Top Shelf Thursday: April 2014

We’re in the thick of Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week, riding the amazing wave of barley & hop goodness!  The Voodoo tap takeover on Saturday was a blast (LOVED the 2 Live Grand Cru, Vol. 1); had a great time with Mike Finch in The House sampling some of Finch’s fine wares; & last night was our monthly Top Shelf Thursday tasting.  This month’s line-up featured some theme & variation, with beers before & after barrel-aging, or the same beer aged in different barrels, displaying some of the subtleties between the different vessels.

We started off with a back-to-back tasting of Old Dubh from Harviestoun Brewery in Scotland.  Ola Dubh is their Old Engine Oil, a black Scottish strong ale, amped up to 8% ABV & aged in different vintage barrels from Scotch distillery Highland Park.  The Special Reserve 16, aged in 16-year-old Highland Park barrels, had some smoky notes, chocolate tones, & finished on the dry side with a little char.  The Special Reserve 30, aged in – you guessed it – 30-year-old barrels, was smoother, with a little more potent smoke, wood, chocolate, & coffee character.

What followed was a beer familiar to just about everyone in attendance: Golden Monkey from Victory, a Belgian-style golden ale brewed with coriander, giving a spicy (soapy?) twist to the fruity & herbal notes.  It made for good comparison to White Monkey – Golden Monkey aged in American oak barrels that once harbored white wine.  Many enjoyed the vinous, oaky, even buttery flavors that complemented the base beer so well.

From here on out we were in stout territory, beginning with a triad of Eclipse imperial stouts from California’s FiftyFifty Brewing.  FiftyFifty brews a base imperial stout & ages it in different whiskey barrels, imparting subtly distinct notes to each line.  The Eclipse aged in Mellow Corn Whiskey barrels was baffling to some, who felt it gave the stout a taste like moonshine.  Old Fitzgerald bourbon barrels trod familiar ground, contributing vanilla & caramel flavors & demonstrating why bourbon barrel-aged stouts are a homerun.  The Eclipse in Rittenhouse Rye barrels carried a spicy edginess that was a little rugged but very tasty & interesting.

Rounding off this night of themes & variations was a trio from Hoppin’ Frog, beginning with B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher, an oatmeal Russian imperial stout (the ‘B’ stands for ‘bodacioius’).  Familiar to many, the chocolate, coffee, & booze notes were rounded out by a smooth oatmeal texture.  Take the B.O.R.I.S., age it in whiskey barrels, & you’ve got – ta-da! – Barrel-Aged B.O.R.I.S., a little sweeter with a mellow though very distinct whiskey flavor around the edges.  And crowning the evening was B.O.R.I.S.’s roided-out big brother, D.O.R.I.S. the Destroyer, weighing in at a substantial 10.5% ABV (1.1% higher than the B.O.R.I.S.), with additional kettle hops & dry-hopping, making for a big stout bursting with citrus. 

Another fun evening, exploring the ins & outs of experimentation, embracing the novel while still savoring the familiar, reminding us that beer is a great platform for pushing boundaries.  Hope everyone’s having a great Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week – Top Shelf Thursday will be returning next month, this time with a little encore.