Liquid Solutions

Lot 79 One 1993 Rogue Old Crustacean
Lot 80 One 1997 Alaskan Smoked Porter

This brew is made with real Belgian chocolate. The color is a very dark brown and the head is tan and pillowy. The aroma is malty with coffee and roasted malt notes and whiffs of chocolate and coffee finish it out. The flavor is bready with dry cocoa, a cherry fruitiness and dark coffee finish. The hops are quite subdued and the body is full and creamy.

Yet another fine vintage of Stone’s “Old Guardian” barleywine. Big and malty up front with a hop character you expect from Stone, that is piney, citrusy and bitter. Great now with the bright hops and will mellow nicely with age.

As if Arrogant Bastard wasn’t tasty enough, they had to go and add oak into the mix. Powerful flowery, grassy hops with a touch of oak for the aroma. The flavor is hop bitter with a bit of malty caramel along with vanilla wood tones makes this beer one flavorful Bastard that should age well for years to come.

English mild is the category this beer best fits into. I don’t have a lot of milds to offer but this is a good example of one. The style is kind of like a darker version of a brown ale. Malty, smooth lower in bitterness and has a touch of roasty/chocolate character. It hails from Oxfordshire England and is from the same people that do the Fiddler’s Elbow and the Old Devil.

The Deschutes Abyss is in. The state-wide demand was so high that many businesses that do not usually deal in high end beers such as this demanded some. What this means is that our allotment was smaller than expected. We are still trying to scrounge up some more but as it stands right now we have enough to fill up to order number 16792. If we do get more we will contact each order individually and will continue to fill them sequentially.

If your Abyss order will be filled and you would like to add more beers (like the Alaskan barleywine) to the order please do so quickly. Send the request to matt_maples@liquidsolutions.biz and please include your order number.

It is in the 20s at this end and I would be remiss if sent the beers out with the likelihood of them freezing. We will continue to box and label order but will be unable to ship until the weather breaks. Sorry for the delay.

Lot 77 1996 Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus
Lot 78 1994 Thomas Hardy

This “Olfabrikken Special Reserve” is done in the Belgian Double style. The color is a deep copper brown and the head is thin. The aroma is spicy with notes of clove and coriander with a fruity prune hit at the end. The flavor is sweet with brown sugar up front and a very spicy mid to late pallet. The spicy flavor is a mix of allspice, coriander and alcohol (not hot just spicy). The spiciness linger is the finish along with a light hop bitterness. It’s a satisfying double that begs to be paired with a chocolate tort or tiramisu.

The color is a hazy orange and the head is big and foamy with a nice lace. The aroma is of grassy and floral hops. The flavor is quite aggressive with sweet biscuit malt, citrus and woody hop flavors with a big bitterness at the finish. This is cranked up from last year with more of everything.

*** If you were waiting for the second shipment, it is in. Unlike the Abyss we received more than we expected so this enjoy it while it last. We are still keeping tight control over the bottle count. ***

This A+ brew pours a rich brown with a red tint. The aroma is sweet with cookie dough and chocolate with dark fruit. The head pours well but falls rather quickly. The flavor is toasty up front with sweet malt, plum and raisin fruitiness. The finish is spicy with modest but well balanced hop bitterness. This award winning barleywine should age for 5 years easy and only get better and smother through the years. This barleywine is now in my top three of all time. It has it all flavor, balance and than non-abrasive oomph that is the mark of well-made barleywine. Sure there are stronger, hoppier, or maltier ones but none pull it all together quite as well as Alaskan.

This trojniak style mead is very sweet and made with herbs. The character is heavy honey sweet with notes of sage and bay. I’m sure they put different herbs in there but that is as close to a description as I can come. The flavor is of dark amber honey with notes of caramel and bread. Smooth and enjoyable warm or cold, this 14% beauty is another in the fine Jaros lineup.

*** This is not a presell, I have 20 cases coming in on 1/18 and another 20 shortly after that. These will not last long. This is the first time in the bottle and maybe the first time it has been available much outside Alaska. The computer is tracking every bottle so if you get an order in, it will be filled. If you get an out of stock message within the next week or so please try again later as I have another shipment coming after the 1/18. ***

This A+ brew pours a rich brown with a red tint. The aroma is sweet with cookie dough and chocolate with dark fruit. The head pours well be falls rather quickly. The flavor is toasty up front with sweet malt, plum and raisin fruitiness. The finish is spicy with a modest hop bitterness. This award winning barleywine should age for 5 years easy and only get better and smother through the years.

The brewery released the beer on the 15th. It has to make its way through the wholesale chain and we should see it no later than the 23rd. I will send out a newsletter that will say what orders we were able to fill. Please be patient and I will try and keep everyone informed.
Matt

Lot 75 one 1994 Chimay Grand Reserve
Lot 76 one 1994 Lindemans Cuvee Rene

For those of you who are new to our auctions, you must register a separate auction account http://www.liquidsolutions.biz/auctions/ and these are straight auction bids not proxy. Good luck.

This brew from the Netherlands pours a very dark brown with a thin tan head. The aroma and flavor is sweet with a light roasty and licorice quality and a prune fruity finish. The texture is quite soft and that makes this 8.5% beer very drinkable

Sorry in advance for the short supply, this Christmas beer came in very late so there was little to be had. It is brown amber in color with a medium frothy head. The aroma is surprisingly hoppy that is grassy and floral in character with a light candy sweetness. The flavor is spicy with a light cherry and an easy hop bitter finish with raisiny end.

First off do not serve this beer cold!!! That was not how it was intended. If served cold, all you get is a metallic sharp flavor that is rather unpleasant. BUT if you let it warm up to just below room temp you are rewarded with a smooth lightly roasty caramel maltiness with a honey sweetness peeking through just as the hop come in and finish it well. This beer is a good example of how a beer needs to be served at the temperature it was designed for.

I like the Bison brewery because they will go one step further just to make a beer interesting. This winter ale bills itself as a double style with raisins. It sits a hazy brown in the glass with a tall loose head. The aroma is malt, toffee, with dark fruits. The body is smooth and the mouthfeel as full and round to start with a lightly sharp finish. The flavor is caramel and plum with a pronounced raisin finish. An excellent Bison brew with lots of aging potential.

A “Nama” sake is one that was not pasteurized before it was put in the aging barrel. This makes for a lighter more delicate sake. The aroma has a hint of coconut and the flavor is of vanilla extract, anise, and just a hint of earth and coconut. The finish has the vanilla and a gentle sweetness that holds on for just a second before disappearing.

This Dwojniak style mead (1:1 honey to water) is 16%, has raspberry juice added and has been aged in oak for 6 years. The tartness from the raspberries plays beautifully against the dominating honey sweetness. With light oak tones this 6 year old mead is smooth and has a full body and mouthfeel despite its 16%. I have yet to try any domestic raspberry mead that even comes close to this flavor and refinement.

Well I am happy to say that the old year is done, my inventory counted, adjustments made and all I have to do for year end is post my journal entries (which wont mean much for you non accounting folk). What this means for you as the customer is that things have settled down, newsletters and new product will be rolling in and our shipping times are back down to where they should be. Sorry if things have been a little quiet lately but no more. You will see the auctions kick back up next week and I’ve got a list of new products I am just itching to get up on the site.

Matt Maples

This spicy extravaganza is quite a beer to behold. It is an amber/copper colored beer with some red tints to it. The carbonation is big and the head will climb the neck when opened but it is not a gusher. The aroma is complex and intoxicating. From sage to ginger to lightly roast caramel malts this beer’s aroma moves and changes as it sit in the glass. The last smell it settles into is a juicy fruit, clove combo that is not overwhelming and is very complementary to the malt. The flavor starts tart but quickly shifts to apple then a rummy raisin with plum. The finish is a shortly lingering tartness with the aforementioned plum. This is a beer that I would buy and drink now. It has great flavor and complexity but I would be afraid that the tartness would take over in the long run (10 months +)

Orange brown in color this winter brew pours with a thin but tight head that settles into a thin layer that sustains well. The aroma is malty with a bit of leather and tangerine fruit. The flavor is a dichotomy of sweet and tart with some sweet caramel, earthy/spicy yeast and a finish both tart and hoppy.

[From the Importer]
8% alc. by volume, with a wonderfully musty and characterful aroma. “Absolutely gorgeous, complex summer refresher with enough interest to drink all year-round.” (The Beers of Wallonia). Both authors give this beer a perfect 10. Certainly, no other brewer makes beer like this, in Belgium or anywhere. How many beers of 8% plus offer such fresh fruitiness? A solid Belgian saison beer at its base, with an unusual overlay of fruitiness.Selected as one of the fifty best beers in the world by Men"s Journal magazine, July 2005.

I have said it before and I will say it again “God smiles on this beer.” Made by Trappist monks from Abbey St. Remy, this beer has to be one of my all time favorites. It pours a deep brown color and has a light tan head. It is truly heavenly as the flavor and aromas come through as rum soaked fruits, cookie dough, cake and chocolate with hints of nut. The texture is soft and velvety as it happily warms you up from the inside out. A++

WOW!! This Polish “Dwojniak” (that is a mead made 1:1 water to honey) is made with herbs and has been aged in oak for 9 years!! The color is a transparternt amber / brown. The darkness comes from the long oak aging (think Scotch or Whiskey color). The aroma is honey sweet with vague raspberry fruitiness and a rounded herbal quality. The label says that it is made with herbs but after 9 years in oak it is hard to pinpoint the individual herbs. This 16% beauty is better served room temp or heated slightly. This smoothes out the texture and makes the flavor profile very round and sumptuous. The flavor bounces. It starts very herbal and sweet that (from the alcohol) travels up into your nose. Your attention is then drawn to your tongue where the sweet honey coats your tongue and the finish is spicy with sweet cinnamon and alcohol. If you are looking for a sweet treat this will fit the bill and is a great replacement for port.

Jaros “Koronny 9 Year ceramic”
This is the same mead as the “Koronny 9 Year” (See below) but is a decrative ceramic bottle. Trust me, no one will ever throw out or recycle this bottle. It makes a great gift and the bottle will be used for years to come.


WOW!! This Polish “Dwojniak” (that is a mead made 1:1 water to honey) is made with herbs and has been aged in oak for 9 years!! The color is a transparternt amber / brown. The darkness comes from the long oak aging (think Scotch or Whiskey color). The aroma is honey sweet with vague raspberry fruitiness and a rounded herbal quality. The label says that it is made with herbs but after 9 years in oak it is hard to pinpoint the individual herbs. This 16% beauty is better served room temp or heated slightly. This smoothes out the texture and makes the flavor profile very round and sumptuous. The flavor bounces. It starts very herbal and sweet that (from the alcohol) travels up into your nose. Your attention is then drawn to your tongue where the sweet honey coats your tongue and the finish is spicy with sweet cinnamon and alcohol. If you are looking for a sweet treat this will fit the bill and is a great replacement for port.

It is made to the Poltorak style which means it is 2 parts honey to one part water. This results in a very sweet STRONG (17%) mead. BIG in body and flavor, very much the Port wine of Mead. Strong sweet and smooth, aged for 6 years. Very much the port wine of mead.