Cheers and Beers to ME!

It's that time of year again.  Time to punch in the card that says "You made it another 12 months."  This year I'm clocking in at 35.  Not one of the major milestones.  I know this because Hallmark doesn't make an Age 35 card.  More like a midway point to the next big round number.  I am starting to feel it though.  My main birthday present was a CPAP machine.  That's damn sexy.

Far be it from me to take the "Fun" out of "Funeral."  I did enjoy myself this past weekend.  Many tasty beers were had.  At home I even opened up a couple of Southern Tier beers I had been sitting on for such a celebration, Chokolat and Crème Brûlée. Both of these are from Southern Tier's Blackwater Series.  Chokolat is a November release, so it's been aging for almost a year.  Crème Brûlée is a June release, so this is more current.

Chokolat pours thick and black into my Duvel tulip.  The head was about a half inch of a burnt brown sugar foam.  It receded quickly.  The body is dense and lets no light through.

I used this particular tulip because I really wanted to capture the chocolate aromas.  Boy-howdy did it ever.  Super strong chocolate, but it is still malty.  It doesn't smell like a lot of extra sugar was added in, which I know there was.  Taste was like a good fudge sauce, with some burnt bitterness in the back.  A little bit of espresso coffee.

Mouthfeel is thick and full.  The sweetness wasn't syrupy, which turns me off quick.  Absolutely a dessert beer.  Stick a candle in it and make a wish.

With the Crème Brûlée I poured into a wide-mouth Boulevard Smokestack goblet.  The body color is on par with the Chololat, though the head retention is not quite as good.

Smell is an awesome push of vanilla.  It smells like real vanilla beans, veery strong.  I really like the smell, so I was surprised that the taste was too overpoweringly sweet.  Maybe it was because it was towards the end of the night, or I was tired, but I could not finish the glass.  It wasn't a complete drain pour.  Mrs Monkey swooped in for the finish.

Speaking of Mrs. Monkey, as I was typing this she comes home to show me a picture of what I didn't get for my birthday.  This was a 2009 Sam Adams Utopias the local store just picked up.  For a while Utopias had the record for the highest ABV beer at 27%.  It still probably has the record as the most expensive American beer, as the one bottle was more than our electric bill.

What my lovely wife did get was as follows.

• Brewdog Hardcore IPA
• O'Fallon Whiskey Barrel Aged Smoked Porter
  
• Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel Péché Mortel
  
• Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel Aphrodisiaque
  
• Shipyard Barley Wine Style Ale (Pugsley's Signature Series)
  
• Goose Island Pere Jacques

Cheers and Beers to ME!