The beginning of any new year is a popular time to “go dry”. It makes sense for a lot of people especially coming into 2021. You were probably indulging a bit for the holidays, or maybe you haven’t stopped indulging since the COVID-19 stay at home orders in March of 2020! As a result dry January seemed to have epic participation levels this year. Sales of Non Alcoholic Beer & other NA beverages went way up in January. Heck, there is even a newer brewery (founded in 2017) that ONLY makes Non Alcoholic brews (Athletic Brewing Company). It is an exciting time in the beverage world, and it feels like just about anyone can participate.
All that being said, I did not have a dry January (kudos to anyone who made it through). I have been very good during these unprecedented times (fill in your COVID-19 bingo card) of picking and choosing my beer consumption very deliberately. Less beer, but the highest quality I can get is my motto. Without further ado, here is the list of the best beers I personally consumed in January (unranked):
Maplewood Brewing - Barrel Aged Cuppa Vanilla Rye (2020)
Description from Maplewood’s Instagram: Blended from Cuppa aged exclusively in Peerless Rye Whiskey barrels for 12 months. Conditioned on Metric coffee and 3 varieties of vanilla beans: Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesian. 13% ABV.
This beer seemed to be very hyped up due to anything with vanilla being hyped up, relatively low numbers of this were produced, Maplewood’s great track record with the Cuppa series, and the fact that the only way to get it (in cans) was to win their lottery on Oznr. My wife and I were both lucky enough to win the Oznr lottery which was very exciting! She won the entire set (Vanilla Rye, Peanut Butter Coconut, and Hazelnut), and then I continued my life streak of underachieving by just winning the Peanut Butter Coconut flavor (j/k I was happy to win anything!).
I’ve had a lot of Vanilla Barrel Aged stouts in my day, and this stands up there with the best of them. This beer really hits all the notes that you want in your coffee vanilla symphony. Right off the bat it had a great rich coffee smell (just like when your son surprises you first thing in the morning by coming home early from the army). It poured very dark & not too thick (which can sometimes be a warning sign for a hefty stout, but definitely not the case here). Like any BA stout the flavors pop a bit more as it warms up, but the first cold sip was still very tasty and coffee forward. As it got a little closer to room temperature you could really enjoy the vanilla and spicy rye character. While I almost always prefer Bourbon to Rye in my cocktails, I believe that Rye spice might be the perfect compliment to Vanilla in a stout. I rate this beer 10 Spicy Kentucky Meatballs rolled up in Chicago Snowballs.
Parish Brewing Co - DDH Ghost in the Machine (2020)
Description from Parish Brewing Co’s Untappd: This is our most saturated and gooey IPA to date. At a dry hopping rate of just over 8 pounds of Citra per barrel, this will dominate your senses. Welcome to the future. 8.5% ABV
Wow! Will you read that description! That is poetry. I had to drive a long way to get this beer….all the way to Joliet, IL from the northside of Chicago. I met up with an associate who had some extra from their most recent release. Since I am never in Joliet I took this opportunity to take a lazy walk around the Joliet Iron Works Historic site. This was a pretty cool place to enjoy some fresh air while taking in nature, and urban decay. Joliet is also one of the few places with a Rax restaurant which was a favorite from my childhood, but has all but disappeared from my world at least. I decided against going as to keep my faded memory a happy one.
I have had the standard issue Ghost in the Machine in New Orleans as a walking beer, and also ordered a couple through Tavour in 2020. I enjoyed the standard issue very much, but this Double Dry Hopped edition really takes it to the next level. It smelled so dank and juicy, and the taste matched that perfectly which is not always the case. I would put this in the category of resinous hop candy. If you are able to snag any of these terminator style silver skull cans I would do so. I rate this beer 10 stoned T-800s.
Begyle Brewing - Sent With Celebration
Description from Begyle’s Untappd: Hazy IPA with Sabro, Citra and Mosaic hops. 6% ABV
This short description of this beer describes Beglye perfectly. They are an unassuming, hard working brewery that churns out solid beers without a lot of pomp and circumstance. A great friend of mine gifted my bride and I a 2021 membership to Begyle’s CSB (Community Supported Brewing) program which gets us two 32oz Crowlers a month for 2021! This was an amazing gift, and really fills a hole in my beer buying tendencies. As you can probably tell from the other entries on this list I load up on Barrel Aged Stouts & Double IPAs which are all in the 8-17% ABV range while neglecting the lower ABV beers I probably should be drinking.
For our first month of Crowlers we decided to try out When Peaches Fly, a light fruited sour, and Sent With Celebration. We also decided to take advantage of a barely freezing day (~30 degrees F), and walk 4 miles round trip to Begyle. It was a lovely walk along the Metra tracks, and the woman at the walk up window at Begyle couldn’t have been nicer. We built a fire in the backyard, and popped open Sent With Celebration. This was a great beer to enjoy after putting some work in. It was light enough to take some good size swigs, but it was really packed with juicy tropical flavors. If I was forced to choose my 3 favorite hops it would be hard not to choose the three used in this beer (Mosaic, Citra and Sabro in that order). I rate this beer 10 cans of beer in paper bags on a late night Metra train.
Side Project Brewing - Beer:Barrel:Time (2017)
Description from Side Project Brewing’s Untappd: An imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels that is meant to highlight the three things that make up the stout: the beer that was brewed, the barrels that the beer aged in, and the time the beer spent aging in those barrels. Brian (formerly of Goose Island), Tommy (formerly of Perennial), and Cory tasted through more than 50 of our bourbon and whiskey barrels in an attempt to craft the blend. We chose a selection of barrels, a majority from Willett, and the rest from Heaven Hill that exemplified what we believe to epitomize Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. 15% ABV
I make the trek back to my hometown of St. Louis for just about every Thanksgiving. The last few years this has also included a visit (or three) to the Side Project Cellar and/or Brewery during the long weekend. It almost always involves waiting in a line in rain or snow, but the wait has always been worth it for me. The Side Project Cellar is so cozy, and packed with folks who are happy to share a communal table and possibly a bottle of high ABV dream liquid. This was definitely missed this year as we spent Thanksgiving in our apartment in Chicago.
Typically Barrel Aged stouts can be kept for a number of years, and still taste great. Since this beer was so special the time I enjoyed it the day after Thanksgiving in 2017, I thought a snowy Chicago night in January would be a great time to open it up after being in my possession for just over 3 years. Thankfully I can say it tastes just as great as Thanksgiving 2017. This stout is very thick, and all three elements described above by Side Project (base beer, barrel, and barrel time) really shined through. A powerful, but smooth taste that perfectly satisfies. If you have one I would recommend drinking it now before it starts to fall off, and if you don’t have one maybe try to find a friend with a newer vintage. I still have a 2019 that I’m excited to open sometime soon. I rate this beer eating 10 gooey butter cakes with plates made of Missouri Oak Trees.
I love you, Jeff
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