Ep 98 - We Dive Into Some Russian Imperial Stouts - The Northwoods Beer Guy Podcast

Episode Transcript
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Mike (00:23):
Grab a beer and pull up a chair.
Welcome to the Northwoods BeerGuy Podcast.
Hey, ladies and gentlemen,welcome back to the Northwoods
Beer Guy Podcast.
This is Mike, the NorthwoodsBeer Guy, and, as always, I am
once again joined by my co-host,jim.
Hello Mike, how are you doing?
Doing good man?

(00:43):
How about yourself?

Jim (00:45):
I couldn't complain that's good, can't complain, because I
wouldn't listen anyway if you'recomplaining just kidding.
See how you are.
I know I was just.
I had some good things I wasgoing to say about you, but I
said that because of what I havelaid out in front of you money.

Mike (01:00):
I know no bars, no even better, even better than that,
really, barrel aged, barrel-agedbeers.

Jim (01:06):
Oh, all, right, now you pique my attention.
I have your attention, don't I?
Yes, what kind of.

Mike (01:10):
We have another and we actually did a podcast from this
brewery once before we did abar.
If you remember, but this istheir 2022 lineup, okay.

Jim (01:27):
Of their barrel aged beer, and this was by distal.
Oh, we did it on location.
On location, I remember, yes,and that was probably 21.

Mike (01:32):
Yes, I built 20 or 20, 21, I think, 2021, and so now this
is their 2022 lineup and thiswas the year that I I didn't
know this before, but they havebecause this is their all of
them but one are theirdasvidaniya okay series and they
have a dasvidaniya day okay,and you buy tickets and

(01:56):
basically we were there anywaybecause our daughter had a
basketball game, okay, andunfortunately it was the same
time as because at thisDasvidanya Day, you buy a ticket
, they actually you get served ameal in their barrel room, oh,
and you get to try samples ofevery one of these.
Plus, you got a bottle or canof every one of them.
Really, yep, wow.

(02:18):
I saw the notice online.
You know that they were doingit and I talked to my wife.
She's like well, we got abasketball game.
I said if, if they say thatthey'll hold the beers for me,
she goes, then just buy it, youknow, get the ticket and then
we'll.
I'm like okay.
So I got a hold of them andthey were generous enough to to
do that.
Oh to say that yes, we willhang on to you know, box them up

(02:38):
for you and wait for you.
I'm like, okay, perfect, so wedid that, went down, and then
they gave me this glorious boxfull of these.

Jim (02:45):
Nice and we get to taste them.

Mike (02:46):
And we get to taste.
We're going to taste them allright now Nice.
So yeah, it was interesting,but we've been there.
It's really an impressivebrewery.

Jim (02:55):
Yep State of the art.

Mike (02:56):
If you're ever in the normal Illinois area,
bloomington normal, but it's innormal, unlike Mike, unlike, but
it's in normal, uh, unlike mike, unlike me uh, make sure to
stop because it is a cool placeand they've got a beer for
everybody.
I mean they're they got just asheer volume of the different
beers they make is incrediblebecause I believe.

Jim (03:13):
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the dasvidaniya is their
barrel age series correct andthey have a whole nother sours
and ipa, their ipa.

Mike (03:22):
One member has like a grateful dead looking guy on it
and it I can't remember, is itDeadhead series or something
like that, but they have allthese different and then they
have, like you said, sours andall this other stuff.
They got something foreverybody, really Right.
But I personally I thinkthey're known for Dasvidaniya,
right, they're really good attheir barrel aging process.
Yeah, they've done it for awhile in their barrel room,

(03:43):
because that's the part thatreally was a bummer.
If I could have had whatevertheir meal was or lunch in the
barrel room, I thought thatwould have been really Just to
get that aroma Exactly All thatbourbon in the air.
Yeah, so it might be one ofthose that one of these years
we'll have to make a specialtrip down there just to attend
that.
Yes, because it was on aSaturday, you know, and I think

(04:09):
that would be pretty cool, well,cool, I guess.
Well, we've got how many do wehave.
We've got one, two, three, four,five, six.
We have eight, eight, eight,eight, eight beers in front of
us here, so we might as welljust get started and once again,
we're going to just try littlebits of each of them, and I'm
sure we're going to revisit someof these afterwards.

Jim (04:29):
All right.

Mike (04:30):
So the first one that they have is actually and I didn't
realize this, but I think thisis like their base, because this
is their Russian style ImperialStout, yes, and I think this is
what they use in Dasvidaniya.
Okay, but this is before it'sbarrel aged, I believe.
All right, and I apologize, I'mgonna probably butch, but this

(04:53):
is is it privyet privyet?
P-r-i-v-y-e-t.
All right, and what's that mean?
Uh, russian Stahok?
Oh, you got that?
Hi or hey, hey.
See, I should look at the notesthat Jim gives me beforehand.
So, privyet Privyet, which isRussian for hi or hey, is the

(05:19):
base beer for our award-winningbourbon barrel aged Dasvidaniya.
Even though this beer isn'taged in oak barrels, it greets
you with a color as dark asnight, a thick tan head and
characters of dark chocolate androasted malts with abundant
fruity esters.
Generous hop additions balancethe maltiness of this beer,

(05:41):
along with a mouthfeel that isrich, creamy, full and smooth.
Wow, and then yippa, nice.

Jim (05:50):
So 11.4%, 11.4% on their base Right, and this is the
lowest ABV one for this episodeOf the eight.

Mike (05:59):
this is our lowest, so we're starting a little and
working our way up.
So this will be interestingsince this is not barrel age to
compare them to these other onesto see how that affects it.
Oh, that's pretty dark anddefinitely has a dark tan head
on it.

Jim (06:15):
Yes, look at that.
Yeah, that smells good.
We're going to go to up there.
Put that can back.
Ooh.

Mike (06:28):
That's it is.
It's really, when somethinglike that and you smell it,
you're expecting to smell thebooziness of a barrel and it's
not there because it's notbarrel aged.
It smells good, smells good.
Well, here we go.
Mm, hmm, that's not bad.
Nope, that is not bad at all.
Wow, I definitely get theroasted malts for sure.
Yes, at all.
Wow, I definitely get theroasted malts for sure.
Yes, you know, you get thatdark chocolate kind of a you

(06:48):
know deep flavor Fruit esters.
I guess I'm not.
I do pick up something, but Ididn't know if it was a little
bit of a hop, like on the finish, on the finish.

Jim (06:56):
right, I'm trying to decipher that.
It's not the dark chocolate, isit?
I don't know, you know, becausesometimes that heavier
chocolate has that it does havekind of that it could be that
aftertaste too.

Mike (07:09):
Yeah, I mean, it's that's not bad.
This is for a non-barrel-agedrussian imperial stout.
That's, that's pretty decent.

Jim (07:18):
Yeah, wow and this is how we're starting out.

Mike (07:21):
This is how we're starting out at a measly.
You know.
I say 11.4%.
I was going to say, if you know, somebody hasn't ever had a
Russian Imperial Stout, this isa good one.
Oh yeah, and I think a lot ofpeople might be scared off
because of the 11.4% Right, andI don't think they should be.

Jim (07:40):
No, I mean this is the flavor spot on.
I mean, I mean this is theflavor spot on.
I mean I guess the other parttoo is Imperial Stout, so you
might get scared by.
It's going to be stronger orheavier but it's not.

Mike (07:53):
And if you remember, Russian Imperial Stout did not
originate in Russia, Rememberyou told me that that's right.

Jim (07:58):
Remember that.
So you're learning.

Mike (07:59):
Yeah, it's sinking in yeah , and you're retaining.
I retained it.
That's kind of crazy.
That's a good thing.
It started in Britain.
Yes, it did, because they wereshipping it to Russia, or?

Jim (08:10):
something you remember.
So what do you think?
So we should maybe go back howmany beers now have you?

Mike (08:17):
scored.
It's getting real close towe're going to be real close to
5,500.

Jim (08:22):
Okay, You're still an amateur, then Yep, all right,
and then what's your average?

Mike (08:26):
score Average is still.
It's like 2.97.
Wow Is where?
But you know our average on thescale is a 2.5.

Jim (08:35):
Right, but your average is way high, so you're
over-inflating all the beers youdrink.
No, I think what it is.
I'm more grounded than I am.

Mike (08:43):
I think what it is is.
We've tried so many barrel-agedbeers that it kind of brings up
, you think so I think, some ofit.

Jim (08:49):
All right, well, I'll let you.

Mike (08:51):
The thing that's kind of interesting with untapped is you
can see I can look and see howmany we've by a tenth of a point
, how many beers we've rated atthat number.
Oh right, you know, and I thinkthe most common is like a 3.0.
, is it?
I believe so.
When you get up into the upperfours it gets a lot less.
The air is thinner.

(09:12):
Yes, air is thinner from fourand up.
Four and a half up, for sure isway thinner.

Jim (09:18):
So what are you thinking on the score for this first?

Mike (09:19):
one.
Hmm, I like that.
I think on the base model I'mgonna go with three and a half.
I could drink that can for sure.
Very good flavor.
I wouldn't want to drink toomany because it's so high
alcohol?
yes, it is, but to share withfriends and such perfect beer.
I mean, I think the flavor isreally good, like you said.
I'm trying to figure out thataftertaste as far as if it's the

(09:39):
dark chocolate or if it is alittle bit of the hop type thing
with it, but it's probably ascloser to that, that dark
chocolate and uh.
But I definitely get theroasted malts and all that stuff
.
I think it's really good.

Jim (09:49):
I like it so I like it too.
I'm gonna go maybe just a ticklower, not saying it's bad
they're not in any way but it'sgonna give me some more
flexibility as we go through therest of these beers, oh yeah
wait a minute I gotta count,so'm going to go with 3.3.
Okay, still way above averagefor me.
So I'm thinking that we mightbe in that four territory again

(10:10):
here really soon.
So that one is really I meanfor the way for us to start off
our tasting.
That's a good way.

Mike (10:17):
Yeah, and, like I said, I did not realize that.
You know, you look at theartwork on the can, so I should
let everybody know we have fourcans and this is the only
12-ounce can.
Yes, the other three cans areall 16-ounce.
And then we have four bottlesand those are Are they 20-ouncer
?
They've got to be.
I don't think they're 22.

(10:37):
One pint .9, so it's 500milliliters.
Okay, so basically another pint, but then those four are in
bottles.
Uh, but you look on all theartwork is all like those.
The russian nesting dolls, yeah, and I apologize, I don't
remember the name of that, butthat's what?

Jim (10:52):
oh boy, oh um, since you brought it up but hold on a
second.

Mike (10:58):
But this first one you know, the artwork on that is a
group of those, yes, but I neverput two and two together that
this was actually somewhat partof this Dasvidanya series.
So there you go.

Jim (11:08):
Okay, so I think we kind of touched on it, but Privyet
means hi, hi, and Dasvidanyameans Goodbye.
Okay, yep, so the name of thedoll, the nesting doll, because
they fit inside they break inhalf, you open it up, and then
there's another one and anotherone.

Mike (11:25):
And what are those called?
That's what I just said.
I don't remember the name ofthem.
So that's your first question.

Jim (11:31):
Well, and it's worth a million points.
Yeah, I don't know.
All right, it is here.
I'll spell it, and then you'vegot to pronounce it correctly.

Mike (11:40):
Okay.

Jim (11:41):
M-A-T-R-Y-O-S-H-A.

Mike (11:44):
Can I see it, since I just have to Matrosha, matrosha?
Huh, yeah, we're probably offon that too, but Our
pronunciation is wrong.

Jim (11:53):
Nesting doll yes the nesting doll.
Yeah, so then that brings me upto our next question for you.
We're doing some very goodcraft beer today, so for best
flavor, craft beer should neverbe tasted.
In what type of glasses?
In what type?

Mike (12:11):
of glasses, right, like a material or just a style of
glass.
You know what's funny?
I saw a story one time wheresomebody was talking to I don't
remember if it was a bartenderor a brewery or what they were
talking to, but it was some kindof beer expert, okay, and he
said the worst thing that everhappened to beer was the pint

(12:34):
glass well, I'm like, I'm likereally and he, and you know,
because he's like, yeah, becauseit's just the shape and all
that, it does not help to bringout anything in the beer and all
that.

Jim (12:44):
So that is one of them.
But what kind of glass?
What is that style called?
To get you a million points?
Oh, geez.

Mike (12:51):
So it's that glass, but I don't know the actual technical.
Yeah, that's what you need toknow.
I just always had heard itcalled a pint glass.
I don't.
What is the actual name of it?

Jim (13:00):
Shaker A shaker name of it Shaker, a shaker, and what's the
second kind of glass?
That's bad.

Mike (13:05):
I'm just going to say tulip glass, I don't know Tiku
Tiku.

Jim (13:09):
Dang it.
The Tiku and the shaker are theworst ones for tasting craft
beer, really.

Mike (13:13):
Did it?
No, like I said, I've heard,like the Pilsner, that shaker
glass.
I've heard that one before.
Yes, but so the Tiku?
I guess I don't know.

Jim (13:21):
So the cons are it's expensive, it's shadowy and a
little more challenging tomanage.
Oh, okay, I don't know.
But and this is like my crackresearch team spent hours and
they went hey here.

Mike (13:33):
Huh.
Well, that's interestingbecause, like I said, I had saw.
That's funny, though, becauseit almost looks like a wine
glass.

Jim (13:39):
Yeah.
Yep, that Tiku does Right soyou probably don't want to be
drinking good craft beer likethis on a wine glass.
No.

Mike (13:45):
And I should say that, ladies and gentlemen, and now,
granted, we have, ours are liketaster size, but they are a
snifter glass yes, you know whatyou think of for like brandy or
bourbon snifter type Made justfor craft beer.
Just for craft beer, and theseare the smaller version and
typically when you go to abrewery and you order like if
you go to Distal, you're goingto get a 10 ounce pour.

(14:07):
Yes, you know, and most places,if it's a brewery or a craft
beer bar, if it's a barrel age,high octane, you're going to get
a 10 ounce pour instead of 12.

Jim (14:18):
Yes, you know.
So, yeah, all right, so thatI'm really going to give you one
question, because we, since wehave so many beers, yeah, we got
to get back into this, we gotto roll into this Stuff here.

Mike (14:24):
So what's number two?
So the number two, the firstDasvidaniya that we're going to
try.
Okay, this is their Rye BarrelR Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged
Imperial Stout.
Okay, and this one is 13.6% ABV.
Oh, so we went two percentagepoints, yeah, 2.2 percentage

(14:44):
points up, and the descriptionon this one, and they do have a
little more on the oh, this istalking about the doll and such
on the can.
Okay, what we had also is thisoak rye whiskey barrel aged
stout is rich and robust, withroasty maltiness that finishes
dry, with pleasant spicinessfrom the barrel and added rye

(15:07):
wow.

Jim (15:08):
So it should have that little bit of a peppery kind of
a peppery, because typically therye has that, yeah, well, and
the other good part too forlisteners is we've left these
out for a little while too, tolet them get up to room
temperature.

Mike (15:19):
Try and get a little closer too, because these things
we always say you should tryand drink them between 50 to 54
degrees or in that ballpark,because that's where the flavor
is going to come from.
Did you stick your thumb in it?
I just did, oh, and not onpurpose.
Oh.

Jim (15:39):
Now you can smell there's, there's a barrel and there's
something.
There's something good going on.

Mike (15:42):
Wow, that, that smells good, that's pretty good now, it
did not it did not say whatbrand or anything of barrel
right, so we don't know,unfortunately which company?

Jim (15:51):
what company?

Mike (15:52):
it came from.

Jim (15:53):
But that is pretty darn good, yeah, I mean I'm not
getting a burned on my throateven like that one of those
episodes where we had the pepperones on there.
There's no burn yeah.

Mike (16:03):
It doesn't burn like that habanero no Central.
Not even close, not that thissaid, there was pepper, but
typically rye has a littlepeppery flavor to it.
But no, this is smooth, this isreally smooth.

Jim (16:15):
Wow.
I mean, and we have one of ourlocal distilleries has a lot of
oak barrels in their distilling.
This oak is much different thanthat we have around here.
I think this is a much betterflavor.

Mike (16:25):
Yeah, this is, wow, really good.
I would not if you ask and Iknow I've said this a lot on
some of these beers, but if youask me, I would never guess that
this was 13.6.
No, you know, because itdoesn't drink like that.
You know, this is really.
This is good.
I mean, it is amazing when youtry a barrel-aged beer from a
brewery that knows what they'redoing.

(16:45):
Yes, with barrel-aging, becausethey're amazing.
I mean, you know.

Jim (16:50):
Right Now.
Did we I don't remember did wetalk about?
Are we still in barrel-agedJanuary or do we have to extend
it?

Mike (16:58):
No, this is February now but remember we had, the first
episode wasn't barrel age, andthen we did have our year in
review, which we had barrel agebeers that we tried, but there
was only a few, so technicallyit's still barrel age season.

Jim (17:15):
All right.
Well, I just wanted to makesure so the listeners know.

Mike (17:18):
Yes.
So yeah, good question, goodquestion, and you know we'll
have to see we may continue itagain.
We probably should, because I'msure we've got some other.

Jim (17:27):
Well, we've hit two of the big companies now and I think
later on this year we're goingto have from another Wisconsin
brewery.

Mike (17:32):
Oh, yes, we will.
I guess we could tease it alittle bit.
It'll probably be later in theseason, unless we go over twice
and pick up what we have.
But we did go in together andjoined the Barrel Society for
three sheeps.

Jim (17:48):
Yes.

Mike (17:50):
And it's always interesting.
It was really cool when you getan email saying, oh, here's
your first two beers you get andI was like what we already got
some in, so we got.

Jim (17:57):
They're on reserve for us.

Mike (17:59):
We're sitting there waiting, yeah, and then we did
order a couple because they'reyeah, well, we'll get into that
when we get to them, but it'sgonna really be a cool thing to
try all these.
I think we're gonna have tobreak those up into a couple
episodes at least, yeah, but uh,I think that'll be really neat,
all right, so, let so, let'sget focused back here.
All right Back to the ryewhiskey.

Jim (18:19):
Rye barrel.
So I will try to do my best tocome up with a score.
Okay, wow, this is going to bea challenge because we're going
to have, I think, some upperechelon scores here.
So I think we may need to makea rule that says we might have,
or able to, double.

Mike (18:34):
We might have or able to double.
We can have ties.
Okay, we can tie.

Jim (18:37):
I think that might be just because I think this is going to
really impress us.

Mike (18:42):
Looking back on it, I'm thinking three and a half, yeah,
I may have already paintedmyself into a corner because
it's like ugh.

Jim (18:48):
Yeah, so this one I like.
It's so hard because it's sogood to differentiate just some
of the flavors, I'm going to saya 3.9.
Wow, okay, nice, I like it.
I'm like right now I stilldon't have any bourbon burn on
my throat.

Mike (19:03):
Flavors are good.
I like it.
I agree a hundred percent withyou and I think I'm going to go
a 3.8.
Okay, just one step down fromyou, but it's really good, I
think for a rye.
We've had a number of ryewhiskey, barrel beers.
I think this is way up there.
Yeah, this is very good.

Jim (19:20):
Yeah, you know, and I think we might have to revisit that
one later.

Mike (19:23):
I think so yeah, because that is smooth and just yeah
good, very good.

Jim (19:28):
Very good, that's a good one.

Mike (19:32):
Yeah, so that was their rye whiskey barrel and that was
in a pint.
Can the next one we have is inone of their liter bottles?
Yes, is it a liter?

Jim (19:40):
was a pint, I'm sorry you said a little over a pint right
one pint, yeah, 0.9 fluid ounces.

Mike (19:45):
So just over a pint in these bottles, all right did you
have a?
Question, or should you want tojust break into this next one
right away and well, here's adumb, here's a good question.

Jim (19:52):
Okay, you should have this one.
Okay, which four americanpresidents?

Mike (19:57):
were home brewers.
George washington was one, okay, if I remember right yep so um,
can I ask a question?
Yep, I mean are.

Jim (20:04):
Are they like spread out throughout the all the way from
george washington to present.

Mike (20:08):
Okay, okay, so it narrows it down to 40 to 40 set.
Well, 40 something, becausethere's a couple duplicates in
there, boy.
So Washington, I'm thinkingthere might have been more early
on.
Okay, oh boy, who else is goingto be?
Thomas Jefferson Ding?

Jim (20:26):
ding, that's correct.
Oh, that was a total guess.
Total guess, all right.

Mike (20:31):
See, I don't see any more modern day myself.
I'm thinking, and I'm probablyway wrong, but I just don't,
because I know.
You know, jimmy Carter'sbrother had Billy Beard out
there.
I don't know if they everbrewed, though I think I'm going
to stick with like the older.
How about Andrew Jackson?

Jim (20:51):
Close James Madison.

Mike (20:53):
Oh, and then you have one left Is it an old Nope?
No, nope.
A Nope, a newer one Yep.
So I was totally wrong.

Jim (21:01):
There are three older ones and one newer one, and it's not.

Mike (21:04):
Carter.
Right Correct, was it Carter?
It's not Carter.
It's not A home brewer, that'snewer Dude, this is difficult.

Jim (21:11):
See, this is difficult.
I thought this was the easy onefor you.
You no.
Who is going to be a homebrewer?
Should I give you a hint?

Mike (21:23):
yeah, if I could, yeah the only president to brew inside
the white house.
He brewed inside the whitehouse.
That didn't help me at all,didn't it?

Jim (21:26):
no, the first three brewed at their own houses okay in the
white house.

Mike (21:31):
Who would have been man enough to brew inside the white
house?

Jim (21:33):
probably some deep dark corner somewhere.
Yeah, I was gonna say probablynot in the main level, probably
not right out in the rotunda oranything but boy, I don't know,
I don't know how new you'rethinking either.

Mike (21:46):
20th century, teddy Roosevelt, barack Obama.

Jim (21:49):
Really yeah.

Mike (21:51):
I had no idea.
Huh.

Jim (21:53):
Yeah, I never would have guessed I guess I didn't.

Mike (21:56):
Well, I thought would have guessed I didn't, I guess, I
didn't.

Jim (21:57):
Well, I thought you knew that, knew Nope, I had no idea.
I thought you were holding outon me.

Mike (22:01):
Nope, I totally had no idea on that, because I thought,
okay, I'm sure it's notPresident Trump, and I thought
the Bushes don't seem like theywere really beer, I think it
would be brewing and RonaldReagan, I don't think, would
have brewed.

Jim (22:15):
Who in the world.
I don't think, clint, you knowand I didn't.

Mike (22:18):
Yeah, so I totally, I didn't even.
Oh, I thought that was a gimmefor you.
Never even would have guessedhim.
All right, so what is next?
All right, so the next one wehave is their Dasvidanya Cherry
Cordial Rye.

Jim (22:31):
Ooh, Rye whiskey, barrel aged imperial stout with cherry
chocolate and vanilla.
That's a good combination.

Mike (22:43):
13.6 abv that almost sounds like a, like a float or a
sundae or something exactly,and what their their description
said was this stout bringsflavors of tart cherries, dark
chocolate and vanilla, with adry finish and pleasant
spiciness from the barrel andadded rye.
All right Well, so similar.
The last one was their ryebarrel, but this is their cherry
cordial rye barrel.
And this is the first one thatwe've had today from them in a

(23:06):
bottle.

Jim (23:06):
Yes, it's a bigger bottle too.
It's a bigger bottle.
It's not a 12-ounce bottle.

Mike (23:11):
That comes out pretty dark too there you go, it looks good
.
Yeah, it smells pretty good.
Ooh boy, that smells good thearoma.
I was like man, wow, you know.
Really good, and our two littleglasses don't take a whole lot
out of that bottle.
So we're going to have torevisit some of these.
Yeah, you don't, I still.
I smell the rye.

(23:32):
You know the barrel itself.
You do get a little bit of asweeter kind of smell, but it's
not over the top.
Ooh, that has a sweet,definitely sweeter than just the
rye barrel.
Is that the vanilla On thefinish?
It's the vanilla for sure.
Wow, totally get the vanilla.
You get that little bit of tartup front, which is not really
strong.

Jim (23:50):
It's really that vanilla is really a different flavor
vanilla.

Mike (23:55):
Yeah.

Jim (23:55):
It's not like the madagascar vanilla that's in
captain.
No, no, nope, not.

Mike (24:01):
This is really good yeah, wow, boy, that is chocolate, I
guess.
I think the vanilla maybecovers up some of the chocolate
flavor.
Yeah, but boy that.
That chocolate finish or, I'msorry, the vanilla finish, is
like wow, yeah, and I mean thecher.

Jim (24:16):
I mean I have a little bit of a tart, but nothing but not
over the top.

Mike (24:20):
No, not really, like some of them we've had.

Jim (24:22):
Yeah, not a sour tart, I mean, but that's a good
combination, those are good.
Yeah, and this is 13.6.
So this is Wow.
So the first, last two havebeen 13.6, which is we're
getting up there, we're steppingup our game.

Mike (24:38):
The next one goes up.
Oh, it does, yeah, just to letyou know, Thanks for the warning
.
Yes, not as big of a step aswhat the between the first one
and the next one, but, wow, Ilike that.
That is like I said thatvanilla finish.
It's not.
I still think one of theall-time best vanilla beers we
had was that, wasn't it, was it?
Uh, we talked about it for thebeer.

Jim (24:58):
It was an absolute or absurd.

Mike (25:01):
No, um absolute vanilla, or whatever you know what I'm
talking about?
I don't, yeah, so that was agood vanilla yeah, I apologize,
I'm drawing a blank for the thebeer name, but oh my gosh, that
was probably almost the mostperfect vanilla flavor in a beer
that I've had, but this, thefinish is really.
You know, vanilla is very good.

Jim (25:17):
I would almost like it a touch more vanilla.

Mike (25:20):
Yeah.

Jim (25:21):
Just a touch, not a lot, just a little bit more.
It's still because there's noburn, it's still very smooth.
Oh yeah.

Mike (25:28):
And when you said about the tartness of the cherries, up
front, I agree I think they didthat extremely well.
Right, and if a little bit morevanilla, yeah, I think then
you'd be skirting with some ofthe high.
Yeah, the highest of the high,the higher type stuff, but this
is good.

Jim (25:43):
Yeah, I'm thinking I might put this one one touch below the
rye barrel.
Okay, I'm going to go with 3.8.

Mike (25:49):
I'm going to actually I think I'm going to go one touch
higher.

Jim (25:52):
I'm going to go with 3.9.
You like this one.

Mike (25:54):
I like this one.
I think that tartness and thenthe vanilla finish really added
something to it, so I think Ilike it a little bit better.
Yeah, I mean, and again we'resplitting hairs.

Jim (26:04):
Yeah yeah, this is some rarefied air.
Yep, because everything we'vehad so far has been way above
average.

Mike (26:12):
But yeah, you know we've had, because there's a couple
episodes we had where everythingwas pretty low.

Jim (26:16):
So these are especially for barrel-aged beers.

Mike (26:19):
I mean these are really really good.
Yeah, this is very good.
Wow, I'm impressed.

Jim (26:23):
We might have to revisit this bottle.

Mike (26:25):
We can do that.
Anything is possible rightAnything is possible, so I'm
running out of questions, but Ido have another one for you.

Jim (26:32):
Okay, it looks like so.

Mike (26:35):
Do you have any pets?
Yeah, Dog and a cat.
Dog and a cat, I guess youcould if you count our COVID
chickens too.
I got them, but All right,Because the college wouldn't let
Callie bring them with.
Oh well, I tried to tell themit was her support animals.

Jim (26:46):
They didn't buy it, Darn it .
So true or false Okay.

Mike (26:58):
Are hops.
You know what's poisonous todogs?
Ooh, that's a good question.
I'm going to say fact.
You are correct, it is true.
Yeah, I knew it was part of.
I can't remember if it's likenightshade family or some genus
of plant that it's yeah, I didnot know it until I read it.

Jim (27:13):
I was like really I'm like most dogs I know will eat
anything.

Mike (27:17):
Yeah, yeah.
So don't let your pets eat justraw hops, If you're growing
them out there.

Jim (27:21):
So yeah.
Huh.
So what do we got next for abeer?

Mike (27:24):
All right, we got something that's going to be
good?
I think so.
So now remember.
I told you this one we step upthis one we go up to.
So we're stepping it up.
Yep, and this is theirDasvidanya S'mores, s'mores,
bourbon barrel aged imperialstout with toasted cacao nibs,
cinnamon and natural flavors.

(27:46):
Cinnamon-n-n-n-n,cinnamon-n-n-n-n.
This imperial stout bringsfamiliar notes of the campfire
treat, along with hints ofbourbon and oak, together with a
dry finish.
All right, well, you've piquedmy interest again.
Okay, here's one thing, and Ithink we talked about it once
before.
Okay, and they have a sign inthe brewery too.
But on the can it has supportflavor boycott, bland, oh nice.

Jim (28:10):
I think we talked about that too.
Yeah, like we like flavor.

Mike (28:13):
Yes, don't be afraid of flavor.
Yep, because we've talked aboutwhen we've went to some other
breweries before or tried some,and they're like, let's say,
close to a college or in atouristy area and they're more
trying to just brew beer for themasses, so to speak.
So their flavors are reallymuted and you and I are
definitely big on the flavorside.

Jim (28:33):
Right, especially if you put it on your can.
Yeah, if Right, give us,especially if you put it on your
can.
Yeah, if you put it on the can,let us taste it.
Yep, if it's on the can, itshould be in the can, because
the reason why we're buying thebeer is to taste that flavor,
exactly.

Mike (28:43):
We don't want to taste something else.
Yeah, so I think that's cool.
Boycott Bland Couldn't havesaid it any better.
No, no, so does say anythingabout, but I don't know if
that's like, maybe with thenatural flavors, possibly
because it says it has familiarnotes of the campfire treat.
So I don't know.
That's the one thing I waslooking at to see if it said

(29:04):
anything about graham cracker,but it doesn't so what are
natural flavors?
Uh, the opposite of artificial,oh gotcha okay narrow it right
down for me.

Jim (29:14):
Yep, all right well, here we go.

Mike (29:15):
Aroma's good, aroma's good yeah, boy, I get the cinnamon,
I get almost like a mutedcinnamon.

Jim (29:23):
Is that what that is?
I was almost thinking it mighthave been like a marshmallow.
That could be too.

Mike (29:28):
But not really powerful sweet.
No, that's almost.
It tastes more like amarshmallow than cinnamon.

Jim (29:34):
Yeah, but I mean, there is a little bit of a cinnamon touch
to it.
Yeah, like a cinnamonmarshmallow almost.
Yeah, I don't, is that?

Mike (29:40):
possible could be wow, but that definitely I don't really
get.
Like you said, a graham cracker, no right.
But when, as soon as you saidmarshmallow, it just like that's
it.
I can taste that, but it didn'tsay anything about it in the.
You know the description, right, but that's really interesting.

Jim (29:57):
I mean this, that's another good.

Mike (29:59):
I'm like, wow, that's good definitely different from the
cherry cordial.

Jim (30:04):
Yes, but in a good way.
I mean, it's like againlaterally good, yes, it's not.
Yes, it's still good, it'sright on that same plane.

Mike (30:11):
I still like you said too I kind of wish you had a little
bit more of a distinct s'moresflavor.
Yes, but boy, I wouldn't turnit down, you wouldn't push it
away.
I wouldn't turn if somebodygoes you.
Like you said too, I kind ofwish you had a little bit more
of a distinct s'mores flavor.
Yes, but boy, I wouldn't turnit down, you wouldn't push it
away.
I wouldn't turn it If somebodygoes.
You want some yeah.

Jim (30:23):
Yeah, I'll take some.

Mike (30:24):
Really twist my arm hard Right.
Wow, that is really good, youknow.

Jim (30:35):
but the one thing I'll have to say, I don't even, not
saying even a beer, but like ata campfire.

Mike (30:42):
I was going to say, well, unless you had like the cinnamon
and sugar graham cracker.
But I don't think I've even hadone like that with.
That's a good take on it.
I mean, I think it's notoverpowering cinnamon, it's just
like no, it's like your tastebuds are like on, that's, that's

(31:06):
really good.
Yeah, I agree, and, like I saidwhen you said marshmallow, I
think it has more of amarshmallow flavor to it.
That's good.
That's boy.
Um, what are you thinking?
Um, I gotta look at.
Oh yeah, well, this may have tobe one that I tie.
Okay, I think I'm gonna go withthree nine on this one as well.
You're gonna tie them up yeah, Ijust I think it's really good
flavor.
I don't, I don't necessarilyknow if it's a four, but it's
real close and it's differentthan the Cherry Cordial, but
it's, like you said, almost likea lateral type difference.
So, yeah, I'm going with a 3.9.

Jim (31:27):
Yeah, I mean I'm going to say exact same score and I guess
I mean I wish that there was away because you know, not being
a brewmaster, not knowing howhard it is, but I mean that
flavor is just like amazing.
Again, no burn from the bourbonbarrel.

Mike (31:42):
Right right.

Jim (31:43):
Very smooth.
We haven't had a burn yet onthese.
None of these, I mean, have allbeen super smooth and you can
smell it.
And it's 13.6 on this one.

Mike (31:52):
No 14 on this one.
So this is a 14.

Jim (31:54):
Yep Does not taste like a 14.
We, so this is a 14.
Yep Does not taste like a 14.
We are really, I think, blessedby these flavors right now.
This is each one is a littlebit different, but a little bit
different good.
Yep 3.9 for me.
I think we're pushing up ongetting.
If these last four now are asgood, We'll find out, won't we?
Wow, so that's good.
I'm really happy with that.

Mike (32:19):
That's a good flavor and, like I said, we've had some
s'mores beers that taste justlike a s'more.
We've had some that don'treally taste like it.
I mean, this is kind of inbetween.
Yes for the flavor but boyeverything else is just like wow
, you know that's crazy allright, so you're ready for
another question.

Jim (32:31):
Sure, all right, so this is a multi-part.
Okay, so there's four countriesin the world where a fast food
restaurant has beer on its menu.
So the first question is what'sthe name of that restaurant?
Very common restaurant, fastfood restaurant, mcdonald's, you
got?

Mike (32:48):
it right, they have beer on the menu.
Okay, and now to get points.
And now what?

Jim (32:53):
countries.

Mike (32:54):
Now to get points you gotta tell me which.
Yeah, I should get at least apoint for.

Jim (32:58):
McDonald's You'll get like here we go, you get a tick mark
Okay, which four countries havebeer on its McDonald's menu?

Mike (33:06):
So you can get a McBeer, this is an easy one.
Germany yes, there's a half apoint, okay.
Czech, no, no, minus 100.
No, whoa when else.
I'm trying to think where else.
Three of these are in Europeand one is in Asia.
I was going to say they're nothere.
Three in Europe, so I hadGermany, scotland, england.

Jim (33:32):
Close France, france, oh geez, and one more in.

Mike (33:36):
Europe.
How about Spain?
Oh it's, oh geez.
And one more in Europe.
How about Spain?
Oh its neighbor Portugal.

Jim (33:42):
Portugal and the last one In.

Mike (33:45):
Asia, japan.

Jim (33:47):
South Korea.

Mike (33:47):
South.

Jim (33:48):
Korea Wow, minus 10 million points.

Mike (33:51):
I deserve that.
Well, you tried Good effort,though that's crazy, though I
had no idea that.

Jim (33:55):
You didn't know that A McBeer.
Nice Good call, yeah, all right, so what?

Mike (34:00):
do?
We got now this next one.
Honestly, I've been reallywaiting to try, and this is
their 15th Anniversary Brewer'sChoice, nice, and it's a blended
barrel-aged Imperial Stout 14%.
This limited-release 15thAnniversary variant variant is a
custom brewer's choice blend ofbarrel-aged beers Bourbon

(34:22):
Barrel, dasvidaniya, okay, okay.

Jim (34:25):
You're going to want to listen All right.

Mike (34:26):
Bourbon Barrel Dasvidaniya Rye Barrel Dasvidaniya.
Bourbon Barrel Triton BarleyWine.
Bourbon Barrel Antiquity RyeWine Wow.
Aromas of chocolate, toffee anddark fruit greet you, followed
by complex flavors of bourbon,vanilla and oak.

(34:47):
The spiciness from rye malt andrye whiskey barrels rounds out
a dry finish.
So they blended four differentbeers, one, two, three For their
15th anniversary.
Four Yep for their 15thanniversary.
Four Yep for their 15thanniversary, and this one has
the gold label on it.
Oh, look at that baby?

Jim (35:04):
Yeah, the presentation lets us hope.
What's on the inside is just asgood.

Mike (35:10):
It fits as good as what's on the outside.

Jim (35:13):
Man.

Mike (35:14):
Well, that's cool.
There we go.
I was going to say I have, like, an antique bottle opener and
it was not cooperating.
So All right Well.

Jim (35:24):
All right, so here we go.
Look at that it's definitelydark, yet it's definitely dark.

Mike (35:29):
It has that tan little bit of head on it Because once
again it's 14%.
Wow, it's got a good aroma, ooh, 18%.
Wow, it's got a good aroma, ooh, ooh.

Jim (35:37):
Yeah, that smells pretty good.
It smells like bourbon barrelsright there.

Mike (35:45):
The bourbon barrel, the rye barrel, the bourbon barrel
triton, their barley wine, andthen an antiquity rye wine.
So four different barrels.
Four different barrels.
All right, that's pretty good.
Wow, wow, I really don't.
I guess I was going to say Idon't get a dry finish, but I
kind of do A little bit, alittle bit, but it's not
terrible.
It's not like you're going ah.

Jim (36:00):
Yeah, not like it was in a wine, cask, correct.

Mike (36:02):
Boy, that's pretty.

Jim (36:03):
I think it's just the right touch of dryness.
Yep, that's smooth, that'sreally smooth, no burn.

Mike (36:08):
No burn at all.
I can't believe last 14%.
Well, the other ones are 14,but they're 14.6.
Oh, so we're even stepping itup another six-tenths of a
percent.

Jim (36:23):
Wow, that is really good.

Mike (36:24):
This does not taste like a 14% at all.

Jim (36:28):
This is one of those.
This is scary.

Mike (36:30):
Somebody would drink that bottle and get messed up, and
then you wouldn't even see itcoming.

Jim (36:34):
You drink that bottle, you get up to go to the bathroom.
You're like it coming.
You drink that bottle, you getup to go to the bathroom.

Mike (36:38):
you're like whoa, I'm on a ship, I'm going to sit down.

Jim (36:40):
Let me grab a hold of something that is good.
Wow, this might be the best oneso far today.
Yeah, this is good.
Wow, this is really good.
I might dare say could be on mylist for beer of the year this
could be.

Mike (36:55):
I think you're right.
I think this.
Yes, we will definitely put iton the list for being talked
about, because this is supersmooth, very good flavor.
I'm impressed.

Jim (37:09):
I think we sometimes talk about it.
But I mean, how you know, likefor a new craft beer maker or
brewer, anybody that's in thisposition where you go, I got a
really good beer, all right, andnow I'm going to take this
really, really good beer, I'mgoing to put it in another
barrel, and I'm going to put itin another barrel, well, and
then I'm going to put it inanother barrel and then another.
So how do you?

Mike (37:27):
But this is different.
This is not like that.
This they blended.

Jim (37:32):
Oh, so they had it and then just poured it together Four
different beers.

Mike (37:45):
Yeah, they, you know, because we've had somewhere.
The last barrel is what youtasted, right?

Jim (37:49):
You know, and I mean they get a good product.
I mean it's like, are you likeplaying with fire?
Right when you know you got agood beer.
Well, I'm going to try one morething.
Or it's like where is yourfinish line for putting them in
different barrels?
And you're like these are allgood, man Boy.

Mike (38:05):
So do you want to go first ?
No, but I will All right,because I'm sitting here going
geez, this is good.
Yeah, like I said, this wouldbe scary drinking.
Yes, super good flavor I'mgoing to go a.

Jim (38:22):
I'm going to 4.4.

Mike (38:23):
Honestly, I think this is really good.
I think they did an amazing jobon this one.

Jim (38:28):
Yeah, I mean I don't see anything bad about this.
I mean I guess I wish I couldexplain to the listener more of
what the different barrels tastelike.
Yeah, I can't, only because itall just kind of melds together
perfectly.
Yeah.

Mike (38:45):
Yes, yeah, because I say you know, you look at it.
So the rye barrel we just had,yep.
The bourbon barrel comes upnext Yep, this one, okay.
The barley wine I've neverheard of, no, their bourbon
barrel.
Triton barley wine I've neverheard of that.
And I've never heard of theirbourbon barrel antiquity rye
wine.
I don't know what those are.

Jim (39:04):
Right.
So I mean for me, kudos.
I mean I'm going to go with 4.5.
I really like it.
I mean this is wow.
I mean, Mike, I think thismight be your first top-shelf
beer that you've actually givenme.

Mike (39:18):
Well, I don't just.
You know, I've got to save them.

Jim (39:22):
You did really good on this one buddy.

Mike (39:24):
Yeah, that's good.

Jim (39:24):
I'm impressed.

Mike (39:26):
Wow, that is crazy.
And, like I said, when I got itand I pulled, you know, looking
at the bottles when I got thebox from them.
And I saw that and I was like Igot to figure out what that is,
you know, and.
I put it downstairs when we gothome and then just you know, oh,
got home, and then just youknow, because, as the listeners
have have probably noticed bynow when, when we do these

(39:47):
series like this, we're taking ayear at a time, so to speak,
and we let them sit for right,try and let them sit for a year
or two.
And how do you let them age?

Jim (39:54):
I have them up upright out of the direct sunlight in a room
temperature, you know perfect,perfect, see yeah, or basement
temperature, but still, yes,that is awesome, I mean, and
this I mean that is a good beer.

Mike (40:07):
That's good, that's really good.
They did a good job.

Jim (40:10):
All right.
Well, I'm going to give you aneasy question, since you brought
me a good beer.
Thank you, easy question.

Mike (40:15):
If I knew you did that, I'd bring more good beers.
Then Well, here's your questionAre you ready?
I'm ready.

Jim (40:21):
Easiest one.
Which country in the worldserves beer in its elementary
schools?

Mike (40:27):
Germany, no oh, belgium, wisconsin oh.

Jim (40:31):
Belgium, belgium, really.
They began serving low alcoholcontent beer as a healthier
option to traditional soda,which is more sugary, you didn't
know that Somehow.
I don't think that would flyhere, not in the United States,
right, so they serve a.

Mike (40:48):
Radler instead of a.
Well then it probably kicks allthe kids mellow.
I bet you're right, probablynot.

Jim (40:57):
Not during school, maybe after school.
Well then, you've got to wakethem up and send them home, but
interesting.

Mike (41:03):
I get that, they got to wake them up and send them home.
But interesting, I mean I getthat they don't want them to
have the soda, I get that, but Iguess I didn't think having
them drink and it's like theCzech Republic, where the beer
is actually cheaper to make thanbottled water, yeah, than
bottled water.

Jim (41:16):
See, we're learning all sorts of stuff.
That research staff I'm hiringmore and more Because you said I
keep getting the emails.
Yeah, seeing how good I am withit, I know I've got to give
some of the credit back to thatresearch staff, exactly.

Mike (41:28):
They're helping me out.
I'm glad that you helped sharethe wealth, so to speak, of
knowledge, of knowledge, and thekudos, your crack staff.
Anything I do to help Help theshow, there you go.
I Anything I do to help helpthe show, there you go.
I appreciate it because itneeds help.

Jim (41:45):
So what do we got next?
Awesome.

Mike (41:47):
Well, now we're stepping it up again to 14.6% and we're
finally to their Bourbon BarrelAged Bourbon Barrel.
So we hadn't been to the.

Jim (41:56):
Bourbon Barrel, yet we haven't went out that way, no.

Mike (41:58):
So this is their Bourbon Barrel Ag aged Imperial Stout,
and what their description was?
It said, the hidden soul ofthis oak bourbon barrel aged
beer that we said dasvidaniyafarewell to several months
before revealing, is its richflavors like dark chocolate,
toffee, black cherries andcoffee, along with robust and
roasty maltiness that finishesdry.

(42:21):
Okay, this should beinteresting, and again, we don't
know what, what distillery,right, right, we don't know that
.
So it would be interestingsometime if we go back down
there to ask right, you know,and see if they would.
I'm sure they would tell youlooks like it's a.
It's definitely dark.

Jim (42:38):
Definitely looks like an imperial stout.
Oh yes, that smells good too,gosh, still nothing bad.

Mike (42:44):
Ooh, yeah, like I said, the smell is stronger, I think,
than the boozy aroma is morethan the boozy taste.
Yes, it has been on the otherones, right, so now, well, let's
see.
So this is their Bourbon BarrelBourbon Barrel 14.6.
14.6.
14.6%.

Jim (43:00):
That's smooth Smooth.
I have a little more bourbonflavor.

Mike (43:03):
Yeah, I don't get the burn at all.

Jim (43:05):
No, you know, the bourbon flavor comes through more than
any of the other barrel ages,yep Barrel flavors.

Mike (43:13):
Definitely a stronger flavor in that than in like the
rye barrel.

Jim (43:17):
Yes, for sure.

Mike (43:18):
That one's got a little bit more of a bite.

Jim (43:20):
Yep, little bit more of a bite, yep, but for 14 it's still
.
I wouldn't have guessed it was14.6.
No, I mean, it doesn't havenear any of the burn that you
would if you're gonna have likestraight bourbon, right, right,
correct, yep, this is, I guess.
Now my taste buds are like kindof from that last one we just
had.
They're like they're used tothat last one, which was super
good.
So now everything's like tryingto elevate up to that higher

(43:41):
level yeah, and this, like Isaid, this one.

Mike (43:43):
It has a sharper flavor.
Yes, you know what I mean.
I don't know if you want tocall it that, but you know I'm
saying it's definitely a uh,somewhat of a bite to it I guess
right.

Jim (43:53):
I mean it's because, like the other, and again, this is
out of a can, so we had yes, andthe last right last one was a
bottle so the other canned oneswere the rye barrel and the
s'mores.
So this is the bourbon barrel.
Yep, so I mean the flavor.
I mean it doesn't have near theflavor, probably like the
s'mores does.
Right, it's a different flavorthough.

Mike (44:14):
Yes.

Jim (44:14):
Yep, not bad.
It's, like you said, difficultto describe.

Mike (44:19):
Correct, you know.
And then, since you broughtthat up, it's kind of like I
wonder why they decided to putthis in a can and some of the
others in a bottle Right Now,the 15th anniversary.
I totally get, because that'smore of a limited type thing.

Jim (44:31):
Oh, yeah, for sure, they could almost put that probably
in a .22-ounce thing he couldhave.

Mike (44:34):
Yeah, but you just kind of wonder.
You know why they picked theway.
They did be a reason for it,but and I know, like the, the
bourbon barrel that's availablepretty much all year right,
that's on, tap on tap there.
Yeah, when you go there you canget a flight, because that's
what we did.
Remember, we got a flight ofdust vidania.

Jim (44:51):
Well, at the brewery, and I think the other part that's
unique is I believe I could bewrong, but in your bottling
process you got to set it up forthree different ways of
bottling to a 12 ounce, 12-ouncecan, a 16-ounce can and these
glass bottles.
Oh yeah, it's not like mostcraft beers, it's the same can
for all their styles, all theway across Right yep.

(45:12):
So I mean that's got to tellyou that they've put a lot of
money.

Mike (45:16):
They've put a lot of effort into it.

Jim (45:18):
yeah Right just into their bottling process, exactly.

Mike (45:21):
Huh.
Well, what do you think of thisone dude?
Well, I like the last onebetter.
I have to say that for sure.

Jim (45:27):
And then I'm looking at the s'mores in a rye barrel.
I don't think it's up to thatlevel.
I'm going to have to say a 3.7.

Mike (45:37):
That's exactly what I was going to say.
I just I like the flavors onthose other ones a little bit
better, I know, and this is good, this is very good.
But when you compare them tothe other ones, I'm not going to
say a little harsher flavor,but it's a little stronger
flavor maybe.

Jim (45:51):
I don't know.
I don't know how to describe it.
It's not easy to describebecause it's not a bad flavor,
but we're just trying to splitthe hairs, so everybody knows.
I mean, I wish I could explainexactly what it tastes like.

Mike (46:01):
It's still good, yes, but we've had other bourbon barrel
Imperial Stouts.
Yes, that are definitely better, I think.
Just on the flavor, right, butthis is still.
I would not turn that can down.

Jim (46:14):
No, that is good, that is really good.

Mike (46:16):
Boy, we got two beers left , two beers left?

Jim (46:19):
Yeah, all right.
So my next question when didthe owner of Distal, who is Matt
Potts?

Mike (46:27):
Okay.

Jim (46:27):
When did he first start brewing beer in his garage?
His first five gallon batch ofbeer.

Mike (46:33):
Does it start with a one or a two?
A one, a one, okay, 19.

Jim (46:37):
Yep, okay, good, I got the first two numbers right 19.

Mike (46:39):
Yep, I wonder how old he is.
I'm going to say he's beendoing it for a while.
I'm going to say like 1989.

Jim (46:50):
Oh, you were close.
This is the 30th year 1995.
Oh dang it, so it wasn't quitethat far, you were close.

Mike (46:58):
So I was like huh, I thought well, you never know.
Because I thought okay, wasnever know you know.
Because I thought okay, was he.
You know, like my brother, Imean, he homebrewed for quite a
while, right Before he startedactually you know brewing for a
brewery, so, yeah, it makessense, you know own your craft.

Jim (47:12):
Yeah, so the next after we finish this next beer.
I got some questions for youabout the new facility there.
Oh geez.

Mike (47:20):
Oh yeah.

Jim (47:25):
I know, I've seen it, I've been there I don't know trivia,
but I know we're gonna do squarefeet.
Oh geez, yeah, right in thewheelhouse, all right so what do
we got now?

Mike (47:32):
so the next one oh, this has potential as well.
Okay, potential.
This is their black band.
Double barrel, wow, double bear, double bourbon barrel, aged
Imperial stout with vanilla.
Say that three times.
Exactly 14.6% ABV.
All right, and here's what itsays.
We aged this beer in heavenHill bourbon barrels, so they

(47:55):
named, they named it.
That's a good, that's a goodbrand to heaven Hill bourbon
barrels for several months,before transferring it to
bourbon barrels from Black BandDistillery, which is in Peoria,
nice, to age further, finallyrevealing its rich flavors like
dark chocolate, toffee, blackcherries and coffee, along with
a robust and roasty maltinessthat finishes dry.

Jim (48:18):
Wow, that's a lot going on.

Mike (48:20):
Yeah, so Heaven Hill, and then they put it into the local
Black Band distillery.
Have you had any liquor fromBlack Band?
I don't think so.
Okay, I've seen it.
When we would go down there.
I saw it listed, but we neverwent there, sampled any of their
stuff.

Jim (48:38):
Right, correct, all right.
Well, it's definitely a darkbeer.

Mike (48:41):
Definitely a dark beer in 14.6.
And again when you start inHeaven Hill Barrels yes, it
can't all be bad.
Yeah, smells good.
Ooh, that definitely does havea pretty nice smell to it, boy
that smells pretty.
That smells good, smellsinviting.
Boy, that's got a smootherflavor than just the last one.

(49:03):
Right, that has a really smoothflavor.
That is not bad.
So you wonder, is that theHeaven Hill or is it?
I'm sure it's a combination ofboth, because I'm sure the Black
Band.
Now it raises a question withyou to say, okay, I wonder what
Black Band bourbon tastes like.
Right, huh, that is smooth,that's not bad, wow tastes like
you know.
That is smooth, that's not bad.
Wow, oh, you remember when wewere talking about because a few

(49:26):
weeks ago, when you had got thebottle of Angel's Envy right
and we tried that along with theGoose Island, okay, yep,
bourbon County, when I wasdownstairs, when I was getting
these beers ready, I did noticethat I had one of those.
I had the Eagle Rare.

Jim (49:43):
I had the Old.

Mike (49:43):
Forester, and what's the other one that they?

Jim (49:46):
had, I still got all those oh.
So that could be an episoderight there If you got the
bourbon to go with it, if we hadthe bourbon to go with them.

Mike (49:53):
Wow yeah, so we'll have to talk to our friend John.
Have him buy all the otherbourbons.
I think I still got one one ofthe.
Well, you may too, and I knowToby does the Pappy Van Winkle
Central Waters, so you can buythat bottle.
No, I was going to have Johnbuy that one too.

Jim (50:07):
Oh okay, he can just bring them all.

Mike (50:08):
Just bring them all.
Yeah, we'll bring the beer.
You bring all the bourbons, Wow.

Jim (50:12):
Yeah, that's a good very good idea.

Mike (50:15):
Yeah, but that's what I was thinking.
I was like you know, if we havebarrel-aged January into
February farther, because we'vestill got Goose Island, we
haven't even got to Goose Island.
Yeah, we did one episode.
Oh, yeah, we did the one.
Yes, we did.
I'm sorry, but I got thoseother.

Jim (50:29):
We still got more bottles of those too.

Mike (50:30):
Yeah, we got more years of those, and then I've got those
other ones too, so anyway.

Jim (50:36):
So we've got stash upon stash that we haven't even
tapped into yet.

Mike (50:39):
Yep, we sure do, boy.
That's pretty good so what areyou?
thinking I'm going to go a 4.0on this one.
I think it's definitely verysmooth.
I think no way I'd have thoughtit was 14.6.
I think, compared to just thebourbon barrel, I think it's way

(51:00):
smoother than that one.
And again, when you start withHeaven Hill barrels and then you
go to the Black Band barrels,it seems to work really well and
, yeah, I think it's good.
I think it's another one ofthose that could sneak up on you
.
It's not going to sneak up onyou quite as much as the 15th
anniversary one would, but it'sstill a very good beer.
I think they did a good job.

Jim (51:21):
Yes, I will echo your same exact comments.
I like this one too.
I mean, it's hard to come upwith different superlatives.

Mike (51:29):
I think it's one of their beers because they're really all
so good.

Jim (51:31):
Yep, I mean I'm going to stick with you on the same
number, 4.0.
I like it.
It's just wow.
I wish I could describe it evenbetter for the listeners, just
so they would understand, butwe've not had anything that's
been bad from distal I mean anyone of these.

Mike (51:48):
One thing I should tell the people too these bottles
were all coated in wax the tops.
So before we started this, Icut all the wax off because we
talked about that mirror beforewhere, before you start drinking
, you want to cut the wax.
And that's what I did, becauseI was like, yeah, I don't want
to try and do it when we've been.

Jim (52:03):
Right, you know Well, and that's the hard part too.
I mean, that's not the bestthing for any of these, because
you know you're going to bedrinking beer and then you're
going to have a knife to likekind of pop.
These tops off.
Right so yes, we're under ourlast set of questions.

Mike (52:24):
Okay.

Jim (52:24):
So in 2016.

Mike (52:26):
2016, okay.

Jim (52:28):
They began construction on that new building that you and I
went to that.
We've been to yeah, okay, thebrewery and beer hall.
Beer hall, yeah, how manysquare feet is that baby?
Oh man, it's a big building.
Yeah, yeah, it's.
Only Could you put your houseinside it.

Mike (52:41):
Oh yeah, yeah, maybe not your house, but my house, you
could.

Jim (52:47):
I think you could put both houses in it Side by side.

Mike (52:48):
Yeah, in front of your parents' house, 100,000 square
feet Close, you were so close47,000.
I was way off.

Jim (52:57):
And how much did it cost to ?

Mike (52:58):
build 2016.
It's not as bad as if theybuilt it today, yep, but still,
man, because there's a lot ofglass and a lot of I love when
you walk in and they got thatbig fireplace going.

Jim (53:10):
Oh, looking over a pond, looking over that pond, Yep.

Mike (53:15):
Boy $5 million oh close again $15 million.

Jim (53:20):
Only off by one number.
Yeah, but it's a big number $15million Only off by one number.
Yeah, but it's a big number.

Mike (53:25):
So they completed it in March of 2017.
That place is like I saidbefore, if you get a chance to
go there, you've got to go there, because I remember Susie and I
had went a number, probably twoor three times, and then when
you and Julie came with us wewere like we've got to go and
I'm pretty sure you were justlike whoa.

Jim (53:44):
That's like I mean.
It's on the scale of the one inIowa.

Mike (53:50):
Toppling Goliath.
Toppling Goliath, yes.

Jim (53:52):
It's on the same scale.
I think that the distal breweryis probably a little bit bigger
.

Mike (53:56):
Oh, yeah, I think so.
So it's Boy and they've gotthat their barrel room is
gigantic.

Jim (54:03):
Yes, Temperature control Temperature, oh yeah.

Mike (54:06):
We've only peaked in there .
Like I said, if we did the Dustwith Annie day, we could eat a
meal in there.
But we'd look in there and it'slike, oh my gosh, You'd see all
these barrels just sitting inthe racks full of beer.
And they do it every year.
Yes, you know.
So yeah, Wow, that's crazy $15million.

Jim (54:23):
Yes, it's kind of like your money, yeah, yeah.

Mike (54:27):
Yeah, you're only one number off.

Jim (54:30):
The zero.

Mike (54:32):
No, actually you're like eight numbers off.
Oh.

Jim (54:36):
So what do we got for the last one?
Our?

Mike (54:38):
last one.
This is their Fritzson CoffeeVanilla.
Fritzson Vanilla.
Fritzson Bourbon barrel agedimperial stout with coffee 14.6%
ABV once again.

Jim (54:49):
Okay.

Mike (54:50):
And their description says in memory of Steve Fritzson and
I apologize, I don't know whothat is Okay, this stout
features Red Dog House blendcoffee locally roasted by
Serious Coffee Roasters inBloomington, illinois.
Okay, enjoy, smooth, brightcoffee notes, subtle sweetness
from the vanilla and a dryfinish.

(55:11):
Cheers, steve, all right, soI'm guessing this is going to be
more coffee forward, I wouldguess.
But again, this is one I'venever You've never had this one
either Never had one of thesewith really a coffee-type note,
so to speak.
Well, it's dark.
It's dark like the rest of them, so nothing's changed there?

Jim (55:31):
No, they're all right in the same area.

Mike (55:33):
Okay, smells good, smells good, they've all smelled really
good.

Jim (55:39):
Did I miss the type of barrel it was aged in?

Mike (55:42):
It did not say.
Okay, it did not say on ournotes here, but it is barrel 8.

Jim (55:46):
It's bourbon barrel yes, it is bourbon.
Okay, ooh, you can taste thecoffee.
As one of our friends would say, there's coffee and cigarettes.

Mike (55:57):
So when I first tasted it, my initial thing was ooh.
But then the coffee kind of gotreally strong, but then it
faded and then it's the vanillaRight On.
The aftertaste is vanilla.

Jim (56:06):
But, initially I was like oh, that coffee's ooh, that got
ooh, now it's gone you know theway the taste buds are just like
being like tricked.
Oh yeah, and all the differencethat's definitely not.

Mike (56:18):
That's not bad Because it's not over-the-top coffee,
mm-mm, mm-mm and the finish isdefinitely vanilla.
Yes, did it say?
Yeah, it doesn't say you knowwhatever vanilla, whatever type
of it.
So it must be just vanilla,because normally if they have
some exotic vanilla somebodywill point it out.

Jim (56:36):
Yeah, that's still smooth though Very smooth.
But I do get that dry finish.
My tongue is a little bit dry.
I don't know what that's causedfrom or what flavor is bringing
out the dryness Boy that's good, that's good yeah.
Wow, we've definitely had somevery good ones.

Mike (56:55):
We've had some good ones again today, which we expected,
Just like when we do CentralWaters, just like when we do
Goose Island.

Jim (57:00):
you know you're going to be splitting hairs At the very top
end of the spectrum.

Mike (57:05):
Yeah, really really good beers.
Yeah, what are you thinking?

Jim (57:09):
So I think for me very good beer, there's no doubt.
So the only things that I'mtalking about are probably just
like really really tiny orminute little things.
The dryness is a little bitdifferent for me.
I guess.
I don't think it changes theflavor, it's just a little
different.
So that's about the only thingI can.
I can't pick up a lot of thebecause, like now after like the

(57:30):
second or third sip now I can'ttaste the vanilla like that
very first taste, that first one, that vanilla is very you could
taste all three things like yousaid yes yeah, which which was
very cool.
So I think I'm gonna double uplike that black band.
I'm going to go with 3.8.

Mike (57:44):
Okay.

Jim (57:44):
I wish I can't even like hardly separate some of these
because they're so close.

Mike (57:48):
I know that's the sad part it is.
It's like ugh.

Jim (57:50):
And this is probably one of the few episodes where we've
actually had to double up a lotof these scores because they're
so close.

Mike (58:05):
I mean, I don't think you them.
No, I'm gonna go with 4.0 onthis one as well.
All right, well I thought youliked that last black band was
better.

Jim (58:09):
So yeah, uh, geez let me, let me look at my scores again,
because I like that I can't, Ican't triple it up.

Mike (58:13):
I'm gonna go with a 3.8 as well.
Okay, because three, three ofthem at 3.9 would have been too
much for a coffee stout.
It's not bad, no, no, it'ssuper.
And, like I said, that initialtaste when you got all three
flavors was amazing.
Yes, the more you drink it andyou're right the vanilla kind of
gets pushed to the back alittle bit and you get a little
more of that coffee.

(58:33):
Yes, but still very good.
Oh, very good, 100% agree.
So, yeah, I'm going to finishthis one and another day.
These were good.
Yeah, these were very good.

Jim (58:47):
Boy.
So I guess you know, overallthis is a really really tough
category.
Oh, extremely.

Mike (58:51):
Number one for me.
Well, for me and for you wereboth the 15th anniversary, and
I'm saying it now we're puttingit in consideration for beer of
the year.

Jim (58:58):
Yes, I second that motion.

Mike (58:59):
You know, and there's other ones here that could have
been, but I think that one wasso far ahead, right.

Jim (59:05):
I think what?
I think that the listeners areprobably looking for us to
separate it out, correct?

Mike (59:10):
And I would, Of this group that was by far the best one.

Jim (59:14):
I'll second.
I mean there's no.
I don't think you can go wrongby nominating no, because we're
not saying it's the best now,we're just saying we're going to
think about the other ones.
Now you have to beat this.
This is the king on themountain right now, right
Knocked it.

Mike (59:26):
Well, it's put into the same group, as you know the
other ones, Because we'veactually been doing it the right
way.
This year Instead of like lastyear where you had to go back
through and listen to a wholebunch of podcasts.
We're learning, we're learningwhere we're trying to nominate
beers to be in there and, yeah,this group, because this group,
again, when it comes to thebarrel aging which you know,

(59:49):
again, I think we're more I'mnot going to say expert, but
we're more familiar with Right.

Jim (59:54):
You know distal, we're not afraid of them.
No.

Mike (59:56):
Distal is one of the preeminent ones that we and I'm
sure there's around the country.
I'd love to get a chance to trysome barrel aged beers from
other states, yeah.

Jim (01:00:05):
I mean, and especially like the listers out there, let us
know what.

Mike (01:00:08):
Yeah, if there's ones in your area that you know of.
Let us know, Cause we want totry them.
We might do a road trip.
Yeah Well, you never know.

Jim (01:00:15):
We'll be doing a road trip.

Mike (01:00:24):
We may be going to another state, yeah uh, but anyway.

Jim (01:00:25):
So that 15th anniversary, I think, was by far number one
hands down hands down, and thenthe black band, I think was
number two, okay, you know.

Mike (01:00:28):
And then we had others, you know, of course, like the
cherry cordial, the s'mores werevery close, the coffee was
close.
You know that rye whiskey waswas close, I mean, but while you
look at them, uh, for for me itwent from a 3.5 to a 4.4, you
were 3.3 to 4.5.

Jim (01:00:44):
Right, so all within a point.

Mike (01:00:45):
Yeah, you know, and it's, it's.
Yeah, they were very good.
You know, I knew that distalwouldn't let us down, and they
sure didn't, you know.
And, and we do have next yearwe'll do another one, because
I've got 2023s downstairs too.

Jim (01:01:04):
So, and you did actually learn some russian?
Yes, you did.
You know hello, hello andgoodbye.
Goodbye, dasvidaniya, yep, andwhat kind of nesting doll it is
yep, I can't pronounce it, but Iknow what it says how it's
spelled, but this is one ofthose I'd have to put up there
with the same echelon um, withthe central waters, with the
bourbon county.
Oh yeah, they're, they're rightup there at least for the upper

(01:01:25):
midwest yeah they're in the topthree.

Mike (01:01:28):
Oh, you know them central waters, goose island, they're,
they're, they're the preeminentbear laging right?

Jim (01:01:34):
well, he's in our area right.

Mike (01:01:36):
And then the um goose.
Uh, three sheeps, they're upthere michigan dragons Dragon's
Milk oh.
New Holland, yes, new Holland.
Yeah, dragon's Milk.
Dragon's Milk, yes, I thinkthey're up there.
They're up there too.
Yes, yes.

Jim (01:01:48):
Got a very good process Very good, and so we have not
been steered wrong by any ofthese.
No, but this is like you know.
I don't even know if we couldsplit.

Mike (01:01:55):
I mean, they're all got very good products, very good,
and that's one of those.

Jim (01:02:03):
Yeah.

Mike (01:02:03):
How do you pick?
Because they all know whatthey're doing and they do it
well.

Jim (01:02:08):
Yes, and here's the other thing that we didn't talk about.

Mike (01:02:14):
How long were these aged?
They did not really specify Anymonths, any length of time,
because one, like the coffee oneit just said, you know several
months.
Right, we don't know if it's attwo months or 30 months, who
knows.

Jim (01:02:26):
Because, like Central Waters, they say exactly, they
point it out Right, they pointit out, but they also are doing
stuff for up to six years in abarrel.
You know what I mean, right.

Mike (01:02:35):
Where these, they do it every year.
Yes, so you know it's under ayear, right, but it could be 10
months, it could be 11 months,it could be eight months, who
knows?

Jim (01:02:44):
Because I mean that I think has a lot to do with the
flavors that come through Right,exactly, and they're doing it
right.

Mike (01:02:50):
They're doing it right.
Yep, I agree.
Well, awesome dude.
Thank you so much forstruggling through the
Dasvidaniya with me, me and uh.
There just happens to look likethere's a bunch of stuff left
in these bottles and cans, sowe're gonna have to revisit some
of these.

Jim (01:03:06):
I think, when we get done here.
But yes, uh, yeah, thank you.
So thanks for inviting me,thanks for finally bringing your
top shelf off from I'm trying,wow, I'm trying one time in like
several years, in almost 100episodes in 90, some episodes.

Mike (01:03:17):
I finally brought a good, a good badge.
Kudos to you.
Yes, thank you.
And uh, yeah, we'll, we'll keepplugging away.
We're getting closer to our100th anniversary 100th episode
there you go.
So yeah, we got some stuffcooked up for that and hopefully
it'll be working out.
There you go, but yeah, Keeplistening.

Jim (01:03:35):
We're trying to tease everybody for what's going to
happen.

Mike (01:03:37):
Yep, and we do have options where we could continue
to do some more barrel-laidstuff for a little while yet.
Well, we could do it a longtime if we wanted to Darn it,
but we'll probably do it for alittle while yet, and then we're
going to go back to some otherstuff.
So awesome, well cool, jim.
Thank you so much.
Man and ladies and gentlemen,thanks for listening in and by
all means, like we, becauseyou're not going to regret it,

(01:03:58):
try some of these Dasvidanias.
Yes, you're not going to regretit.

Jim (01:04:06):
And they have other stuff and take some home.

Mike (01:04:08):
And the food there is amazing too.
So that's one of those breweriesthat their food is as good as
the beer is, so awesome.
Well, hey, ladies and gentlemen, like we always say, we hope
your campfire is always warm andyour beers are always cold.
See ya, Bye.
Thank you for listening to theNorthwoods Beer Guy podcast.
If you have a question, acomment or a beer you'd like us

(01:04:29):
to review, please feel free tosend us a message at
northwoodsbeerguy at gmailcom.
You can also find us onFacebook, Twitter and Instagram.
If you're on untapped, look upNorthwoods Beer Guy and send a
friend request.
Until next week, I hope allyour campfires are warm and all
your beer is cold.

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Ep 98 - We Dive Into Some Russian Imperial Stouts

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Ep 98 - We Dive Into Some Russian Imperial Stouts