Central New England Beer Meetup #1

So the first Central New England BA Meetup went well. There were 10 people with quite a few beers. The early folks got to sample the Goatmeal Stout, the bourbon oaked oatmeal stout. Anyways, here is the list of beers we did with a few quick notes. Pictures are here if you want to follow along with the beer lineup.


http://picasaweb.google.com/jlindros/Central_NE_BA_Meetup_02_06_10#

First up was Frau Brothers Rainwater VSOB. It had quite a bit of chocolate and roast, lots of coffee, fruit, pretty dry and a little boozy. Also had some malty flavors, a little bourbon and oak flavors, and was pretty thick and chewy. Although the body was a little lacking and the fruit was a little to heavy for the style.

Next up we did a side by side comparison of Berkshire Imperial Stout to the Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout. The regulat imp stout had some traditional stout flavors with some roast, black patent malt, some bitter chocolate, some light noble grassy hop flavors and bitterness, with a lighter mouth feel. The Bourbon Barrel one had taken away all the hop characteristics as well as the chocolate. The oak added a heavy tangy fruit flavor and obvious bourbon. It was sweeter and smoother actually, but added a little bit higher boozy flavor and rich creamy quality. The two were completely different beers.

We had a quick break for pizza, for which we added a nice palate cleanser of Central City Red Racer IPA, until moving onto dessert, which was Woodstock Maple Porter. This one had quite a bit of maple flavor, some fruit, it was pretty bright tasting, some creme brulee flavors and roasted qualities. A little smoke and hints of coffee finished it off. It had a lighter body too.

Next we broke into the prize beers, starting with 2008 Deschutes Abyss. This one had a dark thick creamy head, darker and thicker than used motor oil with thick long legs. It was loaded with roast and bakers chocolate, coffee, tobacco, toast, and had a slight boozy quality, but hid the abv well. A slight sweetness came through, but it was extremely smooth and very enjoyable. It finished with a slightly sweet bakers chocolate with a chewy character and some bitterness. It was at this point we added a couple pastries to have side by side with the beers, Abyss was first which went well with the chocolate espresso pastry (correct me if I'm wrong on the type).

Next up was the 2009 Three Floyds Dark Lord. This was was even heavier than the Abyss, but had no head at all. It was darker than hell itself, with lots of raisin and sweet molasses, brown sugar, lots of roast, a little chocolate, very sweet, some bourbon, boozy, and a little creamy. Very complex, and reminded me a lot of Black Tuesday, just a little less booze, sweetness and bourbon. It leaves a thick layer on the mouth long after the swallow, with more raisin, molasses, and some bitter chocolate. A slice of cake was added to a food pairing with this one, which was also delicious.

From here we let our palates dry up for a few minutes, added some water, and moved onto East End Brewing Smokestack Porter. This one was a very dark brown color with enough smoke to make a Texas smoked rib cooker blush. It had tons of smoke, in both aroma and taste, leather, chewy roast, and even a smoked meat flavor. Memories were brought back of smoked gouda, smoked cured meats, lox, and the leather I used to chew on as a kid (just kidding). It had a creamy porter like finish.

We then moved onto Brewdog Riptide. This also had no head, with a dark brown color. Some notes of sweet malts, molasses, maple, roast, a little smoke and fruit. Hints of dark chocolate break through. It was very smooth though with a little smoke, fruit, and oak on the finish.

Next up was Avery Black Tot, which I didn't really write any notes down. The palate was getting a little overwhelmed at this point. The only comments I have are that it had a nice sweet malt flavor, some boozy tastes with oak, obvious rum, and even a little bourbon like flavors. I'll have to review that one myself from my collection later.

After a nice long 30 minute or so rest with lots of water and snacks we attempted to finish up. Last on the night before we finally threw in the towel, was a Dogfish Head World Wide Stout vertical between the 2008 and 2005 versions. The '08 version had lots of malts, like crazy ridiculous malts, dark fruits, pretty hot and boozy, lots of roast, caramel malts, some rum and oak flavors, it was heavier than the bottle itself I think. It was very hot and thick and hard to drink. The '05 version was quite nicer. It actually had a fizzy surprisingly. It was creamy, surprisingly smooth, lots of raisin and fruit, easier on the maltiness and heaviness, and much easier on the heat and boozy tastes. It also added a little juiciness and toasty flavors. The moral of this story is aging on these types of beers really does go a long way! Age your World Wide Stout a few years!

I also forgot to mention, in the middle we threw in a Harpoon Leviathan Baltic Porter since we were talking about it mid discussion and decided to just try it and I had it sitting in the cellar. Then after most people had left, we cracked a Founders Breakfast Stout since Chris had never tried it before, so why the hell not.

It was a great time, thanks to everyone who came and brought something interested to add to the show. There were still quite a few beers we never even touched. Next meetup will probably be in a month or two, with the theme of either Belgian Tripels, Barleywines, or perhaps something spring related. We can discuss that further when the time comes closer.