Gravity Head Reports

Since this is 'kind of a big deal,' I figured a dedicated thread was necessary to keep up with our various gravity-themed exploits.

Two of my friends and I wend down today for lunch, and it was already off to quite a good start.

My first beer for GH 12 was the Founder's Canadian Breakfast Stout. The overriding flavor was definitely the coffee, but a bit of whiskey flavor swept onto your palate as the malt flavor faded. The maple was definitely noticeable, along with a strong vanilla presence. It poured a rich black, with a thin, dark brown head. The 9.4% ABV was definitely hidden well.

Next, I had the Founder's Hand of Doom. Essentially, this is the Double Trouble imperial pale ale aged in Bourbon barrels. The aging greatly mellowed this beer. Instead of the strong citrus and floral aromas, the overriding hop character was reminiscent of tropical fruits. Papaya and mango dominated, with a powerful 'candied pineapple' finish. The IBU's were definitely well hidden, and this was an extremely balanced beer, especially at 10.5%.

Neither of these beers will likely see the morn, so I recommend that you hope over to the sunny side of the river before dawn's early light tomorrow.

I'll be heading back tomorrow around 3:30, and hopefully I'll have more info to post then.

If anyone else makes the Haj to New Albany over the course of the next month, feel free to record your experiences here.

Full update here Gravity Head 2010: They're on, off, up and (some already) down.

Drained by 7:30 last night:
AMERICAN DOUBLE / IMPERIAL IPA
Founders Hand of Doom … 10.4%

AMERICAN DOUBLE / IMPERIAL STOUT
Founders Canadian Breakfast … 9.4%

Followed by:
AMERICAN PORTER
Two Brothers Red Eye Coffee Porter … 9.2%

WITBIER
Dogfish Head Red & White … 10%

Stopped by last night for Gravity Head -

BFM Abbaye De Saint Bon-Chien 2008
and
t’Smisje Dubbel

both were fantastic

I made a conscious effort at balancing styles across the opening lineup, with the result that it's really difficult to select a "best of." The Anstich (gravity pour) Aventinus Eisbock was near the top of my list (still pouring and delicious at noon Saturday), as was Dogfish Head Palo Santo.

I tapped the JW Lees pin just before 12. It's the sherry-conditioned one, and tasted fantastic.

All the worlds gravity was pushing down on my head this morning, so I guess I had a good time last night.

Roger - not sure if I should thank you or curse you.

Same thing I said to myself on Saturday morning.

Went back on Saturday night, before heading off to see Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band at Skull Alley.

I started off with the Dogfish/Sierra Nevada collaboration: Life and Limb. I managed to snag four bombers of it back when it was onsale, but I'm very bad about hoarding things and haven't persuaded myself to open one yet. Needless to say, I'm now thoroughly convinced they will age well and happy that I waited. The sweetness level mirrored several scotch ales that I've had (probably from the maple syrup), but at over 10% it had the body to back it up and avoid being cloying. Also, I don't remember much about specific hop characters, but they definitely balanced out the sweetness nicely. If you didn't manage to pick any up when they were on sale a while back, you should definitely go by and sample it, as this might be the last chance you have.

I followed that up with Founder's Backwoods Bastard. I'm apparently on a Founder's kick for some reason, but the quality of their beer makes me not ashamed of it. As a scotch ale, it has some residual sweetness and a substantial malt backbone, but the fact that it was aged in Bourbon barrels provided the take home message from the palate: whiskey. Strong notes of vanilla on the end as well, with the sharp finish of Bourbon. An excellent beer.

Finally, I had to try the Aecht Schlenkerla Eiche. I'm personally a big fan of Schlenkerla, and rauchbier in general, but this was by far the meatiest drink I've ever had. Mind you, I'm not using 'meaty' in a metaphorical sense, but a very literal one. It tasted like nothing so much as good smoked ham. It made me long for mashed potatoes and corned bread, with some pineapple slices on the side to garnish the beer with!

Obviously, I kid about the pineapple. 'Fruiting' beer is evil unless it was brewed that way, but the ham comparison is not an exaggeration. Don't get me wrong, I truly enjoyed the beer. It was very mellow, and quite complex. I believe that I read that they used oak to smoke this one instead of beechwood, and I could certainly tell a difference between this beer and their other products. You really should go try it, but if you're not that into ham, perhaps you should go for a four ounce pour.

Cheers!

The final tally was eleven kegs floated during the first weekend, and matters resume today:

http://potablecurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2010/02/well-that-was-certainly-intense-gravity.html

For tonight's Office Hours with the Publican (Monday, March 1): All Things Gravity. Join the Publican (that's me) and the ghost of Sir Isaac Newton for a 6:30 p.m. skull session in Prost, at the Public House. $5 bys you information and a flight from the current Gravity Head lineup.