Category Archives: Super Imperial

Any beer over 15% alcohol. A designation that MikesCraftBeer has dubbed.

Olde School Barleywine (Aged 2 years) – Dogfish Head Brewery

by Mike

From Milton, Delaware’s Dogfish Head Brewery comes their “Olde School Barleywine”.  This bottle was brewed around January 2015 and consumed January 2017  The beer pours a deep chestnut brown colour with an off white head.  The aroma consists of dates, figs, brown sugar, toffee, syrup and earth.  The flavour is of dates, figs, dark fruits, brown sugar, toffee, treacle, sweetness, earth, bitterness and alcohol.  The alcohol content comes in at 15% with an IBU of 85.  At 15% this is a huge beer but it is also very tasty and not as boozy as you would expect.  If you can find this buy a few bottles.

Commercial Description: Fermented with dates and figs, this smooth barleywine has a unique flavor.  The concept for this beer came from an old cellerman’s manual Sam came across (for more on that, check out the video below).  At about 15% ABV, this beer is a great candidate for aging. Over time, the beer dries out and the pit fruit flavors come forward and the hops recede. Our recommendation? Grab a few bottles when you find it — enjoy one now, and age the others for a bit. Let us know which you prefer!  For more on the Olde School Barleywine (and our potential Olympic bid… yeah, there really is no connection, but it is in here anyway!), check out our Quick Sip Clip.

Food pairing as per the brewery:  Almond-stuffed dates, pumpernickel, tart cherries, Blue cheese with honey.

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Glacial Mammoth Extinction – Storm Brewing (Aged 1 year)

by Mike

From the Mad Scientist of beer in British Columbia James of Storm Brewing comes their “Glacial Mammoth Extinction” a beer released on December 5th, 2015 after being aged for 2 years in Oak Barrels.  I aged my bottle for a year until late November 2016.  The beer pours a very deep brown without head.  The aroma consists of toffee, caramel, treacle, sweetness and alcohol.  The flavour is of treacle, toffee, caramel, syrup, port wine, dark fruit, cherries, berries, oak with some mild tartness to accentuate the alcohol burn in this beer.  The alcohol content comes in at 25% alcohol.  While this beer is very extreme in every way it is also very enjoyable by the ounce or two.  Any more than that would just be crazy as it is a freeze distilled spirit! I am so happy that I was able to pick some of this up last year and I am glad I have quite a bit left to sip slowly.

Commercial Description:  The Glacial Mammoth Extinction is the first beer of it’s kind, and the result of freezing a strong sour beer to -30C in two stages over a one month period.  The sweet alcoholic liquid was separated from the extinct ice glacier that was left in the tank, and then aged in French oak barrels for two years until it was ready.  The final product is a rich, complex, and viscous 100% malt beverage that resembles Port more than beer.  Residual sugar: 80 grams per litre Volume produced: 400 litres.

This was the beer dubbed the most expensive beer in Canada as they had special hand blown 1L growlers made that had a Mammoth Tusk pendent that went for $1000. Read about it here.

Here is my review of this beer when it first surfaced.

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When the beer was released on December 5th, 2015 I was there to pick up my beer as were many others.  I was able to view the $1000 bottle in person.  Here are my photos from that launch!

C-DOS Cuvée Delphine On Steroids aka Pablo Eiscobar – De Struise Brouwers

by Mike

Some times you get a chance to try out some very interesting and rare beers and this is one of those.  From De Struise Brouwers in Belgium comes their “C-DOS (Cuvée Delphine On Steroids aka Pablo Eiscobar” a Double Eisbocked version of Cuvée Delphine.  This version was brewed in 2010 and aged for 5 years in Arran Lochranza barrels.  The beer pours a very deep brown colour with no head or carbonation and some sediment.  The aroma consists of bourbon, chocolate, treacle, licorice, dark fruit, oak and lots of booze.  The flavour is alcohol up front and lots of it with bourbon, oak, chocolate, treacle, licorice, dark fruits, some nuts, peat and cherries.  The alcohol content comes in at an insane 41% and is very very thick!  This beer drinks like a bourbon but this is no surprise as the beer comes in at the same alcohol content as a bourbon.  If you do not like spirits then this beer is a total miss for you but if you do and you find a bottle then it is something you need to try.  But this will cost you a serious pretty penny.

Bottled on 11/08/2015
lot number CDOS 0002/2015

Drank 10/13/2016

Here is a link to the base beer description: Click Here

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Horizon Tokyo* Black – Nøgne Ø (Mikkeller, Brewdog) (Aged 3 Years 7 Months)

by Mike

Brewed at Nøgne Ø in Norway in collaboration with Brewdog and Mikkeller comes their “Horizon Tokyo* Black” a collaborative version of all three breweries huge beers Dark Horizon, Tokyo and Black.  The beer pours a oily black colour that is opaque with a small brown head.  The aroma consists of chocolate, smoke, dark fruits, cranberry, treacle, syrup and some alcohol.  The flavour is of chocolate, caramel, toffee, molasses, treacle, cranberry, ash, smoke, burnt malts, leather, earth and only really a hint of alcohol.  The alcohol content comes in at an insane 16% with an IBU of 100.  This beer is insanely smooth for a beer of 16% let alone 8% and has all the making of an amazing stout.

Commercial Description:  Horizon Tokyo Black:  On a cold, windy and rainy day in November 2010 we visited  BrewDog together with world famous beer merchant Mikkeller.  Our plan was to make a beer, which would be close to an interpolation between our individual brews Tokyo, Black and Dark Horizon.  This beer should in turn be brewed by us and also for Mikkeller.  It was called Black Tokyo Horizon.   Unfortunately we have been very busy, but it is now time to make the second celebration of this great collaboration:  Please welcome Horizon Tokyo Black!

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He’Brew Jewbelation Reborn (17) 2013 (Aged 2+ years) – Shmaltz Brewing Company

by Mike

Coming out of New York’s Shmaltz Brewing Company comes their “He’Brew Jewbelation Reborn (17)” an American Strong Ale. The beer bast brewed in 2013 and I purchased it in January 2014 and cellared until May 2016. The beer was brewed for the breweries 17th Anniversary and the first year they had their own brewery (No longer contract brewing).  The beer pours a deep brown with a ruby tinge and a brown head. The aroma consists of dark fruits, chocolate, roasted malts, molasses, toffee, coffee and sweetness.  The flavour is of dark fruits, chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, molasses, toffee, roasted malts, ash, sweetness and alcohol.  The beer used 17 malts, 17 hops and comes in at 17% Alcohol. With just over two years of cellaring this beer is surprisingly smooth for the alcohol content! It is also quite enjoyable on to of being smooth for the ABV.

Commercial Description:  How could we hope to top last year’s Jewbelation Sweet 16 with its cupcakes, unicorns, & Satan’s Ferrari birthday cake? massive challenge. So for Year 17, we threw in a whole new dimension to our shtick – we built our very own brewery! After 17 years of contract brewing, our first Shmaltz Clifton Park batch emerged 17 months after the first draft of the business plan. Coincidence? Renaissance means “Re-birth” in French & Italian. In Buddhism, the concept does not truly translate as “reincarnation” but instead as “becoming,” or a “stream of consciousness.” 11 syllables structure a haiku. Shakespeare penned 17 comedies. In The Simpsons episode “Duffness” Homer sings “When I was 17″ about buying his first beer with a fake I.D. “I drank some very good beer. I stayed up listening to Queen, When I was 17.” In The Office, Dwight recites Rule 17 that all Schrute boys must learn: “Don’t turn your back on bears, men you have wronged, or the dominant turkey during mating season.” Knowledge and growth come in many forms. It is taught that Nirvana is only attained when the soul transcends cycles of rebirth. Looks like Shmaltz just isn’t there yet. So with 17 malts, 17 hops, and 17% ABV, JEWBEL4TIONREBORN serves as another mark of our death as a contract brewer and proof of our conversion to a new life as brewery owner…… L’Chaim!!!

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