Tiberian Inquisitor [Part Deux]

**Picture from: BeerPulse.com 2/3/13 "Three Floyds update: new Dark Lord label, six other new labels and Dark Lord Day" by Adam Nason

"Want to have your most hidden secrets torn from the dark recesses of your soul? Tiberian Inquisitor will do just that. This Belgian-style ale aged for one year in French oak is a beer to be reckoned with." -3Floyds

**Comic from: Penny-Arcade.com 4/10/2006 "I hope you like text"

I'd say something snarky and nerdy here, but that died with the original post that Blogger ate.  Just know that this is the comic that came to mind after looking at the label for Tiberian Inquisitor.

3Floyds French Oak Barreling it all

Creation: Tiberian Inquisitor
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Masterminds: Three Floyds Brewing Company
Location: Munster, IN (Think Chicago)
ABV: 9.5%
IBU: 20
Availability: Limited (brewed once) bottles & draft
Drinkability: Sipping beer

Served...cold right out of the fridge.

Pours...demonic red!

Head...fingers width.  Sticks around for the entire flavor trip.  Minimal to no lacing.

Nose...acidic bitter caramel Granny Smiths

Starts with...Raisin, notes of oak/vanilla.

Finishes...Dry Chardonnay

Leaves the mouth...puckered.  Sour-ish character.

Serve Warm(er)...Give it 15-30 minutes to air out/warm up out of the fridge.  Dry bitter sweet molasses comes out.  Takes on a creamy and more complex character.  Apple nose more pronounced.  Astringency dissipates.  Pineapple sweetness comes out.

Bitterness cuts the boosiness to near nonexistent background music. Flavor symphony! 

Complex,  Not a pale!

4.5

The Big Guy: This was a weird beer... probably the weirdest beer I have every tasted. I really couldn't describe exactly what all was going on if you told me my life depended on it. That being said, I did know that I liked it. This beer had a unique appley flavor to it with some strong barrel aged characteristics. It was big and boozy. I have two more bottles that I am aging as we speak. I can't wait to see how this turns out in a couple years. I think it is awesome that Three Floyds was willing to do something so outside the box. This is what I wish all breweries did for their one off brews. Give me something unique and different any day of the week. I give it a 4.

My week with Bloomington Brewing Co. (Part I)

Out of pure universal convergence, I ended up drinking most of Bloomington Brewing Co. offerings in one week... and it was awesome.

This post is an amalgam of sorts.  It doesn't really fit into our usual forms.  It's more of an anecdote that winds through a lot of what we talk about here on the blog.  I would piece it out, but the gestalt is way more interesting than just a review of a nitro pour java stout (oh yes, we will get to that).

I celebrated Presidents Day by helping some friends find a place to live in Bloomington and day drinking at Lenny's, the restaurant that is the one half of the sympathetic symbiosis with the other being Bloomington Brewing Co.(BBC).  Of course the food was great.  Of course that could have been because I ordered and drank most of a flight on an empty stomach.  The food was trumped by the two highlights of my tasting,  the Java Porter, and the Ole Floyd Belgian Strong Ale.

The Java Porter was excellent.  Creamy head and mouth feel.  Strong chocolate malt and coffee nose.  It was a wonderful combination of boozey coffee and sweet syrup smoothness.

Then it went next level with a Nitro pour of the Java Porter.

This brew really benefited from such a smooth pour.  The mouth feel was like cream taken from the rivers of heaven.  Seriously.  It was nice to have such a velvety background to launch all those aforementioned flavors to the front.  The same could be said for their Big Stone Stout.  With CO2, it was kind of watery, but with the Nitro, it was very smooth, and richer to taste.  Truly a treat.

I would give the Nitro Java Stout a 4.5, without nitro, a solid 4.




The new specialty beer was their Ole Floyd Belgian Strong Ale.  Belgian Strong Ales have become a new crush of mine, so I was excited to taste BBCs new offering.

It smelled like boozey and sweet and felt the same.  The taste was rich and complex.  The candy sugars added more to the complexity of the taste than to syrupy sweetness, which was also helped by the alcohol cutting through the malts and sugars.  It was like a beer port and was very enjoyable.

I would easily give it a 4



In order to shorten the post, I will continue in Part II, when, a week later, I accidently stumble into a BBC tap takeover and one of the brewers set up shop next to me and chatted me up

El Duque's Epic Vertical Epic

I love that my first thought of trying to describe to people what going through the Vertical Epic was like was that it was a Wagner opera, each brew it's own leitmotif.

Then I realized that makes me sound like an asshole, so I'll go with this: Yeah, it was like drinking Star Wars.

Luke Skywalker: (7.7.7)-  Yes, my name is also Luke, and yes, I was tortured for years with Star Wars references, but I grew up with him and even though I think Obi Wan Kenobi is the most interesting character, Luke will always be my favorite, which means, yes, the 7.7.7 was by far my favorite brew.

I then, as I do now, refer to it as "that one beer that was Mountain Dew?"  Stone billed it as Saison and Golden Trippel influenced and it's obvious.  It's a perfect blend.  You get the refreshing lift of the citrus peel, spices, and ginger, as well as the high alcohol and candy sugars.  Like I said, Mountain Dew.  Surprisingly complex and refreshing and very glad I had it after it had aged. 

Han Solo: (5.5.5)- My second favorite beer of the night shared many characteristics with this space pirate.  It was dark, smooth, boozey, and not liked by many.  Han, like this beer, started from a simple beginning.  No spices were used in this beer.  Simple things led to complex malts and deep plum and sherry notes.  It was like drinking leather and it was damn sexy.  When I told it, "I love you." Its simple response was, "I know."

Jar Jar Binks: (3.3.3)- Jar Jar Binks is the beer equivalent of banana clove for me.  Both of these things are unpalatable and bring up deep wells of hate a loathing.  I don't remember much of 3.3.3.  I blacked out its terribleness.  It was too thin, too boring, and way too sweet. In the words of Jar Jar, "Dissen berry, berry bad. Oh! Icky icky goo!"

The Death Star: (6.6.6)- A man made moon that destroys planets and rebel trash.  Epic right?  Try huge letdown.  With a number like 6.6.6 I was expecting something... foreboding, or spicy, or daaaarrrrk.  Instead it was underwhelming.  I think this suffered worst from age than the other brews.  Fresh, the oak/toasted taste, dark malts, or odd tea leaf (Stone said it was supposed to be cedar), might have been a good mix, but when I had it, it just seemed too thin.  Obviously the planetary shield generator was down.

Anakin Skywalker: (12.12.12)- This one was my dark horse.  It was misunderstood, spicy, dark, and whiny.  Everyone, including me, immediately wrote this beer off.  It was confused as to what it was supposed to be: a winter beer, or potpourri.  Like the aforementioned Jedi, It was too spicy and bi-polar.

That was until it was paired with a cigar and wow, it really came together.  Like Anakin, once this brew took a dip in smoke and fire, it chilled out.  The spice and smoke of the cigar really made the flavors congeal and the antiseptic smoke numbed the tongue and mellowed the potpourri punch.  It was a great way to end the epic.

Stone billed their Vertical Epic as an epic told in beer form and it truly was quite the journey.  It was an amazing night full of friends and laughter, even if all those Belgian strong ales may have frozen me in carbonite and gave me hibernation sickness the next morning.

Epic Vertical Epic Party

For those of you who do not know what the Vertical Epic is, Stone Brewery has been releasing a Belgian Strong beer every year since 2002. The first one was released on February 2nd, 2002 - 02.02.02. The second was released on March 03, 2003 - 03.03.03, and so on all the way till last December with 12.12.12. They were all bottle conditioned, and were made to be tasted after 12.12.12 was released. Each beer is a unique twist on a Belgian Strong with a seasonal flavor from the month that it represents. The beers are only available for a limited time after they are released. After that you have to beg borrow and steal to try and get your hands on the older brews.

After six months of searching, I was able to acquire ten of the eleven Stone Vertical Epic Beers. The 02.02.02 was going on the net for more than $300 per bottle and there was no way I was going to pay that price, even to complete the Vertical Epic. Stone was kind enough to put home brew recipes on their website so you could replicate, or at least come close to, their brew. I made two cases of 02.02.02 (which I have decided to call International Incident). We had one bottle of 03, 04 and 05 and then two of everything else.

  

I invited nine of my best beer buddies and co-writers to my house and assigned everyone a beer to do a food pairing with. Stone gave descriptions of all of the beers' aroma, color and taste, plus pairings for food, dessert and cigars.

My friends did not disappoint; the food was outstanding. Since the 02 was a home brew I did not have anyone bring food for that. (The home brew turned out great. Thanks to the guys at Great Fermentations, the Scene post to come soon, for helping me tweak the recipe to get it going here). The pairings were as follows:

The 03 was paired with a light monchego cheese and a grilled portabella mushroom. 

The 04 was paired with a nice soft brie cheese

The 05 was paired with a ginger marinated thinly sliced beef

The 06 was paired with Pleasant Ridge Reserve Cheese

The 07 was paired with a coconut lime marinated shrimp 

The 08 was paired with mini fish tacos with avocado, cilantro and home made salsa 

The 09 was paired with mini BBQ pork sliders and spicy slaw

The 10 was paired with bacon wrapped nectarines with basil and balsamic vinegar

The 11 was paired with a chili pepper flowerless chocolate cake

The 12 was paired with chocolate covered espresso beans and, my favorite, a nice dark cigar

The food did such a great job accentuating the beer. It was a well put together pairing list by Stone. My personal favorite, other than the wonderful shrimp cooked by my wife, was the chocolate chili flowerless cake. It was a great pairing with Stone's chili Belgian Strong 11.

Over the next couple of days each of us will put a post up with our favorite beers, favorite pairings and those that were less impressive. 

Stack N Stabb

I've been on a solid Three Floyds kick lately. Stack N Stabb is their Belgian Strong Ale, but it reminded me more of a Belgian IPA. It was clear and golden with just a little bit of head forming on the top. It laced well and hung for a respectable amount of time.

It had a citrus aroma with sweet dried fruits and a little funky Belgian yeasts.

It had a nice Belgian yeast banana flavor with a very light sweetness. It had a complimentary spiciness to it with cloves and a bit of a peppery finish. There was a nice bready ale flavor. Like all things done by FFF, they hit it with a strong punch of hops that was good for this brew. It had a good mix of earthiness and pine. Stack N Stabb had a crisp dry finish with a bit of bitter astringency that I didn't love. The body of the beer was not strong enough to balance out the bitter finish for me. This really wasn't a bad beer, but I do like Belgian Strong Ales and this one just didn't do it for me.

  

The beer did get better as it warmed up. Everything blended together better the longer I was drinking it, but I hate to wait and it just wasn't something that I would get pumped up about.

I hate to do it to the guys up and FFF but I give it a 2.5.

Can't Dutch This... well actually you can.

An ode to Thr3e Wise Men's Can't Dutch This Belgian Style Belgian Strong Ale. On a stout, whether dry or otherwise I enjoy the head, the foam, flavor of it all. On a Belgian, I think it's the equivalent of meringue on a coconut creme pie; an absolute waste. On this particular beer it is a barrier one must suffer through to arrive in paradise. While the effort may be worth it, I just wish there was another route or at least a better pour. As I've less than subtly hinted at the the newest seasonal from Scott Wise's crew at Thr3e Wise Men's brewing in Broad Ripple is absolutely delicious. The start is smooth and even a bit sweet then transitions into the classic and spicy notes of a traditional Belgian and finishes with a champagne crispness that is surprising as it is delicious. I say all of this without being much of a Belgian fan. There's a particular brew just down the road from here that has some mighty fine Belgians and in a blind taste test I might confuse this brew as one of theirs; a compliment to both establishments.

Ok, now the facts: ABV: 8.1%, IBU: 20. It's golden and is a bit clearer than a lot of similar brews in this category.

Bastard VS Bastard VS Double Bastard

Ohh Arrogant Bastard, how I love you. This is my kind of hoppy beer. So often I find a hoppy beer to be nothing but a bitter hop flavor. The Arrogant Bastard, however, brings hoppy joy to life with a nice flavorful ale. The color is almost a dark orange or burnt sienna (yes, I said burnt sienna, my wife is in design it's not my fault). It has a citrusy smell that you get from a lot of West Coast IPA's.

Although the hops dominate the taste of this beer, the sweet maltiness helps round them out and make them less abrasive. This isn't one of those beers where they just tried to see how much hop they could force down our throats, it's well balanced and refreshingly delicious. With caramel and slight citrus fruit flavors there is some great balance with the citrus and pininess of the hops.

When it comes to an all around good beer, there are few things that could out do the Arrogant Bastard... or so I thought.

I just got some Oaked Arrogant Bastard on tap at Shallo's. It was impressive, so to be fair I went out and got a bottle so I could compare bottles to bottles. In a competition between bastards the Oaked Bastard had all of the strong points of the original with added complexity of an oak aging process, which I believe helped to mellow out the bitterness of the hops even further. Right away there was a woody vanilla aroma added to everything that had already happened with the AB. All this is good stuff, but I will say the oak flavor was pretty intense. It overwhelmed a lot of the great flavor that you got from the original Arrogant Bastard. If you like the oak aged flavors, this beer totally delivers.

To take this one step further I decided it was important to get the double bastard in here. Double Bastard is the "barley wine" version of Arrogant Bastard. It's 11.2% abv instead of Oaked and Standard AB which comes in at 7.2%. The Double poured out a little less transparent than the other two but about the same coloring.

This was my favorite of the three beers. It smelled a little bit more like berries and the same citrus hoppy aroma from the other Bastards. Upfront there was caramel and fruit flavors with rich sweetness and slight toastiness. This was balanced out  by a clean bitterness that lasts for about ten seconds of bliss and then it rolls over to the alcohol flavor.

This is definitely more boozy than the others, but it is still well balanced. The heavier malts and hops help to cover up the alcohol taste and make the whole thing pretty smooth. It has a heavier mouth feel than the other two beers, but it was not unpleasant.

In wrap up:

• The Oaked Bastard was less hoppy but had a heavy vanilla flavor. If you are scared of heavy hops or just love an oak finish this is the beer for you.
• The standard AB had the cleanest finish, the Double Bastard had lingering booze flavor and the Oaked had lingering woodyiness. It is hard to beat a classic.
• If you like something with a bit more kick, Double Bastard is your brew. Solid flavor, tons of kick.

Arrogant Bastard- 4.0

Oaked Arrogant Bastard- 4.0

Double Bastard- 4.5