10 Lords-A-Leaping by The Bruery

Rating: 5/5

10 Lords-A-Leaping by The Bruery is a 10.5% ABV Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Description:
Wassail is known for warmth and spices. The tenth verse of our Twelve Beers of Christmas™ saga goes leaps and bounds beyond a traditional winter warmer, drawing inspiration from the dark, spiced ales from Belgium and our love for experimental brewing in SoCal. 10 Lords-A-Leaping is a dark imperial wit ale featuring 10 different spices – coriander, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, mace, anise, dried apples and cloves, which complement the spiced notes imparted from the yeast and prance upon the rich, dark fruited character of the specialty malts.

2016 Chronology:12 Wee Heavy by the Bruery

14372433_506770789519028_9207661275792997942_oRating: 6/6

2016 Chronology:12 Wee Heavy by the Bruery is a 14.1% ABV Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale aged in Bourbon Barrels

Label:
Scotchology
This wee heavy ale aged in bourbon barrels is the second in a chronologically aged series released at six-month intervals to chart the evolution of barrel-aged character over time.

We brewed a wee heavy – known for rich, malt-forward flavors – and set it to age in bourbon barrels. Every six months, we’ll take a quarter of the barrels, blend them and bottle them. This second bottling from our Chronology Series represents the nuances imparted to the base beer after twelve months of barrel aging.

==Introduction==
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Released to the Reserve and Hoarders, this is the next 6 month release of the Chronology Wee Heavy series. After a whole 12 months of aging, the next brew is released. For being the first time The Bruery releases a Wee Heavy beer and places it in its Chronology series is awesome as the Wee Heavy style is somewhat uncommon. It is a personal favorite of mine. Let’s take look and see how this beer has fared for the last 12 months, Cheers!

Aromas:
Dark fruit prunes, grapes, plums, currants, blackberries, blueberries, Oak, Vanilla, bourbon, dulce de leche caramel, toasted coconut, smoked peat, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, rye bread, bananas, plantains, clove spice, crème brulee, flan, cinnamon, fruit cake, scotch whiskey, toffee, capirotada raisin bread, Almond Joy chocolate and marzipan.

Flavors:
Rich Oak, Vanilla, bourbon, dulce de leche caramel, toasted coconut, marshmallows, chocolate smores, Almond Joy chocolate, marzipan, smoked peat, dark fruit prunes, grapes, plums, currants, blackberries, blueberries, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, rye bread, blueberry cheesecake, Blackberry cobbler, pecan pie, nutmeg, maple, all spice, dates, anise, licorice, molasses, dark cherries, grilled bananas, plantains, clove spice, crème brulee, flan, cinnamon, fruit cake, scotch whiskey, toffee, capirotada raisin bread and port wine.

Aftertaste:
Finishes with richer dark fruits, oak, dates, anise, bourbon, toasted coconut, bananas, caramel, pecan pie, and hazelnut nectar. Slight alcohol in the taste. Dark brown full body, smooth, creamy and chewy mouthfeel and a sipping drinkability.

Overall:
An exceptionally awesome brew. As with many of these Bruery beers, age does wonders. The aging of the wee heavy for another 12 months has given this one a more dark fruit forward flavor along with the vanilla, banana and coconut hints. I definitely want to see more of this one as it develops more in the future and would recommend this one highly to those that love strong Wee Heavys
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Anime Corner:
Felicia from Darkstalker/Vampire Saviour was used in this pairing for the reasons that I have not used her in any Bruery beer thus far and is one that is perfect with the colors of the label for the beer. Also the racing part is an analogy for how time speeds by and before you know it, BAM. That and Cats have 9 lives so would time even matter. I figured it was an interesting concept as to why use her in this pairing.

Sources:
http://orig05.deviantart.net/368d/f/2009/174/7/5/7522b95baa6cae1f8fadcdc568feaf32.jpg
http://blog-imgs-60.fc2.com/j/i/n/jingaidaisuki/78be039622ed_13AAC69F_061_thumb.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/IW7Id.jpg

Oatmeal Yeti by Great Divide Brewing

9907_10101358396379730_774366284_n1236107_10101358397282920_784323944_nRating: 5/5

Oatmeal Yeti by Great Divide Brewing a 9.5% ABV Imperial Stout brewed with roasted oats and raisins

Label: 
Much like its legendary predecessors, this Yeti is big, bold and dark. The addition of rolled oats softens Yeti’s notoriously roasty backbone and the small amount of raisins added in the brew kettle create a unique dark fruit character. Just as admired as those that came before it, Oatmeal Yeti Imperial Stout is a softer beast.
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I have reviewed a couple versions of the yeti. The first one was the chocolate oak yeti which I thought was delicious. Then came the Belgian Yeti and that one was more phenomenal. The oatmeal yeti is this year’s (2013) new yeti release

Aromas are of sweet, dark, and bakers chocolate, mild espresso notes, more mocha, dark fruits like raisins, figs, pecans, caramel, rich chocolate cake, brownies, smokey notes, brown sugar and slight marshmallows.

Flavors are of graham crackers, marshmallows, sweet, milk and dark chocolate, raisin bread pudding, pecans, hazelnut, almond joy, caramel, light espresso notes, oatmeal raisin cookies with chocolate chips, almost a vanilla hint, light smokey and oak notes, figs, chocolate raisin, currants, toasted coconut

The after taste is sweet, dark fruity, bready and chocolatey. The beer is kind of syrupy and velvety like some of the best Stouts I have ever tried. A sipper but not very aggressive to it is moderately drinkable and not so bitter. This is the stuff for certain. 

Overall an awesomely perfect yeti with added flavors that work very well giving another silky layer to an already awesomely complex imperial stout. The Yetis are probably a golden standard of prime imperial stout examples (Basic one’s ofcourse, as Barrel Aged or Belgian Imperial Stouts are in a league of their own). Definitely try this, without a shadow of a doubt, this is a must get unless you find the chocolate aged one or the Belgian one. These are all great. Careful drinking this one, it is kind of addicting and you may end up finishing the bottle.