#217: Anderson Valley Brewing Co. » Gatlin Damnosus (Sour Barrel-Aged Barleywine)

An unforgiving brew of devilish tartness and bourbon decadence...

(I should wake up more before determining that pictures are in focus)

The Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company (Boonville, CA)
The Brew: Gatlin Damnosus (Sour, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Barleywine)
Availability: Draft Only (Limited)
ABV: 8.8%%
Rating: 9.4/10
Location: Owl House (Rochester)

Over the weekend, I played in Hiroshima Vacation at Bug Jar as part of our final run shows. Rochester usually means Tap & Mallet or Owl House, and since this time brunch was in order after a lovely night over, the latter was up.

We arrived with a half hour before they could serve, so I was happy to have some extra time to peruse their always impressive draft line. However, this time around, an 8.8% sour, Bourbon-barrel aged barleywine was a no-brainer, even for first thing in the morning.

This beer was every bit as insane as I was hoping. Served up in an 8 oz. glass, Gatlin Damnosus is a hazy, grayish dark brown with a thick, creamy off-white head. Notes of sour grapes, sweet booze, and oak emanate from the glass.

Unabashed, irreverent flavors burst across my palate inducing a spine-tingling double-take. This is complexity and atradition at it's best. Exotic blends of sour cherry, ripe pear, toffee, butterscotch - all rich and decadent with woody, earthy undertones and a mild dryness. Further through there's apple skin, vanilla, and an ever-more pronounced rich bourbon flavors. It's honestly like 4 beers in one ally vying for attention.

Overall, for the adventurous enthusiast only.  An mildly astringent, booze fueled experience that I'd love to see in bottle form.

#209: Owl House » 3 Heads Amalgamation, Spoetzl Shiner FM 966, Ace Perry Cider, B. Nektar Black Fang, Scaldis Peche Mel

Before meeting up with family for my Father's birthday, I got to sneak in bunch and drinks with one of my best friends up in Rochester at one of my favorite restaurants and beer spots - Owl House. Amazing food and drinks for those who haven't been.

Three Heads Bewing » Amalgamation (Brown Ale) ABV: 6.5% | 9/10
It takes a lot for me to get excited about a brown, as previously stated. Double browns will usually do it, but those are relatively rare. Make it a Brown from Rochester's 3HB, and I'm listening. They've been concocting tasty brews for several years now, and Amalgamation is no exception.

It's a roasted, full-bodied, BIG brown ale that can hang with any other modern style. Mild hop notes merge with a huge, complex malt palate. Nutty, with notes of caramel, toffee, and overall residing on the bitter side. Surprisingly tasty.

Ace Perry (Cider) ABV: 4% | 9.4/10
To be honest, I grabbed this because my other choice had just kicked and it was the only thing on the beer menu I hadn't already had (besides those listed here). Total fluke choice.

The result? Amazing. No seriously. A pear cider that I absolutely love. Smooth and sweet, but not at all sugary. Silky tropical notes with sweet pear. I have to find this. It won't be for everyone, but to me it's fucking amazing.

B. Nektar Meadery » Black Fang (Mead) ABV: 6% | 9.1/10
Crafted with honey, blackberry, clove and orange zest; B. Nektar delivers again with a sweet, mild, velvety, and tart mead that is simply delicious.

Scaldis Peche Mel (Fruit Beer) ABV: 8.5% | 8.7/10
Sweet and delicate with juicy peach notes backed by subtle, smooth Belgian beer that offers just the slightest dryness on the finish.

Spoetzl Brewery » Shiner FM 966 (Farmhouse Ale) ABV: 5.7% | 8.5/10
A highly citrus farmhouse. With a light mouthfeel and highly delicate flavor spectrum, this one is a bit too subtle for my palate. Good, but a bit underwhelming.

#033: The Owl House (Three Heads, Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck, Southern Tier, Ballast Point, Stone)

First night of tour...

Location: The Owl House (Rochester)

The Story? For the first night on the road with Mouth To Mouth To Mouth (after a tremendous kick-off in Ithaca the night before) I met up with my parents for a pre-show meal at one of my favorite restaurants in Rochester - The Owl House. One of my favorite semi-recent Rochester memories is when a group of friends and I spent about 5 hours in the upstairs, brunch to dinner, just hanging out, running through their entire tapline, and pretty much owning the place.

With a quick scan of their latest draught offerings, I realized I'd only had two of the thirteen brews on the list. Luckily, I found out that you can make a custom flight, though picking five our of 11 was still a tough call, but I was very please with the results...

The Beer?

Three Heads Brewing: Country Shwheat (Imperial Wheat Ale) | 7.6% ABV | 46 IBUs
Pretty sure this is my first Imperial Wheat. Not a many beers in this style on regular rotation. I've always enjoyed 3HB and this was no different.

Refreshingly hoppy. Prickly carbonation with a nice citrus throughout. Great flight starter.

Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck N.V.: Bacchus (Flanders Oud Bruin) | 4.5% ABV
Wonderful cherry tartness and very smooth. Beautiful, root beer/mahogany color. Subtle, delectably sweet finish. A quality Flanders.

Ballast Point: Victory At Sea (Imperial Porter) | 10.0% ABV
Wow!! Huge amount chocolate up front with a dry finish. Big, staying head. Tons of vanilla. Roasted coffee notes too. Wet up front with a lingering finish. Sweet and dry at the same time. An excellent, thick mouthfull meal of a beer. Picking this one up in bottles soon. We'll deserving of Beer Advocat Bros 100 rating.

Southern Tier: Inner Loop (Saison) | 5.0% ABV
Mmm... very interesting. Brewed exclusively for Rochester brew week and listed as a "Maple Saison" - this peaked my interest. Wet and a little tart. The maple is very mild. Mellow sweet and mild hop finish. Great session, summer, festival beer aimed at a broad audience. I ended up grabbing one of these at Bug Jar post-performance too.

Stone Brewing Co.: RuinTen (Double IPA) | 10.8% ABV
This one has been on the wishlist for a while...

BIG, balanced hops. Citrus and lemon way up front. Very nice malt too. A bit of floral hints peaking through the piney nature of this brew. Further through it gets boozy and drier.

I've since had this in bottles since and have to say it is a bit different, so be sure and try both if you get the chance!
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Overall, another wonderful Owl House experience. The Ballast Point Victory at Sea and Stone RuinTen took the best of the batch easily (both are really next-level beers to be honest), but a quality run that I would easily choose again.