Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale

Well, I'm still drinking the strong beers, just doing it in a slightly different locale than before. Let's get on with it, shall we?

Today's delicious brew is Stone's Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale (the 2012 Release). I love that it's 11% ABV, love that it is a barleywine, so it has a malty sweetness, and love that distinctive hoppiness that is pretty much Stone's hallmark. It is quite a heavy drink, though, with a kind of "hot" alcohol kick right up front. Do not love that quite as much; it could be a more integrated beverage. There's definitely a lot of layers of flavor here: the punch of the alcohol, the sweetness of the barleywine, the spiciness of the hops and whatever else is in here. It finishes just a tad too bitter for me, but a hops lover will disagree, I'm sure.

According to Stone's website, this beer contains Cascade hops (the first Stone brew to do so) and therefore has "hints of grapefruit and pine." I definitely get the pine, much less so the grapefruit. Any subtle citrusy taste is overwhelmed by everything else going on. It's thick in texture, a little cloudy in the glass, and very, very assertive on the palate. I do like it but it is the kind of beer that I have to be in the mood for. Kinda like Quentin Tarantino movies, or Interpol songs. But I like it, I swear! Because Stone beers are cool. And I like cool things.

I really do like it. For reals!
Brewed by: Stone Brewing Co.
ABV 11%
85 IBUs

Grand Illumination Ale

I loved this beer, and it is made by one of my new favorite breweries, Williamsburg Alewerks. I took a tour of this brewery a few months ago, and it is small. Like, convert-your-oversized-garage-into-a-brewery small. Our tour guide was a very knowledgeable gentleman who is a shareholder in the company, and the tour ended with many generous tastes of delicious beers (as it should have, since the tour was not free). In fact, I did not taste even one boring beer. And there were a couple yummy high-alcohol beer samples too.

Anyway, back to Brewmaster's Reserve Grand Illumination Ale. It looks great in the glass (I didn't take a picture of that so you'll just have to imagine it): amber, almost reddish-brown in color. This is a barleywine style ale clocking in at 10% alcohol, just where I like it. There's an obvious hit of alcohol as you drink it, but the heaviness of the beer keeps the alcohol from being overwhelming. The flavor is rich, malted, and syrupy, like a true barleywine, but it's also very well-hopped, and briefly even bitter, until finishing on the sweeter side. According to the bottle, Illumination Ale contains Sterling, Columbus, Pearle, Northern Brewer, Fuggles, and Bullion hops. Don't ya just love hops names? Fuggles!! That's gonna be the name of my next dog.

In conclusion, get this beer if you can find it! I have started seeing Williamsburg Alewerks beers around the DC area more and more. Good luck to you, my friend. I believe I purchased this one at Lost Dog, and it was $8.99 for the 22-ouncer.

Brewed by: Williamsburg Alewerks
ABV 10%
70 IBUs

Vanilla Doubledog

Ohhhkay, so this isn't a really heavy duty beer at only 7% alcohol, but I bought this 25th anniversary dark ale because I really like beers flavored like vanilla. It is good, but it's not as good as Southern Tier's Creme Brulee Stout (9.6%, and it tastes like an amazing, intense alcoholic cream soda, AND it has an attractive cow on the label). So if you like vanilla beers, definitely go out and find Creme Brulee. Anyway, this beer is not too sweet, has a pleasing scent and medium-level flavor of vanilla, and a short finish. It tastes a little bit like a Tootsie Roll, actually, especially at the end. But just not sweet. Not a ton of depth, but I did like it. I forgot what this beer retails for but it was under $10. Happy 25th anniversary, Abita!
Brewed by: Abita Beer
ABV 7%

(I thought it needed a cow.)

Brainless on Peaches (Release #5)

This is a really delicious Belgian-style beer made with peach puree. Their website asks, "Can you taste the Chardonnay barrel ageing?" Honestly, I didn't really pay attention to the fact that it was Chardonnay barrel aged while I was drinking it, so no, I don't remember thinking it was really oaky or anything. It has the sweetness I'd expect from a Belgian, but was also lemony and kinda tangy and almost sour on the finish. In a good way! More peach aroma than actual taste.  I think if you are not that enticed by the fact that it has peaches, you might still really enjoy Brainless. The alcohol was well-integrated, because it didn't taste really strong, but just really flavorful. This beer cost $11.99 retail for a 22 oz. bottle where I bought it (at a somewhat over-priced gourmet shop). I wish I had bought two instead of one so I could be drinking another one tonight with my beefy borscht that I've got stewing up on the stove right now. I love beets.

Brewed by: Epic Brewing
ABV 10.5%

Beer High?

Where great beer gets a diploma?

This blog is mostly about high alcohol beers: barleywines, bocks, Imperial IPAs, and anything else with an alcohol content of 7% and over. Because that's the kind of beer I like. So this blog is about beers that I've tried... if I like them, if I don't like them, and probably the occasional random other thing that I do or don't like.

Because I like to express my opinions about stuff. And beer.