Oskar Blues BA20 Series Volume 2: Amburilla

"Imper-i-al Stout and beans of vanilla
Aged to perfection in barrels of bourbon
Choc-o-late, oak and sweet car-a-mel 

These are a few of my fav-o-rite things!"

The other day I heard a few regional radio guys putting down flavored craft beers and talking about how much they like "regular" beer. Mainstream lagers are fine. I have no problem with them, but to drink a fruit enhanced sour beer or a quad or a bourbon barrel aged stout and say that it "doesn't taste like beer" doesn't take into account that it's not supposed to. Does Mountain Dew taste like Pepsi? Does Dr. Pepper taste like Sprite? Does coffee taste like tea? No, of course not...because they're not supposed to! They're different drinks. A Budweiser lager (or even a Pilsner Urquell) is a different beverage from some of the specialty varieties of craft beer. Amburilla does not taste anything like a pilsner. 

Amburilla pours a deep mahogany with a skinny beige head with ruby highlights. There is an obvious alcohol vapor tickling the nostrils (12.5% ABV) and oak and vanilla that virtually assaults the senses. There is a lot of ginger in the mix, which is unusual, and though I like ginger as a cooking spice, I could do without it in my beer. There is a veritable orchestra of flavors - dark fruits, vanilla, toffee, caramel, chocolate, coffee and of course the bourbon. 

I'm going to have to give this only a 6 on the IGB scale, mainly because of the ginger, but if can get past that, it's pretty solid. 

Dragon's Milk 2020 Reserve 3: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout w/Vanilla & Chai Spices

 Dragon's Milk strikes again! See my last entry for my thought's on the use of the Dragon's Milk brand by New Holland Brewery, also see this link for all the varieties of  Dragon's Milk:

https://dragonsmilk.com/dragons-milk-reserve

This version has got several of my favorite things: it's a stout and it's bourbon-barrel aged (not a quad, but one can't have everything!)

Two things hit me immediately: the alcohol heat of the 11% ABV tickles the nose and evaporates at the back of the throat; and the chai spices all but stand up and do a dance on the taste buds. The 30 IBUs give it a moderate hoppiness that is somewhat lost in all the flavor. Speaking of flavor, the vanilla bean is certainly not neglected and the bourbon aspect is stronger than most other barrel-aged brews. As it slowly achieves room temperature there are hints of raisin, fig, plum and weirdly, banana. Background tastes of cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Pretty damn good. 

Dragon's Milk Solera

One of the things that I tend to notice is how one item from a producer "becomes the brand". Good examples of this are Mountain Dew and Cheerios. Original versions of both were stalwarts for years. Their marketing people extended the brand by labelling drinks that had no resemblance to Mountain Dew as Mountain Dew [added descriptor]. Cheerios was slightly different. Plain ol' Cheerios spawned a whole family of cereals that sometimes had nothing in common with the original other than the shape. New Holland Brewing has started to turn Dragon's Milk into a brand. As an Ill-Gotten Booty reader, you've seen several versions of Dragon's Milk ales.  

Trying out different beers can be an educational experience. The description of Dragon's Milk Solera contains a few terms that I was unfamiliar with:

"Aged in a series of oak foeders using a blending technique known as solera ..."

* A foeder (pronounced 'foo-der') is basically just a large barrel. Here's some more detail:

https://beerconnoisseur.com/articles/what-foeder

* Solera is a process for aging wine, beer, vinegar or brandy by 'fractional blending' in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages. It is most typically used of 'fortified wine' varieties such as sherry, Port, Madeira or Marsala, but also rum or brandy. Here's a good article explaining the process:

https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-science/solera-whiskey-real-historic-fraction/

Dragon's Milk Solera pours a hazy chestnut, with a thin tan head. The 10% ABV provides a boozy haze that immediately tickles the nostrils.There is so much going on. Before it warms up, the oak from the foeders is up front, as is the bourbon and vanilla. As the ale achieves room temperature the dark fruits appear, especially figs. Brown sugar, dates, black cherries, and caramel pop up as the level of liquid decreases. There are some similarities to a high-end barleywine, less so to an imperial brown ale. Very different than previous iterations of Dragon's Milk, but that's marketing. 

Upslope Pumpkin Ale

Even though we're still seeing 80˚ plus days, the leaves are falling and there's a cool breeze in the mornings, Autumn is here, and with it, pumpkin ales! 

The days or times which we consider the beginning of our seasons are tied to the solstices and equinoxes, which are sidereal (sun-related) or celestial events. I prefer to look at what are sometimes called the cross-quarter days as the beginning of the seasons, with the sidereal days marking the mid point. Think about it, June 21^st, which we considered the beginning of summer, is traditionally called Midsummer's day, while December 21^st, which we call the beginning of Winter is also referred to as Midwinter. Your mileage may vary. 

I look at Lughnasadh, August 1^st, as the beginning of Autumn and when it is acceptable to start drinking Märzens (Oktoberfests) and Pumpkin Ales. 

Upslope Brewing puts out a pretty decent pumpkin ale. What most of us think of as "pumpkin flavor" is actually pumpkin pie flavor. Upslope's pumpkin ale is definitely pumpkin pie-ish. It pours a coppery orange with a generous fluffy white head. There's lots of spices: nutmeg, a hint of cloves, anise, and cinnamon. I was surprised to detect some dark fruit: raisins and prunes (don't laugh)  as well as some caramel and brown sugar. Overall a tasty and complex brew