Hermit Thrush Brewing - "Dark @ 4:30" dark sour ale

A few weeks back, we received our first shipment of rather-attractive product from Hermit Thrush Brewing out of Brattleboro, Vermont. Founded by two guys, Christophe Gagné and Avery Schwenk, this brewery is focused on American-style sour beer. They seem to be doing pretty well for themselves - carving a niche in Vermont for funky sours (and really pretty labels.) Their website indicates that they've been around for a few years and have racked up a pretty impressive yeast library.

Wait, "yeast library"?

Yes, it's a thing. The sour style has been around for thousands of years - essentially by exposing unfermented proto-beer (called wort) to wild yeast and stuff that's in the air. Sounds gross, but it's how beer was made for centuries. Today, brewers don't necessarily need to rely on wild yeast since we have ways of making in a lab or cultivating it to get what we want. But each strain of yeast imparts a different set of flavors to a beer, and brewers may want to experiment with combinations of yeast cultures to produce a certain type of beer. So it would make sense that an accomplished brewer would want as many strains at his or her disposal in order to make the beer they would want to make.

So enter today's beer - "Dark @ 4:30", a 6.50% ABV barrel-aged sour dark ale. The can does not give much information about what's under the hood, so to speak, so I called up the brewery.

I reached Nate at the brewery, who clued me in on some of the background to this. Essentially, this beer is a mixed-culture sour ale, which means there's multiple yeast strains in there, including Brettanomyces, saccharomyces, and Lactobacillus. The beer is aged in French oak casks - Bordeaux, I'm told - and according to Nate, the barrel-aging for this beer isn't the main point. The casks are mostly meant as a vehicle for the yeasts to do their thing, not necessarily to highlight the wood characteristics. Also, I should not that souring a dark ale is not particularly common, so that makes this that much cooler.

OK, let's give this a try. Immediately after cracking the can, it generates a very sour nose, with woody notes. Very nice. It's dark red when candled, and is deep reddish-brown color in the glass. No real foam.

Wowzer, OK, very sour. Immediately a burst of sourness, and then come those heavy, sour, oaky flavors with a generous helping of fruit skins. The feeling in the mouth is very full and silky and I'm really enjoying it. There's a touch of good Flemish ale sourness in there, of course a product of the Lactobacillus. Minor notes of oak, nothing particularly invasive, although there's a heavy black cherry note on the aftertaste, kinda like an Atomic Warhead candy, and remains quite sour long after swallowing.

I think I liked this so much because it's a divergence from the usual sour lineup. Overall it delivers solid, full flavors with a sense of balance, as the Flemish vinegar sour and the oak don't necessarily overpower one another. The dark fruit skin flavors grabbed my attention and really held on, which is great. I should say that because of the flavors, I do not believe it's suitable for sour beer neophytes. It's not puckery sour, necessarily, like Two Roads' "Persian Lime Gose", but deep and full. So if sours are your thing, and if like me you're tired of the overly-sweet, fizzy sours that are popular these days, give this a shot. It's quite good, and I'm bummed that I missed a tasting at D'Vines (led by Christophe himself) as they debuted a whole host of interesting new creations.

One note, Hermit Thrush's beers are on the pricier side - D'vines sells this can for $8 for a single pint, and we also sell their "Cuvee 2018" for $13 a pint. So definitely on the expensive end, but definitely worth a try.

Solace Brewing Co. - "The Fig Lebowski" stout

Bonus snow day post! Here's one of the more recent releases by Sterling, VA-based Solace Brewing Co.; it's called "The Fig Lebowski" and is an 11.00% ABV imperial stout made with lactose, vanilla, and fig - perhaps the first one of which I am aware to use fig as an ingredient.

Pours inky black out of the pint can. Really dark beer! There's some brown bubbles, but these die away quickly and forms thin orbital ring in the glass. There's a nose of roasted malts, chocolate, and a slightly vegetal note I can't place.

OK, interesting. It's milky smooth, thanks to the lactose, and presents some soft chocolate flavors right up front. There's some malts in there, no hops, and I can appreciate the hints of vanilla. More like vanilla extract, to be honest, but it works. The only place the fig makes an appearance is on the finish / aftertaste, actually. I really dig the flavor and I feel it's not too overly pulpy. And what's more, after the beer goes down, and I breathe out, there's a tiny bit of salt and smoke.

On first blush, the risk for some might be that the stout is too figgy, when in fact, it's just right. And, man, this does NOT taste like it's 11.00% ABV. It really hides the alcohol. I'm digging this and I think this is great for anyone interested in subtle, creamy stouts that pack a punch. I paid $4.50 for one pint, but it's usually sold in four packs. But yeah, it's worth it. But in the words of the Dude - "that's just, like, my opinion, man."

Also, there's something about The Big Lebowski that is attractive to brewers...Center of the Universe Brewing Co. released a stout billed as a "white Russian stout" a few months back called "El Duderino." Who knows, maybe we'll see more beer cans featuring Jeff Bridges!

Vignobles Gonet-Medeville - NV Champagne

In case you were wondering what potent potable I was enjoying on New Year's Eve, here it is - a non-vintage bottle of true French Chamapagne from Vignobles Gonet-Medeville.

Grown on a relatively-small 3 hectare plot of chalky soil located in Bisseiul, Marne department, Ay-Champagne province, this 12.50% ABV sparkling wine is a Premier Cru Blanc de noirs Brut. This means it's 100% pinot noir grapes (grown in a village classified as Premier Cru, or second-highest) and with only 2 grams of added sugar (Brut.) This wine was limited to a production run of 30,000 bottles, or 2500 cases.

Here's something - on the back label, it says the wine was disgorged in March of 2018. Disgorged? What on Earth is that?

Disgorging, known in French as dégorgement, is a process that sparkling white wines undergo to remove the sediment (essentially dead yeast cells, upon which the wine rests after second fermentation) before bottling. There are a couple of ways to do this, one of which includes inverting the bottle and essentially hardening the yeasty bits by dunking the whole thing in a freezing solution and then letting the carbonation pop the yeast out. After this process, the dosage is added and it's off to the retailers! According to Mary Gorman-McAdams, wine writer at Kitchn, sometimes vintners will add the date this process was done (essentially the date the wine completed its production cycle) on the labels. A potential reason why a consumer might want to know the disgorgement date is to compare wines and measure the effects of sediment on wine. A trained wine expert could take two bottles of the same exact wine but which had different disgorgement dates, taste them, and be able to pick out the subtle differences imparted by more (or less) time the wine spent resting on yeast. This might be too fine a point for us "normal" wine drinkers, but an interesting aspect nonetheless.

OK, let's dive in. Opens with a resounding pop, as expected, and projects a slightly sugary aroma reminiscent of apples.

Very delicious. What strikes me most about this is the texture - it's definitely effervescent, but not overly so, and presents full, velvety blankets of green apple and pear. These flavors are very full in the mouth and lush (unlike a Loire Valley sauvignon blanc, which may have the same flavors but on the crisper end of things.) The Champagne is remarkably low on acid, and is soft for a Brut. There's a bright flavor of strawberry on the finish - also very neat and unexpected. There's a nice lingering floral and red berry aftertaste that's quite pleasing.

Overall a superlative sparkling white, and probably my favorite Champagne to date. The fullness of flavor is what struck me the most, and this would be good for anyone who doesn't like the bracing, acidic nature of some Champagnes. Oh, and it paired well with a Cuban Ramon Allones cigar - I think the vegetal nature of the smoke paired well with the fruit-forward nature of the wine. So seek this out if you want to try something neat! It's a bit on the pricy end - $53 - but worth it in my opinion.

The Bruery - "11 Pipers Piping" Scotch ale

OK, here's one more holiday-themed beer that I'd be remiss not to mention. While I've enjoyed a great deal of offerings from The Bruery, you may recall a few years ago I tried the "9 Ladies Dancing", on draft at D'Vines no less, and was less than impressed. But I'm willing to try again, and today's beer is the eleventh variant in their "12 Days of Christmas" series. It's a Scotch-style ale (also called a wee heavy), made with coriander and Candi sugar (it's the same sugar they use in Old Dominion Brewing Co.'s "Candi" trippel) and weighs in at a very respectable 11.00% ABV. Notice it says "contains alcohol" on the label...it sure does.

Color is pretty much standard for a Scotch ale; it generates a medium-khaki head that really puffs up when hard-poured.

Check out all those bubbles! They settle down pretty quickly, though. There's a dark, sweet, molasses-like aroma that's really strong. Wow. 

Whew, woof. This is one heavy beer. Definitely a Scotch ale, there are heavy, boozy layers of malt and sweet Candi sugar. That Candi sugar has a particular taste and you can definitely taste it in this beer, kind of like caramel. As the flavor develops, it becomes more medium-full bodied with some bready / yeasty notes, and lots of toffee and caramel. I'm also getting some biscuity sweetness, mostly on the finish, and lots of sugary notes with a touch of coriander on the aftertaste.

This is good stuff. It's a big meal, no doubt, but not unapproachable. I like the mix of flavors and I like that it's, well, normal. A lot of The Bruery's stuff is experimental beers with crazy flavors, so it was nice to see an iteration of this series that's not off-the-wall. If you like deep, sugary ales with heavy booziness, this is the way to go. A true "winter warmer"! There might be a few bottles kicking around to grab.

Kent Falls Brewing Co. - "Coffeemaker" pale ale

OK, here's an unusual beer I had a while back - a coffee pale ale from Kent Falls Brewing Co. Brewed with wheat and Kent Falls house Brettanomyces yeast, this 5.60% ABV beer also includes a dry-hopped Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee from Sacred Grounds coffee shop in Sherman, CT.

According to Kent Falls' website, the idea is to focus on the flavors of hops independent of bitterness. Naturally, most beer drinkers associate more hops with a more bitter profile; this of course isn't always true and Kent Falls has sought to highlight this. This is batch #5, with the previous four batches made with coffee from Irving Farm Coffee Roasters in Millerton, NY.

It pours a hazy, dull yellow - unusual for a coffee beer. Interestingly, it's very dry, presenting some some juicy flavors, but mostly crisp - like pear and green apple. It even has some notes that remind me of a very crisp saison. I'm also detecting a bit of funk, which is of course that Brett yeast coming through. Overall a light and crisp pale ale, and refreshing. Only one pressing question:

Where's the coffee? 

I don't detect a single note of coffee throughout the entire thing. I gave some to my brother and mother - same story. I understand that the point is not for the beer to present typical hop flavors, but I would have liked at least a little hint of the winey, earthy flavors present in Ethiopian coffee. But no such luck. I think in terms of depth of flavor, this is on-par with the "Lade Øl", the other Kent Falls beer I tried a few years ago. Light, soft, and generally timid. I appreciate the craft, and these kind of soft beers can be good but personally I'll need a little more flavor to really capture my attention. If you like your saisons on the dry side and don't mind not having any coffee in them, then give this a go. If you're looking for something with stronger flavor, perhaps look elsewhere.

Brouwerij de Halve Maan - 2018 "Straffe Hendrik Xmas Blend" quadrupel

After many hours toiling away at D'Vines this holiday season, it's time to kick back with an 11.00% ABV oak-aged quad from Brouwerij de Halve Maan. This brewery, which means "Half Moon Brewery" in Flemish, makes the famous Straffe Hendrik family of beers. You may recognize the green label and an old guy moon face on the traditional Belgian bottle. Well, today's beer is their seasonal variant - the 2018 Christmas Blend. Merry Christmas!

Pours a deep reddish brown in the glass and generates a minor Flemish aroma - a bit like lactobacillus nose (like vinegar). Sounds good to me!

OK, I like this a lot. To me, it seems like a blend of three separate styles of beer - an oak-aged strong ale, a caramel sugar-infused Belgian quad, and a sour Flemish ale. Each of these three styles contributes in some way to the beer:

1. There's a serious undertone of oak paired with a syrupy texture reminiscent of a barleywine or "old ale." The oak aging really comes through in flavor, and it likewise imparts a certain texture and heaviness...as you can see, it has low carbonation and practically no head. Just like an old ale might. 
2. The sugars in the beer taste like caramel and brown sugar, so definite Belgian there. Not a lot of Belgian spice, but a tad. The caramel flavor really does it here. 
3. Finally, there's hints of that lactobacillus sourness that will be familiar to fans of the Flemish sour style. But - unlike some Flemish sours which really lay on the vinegar-like sourness, this beer has just a hint of that. Mostly on the finish. 

What's most particular is how evident all three "components" are. The spice and sugar marry well with the heavy, oaky texture of the barleywine and the Flemish sour adds a nice touch. Combined, these three things make an excellent winter ale, one definitely worth the $14 for a 750mL. Pick this up while it lasts!

Goose Island - "Bourbon County" wheatwine

It's that time of year again, and Goose Island's vaunted "Bourbon County" line of beers has hit the shelves! This is the brainchild of Goose Island master brewer Greg Hall; according to the brewery website, a chance encounter with the late Booker Noe, distiller at Jim Beam, gave birth to the Bourbon County stout - the world's first beer aged in bourbon barrels. Fast forward twenty years, and the beer has gained a cult following and has spawned several variants, including today's.

This variant is a 15.40% ABV wheatwine, and the first non-stout in the BCS series. But what is a wheatwine? It's a style of strong beer made from wheat malt, not grapes as the name might suggest. It's similar to barleywine in terms of strength, and although I've never had a barrel-aged wheatwine before, I imagine the style might lend itself to barrel aging quite well. Let's give it a shot.

Ok, big boozy aroma right out of the glass, with big notes of caramel. Nice, nice. Lovely color, too. Generates practically no head and has no fizz.

Wow! It tastes just like bourbon on ice. Slightly watered - hence the on ice part - but this beer REALLY picked up those bourbon barrel flavors. Vanillins from the wood impart flavors of oak, caramel, and toffee, and are the dominant flavors by far. There flavor is smooth yet full, although I'm not really picking up much of the bready sweetness that is typical to the wheatwine style. I like that this beer is medium-bodied, too - it's not syrupy or thick.

This is definitely a beer meant for bourbon hounds. It costs roughly $15 for a 22oz bottle, so not super cheap but not overpriced either. The other variants, including a midnight orange stout, retail for about $23, so keep that in mind. But if you're a fan of bourbon and want to try a very boozy bourbon beer, look no further.