Session # 200
Pelican | The Perfect Storm
English Barleywine | Pacific City, OR | 13.5% ABV

One year ago: Hoppin’ Frog Barrel-aged B.O.R.I.S.

There were some days I never thought I’d make it to 100 reviews, let alone getting to 200 reviews. But alas, today I have made it and Tim Pratt joins me once again to share a beer I’ve been staring at on my shelves for a long time. The Perfect Storm! It’s a beer I wanted to try so badly that I actually reached out to the brewer of Pelican Pub & Brewery. I was lucky enough to get one sent to me and I’ve been hanging on to it for a special occasion. Today is that day. As Tim and I poured this monstrous beer in our glasses, we noticed a couple things. First, was that the room instantly smelled like a bourbon barrel explosion. Second, was the fact that this beer didn’t pour as gooey and big as we thought it would. It had a nice dark mahogany color with a fair amount of head resting on top, but we could see the bottoms of our glasses. We thought this was a bit odd. The nose was of dark fruits, burnt caramel, brown sugar, and TONS of booze. One sip set us back further than planned because the amount of heat coming off this beer was numbing. Once this burn subsided, toffee, oak, and vanilla laid on our tongues for a few minutes. But at the end of the day, the annihilation of that booze was too much to take. Was their good flavor? Yes. Was it drinkable? Ummm…no. I can tell you that our score was collaborative but mine was much lower than Tim’s. I was pretty disappointed for a beer I’ve been waiting ages to drink. Firestone Walker’s Abacus eats this beer’s lunch all day long… So get it instead.

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This beer has been retired.
Listening To: Joy Division “Atmosphere”



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Session # 194
Founders | Nemesis
American Barleywine | Grand Rapids, MI | 12% ABV

One year ago: Dark Horse Reserve Special

As we approach 200 sessions, I felt it only necessary to start pulling out some big beers I’ve been sitting on for a while. And since Founders is my favorite brewery, why not open this Nemesis from 2010. You know it’s going to be a good beer, right? Well it poured darker than your typical American Barleywine with its very dark brown (almost ruby) color. A small but supple medium-tan head formed on top that looked very inviting. The dark fruits that you’d expect began creeping out of the glass immediately. Rum-soaked raisins and oak were at the forefront with some sweetness and booze on the nose as well. First sip unveiled a good grassy hoppiness followed by rich sweet dark fruits (figs, plums, etc). The finish was surprisingly dry for a Barleywine. This was not my favorite offering from Founders, but it was overall a pretty easy-drinking beer for 12%.

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This beer was a one-time release only.
Listening To: Max Tundra “I Wanna Be Your Lover” (Prince cover)



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Session # 171
Victory | Old Horizontal
American Barleywine | Downingtown, PA | 11% ABV

One year ago: De Dolle Extra Stout

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I had a Barleywine on the show. Six months! Unacceptable…so I’ll be remedying that very soon. I’ll be starting by sharing a beer that I’ve had for close to two years now, which is the Victory Old Horizontal. I actually forgot about it as it was in a box I put aside to leave alone. When I poured this biggie into the glass, it looked amazing with its clear dark ruby color and amazing off-white frothy head. The aroma smells just as it should, with its dark fruits and a good amount of caramel from the malts. The flavor profile was really nice, too, and almost tasted like it had some barrel-aging. The dark fruits and caramel sweetness carried through. The mouthfeel was slightly chewy and also had a fair amount of hop bitterness to help cut the sweetness. Really hard to not like this beer. Rating: 92/100

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This beer can be found in these states.
Listening To: Dam-Funk “Hood Pass Intact”



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Special # 17 | Hops & Mold

Blue cheese is a style that either attracts lovers or haters. I’ve never heard anyone say “blue cheese is okay…” For those of you who lean towards the hater side, let me share a pairing that might just get you in to the style. Today’s cheese is the Roth Käse Buttermilk Blue. It’s made in Wisconsin and it’s about as smooth and mild a blue cheese as I’ve ever had. Take that and pair it with a 10 month old Triple IPA like the Founder’s Devil Dancer and you’ve got one of the most intense (yet enjoyable) experiences your palate is likely to endure. The beer takes on a Barleywine character after this much time, so its sweetness is the best match for the cheese’s creamy, salty, and pungent flavors. If you’re not able to locate a Devil Dancer, I highly recommend any agressively-hopped American-style Barleywine in its place.

To learn more about today’s cheese click here.
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Listening To: John Jackson “Frankie and Johnny”



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Session # 121 | Deschutes | Mirror Mirror | 11% ABV
American Barley Wine | Bend, Oregon | Rating: 94/100

When Tim and I get together we usually drink some pretty amazing beers. A couple weeks ago we hooked up for a Monday Night Football game and decided to open up this amazing American Barley Wine from Deschutes called Mirror Mirror. Neither of us had experienced the beer before, so we were very eager to bust the cap and get it in a glass. As Tim poured some in his glass, I said, “Hey we should get this bad boy on camera and share the experience with our cyber beer geek friends.” So thanks for coming along. The Mirror Mirror pours out beautiful in the glass and is easily one of the better looking beers we’ve seen in a while. It’s has a beautiful reddish mahogany color with a beautiful off-white head. The nose is one of the most magical I’ve smelled in some time. There’s a floral component that hits you right up front. It’s followed by a very nice sweet maltiness. And then there’s the taste – ahhhh the taste. Immediately you enjoy the mouthfeel. You get that the malt bill is right where it should be for a Barley Wine and that the bitterness from the hops has balanced this beer out very nicely. Fruits like dates and plums are the stars here which are backed by some of the oaky character from the barrel-aging. The floral aspect from the nose also carries through on the tongue. At 11% ABV, we found this one to be rather enjoyable and drinkable. Good thing there are two more in the basement waiting for a future session.

Up Next: Kerkom Bink Tripel

Others: Great Divide Old Ruffian, Avery Hog Heaven, HotD Doggie Claws

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This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Surfer Blood “Floating Vibes”



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Session # 110 | Hair of the Dog | Doggie Claws | 11.5% ABV
Barley Wine | Portland, OR | Rating: 94/100

I’ve said it too many times to remember, but Hair of the Dog from Portland, Oregon is one of my favorite breweries. It’s hard to find fault with any of the beers Alan Sprints creates. This beer, Doggie Claws, is no exception. It’s a barley wine style ale that sits at 11.5% ABV and hides the alcohol burn exceptionally well. As you pour this beauty in to the glass, I suggest pouring from a higher level than normal to incorporate some air into it as some have complained about the carbonation levels. This will help open up the nose, which is full of sticky fruits, caramel, and a nice hop aroma from the simcoe addition. The aroma is followed by a taste that equals the smell and really highlights the deep sticky fruits like raisins, dates, and figs (like a Belgian Quad might), but with a much lighter caramel undertone. While it may come across as being a bit too sweet, the hop character and alcohol helps cut the sweetness to show (once again) why Hair of the Dog makes some of the best beer around.

Up next: Special # 6

Others: Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Great Divide Old Ruffian, Victory Old Horizontal

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This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Justin Townes Earle “Mama’s Eyes”



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Hopry Special # 5 | Lost Abbey | Angel’s Share (Bourbon) | 12.5% ABV
American Strong Ale | 96/100

Hello everyone! So I hoped you all enjoyed Saison Week as much as Tim and I did. After recording these three sessions, we both wanted to keep going (if you can believe it), so we did. We decided to throw on our big boy hats and bring you a fun-filled session with Lost Abbey’s Angel’s Share (Bourbon Barrel). I will be traveling to the state of Texas where I hope to pick up some Allagash, Dogfish Head, Oskar Blues, Victory, and several other breweries. While I’m gone, please enjoy this special session of The Hopry. And I’d also like to point out that I recently added a new week of sessions to the “Coming Soon” section. I’ll let you go there and find out for yourself. It’s going to be AMAZING. See you guys next Monday for Mikkeller Week.

Lagunitas, from Petaluma, California, is known mostly for their amazing (and value-driven) Imperial IPA called Hop Stoopid. Luckily, we have finally been given the okay to get Lagunitas in Kansas and Missouri — so I have not been deprived by any stretch of the imagination. The first day I saw Hop Stoopid available here in Kansas City I purchased eight bottles right on the spot. At only $3.50 for an amazing 22 ounce bomber of hop goodness, how can you go wrong? So when I saw their barley wine called Brown Shugga getting ready to hit the shelves I jumped at the opportunity to buy some of them as well. A fan of barley wines already, I figured this couldn’t be too bad of a beer knowing that the brewery knows a thing or two about hops. But what struck me about Brown Shugga the most is how light the hop presence is for such a big beer. It’s easy to pick up a small amount of hops on the nose, but it doesn’t translate over to the palate as much as it should. Barley Wines are known for having a large amount of hops, but the focus here is more on the malts and sweetness from the brown sugar that is added to the beer. All in all, I would say this is a good beer from Lagunitas. However, loads more hops to bump up the bitterness and aromas would definitely turn this one into a great beer.

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This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Great Lake Swimmers

Brewery: Lagunitas
Beer: Brown Shugga
Style: Barley Wine
Location: Petaluma, California
ABV: 9.84%
Rating: 85/100

Damn I love a good barley wine! No other style of beer lets you know it’s in the house like these. I mean barley wines are the type of beers that can destroy your palate if you get them strong enough. That’s because the insane amount of bitterness that is required to stand up to the caramel malts can be staggering. Such is the case with Mikkeller’s Big Worse Barley Wine which immediately comes across as a sipper; though this one tastes a lot sweeter than I remember. Big Worse (based on old scores) used to be one of my favorite barley wines until I had a very fresh pour of Avery’s Hog Heaven from the tap. Now that, my friends, was glorious. But really, I can’t fault Mikkeller here. Even though it is too sweet for my developing palate, they have really nailed the true essence of the barley wine flavor profile (prunes, figs, caramel, and hops). At the end of the day, however, a beer should be well-balanced to be considered great. And for that, Big Worse gets a small demerit in my score. Having said that — I still hold a place in my heart for Mikkeller because of their willingness to go big and push the envelope with any style of beer. They’re like the European version of Dogfish Head. Hell, they even have a much bigger (and apparently unavailable) version of this beer called the Big Worst that is a staggering 20% ABV. I think I’d like to try that some day. But at just over 12 ounces, you could easily pull one of these out of the fridge, pull up a couple chairs with your father-in-law, and drink it next to the fire like you would a glass of brandy. Regardless of how you drink it, you’re not going to forget this beer for a while.

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This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Danzig

Brewery: Mikkeller
Beer: Big Worse
Style: Barley Wine
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
ABV: 12%
Rating: 87/100

Sierra Nevada is probably one of the first breweries to really gain momentum as a craft brewery. In the early days they used to call these producers of smaller quantity beers Microbreweries. But whatever you want to call them today, Sierra Nevada is easily one of the largest craft beer producers in the United States. I “learned to drive” on their Pale Ale and eventually started learning about some of their other products. Within the last year I began finding myself enamored by Barleywines, and Sierra Nevada’s offering with the Bigfoot is a really nice representation of the style. It’s caramely and hoppy and that’s just the way I like ‘em. This is also a really great beer because it is so readily available in most states. I still see plenty of six-packs in my local liquor stores today and always feel happy to know that my supply will most likely never run out.

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This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: True Widow

Brewery: Sierra Nevada
Beer: Bigfoot
Style: Barleywine
Location: Chico, California
ABV: 9.6%
Rating: 92/100