what beers are you drinking?

[AaronS]

industrial arts brewing state of the art double ipa citra/chinook/amarillo - 8.2% abv. this is the other brewery I managed to visit on my recent trip to beacon. there had a few things that haven’t shown up near me, I didn’t like any of the things I had on tap but couldn’t resist the old school hop bill in this one. this is definitely has the body of a newer hazy beer though, and there’s a nice combination of melon, pine, and citrus with the usual resin underneath. this is pretty bitter, which I don’t mind, and is one of the few one offs from IA that’s actually better than their year round offerings, at least at this abv and blah blah blah. 

[AaronS]

bissel brothers nothing gold double india pale ale - 8.2% abv. bissel made a lot of the original north east ipas, there’s a beer advocate listing for this as early as 2015, their website says this is the second dipa they made, and this definitely has the same mixture of old and new that makes their substance ale so appealing. this may look more or less like a new beer but tastes like a really, really good example of an older one. there’s a reasonably bitter mixture of citrus and pineapple, along with some mint and peach and some earthy stuff in the finish. this has a nice combination of bitterness and the kind of detail you get in newer beers and so on. recommended.

[Sneakeater]

Your fans missed you.

[AaronS]

almond 22 brewery torbata ale brewed with honey and orange zest - 8.7% abv. almond 22 is a brewery in abruzzo that’s been a part of the b-united catalog for a long time. this one is their version of an english style barley wine, which wouldn’t be made with either of those adjuncts or the peated malt their website mentions in its description of a different beer with the same name. apart from the peat this does taste a lot like a barley wine, there’s some big peat and malt notes up front that give way to some slightly bitter orange marmalade and tea like herbal notes and a lingering finish that reminds me of madeira. this is a really well put together beer, all the flavors are distinct but work well together and so on. recommended.

eta: the chestnut honey becomes pretty apparent in the finish as this warms up. this is a really nice beer.

[Wilfrid]

I know stronger beers are popular now, but I was just staring idly at the draft list in The Penrose and noticed that out of 11 beers, 9 were stronger than the Pils I would probably order and that is far from non-alcoholic. 

Not that I expect any surprise at this.

[Anthony Bonner]

I follow on the 'gram a few beer led pubs in the UK and I'm always jealous of the low ABVs on offer.   I want to relax over 2-3 beers and not wake up in the morning feeling like death.

[Wilfrid]

I am with you on that. I can get wrecked on dark liquors, don’t need to do it on draft beer (if at all).

[AaronS]

evil twin brewing nyc wet hop season 2022 wet hop ipa brewed with fresh champlain valley cascade hops in collaboration with frequentium brewing company - 7% abv. is it really possible that I’ve never had a real wet hop ipa before? I’ve lived on the east coast of the us my whole life, so it’s entirely possible that all of the various wet hop/fresh hop ipas I’ve had over the years were a lot older than this by the time they got to me. (it’s also telling that none of the local breweries has labeled their beer this way blah blah blah) anyways... this is a really terrific beer that has a lot more going on than the last single hopped columbus beer that I came across, and I’m sure I would be hard pressed to say this was made with a single (very) old school hop. there’s a lot of bright citrus, apricot, peanut butter jelly bellies, that weird berry but not really berry you get in mosaic, and so on. I had been worried that the et nyc beers would get worse now that the former head brewer has his own place (root & branch) but this is probably the best hoppy beer I’ve had from et nyc and so on to ad naseum. my strongest recommendation.

[Sneakeater]

Where did you get it?

[AaronS]

at their taproom in dumbo.

[AaronS]

omnipollo noa pecan mud cake 2022 bourbon barrel aged imperial stout with natural flavors added - brewed at dugges bryggeri in sweden, 14.5% abv. noa is one of the older omnipollo beers, and while the version brewed by the 12% brewing is better than a lot of their american made stouts it really pales in comparison to most of the european made ones I’ve had. this is a pretty nice example of a barrel aged pastry stout - the primary flavor is probably bourbon, but there’s a lot of detail underneath (caramel, pecan, vanilla) that gives the bourbon flavors more depth. this isn’t that sweet for a pastry stout, has a small amount of apparent alcohol in the finish, and so on. the way the adjuncts are integrated with the bourbon is truly impressive. mildly recommended.

[AaronS]

de molen hel & verdiememis ale bottled 7/2017 - 10% abv. de molen is a dutch brewery that excels at this kind of huge, rich beer, and apparently this russian imperial stout is their flagship beer. this starts out with a huge set of roasted coffee flavors, like a pleasant combination of burnt coffee that’s been sitting on the heat all morning and chocolate, with a little bit of sweet anise and peat underneath. the malt notes here are extremely well done - there’s a lot of detail for something this bitter and it has the smoothness that well aged beer does. most beers this old wouldn’t be this big, but this seems like it has a lot of life left in it and I’ll drink the other bottle if a few years. one of the better non-adjunct stouts I’ve had in a long time. recommended.

[AaronS]

anchorage brewing company a deal with the devil double oaked barleywine aged for 7 months in heaven hill bourbon barrels then transferred to freshly emptied woodford reserve double oaked barrel for an additional 9 months - 17% abv. this is the second version of this I've come across, the other one spent 11 months in cognac bottles and I remember really enjoying it. this is a pretty odd beer, there are huge fruit notes that you don't normally get in barley wines (grape, cherry) and a lot of the flavors you get in bourbon (toffee, vanilla), along with a little bit of the fig and raisin you get in an actual barleywine, which is followed by a lot of coconut and . this is a pleasant beverage that has a lot of nuance, but there's not a lot of beer here. the alcohol is reasonably well hidden, I'm sure this is more interesting than a stout that was barrel aged the same way would be, and so on, but this is definitely one that makes me wonder if it should exist etc. this is also the most expensive beer I've ever had blah blah blah.

[joethefoodie]

@AaronS

Do you know anything about this place - walked by it last week and once I saw the menu, I got a little freaked out...

That Witch Ales You

Though it's kind of a cool name.

[AaronS]

never heard of it. I guess they make their own beer?