Vanilla Beans

Spotlight: Baderbrau Christmas Bliss

Christmas in a can might be the best way to describe Baderbrau Christmas Bliss.

Baderbrau, a small brewery located on Wasbash Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, has a little can of Christmas for you. We can only assume the Chocolate Orange candy weighs a bit Continue Reading →

Posted in Monday Night Brewing, Don't Miss This, New Releases

Easily one of the brewery’s best. Monday Night Tears of My Enemies

Monday Night Tears of My Enemies debuts this month, part of the fanciest lineup in the Atlanta brewery’s arsenal – the Black Tie Series.

The Black Tie Series is home to beers like Mom Jeans, Georgian Imperial Stout, and the well-known Bourbon Barrel Drafty Kilt. The week of Valentine’s Day, it will be home to one more -Monday Night Tears of My Enemies.

RELATED: Monday Night’s New Sour Facility [PICS]

Does a scotch barrel milk stout do it for you? This “vindictive” milk stout picks up hints of smoke from the 18 year old scotch whisky barrels, and is finished with a touch of both vanilla and locally roasted Batdorf & Bronson coffee. Despite being a fantastic beer, it almost wasn’t even brewed.

Monday Night’s head brewer Peter Kiley saw a beautiful fusion of milk stout and the Macallan 18 year barrels the brewery recently acquired. A milk stout in coffee can be quite good. Throwing that beer into those sexy, hard-to-get scotch barrels? Fan-freaking-tastic. Unfortunately, Kiley found his vision didn’t have some of the powers that be salivating like he was. These barrels don’t show up at your doorstep everyday.

Perhaps even the best idea is met with a little resistance. Kiley pressed forward, and with good reason. Tears of My Enemies is an triumph for the budding brewer. Enemies starts with a burst of coffee and chocolate, and finishes silky, with smokey hints of the sexiness that is Maccallan 18. A bottle of that scotch will set you back nearly $250 dollars. Lucky for you, this creation is less than $20. If you ask us, it’s the best barrel-aged beer Monday Night has ever released. In the end, the name is pretty fitting for Kiley. Nothing worth doing is easy. You won’t find him gloating. You can taste it in ever sip.

There is nothing more sumptuous than the misfortune of your enemies. That dark, smoky taste of revenge takes over as it hits your lips, marching upon your tongue like an army towards certain victory…

Monday Night Tears of My Enemies will be a 22 ounce bottle release, the week of Valentine’s Day 2017. We suggest you track one of these down.

Style: Imperial Milk Stout (w/ Vanilla Beans, Coffee. Barrel Aged. Scotch Whisky.)
Availability: 22oz Bottles
Debut: Week of Valentine’s Day 2017

9.3% ABV

Above: Monday Night’s head brewer Peter Kiley and his creation, Tears of My Enemies. Photo: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Wicked Weed Brewing Co, Don't Miss This

Perfect breakfast beer. Wicked Weed Barrel Aged French Toast Imperial Stout

Wicked Weed Barrel Aged French Toast, a bourbon barrel-aged edition of the imperial stout is now available.

Back in January, the Asheville, North Carolina based brewery release French Toast Stout in cans, limited only to the brewery. The imperial stout is brewed brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup, mimicking the popular breakfast food. Since then, the beer has been upgraded to bottles.

Out in the world now is Wicked Weed Barrel Aged French Toast Stout, a bourbon barrel aged edition of the hit stout. The flavor is a pleasant balance of cinnamon and vanilla, thanks to both the vanilla beans and bourbon oak. As the beer warms the French toast favors really bloom. Get this beer, and some challah and eggs and go nuts. Beer is perfect for breakfast.

Bourbon Barrel Aged French Toast Imperial Stout is a delicious testament to smoldering intensity. Prepare for the smooth vanilla, zesty cinnamon, and sweet maple syrup of the original to be epically enhanced by the finest Kentucky bourbon barrels. This sweet treat’s time in oak barrels has forged an entirely new creation. Taste this beauty after its Bourbon-barrel transformation, and give in to sweet intensity.

Wicked Weed Barrel Aged French Toast Stout is a 12.7 ounce bottle release, hitting distribution starting in late January.

Style: Imperial Stout (Cinnamon, Vanilla, Maple Syrup. Barrel Aged. Bourbon)
Availability: 12.7oz Bottles
Debut: January, 2017

10% ABV

PIC: Beer Street Journal 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Hair Of The Dog Brewing, Don't Miss This, Omnipolo

Hair of the Dog Maja, an Omnipollo collaboration debuts

Hair of the Dog Maja, a collaboration with Stockholm, Sweden’s Omnipollo, debuts today.

The base beer is a 10% alcohol by volume barleywine, with nuances of vanilla, maple and bourbon. The beer went into the barrel with vanilla beans in February of 2016. 100% bottle conditioned.

This beer is pale in color and has the aromas of peaches and pleasant memories of the past. In the mouth, pineapple mixes with marshmallow, ample and whimsy. Produced with the help and guidance of our good friends at Omnipollo to provide a truly unique drinking experience.

Hair of the Dog Maja is a 12 ounce bottle release, available the brewery in Portland, Oregon starting today.

Style: Barleywine (w/ Vanilla, Maple. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 12oz Bottles
Debut: 2/11/17

10% ABV

Image: Hair of the Dog

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Seasonal Return, Don't Miss This, The Bruery

The Bruery White Chocolate goes public on Valentine’s Day

The Bruery White Chocolate, a decadent bourbon barreled beer brewed with vanilla beans, is being distributed for the first time in 2017.

The name might scream imperial stout, however the base beer is actually a wheat wine, aged 100% in bourbon barrels for a year with vanilla beans and cacao nibs. The Bruery affectionately refers to this beer as “white oak sap,” as it 100% bourbon barrel-aged and is the wheat wine component of now retired White Oak ale.

After nearly a year in used bourbon barrels, the beer comes out rich in coconut, honey, caramel and vanilla. To compliment the already rich flavors of this beer, we’ve added cacao nibs and fresh vanilla beans to give this beer the delicate flavor of white chocolate…hence the name.

 

Earlier we reported that the alcohol by volume of this beer was 16.6% (as stated on the brewery’s website.) The future release of this beer will be 13.8%, allowing most states to sell it.

The Bruery White Chocolate will be available in 750 milliliter bottles to the brewery’s Society members on February 6th. The first day the general public can buy this beer will be Valentine’s Day 2017.

Style: Wheatwine (w/ Vanilla Beans, Cacao Nibs, Barrel Aged. Bourbon)
Availability: 750ml bottles
Updated Distribution: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NJ, NV, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI

Latest Return: 2/14/17

13.8% ABV

Image: Beer Street Journal

Ed Note: Corrected mention of “White Oak Sap” as it has never been released publicly. ABV was also updated. 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in The Bruery, New Releases

The Bruery Mash & French Toast, no utensils required

Expanding the “mash” series month is The Bruery Mash & French Toast. Breakfast beers are here to stay.

The Bruery’s “Mash” series is based around a barleywine ale Mash, that is nuanced with a variety of favors. Other examples include Mash & Coconut, Mash & Grind, and Mash & Vanilla.

As for The Bruery Mash & French Toast, this is your breakfast beer of choice. The barleywine has been bourbon barrel-aged, with cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and maple syrup.

If the allure of rich, caramelized notes or maple character don’t rouse you out of bed, the wafts from our brewer’s kitchen will, summoning you with nutmeg and cinnamon spices and warm vanilla character. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and Mash & French Toast. No utensils required.

Now for the bad news. The Bruery Mash & French Toast is only available to Reserve Society members.

Style: Barleywine (w/ Vanilla Beans, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Maple Syrup. Barrel Aged. Bourbon.)
Availability: 750ml Bottles. Reserve Society Release.
Debut: January, 2017

13.4% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Don't Miss This, New Releases

Love breakfast beer? Wicked Weed French Toast Imperial Stout bottles debut

Wicked Weed French Toast Imperial Stout has transitioned from a Pub Can release, to full bottle production. Originally the first can release by the Asheville, North Carolina based brewery.

Fans of having beer for breakfast will throughly enjoy this one. Wicked Weed French Toast Imperial Stout is brewed with cinnamon, maple syrup, and vanilla beans.

The scuttle of dried leaves blowing across the sidewalk; brisk, cool days filled with invigorating mountain air; the sweet, welcoming scent of French Toast cooking in our families’ kitchen: This is winter, and French Toast Imperial Stout is the perfect accompaniment to the season. This robust, dark stout is finely complimented by zesty cinnamon, smooth vanilla, and the comforting sweetness of only the best maple syrup. Cheers to the season!

Wicked Weed French Toast Imperial Stout is available in 16.9 ounce bottles in January, 2017.

Style: Imperial Stout (Cinnamon, Vanilla, Maple Syrup)
Availability: 16.9oz Bottles
Latest Release: January, 2017

8.8% ABV

Wicked Weed French Toast cans

The original Wicked Weed French Toast Pub Can. PIC: Beer Street Journal

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Baderbrau, Don't Miss This

Spotlight: Baderbrau Christmas Bliss

Christmas in a can might be the best way to describe Baderbrau Christmas Bliss.

Baderbrau, a small brewery located on Wasbash Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, has a little can of Christmas for you. We can only assume the Chocolate Orange candy weighs a bit heavy on the inspiration for this Baderbrau creation. Terry’s, a British chocolatier, created the Chocolate Orange back in 1932. Their heavy advertising around the Christmas holiday turned it into a massive seasonal favorite in the U.K. 80 years later it is popular all over the world.

Since rich chocolate, fruits and candy are a seasonal staple this time of year, why can’t beer be the same? A Baltic porter serves as the backdrop for hints of orange and vanilla that Baderbrau has added. For as rich as this beer is, it’s far from heavy. Pints of this are easy to put down.

Tis the season of drinking with friends and family, and Baderbrau most certainly created Bliss with that idea in mind.

Baderbrau Christmas Bliss is available seasonally in 12 ounce cans and draft.

Style: Baltic Porter (w/ Orange, Vanilla)
Availability: 12oz Cans, Draft.
Latest Release:

 

by Reid Ramsay