1114-1124. The Extreme Beer Fest: Part I
Published by Unknown on Wednesday, April 07, 2010 at 9:30 AM.
Another February, another Extreme Beer Fest. Jadyn and I went to the Beer Advocate Extreme Beer Fest with some friends. All in all it was a good fest. The format hadn't changed much since last year, and as usual there were excellent breweries from around the country.
1114. Pliny the Younger
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company
Alcohol: 11.00%
Style: American Double IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Pliny the Younger pours a hazed copper color with a frothy head. The aroma is intensely hoppy. There are piney, citric., and apricot aromas. A mild malty sweetness upfront moves into a strong hop bitterness with nice citric and grassy hop flavors. There's a strong lingering bitterness.
1115. Allagash Bourbon Black
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Allagash Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.00%
Style: Foreign / Export Stout, BJCP Style Guide
This is Allagash's Black aged in bourbon barrels, I'm assuming the Beer Advocate entry is the one I had. It pours an opaque black with a brown head. The aroma has notes of roasted grains, chocolate, and bourbon. The flavors are much the same. Notes of sweet chocolate move into a bourbon infused center, and then into a roasty finish.
1116. Rum Barrel Aged Black Tot
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Alcohol: 10.00%
Style: American Double Stout
This is Avery's Black Tot aged in Gossling's "old rum" barrels. It pours a dark black, and has a sudsy brown ring for a head. The aroma is mild with hints of oatmeal and booze. Sweet notes upfront give way to a roasty, rum-infused finish.
1117. Baladin Nora Sour Edition 2005
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Birrificio Le Baladin
Year: 2005
Alcohol: 6.80%
Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer, BJCP Style Guide
This beer pours a cloudy, wheat color. It's topped by a fluffy head. The aroma is acidic with slightly earthy hints. There's a graininess upfront that's cut by an emerging sweetness in the center. A mild sourness comes through towards the finish.
1118. Baladin Xyauyù Fume 2006
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Birrificio Le Baladin
Year: 2006
Alcohol: 14.50%
Style: English Barley Wine, BJCP Style Guide
This beer is brewed with lapsang souchong tea leaves and is oxidized through the use of a membrane and oxygen hat. It pours a reddish-amber color, and is completely devoid of a head. The aroma is earthy and slightly boozy as in a sherry or port. The beer tastes very sweet with a smoky finish. There's a lot going on in this beer, which isn't done justice by a two ounce pour.
1119. Rubus Lamboni
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Birra Del Borgo
Alcohol: 5.10%
Style: American Wild Ale
Pours a reddish amber with a ring of bubbles. There's an earthy, raspberry aroma. A pleasing carbonation greets the tongue, followed by a mildly grassy maltiness. The raspberries appear in the center where they contribute both sweet and tart flavors.
1120. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (1994)
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Year: 1994
Alcohol: 9.60%
Style: American Barleywine, BJCP Style Guide
I was excited to give this beer a try, as it's not often that one gets to try a 16 year old beer. It pours an amber color with a sudsy head. The aroma is malty with mild notes of resiny hops. Malty flavors of caramel, and raw sugar are noticeable upfront, but give way to a mild resiny hop bitterness. Surprisingly, I haven't had Bigfoot before, but I can only imagine the hops are much milder than when fresh. I think the hops have mellowed out a little too much leaving the malts to really come through in an unbalanced way.
1121. Berkshire Stuck Mash Wheat Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Berkshire Brewing Company Inc.
Alcohol: 6.00%
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale, BJCP Style Guide
This beer was brewed with 100% wheat malts. Pours a cloudy golden color, and is topped by a foamy white head. There are light hops in the aroma with notes of citrus, and grainy malts. There's a grainy, slightly sweet, wheat flavor upfront that moves into a citric center, and a mild hop bitterness.
1122. Xtreme Blend 2010
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.
Year: 2010
Alcohol: ?
Style: American Wild Ale
Pours a dark brown with a sudsy ring for a head. The aroma is woody and acidic with an earthy funkiness on swirling. There's an earthy woody character throughout the beer an acidic sourness that's good, but not too puckering.
1123. Supplication
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: American Wild Ale
Pours a clear amber color, and is topped by a thin, white film. The aroma is earthy and funky with acidic notes and tannic fruit skins. A brief glimmer of sweet fruitiness upfront moves into an acidic center with a dry, tannic finish.
1124. Triskelion Barleywine
Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Tap / Haverhill Brewery, Inc
Year: 2007
Alcohol: 10.30%
Style: English Barley Wine, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a hazy, amber-copper color, and has no head. The aroma is intensely malty with notes of caramel and toffee. Sweet caramel malts upfront move through to a mildly hoppy finish. I thought that this beer felt too thin.
1114. Pliny the Younger
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company
Alcohol: 11.00%
Style: American Double IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Pliny the Younger pours a hazed copper color with a frothy head. The aroma is intensely hoppy. There are piney, citric., and apricot aromas. A mild malty sweetness upfront moves into a strong hop bitterness with nice citric and grassy hop flavors. There's a strong lingering bitterness.
1115. Allagash Bourbon Black
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Allagash Brewing Company
Alcohol: 9.00%
Style: Foreign / Export Stout, BJCP Style Guide
This is Allagash's Black aged in bourbon barrels, I'm assuming the Beer Advocate entry is the one I had. It pours an opaque black with a brown head. The aroma has notes of roasted grains, chocolate, and bourbon. The flavors are much the same. Notes of sweet chocolate move into a bourbon infused center, and then into a roasty finish.
1116. Rum Barrel Aged Black Tot
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Alcohol: 10.00%
Style: American Double Stout
This is Avery's Black Tot aged in Gossling's "old rum" barrels. It pours a dark black, and has a sudsy brown ring for a head. The aroma is mild with hints of oatmeal and booze. Sweet notes upfront give way to a roasty, rum-infused finish.
1117. Baladin Nora Sour Edition 2005
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Birrificio Le Baladin
Year: 2005
Alcohol: 6.80%
Style: Herbed/Spiced Beer, BJCP Style Guide
This beer pours a cloudy, wheat color. It's topped by a fluffy head. The aroma is acidic with slightly earthy hints. There's a graininess upfront that's cut by an emerging sweetness in the center. A mild sourness comes through towards the finish.
1118. Baladin Xyauyù Fume 2006
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Birrificio Le Baladin
Year: 2006
Alcohol: 14.50%
Style: English Barley Wine, BJCP Style Guide
This beer is brewed with lapsang souchong tea leaves and is oxidized through the use of a membrane and oxygen hat. It pours a reddish-amber color, and is completely devoid of a head. The aroma is earthy and slightly boozy as in a sherry or port. The beer tastes very sweet with a smoky finish. There's a lot going on in this beer, which isn't done justice by a two ounce pour.
1119. Rubus Lamboni
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Birra Del Borgo
Alcohol: 5.10%
Style: American Wild Ale
Pours a reddish amber with a ring of bubbles. There's an earthy, raspberry aroma. A pleasing carbonation greets the tongue, followed by a mildly grassy maltiness. The raspberries appear in the center where they contribute both sweet and tart flavors.
1120. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (1994)
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Year: 1994
Alcohol: 9.60%
Style: American Barleywine, BJCP Style Guide
I was excited to give this beer a try, as it's not often that one gets to try a 16 year old beer. It pours an amber color with a sudsy head. The aroma is malty with mild notes of resiny hops. Malty flavors of caramel, and raw sugar are noticeable upfront, but give way to a mild resiny hop bitterness. Surprisingly, I haven't had Bigfoot before, but I can only imagine the hops are much milder than when fresh. I think the hops have mellowed out a little too much leaving the malts to really come through in an unbalanced way.
1121. Berkshire Stuck Mash Wheat Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Berkshire Brewing Company Inc.
Alcohol: 6.00%
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale, BJCP Style Guide
This beer was brewed with 100% wheat malts. Pours a cloudy golden color, and is topped by a foamy white head. There are light hops in the aroma with notes of citrus, and grainy malts. There's a grainy, slightly sweet, wheat flavor upfront that moves into a citric center, and a mild hop bitterness.
1122. Xtreme Blend 2010
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Captain Lawrence Brewing Co.
Year: 2010
Alcohol: ?
Style: American Wild Ale
Pours a dark brown with a sudsy ring for a head. The aroma is woody and acidic with an earthy funkiness on swirling. There's an earthy woody character throughout the beer an acidic sourness that's good, but not too puckering.
1123. Supplication
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.00%
Style: American Wild Ale
Pours a clear amber color, and is topped by a thin, white film. The aroma is earthy and funky with acidic notes and tannic fruit skins. A brief glimmer of sweet fruitiness upfront moves into an acidic center with a dry, tannic finish.
1124. Triskelion Barleywine
Beer Stats:
Brewery: The Tap / Haverhill Brewery, Inc
Year: 2007
Alcohol: 10.30%
Style: English Barley Wine, BJCP Style Guide
Pours a hazy, amber-copper color, and has no head. The aroma is intensely malty with notes of caramel and toffee. Sweet caramel malts upfront move through to a mildly hoppy finish. I thought that this beer felt too thin.
Labels: Beer Fests
