Samuel Adams Griffin's Bow Oaked Blonde Barleywine Ale

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 
Purchased: 22oz bottle from Sam Adam's Small Batch Collection "gift set" [Batch No. 3]; 2012
Style/ABV: American Barleywine, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: 45

Wrapping up the Sam Adam's Small Batch Collection gift set, I'm hoping I saved the best for last. To recap: the Norse Legend Sahti was not so great, The Vixen was on point, and the Merry Mischief was a beer I will seek out again. Actually, the Merry Mischief merits a revisit on the basis that I almost bumped it to a Divine Brew. Tonight's beer is a big 'ol Barleywine, aged with toasted oak. How could this go wrong? About Sam Adams:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info.

The Griffin's Bow has a lot going on. This beer uses pale malts as a base, to give the beer deep golden tones, and create flavors like coconut, pineapple, and burnt sugar. This beer is also aged with toasted oak that gives the beer flavors of wood, and hints of vanilla. And lastly, this beer uses those crazy Nelson Sauvin hops to add some citrus and grapefruit. All in all, clocking in at 10.0% ABV, and packing 45 IBUs, this beer is brewed with pale and "caramalt" malts, Nelson Sauvin and Zeus hops, ale yeast, and oak chips. I believe Zeus is pungent, pleasant, and lemony. With that said, into the glass and into my belly...

Samuel Adams Griffin's Bow

This one is quite the looker on the pour, starting out with a really nice golden color that quickly turns into a golden-bronze-orange beer as it fills the glass. This one poured with three finger's worth of golden-hued, foamy, IPA-like head. As the head pulls away, there is some epic lacing. In bright light, this beer takes on a golden/orange color, and has a nice transparent body. You can see some scattered carbonation in the form of small to mid-sized bubbles. The head still has some gold/orange in bright light, and a pinky's worth is sustaining nicely. Overall, this is an impressive looking beer.

You really get the Nelson Sauvin and Zeus hops in this....I have a bottle of this aging away, so that will be interesting down the road. I'm getting a lot of lemon, wood, grapes, passionfruit, grass, some pineapple, some grapefruit, and a fuckton of resinous, sugary sweetness. There's a touch of toffee, molasses, and burnt sugar. There's a really subtle hint of oak sweetness that comes and goes with the sugars when you swirl the beer in your glass.

Wowza, this one is surprisingly full-bodied and dense. I'm getting a ton of sugary sweetness up front, with toffee, burnt sugars, and caramel. I'm also tasting subtle oak, wood, and lots of zesty pineapple dances around throughout. This is a nice application of the Nelson Sauvin and Zeus hops, with dusty/oxidized lemon, hints of hops spice, resinous grapefruit, pineapple, and some more burnt sugar, caramel, and wood on the finish. The oak is very, very subtle. The hop bitterness is not aggressive at all, and the 10.0% is unnoticeable. On an added note...I'm not getting a ton of coconut in this. Nice.

This is initially dense, but sort of waters out a bit mid palate. If not for that fact...this beer would go places. I guess it still is, because it has really nice complexity, it hides the alcohol well, and yeah. The mouthfeel is full-bodied, but finishes a bit more thin. The finish is dry, but not uber dry, with dust, resinous hops, and bready malts. So the only caveat is palate depth...up front is sweetness, hints of oak, wood, and burgeoning hops; the middle is nice fruity hops, more oak, lots of sugars, coconut; the back is oak, coconut, sugars, and the finish I just described.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Lite Above-Average on this, which all things considered, might be too generous. After all, the Barleywine style is loaded with great beers. But I really enjoy the zesty lemon, pineapple, and bright sugary flavors that manifest as coconut in this beer. Also, the price is an outright steel at around 7 bucks a bottle. And...I'm curious to see what this tastes like in two or three years. I would pair this beer with citrus/lemon desserts, a burger, grilled food (grilled ribs...mmmm), fried chicken, or wings. Pretty solid stuff. Good job Sam Adams.

Random Thought: Good luck with the blizzard east coast....hope everyone stocked their bunker with lots of tasty beer.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA/American Strong Ale, 15.0% ~ 20.0% 
Reported IBUs: 120

A few months ago, I was walking into my girlfriend's apartment when I took a tumble like a drunken clown. This normally wouldn't be a big deal, but at the time I was carrying a 4-pack of BCBS and some bombers of Pumking. By some miracle, the 4-pack of BCBS remained intact. A bomber of Pumking did not. I fucked up my hand pretty badly as well, and scratched my watch too. Walking is hard, man.

Evidently the universe still hates me. Last weekend, as I was walking from my car to my girlfriend's apartment, the 4-pack carrying case I was holding bottomed out on me. The collateral damage included two bottles of 120 Minute IPA. My heart was immediately broken as I watched the bottles drift towards the ground in slow motion. It was like some Max Payne bullet time shit, except I looked like a 5-year-old who just had his Batman action figure stepped on, rather than a badass anti-hero. So here I am with another bottle of the 120...ready to try this again. On the bright side, dear three people who read this shitty blog, my story is a testament to the increased availability of the 120 Minute IPA. It's out there...go get some. About Dogfish Head:

Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995.The brewery began as a brewpub (the first in Delaware) called Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, and was originally located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The initial brewing setup included three kegs and propane burners. They brewed 12-gallon batches of beer three times a day, five days a week. In 1996 the brewery began bottling their beer, and by 1999 they had distribution to around a dozen different states. In 2002 the company outgrew their Rehoboth location, and moved to Milton, Delaware. More info can be found HERE.

If you roll over to Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA page, you can read about this crazy beer. Of course -- you already have -- and I'm just pissing in the wind at this point, as this beer has been subjected to the beer geek hype machine. But nevertheless...

If you're late to the party, then definitely tread lightly. The 120 Minute IPA is an extreme beer, clocking in at a variable ABV that ranges from 15% to 20% from year to year, and packing 120 IBUs. This beer achieves those numbers thanks to a two hour boil, where the beer is continuously hopped the entire time. The beer is then dry-hopped daily during fermentation for a month, and aged for another month on whole-leaf hops. This crazy beer is probably more comparable to a spirit/whisky than beer OR wine, and can easily be aged for many years (like 10+). With that said...let's get this into a glass, and see what's up.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

This one pours a hazy orange color, with a finger's worth of white-orange head. The head is made up of tiny, finely packed bubbles, and hangs around for a surprisingly long time given the massive ABV that's lurking. The head does eventually fall off, leaving a nice cauldron effect of sea foam head. You get so much sticky/residual lacing when you swirl the beer in the glass, that it's hard to see the massive alcohol legs. But they are there. This one looks about the same in bright light: a hazy/cloudy orange color, with a ton of visible carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles rising upwards. 

The aroma....oh my. My initial thought is, "I wonder if this uses the same yeast as the Fort?" There's a ton of resinous, sticky hops jumping off the nose, along with a ton of candi and caramel sugars. Initially, I was getting a lot of burnt plastic and apricot on the nose, but now I'm getting resinous citrus, resinous pine, Pine-Sol, and some raisins. The more I smell...the more tangerines, sweet citrus, boozy sweet bread, and plums I get. The nose is still incredibly resinous, and there is an underlying boozy character. Honestly, for a beer dry-hopped so hard, the nose is somewhat subtle. 

Again...as I taste this, I am reminded of their Fort. This is drinking a lot more boozy than I remember the bottle from last Friday, but I may have already been one or two beers into the night at that point. This is super sweet up front, with fruity plums, fruity alcohol (sweet berries, boozy bread, cake), a blast of resinous, enamel-crushing, citrus hop bitterness, and then the beer hits you up with cake, lemon bars, resinous hop bitterness taken to the 120-IBU-degree, and lots of bitter, super super dry, and woody pine/citrus on the back. This dries out like a champ. 

Again...mid-palate, I'm getting a lot of Pineapple Upside-down Cake, and booze. I had my girlfriend sip this, and she thought it was exceedingly bitter (soapy) and boozy. As a trained alcoholic and fan of hops, I find this beer to be neither. And I'm drinking this fresh. Keep in mind...in order to dial this beer up to that 15~20% range, the yeast is fed a fuckton of sugar during fermentation. This is a really sweet beer, and reminds me of a dessert spirit more so than a "spiritual IPA." If you go into this expecting an IPA...meh. Hell, the 90 Minute IPA has a lot of complexities that remind me of a boozy dessert spirit. When in Rome....

This is drying my mouth out worse than my first case of cottonmouth. This is exceedingly sweet, resinous, sticky, and dry. And yet, all the carbonation sort of grounds this in medium-full to light-full mouthfeel range. This beer is carbonated well. Palate depth is good, and complexity is great. This is very complex, and is reminiscent of a spirit. At 15-20% ABV (tonight, this is drinking pretty hot, so rant about this not hitting the quoted ABV AVOIDED), this is obviously a sipper. Also, the 10 dollars +/-ish a bottle makes this a beer to savor, not chug. Up front is big citrus, fruity yeast, alcohol; the middle rolls into heat, cake, sweetness, lemony sweetness, plums; the back fades sweetness with some resinous hop kick, you can feel your enamel peeling back; the finish is warming, SUPER DRY, and slightly resinous/woody.

Rating: Divine Brew

I'm feeling a Decent Divine Brew on this, and fuck the haters. Even at 10 dollars a 12oz bottle, this works for me. It's complex, subtle, and big. Is this an IPA? Nahhh. I don't even think this is comparable to a wine. While the Fort reminded me of a really boozy red wine, this reminds me more of a dessert spirit. And guess what? I would pair this with dessert. This beer would pair wonderfully with any dessert that had citrus: lemon bars, lemon cake. You could also pair this with a cigar, or just drink solo like I am now. Dogfish head suggests pairing this with smoked almonds or smoked meats, grilled lamb, or gingersnaps. I can see that...with the disclaimer that when I'm eating smoked meats, I like to drink lots of beer. Maybe start with another beer, and work up to this? Oh, and this is pretty awesome fresh/hot. I know everyone and their mamma likes to age this shit. And I am. I threw a couple bottles into the cellar to dig out in a few years...because why not? But honestly, this is pretty great fresh, so definitely drink a bottle of this hot before you age it.

Random Thought: At some point in the near future I plan to start Homebrewing, because why the fuck not. There was a great post at HomeBrewTalk, where user scottland brewed a 120 Minte IPA clone. He did a great job documenting the whole process, and the whole process is PRETTY CRAZY. The amount of sugar he has to feed the yeast during fermentation is nuts. Definitely check the post out....

Half Acre Double Daisy Cutter

Brewed By: Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 8.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

It's been a while since I've had anything from Half Acre:

The Half Acre Beer Company was founded in October 2006, which is young for craft beer in general, but great for the local Chicago scene. The founders of Half Acre started out by working with the Sand Creek Brewery in Black River Falls in Wisconsin. They eventually developed their Half Acre Lager, and began distributing and selling it in Chicago during the August of 2007. The beer was successful enough that Half Acre was able to buy out a space in the Bucktown area of Chicago. With continuing sales, Half Acre was eventually able to purchase equipment from Ska Brewing Co. and moved to their current location on Lincoln Avenue on the north side of Chicago. Half Acre has been brewing at their Chicago location since 2009, and seems to be really expanding in both amount of distribution and popularity. Check out the full story HERE, and check out their website for a low-down on all their beers and info. 

I'm pretty excited about tonight's beer. I'm a big fan of the Daisy Cutter, which is a grassy and aggressive Pale Ale. The Double Daisy Cutter is a beefed up version of the regular Daisy Cutter...with more malts, and double the dry hopping. I really love the artwork as well, and I'm reminded of the M.O.A.B.s and B.F.B.s from Bloons. Without further adieu...let's glass this up. 

Half Acre Double Daisy Cutter

This one initially pours golden, but quickly picks up a nice orange hue, and ends ups looking orange with gold/yellow highlights. This is transparent, with a nice stream of small bubbles rising upwards. The carbonation is quite lively. This one poured with two finger's worth of yellowish, super-foamy head. It's your typical double-I-PA fare. When held to a bright light, the head still radiates yellow/gold, and the body is a vibrant orange yellow. A finger of dense, cloudy head is persisting, and swiringly this leaves mad lacing. Overall, this looks nice...but smells better.

This one is fresh and hot off the press, and it smells pretty vibrant. I'm getting a ton of grass, a hint of hemp, tropical fruits, pineapple, mango, hints of aggressive and spicy citrus, and a ton of hop spice. There's almost a salty lime thing going on, with hints of citrus zest, and peppery grass. The nose isn't quite as expansive as the monstrous, resinous, West Coast offerings...but like the Daisy Cutter, I think grass and spice could be conflated with "watery."

The taste really mimics the nose, with lots of biscuity snap and grain up front, earthy hops, spicy hops, and a citrus and grassy mid-to-back palate. It's acidic, and has that enamel-crushing thing going on, but it's not expansive and resinous like a West Coast I-I-PA. I'm getting grass, lime/salt, soap, earthy hops, onion, and hop bitterness that builds quite nicely. As the hop bitterness compounds, you pick up on grapefruit, citrus rind, hints of watery tropical fruits, and some more onion. 

For all the nice flavors, this one is more refreshing than anything, with a medium-light mouthfeel, and light to moderate carbonation that is supportive and smooth. The finish is bitter and dry, with slightly aggressive hop acidity. Drinkability is uber high...really, at 8.0%, this is a dangerous beer. Palate depth is good, and complexity is good as well. It's literally...kind of like a beefed up version of its little sister. Up front is biscuit, hard water, and earthy and spicy hops; mid palate rolls into big hops, with onion, citrus rind, watery tropical fruits; the back end is lingering tropical fruits, onion, lime/spice, grass, and fade to a dry, grassy, acidic finish.

Rating: Average

I'm feeling a strong Average on this...with the disclaimer that I really enjoy this beer, but the lack of complexity and lack of expansive flavors just doesn't hold up to the giants that rule this style. Style guidelines are a bitch, but those are the restraints I choose to bare. That's not to say that this beer isn't awesome or enjoyable...I picked up a few bottles, and look forward to its annual release. In some regards, this beer plays our more like an Imperial Pale Ale rather than an Imperial India Pale Ale. If such a style guideline existed [Imperial Pale Ale], I would probably bump this up to Above Average. I suppose IPAs fit the bill...and I'm just being an ass over semantics. As far as food pairings here: bar food. The price is right, at around 8 or 9 bucks a bomber. Will drink again.

Random Thought: Untappd just updated their app to allow half-star ratings. This means instead of giving the Double Daisy Cutter a 3, I can give it a 3.5!!! In other non-news, BeerAdvocate is rolling out their web app....which is hilarious. Because, native apps are sex, and web apps are like dry humping that Christian girl who is waiting til marriage. At least you have anal.