Oh-The-Liver

Welcome to Spilled Beer's very first bender...err...uhh..I mean very first large scale tasting.
It all started several months ago when the "crew" decided that attendance at Brickstore Pub's HMOG was going to be mandatory. By the time March 23rd rolled around almost everything had fallen apart (beer shipments, keg deliveries, waning enthusiasm, etc.), including attendance at HMOG...however, that didn't stop us from drinking mind blowing beers for two straight days. Although I am not going to bother with Ba scores, keep in mind that the majority of the beers in this post were scored at 4.5, 4.75, or 5.0...

Despite the lost beer shipment from Joel's brother, Ryan, we started strong with a few beers "imported" from New York by Tim...Troegs Nugget Nectar and Maine Brewing Peeper. These were a strong start to the evening (note that I was not in attendance for the Speedway Stout, and didn't partake in the Allagash in the photo).

Next on the itinerary was dinner and drinks at Local Three..the trip netted two new drinks...Red Hare Rabbit's Reserve #2 Imperial Red and also a few gulps of Black Maple Hill Black Label Bourbon. Both were delicious, as was dinner.

On to bigger and better...we ended up back at Joel's and started light with an Ithica White gold...not bad, but not my gig..we followed that with the most expensive beer of the weekend...Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Rare (Stout)..an absolutely incredible beer. I won't say that it was a bit hot, but it was a little bit hot..either way, still delicious.

 After the rare, came the coffee variation. I preferred this to the rare, but was certainly in the minority on that decision..my Ba score for the coffee variation was a 5.0...not much else to say, other than the "coffee" was incredible.

After the coffee, we kept the stout theme rolling by breaking into Joel's stash of Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout...another variation. This time Founders used its Breakfast Stout as a base and age the brew in bourbon barrels...again, another heavy-hitter, and another high Ba score:

 And after that everything changed. Ryan procured 2 bottles of Trappist Westvleteren 12 for the weekend...this is arguably the best beer in the world, and I felt honored to be a part of tasting this incredible brew. My understanding is that the Westy 12 is still brewed by monks in Europe and is not yet available for retail purchase in the US. I don't care how Ryan got this (hell, I don't even want to know), but damn...talk about ridiculous...this beer was nothing like any beer I have ever had. It was best described as "grape forward"...not like a wine, but like an aperitif meets a beer...maybe. I just don't know how to describe it, other than nearly perfect. You can bet your ass that if I am ever back in Belgium, I will be shipping this back to the US in bulk.

 Hard to follow the Westy with anything, but in light of the fact that Ryan's FiftyFifty (50/50) Eclipse Brandy Barrel was stolen/lost in shipping, I donated my recently purchased bottle #3885 2011 Eclipse Elijah Craig 18-year (note the white wax) to the pot. It probably could have stood the test of time in the cellar for a bit, but in light of the situation, it was best drunk. In my Mind this Eclipse variation was the smoothest, easiest drinking barrel aged beer I have had to date..another high Ba score...

I think we sessioned some Hopslam somewhere in here and Jart and Dave F. joined the group..but that is of no concern. We had two more beers before watching Nirvana at the Paramount...and passing out.

Founders Crumudgeon's Better Half was next up. Unfortunately, Better Half was the worst beer of the night...that says a ton. The beer is highly rated on Ba and was very hard to come by...while it was a great beer, it just didn't rival the other beers of the evening...taken out of this context, Better half would have likely been incredible...as stated, it was an unfortunate night for Founders...that said, my bottle will cellar for a year, and will likely be delicious...

 Last on the list was Stillwater Folklore (thanks, again, to Tim)...unfortunately, I have no recollection of this one other than the picture that I took of the bottle...so that is all you get, a picture...i am sure it was delicious, based on my "live" Ba score, though...

Maybe tomorrow I will post the beers from 3/24...