Tasting Notes: Brewdog/Three Floyds: Bitch Please: Islay

Brewdog/Three Floyds: Bitch Please: Islay (Scotland: Barley Wine: 13.5% ABV)

Visual: Very dark to almost black cherry. Small loose bubbled head. The head doesn’t last long but can be easily called back with a quick swirl.

Nose: Smoke. Toffee. Iodine. Alcohol tingle Buttery shortbread. Malt loaf. Peat.

Body:  Smoke. Moss. Malt loaf and raisins. Salt. Cherries. Sea wettened rocks. Medicinal. Malt drinks.

Finish: Peat and barley. Medicinal air. Dry. Some chocolate. Buttery.

Conclusion: Damn. This is going to be a love or hate beer. Like the previous version it has very heavily absorbed the whisky character from it’s time in the oak.  In this case what you get is the highly smoke filled and medicinal character of that exceptional Laphroaig spirit.

The base beer has a sweetness that makes a valiant attempt to show itself through, and even occasionally succeeds, more often that not though the whisky elements overwhelm it.  It is harsh and does a familiar burn at the back of the throat, more with the medicinal nature than alcohol burn.  It, again like its predecessor it is like an expression of the whisky in beer form.  Marvellously forceful, and tongue drying in the finish.

I would say the base beer makes a better showing here than in the original though, which gives a more contrasted character. The beer provides fine texture, and the base flavours create an environment in which the whisky elements can shine.  It seems that the sweet flavours are marking points from which you can contrast and recognise the Islay character in counterpoint to.

With head spinning abv and punching flavour it is a beer you should savour slowly. As an Islay fan I love this beer, though with the note that I would prefer a touch more evidence of the base beer character.  A powerful beer and highly enjoyable, though I must concede it is more a lesson in how to create a beer to complement whisky ageing that an excellent beer in itself. Still with that not aside it is still a great flavourful and forceful beer.

Background: Original Bitch Please was a Barley Wine made with shortbread, toffee, peated malt and a whole lot of other weird stuff.  Aged in Jura casks if I remember rightly, it was heavily dominated by the cask ageing. At the time I commented about my dislike of the term “Bitch Please”.  This version is the same base beer but had been aged in Laphroaig casks for 18 months. Now I adore Laphroaig, and the original Bitch Please was pretty good so trying this was pretty much a sure thing.  Oh also, Yes I am not unbiased on Brewdog beers. Oh and Three Floyds rule!

Bristol Beer Factory: Bristol Vintage 2011

Bristol Beer Factory: Bristol Vintage 2011 (England: Barley Wine: 6.6% ABV)

Visual: A simple cloudy reddened brown. Lovely tight bubbled head of a reddened peach colour. The head leaves quite a trail as the beer subsides.

Nose: Crisp. Fruitcake and rum. Malty chocolate. Cinnamon dusting. Reminds me of a Christmassy hot chocolate. Apricot or possible peaches and cream. Touch of cappuccino.

Body: Solidly bitter. Subtle dried apricot. Creamy texture. Slightly pineapple hopped. Lots of malt running through. Slight sour dough back. Subtle bitter coffee.

Finish: Dried apricots come through strongly. Lots of bitterness then light peach. Dry English hop character. Unsweetened bitter chocolate. Dry oak.

Conclusion: It’s a rare beer that is better in bottle than cask, but I think we just found one.    I had the cask version a few weeks ago and found it ok, but uninspiring.  Because of this the bottle ended up congregating at the back of the beer cupboard for a while.

So now, I dig it out to give it another try, bottle style.  The difference was immediately obvious, The aroma was so much more rounded and bold.  This alone led to looking at the beer in a different light.

The body itself wasn’t quite so different. A reasonable set of flavours but slightly indistinct in the differentiation between them.  The finish then comes in heavy with the bitterness and oak.

It’s a heavy beer, the texture is great and creamy but the flavour gives it this slightly gritty bitterness for grip.  The character bears well for potential ageing, though I feel possibly at a slight loss of clarity in its youth. Still a lot of promise. Light apricot coming through which is currently a background noise but will hopefully come more centre stage as the bitterness fades.

However I digress in this musing. I have a beer in front of me now damnit. A definite burst of fruity flavour characterises the beer, with a lot of hints to American IPA style, but matches to a traditional English Strong Ale like character in the main body, and a heavy oak influenced finish. Definitely benefits from room to warm, despite the American hoppiness it responds well like the traditional English beers to warmth.

So for now, I would say an average beer on cask, good but in need of a bit of polish in bottle, and Ill tell you in a year or so how the bottle I’ve tucked away does with ageing. Don’t let the musing fool you though, it’s unpolished but still heavy duty and tasty, just slightly raw.

 
Background: Bristol Beer Factories thousandth brew. So of course I hunted this down as soon as I could find it as they are a great brewery. Shortly after buying it I found it on tap, so grabbed a quick half for comparison as referenced in the tasting notes.  Five malts and four hop varieties used, aged in English oak.  According to ratebeer this is a Barley Wine. I would not have called that, but since I don’t have a better suggestion right now I’ll go with it, but I will try to confirm if that is right.  This was drunk whilst listening to Spektrmodule.

Tasting Notes: Art Brew: Arbor Ales: Barley Wine AKA Double Trouble

Art Brew: Arbor Ales: Barley Wine (England: Barley Wine: 12% ABV)

Visual: Burgundy influenced brown with a light Carmel dash of bubbles that leave quite the trail around the glass.

Nose: light grapefruit and a toffee/caramel mix.  Touch of tangerine and fruit sourness.  Sometimes the sweetness turns somewhat treacle in style.

Body: Thick textured toffee and pineapple. Very sweet and hits instantly.  Fresh tangerine. Dry malt.  Thin sugar coating of chocolate eggs,  Glacier cherries.

Finish: Bitter and yet clashes with fresh grapefruit. Liquorice and malt drinks. A gin air from the alcohol.

Conclusion: Whilst putting a beer this high abv on tap is a brave move, Id say making a massive barley wine with a good dose of American style hopping then serving it in a very traditional style English pub is, if anything, even braver.  So, does it pay off?

Well, whilst I can’t say how well the pub will benefit but I can say it works well enough for me. Its ideal moment of grace is that first sip. Insanely sweet, lovely toffee and a hint of grapefruit. That first sip is a wonder.

Now if only you could frame that moment and make it last the entire beer then you would have yourself an all time great.  From the fact I am saying that means you can probably guess that it doesn’t quite hold onto that high,

Any sustained drinking leads to the alcohol and the weaker elements of the beer taking the floor from that lovely front.   Now if you take a decent gaps between sips you can offset that quite well, and frankly the abv pretty much demands that you take your time over it.  With this time and respect that lovely front shows itself again, so definitely don’t write the beer off.

It’s a very good beer, lots of massive flavour with just a few flaws holding it back, but it is still a heck of a beer.

Background: Found at the “Royal Oak”. Must say you don’t often find a 12%er on tap so I thought id give it a try. Art Brew have done a nice batch of beers with a fun bit of experimentation and Arbor have been solid enough so far that a collaboration seemed like a thing to try. Only a half pint drunk for obvious sodding reasons.  Note: the bottled version of this appears to be called “Double Trouble”, it may also have spent a little longer ageing.

Tasting Notes: Brewdog/Three Floyds: Bitch Please

 

Brewdog/Three Floyds: Bitch Please (Scotland: Barley Wine: 11.5% ABV)

Visual: A very dark rum red with light islands of brownish bubbles.

Nose: Sweet fudge, peat smoke and salt. Milk chocolate. Digestive biscuits. Almost a whisky tingle. Strawberry. Iodine and glacier cherries.

Body: Massive malt and smoke. Toffee sweet front. Creamy and milky chocolate. Shortbread. Salty. Red cherries. Smooth yet tingling texture.

Finish: Smoke. Charred barrels and bitter chocolate. Very dry.  Burnt newspaper ashes become very evident. Slight orange and strawberry crème. Salty again. Bailies.

Conclusion: Some beers are great, some beers are interesting, and some beers are just fucking mental. Of course it is possible to fit into more than one of those categories as well.

This beer is most definitely fucking mental, so lets check and see if it falls into either or both of the other two categories.

Well the beer feels like a Jura whisky that you can drink like an ale, or a chocolate malted drink with a shot of Laphroaig and toffee in it.  Or possibly what a barley wine made at Islay would taste like.  So with all that in mind it would be pretty hard to deny that it is interesting.

So we have established it is kind of whisky like, in fact often to such a degree that any of the other elements can be hidden below. A pity really as you can occasionally see the special ingredients (or at least flavours closely matching the special ingredients) poking through and adding a nice touch of complexity to it.

This possibly then could have done with less time in the oak, which may have made for a better range on the beer.  On the other hand, it’s basically a whisky beer, that is cool. Does feel like a missed opportunity though.

So to the last category, is it great? Eh, well no. If I had asked is it good, I could have come back with a whole hearted yes, but great? Not quite.  Still a hell of a fun beer, but without that complexity that marks out true greatness.

Very heavy duty, island character and all, not complex, not clever, but it is a hell of a lot of fun, interesting, and yes, fucking mental.

Background: I was a in a good mood when tasting noted this, I had just managed to successfully bring my PC back online after the PSU had blown out, the sort of thing that always helps cheeriness levels.  This collaboration beer is made with laphroaig peated malt, highland shortbread and toffee and aged in a Jura cask, also heavily  hoped with nelson sauvin. Apparently they forgot to include the kitchen sink.  The usual disclaimer, I am not an unbiased actor on Brewdog beers.   The connotations on the phrases “Bitch Please” always gets on my nerves slightly, a fact I tried to not let interfere with my enjoyment of the beer.

Tasting Notes: JW Lees: Harvest Ale 2000 and 2009

JW Lees: Harvest Ale: 2009 (England: Barley Wine: 11.5% ABV)

Visual:  Darkened ruby, with a cloudy mahogany chest. Fizzy brown head, but not one that settles.

Nose: Red wine/port. Very potent and rich. Spiced fruit. Fruitcake, raisin.  Figgy pudding. Condensed cream.  A slightly musky aroma. Rhubarb Crumble. Very thick and pungent. Vanilla. Custard. Glazed cherries. All flavours mixed in together with a slight cigar tobacco and smoke.

Body: Very sweet. Glacier cherries. Red wine and raisins. Honey and cigars. Mashed cherries. Shortbread. Peaches. Toffee.

Finish: Massive tobacco. Barley. Dry and clinging. Smoke. Curiously sweet intermixed- honey.

Conclusion: There are times when it seems a beer is trying to paint a scene to you, using itself as a brush and your taste buds as a canvas.

This beer in particular crafts an image. An open decanter of port, its aroma wafting throughout the room. A cigar to one side, its smoke wafting gently. Around is a distinguished drinking room, a roaring fire that gently adds a touch of smoke to the background.  A dim light cast through drawn velvet curtains as the drinker is lulled gently to sleep.  Shortbread and fine toffee sit on a silver tray between the drinkers.

Thus comes this beer, powerful and rich. Cast in such imagery it is a treat with the chewy tobacco dominating the finish.

A seriously good beer, fruity, but reigned in by the tobacco end.  Smooth sweet yet challenging. The only thing that keeps it from the top heights is that the tobacco can get slightly omnipresent after a while, definitely well suited for the small bottle it comes in.

A beer that is all the called to image entails.

Background: 2009 edition, drunk early 2011.  This is a beer I’ve been trying to find for a while, but could not find in anything less than 24 beer crates until recently, which was  tad pricey for me.  Apparently a very good beer for ageing based on its reputation, and each comes in a numbered vintage.   As a non smoker I found the tobacco elements particularly challenging.

JW Lees: Harvest Ale 2000 (England: Barley Wine: 11.5% ABV)

(2000 edition, drunk 2010)

Visual: Very dark brown with red touches and a diminishing bubbled brown head.

Nose: Milk chocolate and tobacco. Aniseed. Musty book stores, walnuts and dates.

Body: Very smooth, blackcherry. Custard and smoke. Slightly resinous. Red cherry, milk chocolate and port.

Finish: Bitter, smoke and tobacco. Lots of resin. A slightly unwelcome small vinegar tone remains when everything else has gone.

Conclusion:  Returning to This Harvest Ale with over ten years in the tank we find again that the age has brought a smoothness with it, though in this case despite the silk texture the alcohol is still distinctly noticeable.

There are down sides now, the nose has become slightly musty, though this is offset against the tobacco becoming subtler and the body less chewy.  The fruitiness has become less forceful as well.  Many of these points are not good nor bad just different, and does make for a different drinking experience.

I’d have to consider at this point it is probably just past its peak as the mustiness shows, and a more dry clinging finish confirms.  You can still definitely appreciate the ageing for the smoothness and custard sweetness that has come out, even if the tobacco, whilst weakened has less to go against it making it more evident where it shows.

Interesting, but weakened by the final years I feel.  If I had more time and a spare liver it would be interesting to try around the seven year mark and see the play there.

Background: Continuing the varied posts with GLO over at “It’s the just the booze dancing” over the affect that ageing can have on beers I realised I had one more test to throw into the mix. A pair of Harvest ales, one from 2009 and one from 2000, which I could compare. This second tasting notes is slightly shorter to concentrate on the difference the ageing makes.

Tasting Notes: The Lost Abbey: Angel Share: Bourbon Barrel

The Lost Abbey: Angel Share: Bourbon Barrel (USA: Barley Wine:12.5% ABV)

Visual: Very dark red wine to black, with no head and very little fizz.

Nose: Red wine, vanilla. Smooth creamy chocolate. Immense black cherries, fudge and black treacle.  Almost chewable, yet sweet. Fresh plums and prunes next to the more subtle spiced blood orange. Coconut and digestive biscuits at the outliers.

Body: Very slick. Toffee and treacle. Marzipan. A mix of milk and bitter chocolate depending on the moment.  Raisins, gin and vanilla. Very light hints of prunes, orange and black cherry. Initially very light, but builds.

Finish: Liquorice, aniseed. Blackcherry again mixing with port.  Bitter, but still slick. Bitter chocolate. Evident, but not overpowering alcohol. Coffee liquors. Big toffee and Cadburys cream eggs.

Conclusion: When pouring this I had to check twice to make sure I hadn’t picked up a stout by mistake. It pours heavy and thick with a nose not entirely unlike Good King Henry.

The body dispels that illusion, well partially. It still has massive chocolate, which calls to the Imperial Stout style, but the body has a very stylish smoothness and lightness of touch that even the slickest stout does not match.

Initially it is over smooth and slightly light, which results in the flavour not coming out well. Thankfully it grows, with subtle sweet slickness intertwined into the wine and chocolate body.  It’s still very slick, and seems very much a barley wine in the Port Brewing tradition.

So an almost Barley Stout (or Imperial Barley Stout) beer, subtle and yet rich. Its only weakness it the slow build up required to get the body moving properly. Sliightly sickly sweet, like Cadburys cream eggs or crème brulee, definitely a beer that encourages moderation.

A great beer, with just a few small points against it.

Background: The big 450^th tasting note. I’ve heard about the Lost Abbey for a while, and have tried a few beers from the Port Brewing side of the production (Which in the case of older viscosity seems to share a remarkable amount of character with this beer). This beer was picked up from Brewdogs Bar in Scotland, and it was only on reading the back I realised this was the Bourbon aged variant, which is slightly rarer to my knowledge.  Due to its rep as one of ratebeers top 50 beers I decided to save it for one of my event tastings, and with this being the 450^th I thought it was a good time to break it out.

Tasting Notes: Sarah Hughes: Snowflake

Sarah Hughes: Snowflake (England: Barley Wine: 8% ABV)

Visual: Light amber, with a dashing of orange brown from the does not completely cover the body.

Nose: Vanilla, sweet. Quite light with some cherries and treacle.

Body:  Very slick, yet with a slight marzipan texture towards the middle. Fudge and golden syrup. Slightly custard. Very sweet and honeyed. Marzipan.

Finish: Light leaves. Mint and a touch of bitterness and peanuts. Candy floss, honeycomb and cane sugar contrast.

Conclusion: Here was me thinking Christmas was nearly two months ago and this just slightly sickly sweet beer jumps out and surprises me.

This really does seem to be all sweet flavours, but it’s smoothed out, which keeps the sickliness under reign.  Quite a neat trick if you can pull it off. Though I only had a half and I can’t imaging drinking more than that.

There’s a marzipan texture to the middle, which keeps it from being too slick (slight marzipan flavour as well, but that’s neither here nor there) and gives it some grip on your tongue.  Similarly the slight peanut to the finish shows that some thought has been put into how they can balance it out and make it vaguely drinkable without sugar shock. Shows a lot of skill in the craft I must say.

Overall a short sweet burst, very Christmas stockings and candy canes. Makes a refreshing half, but no more if you want to avoid hyperactive drunkenness.

Background: The only Sarah Hughes beer I’ve had before is the oddly 6% dark ruby mild they have done. Much as I dislike Christmas I am a sucker for Christmas beers, and haven’t had a chance to try many this year.  Thanks to Dylan who helped with improvised camera duties after my batteries ran out.

Tasting Notes: Brewdog: Mikkeller: Devine Rebel Mortlach Reserve 2008

Brewdog: Mikkeller: Devine Rebel Mortlach Reserve 2008 (Scotland: Barley Wine: 12.5% ABV)

Visual: Fruitcake to black cherry coloured with a bubbling beige head.

Nose: Cherries, fruitcake, smoke and brandy.  Bitter chocolate, roasted nuts. Figgy pudding. Gin alcohol styling, quite bready as well. Sultanas. Almonds, or possibly a hint of marzipan. Shortbread.

Body:  Silk smooth but very strong. Fruitcake.  Dried apricots. Treacle and cherries. Blueberry crumble. Slight rock salt back and smoke. Port, raisins and toffee round it off.

Finish: Treacle. Dry mouth and slightly bitter. Light charring and cherries mix. Milk chocolate, and a white wine alcohol air.

Conclusion: So we come to this, after the harsh beast of 2010, and the more subtle 2009 original, we find the reserve edition of Devine Rebel.  This edition takes the style and smoothes it out, allowing the massive fruit flavours to jump out and surprise you

Fruity with whisky smoke just playing around the edges. It’s a beast, but now a controlled beast, tugging at the reigns as it wishes to break free. Definitely keeps the journey exciting. New flavours make themselves known with every sip.

Frankly the best incarnation to date of this devine (sic) beast. The fruit is huge, the alcohol obvious but not burning, and the whisky styling enwrapping an amazingly complicated core.

If this is the devine, I would become a happy studier of its theology.

Background: Bottle 80 of 1000 made. This whisky aged collaboration beer has had several releases before, two of which I’ve tried and found enjoyable if slightly harsh in the case of the 2010 release. The Mortlach Distillery of whisky is one that I’ve yet to try the products of so cannot compare to the spirit. I will openly admit I am not 100% unbiased on Brewdog beers, but do aim for it when it comes to tasting notes.

Tasting Notes: Abbeydale: Last Rites

Abbeydale: Last Rites (England: Barley Wine: 11% ABV)

Visual: Clear amber gold with bubbles around the rim of the glass.

Nose: Raspberries and syrup. Milkshake. Really fruity and sweet. Slightly sherbety, banana, toffee. Fluffy pavlova in style, with occasional creamy mocha around the fringes.

Body: Sweet, very malty and almost coffee like, but filled with passion fruit and pineapple. Sweet syrup, pears, fudge. Huge malt return for the backbone and a mint menthol styling.

Finish: Coffee and passion fruit, Kiwi, chocolate and light dustiness.

Conclusion:   This massively fruity beer doesn’t hide its abv, but at least tries to round it out.  It mixes up the large amount of fruit with traces of chocolate and mocha which come out if you hold it in your mouth for an extended period – a nice trick to slow down drinking of a heavily potent ale.

Good range and good flavour, very much in a dessert wine style, somewhat like the Samichlaus beer tried at roughly this time last year.

Its full bodied and very unsubtle, with a malt back that is closer to most IIPAs than to your expected barley wine style. It’s enjoyable, but does need to hide that alcohol a touch more.  Still in the better 50% of beers out there.

A good beer for post dinner, or with desserts for slow drinking at parties. Not the best crafted, a bit over alcohol fuelled, but still a beer with enough to make it worthwhile.

Tasting Notes: Samlesbury (InBev): Gold Label

Samlesbury (InBev): Gold Label (England: Barley Wine: 8.5% ABV

Visual: A clear red amber, light fizz of a head on the pour but not for much longer than that.

Nose: Barley and large amounts of cane sugar. Golden syrup cakes, slight cherries and somewhat musty. Liquorice.

Body: Sweet front, bitter middle and almost rising charring. Somewhat muddled, but quite bready. Barley and golden syrup.

Finish: Dusty and big charring. Gin air. Liquorice again.

Conclusion: This is a lot of people in the UK’s introduction to barley wine, and tends to influence their view of the style. The nose is pretty reasonable, promising a decent beer.

Unfortunately the rest of the beer doesn’t follow through, it’s got a muddled and uncertain body, with a dirty (and not in a good way) feeling to the flavours. The finish is pretty rough, you get the feeling it was bred for alcohol rather than pedigree and flavour and there no sense of direction to the drink.

Not absolutely atrocious, but pretty damn far from good.