Bourbon Barrel aged beers from Founders. A brewery known for producing consistently high-quality beers, and sometimes brilliant high-gravity beers. Then sometimes, they decide to put them in oak barrels. That’s how you get these beers.

Backwoods Bastard: This is a bourbon barrel aged version of their Dirty Bastard Scotch ale. While Ian doesn’t normally like Dirty Bastard (not that into the style, to be honest), he happens to love Backwoods. Get a bottle and put it in your cellar. Better yet, get a few, save some, and drink some now. Go ahead, we’ll wait for you to get back from the store.

Brian isn’t particularly thrilled with Dirty Bastard either. Its good for the style, just doesn’t knock his socks off.

So Backwoods is quite remarkable. It takes a moderate beer, and turns it into something HUGE and amazing. A huge bourbon in the nose, and some roastiness in the flavor that isn’t there in the original. It is also WAAAYY darker than the original. Maybe that’s from the charring of the barrels? Hard to tell, but if we had to guess, that would be it. But its tasty.

Nemesis is a maple bourbon barrel aged wheat wine, and is particularly interesting in that its a lot lighter in color and mouthfeel than expected.

In a blind smell-test, Brian could barely tell the difference between the two. There is a very similar bourbon aroma to them, and a serious alcohol presence, but Brian detected a slightly greater sweetness in the Backwoods.

The Backwoods is more complex, and has a weight in the center of the palate. Brian almost wants to say its vanilla, but also knows that’s not quite it. Ian thinks its a darker flavor.

Brian has a theory: Backwoods Bastard has carmel corn in it, and Nemesis doesn’t. That’s it. Only difference.

In all fairness, that’s a decent (if unique) way to describe it. The high malt profile of the Dirty Bastard, paired with the vanilla in the bourbon, seems to give an effect not totally unlike carmel corn.

The difference is carmel corn.

Backwoods Bastard: 8/10 – the benchmark by which all other bourbon aged Scotch Ales are to be judged.
Nemesis: 8/10

But here’s the kicker: value. Is Backwoods worth the $5/bottle? Oh yeah.
Is Nemesis worth $7/bottle? That gets a little tougher.

VALUE POINTS:
Backwoods Bastard: 6.5/10
Nemesis: 4/10

Doesn’t seem like it should make that big a difference, but it does.

Before I knew this wonderful month, which I had heretofore referred to as July, was in fact Michigan beer month, I passed a small liquor store in northern michigan which had a sign reading, “Crooked Tree Double IPA.”  The connoiseur that I am, I needed to have a peek inside.  What did I stumble upon, I wondered.  Much to my delight, this place was PACKED with great beer.  They had every beer I’ve ever loved.  Ever.  And there was much rejoicing.  I immediately made a B-line for the Founder’s Devil Dancer triple IPA, which inspired so much controversy on here not long ago.  I also came upon a new favorite (which is sadly not local to michigan), the Lagunitas Hop Stoopid.  Sure, i’d had it plenty of times before, but damn its fine.  So, back to my point, Devil Dancer and the impending war of Michigan Imperial IPAs.  What does Devil Dancer offer, you make ask yourself, that other IIPAs do not?  In one word, body.  This IIPA is thick as hell, and extremely hoppy, and extremely boozy.  Might it be too much for the average pallette, I do believe so.  But for my finely tuned skills as a master of libation sampling, it is pure glory.  This is certainly one of my favorite, and most desired beers of the year, and I was happy to come accross it.  On a scale of 1-10, i’m still satisfied giving it a 9.

In honor of that, I would like to point out that you can see all of our Michigan Beer reviews here.

As part of Michigan Beer Month, I will also be reviewing a whole slew of Michigan beers. Some are new, some are old favorites, but all are made right here in our home state.

There are too many great breweries in this state, it almost isn’t fair. But if you’re just getting started, check out the following:
Bells Brewing.
Founder’s.
Arcadia Brewing Company.
Dark Horse.
Dragonmead.
Hopcat.
Kuhnhenn.
The Livery.
New Holland.
Shorts.
And that’s just naming a few favorites. There is all kind of great beer to be had in Michigan, so lets enjoy them. Cheers!

I guess in all fairness it wasn’t just the two of us. It was us, 43 Michigan breweries, and nearly 4000 other attendees. Somewhere in there we ran into some old friends, made some new ones, drank no fewer than 24 different varieties of beer, and loved every minute – except for the line for the toilets. That sucked.

I guess its worth mostly talking about the stuff we liked quite a lot, or at least what was very good. There were only a few serious disappointments, and for the sake of everyone involved, I’m going to avoid naming them for now.

(Oh, and that photo right there is Brian and I being sweet, waiting in line for our first beer of the day)

One of the beers we had towards the end of the day was from Short’s Brewing. By the time we got there, they were out of Soft Parade, which I was looking forward to trying again. We got to try their Black Cherry Porter, which I wasn’t impressed with. Maybe I was burnt out on beer by that point, but it didn’t make me want to drink it like I always want to drink, say, Huma-lupa-licious.

Original Gravity Brewing had the one beer that I had all day that was close to being really good, but didn’t quite do it for me. Guys: your Belgian Training Wheels needs some more body. That would have made it a fantastic, classic beer. Certainly drinkable, but not great. Maybe that was the point (as evidenced by the name), to give beginners something that’s highly palatable, while they’re working their way up. Either way, a little more malt and sweetness, and you would have had me.

At Founders we had Kentucky Breakfast Stout and Cerise. Both exactly what I expected, and both fantastic. Kentucky Breakfast will be out in a month or two, and if you like bourbon beers, its a must. The Cerise is replacing the Rubaeus as their Summer/fruit seasonal. Made with Michigan Cherries, it has a great sour cherry character to it, and will be a major part of my beer life when it comes out.

Another highlight was the 4 Elf Winter Warmer from Dark Horse. Dude, it was probably the best spiced winter ale I’ve ever had. I wish it got some distribution (’cause they DO bottle it), ’cause I would love to get my hands on some.

My second favorite brewery of the day was Arcadia. They had their Big Dick’s Old Ale bourbon-barrel aged, which they were calling Pappy’s Big Dick Bourbon Barrel Aged Old Ale. Its a mouthful, either way you look at it. Flavor-wise and name-wise. It was good for what it was, but the real gems at Arcadia’s booth were a bit lighter.

Their Sky-High Rye is amazing. They’re having a hard time keeping up with demand on it, so I haven’t seen a bottle of it yet, but I will be buying when I do. You should too.

They also had a Firkin of Hop Rocket Imperial IPA. Oh man. Three-day dry-hopped Hop Rocket? COUNT ME IN. It was really good. Maybe one of the best beers of the day.

They also had Rick Moranis at their booth.

Taking a break from beer reviews (and a breather before we get to the best brewery of the day), here’s some more of our photos.

Brian and I both love beards and beer – we keep no secret about this. Babe mannequins are also funny, especially when they have beer coming out of their chest. Which is why Rochester Mills gets the Best Booth of the day award from us:

We also managed to find Jeff, Brian’s old co-worker (and occasional B&C contributor). He’s a beer enthusiast, and so are his sister and her boyfriend. They’re awesome. Oh, and his sister special-ordered a case, yes a case, of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout. Seriously. Just emphasizing how awesome they are.

Okay, now its time! Best brewery of the day! Who is it? Who is it?!

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KUHNHENN BREWING COMPANY!

From their Bourbon Barrel Barleywine (very good!), to their Raspberry Isbock (great!), to their Tenacious Cassis Fruit Infused Old Ale (a currant Old Ale? Awesome!), it was all great.

Brian and I had to agree that the best beer of the day was without a doubt their American Extreme IPA. In a Firkin! Exclamation marks!

Seriously, this beer is amazing, and has without a doubt one of, if not THE best balance of malt and loads of hops I’ve had in a long time. Bittering, flavor and aromatic hops all coming together… oh man. I want to drink this all the time.

This lady poured it for me. Twice!

This is Brian’s “holy cow beer is sweeet” face.

This is Brian and I drinking our last beer of the day. We were way happier than we look in it. I promise.

Thanks to my manager at work for the tickets, thanks to our friends who shared beer with us, and most of all, thanks to all the brewers making not only the best beer in Michigan, but some of the best beer in the world.

Ian!

Naturally, what are we doing? Blogging about beer. ‘Cause we’re sweet like that.

Tonight (as Brian promised) we’re trying Backwoods Bastard from Founders in Grand Rapids Michigan.

Lets start from the beginning.

First, let it warm up to at least 55º Fahrenheit. This brings out all of the appropriate vanilla and bourbon flavors. While not necessarily in the nose, it is crucial to the flavor.

The first things you notice in the aroma is alcohol and a sweetness – both from the malt and the bourbon.

At first sip, you get hit in tongue with a lot of alcohol, which fades gracefully into a caramel and vanilla flavor on your pallet. Brian points out that there is almost a rich, tobacco flavor to it.

While there is a lot of alcohol, it really does go down smooth. The vanilla really stays with you. If its poured too cold, all you get is the alcohol, and you loose out a lot on the subtleties of the flavors.

Overall, by comparison to most beers, Brian has to give this an 8.5 or 9. However, he has to take into account having it at the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival, when it was one of the best beers he’s ever had (hence the lack of a 10).

I will say that when Backwoods Bastard is too cold there is definitely too much bourbon for my taste. However, when warm, there is absolutely a lot to love here. I will agree with Brian’s 8.5/10.

Ian!

So without further ado, I’m trying this year’s batch.

Its lightly carbonated, and as such, it poured with almost no head.

There is definitely an alcohol content in this beer. In both aroma and taste, its one of the first things you notice. The other thing? I’ll give you a hint: its not hops.

Malt. This is, after all, a Barleywine. Well, I guess they call it an Old Ale, but it still has that wonderful, complex malt character that we drink this type of beer for. Caramel, with plenty of roasted malt.

There is very little hop flavor to it. They say its 50 IBU, but the sweetness of the malt doesn’t really allow that to come out.

Its light carbonation goes well with the full mouthfeel. It sits on your tongue with such a nice maltiness, that I find myself drinking it faster than I probably should; I want to experience it again and again.

9/10

First up, I tried Founders Devil Dancer. It’s useless to point out that this has always been a fantastic beer because theres hardly a flaw in either of the two I’m comparing, but I must say, this is so astonishingly well balanced in my opinion. Upon completion, I ate some peanuts, some cheese, and drank a glass of water. I immediately poured the Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree after that. Here is what I noticed between the two.

Pour: Devil Dancer pours a thick copper/tan with extremely little head. Double Crooked Tree pours with a frothy finger thick head, and a lighter copper than the Devil Dancer. Appears to be less body to the beer as well. My theory is that the Devil Dancer basically topped out around 13% and when they force carbonated it, they left it light. Whereas with Double Crooked Tree (which finally pours without yeast!) was force carbonated, after fermentation, possibly in excess. It was not an enormous head, like a belgian, but surprising for an IIPA with as much Oomph.

Aroma: Both aromas are similarly hoppy. Its likely they used the same varieties, as those high AA hops are just not very common. The difference I noticed was that while double crooked tree was all hop and no play, the Devil Dancer rose up with some sweetness, and some serious alcohol. The intriguing thing about this is that the Double Crooked Tree is actually 0.6% higher. It is possible that the sheer abundance of hop aroma in the Double Crooked Tree masked the aroma of the alcohol.

Taste: Heaven. Greatest experiment ever. The Devil Dancer was glorious. It was bitter as hell, really hoppy, a bit malty sweet, with some residual alcohol. The Double Crooked Tree was all hop. It was really good, but I felt and continue to feel that it lacks the complexity and balance of the Devil Dancer.

In conclusion, the Devil Dancer pulls it out for the win. While there were certain improvements over last years Double Crooked Tree, it just can’t hold up to the Devil Dancer. If devil dancer is a true 9.5, Double Crooked Tree is a 9.3. I can’t naysay either of these beers, I can merely say I’ve enjoyed Devil Dancer more. They are both excellent representations of my favorite style.

Its not as bad as I thought before.

The aroma is great. It has a ton of hops, and a hint of malt as it warms.

Speaking of which, now that I’m not sick any more, I can taste more malt than I could before.  This is a good thing.

I can’t taste as much of the alcohol as before, and this too is a good thing.

The aftertaste in your mouth is pleasantly malty. The sweetness plays against the bitterness it leaves as well.

That said, I’m still not as enthralled with this beer as Brian is. I agree with Brian that this beer is “Not incredibly well balanced”. And that’s why I say it doesn’t deserve anywhere near the 9/10 Brian gave it.

I’ll give it a higher rating than the 2/10 I gave it before, but I still don’t plan on buying again.

4/10

The real premise of this post, is to settle an old score, first perpetrated here. The great rift over Founders Devil Dancer.

First, lets look at Ian’s qualms with the beer.

1. No head
2. Too Hoppy
3. Too much booze

Now, let us analyze this. Number 3 directly correlates to number 1. If you hit 13% by volume, unless you’re rocking a champagne yeast strain in the secondary, you’re just not going to have head. Remember our Imperial Stout, Ian? I just can’t bring myself to have a qualm with 13% by volume. Especially here, the alcohol flavors are hardly noticeable. Then again, my current sickness may deceive me. Still, it is very difficult to hate a high AC beer in my book. They tend to be very well backed by the malt profile, and lend an interesting complexity to the beer.

Now, having taken care of 1, and 3, lets examine the issue of hoppiness. Ian, please remove the sand from your vagina. Sure, it is one of the hoppiest beers in existence at 112 IBU’s according to Founders site, but come on… you can handle it. I really enjoy all of the flavors it has. I have yet to find myself shunning a hoppy beer, except for possibly Stone’s Ruination, as that was just weird. I felt like that one left most of the all the hops in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil as it was all flavor with much less accompanying bitterness.

Anyway, I can’t not give this beer a fantastic rating. Either my beer bff is getting weak in his old age, or he was really too sick to tell how delicious it was.

I give this a 9/10

Its exactly what a triple IPA should be. Not incredibly well balanced, full of hops and booze, with a slight malty sweetness to reside upon. Its fantastic. I’d give it a higher rating, but i’m not sure yet what is deserving of something like that.

Anyway, I have a short list of beers I still need and want to try once my Lenten sacrifices are finished:

1. Mendocino Imperial IPA
2. Lienenkugel Big Eddy imperial stout
3. Erie Brewing Co Fallenbock
4. Boulder Brewing Co Obovoid imperial stout
5. Unibroue 17

Anything else people insist i must try, i will.  Unless, once again, it is Jolly Pumpkin’s bam bier (worst beer EVER) or Stone’s Oaked Arrogant Bastard (oak aged gym sock).  Also, please feel free to buy me any of the beers you insist I must try.  I’ll even let you take me to Crunchy’s and buy my a glass if you want.  Better yet, I’d let you take me to my former employer, Oade’s Big Ten, and buy me a mix six pack.

Seriously though, I really do welcome suggestions, it is my prerogative to do so, and report fairly, and honestly about each.