Beer 400 will be remembered as the 2011 Old Stock Ale that knocked my socks off

The final day of a beer every day is upon me. Here it is, the nice big number and beer I wanted to it end with. I chose a beer that would age well so I could revisit a year from today. And it's glorious, a 11.9% old ale from North Coast called the 2011 Old Stock.

I had the 2009 whiskey barrel aged at a Whole Foods tasting with Karl and it was so incredible I bought an additional one to age. It was beyond superb. The 2011 isn't aged in whiskey barrels but still is incredibly smooth, leaving no trace of the orbital alcohol level, and there's a great aroma of butterscotch and tobacco too.

In terms of smoothness and richness, this one is up there with a Trappist quadruple, like a Rochefort or Le Trappe. The flavor profile has chocolate, caramel and brown sugar notes. I could drink something like this for the rest of my days. I love old ales for their unique complexity and this only strengthens my bond with them. Wow. Such a fantastic way to end the year. BAD BOYS rating.

Tonight I leave for a bachelor party in Vegas and will spend the weekend with my brother and college friends. For the first time I won't need to seek out new beers, which is a very odd feeling. It's hard to describe, I've dedicated myself to a daily ritual and now the ritual is gone. I can't say I'm not a little saddened. What's next? Life without a daily beer? Yikes. Like I'm going to let that happen. If my liver had arms he/she/it would be punching me in the face for saying that.

Tuesday I leave for Sydney, Australia, where I'm semi excited to try their beers, which I hear are incredibly malty. It'll be a big change from the hoptastic beers of Southern California. Thank you for following me this year! The beer year may be over, but I'm really excited to continue my exploration in the future.

North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Ale is best of show from the Whole Foods Barrel Aged Tasting

Forgoing our usual Friday excursion to the Surly Goat, Tiff and I head to a particularly special tasting at the Venice Whole Foods. Every Friday they do tastings but since December I've been haunting the Goat on Fridays. Tonight though, Whole Foods is serving 6 different barrel aged beers, and all are made with big, delicious complex malt bills and are over 10% alcohol. Old Ales, Imperial Stouts, Barleywines and DIPA's, I'm looking forward to these heavyweights. Looking back on my notes from the tasting, the degree of detail declines rapidly after each tasting. HA, I wonder why... 

Our first pour is a Great Divide Double IPA that is the only beer aged with oak chips, not barrels. It's a measly 10% alcohol. The smell doesn't correspond to taste, which smells like a Rose wine. The hops and alchol join forces and my sips finish sharply with a punch. The oak is evident, but it's an almost experimental mix of flavors. A good beer but my least favorite out of the other heavyweights.

Mikkeler, as our pourmaster Super Mike informed us, was a "gypsy" brewer who traveled from brewery to brewery making different batches of goodness. He must be some badass to make a living that way. I've seen his bottles but never knew his story or tasted the fruits of his labor. Brewdog is a very well known Scottish brewery. Together they made the Devine Rebel, which is a 12% Barleywine. It is sweet, alcoholic and rich with a light caramel undertone. I love this brew and would give it a Bad Boys rating if I was counting it as today's beer. Tiff loves it as well.

Allagash Curieux is an 11% Belgian Tripel, based on the same recipe we tasted as our first beer, but the Curieux is aged with bourbon barrels. I'm tasting the bourbon as it finishes, giving us a gentlemanly kick out the door. As the beer warms, the bourbon kicks becomes less gentlemanly kick and more a boot by a bouncer who's girlfriend you just kissed. It's a mix of two worlds and an interesting beer to try but not to sip on again, although I do hope to properly review it soon. For Tiff, the bourbon flavor is overwhelming and I see that being a problem for people who don't fancy bourbon as much as I do. 

North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve aged in Bourbon Barrel. That name illustrates how you announce a beer with authority! This is an Old Ale, like Hair of the Dog Adam and Bruery's Cuir, both of which are two of my favorite beers. Old Ale's are rarely made but are strong in alcohol and embody a wild spectrum of flavors not often found in beer (like leather and molasses). With this Old Stock, there is a wild bourbon smell and a rich caramel flavor notes. This is incredibly rich and complex, and the bourbon adds an even higher level of complexity which makes it the stand out thus far.  13.7% alcohol too! There is just a syrupy flavor that tickles my soul.

Practicing our portrait pose

Karl joins us for a late glass and already aware of the Old Stock, receives a big glassful. He's somersaulting over this beer as well. It's damn amazing. Turns out, it's rated in the top 5 for the Old Ale style.  Karl and I both discuss buying a bottle but choose to hold off. BAD BOYS rating.

The Bush de Nuits is pourmaster Mike's favorite out of the group. It's 13% too and isn't as complex as the Old Stock but is sublimely smooth. Different but just as amazing as the Old Stock.

The Older Viscosity David and I counted it during our trip to San Diego. Pourmaster Mike has been pumping everyone else up all night about it, saying "it tastes like motor oil!"
If motor oil actually tasted like this then I'd be dead for motor oil poisoning. Also fortunately, I think they're both out of my price range:
http://www.beereveryday.com/2011/05/san-diego-brewery-trip-sunday-and-port.html

Bruery Cuir 3rd Anniversary Ale is 14.5% of barrel aged incredibleness

I can't believe it's on tap! The Surly Goat has again proven to be my favorite beer bar in Los Angeles. The Bruery's 3rd Anniversary Ale isn't even available by bottle (and will likely sell off quickly) but it's here on tap. I recently paid way too much (north $30) for a bottle of Coton, their 2nd anniversary beer, to be shipped from Florida because it's unequivocally out of stock her. Still worth it.

The Cuir is French for leather. Every year The Bruery brews the exact same beer — an Old Ale fermented with our Belgian yeast strain - and every year the malt goes up by a pound, and then they blend it with a portion from the previous year. The Coton is one of the most phenominal beers I've ever tasted. So this beer is the same recipe, but blended with the most amazing beer ever and then blended with their 1st anniversary beer (Papier) which is the same recipe but has aged for 3 years...if you're not drooling, then I'm pretty sure you're an emotionless robot and possibly a Terminator - only with better taste in maids, ZING.

I'm DYING to have this.I'm missing The Bruery's 3rd Anniversary weekend over Memorial Day, so I'm incredibly thankful to enjoy this at the Surly Goat, which is easily my favorite beer mecca in LA.

So I drag Tiff over to the Goat to watch the Bulls and Heat game while enjoying a tulip glass of this old ale with the alcohol content of a glass of wine. Only there's more than a glass of wine in these tulip glasses. Party

Glory be to Jebus!

I'm fortunate to have a certified Cicerone (beer sommelier) and BJCP judge (national beer competition judge) behind the bar pouring tonight. Playoff Basketball, Anniversary beer, Bruery, beer geek, strong alcohol...my head's going to explode.

The Cicerone said they opened up a bottle of Papier when they received this keg, and it's just now hitting it's prime (2 years later). The Cuir, he touts, is the most drinkable right off the bat of the three brews.

My first sip of the Cuir reveals the barrel aging of this batch and the blends, as there's a 2x4 of pine hits my tongue. Next comes a big sweet malt and dark fruit flavor profile. As the beer warms up, I'm tasting the complexity of the profile, including brown sugar and dark fruit. I love how it opens up. I will say, that it's more of a Belgian Quadruple than a Coton Old Ale. Age may prove otherwise, however.

Tiff says it's explosively sweet, as kills the last of it. She's a pint sized gal, and the 14.5% without dinner is rocking her world. She's yelling at the Bulls on TV like a banshee, even though she's from Hawaii and never watches basketball. Me thinks it's extraction time to the nearest taco joint, post haste.

In finality, it's just so...COMPLEX! What else can I say? It's something else. The Bruery Anniversary beers are like the Godfather's; you kiss their hands in their presence and even on the day of their daughter's wedding, you're sweating asking them a favor. You are not worthy. BAD BOYS rating.

Hair of the Dog Adam is an Old Ale meant for Don Draper

I'm watching the Lakers game, but it's starting to annoy me because each time Lamar Odom scores, I know that somewhere Rancor known as Kloe is clapping and I strongly dislike her, to put it mildly. For many reasons, but most strongly because I pass this billboard every morning on my commute, and it's just too much at 8am.

Gross

People who are famous for no reason+Reality Show+Annoying People+Shirtless shooting guards for basketball team I don't like = everything I hate about this billboard which I see everyday. But it is beer like today's and shows like Mad Men which help me forget these horrible images.

Old Ale is a style of beer which I've read about but never had the privilege to sample. It's a high alcohol beer with a complex full malt body. David is on a flight to Aspen tonight so I'm having this one solo.

 

The Hair of the Dog Adam has 10% alcohol and is made with an organic pilsner malt and Northwest Hops. Pilsner is an incredibly light and thin grain, and I'm excited to try such a dark beer created using a pilsner base malt. My tongue is no wizard, so I read the label to discover what flavors to expect - chocolate, smoke, leather and figs. That's a hell of a complex profile! I'm stoked now, even though I'm traditionally skeptical of tasting claims made by labels, thanks to my inability to taste what is promoted on a wine label.

But sweet Betty Draper! This brew is complex. They weren't lying to me. I will now admit, these guys are straight shooters, like boy scouts at a urinal. You really taste each flavor advertised and they're all delicious. I've never chewed leather but it's about damn time I've started. Apparently I'm missing out. It's rare to find a beer that's not a barleywine with this complexity. Hair of the Dog Adam is an inspired beer and at $4.50 from Whole Foods, worth every penny. THE ROCK rating.

Don Draper is the shit. Even watching him drink himself to death in the third episode of the first season is inspiring. How can he do that? Recently, I've felt twinges of irritation about essentially forcing myself to drink everyday and the amount of blog entries posted have suffered because of it. But on evenings like tonight, feels damn good to prop your feet up and have a cold one whilst enjoy some 60's schadenfreude. Cheers Donald Draper.