The Mouflan Flies!

Another one from the cellar..  Holding onto this one for well over a year now...

Tröegs - Flying Mouflan.  A huge-ass barleywine at 9.3% ABV and 100+ IBUs.  They call this unique in that it's "2 different beers in one."  You can apparently get a huge, bold hoppy sonofabitch if drank right away.. and a mellowed our barleywine if aged..  hmm..  that happens with anything really hoppy, right?  But never heard of this in a bigger, darker beer... so let's cracking this flying bastard open..

Rich black/brown pour and a thick head..  A lot of the hop kick here that was mentioned still remains, nice and piney, a bit citrusy.. but a ton of malts here too, very sweet and rich.  Butterscotch, molasses.. some raisin and plum too.  The taste is big, bold, smooth and aggressive.  Definitely gave way to the malts over time, but the booze aged well as well.  I liken this to a creamier, lessened version of the Double Bastard by Stone.  The malts are huge and the booze kicks out your two front teeth... time to sing that stupid Christmas song!  Molasses, caramel, roasty malts, faint chocolate, candi sugar, sweet fruits..  only the slightest hint of hops at the end, a fleeting bitterness mixed with a tiny bit of spice.  Overly sweet, boozy finish.. a very bold barleywine-ish beer.  I say so because it was a mix of that, an American Strong and an Imperial IPA...  sip on this one and savor it.  Too complex to really nail down!

Abita 25th

Slowly getting through the cache I'm hoarding.. which will no doubt grow once I think I'm making a dent..  Tonight it's the 25th Anniversary offering from Abita.  

25th Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog.  a 7% ABV amped-up version of their TurboDog with a vanilla kick. Wicked dark pour with a fluffy, yet sticky head.. huge nose coming from this.  Roasty, chocolate, faint vanilla notes.. picture a vanilla brown ale with an attitude.  Smooth, but with a nice bite to it, this hits you with the malts from the get go.. brown ale theme here again, or the baby brother of a stout.  Roasted malts, rich chocolate, hearty bread.. it's all there, but in a nice balance.  Vanilla sweetness in the finish, but unfortunately it's that cheap-seeming artificial vanilla taste, and the faintest bit of a floral hoppy note.  Overall, pretty nice.  I would be lying if I said I was fully impressed..  to me, for a 25th anniversary brew, you go big and you go for the wow factor.  However nice this was, however balanced it seemed, it lacked that wow...

Homebrew Cider

Once again.. it's nice to know other homebrewers!  Out of the beers I was given a few months back, it's time to try some homebrewed cider!

For the life of me I cannot 
remember the difference between these.. I think it was just a difference of when they were brewed though.. hmm...  Either way, they were vastly different, as evident from the pictures.  The first one looked more like a Woodchuck Pear Cider..super pale, wicked faint nose.  Sadly this one came out like watered-down apple juice.  Wasn't terrible, but not great really either..  The 2nd one had a bit more traditional cider look and a bigger nose.  This one actually had faint spice in the nose and taste, fuller body.. would have maybe considered this to be a brewer's first test batch for a production cider maybe..  Could use a bit more body, alcohol bite and spice..


I hear cider is tough to pull off at home.. any thoughts??