First quarter 2021 beers

I took a month off from alcohol in January (well January 4 to February 6), so the list is lighter than past editions. But as always, I looked for unique flavors, turned away from trends and just tried unusual brews where I could.

Aquila Rubrum (Marble bourbon barrel-aged red ale)
Jan. 3, 2021
The Albuquerque brewer makes a dynamite hoppy red ale, and this small-batch series continually puts the red ale into contact with different barrels to see how the flavors change. This is the 44th iteration, a bourbon barrel, and that barrel immediately announces itself. Red ale is a good style for barrel aging, as it shares a lot of character with Scotch ale and can stand up to barrel influence. The beer has a nice dank cherry character beneath notes of oak stave, with a nice appearance of vanilla bean on the finish. The sweeter elements of the red ale have been overtaken by the barrel. A little creaminess linger on the finish, and any sweet that ekes out an existence comes off as dense as molasses. The whole presentation is quite smooth, a 9.4 percent beer with a sturdy malt bill and not moments that speak out of turn.

Russian River Shadow of Doubt Imperial Porter
Jan. 3, 2021
It’s a big, roasted porter and I am smitten from the first sip. I have not had a dark ale from RR but this one sells me on their prowess outside sours and IPAs. There’s a broad roast and an easy feel for so big a beer. If I weren’t taking a break from beer, I would want another soon. 

Paradox Peachy Pandowdy
Feb. 7, 2021
What a surprise to find that Paradox added a keg of this long-lived sour at its Divide taproom. I drove up that afternoon to snag a crowler. I saved it for the Super Bowl. The carbonation is not heavy, and I feared it was flat when I opened the crowler to a minimal hiss. When poured in a glass, this old sour exhibited a lot of effervescent below the surface and a little But two-and-a-half years in an oak foeder has major influence. Since foeders get reused, this isn’t a beer version of a bourbon or Scotch that takes on heavy oak from long aging. In fact, the foeder serves more as a mellowing agent. The peach flavor is strong enough to stand up against the amber sour character. There’s enough mustiness and cider notes to balance out the fruit. It’s high in alcohol (8 percent ABV) and that shows. There’s a claim of cinnamon to accompany the peaches but I don’t get it, and I doubt any spice would stick around that long. The way the peach flows directly into the sour underpinnings is just magnificent. Fortunately, Peach Pandowdy stuck around long enough for me to try some. 

Jackie O’s Brick Kiln (bourbon barrel barleywine)
Feb.14, 2021
Below-zero temperatures and barleywine pair too well. The last time I felt a day this cold, I was home in Ohio, and a taste of Jackie O’s seemed a good fit for Colorado. This Athens brew has a boozy nose -imagine that, in a beer bottled at 11.8 percent ABV. Raisin, toffee and caramel dominate, with a little oak char and caramel combination coming on the end. Smooth and opaque, Brick Kiln might have sported subtler flavors at one time, but it’s too cold outside for me to press about what’s fallen off with time (this bottle dates back to 2018). Jackie O’s used a British-style, with noble hops and British malts. There are veins of dark chocolate and nuttiness among the fruit and confectionary notes. Definitely a beer that works as dessert. 

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2013
Feb. 17, 2021
It’s still hoppy after eight years. A giant beer, booze wafting from the bottle the second the cap pops. 

Wiley Roots Luscious Morsels (NE-style IPA)
Feb. 28, 2021
This one pours with a creamy head that quickly thins into a nice lace. There’s an orange-papaya character on the nose that runs into the body. A bit of lemon peel also pushes in. There’s a crunch of hops on the finish but it does not stick around. Double dry-hopped with El Dorado, Citra, and Mosaic hops, it has a good mouthfeel and a somewhat chewy consistency. I haven’t had a hazy in 2021 …. But this one doesn’t bowl me over. At 8.2 percent, it isn’t as multi-faceted as I’ve come to expect from the style. Despite checking most of the boxes, there’s just something that doesn’t connect with me here. 

New Image Pole Whacker West Coast IPA
March 12, 2021
This beer was created to boost avalanche awareness, a frequent danger for Colorado’s back-country skiers. I have tasted this beer before under different names, as its “Citra Incognito” tag hints that what’s driving the hops. It most reminds me of Russian River, both Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder. Not a clone exactly, but the herbal, astringent hoppiness and the milder malt backbone remind me of those landmark beers. At 8 percent it leans more toward Pliny in ABV. In any event, Colorado drinkers should relish the chance to pour something that runs so close to a cherished beer, especially from a brewery with the pedigree of New Image. If I had two, I would pour another.  

Colorado Farm Brewery Amber Ale
March 12, 2021
Amber rarely tastes this good. Then again, few amber ales can claim all their ingredients come from the same farm, as this brewery in the San Luis Valley can tout. There’s a boost of lemony citrus on the finish that is unusual and welcoming. It’s the best kind of session beer, and has none of the bloat I associate with the often-lifeless ambers I have tasted over the decades. I only grabbed one bottle from the brewery but it’s a highly memorable brew, not something typically said of this style. Perhaps the fresh ingredients make all the difference. 

Bristol Smokebrush Porter
March 13, 2021
This annual treat usually arrives in time for Valentine’s Day, and I’m imbibing mine during a snowstorm. Bristol smokes peat and beechwood malt for the beer, and it does not have a Rauchbier intensity – no problems here, as those intense smoked beers have a time and place. Despite the bomber bottle, this is a sessionable porter at just 5.6 percent ABV. All the notes land – the modest smokiness, then the rush of porter flavors such as roasted nuts, toffee and dark chocolate. 

Bozeman Underground Cranmaster Funk 2019
March 14, 2021
Bozeman Brewing Company had not started its sour program when I last drank there in 2010, and it’s curious to see how it has developed in the past decade. I found this bottle at City Vineyard in Billings in 2020, and winter was the right time to pop the cork. Any fears of brett overrun are thankfully dashed in the first pass. The cranberry-orange zest notes rush to the forefront turning the brett into a backdrop flavor. The sharpness on the finish has as much to do with cranberry as wild yeast. Cranberry is not overused in beer, and I think BBC nailed the mix here. Two years in oak helps smooth out the brett, and the late addition of fruit helps those notes stand out. There’s a creaminess that bears the brett funkiness on the tail end, and I really dig that. Subtlety with brett is tough, and here it makes this a beer to celebrate. 

Square Peg Brewerks Waverly Tulip (Dutch-style kuit)
March 20, 2021
A GABF winner for the “other” category, this Dutch-style kuit is not so different from most beer styles. Imagine a Belgian blonde or tripel without the coriander and a whole more earthiness, and you land upon Waverly Tulip. Grown in a farming region where Square Peg’s brewer has his own malt, it is unusual but never a novelty. The muddy orange flavor is strong, and usage of peat as a bittering agent works. No hops, no problem, not with this ale. 

Drei Fonteinin Cuvee Armand and Gaston
March 21, 2021
After a year in my stash, I need to know how well Three Fountains blends a geuze. Descent here is from 7 barrels and 11 beers, the oldest from 2014. Not bad. Bottle in June 2018, this Oude Geuze is delightful off the bat, sour but not blisteringly so. Nose has a bitter orange note, and that’s not surprising at all. It’s a pleasant geuze that does not bite, but has plenty of sour, musty character. This bottle has an addition of honey, giving the sour beer an extra roundness and the yeast something else to feast upon. This has the blend of flavors and notes that a good old geuze should deliver. Honey pops in now and again. This blend is dense and complex, with so many citrus-lemon notes popping in. It’s a wonderful beer Belgian sour beer, and something almost impossible to replicate domestically.