[Cellar Review] Boulevard Pale Ale (Vintage 2012)

Brewed By: Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri

Purchased: Single 12oz bottle (w/ best by: 10/25/12) from a 6-pack bought at Meijer in Urbana, IL; 2012

Style/ABV: American Pale Ale, 5.4%

Reported IBUs: 30

You're probably wondering why.

Why? Why, Jon. Why would you go and cellar a Pale Ale for two years? Don't you see the bottle? It clearly says "Best by 10/25/2012."

I know...I know...I'm a sucker and a masochist. 

But hear me out. Back in June of 2012, I reviewed this lovely American-style Pale Ale from Boulevard. And back then, I was stupid. I'm still stupid. Naive and young (and stupid), I took interest in the fact that Boulevard advertises this beer as being bottle-conditioned. In fact, this beer goes as far as to say (on the label) that, "The yeast, which settles naturally to the bottom of the bottle, encourages further maturation and contributes to the ale's complex flavor." 

It happens that lots of beers are bottle conditioned for further maturation...some by choice, and some not so much. It's often done to extend a beer's shelf life, carbonate it, or to provide stylistic nuances. I'm not sure how common conditioning a Pale Ale is, but I imagine it is common enough. I still think it's weird that Boulevard emphasized the fact, so for science I'm going to taking tasting notes on a shitty, oxidized, 2-year old beer...and then eye bleach my palate with something that doesn't taste like ass. Science...about Boulevard:

Boulevard Brewing Company hails out of Kansas City, Missouri. They have a very nice website that is cleanly formatted, informative, and is not loaded with Java and Flash scripts. The company was founded officially in 1989, but began in 1988 when founder John McDonald began construction of the brewery. In 2006 the brewery had a major expansion, which allowed for additional brewing capacity. You can find more info on the brewery's history HERE. According to Wikipedia, Boulevard is the largest craft brewer in Missouri, and the 10th largest craft brewery in the United States.

If you needed a refresher...the Boulevard Pale Ale is an American classic, like Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale or Blue Moon or Boston Lager. Brewed with Pale Malt, Munich, Cara 50, and Cara 120 malts, this one features Zeus, Magnum, Simcoe, Styrian Golding, and Cascade hops. At 5.4% and 30 IBUs, this is a lighter beer...and the bottle conditioning doesn't really say anything conclusive about anything. 

Also...I would totally compare this to a fresh bottle, but (1) I'm lazy, (2) this is so old it probably doesn't matter, (3) #YOLO. 

Boulevard Pale Ale (Vintage 2012)

Opening the beer results in a chimney of rising head...this would have gushed over had I not poured it out. Compared to what this beer looks like fresh (semi-transparent, gold/bronze), there is quite the contrast. The aged Boulevard Pale Ale pours into a dark amber/orange body, that is completely hazy. Even when held to a bright light, the beer is a hazy, dark orange color. There's a ton of carbonation rising up in my 2-year old beer, and a finger of off-white head is hanging around. There's lacing, and head retention.

The aroma: I'm surprised that this beer still has an aroma after two years. I'm getting a lot of pale/wheat-esque and clean malt backing; it reminds me of a Cream Ale. There is definitely oxidation, with brown paper bag and newspaper. But I'm also getting some spicy hops, wet leaves, iced tea, and some aged American Barleywine character. It's completely bad, but amazing how the hops have held up after such a long time.

This tastes...off. It's not right, and you know it. There's some autolysis and oxidation. I'm getting papery hops, watered down iced tea, faded wet leaves...and almost no malt character because it's a Pale Ale (duh). What's impressive is that after two years this still doesn't taste awful. Like, you can still drink this despite the glaring faults. There is still some hop character, namely that iced tea character, with wet leaves and even some pine. And I'm getting a touch of malt sweetness on the way back...so it's not like the beer is sewage. It's not. It's just a hoppy, expired Pale Ale.

Not much has changed in terms of the medium-light mouthfeel. This beer is still even well-carbonated. Gone are the vibrant hop nuances, leaving a one-dimensional note of past-due hops and iced tea. It's refreshing in some regards and underwhelming in others. I'm almost happy that I don't have a fresh bottle to compare this to.

Rating: Below-Average (2.0/5.0 Untappd)

Obviously this is a Strong Below-Average. I mean what the fuck did you expect? BUT...this experiment hasn't been for nothing. For a 2-year old Pale Ale, I think this beer has held up well. This is not a beer intended to be aged, but there are still some hop notes lingering around two years later. That gives me some hope for my aging Celebration Ale...which I will get to reviewing soon. It's another beer that people love to age for some unknown reason, when in reality it has no business spending time in your cellar. 

Random Thought: This gives me hope. The Walking Dead has frequently shown people drinking beer (I think), and they seem to be enjoying those beers well enough. So sleep peacefully, neckbeards and zombie nerds. If the zombie apocalypse does happen, you'll have at least a 2-year window to enjoy aging shelf turds until you can gather up the tools necessary to home brew your own post-apocalyptic brews. And if you stumble upon a batch of Barleywines, those will last you even longer.

But seriously, don't age Pale Ales, you twat. 

Pipeworks Mint Truffle Abduction

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #353/54/55) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 03.20.2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout/American Double, 10.5%
Reported IBUs: ?

OH SHIT SON, it's been a while since we've rolled out an official Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. You know what that means. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Tonight's big chocolate-mint Abduction clocks in at 10.5%. The back of the bottle states:

"Begin alien transmission: "Foolish humans! You're doomed! Doomed! Even more doomed than we hoped! You can't resist the universally delicious combo of fresh mint and chocolate! Muhah! It's time to ad-mint that there is no escape! Ok, now I'm getting charged for 'Roaming' so I have to go. You hang up. No, what am I saying? I'm doing the fear mongering here! I'll hang up. Doom!" End alien transmission."

Pipeworks Mint Truffle Abduction

The beer pours into an opaque, black body...per the usual course for these abduction beers. The beer kicked up a finger of dark tan/brown head. The head has settled into a nice ring around the edge of the glass, and there is sticky lacing and some glossy alcohol legs. It's very Stout-like. Woo.

The aroma immediately reminds me of the Pipeworks Chai Dog. I'm getting big anise on the aroma, with some clove/menthol/mint, big cardamon, intense spices, and a respectable stout backbone. The stout backbone includes aromas of coffee, chocolate, roast, and dark grains. It smells...intriguing. I guess I was expecting more mint and chocolate chip...let's dig into the taste.

The taste mirrors the nose to a tee. I'm getting a lot of anise, menthol, clove, tobacco, and cardamon/chai in the taste. I'm also getting a lot of coffee and chocolate in the mix, with some hints of roast. I WILL SAY, there is a nice minty/menthol twang that you pick up in the back of your throat...and the back end cleans up nicely, leaning more towards the mint/menthol and chocolate.

I'm really surprised at how earthy and spicy this beer is. There's a lot of menthol character, with some chai and clove and cardamon...you definitely get some mint, but it's not like mint chocolate-chip ice cream. This is a full-bodied beer with lazy carbonation, but it works for the style. At 10.5% this is a smooth operator, with minimal booze. Palate depth is good, and the complexity is okay. This beer is intriguing...but I was hoping for more of that ice cream shop interplay between assertive mint and assertive chocolate. Regardless...up front is menthol/chai/cardamon and chocolate; the mids dial up big Stout base with chocolate, coffee, some earthy roast, sticky sugars, and some nice hints of mint/menthol; the back end is where you pick up the straight up mint, and then you get some of that Andes candy mint-chocolate interplay, but it is brief. The finish is sticky and boozy. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average...this is definitely my least favorite of the Abduction beers, but it's a fun little riff. An experiment, I suppose. I actually really like the back end of this beer, which dials up that mint-chocolate experience. And the front end also works, but it leans more towards some of those earthy spices and mint flavor. It kind of reminds me of a clove or menthol cigarette. I dunno. Fun times in Abduction land, I would recommend this @ $10 a pop. Which is what I paid. I hope Pdubs brews this again...maybe they can up the chocolate/mint ante. Or Andes. Or whatever.

Random Thought: I just realized that with all my Pipeworks reviews I'm basically a Pdubs shill. 

Firestone Walker §ucaba (Abacus)

Brewed By: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, California

Purchased: 22oz (1 Pint, 6oz) bomber from Binny's in Chicago, Illinois; 2014 (2014 Vintage)

Style/ABV: English Barleywine, 13.5% 

Reported IBUs: 42

Tonight I'm slaying a West Coast #whale checking a beer off my bucket list. About Firestone: 

Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the folks at Firestone Walker Brewing. The brewery was founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone (son of Brooks Firestone) and David Walker (husband of Adam's sister). The brothers brewed their first beer in 1996, in a small facility rented from the Firestone Vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County. In 2001, the brothers-in-law purchased SLO Brewing Company in Paso Robles, CA, and set up camp. Despite being relatively new to craft beer, the brewery has a ton of accolades, and is known for their Reserve line and their oak barrel brewing system. You can learn more about the history of the brewery here and here. 

The §ucaba aka the "Sucaba" is Firestone's barleywine formerly known as Abacus. The brewery was forced to change the beer's name due to trademark disputes with ZD Wines of Napa. ZD Wines makes a high-end Cabernet Sauvignon called Abacus. What can you do but lawyer up and scramble those letters. At least Firestone has a cool trademark dispute story that came from it.

The §ucaba is a "true English Barley wine." This one is brewed in bourbon oak barrels, and is described as having complex malt flavors with dark chocolate, vanilla, toasted coconut, and dark cherries. This one uses Bravo, and East Kent Golding hops. The malt bill includes Munton's Pale, Crisp Maris Otter Pale, Munich, Dark & Light Crystal, and Chocolate malts. Punching in at 13.5% and 42 IBUs, this is a beer to be sipped on for the ages.

Firestone Walker §ucaba (Abacus) - 2014

The 2014 §ucaba pours initially into a dark raisin body, but quickly settles into a murky, dark brown haze. It's like the DV clinic on barrel aged beers. The beer kicks up a finger of foamy, brown head. When I shine a bright light through the heart of this beer, I get a beet-red body with serious ruby tones. There's also a good amount of sediment floating around with the streams of tiny carbonation. The beer has vitality: swirling it kicks up a ring of brown/amber head, and there is sticky lacing and glossy alcohol legs to boot.

Straight up on the aroma I'm getting a good amount of bourbon and barrel character. It's fleeting though, as the aroma gives way to brown sugar, raisins/figs/cherries, toffee, chocolate, oven toasted coconut, vanilla-coconut, and some tropical fruit sweetness. The tropical fruit sweetness is in the realm of coconut and pineapple, and I think it is coming from the beer's high levels of sugar...it could be a hop character playing off the sweetness. This smells good, but not dick-ripping-off. Here's to the taste, chimp, here's to the taste.

Holy shit. Wow. Based on the aroma, I was not expecting this amount of awesome. Straight up is a huge HUG of sweetness, with bourbon, oak, giant inviting barrel character, vanilla, coconut, and chocolate. The mouthfeel is full-bodied and dense and boozy, but for some reason it doesn't approach cloying. I'm getting bourbon, barrel, toffee, raisins, figs, cherries, chocolate/vanilla, big toasted coconut, intense brown sugar, molasses, nuttiness from the coconut, and hints of elusive pineapple-coconut sweetness. There's a light kiss of sharp booze and some barrel tannin goodness. Yum.

This is banging, with a full-bodied mouthfeel that still falls on the lighter side of what you could get at 13.5% and in a barrel. It's sugary and big, with minimal carbonation and lots of slickness. It's a sipper, yo. This beer also unravels layers of toffee, sweet coconut, and cherry as it warms up. I cannot stress this enough, pull this out at cellar temps and let it warm up. Palate depth is great, and this beer has really nice complexity for what essentially is a one-dimensional style of Strong Ale. You get oak, bourbon, and booze up front, with burgeoning figs, raisins, and cherries, and some nice chocolate/vanilla; the mids dial up layers of toffee, brown sugar, chocolate, vanilla, coconut, cherries, and hints of pineapple/coconut; the back is lingering oak/vanilla/coconut, lingering toffee, and sticky, boozy goodness. This is a hell of a sipper, and should last you over an hour or two.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this. This is kind of hot right now (my fault, I know), and probably will smooth out a bit with a year or two under the belt. I think cellaring beer is overrated, and I am usually the person telling you to NOT age your #whale, but you can definitely keep a spare bottle or two of this for a rainy day. Do try it fresh though...it's drinking VERY, VERY nice right now. I have no complaints, and plan to sit back with the second half of my bottle and watch The Walking Dead. This is the ultimate "don't pair with food" beer, so yeah. Sip on this. Enjoy. Life is short, and this is a diamond in the rough. Recommended.

Random Thought: I'm going full insanity wolf here, being that a few hours ago I was crapping out a kidney via IBS. I had IBS on top of running and lifting weights, so I am -- as they say -- le tired. I'm going to sleep like a drunk baby tonight. 

Pipeworks The Last Kiss (Tales From The Oak / Barrel Aged Last Kiss / aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels)

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 12oz bottle (Batch #90) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 02.??.2013)

Style/ABV: Bourbon Barrel Aged Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale, 11.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

Continuing with my previous review, The Murderous, and with Pipeworks' barrel-aged, The Jones Dog, I am wrapping things up with their barrel-aged Wee Heavy. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Like the previous two Pipework's barrel-aged offerings, this one was brewed back in 2013. You can read my review of the Last Kiss Wee Heavy if you are really bored...the tl;dr version is that it's a big, sticky, sugary take on the style. And that's okay. The beer is brewed with vanilla bean and fennugreek. The back of the bottle states:

"Our Last Kiss Wee Heavy, brewed with fennugreek and vanilla, aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels."

Pipeworks The Last Kiss / BA Buffalo Trace

In lower light this one pours into an opaque, cola-black body, kicking up one or two fingers of brown head. Bright light betrays this beer, which has a VERY dark ruby red body...you can see some carbonation streams steadily rising upwards towards the edges of the glass, and a centimeter of bready, brown head is hanging around for the long haul. There is lacing and legs.

The aroma here is very nice, with big bourbon/oak infused with chocolate, peat, and coffee coming to the front. I'm getting nice wood, oak, barrel, and chocolate....there's definitely some vanilla on the aroma, and the vanilla plays off the coffee in such an enjoyable way. It's almost as good as banging stalking that cute little English major number who is working as a barista at your local Starbucks. The base beer here is solid, and the barrel character is present.

The taste isn't quite as prolific as the aroma, but you get a nice range of flavors. I'm getting a lot of whiskey/raisins up front, but as the beer ramps things up you get some of that nice peat/Scotch Ale base, a little coffee, some hints of booze, wood/barrel, and some ghostly chocolate. There's some hints of vanilla as well, and the beer finishes sweet and boozy. Very nice.

You know a beer is sweet when the spirit/bourbon cuts through the sweetness...this is full-bodied, sticky, dense stuff. You can put that in the books. Despite the heavy mouthfeel, this drinks okay for 11.0%. The beer is actually a bit thin at times, and the barrel character isn't too pronounced. Palate depth is good, and complexity is good. Nothing is world-class here, but this is probably an above-average offering. Up front you get whiskey, raisins, and sharp barrel; the mids hit the peat/smoke, you get some base beer, there is coffee, light wood/oak/barrel; the back end dials up the wood/oak/barrel, with some hints of vanilla and chocolate. The finish lingers for a very long time, which is nice, and finishes sticky, sweet, and boozy, with lingering sweet notes. Good.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average for this beer. It's a Scotch Ale aged in sexy Buffalo Trace barrels...you can't really go wrong there. There's a simple elegance to this beer, but yeah. I would definitely consider pairing this beer with a cigar, especially since the whiskey and hints of peat malt point in that direction. You could also pair this beer with grilled meats, or your dry chocolate cakes or creme brulee. The base beer is over-the-top and fun for the style, so it takes well to the barrel. I'm glad Pipeworks chose this one for the barrel treatment.

Random Thought: It's funny because when I picked up The Last Kiss and The Murderous at West Lakeview, there were a bunch of bottles of The Jones Dog just sitting on the shelf. As far as these beers go -- and doing an apples vs. oranges comparison -- The Jones Dog is definitely the best of the bunch. I would rank them The Jones Dog > The Last Kiss > The Murderous. You can probably pass on The Murderous @ $8/12oz bottle. It's just...very average. But definitely check out the barrel-aged Jones Dog and Last Kiss if you have the chance. 

Pipeworks The Murderous (Tales From The Oak / Barrel Aged Murderous / aged in Elijah Craig 12 Barrels)

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 12oz bottle (Batch #107) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled 04.18.2013)

Style/ABV: Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine-style Ale, 11.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

I'm really excited to have tracked down this beer, especially after really enjoy Pipeworks' barrel-aged The Jones Dog. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Tonight's beer was bottled back in early 2013. I reviewed a batch of the Pipeworks Murderous (the base beer), and found it to be just okay. I really think the fusion of the bourbon barrel can greatly improve the base beer, so I have high hopes for this beer. The back of the bottle states:

"Our Murderous, English style barley wine, aged in Elijah Craig Bourbon Barrels."

Pipeworks The Murderous / BA Elijah Craig 12

This one pours into a hazy/murky dark-brown, golden raisin color. It looks like your typical Barleywine that has spent some time in a barrel, with deceptive dark brown darkness that is actually more golden raisin in color. The beer kicks up a finger of amber-tinted head, but that gives way to a ring of off-color lacing and some hazy cauldron effect action. There's some glossy alcohol legs to boot. It's not a pretty beer...but then how many barrel-aged beers are.

The aroma here is nothing spectacular, with straightforward bourbon/whiskey, some raisin sweetness, and hints of cherries and fruits. I'm getting mild oak/wood, and the underwhelming Murderous backdrop.

This is okay...I'm getting raisins, light wheat malt character, apples, and mild whiskey sweetness. There's a hint of bourbon/oak/vanilla, and tons of sugar....I'm getting sweet raisins, cherry cola, toasted grains, light nutty, hints of toasted coconut, and lingering grain/coconut in the back.

A couple thoughts...the barrel does improve the base beer, but I still think the base beer could be made better. This is okay, but it's very much par the course, I think. The mouthfeel is medium-full to full-bodied, with good palate depth and low complexity. At 11.0% this is actually fairly drinkable, with non-obstructive barrel AND low levels of residual sugars. This is really a beer in two parts: up front are raisins, fruits, wheat malts, apples, alcohol sweetness, sugar; the mids hit some of those sweeter, English-style Barleywine notes; and the back end dials up the toasted grains, nutty notes, and hints of toasted coconut. The finish features lingering coconut/toasted grains, some boozy warming, and moderate levels of residual sugars for the style. The barrel character could be more involved, and the base beer could be better.

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Average on this. I think this is going to be my least favorite of the Pipeworks' "Tales From The Oak" series. Having said that, this is still an enjoyable English-style Barleywine, and this is better than the base beer. At around $8/12oz bottle, this may not be the best investment out there...but how many barrel-aged Barleywines are readily available? You can pair this beer with a myriad of desserts, namely creme brulee. I think this is a good attempt from Pdubs, but I really want to see a Murderous 2.0. Or maybe that's just me.

Random Thought: Up next....The Last Kiss. 

FiftyFifty Imperial Eclipse Stout - Old Fitzgerald Barrel

Brewed By: FiftyFifty Brewing Co. in Truckee, California

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2014 (2012 Vintage)

Style/ABV: American Stout/Imperial Stout, 9.5%

Reported IBUs: 75

Tonight is a lazy night, so it's the perfect night to sit back and quaff a certified shelf turd. About FiftyFifty: 

The FiftyFifty Brewing Company is a brewery/brewpub based out of Truckee, California. The brewery was founded by Andy and Alicia Barr in 2007, and has become renown for their barrel/bourbon-aged Imperial Stouts. For more info, check out the FiftyFifty website or Wikipedia.

You can read all about the FiftyFifty Eclipse Barrel Aged Imperial Stout series in my previous post when I had the Heaven Hill Rittenhouse Rye Barrel variant. If you reference FiftyFifty's website, you can see that the 2012 Blue Wax bottle is aged in Old Fitzgerald barrels.

50/50 Eclipse - BLUE WAX / Old Fitzgerald (2012)

You would -- PROBABLY -- never guess this, but the beer pours into a dark, opaque body, and kicks up a finger of creamy, bready, tan-colored head. I'm actually catching some ruby red tones when I shine a bright light through this beer, and a pinky of dense, foamy head is hanging around. There's nice lacing and alcohol legs as well. All-in-all: it's a mother fucking Imperial Stout. What do you expect? Rainbows?

The aroma here is very whiskey-forward. I'm getting big whiskey, caramel, raisins, chocolate, toasted nuts, earthy coconut, and some fudge/brownie. There's some molasses dancing around with the caramel-raisin thing, and the nose suggests lots of sweetness from the barrel/spirit.

Yum...that's nice. This is velvety smooth, like an Oatmeal Stout. There's huge depth of flavor, as the palate lasts for a while. I'm getting nice boozy warming on the back, with lingering chocolate and woody notes. The front end has big raisins, molasses, caramel, and chocolate. I'm getting some coffee, vanilla, toffee, and aged English Barleywine sweetness mid-palate. That includes a little brown sugar. There's some hints of vanilla in here, along with alcohol-soaked cherries and raisins. At this point, the whiskey/bourbon is very well integrated into the beer, providing nice sweetness and raisin/molasses notes. There's maybe a touch of oxidation as well, but it works.

This is stellar stuff, but maybe not as good as the Heaven Hill Rittenhouse Rye Barrel. The mouthfeel is medium-full, probably closer to full...the bourbon helps cut through the base beer. The carbonation is light, but it's spot on for the style (IMO). The beer is also velvety smooth. At 9.5%, I feel like this is very manageable. Yes...this is a big beer, but there are plenty of bigger beers. This is very drinkable. And speaking of that, palate depth is somewhere around "great" or "outstanding," and complexity is average for the style or maybe a little above-average. I guess this nearly two-year-old beer is pretty mellow. Up front are big raisins, caramel, molasses, brownies/chocolate/fudge; the mids hit those English Barleywine notes, and throw in some vanilla, coffee, brown sugar, and some residual hop sap; the back end has alcohol-soaked cherries and raisins, big lingering whiskey, some barrel character, a touch of oxidation, port/sherry, and fade to sticky and dry with lingering sugar and chocolate. Boozy warming on the back is perfect.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. I would not hesitate to recommend this, especially at the price I paid ($15). This is just a phenomenally good beer, with tons of English Barleywine-esque sweetness. I don't know if that's the aging that has mellowed this out into such a pleasant and sweet beer...but yeah. Delicious. It's a very sweet, rich, and velvety smooth beer...great depth, above-average complexity...and something to sip on for dessert. Don't pair this beer with food. If you are cellaring one of these, I'd say give it a try right now. If you can find this on shelves still, maybe pick one up.

Random Thought: I'm going to go enjoy the second half of my bottle with a movie now, so heck yeah to lazy Wednesday nights.

Stone Crime

Brewed By: Stone Brewing Co. in Escondido, California

Purchased: 16.9oz/500ml bottle bought at Evolution Wine & Spirits in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: American Strong Ale/Chile Beer, 9.6% 
Reported IBUs: 102

Tonight's beer has been getting absolutely shit-panned on Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate for being too hot. I'm a huge fan of spicy foods, so it was with more than morbid curiosity that I found myself purchasing the Crime. Will it live up to the hype/hate? About Stone:

Stone Brewing are one of the more prominent breweries in the American craft brewing scene. They were founded in 1996 in San Marcos, California, and moved to Escondido, California where they recently expanded their operations. Stone was founded by Steve Wagner and Greg Koch. Koch has a reputation among the craft beer community for voicing his opinion, not putting up with shit, and standing behind his beer. Also...farking woot and fizzy yellow beer is for bitches. 

When people say, "I like spicy food," they probably don't mean that they are pepper masochists. I'm a pepper masochist. I enjoy trying hot sauces that push the Scoville limit. I'm a fan of ghost peppers and other unholy chilies. Bring on the heat, baby.

I was surprised when I started to do my homework about this beer. According to THIS blog post and THIS blog post, Stone's Crime is brewed with jalapeños and black nagas. The black naga is nuthin' to fuck with. These are peppers in the same class as the Bhut Jolokia and the Trinidad Scorpion. These are not gentle peppers. These are not jalapeños. 

I'm guessing this beer is legitimately hot.

The Crime's base beer is the Lukcy Basartd Ale (a blend of Arrogant Bastard, Double Bastard, and OAKED Arrogant Bastard). The Crime is then aged in American Oak; specifically, Kentucky Bourbon Barrels. The Crime uses "mid-level-heat" red and green jalapeños, "ultra-hot" black nagas, Caribbean red hots, and Moruga scorpions and fatalis. Can you say "owe, my fundie hole." This insane beer was bottled on October 2013, and clocks in at 9.6% and 102 IBUs.

Stone Crime

What a fucking disaster this was...the cork was cemented into the bottle, and I broke it in half trying to remove it. I ended up having to manually remove the cork with a wine opener, which agitated the beer and consequently lead to some gushing. The beer itself pours into a cloudy, dark red body, and kicks up two or three fingers of red-tinted head. This is a dirty beer, with obscene amounts of sediment floating around in the reddish/orange body (per bright light). Surprisingly a layer of orange-tinted head is hanging around, and there's plenty of lacing. 

On the aroma...aggressive peppers that have been cut open, seeds exposed, on your chopping board. Lordy Jesus, the peppers on this beer's aroma are intense. This is...Julius Peppers in his prime. I'm getting aggressive habanero, jalapeno, green pepper, dry heat, salt, some fruity pepper notes, and something more spicy and more sinister than habanero lurking beneath. If you camp out on the aroma for a little bit, you DO pick up some oak, oak/vanilla sweetness, and a little bit of the base beer. I'm getting some mild hops and citrus resin on the aroma beneath the waves of aggressive pepper.

I guess...cheers? I dunno why I'm nervous. Bottoms up, bitches. Wow...this is fucking spicy. My first sip was INTENSE. As it goes with spicy foods. It takes a bit for your palate to adjust to the extreme heat. My first sip was overwhelmed with heat, but I will say this has great duration on the back end. Aside from the salty-spicy heat, I'm getting the base beer in the mix, which includes layers of oak, wood, and some nice hop resin. As the peppers unfold, you pick up jalapeno, green pepper, habanero, and burn. The burn is pretty intense...I'm surprised this beer has as much burn as I'm getting. 

I'm not a huge fan of this. I thought I was going to enjoy this a lot more, but it's one-dimensional, like biting into a hot pepper. The base beer is drowning in peppers, and the subtle oak and Lucky Bastard notes aren't enough to keep things interesting. Unfortunately, this isn't a condiment or pepper or sauce. This is a beer. It's also really hot...I'm surprised, because as noted above, I like to chase hot peppers. It's just not very drinkable. Palate depth is really good, but complexity is low. The mouthfeel is medium-full. I dunno...up front, mid-palate, and back palate all ride into pepper land. You get some subtle oak and Lucky Bastard mid-palate, and some nuanced pepper notes on the back end. I'm just totally over this.

Rating: Sewage (WTF did I just drink?) (1.0/5.0 Untappd)

Ah, the elusive Light  Sewage (WTF did I just drink?). It happens. I guess I expected more beer here and less pepper juice. While the spice levels in this beer are manageable for seasoned veterans, the beer itself lacks any logical direction. It's just...beer drowning in hot peppers. If that's your bag then godspeed, but in my opinion this is a salty, burning mess. All the subtlety happens somewhere in the mid and back palate, as you pick up some mild base beer and peppery notes...by then the intense burn is kicking in, and you ride salty heat to intense burn. I could see this beer working well in a sauce, so maybe cook with it? 16.9oz is way too much for one person, I recommend tackling this in 4oz or 6oz servings. This is an entertaining novelty, and I'm glad I checked it out. As far as beer goes, I would not buy this again, especially at the high price this sells for.

Random Thought: And here is what I don't get. Stone releases an impressively spicy beer like this, but their hot sauces are weak as hell. WTF is up with that? 

Goose Island The Illinois

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled on 26 Feb 2014)

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 9.0% 

Reported IBUs: 95

I've been on a malty dark beer kick as of late, so I thought I would break up that delicious monotony with Goose Island's new hop bomb. About Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2013, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

The Illinois is a big, Imperial, hop bomb. This is one brewed with 2-Row, Special Pale, C-20, C-60, and Cara Red malts; and features Chinook, Cascade, Citra, and Meridian hops. I'm expecting big hops, so let's see what we got.

Goose Island The Illinois

This pours very typical to the style, and as described on the website. The beer pours into a slightly hazy, deeply golden-orange body, and produces three fingers of hop-fueled head. The head is soapy and sticky, and picks up some orange/amber tones. I can see large carbonation bubbles slowly popping upwards in this, and as the head drops off you get nice lacing. There is a nice centimeter of sustaining head.

On the aroma: everything I hoped for and more. I'm getting HUGE hop smells here, with resinous citrus (lemon, orange, pine, zest spice) up front. There's juicy oranges and some tropical fruit juice and fruit punch in the mix, courtesy of the Meridian hop maybe? The aroma has tons of hop spice, with citrus zest, white pepper, and big resin. There's a hint of grass in the aroma. It's just a big juicy hop-fueled aroma....good stuff.

The taste follows through with a slam dunk. You get huge Meridian hops up front, with fruit punch and an almost sugary, grape/passion fruit note. Then the beer hits you with tangerine, orange, sugary lemon, and some resinous pine and citrus/grapefruit, and crushable grassy notes. The back malt end leans towards biscuit/cracker. 

This is a very simple Imperial IPA with top-notch execution. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, with good carbonation and tons of juicy hops to move things along. I feel like this is on the lighter side of 95 IBUs, but you do pick up tons of hops in the taste. There's pleasant drying in this, and the beer is nicely attenuated. There's no residual sugars to get you down. So...it drinks very easy for 9%. It also had good palate depth and decent complexity. Up front: a blast of sweet fruit punch, tangerines, sugary lemons, and tropical candies. I'm going to guess that is the Meridian hops in full assault. The mids dial up some resinous lemon, orange, citrus, pine, and grapefruit. The back end gets a bit more resinous and dry, with lingering lemon and grapefruit, a hint of onion, and lingering cracker/biscuit malt character. The finish is professional and dry, like a happy ending.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

Like the Grapefruit Slam IPA, I'll toss this a Light Light Above-Average here. This is a very delicious beer showcasing a unique hop. If you like your Imperial IPAs on the sweeter, more balanced side of life...I would recommend this beer. The Meridian hops (and Citra hops) provide big juicy, fruity notes that are easy to wrap your palate around. Food pairings here include your typical American bar food, Mexican food, spicy wings, and on my menu tonight, fish tacos. I easily recommend this at $10 a 4-pack.

Random Thought: At some point, I'll try to get the 312 Pale Ale up in here.

Surly Darkness 2013

Brewed By: Surly Brewing in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Purchased: 1 Pint 9.4oz (25.4oz) RED WAXED bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2014 (2013 Vintage)

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 9.8%

Reported IBUs: 85

The drunks are out today...nothing says St. Paddy's day like dressing in green and bar hopping. I'm just happy I was able to secure a parking spot. About Surly Brewing: 

The Surly Brewing company is a brewery based out of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The brewery was founded in 2005 by long time homebrewer Omar Ansari with the help of Todd Haug (Minneapolis's Rock Bottom Brewery). For more info, check out the brewery's about page.

Rather than busting out a Guinness or whatever, I thought I would crack open something special. The Darkness hardly needs an introduction. This massive Imperial Stout is a cherished annual release, and has a Midwest cult following that rivals Dark Lord. The back of the bottle reads: 

"From the depths of the Brewhouse he arises! Enveloped in raging flames, his shadowy visage commands submission to the dark nectar in his goblet. Brewcifer holds before you a massively opaque black brew with notes of chocolate, coffee, dried tart cherries and raisins. The thick body of this Russian Imperial Stout finishes sweet, with a piney resinous hop character.

Brewcifer commands that you enjoy this creation in a tulip glass, to capture the complex aromas and flavors. Brewcifer would suggest that you share with a friend. Brewcifer doesn't want you to be a jerk.

Each year, we select a different artist to create a Darkness-inspired monstrosity. This year's fiery creature is from the dark imagination of locl artist Josh "Jawsh" Lemke." 

The Darkness is brewed with Pale Ale, Golden Promise, Crystal, Dark Crystal, Oats, Black, Chocolate, and Roast malts; the beer uses Columbus, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops; this one is finished with English Ale yeast, and uses Belgian Dark Candi Sugar. At 9.8% and 85 IBUs, this is a formidable beer in many ways.

Surly Darkness 2013

Darkness is thankfully apt in this beer's pour...it's very typical of a big Imperial Stout, with a black, opaque body, and two to three fingers of dark, bready, head. The head is somewhere between tan and mocha. There is nice lacing as the head drops off, and some alcohol legs can be seen when you swirl the beer.

The aroma here is a mix of sticky hops, alcohol, dark roasted malts, cherries, and chocolate. I'm getting cherries, raisins, pine, resinous hops, chocolate, roast, and coffee. It's a surprisingly sweet and hoppy aroma...with some rum and Quad-like dark fruits. Maybe that is coming from the Belgian Candi Sugars and the hops.

And the taste...is blissful. Even at the slightly cooler temps I'm drinking this at, just wow. Straight up are big cherries, hops, raisins, Quad-like dark fruits, and resinous piney hops. The whole front-end is wrapped in big roast, chocolate, toffee, and thick slickness. There's big cherry/hop/dark sugar-fueled malts in the middle, with big coffee, chocolate, and roast. The back end features trailing roast, coffee, and warming alcohol. This plays the Russian Imperial Stout style very straight, and wow. There' some hints of woody notes in here, along with some cognac and rum.

For a straight up Russian Imperial Stout...I'm talking about something not aged in a bourbon barrel, or brewed with adjuncts....this is fantastic. I guess you could argue the Belgian Candi Sugar is an adjunct, but whatever. This is full-bodied but smooth. There's good carbonation, and the mouthfeel is slick. The 85 IBUs provide balance to the roast and sugars. This is way too drinkable for 9.8%. I think this will age nicely, but you can drink the 2013 vintage right now. Palate depth is outstanding, and complexity isn't far behind for a straight up RIS. Up front: cherries, hops, raisins, Quad-like dark fruits, rum, deep roast, chocolate, toffee; the middle has lingering dark fruits, lingering cherries, rum, coffee, chocolate, espresso, pine, resin; the back dials up roast, chocolate, lingering booze, sugar. The finish is dry and sticky.

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this. This is fantastic, with huge hop character and Belgian Candy Sugar character injecting the roasty and chocolaty Stout base with notes of cherries, raisins, dark fruits, and rum. The beer is complex and layered. It's just a really good Russian Imperial Stout. This, ladies and gentleman, is the essence of an RIS. You want to pair something like this with vanilla ice cream, chocolate cake, a medium-rare piece of steak with butter on top, a raunchy burger with aggressive cheeses, grilled meats, or a big cigar. Honestly, I think this one will age well, but this 2013 Vintage is drinking just fine right now. 

Random Thought: And really, if you only have one bottle of this stuff, drink it fresh.

Gnarly Oak Hazelnut Dark

Brewed By: Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin  

Purchased: 22oz bomber from an $8 dollar gift set bought at Walgreens in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Amber Ale, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 24

Hazelnuts? Yarrr. After last night's mediocre Minhas offering, I'm happy to crack open tonight's beer and put this one to bed. About Minhas: 

Minhas is the oldest continually operating brewery in the Midwest, and the second oldest brewery in the United States. As you can see from the brewery's history page, the brewery has been owned by many different people, and rebranded numerous times. The brewery began in 1845 as the Monroe Brewery when it was opened by Mr. Bissinger. In 1906, the brewery changed its name to the Blumer Brewing Company. And in 1947, the brewery was purchased by Joseph Huber and the brewery became known as the Joseph Huber Brewing Company. In 2005, the Minhas Family purchased the brewery, and in 2006 the brewery changed its name to the Minhas Craft Brewery. For more info, check out the brewery's website. 

The Hazelnut Dark is billed as an "Ale brewed with natural hazelnut flavor." The bottle says: "Hazelnut Dark is a reddish amber ale that has an impeccable balance between its carapils and caramel roasted malts and centennial hops. We add just a touch of hazelnut to give a rich nutty flavor and aroma." I can only hope the hazelnut flavoring added to this beer isn't artificial and crappy.

Gnarly Oak Hazelnut Dark

The Hazelnut Dark pours into an orange/amber body. The body seems mostly transparent, and some streams of small to mid-sized carbonation are visible. The beer kicked up three fingers of amber-tinted head, and that has dropped into a consistent pinky of head. There is lacing if you swirl the beer, and the beer is bright orange when held to a bright light.

The aroma here is actually a bit of a departure from the Winter Bock and Chocolate Stout. I'm getting big Carapils malts and cereal grains on the nose, malt sweetness and fruity molasses, coffee, and hazelnut. There's a slightly buttery quality to the hazelnut aroma...and I'm getting some Cream Ale vibes from this.

This tastes a lot like a moderately hoppy Brown/Amber Ale spiked with hazelnut. The hazelnut doesn't taste too artificial...but there's a slight burnt and butter thing going on in here. Otherwise, I'm getting lots of toast, bread, unprocessed Carapils (which are fucking delicious so whatever), pretty clean hop notes that are floral and spicy, and lots of hazelnut. The hazelnut has some nutty and coffee character. This is actually okay.

As is the trend...this one is medium-bodied and probably a bit too heavy for 5.5%. BUT, you can forgive it because of the bitterness and carbonation that balances things out. This isn't even that hoppy, but the toasted character and Carapils provide additional bitterness. It's drinkable. The palate depth is good, and the complexity is aight. Up front: sweet molasses, hazelnut, and then some toast; the mids hit floral/spicy hops, toast, Carapils, and the beer cleans up; the back features lingering hops, and this one finishes dry and clean. It's almost like they used analytics and shit to brew a beer that has some thought and balance. They probably used BeerSmith for this. 

Rating: Strong Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. I like this...I would buy this again if it came in a 6-pack or if I could find single bombers for three dollars. I can't overlook the slightly burnt/buttery aroma, but in terms of the taste, this is definitely the most balanced of the Gnarly Oak beers. This beer has some nuance and progression. There are things like sugars, malts, and then hops. And when you combine them the right way, you get things like a nice palate progression and balance. I dunno. Whatever. Don't care. Food pairings: American bar food, chicken satay, ribs, pulled pork, pork, anything with pine nuts, YARRR

Random Thought: And that concludes my little $8 Walgreens adventure. All-in-all, not a bad deal....I've spent more than $8 on a single 12oz bottle of beer.

Gnarly Oak Winter Bock

Brewed By: Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin  

Purchased: 22oz bomber from an $8 dollar gift set bought at Walgreens in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Dunkler Bock, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 25

The past few weeks have been busy. That's the operative word. And then to cap it all off, I came down with a nasty cold. Having a cold sucks...it makes it hard to enjoy food, beer, and life. You can't work out, and sleeping is interrupted with bouts of dry throat and blowing your nose. As if that wasn't crappy enough, the one day of warm weather in Chicago is being followed up with a 4-to-8 inch March snowstorm that is starting right now. 

It's not all doom and gloom, though. For one, I got perspectives on the horizon. I'll talk more about those at some point. Second, the mother fucking NFL draft is coming up, AND the Blackhawks and Bulls are playing on a high level that is fun to watch. Third...I got some plans for this shitty blog. I don't know exactly what or when, but I'd like to bring Shitty Beer Tuesday back, and I'd like to mix up the review format a bit. So yeah, perspectives. 

Oh, and I also have me this $2.67 bomber of "Winter Bock." That doesn't hurt either. About Minhas: 

Minhas is the oldest continually operating brewery in the Midwest, and the second oldest brewery in the United States. As you can see from the brewery's history page, the brewery has been owned by many different people, and rebranded numerous times. The brewery began in 1845 as the Monroe Brewery when it was opened by Mr. Bissinger. In 1906, the brewery changed its name to the Blumer Brewing Company. And in 1947, the brewery was purchased by Joseph Huber and the brewery became known as the Joseph Huber Brewing Company. In 2005, the Minhas Family purchased the brewery, and in 2006 the brewery changed its name to the Minhas Craft Brewery. For more info, check out the brewery's website. 

There's no website for tonight's libation, but the bottle reads: "Premium Beer. A classic lager made in the traditional German style. It has a malty sweetness, a dark rich color and is lightly hopped. Made with select caramel and black roasted barley and a combination of Columbus, Zeus and Cascade hops."

Gnarly Oak Winter Bock

This one pours out very much like a typical bock. The beer kicks up three fingers of sandy/bready, off-white head. The head is foamy and slowly drops off into the beer's dark brown/reddish body. The body looks to be both transparent and filtered...clean like a Lager. Shining a bright light through the beer confirms the orange/red body, and reveals some fairly volatile streams of medium-sized carbonation. A pinky of head is hanging around, and there is nice lacing.

The aroma plays things pretty straight too...at least for a Dunkler. Now here is where I get to test my theory. This smells A LOT like the Gnarly Oak Chocolate Stout. Even with my lingering cold, I'm picking up aromas of cocoa, artificial sweetness ala cream soda, S'mores, ash/campfire, dried berries and fruits, and big toast and bread and bread crusts. This one dials up the toast/bread thing, which is kind of what you'd expect or want in a dark Bock. There is a light pine/maple note...maybe toffee...certainly some suggestions of Noble hop character, except this beer doesn't use any Noble hops. #YOLO

Eh...this beer is pillowy and heavy with a lot of residual sweetness. It's not at all what I was expecting for a 5.5% Dunkler Bock...it's like the janky homebrew extract kit version of the Sam Adams Chocolate Bock. I'm getting the chocolate and the cocoa, with a little fruity molasses character, and some bread/toast. There are hints of coffee in here, and some nondescript hop character shows up. There's maybe a hint of roast or the so-called "black roasted barley" in here. But yeah.

It's kind of hard to fault an inexpensive beer like this for [likely] using extracts and sugar. It really does have an extract vibe, with some serious balance issues. At 5.5% the lingering sugars and full-bodied mouthfeel are in contention with the cleaner Lager yeast and high final gravity. I mean...the bottle says the OG is 15, so the FG has to be around 4.9. I don't know, I'm not a fucking beer scientist. You're barking up the wrong blog, neckbeard. Even with the balance issues, this is drinkable. But I chug even the most cloying shit these days. I'd probably reserve this Walgreens bargain for a cold winter night like tonight. This beer is the cheerleader of one-dimensional. Complexity is low, but that expansive mouthfeel would make any football team happy. You get sugary chocolate and cocoa up front with fruity molasses; the mids have more sugary chocolate and cocoa, with hints of toffee and toast, some hops; the back end has more sugary chocolate and cocoa, with some hints of coffee/roast. The finish is sugary, with Tootsie Roll candies and that feeling you had when you were a kid and got lost at Walmart. 

Rating: Below-Average (2.5/5.0 Untappd)

IDGAF if this beer costs $2.67 or if it was free. This is for sure a Light Below-Average, just missing the median that is average for the style. Maybe I'm being overly harsh, but this beer makes me appreciate other Bocks that I have been somewhat critical of. It just lacks balance...and the cloying sweetness doesn't work for this style. I gave the Gnarly Oak Chocolate Stout a pass because the Dry Stout/English Stout can work with some of these fake cocoa flavors, but brewing a good Dunkler Bock is evidently harder than people think. It's probably a good lesson in "Lagers are harder to make than you give credit, you Yankee wanker." Anyway...this beer is best paired with spontaneous Walgreens purchases, ice cream, and cold winter nights like tonight. It's also a good beer to drink while you bridge the gap between being sick and not being sick. 

Random Thought: Not that I care and nor should you, but the spineless fartbox that no one cares about known as the Brewer's Association just updated their craft beer guidelines. Millions of beer nerds everywhere suddenly started to care. People LITERALLY left their Goose Island Black Friday lines, forgoing an opportunity to acquire Proprietors Bourbon County, now empowered with the knowledge that Goose Island are a bunch of InBev shills. Angels began to sing and jizz everywhere, and the president of the Brewer's Association, ....????..., made a speech that everyone listened to. Anyway, congratulations to Minhas "Craft Brewery." You guys are officially a craft brewery now. You can officially charge more than $8 for your gift set of mediocre beer. But seriously, the glass is pretty nice.