Big Beer Friday!

So it was Sept 23..just a normal Friday night..  went to go chill and watch some movies..but decided to drink some big ballsy beers for the hell of it.  Why not, right?!  Definitely made the movie way more enjoyable..but hey.. who wouldn't love ThanksKilling?!  A movie about a possessed turkey demon (puppet) who kills every 505 years (except it totally wasn't that long) on Thanksgiving..  and it was made with under $4,000 by college students..  kick ass!

Sierra Nevada - 2011 Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale.  I can't turn down a beer called Bigfoot!  Have had a few barleywine style brews.. haven't been much of a fan, but SN makes some good stuff, so let's see what they got.  At 9.6% ABV and 90 IBUs..this is certainly a bigfoot of a beer!  Crazy dark amber/copper pour with a big head for such a big beer.  A big, hoppy profile with strong malts and a new grain-y aroma I haven't encountered before...  barley mayhaps?!  The strength of the beer isn't too hidden, the alcohol sneaks in and isn't shy about it's presence.  Rather carbonated for such a beer beer with a bit of caramel/sweet wheaty malts  from the get go that jumps into that high ABV hop profile...you can tell there's a crap ton of hops..very piney/grapefruit..but the strong malt profile saves this from tasting like liquid hops.  Strong, dry sipper, but with plenty of flavor and awesome balance between huge hop and malt attacks.  For sure changed my perception of barleywines..gonna pick this baby up again!

Victory - Golden Monkey.  Love this brew!  a 9.5% ABV Belgian-style Tripel.  A lovely hazy golden yellow with a super foamy head..  the aroma of a typical Belgian Triple at first..  fruity, banana, clove, bit of spice and some yeast, but a nice candied sugar sweetness and hints of alcohol set this apart.  More of a citrus/sweet bite to the nose...taste follows right along.  The alcohol plays a prominent role..not hidden behind much.  Plenty of bready malts and smooth, full fruit flavors with more of that spice and candied sugar and a little citrus hop bite in the finish.  Banana, yeasts, peppery spice are dominant with some green apple/pear hints and a nice sweetness make this WAY too easy to drink!

Lagunitas - Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale...  DAMN.  Great story behind this beer...apparently there was an undercover investigation of the brewery by the local police and they had evidence of smoking/selling weed at the brewery during some fest they were putting on..so the ABC shut them down for what ended up being 20 days on St. Pattys 2005.  Quite convoluted investigation apparently..but Lagunitas decided to say F you and brew a crazy beer to commemorate the occasion!  And by crazy I mean 9.8% ABV and 70.5 IBUs.. a double/Imperial IPA style beer.  Dark coppery red with a surprising head for an Imperial..  very sweet for such a big beer..light caramel notes, sweet malts and even a slightly sweet grapefruit-esque hop smell with a ton of alcohol mixed in..  Big body of toasted malts with some caramel/toffee that tries to balance out the crazy hop profile..but fails.  The hops in this are in no way bitter, surprisingly smooth and creamy..sweet actually...  Tough to place fully..but trust me here..this is a crazy good awesome beer!  Thank God for that 'investigation'!