Been enjoying this the last couple of days. Whiskey from Mexico made with heritage corn that undergoes nixtamalization before they distill it. I mean, it tastes like corn, roasted corn, buttered popcorn, so if you like that sort of thing.
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i love all things corn so i might have to look for this
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Tonight I’m treating myself to some Tokaji Aszu, expensive but worth it for the occasion, an incredible delicacy.
But that wasn’t going to be enough for the night, so I broke out two of my finest whiskeys as well.
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Not much drinking last night, but I did treat myself to this:
At one point, this was one of the best beers I had ever had. But over the last few years it’s lost a little bit of its star power. When I pulled the cork out, it came out with a nice pop, so I was excited that it might be more carbonated than the last few times I’ve had it. (Which are typically each holiday season.) But it poured fairly flat. Flavor is still great, but it’s just a shell of its former self. I think I’ve got one bottle left of this vintage.
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This seems like one of those cases where you need to go against your natural instincts and drink it ASAP.
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You’re in Denver, right? Do you have a recommendation for a good liquor store?
I shop at Argonaut, which I like. However, their spirits and liqueurs selection is just average.
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What part of Denver are you in? Total Wine’s selection is outstanding if it’s not too far away. I live on the west side so I usually go to either Molly’s or Applejack.
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“Hyrbid”?
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Cool, I’ll check those places out. I live downtown, and there’s not Total Wine close by. It also I’d like to shop in local places as much as possible.
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Yeah, Molly’s and Applejack are both local chains. The Highlands Molly’s is right off I-70 at Harlan. The Total Wine is at Evans and S. Colorado, just off I-25.
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Totally agree. But
Revolution Brewing out of Chicago has been absolutely crushing the barrel-aged beer market. Their basic stout (Deth’s Tar), their coffee stout (Cafe Deth), their flavored stouts (Deth by Cherries), their barleywine (Straight Jacket) are certified bangers.
Tonight I tried something different - Ryeway to Heaven
From Beer Advocate:
Bourbon and rye barrels work together in harmony to breathe life into our Ryewine. This unforgettable ale is brewed with over 60% rye, yielding entirely unique malt- and barrel-derived complexities. Enjoy an ample body that suggests sweetness but still finishes smooth and dry. Enjoy life now, or store cold.
Short story: Even Babe Ruth struck out. I’m not sure what kind of beer this was meant to be (not a stout, not a barleywine), but I definitely didn’t like it. Maybe it’s the rye, but I think I like rye? Super disappointing because the entire rest of the world seems to think it’s great. Poured down the drain to avoid the 300-400 calories. Blech.
Since I poured out the last one, I decided to replenish with another barrel-aged beer: Bell’s Barrel-Aged Expedition Stout. The base Expedition Stout is a long-time standard, so I had fairly high hopes for this one.
Short story: blah. I immediately disliked this beer and was so surprised that I went back to beer advocate to read reviews to see what I was missing. If I were forcing myself to be positive, I’d echo the reviews that said they tasted the char of the barrel. To me, it just tasted ashy. Maybe I have the palate of a 5 year old, and I need the overwhelming sweetness of many pastry stouts. But this did nothing for me, and I suspect it’s going to go the drain shortly.
Or maybe this is one of those nights that literally no beer will taste good for entirely random reasons, and I burn through a good chunk of my cellar.
Edit: Didn’t help matters that my jerk dog tried to jump into my lap while I was holding the glass, spilling stout all over my pants, a new couch, and the carpet. We’ll see how mrs. spidercrab takes that news.
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I feel like most of Bell’s beers were elite and revolutionary at the time, but they haven’t really evolved from that. They make good beers still, but other breweries are making way better ones. Two Hearted is still one of the GOATs though.
I’ve transitioned to fuck it mode, and just opened a 22 oz barrel-aged stout.
I’ve historically thought of Big Bad Baptist as a very good (especially for the price) barrel-aged stout. And I love black forest cake. So how could this miss?
Surprise - it kind of sucks. No real evidence of the claimed cherries or coconut. Blech. Looking at beer advocate, this one seems like a disappointment to everyone, so I’m not terribly off course. Another drain pour.
Not sure how long I should continue this experiment tonight.
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Oof - I hadn’t thought of that. But I don’t think that’s it - I taste lots of flavors, they’re just all bad. I have a PCR test scheduled for Tuesday (I get one about every week on campus regardless of how I feel), so I’ll find out shortly.
Cracked open a Crux bourbon barrel aged imperial stout in solidarity. It’s pretty good! But also, I’m spoiled by Fremont’s Bourbon Barrel Abominable Ale, which is much better.
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just experiment. you’re not going for the high end shit. most total wine type gose and sour gonna be relatively cheap. buy all kind of things. that’s kinda what i did for a while and it was pretty fun.
no need to search out for the ‘best’ imo.
untappd and beeradvocate are big beer review sites so you can check there to see you’re not buying anything especially bad.