Since it’s been a while, I dug into the beer cellar to see what I could find. These to were sitting there, and I decided to go ahead and try both at the same time, side by side. This is one of those beers that – when I started my craft beer journey – was legendary. It was award-winner and was the pinnacle of smoked beers. Part of it’s legend was that it was one of those beers that was hard to get your hands on. I knew that the smokey flavor was prevalent, but the thought was, that if you cellared them, they were smoother than ever. That’s why I did so, when I was able to get my hands on them. I really liked their Big Nugget Barleywine, when I tried it at the Oregon Brewers Festival in 2010, so I’d been trying to get my hands on this one since then. I think I found one of these at a local liquor store, and I think my friend Betty shipped me one of these from Oregon. Now that it has been over a decade, it’s time to crack them open!
Location: Poured into Teku pint glasses at my home in Bloomington, IL
Numbers: 6.5% ABV, ~220 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: Both beers poured appeared deep brown when I poured them, and they had a finger thick, dark brown head that fell very quickly, leaving no head or barely a ring around the edge of the glass. The 2013 seemed to have a little more head, which was slightly darker and a little more tightly packed with finer bubbles. They were both deep, dark brown, that looked black, but the deep brown was visible when held up to the light. Both had a roasty, smokey aroma with a bit of dark cocoa and char. The 2013 seemed to have a bit more of a smoked char aroma than the 2014.
Taste & Feel: The beers were both fairly light in body a with a bit of a carbonation bite that gave it some crispiness. The 2013 seemed to be a bit more crisp than the 2014, which made sense, given the additional head and carbonation it seemed to have. Up front, there was a bit roasty char flavor, a bit light burnt coffee with a bit of dark cocoa to smooth it out a little. In the middle, it was a bit smoother, but the roastiness and char was still very prevalent. In the finish, the roasty char flavors grew even more, giving it a slightly acrid, wood-char like finish. The roastiness faded slowly in the aftertaste after a few minutes.
Food Pairing: Given the big roasty char, I can’t think of a better balance to this beer than a sweet baked Alaskan dessert or a s’more by the fire. The sweet marshmallow and milk chocolate would be a perfect balance for the roasty-char flavors in this beer.
Overall Impression: Since this beer has been on my bucket list for so long, I’d been really looking forward to it. When it came out, I’m certain that it was quite unique among craft beers, and was extremely flavorful compared to many on the market at the time. Although it was a good craft beer, I think I prefer the more subtle roasty-smokey flavors of a beer like Brauerei Heller Bamberg – Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier where the roastiness is more complementary to the beer. For me, there was a bit too much of a burnt-char like flavor to this beer. When comparing the two, the 2013 was a bit crisper and had a sharper char flavor. I actually preferred the 2014, which was a bit softer. Overall, I’m really glad I got a chance to try this beer, but now it’s time to see if I can try a fresher version of this beer to compare it to the aged version.
My Rating: 
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