As part of WhiskeyWeek @ The Twisted Spoke

Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout
New Holland Oak Aged Charkoota Rye
New Holland Oak Aged Pilgrim's Dole
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout

I still think that the coffee is the best of the general release BCSs, w/the Mexican Hot Chocolate being the best period. I highly recommend the Charkoota Rya if you can get it, though I don't know about the general availability of the Oak Aged. Not a fan of the Pilgrim's Dole, sort of Barely Wineish, just not my thing.

The Grand Cru is an amazing sour, huge tart cherries without being overpowerly fruity.

SSDD

A (750 ml) bottle of Maredsous 8 after a 50 mile bicycle commute home from work.

Spring, finally spring. Even in Sweden!

Tonight? Whiskey, Sweet Whiskey in all it'ss forms.

SSDD

2009 Port Santa's Little Helper Imperial Stout that I added half a shot of Elijah Craig 12 to as an experiment. It's interesting. Not as smooth as a normal bourbon barrel beer, but I'm liking what it's adding to the beer.

headcase wrote:Tonight? Whiskey, Sweet Whiskey in all it'ss forms.

SSDD

I really loved the Michter's 25-year rye I tried during the first hour. The Jefferson's Presidential 18-year bourbon was also a real treat. The High West 21-year and Double Ryes were also both something I'd readily purchase. I think those 3 were my favorite new-to-me whiskeys at WhiskeyFest.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

headcase wrote:Tonight? Whiskey, Sweet Whiskey in all it'ss forms.

SSDD

I really loved the Michter's 25-year rye I tried during the first hour. The Jefferson's Presidential 18-year bourbon was also a real treat. The High West 21-year and Double Ryes were also both something I'd readily purchase. I think those 3 were my favorite new-to-me whiskeys at WhiskeyFest.

=R=

The 25 was excellent, especially since I didn't remember seeing it on the list. The High West offerings were great with the exception of the Bourye, or how ever they spelled it, just didn't work for me.

SSDD

Buffalo Trace White Dog Mash # 1... this unaged distillate packs a punch coming in @ 125 proof.

Spent some time at the Lunar Brewing Company on Saturday night. Started with a Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock. Tried to have a Capital Brewery Blonde Doppelbock draft, but they ran out. I was able to have a few ounces of it and wished they had more. The bartender recommended the Schneider Aventius, a Weisenbock. (His words were something like "it's effing amazing!" Twist my arm.) I finished the night with a Bell's Oberon. Should have gone back to the Consecrator, but I was trying to watch the ABV. A good night to be sure.

Lunar Brewing Company
54 E. St. Charles Road
Villa Park, Illinois, 60181
phone: (630) 530-2077

The GP wrote:Spent some time at the Lunar Brewing Company on Saturday night. Started with a Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock.

Tell us more about this. I've wondered how Bell handles doppelbock and the bottle/name clearly references Ayinger Celebrator, a favorite of mine. I enjoy many Bell's beers, love Celebrator, but have suspected I'd be disappointed in the intersection of the 2.

Consecrator's alright. I think its Beer Advocate "B" grade is about right, or a touch low. It's no Celebrator (though I haven't had that in a while) and it pales in comparison to the ponderous malt profile of Korbinian (my preferred, which I have had recently). As I recall, it's a bit less sweet than Korbinian, which might appeal to some. If you're into the style, I found it an acceptable American substitute. I believe West Lakeview has singles of it available, if you're not willing to splurge on a whole pack.

ETA: I wanna know why GP wasn't drinking Lunar's house brews! I've only had one via growler, but heard many good things.

JeffB wrote:

The GP wrote:Spent some time at the Lunar Brewing Company on Saturday night. Started with a Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock.

Tell us more about this. I've wondered how Bell handles doppelbock and the bottle/name clearly references Ayinger Celebrator, a favorite of mine. I enjoy many Bell's beers, love Celebrator, but have suspected I'd be disappointed in the intersection of the 2.

Jeff-

I found it to be a very smooth beer for an 8.0% ABV. I've had doppelbocks that were heavy, but this wasn't. I felt it was balanced, whereas the Aventius had a more pronounced molasses presence. I'm not familiar with the Ayinger Celebrator, so I can't help you with a comparison.

Here's what Bell's has to say about the Consecrator Dopplebock:

A traditional doppelbock fermented with a Bohemian lager yeast. Reddish brown in color, with a mild hop profile, Consecrator Doppelbock is a well balanced, full bodied beer with hints of caramel and molasses in its smooth, malty finish. As with our other lager brands, Consecrator undergoes a lengthy lagering period. Unlike the 6 week profile of the other two brands, Consecrator experiences a full three months in the fermenting vessel, giving it an exceptionally smooth character.

Of the numerous doppelbocks I have had Bells Consecrator ranks towards the lower middle of the pack. I found it to be rather thin in the mouth, too fizzy and lacking that balance of sweetness without being cloying that defines a great doppelbock.

Ayinger Celebrator is to me the ideal traditional doppelbock followed by Augustiner Maximator, Ettaler Curator and Andechser Doppelbock dunkel as other favorites. Capital Brewing does some pretty interesting and enjoyable seasonal and unique doppelbocks, (Autumnal Fire, Blonde, Tettnang, Weizen) though they definitely stray from the traditional.

JeffB wrote:

The GP wrote:Spent some time at the Lunar Brewing Company on Saturday night. Started with a Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock.

Tell us more about this. I've wondered how Bell handles doppelbock and the bottle/name clearly references Ayinger Celebrator, a favorite of mine. I enjoy many Bell's beers, love Celebrator, but have suspected I'd be disappointed in the intersection of the 2.

If you are already aware of this I apologize, but traditionally, German doppelbocks are named with an -ator suffix. So Consecrator doesn't seem to be so much a clear reference to Ayinger as a traditionally named doppelbock starting with the same letter of the alphabet.

Some other doppelbocks: Paulaner Salvator, Spaten Optimator, Tucher Bajuvator, Troegs Troegenator. Seems like these days there are a lot more that don't follow the naming convention, but you'll see some breweries have fun with it, like Boulevard's Seeyoulator.

Here's a BeerAdvocate thread on the subject: http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/264787

...was aware, but any accurate and interesting info is always welcome, I'd think. I know that goats/rams/bucks are also common enough on labels and a play on words, but not all the big traditional ones feature bucks (Salvator, eg). I assumed Bell was making a particular homage to Celebrator because of the 2 goats and the consistency in the number of syllables and first letters; but, on further thought I'm now thinking that it's also an homage to Salvator with its religious/monastic association. Thanks to everyone for the details on the Bells product and other DB's as it's that time of year.

I'm drinking an '08 North Coast Old Stock. Really great. Dark fruits, sweet malt. Kind of syrupy mouthfeel. I wish I had more of these to drink over the next couple of years.

A couple glasses of cold gin...first, a Turf Cocktail (nothing more than an "Improved" Martini) with Leopold Bros. then a Income Tax with Junipero.

Now, obviously I didn't have full pours of all of these, but here is a list of everything I tasted last night.

SSDD

I was very surprised by King Henry (bourbon barrel-aged barleywine) - I don't often enjoy barleywines (at least not young ones) but this was very good. It might be worth the effort to pick up some bottles when it's released next fall. Scully and Madame Rose were easily my two favorites from the night. Scully's high ABV (9%), though, is totally hidden making it a dangerous drink.

For anyone that missed the Goose Island event, SmallBar just posted a list of what remains from Saturday (they were closed on Sunday). Still a lot of great, heavy hitters - might be worth heading back just for more Lazarus and King Henry.

Lolita – raspberry wild ale
Little Bretty Tohtz (aka Widler) - American wild wheat
Indira – lemongrass saison
Bourbon County Brand Stout
Big John – imperial stout with cacao nibs
Lazarus – 2nd running of an imperial stout (still 9%ABV, if I recall, coming in a little high for a small beer)
Night Stalker – dry-hopped imperial stout
Old Max – stout aged in bourbon and spiked with Brett
Green Line (Hallertau hops)
Green Line (Montzueka & Green Bullet hops)
Marisol – Belgian-style white
Tripel
Demolition – Belgian-style strong golden ale
Fleur – Belgian-style pale with hibiscus and Kombucha tea
King Henry – barleywine aged in barrels used for BCBS

I couldn't wait for the 90 degree heat.


Greyhounds made with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and a splash of Pellegrino orange

I think I'm going to get goosebumps when I see Derrick get his trophy.

hooked on the White Dog right now, this shit will fix what ails you.

Cold and damp out here in the 'burbs so time for some Goose Island, Big John,Imperial Stout with cacao nibs added


it's going to take me most of the night to drink this beer!
Super thick, sweet and boozy

Organized my own "flight" of wheated bourbons...the (old) Old Fitz and PVW15 from Stitzel-Weller, the VW12 from Bernheim and the 2010 Weller from Buffalo Trace. Tasted them all blind and watered to 90 proof.



They were all excellent in their own right, but in order from least enjoyable to most...

Old Fitz : Noticeably the least mellow on both the nose and attack. Banana and caramel popcorn on the nose with a grassy/nutty (cashew) flavor. 3.5/5
WLW : Smelled of dandelions and green vegetation, cardamom. Woodiest of the bunch, with generic spice and toffee notes. 4/5
VW 12 : Salted caramel, cotton candy and palm oil on the nose, vanilla and cherry bark on the palate. 4/5
VW 15 : Chocolate-banana, coconut nose with a taste of walnut and butterscotch, light wood/ash on the finish. 4.5/5

Fantome Hiver Saison. I really wish they'd actually date these bottles: each label has the months and years waiting to be notched, and yet I've never had a bottle of Fantome that was actually dated. Anyways, it's nearly the Platonic saison for me, but I think the regular saison or the Printemps is better overall. Great balance of funk and normal beer flavor, a more pronounced bitterness, and a present but acceptable booziness.

A Bramble, but with applejack instead of gin. A drink I usually think of in the spring, but with a spirit I'm inclined to reserve for the fall...seemed utterly appropriate for today.

2 oz Laird's Bonded Applejack
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Shaken and served over ice. Topped with 1/2 oz Creme de Cassis and a dash of Angostura Orange Bitters.

I'm a relative novice when it comes to fine liquors, but I tried the PVW-15 due to the other thread here, and I think it is great. I have been a long time JD drinker, but I can see I have been missing a lot. I mainly like bourbon and rye whiskeys, can you guys recommend a nice rye for me to try that is under $40-50 a bottle? I'd like to try something that is equal in quality to the PVW, only in rye.

Cogito wrote:I'm a relative novice when it comes to fine liquors, but I tried the PVW-15 due to the other thread here, and I think it is great. I have been a long time JD drinker, but I can see I have been missing a lot. I mainly like bourbon and rye whiskeys, can you guys recommend a nice rye for me to try that is under $40-50 a bottle? I'd like to try something that is equal in quality to the PVW, only in rye.

If you can find it, the Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye is excellent. I haven't seen it on local shelves, so I don't know what it runs, but the last bottle I picked up in Kentucky was only $50. Thomas H. Handy Rye will run you $70-$80 depending on the 'vintage', and it looks like Binny's has '09 and '10 in stock. It's barrel proof, so you're getting a pretty good bang for your buck. In any given year, the Sazerac 18 might be better, but (despite being watered down to 90 proof) the allocation tends to be much lower, so it generally doesn't stay on the shelf for more than a week or two after its released in the fall.

There are not a lot of mid-priced ryes; at least not like their are bourbons. They tend to be quite cheap or quite expensive. Rittenhouse 100 and Wild Turkey 101 have been the leaders of the lower-cost set, with the new Bulleit Rye presenting something of a challenge to their long supremacy in that category. Those will set you back $20-30. At the other end of the spectrum are things like Black Maple Hill and Rittenhouse Rare, which easily fetch $150-$200.

There's a lot of love for Templeton, which is right in your price range. It's a tasty whiskey, but at only 80 proof, and not particularly old, I think it's overpriced. Still, you could do much much worse.

Cogito wrote:I'm a relative novice when it comes to fine liquors, but I tried the PVW-15 due to the other thread here, and I think it is great. I have been a long time JD drinker, but I can see I have been missing a lot. I mainly like bourbon and rye whiskeys, can you guys recommend a nice rye for me to try that is under $40-50 a bottle? I'd like to try something that is equal in quality to the PVW, only in rye.

Give the Rittenhouse 100 a try and go from there. At $20/bottle it's a good value. Above that but still within your requested price range is Wild Turkey Russell's Reserve Rye, usually in the low $30's/btl. As kl1191 points out there's a large gap/jump in rye pricing at the middle level, sort of like the hole in the donut.

Gumballhead, lots of it.

Henna, from New Albanian - a red IPA