Barlow Brewing

This learned group is dedicated to tasting beers that are difficult to obtain in Central Virginia, or have been cellared into rarity.  The majority of these brews will be commercial, but occasionally homebrewed beers will appear if they make sense within the night’s theme, or prove a nice segue between selections.

As usual, coherent notes are not expected to arise from these scholarly sessions.

This second January meeting of the year 2011 had the theme of “dark” beers. Apparently vagueness is not an obstacle for this intrepid and thirsty group. We drank a myriad of stouts and lived to tell the tale.

Emperor Norton is dead. Long live Emperor Norton.

The January 30th, 2011 docket included:

Herbell Brewing Fox in the Snow
Barlow Brewing Rice Burner
Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Biere
Porterhouse Oyster Stout
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout 2008
Three Floyds Black Sun 2009
Three Floyds Black Sun 2010
Upland Teddy Bear Kisses
New England Imperial Stout Trooper 2009
New England Imperial Stout Trooper 2010
Goose Island Night Stalker
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout 2007
Founders Breakfast Stout 2009
Founders Breakfast Stout 2010
Deschutes The Abyss 2009
Deschutes The Abyss 2010
Surly Darkness 2010
Founders Backwoods Bastard

For me, the winners of the night were the Goose Island Night Stalker, the Surly Darkness 2010, and the Deschutes The Abyss 2009.  I had heard that the ’09 Abyss had gotten a brettanomyces infection, and it had. But it made it glorious.

This learned group is dedicated to tasting beers that are difficult to obtain in Central Virginia, or have been cellared into rarity.  The majority of these brews will be commercial, but occasionally homebrewed beers will appear if they make sense within, or prove a nice segue between selections.

As usual, coherent notes are not expected to arise from these scholarly sessions.

This January meeting of the year 2011 had the theme of Belgian-style beers. This took us on a cruise through quite a few saisons, tripels, dubbels, and many sour beers. There was even a sour pLambic cider.

Emperor Norton is dead. Long live Emperor Norton.

The January 23, 2011 docket included:

Barlow Brewing Brett Saison
Barlow Brewing Black Orpheus – Black Saison
Upland Strawberry Lambic
Goose Island Fleur
Half Acre Bairn Farmhouse
DuPont Avril
Three Floyds Rabbid Rabbit
Russian River Temptation
Dogfish Head/Three Floyds Poppaskull
Cigar City Guava Grove
Barlow Brewing Lambicide – pLambic Cider
Mother Earth Tripel Over Head
Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious
Cantillon 2006 Grand Cru Bruocsella
Goose Island Pete Jacques
HaandBryggeriet Haandback
Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad
Jolly Pumpkin La Parcela
Southampton Abbot 12
New Holland Blue Monday
New Holland Envious

For me, the big “winners” were, in order, the Cantillon, the Russian River, the Boulevard and the Goose Islands.

This learned group is dedicated to tasting beers that are difficult to obtain in Central Virginia, or have been cellared into rarity.  The majority of these brews will be commercial, but occasionally homebrewed beers will appear if they make sense within, or prove a nice segue between, selections.

As usual, coherent notes are not expected to arise from these scholarly sessions.

This October meeting of the year 2010 had almost no theme whatsoever. At best, the theme was that we hadn’t gotten together for quite some time, and we brought beer to mourn that fact, and celebrate the end of that drought.

Emperor Norton is dead. Long live Emperor Norton.

The October 25, 2010 docket included:

Upland Wheat
Upland Helios Pale Ale
Lazy Mutt Farmhouse
New Glarus Fat Squirrel
New Belgium 1554
Capt Lawrence St Vincent’s Dubbel
Flat Earth Cygnus X-1
Upland Dragonfly
Boulevard Double Wide
Ballast Point Sculpin IPA
Foothills Baltic Porter
Barlow Brewing “Slow Motion Walter….” Oak-aged, Smoked Baltic Porter
Dark Truth Stout
Surly Four
Barlow Brewing “Moor is Better” Black IPA

For me, the big “winners” were, in order, the Surly Four, the Sculpin IPA, and the Captain Lawrence St. Vincent’s Dubbel.

This learned group is dedicated to tasting beers that are difficult to obtain in Central Virginia, or have been cellared into rarity.  The majority of these brews will be commercial, but occasionally homebrewed beers will appear if they make sense within, or prove a nice segue between, selections.

The second meeting of the year 2010 will be loosely themed around Belgian beers. Included in the tasting will be two beers from Westvleteren Brewery, which is located inside the Trappist Abbey of Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren. We will also visit a few sour beers and do some house-keeping in cleaning up a few lingering Winter Warmers. A Pliny the Elder will surface, as well, to keep our taste buds sharp and nimble.

As usual, coherent notes are not expected to arise from these scholarly sessions.

The March 22, 2010 docket includes (but is not limited to):

Big Sky Moose Drool (American Brown)
Three Floyds Brian Boru Old Irish Red (Irish Red)
Westvletern 8 (Dubbel)
Westvletern 12 (Quad)
Herbell Brewing Santamas Special (homebrew)
Russian River Pliny the Elder (Imperial IPA)
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noir (Sour Saison)
Barlow Brewing Stupid Sexy Flanders (Flanders Red) (homebrew)
New England Brewing Imperial Stout Trooper (Russian Imp Stout)
Captain Lawrence Nor’ Easter (Winter Warmer)

So the New Year begins and so must the business of the, newly named, Emperor Norton Memorial Tasting Society.

This learned group is dedicated to tasting beers that are difficult to obtain in Central Virginia, or have been cellared into rarity.

The first meeting of the year will delve heavily into the works of Boulevard Brewery Company. The next meeting will probably return to one of the Tasting Society’s favorite breweries: Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales.

At this time, coherent notes are not expected to arise from these scholarly sessions.

The January 11, 2010 docket includes (but is not limited to):

Surly Bender (Oatmeal Brown)

Boulevard Saison (Saison)

New Glarus Wisconsin Belgian Red (Fruit Beer)

Boulevard Saison – Brett (Sour Saison)

Boulevard Long Strange Tripel (Tripel)

Goose Island Matilda (Belgian Strong Pale Ale)

Russian River Damnation (Belgian Strong Pale Ale)

Boulevard Harvest Dance (Wheatwine)

Boulevard The Sixth Glass (Quadrupel)

Surly Darkness (Russian Imperial Stout)

Brooklyn Black Ops 2008 (Bourbon Barrel Russian Imperial Stout)

BarlowBrewing’s Homebrewed Drunken Wendigo (Bourbon Barrel American Barleywine)

Three Floyds Behemoth (American Barleywine)