillers

Beer Review: Treats of Strength (Icarus Brewing)

B. Kline — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 18:00:00 +0000

Happy Festivus

Its a Festivus for the Rest of Us! Happy Festivus everyone! How are you celebrating this tremendous holiday? Hopefully with some wonderful craft beer!

Today I’m taking a look at Treats of Strength by Icarus Brewing. As you can see in the background is the LEGO Seinfeld set.

Got this for the first time two years ago, and have been getting it each year since for Festivus. At the first time we had to do some finagling with Icarus Brewing’s in person shipping, and then had to get them from friends of friends.

For more Festivus beer fun – check out our Airing of Grievances review here: (Beer Review: Airing of Grievances (Black Flag Brewing Co.))

And now as Festivus rolls on, we come to the feats of strength.

And now, as Festivus rolls on, we come to the beer review.

Beer Review: Treats of Strength (Icarus Brewing)

Feats of Strength by Icarus Brewing (photo taken last year on a snow shovel day)

Beer: Treats of Strength
Brewery: Icarus Brewing
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double Pastry
ABV: 12.4%
IBU: N / A
Untappd Description: Traditional Chocolate Nutella Babka inspired Pastry stout brewed with Two Row Barley, Pale Chocolate Malt, Oated and Wheated. Conditioned on Organic Cacao Nibs and Hazelnut Flour for an extended period.

Let’s Rumble!

Lets deep dive into this delicious beer. First up is always appearance, and this beer is certainly a beauty. No grievances here yet. This is jet black – black like Razor Ramon’s hair, black as in black hole black. The head is a nice light brown, pillowy, foamy head with varied bubble sizes. Head retention is on point, and it leaves wonderful lacing on the glass as I sipped.

Aroma is a wonderful chocolate, like we’re just inhaling a dessert. All the rich, warm, decadent dessert notes you would expert from a pastry stout shine through – chocolate, cocoa nibs, vanilla, hazelnut, nutella; it all kind of makes a medley of a wonderful aroma for your nose when you sniff into the glass.

This is a very rich, decadent and delicious beer. Its also as Josh would say “A big damn beer” clocking in at 12.4% ABV, and ready to give you the liquid courage you need to best your old man at Feats of Strength. There’s no tinsel to this beer to distract you – its just pure dessert in a glass, you can tell its a pastry stout through and through. So gather around the Festivus pole and lets enjoy this sipper of a beer. This is full body, with a good heavy mouthfeel, a bit thick, slightly syrupy but not cloying and very minimal on the aspect of syrup. The chocolate / cocoa nibs shine through the best. The hazelnut is there like a hidden surprise peeking out as you sit back, relax after telling everyone all of your grievances, and enjoy yourself a big beer. This is a great Festivus – December 23rd – or winter beer, maybe even a Christmas beer if your into that kind of thing. Start a yule log or a fire going, put your feet up, and slowly sip this one long into the night. Its even perfect after a long shift at work where you only get home at nearly 11 PM at night after dealing with lots of humans all day (not that I would know or anything). If you love big stouts (12.4% ABV after all) that are heavy hitters, with not a ton of booze flavor, but a lot of real beer flavor – than get to Icarus Brewing and pick up some Treats of Strength to give you the strength and courage you need to defeat your dad in the Feats of Strength!

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 4.05 (as of 12.23.23)

Treats of Strength – Festivus 2023

Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength, and a Festivus Miracle

This was supposed to be a beer review I was gonna do two years ago in 2021. For whatever reason, I didn’t get around to it in 2021, and was too busy with Scarlet just having been born, and everything else in 2022. So here it is in 2023. (Check out – Airing of Grievances by Black Flag Brewing.)

So thats the Festivus Miracle – I finally wrote the review. On our Facebook page – we currently have a thread about craft beer ‘airing of grievances’ so you can check that out and add your grievance(s) to our growing list.

This is an article from Mental Floss about 9 things you didn’t know about Festivus:

9 Grievance Worthy Facts about Festivus You Might Not Know About (Mental Floss)

For feats of strength – moving lots of kegs and pallets and pallets of beer today equals my feats of strength, so I’m enjoying relaxing and having a nice beer.

Cheers All and Thanks for Reading!

All of Our Nerd Content

Here’s all of our nerd content, served up best in one single place. Enjoy!

I know ya’ll here for the nerd reviews. So check out our other nerd reviews below:

Star Wars:

Futurama

Good News Everyone, Futurama is Back: Exploring Futurama – Inspired Craft Beers
Book Review: Futurama and Philosophy (edited by Courtland Lewis)
Futurama Episode Review – The Impossible Stream and Mead Review: Omicron Persei 8 (SpaceTime Meadery)
Mead Review: Omicron Persei 8 (Space Time Mead and Cider Works)
Futurama Episode Review – Children of a Lesser Bog and Beer Review: Stay on Target (Allusion Brewing Company)
Beer Review: I Apologize For Nothing (Fourscore Beer Co.)
Beer Review: Fing-Longer (Turning Point Beer)
Futurama Episode Review – How the West was 1010001 (and Beer Review: The Shining by Foam Brewers)
Futurama Episode Review – Parasites Regained and Beer Review: Mow and Flow (Eleventh Hour Brewing)
Beer Review: Leela Wake Up (Launch Pad Brewery)
Beer Review: Hop Bender (Local Craft Beer)
Futurama Episode Review – I Know What You Did Next XMas and Beer Review: Bo Katan Red IPA (Brewery Fire)

Lord of the Rings:

Magic the Gathering:

New Belgium Teams Up with Magic the Gathering for Vastwood Seer IPA

Zelda:

Rick and Morty:

Beer Review: Peace Among Worlds (Cushwa Brewing Company)

Space Balls:

Beer Review: Moon of Vega (Equilibrium Brewery)

Game of Thrones:

The Simpsons:

Back to the Future:

Beer Review: Back to Reality (Three 3s Brewing Co)

Scrooged:

Beer Review: Scrooge IPA (Iron Hill Brewing)

Groundhog Day:

A Christmas Story:

The Peanuts:

Pro Wrestling:

Soccer:

Stephen King:

Beer Review: The Shining (Foam Brewers)

World Cup:

Phillies:

Drunk Phils Fans and Rotunda Brewing Company Collaborate Together on Jam the Batter sWheat Tart

Philadelphia Eagles:

The Philadelphia Eagles Running Back – D’Andre Swift – Visits Bald Bird Brewing Company

Matrix:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

Beer Review: Terpenes in Time (BAREBottle Brewing Co)

HP Lovecraft / Cthulhu:

Beer Review: Azathoth (Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company)

The Shining:

Beer Review: The Shining (Foam Brewers)

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Grandma SueAnn Helps Review More Pumpkin Beers: A Nightmare on East Elm Street (Conshohocken Brewing Company)

Seinfeld:

Beer Review: Jon Voight’s Car (RAR Brewing)
Beer Review: Airing of Grievances (Black Flag Brewing Company)
Beer Review: Treats of Strength (Icarus Brewing)

The Muppets:

Other:

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Beer Review: German Chocolate Cake (Wicked Weed Brewing)

B. Kline — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 04:00:38 +0000

Wicked Weed’s German Chocolate Cake Stout

Wicked Weed Brewing’s German Chocolate Cake is an imperial stout that has garnered significant attention and acclaim. With a rich and indulgent flavor profile, this beer has captivated the palates of many enthusiasts.

Beer Review: German Chocolate Cake by Wicked Weed

German Chocolate Cake by Wicked Weed

Beer: German Chocolate Cake

Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing

Style: Stout – Imperial / Double Pastry

ABV: 8.8%

IBU: N / A

Untappd Description: With velvety smoothness and enrapturing darkness, this stout surrounds you with the rich luxury of the Black Forest. Fresh coconut counters chocolate notes for a balanced indulgence.

Global Average Rating: 3.88 (as of 11.15.23)

Number of Ratings: 13,000+ (as of 11.15.23)

Appearance

German Chocolate Cake pours a deep, dark brown, almost black, with a luscious tan head that lingers, enticing you to take the first sip.

Aroma

The aroma is a decadent blend of roasted malts, dark chocolate, and a hint of coconut. The sweetness of the chocolate is balanced by the toasty notes, creating an inviting olfactory experience.

Taste

Upon the first sip, the beer delivers a symphony of flavors. Rich, velvety chocolate floods the palate, accompanied by the subtle sweetness of coconut. The roasted malts provide a robust backbone, imparting a satisfying depth to the brew. Despite its sweetness, the beer is well-balanced, with a touch of bitterness that lingers on the finish.

Mouthfeel

Full-bodied and luxurious, German Chocolate Cake coats the mouth with a creamy, smooth texture. The carbonation is gentle, allowing the flavors to unfold gradually.

Overall Impression

Wicked Weed Brewing’s German Chocolate Cake is a masterful creation that lives up to its name. It artfully captures the essence of its dessert namesake, offering a truly indulgent drinking experience. Whether enjoyed on its own or paired with a rich dessert, this beer is a treat for the senses.

Barrel – Aged Variation

For those seeking an even more elevated experience, Wicked Weed Brewing offers a barrel-aged version of German Chocolate Cake. This iteration boasts an intensified flavor profile, with the added complexity of oak and subtle notes of bourbon. The higher ABV of the barrel-aged variant contributes to a warming, lingering finish, making it a perfect choice for savoring on special occasions.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Wicked Weed Brewing’s German Chocolate Cake is a standout example of the artistry and innovation present in the world of craft beer. Its ability to authentically capture the essence of a beloved dessert in liquid form is a testament to the skill of the brewers. Whether you’re a dedicated stout enthusiast or simply in search of a truly unique and memorable beer, German Chocolate Cake is not to be missed.

For More Information on Wicked Weed Brewing

The following information comes from Untappd. Wicked Weed Brewing Company is a Subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, based out of Asheville, North Carolina – and thus making them a macro brewery. They have 799 unique beers and over 1.8 Million ratings, for a global average rating of 3.92 (as of 11.15.23). Their Untappd description reads: We are focused on drinkability and boundary pushing recipes tempered only by quality of craft. Wicked Weed Brewing will always evolve, always grow, and always aspire to be better.

You can find them at the following social media pages:

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Beer Review: Airing of Grievances (Black Flag Brewing Co.)

BKline — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 16:52:10 +0000

Airing of Grievances by Black Flag Brewing Company in Columbia Maryland

Happy Festivus

Happy Festivus everyone! Its finally here!

Happy Festivus

Its always a joyous time of year, to get together with friends, and family, and celebrate Festivus! December 23rd is the day to honor the rest of us, with the best holiday thats ever happened – Festivus. Its the time to spend with family, friends; to gather around your table and enjoy a small feast, set up an aluminum pole with a good strength to weight ratio, and to air all of those grievances you’ve had with everyone… before you select one person for your feats of strength.

So grab your aluminum pole, get your friends together, air your grievances, call H&H Bagel and tell them you’re on strike, and await a Festivus miracle – because who knows, you might be called out for the feats of strength and you might need it.

Airing of Grievances

What are some of your grievances you need to air? With family and friends? Or with the beer industry? Or with life in general? COVID-19 is still getting a large share of my grievances in 2021. Especially this new Omicron variant. Human beings are definitely getting a large amount of my grievances as well. The craft beer’s misogynistic worldview that is slowly changing (but not fast enough) is a large grievance for many in the industry (myself included). The lack of diversification. Etc. Etc. Etc.

So what are yours?

Black Flag Brewing Company

Black Flag Brewing Company has been on my radar for a long time now. Known for using pop cultural and nerd culture references for a while, they first hit my radar when they did a Final Fantasy series a while back, particularly their ‘Black Mage’ beer. We first got to check them out back in October when we did our travels through Columbia Maryland after the Brewfest for MS.

You can read more about our travels that day here: Going Hysteric Through Columbia Maryland – Brewfest for MS, Hysteria Brewing Company, Sapwoods Brewing, and Black Flag Brewing.

So leading up to this week, we had a couple of choice places to go and get some ‘Festivus’ or ‘Seinfeld’ style beers. Second Sin Brewing in Bristol released a Seinfeld themed beer – “Cherry Seinfeld”. And Icarus Brewing released a Feats of Strength stylized beer called ‘Treats of Strength’. And of course, Black Flag released ‘Airing of Grievances’. I did the online ordering of Icarus Brewing Company’s ‘Treats of Strength’ along with their Festivus glass – and it got delivered to a friend’s cousin’s house. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to get it from them until after Christmas break. But don’t worry – we’ll definitely be doing a review of it.

What we decided to do, was go do a tour of Maryland again. Which you can read here: Ambling Around Annapolis Rocks, Frederick, and Columbia Maryland: Annapolis Rocks, Attaboy Beer, Idiom Brewing, Steinhardt Brewing, Smoketown Creekside, The Brewer’s Art Tavern, and Black Flag Brewing.

I also got to pick up the new Star Wars themed beer – “Let the Haze Flow Through You” while at Black Flag as well (though, the other Star Wars themed beer – “This Isn’t the Haze You’re Looking For” was sold out), so it was certainly a double win, and a wonderful trip. (I can guarantee you will see a beer review of that on the blog as well, don’t you worry.)

But enough preambling, let’s discuss the brewery itself.

The back wall at Black Flag Brewing Company

Black Flag Brewing Company is a micro brewery from Columbia, Maryland. (An hour and 30 to hour and 45 minutes south of Harrisburg Pennsylvania.) According to Untappd it has 432 unique beers with a total of 157,180 ratings, and a global average rating of 3.87 as of 12.23.21. They have no brewery description listed on Untappd.

They are known for a lot of unique and nerdy beer names, such as ‘Nerd Herder’, ‘Black Mage’, ‘Airing of Grievances’, ‘Z. Morris’, ‘K. Kapowski’, ‘Let the Haze Flow Through You’, etc. They definitely have a ‘geeky’ or ‘nerd – chic’ (or ‘geek – chic’ or whatever cool modern hipster naming they use nowadays) vibe to their brewery. I’ve gotten to get to the brewery twice now, and have enjoyed all of the beers, and definitely dig the vibe. The first time we went was a late Saturday night, and loved sitting at the bar, and the second time we went was on a Thursday during the dinner hours and got a table and it was a jumping full bar. Both were great experiences, and both times we left with beer to take back to PA.

Beer Review

Alright, alright, arlight. Lets finally get to the beer review… its why you’re probably here anyway right?

So lets do it then!

Airing of Grievances by Black Flag Brewing Co.

Beer: Airing of Grievances
Brewery: Black Flag Brewing Co.
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 9%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: This amped up version of our classics gingerbread stout features deep chocolate and coffee notes inherent to the malt build with a robust addition of nutmeg, gingerbread, and milk sugar to give ample flavor.

This smells like you just kicked over and stomped on some poor little kid’s gingerbread house. Or you just bit the head off your little sister’s gingerbread man and play – acted like it had no head and was now a headless zombie wandering around the countryside looking to zombify the townsfolk on Christmas morning…. ….not that I would ever have done anything like that. Just saying…. But anyway, yes, the aroma on this bad boy is strong nutmeg, strong cinnamon, strong stout notes,

Appearance is a dark black, a Nietzsche ‘staring into the void’ black, a ‘Razor Ramon hair’ black. Black as my ex-wife’s soul black. (Oooh… that might be a bit too dark, huh? Maybe thats somebody’s grievance to air this year… aha! See how I segued that right back to the beer? Boom! Nailed it…. moving on….) This is a dark, creamy looking stout, with a very full heavy brown to tannish head. The bubbles are varied and interspersed, and it left lovely lacing down the glass. Even when I had it as a taster in the brewery it had a lovely head to it, and looked overall creamy.

This one is gonna hit you strong and hard and fast with that nutmeg and ginger and cinnamon. You are getting a hammer to the face Thor style with strong waves of gingerbread house goodness. It might be a bit too intense for some, and it is a bit heavy. There’s also a bit of a coffee bitterness to this that underlies it all as well, so that really seems to kick up the ante on the ginger and cinnamon and nutmeg, making this a bit strong for some. The milk sugar does add a creaminess to this, a light, softening to it, but the nutmeg, ginger, and coffee really hits hard and strong and powers through it. The stout base is very good, its strong, and its a heavy hitter, but at 9% its not too powerful as to kill you on the booziness or make your head swim. There is nothing cloying or too sweet, nothing off putting, and the mouthfeel is just right, a heavy dense beer with no papery watery-ness to it. There’s no off flavors or anything off putting. No horrible aftertaste, but you will get strong ‘ginger burps’ from this (and possibly even hiccups as my friend did). This is the perfect beer to cozy up to on a cold Festivus night after you’ve defeated the weakest family member in a feat of strength, and you’ve aired all of your grievances with everyone, and finally kicked them all out of your wretched home, to get to sit down and relax. Possibly watch the newest Matrix movie on HBO Max (which will most likely get added to your grievance list for 2022), or watch the Thursday Night football game, or just avoid all human contact due to the Omicron variant running rampant. No matter how you celebrate Festivus this year, this would be a welcomed addition to it, as its a terrific and wonderful stout. I imagine it would pair perfectly with cookies and hurt feelings (due to the grievances being aired). Just make sure that pole has a strong strength to weight ratio. As you might need it if you kill a four pack of these bad boys on your own.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Average Untappd Rating: 3.79 (as of 12.23.21)

Lets Celebrate

So what’s everyone doing today to celebrate Festivus? I’m wrapping this article up (11:29AM), and will soon be heading out to finish getting the last second stuff for my daughter’s stockings. (Already got their gifts, have no fear, I won’t be reaching for a doll, and fighting a man for it, and coming to the conclusion that there has to be another way…). What brewery or beer shenanigans is everyone getting up into?

In the meantime, enjoy some of these Festivus related GIFs. (I had to include them in the article. Had. To. Just. Plain. Out. Had. To. Its like a law or something. Seinfeld and Festivus by extension was made for GIFs at a time when there really wasn’t even GIFs. Oh, to go back to the 90s and watch Seinfeld again as a young teen and fall in love with it, before the internet was what it is now. Back in the days of AOL dial-up sounding like a beached whale getting stepped on, or before AIM and leaving some kind of ridiculous ‘BRB’ message, etc.)

Anyway, I present to you some Festivus GIFs:

Its a Festivus Miracle! A bunch of Festivus related GIFs!

Icarus Festivus

For those curious about the Icarus Festivus beer I mentioned earlier – Treats of Strength – my friend’s cousin has picked it up, along with the Festivus glass. They will be returning after Christmas, so I should be able to get my grubby little hands on it sometime before the new year, and will hopefully have a review of it up before then. (Crazy to think that just tomorrow will be December 24th – Christmas Eve – already, and after that Christmas, then a week until News Year Eve / New Years Day).

Anyway, here is a picture Icarus Brewing posted today to celebrate Festivus:

Icarus Brewing – Treats of Strength

Want More Seinfeld?

Want more Seinfeld? (Don’t we all! And obviously Netflix did considering the huge deal they signed just to have it on their network!) Want to know some background history on Festivus? Well here you go.

This is an article from Mental Floss about 9 things you didn’t know about Festivus:

9 Grievance Worthy Facts about Festivus You Might Not Know About (Mental Floss)

Our review of a Seinfeld related beer:

Beer Review: Jon Voight’s Car (RAR Brewing)

Happy for Christmas, or are you a Scrooge? Here’s two more Christmas themed beers we’ve reviewed:

For More Pop Culture / Nerd Culture / Popular Beer Names

Looking for more interesting beer names? References to something obscure and different? Well, we’ve covered plenty here on The Beer Thrillers. Check them out below:

Star Wars:

Rick and Morty:

Beer Review: Peace Among Worlds (Cushwa Brewing Company)

Space Balls:

Beer Review: Moon of Vega (Equilibrium Brewery)

Game of Thrones:

Beer Review: Game of Thrones: My Watch Has Ended (Omnegang Brewery)

The Simpsons:

Back to the Future:

Beer Review: Back to Reality (Three 3s Brewing Co)

Scrooged:

Beer Review: Scrooge IPA (Iron Hill Brewing)

A Christmas Story:

Beer Review: The Soft Electric Glow of Sex (RAR Brewing)

Pro Wrestling:

Matrix:

Matrix Monday

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

Beer Review: Terpenes in Time (BAREBottle Brewing Co)

Seinfeld:

Beer Review: Jon Voight’s Car (RAR Brewing)
Beer Review: Airing of Grievances (Black Flag Brewing Company)

Other:

Thanks For Reading

As always, thank you everyone for reading. Do you have comments, suggestions, questions? Airing of grievances? Issues with the blog? Is the site working good? Something you’d like to see us review, write about, read, etc? Let us know in the comments section here on the blog. Also be sure to check out all of our social media pages (listed below).

I’m heading out to do some last second Christmas shopping, and to celebrate Festivus. I would like to wish everyone a very happy holidays, a wonderful Happy Festivus, a Merry Christmas, and everything else. I should have a post tomorrow night that will be Christmas related (you’ll have to wait and see!). And I’m back to work on Christmas day, but I might be posting something in the morning. Who knows. We’ll see.

Until then, I hope you are able to defeat your challenger(s) in the feats of strength today, so you can end Festivus.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

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Airing of Grievances (taster at the brewery, and can at home)

Beer Review: Puzzles and Pagans (Burlington Beer Company)

BKline — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 14:33:06 +0000

Puzzles and Pagans (2021) by Burlington Beer Company

Puzzles… and Pagans…

First, let’s just begin by mentioning – Happy Thanksgiving – and a wonderful Black Stout Friday to everyone. And secondly, let me mention that the above picture is the first beer and the first meal of Thanksgiving I had yesterday. (I think I wish I did this one with the turkey meal, and the Choir of the Dead with the spaghetti, meatballs, but that’s neither here nor there.) Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving you Pagans, Heathens, and Puzzlers.

Who doesn’t love puzzles and pagans? And more importantly – who doesn’t love spaghetti and meatballs on Thanksgiving?

So this week, after work, I stopped at West Connection Beer Vault in Hummelstown / Hershey. Made me up a nice mix – a – six of mostly all stouts: Choir of the Dead, Strange Apparitions, and Puzzles and Pagans (all 2021) by Burlington Beer Company, as well as the World Wide Stout – Utopias edition by Dogfish Head, as well as also picking up a Secret Machine by Dewey Beer Co and the Electro Cooler by VooDoo. All in all, I would say it was one heck of a six pack, and the first three of them (all of the Burlington Beer Company ones) were fantastic, and don’t worry, each will get their own beer review here on the blog.

I actually debated which one of the three to start off with. If I should do Strange Apparitions, which I had Tuesday night while writing, the Puzzles and Pagans while having the spaghetti meatball lunch, or the Choir of the Dead which I had while eating turkey dinner. So… I decided to go with this. Because what sums up my day yesterday better, than doing a review that shows spaghetti and meatballs rather than turkey!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Who eats spaghetti and meatballs on Thanksgiving? Apparently my mom. So… thus… the picture above. My girls, and I, visited my parents for Thanksgiving lunch, where we spent the afternoon watching football, playing Harry Potter chess, walking my parents dog Tink, and having good family time.

Don’t worry, for dinner, we went to my sister’s for a traditional Thanksgiving meal, with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, …and goat meat. My brother in law’s family has a tradition of eating goat meat every Thanksgiving, as well as playing Lotteria (a Mexican Bingo game).

All in all it was a good day, and I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.

Burlington Beer Company

Ok, let’s move on from yesterday, and discuss the beer and the brewery. Burlington Beer Company is a really good brewery that doesn’t get brought into Central PA a whole lot, but when they do, they get scarfed up quickly! Like Other Half and some other breweries, its a big to-do at bottle shops like West Connection Beer Vault, The Fridge, Union House, and Breski’s Beverage, when Burlington Beer Company is brought in and in stock. And this was no exception, because this was a barrel aged stout drop.

West Connection Beer Vault, as well as several others, all got a few different Burlington Beer Co stouts as a drop. They got: Strange Apparitions (2021), Choir of the Dead (2021), Puzzles and Pagans (2021), and Incantations (2021). They had them in four packs, as well as mix-a-six singles. I decided to grab one of each (except for the Incantations) in the mix-a-six I mentioned above. If I recall correctly (and I could be mistaken) the four packs of each of these were 28.99$, and the single cans were 7.99$ (with a 10% off of on the whole mix-a-six six pack). So instead of plunking down 30$ for a four pack of each, I plunked down 24$ for 3 and had one of each. I wanted to throw in the Incantations, but alas, I was not able to make a mix-a-seven pack.

Anyway…. this is all to say that Burlington Beer Company is a good brewery, and one I’ve enjoyed, and one we’ve covered on the blog here before.

Statistics on them, from Untappd:

Micro Brewery from Burlington, Vermont
151 unique beers
Global average rating of 4.02
422,593 ratings (as of 11.26.21)

Their Untappd description reads:

Where Fermentation Meets Imagination We brew with local and international malts, hops, yeast, fruit, vegetables, spices, and herbs while we explore new ways to put our stamp on classic beer styles. We strive to find a balance between going too far and staying rooted in tradition. You can find our beer in cans and occasionally in bottles. Burlington Beer Co. is located in Burlington, Vermont. Est. 2014
Untappd – Burlington Beer Company

Ok, let’s now get down to it and review this beer.

Beer Review

Puzzles and Pagans (2021) by Burlington Beer Company

Beer: Puzzles and Pagans (2021)
Brewery: Burlington Beer Company
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 10%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Imperial Stout brewed with Raspberries & Toasted Almonds Aged in Bourbon Barrels.

Aroma for this is a delicious bourbon, roasted malt, and raspberries. I think the toasted almonds gets mixed in with the roasted malts of the stout, and perhaps gets overlapped by the bourbon itself. But this just smells like a delicious wonderful beer, no doubt about that.

Appearance is your standard stout, dark black, abyss staring you back in the face black, Razor Ramon hair black. It has a nice tan to brown creamy head, that left lacing the whole way down the glass, and also provided a lovely centimeter or so thick head to the top of the beer that stayed for a bit. Nice varied bubbles, no off coloring, not too much carbonation or too little.

Mmmmhmmm mmmmhmmm…. this was tasty and was so good. Probably would have went better with the turkey rather than the spaghetti and meatballs, but this was still fantastic all around. I do love my bourbon barrel aged stouts, and this was no exception to that. Its a very sweet, but with that still impactful punch and kick of bourbon, stout. The raspberry adds a sweet, and wonderful character to this stout, that really blends well with the bourbon and the two complement each other very well. I’m not sure if toasted almonds really comes through, and if it does, not quite sure how it blends in, because I primarily get the raspberry flavor, the bourbon kick and flavor, and then the stout baseline behind it all. I’m not a huge eater of almonds, so I’m not quite sure how discernable my tastebuds are to figuring out ‘almond flavor’ as well, and so I might be tasting it a bit more than I realize, but I want to say it probably gets blended in and absorbed with the roasted malt flavors of the stout. (I could be wrong, and if you think you taste a lot more almonds than I do, let me know in the comments.) All in all, this is just tasty, and it really lights up the flavorbuds and the tongue. It goes down nicely, not too super smooth, and you certainly can taste the booze and know that its 10% ABV, so its not a crusher, but its not too biting or too heavy bourbon that it is problematic to drink, or that its going to take you all day. Its probably best paired with a dinner, or maybe just sitting at the fire as a night cap, I don’t think you’d want more than one of these in a sitting, but, that takes nothing away from the beer. Some beers are meant to be that way, and some are meant to be pounded and a six pack drained in a few hours. All in all, I loved it, and thought it tasted fantastic with no bad aftertaste or off flavors or annoying characteristics at all.

My Untappd rating: ****.25
Global Average rating: 3.99 (as of 11.26.21)

(Curious note, when I started this article – the global average rating of the beer was 3.96. Til I finished this, and reloaded the page, it changed to 3.99. I also realized I didn’t put in my rating, which I had put in my notes as 4.25, but didn’t actually select on the screen, and then reloaded again, but that did not make an impact on the global average. So not sure if others rated it in that time and it changed, or if somewhere around 9AM they do a math adjustment each day and that changes it. Just thought it was a curious note that I’d add in here.)

Road Trip

So, I’m finishing this up, and we’re about to head out on another road trip. This time, heading down to Virginia, where we will be hitting Adroit Theory and Aslin Beer Company. With possible other stops along the way…. I’ll be posting more about that later! Also, check our Instagram for pictures!

Thanks For Reading

As always, thanks for reading everyone. Be sure to follow us on Instagram for our road trip pics, and be sure to enter our #FreeBeer giveaway.

To help promote Small Brewery Sunday. Check it out here:

Small Brewery Sunday Giveaway 2021

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Beer Review: Bourbon County Brand Stout (Vintage – 2019)

AmyMWolfe — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 11:58:04 +0000

Bourbon County Brand Stout (2019) by Goose Island

The Original Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout

Many stouts try to compare or use lingo that suggests a stout was aged in a bourbon barrel but when this one punches a thick bourbon barrel in your nose you start to question all the others before this one.

That quick warm cozy feeling you get when you sip on a snifter of port by a fire is what this stout aged in bourbon barrels will fill you with. Don’t confuse it with the warm fuzzy slippers feeling Homer has you imagining https://youtu.be/0oAZZK3AD6I Although, I too enjoy a snifter of port at Christmas.

Fuzzy slippers on, let’s drag our feet across the carpet for static electricity AND review a favorite

Beer: Bourbon County Brand Stout
Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co.
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 15.2%
IBU: 60

Untappd Description: Originally brewed in honor of the 1000^th batch at our original Clybourn brewpub. A liquid as dark and dense as the black hole with thick form the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer.

On the bottle it is described as “Notes of Vanilla, Toffee, chocolate, burnt sugar and dried fruit” Also the bottle I have says it yields a 14.7% ABV.

It’s like a Christmas morning for stout lovers. I almost hung up on a phone call with my boss to gallop over to the closest spot selling it on Monday. No varietals near me unfortunately but my taste buds are just as pleased with the OG.

I even shared a bit of this with my mom. She is quite adventurous and entertains all my crazy alcohol adventures, surprisingly. I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree or hop vine. Her first reaction was shock. She also felt that punch I talked about earlier as she sniffed her beer. One little sip and she lets out a mellow “mmmm”. This is the kind of “mmmm” this is accompanied by a warm hug and sets your mind at ease. Her eyes popped open again as if coming back from a quick hallucination. I can only assume she had a similar fantasy of sipping on it by a fire like I did. She quickly reached her glass out for another pour. I am my mother’s daughter after all. The bottle was emptied very quickly.

The only thing I want to add to the description from Untapped is the coffee aroma and flavor. Maybe it’s the charred oak that makes me think of coffee, my mom agreed. If it’s the oak taste and flavor I am enjoying, why do I loathe it so much in my wine? My mom and I both wonder this and can only agree we must drink more to draw final conclusions and give fair reviews.

After it hits your tongue the deep richness of caramel and vanilla lay on your tongue like a nice warm bath. The chocolate and dried fruit tastes dance on your tongue. It’s crazy that you can taste chocolate and a rich dark chocolate at the same time. That mix makes me feel like I am drinking an adult desert beer but not a confectionary sugar taste or flavor. The vanilla flavor from the barrel is why it so tasty compared to stouts with vanilla added, although there is nothing wrong with those either.

The release and sale of the bourbon barrel aged stout is the “Black Friday” kick off to the holiday season that I really enjoy celebrating. As I’m sure any fellow beer drinker still ready this would easily agree. Happy Thanksgiving!

Drink more beer! Cheers!

-Amy

Beer Review: Wookie Monster (Fourscore Beer Co)

BKline — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 23:03:49 +0000

Wookie Monster by Fourscore Beer Co.

Had to go back and revisit this beauty last night with this being ‘stout season’ and what all… despite how nice and warm its been. But anyway, this has been one I’ve been meaning to review for a while, since I finally got my hands on a four pack of it back around August I believe. I’ve left one in the fridge for a nice night to drink and do up a review, and that is exactly what I got for you here.

This is one of many (many) nerdy or pop culture beers I’ve done. Yesterday I listed some in my review for Super Villain. So we can add this to that growing list of beers.

As I said yesterday: “Nerd culture definitely speaks to me. Look at my numerous beer reviews on here that are Star Wars themed, or video game themed, or some TV show themed. Jon Voight’s Car, Out of Order – Blue Milk, Moon of Vega, This is the Way, This is Nut The Fluff You’re Looking For, etc. You can see Josh also is very fond of nerd culture / pop culture and beers clashing with his latest review – Terpenes in Time.”

So instead of lamenting, and worrying about the election results and letting anxiety run amok, and with The Mandalorian episode two (of season two) coming out tomorrow, and since today is International Stout Day, why not do a fun, Star Wars themed stout for today’s blog and beer review.

After taking my dog (Leela) for a walk, which I did as a way of pausing my work on this review – because I’m the ultimate procrastinator, it was such a beautiful day that I had to sit out and do some day drinking.

Day drinking and reading

So I ended up having a fantastic IPA from Stickman Brews – The Growfather (gotta love a Godfather beer / hop pun) (don’t worry, this will be a review soon), and then I took down the hops finally. Then I decided to finish the last of my Wookie Monster stouts.

So what should have been done around 12 – noon – is now only getting finished up at 5PM, and before I head over to Drew’s to do tonight’s stream.

Which I also picked out the stouts for tonight’s stream, since it’s International Stout Day, I decided we’d have nothing but stouts for the stream.

Stouts picked out for tonight’s video stream

Well, minus the Wookie Monster…. since I drank that now. Which, speaking of that, lets get to this review and finish up today’s post!

Wookie Monster by Fourscore Beer Co

Beer: Wookie Monster
Brewery: Fourscore Beer Co
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 9%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Brewed with malted oats, chit malt, flaked oats and Maris otter base with a variety of specialty malts. Conditioned on over 100 lbs of Oreo cookies, along with organic cacao nibs and Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans along with milk sugar. Medium bodied to restrain the sweetness, but still full enough to satisfy. Liquid Oreo cookies in a glass with a “managable” abv!

I’ll lean on an old favorite saying for the appearance – its black; as black as Razor Ramon’s hair. (Not Scott Hall’s hair; Razor Ramon’s.) This is the epitome of black, like those materials that block all light and absorb it, like black holes, its a silk, smooth looking black, with a very thin head to it, the head was off white cream to slight brown. Small head but with dispersed bubbles.

Nose to this is extreme Oreo chocolate / fudge chocolate smell. The cacao nibs really makes the Oreo cookie smell pop. There is some sweetness to this, like the white cream filling, you get vanilla from the beans, Oreo cream, and the milk sugar. It ends with a hint of the bourbon but so faint, like its drifting on the wind. The chocolate is the most overwhelming aroma to this.

Then we get to taste….. and ohmergerrrrdddd this is amazing. “Amazeballs” as the cool hip kids that I hang out with say…. But in all serious, this is one hundred and thirty eight percent delicious. If you like chocolate and you like dark heavy stouts, then this is everything you could ask for. Immediately on the first sip you get blasted with the heavy chocolate coming from the cocoa nibs and Oreo cookies. Heavy. Strong. Blam. Right out the gate, no waiting for it. Then as you sip you get in that smoothness, that silkiness, that gentle relaxing creaminess that comes from the vanilla cream part of the Oreos, from the Madagascar vanilla beans, and from the milk sugar. But, right at the end, it has a little bit of a kick of bourbon, enough to make this feel boozier, to taste boozier, to lend this like a very rich dark backbone to an already amazing brew. This feels heavier and denser and richer and boozier than its 9% belies, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I really think the 9% “manageable ABV” is tucked away and hidden because the beer feels more like a 11-12%. Its definitely not one to pound or chugg or shotgun or crush a four pack of. But that takes nothing away from how amazing this beer is. The flavors all work together so perfectly well, and its so rich and creamy that it goes down very smooth, its just so dense and heavy that you’ll fill full from drinking one. The chocolate and the vanilla combine perfectly in this, just like they do in real Oreos, that its so fantastically done. Hopefully this will be brewed again because this is downright phenomenal.

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 4.15 (as of 11.5.20)

Now remember everyone, Chewbacca is a Wookie, and he is 8 feet tall, but he does *NOT* live on Endor with 3 foot tall Ewoks. Wookies are from Kashyyyk and live there, (or out in the galaxy) not on Endor with the Ewoks.

Wookiepedia: “Wookiees were a species of tall, hairy humanoids that were native to the planet Kashyyyk. The most notable member of this species was the warrior Chewbacca, Han Solo‘s best friend and co-pilot, who played a vital role in the Clone Wars during the defense of Kashyyyk, the Galactic Civil War by aiding the Rebel Alliance in their fight against the Galactic Empire, and the war against the First Order. They were quite strong, and were known to rip people’s arms out of their sockets when provoked. Though being from a temperate planet better known for its swamps and forests, they were able to be comfortable on icy worlds such as Ilum and Hoth without any protective clothing, including gloves and boots.” (Source: Wookies article on Wookiepedia.)

Also, Happy Guy Fawkes Day.

“Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t’was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli’ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below,
Poor old England to overthrow;
By God’s providence he was catch’d (or by God’s mercy*)
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him? Burn him!”
(Wikipedia – Gunpowder Plot.)

Also, of course, Happy International Stout Day. Hopefully everyone has some good stouts lined up to drink today / tonight. (And well, every day and night, because lets be honest, its always Stout Season and Stout Day.)

Make sure to check us – myself, Rory, and Drew – on the Knights of Nostalgia page as we play The Last of Us tonight and drink some very excellent stouts. One of which is the Peanut Butter Udder One, that I have done a review of before.

Also, be sure to check out some of our other beer reviews in recent history:

You can check out the tabs at the top of each page to visit our BEER REVIEWS, BEER EDUCATION, TRAVELOGUES, etc. Be sure to check out all the latest beer reviews, as we’re pumping a lot out in recent time.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. We just hit 900+ followers on Facebook, so that’s super exciting, and hopefully that will continue to grow! Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

Multiple Beer Reviews: Brambleberry, Blueberry Yum Yum, Dutchboi, Bourbon Chocolate Stout (Iron Hill Brewing, Hershey)

BKline — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 14:35:00 +0000

Flight and a chicken sandwich at Iron Hill Brewery (in Hershey, Pennsylvania) (left to right: Brambleberry, Blueberry Yum Yum, Dutchboi, and Bourbon Chocolate Stout)

Out of work and waiting for my car to be fixed (dropping 515$ on new brakes, lines, etc), what to do… what to do…. Oh I know… go enjoy some great food and a flight of beers, because…. why not?

So thats exactly what I did. I found myself with two hours to kill, a good book in my hand, and an appetite for both food and beer. And in the Hershey area there is a lot of options to pick from while waiting out a car repair. Seeing as how its been a while since I had been in Iron Hill (other than picking up their release of the Black is Beautiful beer) I decided to stop in and try out a flight, since I was sure there’d be new beers I haven’t tried yet. And luckily there was. One of which was one I had been waiting to try – Dutchboi.

Firstly, as I’ve said many on times here on the blog, I am by no means a foodie, but I still would like to take the time to mention the food. It was extremely delicious. Out of all the things, at least with the COVID restrictions of requiring me to ‘have’ to buy food with my beer, at least its making me / letting me try some delicious foods at places like Iron Hill, or Troegs, or The Englewood, etc; where otherwise I would be just ordering my beers and skipping on the food entirely.

But, let me say, this chicken sandwich (and the fries) were absolutely delicious. Half of it filled me up, and I saved the other half for another night. Wonderful beer that went really well with my beers….

Which is why your here, so lets get to it and discuss my flight of beers!

Brambleberry by Iron Hill (Hershey)

Beer: Brambleberry
Brewery: Iron Hill (Hershey)
Style: Farmhouse Ale – Other
ABV: 4.6%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: (Blank)

Well, not a whole lot to go on with this, no description, the notes on the menu said it was a “farmhouse saison, slightly funky, slightly tart, but full of flavor”. And that was about it. So…. quick spoiler – this was sadly my least favorite of the flight. I was hoping for a berry flavored saison, but didn’t quite get that. This is what Wikipedia has to say about brambleberry (under the page heading of ‘Bramble’): “A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus Rubus, which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries.^[1] “Bramble” is also used to describe other prickly shrubs such as roses (Rosa species).^[1] Bramble or brambleberry sometimes refers to the blackberry fruit or products of its fruit, such as bramble jelly.^[2]

In British English, bramble usually refers to the common blackberry, Rubus fruticosus. R. fruticosus grows abundantly in all parts of the British Isles and harvesting the fruits in late summer and autumn is often considered a favourite pastime. An especially hardy plant, bramble bushes can also become a nuisance in gardens, sending down strong suckering roots amongst hedges and shrubs and being particularly resilient against pruning. Many consider R. fruticosus a weed due its tendency to grow in neglected areas and its sharp, tough thorns which can be hazardous to children and pets.^[3]” (Source: Bramble.)

This doesn’t seem to fit that mold too much. Color is what you typically see in a saison or tart sour. But not a fruited sour or anything like that. No black coloring or anything to resemble a blackberry; this looks exactly like your typical farmhouse or farmhouse ale or saison. Wheaty, light golden to yellow color. Small amount of head to it, but with a taster that’s nothing to truly discuss because by the time of pour and its brought over and with the smaller pour size, heads and foam can be definitively off from what would be a normal pour.

Smell has that farmhouse yeast smell, that tart, funky, ‘off’ to some people, ‘on’ to other people smell. It has a crisp nose to it that you can pick up on immediately. Not a whole lot else to say on the smell, there’s no berry, no fruit odors, just the wheat and yeast smell.

Taste is…. well… its crisp. It is smooth. But it has kind of a bite to it. A funky, weird, tart but not the normal farmhouse or saison tart, kind of an off tartness to it. Like a bad berry tart funkyness, but not fully that bad or off. Like some blueberry beers where it gets the funky blueberry rather than the fruity – tart blueberry, but not quite to that full level. It has a definitive lingering taste to this that isn’t pleasant but isn’t completely unpleasant, more or less just kind of ‘ugh’. Nothing is completely horrible about it, but nothing is completely great about it and bordering past the ‘good’ into a category of just ‘do not like’ due to the aftertaste and all around weird funkyness / tartness to it. I wouldn’t say its a bad beer or a poorly made one, but just off, and not my cup of tea or style so to speak. I do love Farmhouse Ales and Saisons though, so this was a bit disappointing because of that.

My Untappd Rating: ***
Global Untappd Rating: 3.69 (as of 8.25.20)

Blueberry Yum Yum by Iron Hill

(A Different picture than the above, apparently I only took the flight picture for the first two drinks)

Beer: Blueberry Yum Yum
Brewery: Iron Hill (Hershey)
Style: Sour – Fruited
ABV: 6.3%
IBU: 5
Untappd Description: This kettle sour uses blueberries, graham cracker pie crust, vanilla beans, and lactose to trick your taste buds into thinking you’re drinking a fresh pint of blueberry cobbler.

This was much better. Much, much, much better. Definitely enjoyed this one.

Color is spot on for a fruited sour, especially any heavy in one of the major berries (blueberry, raspberry, blackberry). It has that purplish beautiful glow, incandescent one might say. Light foamy head, nice bubbles, pop, almost like a champagne type pop to it.

The nose is wonderful, tart, blueberry, fruited sour smell. You know exactly what you are getting with this. A great finishing flourish of vanilla, some bread crumb, and a hint of something more, something earthy – ish, something more than just the fruit and vanilla but not bread. Hard to pinpoint on that, but it detracts nothing from the aroma or the beer.

This starts off fully vanilla and blueberry then tapers off into blueberry only real quick. It has the very heavy fruited sour vibes to it, which is perfect and just what I wanted out of this, especially after appearance and smell. The vanilla fades away quickly, and leaves you with the tart but not too overly funky blueberry, which is where this really shines through. Full blueberry flavor with just the hint of bread crumbs and vanilla at the end. If you like bright, full, tasty blueberry tartness, then this is exactly what you are looking for it. Not really funky, not the over ripe blueberry, but the ‘just right’ ‘ just ripe’ blueberry tartness that really brings out that wonderful flavor – that I know personally, I love, not sure about everyone else, but I prefer the ‘tart’ blueberry over the ‘funky’ blueberry. From talking to a lot of people, that seems to be the preferred, but I’m sure there’s some who enjoy the more ‘funky’ blueberry tastes than the ‘tart’ blueberry tastes. To each their own. But I certainly loved this brew and would highly recommend it to any sour or tart lovers.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Untappd Rating: 3.63 (as of 8.25.20)

Dutchboi by Iron Hill (Hershey)

Beer: Dutchboi
Brewery: Iron Hill (Hershey)
Style: Stout – Other
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: One off cask aged stout. Cinnamon, vanilla, serano pepper

This was the one I was most looking forward to with my flight. I had seen the Facebook and Instagram posts with the whoopie pies being mashed in, so I was certainly intrigued. My Pennsy Dutch side of me was all kinds of intrigued.

Color is the stout maxim; dark, black, cold, like my soul and heart (ask around, they’ll tell you). Or, as my personal saying is – “black like Razor Ramon’s hair”. Take that as you will, and depending on your level of interest in Scott Hall or wrestling you’ll understand it. But, this looks like any other stout really. Black, light foam head, in a taster glass, could almost be beer or coffee or motor oil, who knows. (These are all just jokes and not knocks on the beer or stouts; they just don’t typically have too much variance in color.)

Aroma kicks things off and separates this from other stouts. Definite notes of ‘whoopie pie’ on this. Vanilla, cinnamon, bready, with hints of the oak cask system used. I didn’t really pick up any pepper. Once again, going back to Wikipedia, this is said about the serrano pepper: “The serrano pepper (Capsicum annuum) is a type of chili pepper that originated in the mountainous regions of the Mexican states of Puebla and Hidalgo.^[1] The name of the pepper is a reference to the mountains (sierras) of these regions.^[1]” (Source: Serrano Pepper) I didn’t really pick up any hint of heat or pepper or anything (either smell or taste, which we’ll get to in just a bit).

Taste is delicious on this. Its got all that dark heavy stout flavoring you love (if you love stouts) but its not too heavy and high ABV like some stouts (eyes up Weyerbacher). At 7.5% its in the same tier and level as Perpetual IPA by Troegs Brewing (7.9%). So this isn’t going to be killing you but will be leaving a good buzz (on a full pour). The oak cask comes off with this nice, lending it some darker notes, but it also has a slight airy, fluffy, creamyness perhaps the ‘whoopie pie’ part of it. There is a bit of the creamy vanilla that makes this smoother, but there is some bite, perhaps thats the pepper but I attributed it to the cinnamon. I don’t think any one flavor is overly powerful and overrides the other, more of a nice gentle blending that leaves this a very good and tasty stout. This would probably be better as a bottle, than a taster or even a can or crowler, with a good pour into a glass. But I certainly still enjoyed it.

My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.9 (as of 8.25.20)

Bourbon Chocolate Stout (Iron Hill)

This brings us to the final beer of the flight, and as it turns out, my favorite of the flight. (Perhaps a surprise, perhaps not a surprise. I was anticipating liking either the Dutchboi or the Blueberry Yum Yum more, but I’m also a big fan of bourbon stouts and heavy stouts too…. so I guess this wasn’t really a surprise in hindsight.)

Beer: Bourbon Chocolate Stout
Brewery: Iron Hill (Hershey)
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 10%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: (Blank)

It is interesting, looking over the Untappd reviews for this, it seems to jump from people giving it 1 cap reviews to four or five cap reviews, and not a whole lot of wiggle room on their reviews. Either a hate it or love it beer I suppose. Personally, I enjoyed it. Perhaps its not for everyone, perhaps its the very heavy bourbon notes, or the bitterness, I’m not sure, but we’ll get to all that.

As always, this looks, acts, and more importantly… again… looks… just like a duck —- err, I mean, a stout. Dark, black, velvety, creamy possibly looking, slight foam head. Black as the night.

Aroma is strong bourbon, light chocolate. You get a definite nose of bourbon right out the gate, and then you get some of the chocolate, some bready earthy tones, and a bit of a dark, rich, bitter smell that is probably the chocolate coming back through.

Taste is where its going to jump on people. Strong, very heavy strong, initial bourbon bite and very alcoholic taste right out of the gate. Like drinking a strong Weyerbacher barrel aged stout, this jumps right in at you and grabs you. Some might say its too strong, or too bourbon, or too alcohol, but I definitely enjoyed it. I think it tapers off pretty steadily after that initial sip (perhaps its just me getting used to it, not sure), but it leads off into the bittering of the chocolate, like baker’s chocolate, and this might be off putting to some people too. This isn’t a creamy Hershey’s like chocolate, this is more of the baker’s chocolate, bitter, but with that still characteristic chocolate taste. The bourbon flavor I think blends nicely with that bitterness, but that could possibly be ‘too much’ for some people. It does clock in at 10% and you certainly taste and can feel it, so it does have a strong, over powering feel and effect as well. Certainly more of a sipper than a guzzle or quick drink. And at a full glass that would be the best approach, especially with its 10%.

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 3.51 (as of 8.25.20)

My flight and food at Iron Hill Brewery in Hershey, PA.

Welp, that was my delicious flight and food. Got the car back, and just a mere 515$. The upcoming days should be interesting, on Thursday (8.27.20) will be my 35th birthday (officially old / half my lifetime / mid-life crisis / one foot in the grave / gaining speed down the hill) and me and my buddy will be heading out to West Reading / Wyomissing / Reading area to hit a few breweries. So look for that in a future post. You can read about it a bit here: “Visiting Reading.“

Saturday I will be attending The Englewood’s beer release, they are finally having their own beers on tap, and will be checking that out. So be on the look out for a review of their beers (most likely in a multiple beer review like this). I was out there before on the day they opened, which you can read here: “A Taste of Englewood“.

You can read a past beer review of Scrooge IPA by Iron Hill if you are still in the mood to read about Iron Hill Brewery and their beers in Hershey PA.

As always, lots of good stuff coming here to the blog, so be sure to like, follow, subscribe, and do all that fun stuff so you can read all about whats going on!

Cheers and see ya all at some point soon!

-B. Kline

Beer Review: This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For (Fourscore Beer Co)

BKline — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 19:58:01 +0000

This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For by Fourscore Beer Co. made in collaboration with Founder Club member Eric Aumen

Its nice to take a break amidst everything going on to get take your mind off the world, off the news cycle, off of the coronavirus, COVID-19, and everything else thats just going on in this insane and crazy world. Being in quarantine and lockdown can be a bit like staring into the abyss, and as Nietzsche would say about that: “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” (Its not often you get to use a Frederich Nietzsche quote in a beer review, so when the opportunity presents itself, you just have to do it.)

This is certainly an interesting time we are finding ourselves in; as is often quoted and said (and the phrase I like to use) its an “unprecedented time”. Nobody knows what’s going on, theres uncertainty everywhere, but what I do know, is that craft breweries are still out there with amazing beers – and will either do delivery, to-go, or curbside pickup. From places like Fourscore Beer Co in Gettysburg, to Boneshire Brew Works in Rutherford / Harrisburg, to Troegs Brewing in Hershey, to Roundguys in Lansdale, Two Rivers Brewing in Extol, and so many more to even list. (I do have an article where I have some listed, and keep working on it when I have the time: Supporting Local Breweries and Businesses).

This isn’t exactly how I planned this beer review to start up, but I’ve kind of had it half-envisioned as I went to write it but the beginning is always in flux when I start these, and is usually dependent on what’s going on. I build up a mental outline (I don’t physically outline anything, even when working on my novel) and I just get into the flow and let it go (once again, same goes for the novel, let the characters dictate how everything flows and where the story takes it). So thats mostly how my beer reviews and blog posts go as well. General upbeats and thoughts and things I want to mention before getting to the actual beer review, where once I get to that, I break down the actual beer as per how the beer tasted. So you – as well as I – never know what I’m getting when I write these reviews. So there’s a look into the weird and crazy window into how I write these blog posts. (Sorry this whole paragraph was pretty skippable, but it does kind of lead to the beer…. I promise….). So before I go too far off the rails on how things are bleak right now due to coronavirus / COVID-19 or how I have a crazy writing style, let me get into what led to picking up this beer, and then eventually get into the actual beer review.

Firstly, let’s move back to Sunday (3.22.20). I had wanted to go to Gettysburg on Saturday (3.21.20) but time slipped by on the day to make it really feasible and ended up not making it. Two co-workers who I had been with just hours before the imposed quarantining (due to work at the casino) – Ming and Don – met with me for the trip to Gettysburg. Have no fears, we practiced safe measures – social distancing, scrubbing everything and anything we touched (or saw others touch), and used copious amounts of hand sanitizer; coughed into elbows, etc, etc, etc. So have no fear, there was no contamination or spreading because of our visit.

I had been really eager to check out Fourscore Beer Co since they opened. Last time I was in Gettysburg was last summer with my daughter, and I checked out the Battlefield Brew Works (first time visiting there). But, Fourscore Beer Co looked to be much better, as well as knowing Wade Leedy from the Central Whalerz group, and having talked to so many people from the group about the brewery, I was super psyched about getting to check the brewery out. Unfortunately, flash to the coronavirus, and my first visit is just getting to-go food and beer. But alas, we made the best of it, and promised to visit again, under better circumstances, and when we can fully check out the brewery (hopefully my usually yearly trip to Gettysburg come July / August).

So, Don, Ming, and I ordered as we were about twenty minutes out from the brewery. We were going to get the Eric Aumen Patty Melt, but unfortunately they ran through supplies the day before, but we all settled on the Fourscore Burger (they got coleslaw, I got fries), and all three of us agreed, it was absolutely phenomenal. Top ten burger in my experience with breweries. Just fantastic fries as well, so all around it was a great meal. Ordered the ‘This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For’ to drink later (as you’ll find out for the review here), and got a four pack of Timekeeper DIPA. (I might do a review for Timekeeper DIPA, as its a great 8.3% Double IPA of pure juicy goodness.)

We took our food and beverages (Don got the coffee brown ale; Ming doesn’t drink) and went and parked at the parking lot adjacent to the Gettysburg Cemetery. (Which is also only two or so blocks down from the brewery.)

Fourscore Burger, fries, and Timekeeper Double IPA by Fourscore Beer Co.

After eating we then began walking towards the Pennsylvania Monument and checking out the monuments, signs, and what-not along the way. This was Ming’s first time visiting the battlefield, and Don’s since he was in elementary school. I try to go every year (with a few misses) at least once to walk the battlefields. Gettysburg is a beautiful area, a gorgeous town, and despite the tragic history and circumstances, a peaceful, quiet, meditative place.

The view from the top of the PA Monument

Don’t worry, we practiced our social distancing, even in tough places, like the Pennsylvania (PA) Monument, where getting to the top, and getting to the bottom, required a bit of waiting since its basically a one-person stairway.

Monuments at Gettysburg

Ok, I’m sure you’re all sick of hearing about my escapades with Gettysburg, and just want to get right to the actual beer review; the sole purpose of this right? The reason you’re here, isn’t to hear about my trip to Gettysburg, or about how I write, or about the coronavirus or COVID-19. The reason you are here, is because you want to read about how amazing this beer is, am I right?! And don’t worry, it is one hell of a beer!

This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For (by Fourscore Beer Co) (Photo Courtesy of Seth Dietz)

Beer: This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For
Brewery: Fourscore Beer Co.
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 15%
IBU: None
Untappd Description: Brewed with a British Maris Otter base, loads of malted oats and a variety of roasted and crystal malts with a touch of lactose. Heaps of peanut flour were used in the whirlpool and the wort was racked onto a ton of marshmallow fluff prior to fermentation. More marshmallow is added at the end of fermentation along with peanut butter powder. Huge aromas and flavors of fresh peanut butter and marshmallows straight from the bag. A rich malty base of caramel and chocolate tones carry the flavors to the finish. Brewed with Founders Club member Eric Aumen. (The patty melt was also named after Eric Aumen as well.)

Firstly; let me just say this is an amazing beer. This was only my second beer from Fourscore (my first being the Timekeeper DIPA mentioned earlier), but this absolutely blew me away. Its 13$ per bottle, and they have quite a bit left at their brewery (so if you’re in the area, make sure to stop by and grab one, you won’t regret it!)

Appearance is just how you want your stout, dark, tall, and handsome.I think thats how it goes right? As soon as you open the cap and crack her open, you see the release that shows the great carbonation for this beautiful brew. It pours dark and heavy, thick, and gives off a delicious looking brown creamy foamy head. Interspersed bubbles, varying sizes. The beer itself is a Razor Ramon jet-black hair dark, and the head is a rich creamy brown. As you drink, it leaves a pretty lacing down the glass.

Aroma is just mouth-watering. Its hard to even want to take the time to smell this because you just want to get to drinking it. Heavy peanut, light marshmellow, heavy malt – mostly caramel and roast malts, just gives this a genuine, delicious, heavenly smell. You get a slight chocolate smell but its subdued behind the powerful peanut butter. There is also a light vanilla smell that could be the lactose in combination with the marshmellow or could just be the marshmellow itself, hard to fully distinguish. There is definitely a lot here with the aroma between the peanut butter, the marshmellow, and all of the various malts and oats of caramel, chocolate, roasted, and crystal.

Finally… getting to take a sip of this gorgeous beer…. and …. holy… wow…. just explosive flavor right out of the gate. Like a rambunctious puppy as soon as you get home from a long day of work (or after unlocking it out of the bedroom while you were in the other room trying to work from home due to quarantine), this explodes right out of the gate with mucho mucho mucho flavor. Firstly, let me straight up tell you, you are not going to be tasting the 15%; the high ABV on this is so well hidden, you can finish that entire bottle without realizing it at all. Its super smooth, but with a very heavy thick mouthfeel, but its so drinkable, so tasty, and so well rounded, that the high ABV never even becomes a factor or noticeable. Describing taste for this is simple – while its not something I enjoy as food; as a beer this totally worked – if you’ve ever had a fluffernutter sandwhich. Thats what this is. (With a lot more going on though.) The peanutbutter is definitely the most overwhelming flavor – and I’m a huge sucker for peanutbutter beers too (Molly Pitcher’s is one of my absolute all time favorites, and back at the Kegs and Eggs on the 14th, the Robin Hood Banana and Peanutbutter beer was amazing as well), but regardless of it being one of my favorite ingredients, this beer would still be a home run (or better yet, a grand slam). The marshmellow and lactose lend it a creamy and smooth texture and taste and really helps hide the 15% ABV. The various malts and oats has a very delicious backbone to this beer, and provides a wonderful secondary layer of flavors to this. This has the perfect balance of a thick, smooth, textured, rich, full bodied, aromatic, delicious beer. It has pretty much everything you want in a beer, in spades. This has been one of the most well-rounded stouts I’ve had in a long time. I cannot recommend again if you are in the Gettysburg area, stopping in at Fourscore and picking this up.

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 4.58 (as of 3.24.20)

I want to say congratulations to Wade Leedy and Eric Aumen on a wonderful and fantastic beer. I also want to say here, I am a total sucker for the name and label for this beer as well. Great Star Wars reference, and awesome Star Wars beer label. This will be one of the bottles I keep for the wall, just based on label alone.

Make sure you support your local breweries everyone, like Fourscore Beer Co, many breweries are doing curbside, to-go, and delivery. Also, help out with Tattered Flag and donate (check the article) so they can keep making hand sanitizer that helps everyone. You can see the following articles for ways on how you can help your local craft breweries:

* Support Local Breweries and Businesses
* Tattered Flag Uses Distillery to Make Hand Sanitizer
* A Message from Brooks Hemauer of Hemauer Brewing Co
* A Word from Brad Moyer of Liquid Noise Brewing
* An Update on Rubber Soul Brewing in Hummelstown (and the original article: A Sneak Peak at the New Rubber Soul Brewery)

Cheers everyone, and please keep supporting small busniesses, especially in these dark, uncertain times. If we don’t support them now, they won’t be there for us when we need them. We’re all a community, so help out where you can. Stay strong, stay healthy, and enjoy good beer at home!

Cheers!

-B. Kline

This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For (Fourscore Beer Co)

Beer Review: Azathoth (Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company)

BKline — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 04:57:36 +0000

Azathoth by Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company

First off, let me say – Happy Thanksgiving; from The Beer Thrillers family to yours. We hope you had a wonderful day with friends, family, and/or co-workers, that you had wonderful food, great conversations, and even better beer. That you remain grateful despite tomorrow being Black Friday, and that you continue to be thankful for what you have in life. We hope the day brought you much joy, merriment, and happiness.

Ok, now, lets get down to business.

Started off the day traveling to the in-laws for Thanksgiving there. Had a nice time, and a wonderful meal, though despite bringing my own craft beer, I was told to leave it in the car, and drank the Corona with them instead. (Ok, I can be sensible enough with in-laws to not fight them on this, enjoy the free beer, thank them for it, and enjoy my craft beer later.)

Afterwards, drove by Official BBQ and Burgers on the way home to see where its at, and realized its located really close-by. This is going to be the ‘future’ (future as in tomorrow) secondary location for Pizza Boy Brewing. In a joint fashion, they are opening a bar room up, and will be having Pizza Boy beers on exclusively. (So far as my understanding of things go.) They are due to go live tomorrow – Black Friday – 11.29.19 – and begin pouring the Pizza Boy beers from anywhere from 5-20 taps I’ve heard. I perhaps might be stopping in tomorrow to see what the news is, and to get the details.

I must say I am stoked to have a place with upwards of 20 taps exclusively for Pizza Boy so close (~10 minute drive). A ten minute drive versus roughly twenty to twenty-five minute drive, and also with a different set of food (BBQ and Burgers rather than pizza) so a bit of variety on the food and beer side of things in the nearby area, sounds fantastic. Sign me up.

After all this, I then went over to my sister’s for a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving meal with a flare of Mexico as well. Was very nice, interesting, and different. I brought along Azathoth to drink with the meal, and then while hanging out with friends and family I drank a Mango Guyabano sWheat Tart (that I still had apparently in my fridge) and then during the Spanish Loteria game, I had a Double Knife Fight in Space. (If you click the link, you can read J. Doncevic’s review of the Mango Guyabano sWheat Tart.)

So…. lets get to the beer, because you could care less about how I wracked it up playing Loteria with my sister and her family and her in-laws. And you want to hear about the beer.

Beer mail is the best mail

I had gotten the Azathoth in a beer mail trade. It was a southern box from a trade I did – local for local – with a person on BeerAdvocate. I traded (as per typical of me, and anyone whose read previous blog posts would know this already) Boneshire Brew Works, Tattered Flag, Troegs Brewing, and Pizza Boy, and received Edmund’s Oast, Westbrook, Heist, Creature Comforts, Pretoria Field Collective, Fonta Flora, and Wild Leap. Not a bad trade if I may say so myself.

Getting ready for Thanksgiving Dinner

Beer: Azathoth
Brewery: Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 11.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Write-Up: Notes of fresh coffee & bakers chocolate

I started with the stout figuring it’d go with the meal the best, and I certainly think it achieved that and then some.

Appearance is very black, dark deep stout black. With a very good brown head to it, creamy looking, thick, it left good lacing, and had nice bubbles that were disperse, random, and various sizes.

Aroma is slightly coffee, heavy roasted malts, with some deep dark chocolate notes. There is certainly a ‘baking chocolate’ aroma that mixes in with the roasted malts, and the coffee peeks out around these notes. Its not a super aromatic beer, but when you inhale deeply you can get the separate and distinct notes.

Taste is very full stout heavy flavorful. The 11.5% ABV is very well hidden. You know its there with how deep and dark and heavy the mouthfeel and stout tastes and feels, but the actual booziness of 11.5% is hidden. There is no alcoholic bite. There is a distinct bitterness in a two-pronged way; one being the coffee notes, the other being the baking chocolate. Both give off distinct, separate, but not bad, bitter flavoring notes and tastes. They combine nicely for a well defined beer. One that paired very well with turkey, mashed potatoes, and all of the other Thanksgiving traditional food – as well as tomalies, and jalapeno poppers, and pigs in a blanket (which was supposed to be for the kids…. but I yoinked a few).

My Untappd Rating: ****.25
Global Untappd Rating: 4.01 (as of 11.28.19)

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, and see you back here tomorrow for a Black Friday post. Maybe I’ll even get into anything. I know I won’t be going crazy trying to get the latest Goose Island Bourbon County bottles, but who knows, maybe I’ll get into something else for the day? Maybe check out the new Pizza Boy location? Who knows, check in here to find out! Or stay posted to our Facebook and Twitter feeds to find out!

-B. Kline

Beer Review: S’Mores LazaRIS (Boneshire Brew Works)

BKline — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 03:00:46 +0000

S’Mores LazaRIS by Boneshire Brew Works (Photo taken at the 3rd Anniversary Party)

Undoubtedly the biggest, baddest, best beer and possibly the most popular one that Boneshire Brew Works is known for is LazaRIS. It’s their flagship stout, and their biggest, boldest, darkest beer (Dark of the Forest coming in a close second.) (Also, be on the lookout soon for a review of LazaRIS – the original – by J. Doncevic soon.) So, over the past three years there’s been a few varieties and variants done by the brewmaster Alan Miller of Boneshire Brew Works; some of which include Coconut, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Spice, Tiramisu, and a few others – and now finally a s’mores version. And I think Alan might have outdone himself on this one.

For the 3rd Anniversary Party, Alan – and Boneshire Brew Works – released a few variants of the mainstay staple LazaRIS. Including a firkin of the Tiramisu, a coconut one, the Pumpkin spice, and s’mores. The Tiramisu, coconut, and Pumpkin Spice ones were done before, but the s’mores was a brand new one. So thus I decided to start there with my reviews on it. And I’ll let J. Doncevic do a full write-up on the original LazaRIS to give this some more meaning. Once he gets his review up, I’ll link to it, so you can read up on it and get a better understanding of this beer.

Out of all of the variants released (and re-released) at the 3rd Anniversary party, this by far blew me away, and was my uncontested favorite of the bunch – unsettling and toppling the previous – Tiramisu one. Though, the original LazaRIS is equal to all of these for its own unique reasons, I feel like this s’mores variant is leap years above all of the other variants, and is just my absolute favorite.

S’Mores LazaRIS by Boneshire Brew Works (photo taken at the Halloween Bash Party about a week after the 3rd Anniversary Party) (Daughter’s game of Chutes and Ladders going on in the background)

Beer: S’Mores LazaRIS
Brewery: Boneshire Brew Works
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 9.5%
IBU: None
Untappd Write-Up: Our Russian Imperial Stout, LazaRIS, with the addition of s’mores flavorings.
Original LazaRIS Write-Up: LazaRIS rises from the dead with with its rich and complex flavors of a Russian Imperial Stout.

The original LazaRIS stout is certainly rich and complex; and this version is no different.

Aroma is very heavy malt, caramel chocolate like notes, sweet vanilla notes, with a bready biscotti or graham cracker like smell lingering on the underneath of it all. The malt and grain notes are strong, roast, caramel chocolate, and give it a good backbone to the adjunct additions of marshmallow, graham, and vanilla.

Appearance is your typical stout look; like I’m constantly saying in this blog. Its Razor Ramon hair dark black. Its heavy looking, its thick looking, its full bodied, like a good woman (or man). There is a thin head to this, not a big foamy head, but a small circling ring with white going to brown foam, there is a lot of bubbles to the head that are varying shape and size.

Now lets move onto the real gem of this beauty; its taste. Hmmm mmmm hmmm mmmm. The taste is so fantastic. There is booze, there is depth, there is heavyness, thickness, there is wonderful malt, wonderful grain, wonderful notes of all of the adjuncts, there is just so much flavor and complexity, so much richness and decadence to this brew that its much to list and describe. Starting with first notes; you get a caramel and roast malt taste on initial impression with some booze heavyness to it but not overpowering or disturbing, this then seeps into the malts going more chocolate and roasty and toasty; but then the adjuncts quickly take over – you get marshmallow and vanilla notes. Quickly you get the full dark cooking chocolate for the s’more, and then a nice underlying bready, biscuit, graham cracker flavor that gives it a nice soft ending, a nice backbone to it all that ties in perfectly with the roast malt, the caramel chocolate malt, and the heavy grain bill. Making this just one fantastic, wonderful, rich, tasty, complex beer.

That makes this one fantastic and perfect beer on a super ugly Pennsylvania fall-into-winter day like today. ESPECIALLY when that day happens to also be National Stout Day.

Still on tap at Boneshire Brewery on Derry Street in Rutherford, so be sure to stop in! It certainly won’t last much longer!

My Untappd Rating: ****.50
Global Untappd Rating: 4.02 (as of 11.7.19, National Stout Day)

So, funny thing about this article, this was meant to be done SOOOOO MUCH EARLIER in the day…. but so much in the day came up and happened. (Joys of your days off being consumed by kiddos and doctor appointments, and drama rehearsals, and bingo, and all kinds of things.)

But I originally grabbed a can of Edmund Oast’s and Westerbrook’s “There’s Nuttin’ Butter Than Cam Pants” – thinking it’d make for a perfect stout on National Stout Day, and a great beer to review for it…. well, lo and behold my surprise when I realize after pouring it and taking my first sip (appearance was the first give-away) that it was actually in fact a barleywine. *Face-Palm*. Well, what else was I to do but make sure I had a fantastic stout later in the day to make sure I do a stout review on Stout day?

Needless to say, this was a great stout for the day. Such a super ugly, dreary, miserable mess of a day, but a super wonderful, fantastic, rich, beer from one of my favorites breweries, definitely made it all better! I can’t recommend this beer, and this brewery enough or more. So make sure you stop out and check them out on Derry Street in Rutherford PA (located in between Harrisburg and Hummelstown Pennsylvania; right by the 717 Armory).

And yes, I know, yesterday I hinted at getting two blogs today done; and I wanted to. But it just didn’t happen. Normally, this review would have been done early in the day, and then a second review done up later today (like NOW time) if I had the chance. But unfortunately, life does intervene. But no worries, still got it done, and still on target for 30 for 30; now sitting comfortably at 7 for 7.

Cheers All!

-B. Kline

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