September Pours

Petrus Aged Pale Ale Grand Reserve

Sampled: Sept. 21, 2012

Petrus previously used this ale as its primary blending ale in different beers. Presented here with a dose of dry hopping, its accolades become apparent.

Blonde in body with a thin, crisp head, Petrus Aged Pale debuts odors of apple cider and sour lemon. Plenty of citrus character develops early, with lemon and a bit of orange backdrop. The sour sizzle comes on the back end, with a little hop assertion to balance out the cider and vinegar flavors. Some lemon zest creeps into the mix. 

The hop lends a trace of grassiness and oiliness. Pushing up against the dry hop character is a little bit of sherry character it owes to 20-30 months in the barrel. Sometimes a little oxidization goes a long way.

Definitely more of a mild sour, Petrus Aged Pale has the complexity and easy drinking character hard to master in sour ales. This could be the dean of Petrus Ales. No one would confuse it for a geuze; it follows its own sour path. Truly spectacular.

Meantime Old Naval College Porter

 Sampled: Sept. 16, 2012

Meantime puts out a decent series of British-style ales. This Naval College Porter is based on a 18^th century and bursts with character. Roasted nuts and chocolate dominate the nose, along with as thick, sometimes penetrable lace that throws off notes of toffee and treacle. A little anise sneaks in, as do chicory and molasses in smaller doses. Credit Meantime’s corks for giving this porter a fresh, effervescent feel often lacking in other bottle specimens. The cork goes a long way. 

Many English ales are capped and sometimes taste skunky after a voyage across the Atlantic. Meantime beats that trend by going with cork and a 750 mL bottle more commonly seen in Belgium. Quite oily and not heavy in body for a porter, Old Naval College Porter definitely tastes like a British example of the style. 

There is no question of the style or confusing this porter with stout. It lacks the heft of stout and runs with the lighter, roasted malt feel of porter. The roasted character tends to overpower other flavors, but the pairing of creamy and viscous notes push it back. Worthy English  version of the style, Old Naval College Porter is worth setting down for a spell or drinking fresh. 

Dogfish Head Squall IPA

Sampled: Sept. 15, 2012

Keeping with the nautical theme, I salvaged this vintage from my stash. Bottled in 2011, the last of the Dogfish Head sent to Tennessee, Squall makes a rather weak first impression. The Dogfish Head brewing process turns to blend the hops better into the beer than any IPA I know, but with almost 2 years of bottle conditioning. More malty than most, this is a big 90-Minute IPA surprise. A little winey at times, this IPA shares some characteristics with aged Belgian ales.

The port characteristics of the big abbey and Trappist-brewed quadruple ales come to the fore. With the hop content faded from the initial taste in early 2011, the ale becomes more compelling. The hops have faded but are still present on the back end.  I have a second 750 ml bottle waiting to go whenever the urge strikes me next.

On this bottle, I am pleased with the oddity of bottled aged IPA turning into slightly hoppy port-style ale. There are flavors of molasses and chocolate prior to the mild burst of hops that rises on the finish. Still hoppy after all these years, Squall is worth weathering the storm. There is an unusual hop afterburn that is surprisingly pleasant due to unexpected creaminess and effervescence.

Stone 16^th Anniversary

Sampled: Sept. 15, 2012

As a rule, Stone anniversary ales are the realm of high-octane IPAs. Not all are created equal. Last year Stone went for an imperial, dry-hopped take on black IPA that actually worked quite well. 

For Anniversary No. 16, Stone brewed with rye malt, lemon oil and lemon verbena and yes, voluminous amounts of hops. The detours here prove exhilarating. The lemon essence blends well with the high hop payload.

The standard IPA notes of grapefruit and bittern orange get submerged by lemon and the rye spice. This is truly exquisite ale, not an rye IPA, definitely an imperial IPA but a work of pure craft brewing.

Rye was a wise choice for blending with multiple European malts. The spice runs into the hops and the intense lemon flavors at the right moments. At moments, the hops (Amarillo and Calypso) threaten to overflow into excess. Fortunately, they don’t. The lemon flavors go to work here and provide great contrast to the hops and the rye. The collision of flavor is unlike most IPAs. The hop bitterness is there but it has equals in the verbena and rye spice.

Not every Stone anniversary is worth a second visit, but Year 16 has brought a charmer of unique complexity. Don’t forget this anniversary. This one could reemerge someday.