Archive for Beer a Day
Haverhill Brewing L’Esprit Saison
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We’ve had a spotty weekend here in New England, with Hurricane Bill sending passing showers on Saturday and cloudy skies on Sunday. But this morning was quite sunny and I took advantage of the lull by getting behind a lawn mower, a weed whacker, and a shovel. (One at a time, not all at once.)
After sweating out everything but my soul, I decided to replenish my fortitude by heading to our local brewery and brewpub, The Tap. They’ve got a deck overlooking the river, and it seemed fitting to enjoy what remained of the sun for a spell — instead of laboring beneath it.
My wife and I had just entered The Tap when we were hailed from the bar by BeerADay.net reader and Twitter follower, Bob Simonds — AKA, @elric14. We joined him for a beer — or THE beer, as it were — before retiring to the deck for an early dinner.
Victory Old Horizontal
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I’ve been looking forward to trying a bottle of Victory Brewing’s “Old Horizontal”. The beer is a Barleywine-style Ale, and the 11% ABV elixer has an “enjoy by” date of November 2013! Combine these powerful stats with the image of a snoozing moon (as if to say, “After you drink this, we’ll be calling YOU ‘Old Horizontal’!”) and you’ll understand why I’ve been anxious to try out this Barleywine.
The note on the label reads, poetically:
“Low on the horizon the winter moon reclines, resting up for warmer times. While inside our homes the warmth abounds, as dearest friends are gathered ’round. In cheerful moods we gratefully sup, robust Barleywine from the cup! Brewed of pure barley, rich and sweet, one of nature’s truest treats! Fairly scented with fragrant hops, we celebrate this harvest crop. And as the heavens slumber above, merrily we sip . . . with the ones we love! Cheers!”
Such a stiff drink should be parsed out slowly, so I poured Old Horizontal into a snifter. My first pour was too chilled to do the drink justice; but as my belly warmed, so did the beer.
Great Divide Hades
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The brother of Zeus and ruler of the underworld, Hades is considered to be one bad hombre in Greek mythology. And yet, as a beer by Great Divide, Hades proves to be far more pleasant than its namesake.
By no means, should you construe “pleasant” to be a euphemism for “push-over” — Hades is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale; and, at about 7.8% ABV, it certainly lives up to the adjective “strong”. Heck, the image on the label shows Hades restraining a leashed Kerberos, the three-headed beast guarding the entrace to the underworld. You’ve gotta be one tough character to take that monster for a walk!
St. Bernardus Abt 12
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Westvleteren 12 is a Trappist ale that is arguably the rarest and most sought-after beer in the world. A gray market has sprung up among websites and auction sites, but the only proper way to get a taste of this rare Quadrupel is to visit the Abbey at Saint Sixtus — and that’s after calling ahead to reserve the one case allowed per phone number.
Perhaps the closest the rest of us can come to tasting “Westy 12″ is through St. Bernardus Abt 12, readily available at any bottle shop with a good Belgian selection. If you haven’t guessed from the title of today’s post, this is a story about St. Bernardus, not Westvleteren.
Old Chub – Oskar Blues
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Oskar Blues Brewery is most widely known for crafting some of the best beer you can find in a can. But they also have a reputation for creating some strong beer, too. Since my last can of Oskar Blues was a decidedly tame Moma’s Little Yella Pils, I feel the urge to venture back out into deeper waters.
Old Chub is a Scottish-style Ale from Oskar Blues. Scottish Ales are generally dark, malty, and often smokey. The strong malt often dominates the flavor, but I’ve discovered an affinity for Scottish Ales that has me curious about what Old Chub throws at me.
My can (“Batch #2″) was filled on January 20th, 2009 — Inauguration Day here in the United States. But despite the accidental stars and stripes on the can, this beer seems far less presidential and far more informal. The Colorado can has a tartan band and the slogan, “High Altitude. High Attitude. High Land. High Ya. No Rice!”
High Attitude indeed — this beer is a hefty 8% ABV.
