Why I Love Bourbon County Black Friday

Black Friday is my favorite day of the year. Why I feel that way has nothing to do with great deals on electronics, clothing or other household items. It has everything to do with the release of Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout.

The release of BCBS always seems to bring out a polarizing reaction amongst beer enthusiasts. The reason for that is undoubtedly the fact that they are owned by AB InBev. To some, it does not matter and they will wait in line to purchase a beer they adore. For others, it is a day to make a statement that they avoid Ab InBev and all of their products. From the latter, one thing I found amusing was a viral image on Facebook of people marking themselves safe from AB InBev like they were marking themselves safe from a catastrophic event in their area. I do not fault anyone who avoids purchasing Goose Island BCBS because of the entity that owns them, in fact I respect it.

As someone who loves BCBS, I have to admit, it bums me out that I am supporting AB InBev. Especially because I spend the entire year avoiding most of their products and love supporting Independent Craft Beer. However, to me, this one particular day is about more than just the beer for sale. It is about getting together with family and friends and the beer serves as a reason to do so. It has become a yearly tradition for us and each year I cherish it more and more.

Our yearly tradition usually starts with me picking up my friend(s), with one of us usually running late, and heading to our first stop around 8 AM. We pick up our bottles, and then head off to the next stop as soon as we cash out. Usually around the second stop the need for coffee comes into play for everyone else in the car. I normally run on excitement throughout the morning but it turns out my friends and wife do not. We look for the nearest coffee shop, which was Tim Horton's this year, and I am fairly certain the coffee we got that morning has yet to cool down. My dad will then call and join in the fun. Years ago, my dad thought the concept of chasing this beer was ridiculous, but the infectious nature of traveling from place to place to get something that could sell out at any moment became a thrill for him. Also, he realized it was an easy way to Christmas shop for his son. My dad also enjoys the mid-morning break of stopping for breakfast at one of our favorite diners. Then after breakfast the second part of the hunt begins, and that is finding the beer on draft. Once we find it, we  share a few laughs over a pour, reminiscing about the morning and laying out a better plan for the following year. The most ridiculous part of the day then begins-- my friend Paul and I go shopping for matching shirts(this year's dancing bears X-Mas sweaters were exquisite) before heading home for a mid-afternoon nap. We then get together for a late dinner and catch up with other family & friends over a BCBS and a lot of laughs. The night normally goes late and our Saturday mornings tend to start a little bit slower.

This whole thing might sound ridiculous to you but it is something I look forward to every year. As I get older I realize that some traditions matter and this is one of them. Life pulls us in many different directions throughout the year. I love that there is one day on the calendar that we all just drop everything and enjoy some beer. Black Friday for us is that day and I hope the tradition never ends. 

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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Clown Shoes La Bestia Furiosa

Cooler temperatures have arrived and my craving for rich imperial stouts is at an all time high. Over the past week I have enjoyed a few, including this year's Sierra Nevada Narwhal. That beer is always particularly amazing and at its price point I can't recommend it enough. This blog however, is not about Narwhal. It is about Clown Shoes' La Bestia Furiosa, so let's get to it.

Aged in both rum and bourbon barrels with chiles and spices, this Mexican-Style Imperial Stout was impossible not to purchase. I have enjoyed many of Clown Shoes' barrel aged offerings in the past and expected this particular one to be no different. I typically love Mexican-Style stouts as well, and that alone made this an automatic purchase. Basically, this beer checked a lot of boxes. I just hoped it was as good as I wanted it to be.

La Bestia Furiosa's aroma is full of rich, decadent chocolate. This translates to what dominates the flavor as well but we will circle back to that. The nose also had a nice touch of cinnamon, nutmeg, peppers, bourbon, vanilla and a touch of rum. There was a lot in the aroma of La Bestia Furiosa to like.  Everything I mentioned in the aroma is in the taste but the chocolate I mentioned earlier makes this one of the sweetest beers I have had in awhile. I admit, it has been a long time since I had Clown Shoes' Chocolate Sombrero which is the base beer for La Bestia Furiosa, but I do not remember it being this painfully sweet.

I arrogantly thought I could tackle the 22 oz. Bomber by myself, but I was completely overwhelmed by the La Bestia Furiosa's sweetness. The more this beer warmed, the sweeter it got. The rum and vanilla in particular come through more as it warms, further enhancing the cloying sweetness. While I could continue to complain about this beer being too sweet, I think you get the point.

One thing this beer barely delivers on is the heat. When there are 3 different peppers in a beer with a dragon and a volcano on the label there is a realistic expectation that the beer is going to be spicy. In La Bestia Furiosa's case, the spice is there but it is subdued. I have complained about this before but if the heat was dialed up just a little more, I think it would have made the sweetness bearable for me. Unfortunately, it just did not happen.

While I was not a huge fan of this beer, I could definitely see a fan of dessert beer enjoying it. If rich, absurdly sweet beers are right up your alley then you will love this beer. It is not my thing but it does deliver what it promises--a Mexican Hot Chocolate-style stout with dual barrel treatment. It just wasn't for me.

Overall rating: 2.25/5


Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

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Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Southern Tier Oat BBA Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Over the past week I have been on a small quest to find 4-packs of Southern Tier Warlock. Not for blogging reasons but more for the reason of picking up one of the pumpkin beers I really enjoy. So far I have been unsuccessful but it has given me plenty of time in different stores to contemplate beers I have yet to try.

For several months I had been contemplating buying Southern Tier’s Oat, a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout. If you have been reading my blog long enough, you know this kind of beer hits right in my wheelhouse. The funny thing was every time I seemed to come across it, I found myself buying something else. I realized as I was looking at the remaining bottles of Oat that I might find myself in the same position with that as I did with the 4-packs of Warlock. So instead of missing out on Oat as well, I decided to give it a try.

In the past Oat was not barrel aged, but I love the idea of bringing back a beer from the past in a new way. The aroma is rich espresso, dark chocolate, caramel, smoke, vanilla, a touch of bourbon and a lot of oak. The barrel is really showcased on the first sip. Bourbon and vanilla come through initially along with molasses, dark chocolate, coffee, anise, caramelized sugar, dark fruit with a boozy, spicy finish. I realize I am close to 6 months late on trying this beer but in its current state it is delicious. Its velvety smooth mouthfeel made me wish I had another bottle. If I come across a second I will immediately throw it in the cellar to give it a little more time to mellow. I think just a little more time will work wonders for this beer. As it is right now, I think it is a fantastic drinking experience. I am trying to find ways to be negative because of how long I slept on this beer but it is difficult. This is a really great beer from Southern Tier. I will continue my quest to find a 4-pack of Warlock but if I come across this beer instead I will be thrilled to purchase it again.

Overall rating: 4.25/5

Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Founders Dank Wood

Writing blogs about new entries in the Founders' Barrel Aged Series has become a formality at this point. Personally, I am a huge fan of the series and judging by the feedback & web traffic the blogs get, you all are just as curious about the new releases as I am. My favorite of the new releases last year was DKML(Dick Kicker Malt Liquor). The beer was big, dirty and boozy. I found it to be absolutely delicious and loved every single second of drinking it. At the same time, I could also see why someone would absolutely hate DKML for the same reasons I listed. Either way you felt about DKML, the creativity & courage to brew and then barrel aged malt liquor should be admired.

My least favorite entry in the Barrel Aged Series was Doom. The thought of an Imperial IPA aged in bourbon barrels was intriguing but it just missed the mark for me. It reminded me too much of a less boozy and slightly aged Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. While that's not necessarily a knock on the beer, it just didn't deliver in the way I hoped it would. I remember it being mostly malt and vanilla while I wanted a bit more of a hop bite. Speaking of hop bite, that brings me to the latest release in the Barrel Aged Series, Dank Wood.

From the moment Founders announced the release of Dank Wood I had high hopes for it. Red IPAs are one of my favorite styles of beer. I think it is a style that is tremendously underrated and I hope to see it make a comeback of sorts in the near future. My initial complaint about Doom was that I wanted more hoppiness from it, Dank Wood did not disappoint in that department. The aroma of Dank Wood lives up to its name. It is super dank, full of sticky pine and oak. There are also notes of grapefruit, caramel, toffee, vanilla and earthy, spicy hops. The 12.2% ABV comes through in the aroma as well. The alcohol is so strong in Dank Wood I felt it warming my nostrils. I anticipated the noticeable alcohol content to play a big part in the first sip I took, and I was right.

Dank Wood's flavor is bold and full of booze. The heat from the alcohol provides the kind of warmth one would expect from a beer that came out during the winter months, not the warmer days of late spring. If you are looking for a smooth, easy drinking experience, I would suggest looking elsewhere. Underneath the alcohol, Dank Wood aggressively hits the palate with oak tannins, caramel, toffee, vanilla, grapefruit, spicy hops and loads of pine resin. I did not get bourbon in the aroma but I got a bit of it in the finish and I thought that was a nice touch. Mostly everything about this beer clicked for me. The only thing I would like to see differently is the alcohol scaled back just a touch. I look forward to placing a bottle in the cellar to revisit down the road, as I am very curious to see how this one develops. As for right now though, Dank Wood is big, bold, monster of a beer and much like DKML, I could see it being quite polarizing. I personally enjoyed it and look forward to buying another 4-pack of it. However, I would suggest approaching it with caution. As I mentioned earlier, if you are looking for something easy drinking, look elsewhere.

Overall rating: 4/5


Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Jack's Abby Bourbon Barrel Aged Graham Cracker Framinghammer

Whenever the Bourbon Barrel Aged Framinghammers come out I usually treat myself to one or two if I come across them but I do not seek them out. My main reason for this is, while I like them, I always want to like them more than I usually do. This all started with the first time I tried their PB&J variant. The flavors it promised were under delivered and they clashed with the base beer. The other variants I have tried were fine but were always a touch too boozy. Each time I drank the Bourbon Barrel Aged Framinghammer or its Vanilla, Mole or Brandy Barrel Aged variants I wanted each of them to finish smoother than they did. While aging them might have helped this problem, not everyone has the patience to see how that turns out.

My thoughts towards the Bourbon Barrel Aged Framinghammer Series changed in the summer of 2016. I was at Jack's Abby and had a taster of their draft-only BBA Graham Cracker variant. From the first sip to the last, I was blown away. Graham cracker is not usually a flavor that shines nicely in beer, but it did here. It was the undisputed star of the show and I instantly caused me to fall in love with the beer. Since that day, I have been waiting for an opportunity to try it again. That chance finally arrived with this year's Bourbon Barrel Aged Framinghammer releases. I honestly could have cared less about the regular BA version or any of the other variants released. I just wanted the Graham Cracker version and I wanted it to live up to the incredible beer I remember trying almost two years ago. After a full week of sitting in my refrigerator, I was finally ready to find out if it did.

From the moment I took in the wonderful aroma of graham crackers, chocolate, vanilla & caramelized sugar, I knew I was in for a treat with my first sip of BBA Graham Cracker Framinghammer. This beer is without question the best example of a s'mores-style beer I have had yet. All of the elements are there in the flavor, and there is a huge amount of graham cracker present. As I mentioned earlier, in s'mores style beers I feel the flavor of graham cracker in particular is usually lacking. Here it is front and center along with lots of chocolate, vanilla, caramelized sugar, smoke and a slight hint of oak from the barrel. I got practically no bourbon in the flavor but I am not complaining. All of the elements I wanted were there. To be a bit critical though, it does get a touch sweet as it warms and the trademark booziness is noticable in the finish. As far as the sweetness goes, one should expect that in a beer designed to taste like a dessert. The booziness in the BBA Framinghammers seems to be unavoidable no matter which one you try. I am looking forward to aging a bottle a bit to see how it develops. Rest assured, I will report back with my findings. Outside of those two small criticisms, I have no complaints, this beer is wonderful and I highly recommend seeking it out.

Overall rating: 4.5/5



Rating Scale:
1. Repugnant and undrinkable
2. Acceptable but forgettable
3. Good, worth a purchase
4. Excellent, a step above the norm
5. Truly Exceptional. Drop everything, BUY IT NOW!

To discuss this blog or all things beer like my Facebook page

Look for me on Instagram & Untappd and Twitter @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews check out: http://www.acraftylook.com

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!