Lake Tahoe

Revisiting. An easy-drinking heavy & snow-fave. 5+ check-ins now; boosting score a quarter-point in honor of recidivism.

Purchased at SiPS

Revisiting (in subsequent iteration). Notes hold generally. Grading slightly lower this go-‘round.

Purchased at Total Wine & More

Earned the Winter Wonderland (Level 15) badge!

Earned the Dubbel, Tripel and Quad Oh My! (Level 14) badge!

Revisiting. Notes mostly hold; getting a slight metallic taste this time but there may be a can-liner issue. Leaving score unchanged.

Purchased at Total Wine & More

Revisiting (in subsequent iteration). Notes mostly hold, except booze-flash isn’t letting go from initial flare-up & as such is drowning out the prune, fig, & other elements identified last time, all still there, but overwhelmed. Primarily bourbon shows.

Purchased at SiPS

Very sweet, somewhat amorphously raisiny pastry stout which adds to (&, in so doing, subtracts from) the standard ‘Oatmeal Cookie’ version. Removes balance, adds sweetness, & while still good it loses nuance (to whatever extent pastry stout can have it).

Purchased at SiPS

Earned the Dessert Time! (Level 6) badge!

Revisiting four years later, & I’m definitely liking it more than last time. A bit thin for what it is (& imitates), but less weird than just underpowered compared to prior notes. Cinnamon is definitely there, very slight vanilla, rice milk everywhere.

Purchased at SiPS

Earned the Style Hunt: Blonde Ale badge!

Citric acid runs roughshod on the other elements. Hints of vanilla from the cognac wood, slight herbal quality from bitters, but mostly a near-gose tartness from the lemon juice. Still tasty, but well out-of-balance.

Purchased at SiPS

Chili is a minimal accent. Salt shows, as does the cocoa (incl. as a non-coffee bitterness. Strong but not boozy. Thick mouthfeel consistent with imperial stout. On the whole more mellow than I’d expected, but well executed. Had two from a 750ml howler.

Purchased at Zander's Liquor Store

Earned the Sky's the Limit (Level 61) badge!

Earned the Carl the Crowler (Level 2) badge!

Earned the Beyond a Shadow of a Stout (Level 68) badge!

Not as good lukewarm, of course, but making do while the power is out so I’m not letting the cold out of the fridge. Still VERY pecan-forward.

Purchased at Save Mart

Seems restrained compared to ‘Woke Up Dead’ a moment ago, but still maple pastry stout. Slight coffee but comes through more clearly simply because there’s less other dessert clutter. Slight alcoholic tingle as a top-note, elsewise ignorant of high ABV%.

Purchased at Zander's Liquor Store

Earned the Super Style: Stout - Imperial / Double (Level 3) badge!

Earned the 2X (Level 100) badge!

Unctuously sweet cocoa-dusted marshmallows dunked in boozy pancake syrup. Then spiking insulin levels, perceived warmth, brain fog & heavy snow say, “Well, it IS winter; I need survival calories,” & objections somehow shut down. High three with due shame.

Purchased at Zander's Liquor Store

Earned the Heavy Weight (Level 90) badge!

Tagged Friends

Nuanced & elaborate, but I think the least fave of the recent Firestone anniversary releases & has the misfortune to follow a seriously great Fremont annual release. Lots going on but not all stuff I like, esp. for this; I’m glad I didn’t age it first.

Purchased at Total Wine & More

In a word? Fantastic. Good but not excessive coffee, light bourbon (but almost NO ABV% heat at 13+%!), lots of cinnamon & cocoa, wood, toffee, & more, midpalate evolution, but BALANCED. Heavy yet gentle. Great stuff & I wish I had three more bottles.

Tagged Friends

Solid, middle-of-the-road Dunkel from a reliable brewery. Moderate malt for what it is.

Purchased at Zander's Liquor Store

Earned the Hopped Down (Level 100) badge!

Consistent with style. Cleanish, biscuity, malt-forward beer with not a lot demanding to be noticed. Decided to pair it with some jalapeño chili dogs to finish flushing out the aftertaste of two bad ciders. Not amazing but reliable from reliable brewery.

Purchased at Zander's Liquor Store

Revisiting. Notes hold. Too much, suffering all the more in wake of hugely better (& already overwrought) ‘Baked Apple Pie’ version from same box. Miles better than cherry-lozenge monstrosity that preceded it, but that wreck isn’t a helpful benchmark.

Purchased at Save Mart

Bitter overly-intense cherry cough syrup. Took a sip. Grimaced. Took a second sip. Yuck. Asked someone else to confirm my revulsion. They agreed. Dumped it.

Purchased at Save Mart

Earned the Johnny Appleseed (Level 30) badge!

Seriously overgilded fall/winter lily - finishes like the Cinnamon Challenge - but it really does taste like (pre-bought grocery-store) apple pie, & oversweet nose/entry crashes hard to finish bone dry amidst pie-spice. Weirdly moreish given its profile.

Purchased at Save Mart

Age has further smoothed 2017 edges. More “rum-raisin!”than a ‘City Slickers’ joke. Helldorado component (only 9% of mix), esp. show through, but Stickee Monkee remains visible. I remember liking a bit more younger, but still fab. Always a great release.

Purchased at Jackson's Wine & Spirits

Earned the Sky's the Limit (Level 60) badge!

Tagged Friends

An out-of-place migratory bird, the rare Winter Lager. Noticeable sweetness, definitely elevated but not overdone. Slight spice. Mostly clean finish. Easy-drinking.

Purchased at Total Wine & More