- Ninkasi UnconventionALE Imperial Stout: I liked this a lot at the Holiday Ale Fest in December. Six months later it was even better, a knockout.
- Hair of the Dog Peach Fred from the Wood Barleywine: On a December visit to the tasting room this was unremarkable, not as good as regular Fred. Saturday it was fantastic: a beautiful blend of boozy bourbon, earthy peach, funky yeast, and bitter hops.
- Sierra Nevada Charlie, Fred, and Ken's Helles Bock: I'd had this twice before: a small taste when Fred brought a sneak peak of it to Fred Fest 2010, and from the bottle when it was on store shelves. It was pretty good those times, but after about a year in the keg, it's really something.
- Lompoc Franc'ly Brewdolph barrel-aged Belgian Ale: This was tasty six months ago at the HAF and even better now: nice wine and funky yeast flavors on top of a solid Belgian.
Besides the five beers mentioned above, other highlights for me were:
- Hopworks Kronan the Bourbarian barrel-aged Baltic Porter: big bourbon and dark fruit (bing cherry?) notes on top of a big delicious BP.
- Double Mountain Fine Pimpin' Brown ale with cocoa and chiles: one of the lighter beers of the night, it was smooth, spicy, and beautiful.
- Barley Brown's 2010 Havoc Double American Stout: completely opaque black beer: thick, rich, and bitter.
- Midnight Sun Arctic Devil Barleywine: hot, mapley, and thick. I was a little less happy when Charles pointed out to me the acetone nose that came out when it warmed up, but it was still tasty for a giant barleywine.
FredFest usually happens on a weekend when a nonprofit group I'm involved with has their annual event--as happened this year. It kills me that I have to choose between them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for leaving a comment! I will delete spam and long stupid comments. Comments that are smart or short will survive.
Please tag anonymous comments with your name, initials, or CB handle so that people can respond to you.