Before I jump into the review I’ve got to thank my incredibly supportive and loving girlfriend Trish for not only putting up with this crazy hobby of mine but also for buying this beer for me for my first huge reviewing milestone. I love you Trish!

The Lost Abbey Bourbon Barrel Aged Angel’s Share Ale

A / 4.45
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4
rDev: +2.9%
374 ml/12.7 oz corked and caged bottle poured into a snifter. 12.5% ABV, “Bourbon 2010″ printed on the back, towards the bottom of the bottle.

A - Mild Carbonation results in a quiet fizzy pour that allows only seconds of tan head to appear before falling away to a tiny ring of bubbles. Obvious for a beer this high in alcohol. Surprisingly, it’s not sludgy like motor oil. Instead it’s a clear, very dark brown color with mahogany red slivers around the edge.

S - Dark, rich notes of earthy, dirty old wood pairs well with an incredibly hot bourbon booze in the nose. It’s like a slap in the face how hot it smells. Molasses trickles in after the booze but is followed by a scary soy sauce aroma. Let’s not have a repeat of “Triple Bock” please… Vanilla and caramel malts find their way in towards the background of the aroma. No hop presence at all as it’s almost entirely bourbon.

T - I’m thrown for a loop initially by the rich texture that it’s got that it didn’t seem to have on the pour. Then I’m thrown for a second loop with hop mild the bourbon alcohol hotness is in the flavor compared to the aroma. Vanilla and sweet milk chocolate with molasses outlines the caramel malt-laced warm wood bourbon barrel flavor nicely. Lot’s of deep, rich notes cover up any hops that may actually be in here and actually work very well with the lower bourbon kick. This is incredible.

M - It looked thinner from the pour but boy, was I mistaken. Almost non-existent carbonation leaves this full-bodied, chewy beer smooth as velvet, rich, and thick. It lacks the alcohol kick to the taste (thankfully) that the nose has. Instead, it warms up your innards pretty damn quickly.

D – I’ll be sipping this for the next two hours no doubt. It’s warm and goes down well but would be best shared and is much more suited for anywhere between late fall and the dead of winter. While the hotness doesn’t enter the taste so much, I still find this to be a beer that would only get better with another 5 years.

Cheers to 1,000 more!

-Andy

Yes, that’s right, ladies and gentlemen, I’m drawing ever-near to my 1000^th beer review. Yes, you heard that correctly, review #1000. I’ve already been asked what the special beer will be and I still can’t come up with an answer. The way I figure it, It’s either gotta be an absolutely epic beer or a horrific bottle of shit. And either way I have a feeling I’ll let myself down with my decision, so, what would be better than relieving myself of the duties of choosing?

This is where you BeerFM readers come in; pick the 1000^th beer I review! Yeah, you. As it gets even closer (probably towards early-mid July) I’ll compile a list of beers I have in mind with the best responses on BeerFM.com and BeerFM’s facebook page for everyone to vote on! Keep in mind, you may have a funny suggestion like, “Bud Select 55” but I’ve already reviewed it, so don’t stop at one suggestion, just keep the ‘em coming.

Also keep in mind that I’m not going to go way out of my way for this. I won’t go through the hassle of trading for a bottle or buying it from an online retailer so, unless the rare bottle of _______ you suggested is in your possession and you feel like giving it to/sharing with me, tough crap. Otherwise, serve up the best you can think of and if your pick is voted the best and it’s available locally, it might just be my 1000^th review!

-Andy

For those unable to listen to the podcast release for any reason, podcast transcriptions will now be available.

Sierra Nevada/ DFH Life and Limb Review

Welcome to BeerFM, your source for beer news, tips, and reviews. Today I’ve got myself a bottle of Life and Limb to review for you. But I’d like to start by thanking my friend Sweem for sharing it with me. It’s a Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head collaboration brew that’s described as an ale brewed with maple syrup & birch syrup.

B+ / 3.95

look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | drink: 3.5

24 oz bottle split with Sweemzander who procured this (thank you!) and poured into a Nonic. 9 286219 16 Printed on the label. I assume its 9286 (Oct 12th). 10.2% ABV, Brewed with Maple and Birch Syrup.

A – The color is a clear dark brown with a huge cream head. Great retention to the three-finger head and a bit of lace around the edges.

S – Malty sweet with a dark candi-sugar hint and a light maple syrup natural raw nose. There is a small hint of grassy hops in there too. No alcohol on the nose for the percent it has in it. Rather low and uninteresting overall.

T – There is a lot of birch flavor in this one. Very malty for a Sierra Nevada brew too. The Dogfish Head in it comes out a bit more. Lots of sweetness wraps around a potent fusel alcohol flavor. Dark candi-sugar, raisins, and maple syrup in this brew.

M – Smooth and warm in the mouth and stomach from the alcohol, it’s medium-full-bodied with a low carbonation feel.

D – A bit overly boozy but it makes for a good winter sipper. The label evokes feelings of late springtime or early summer, but it certainly works well as a winter beer.

It’s a bit hard to find as I’ve heard most stores that carry craft brews only got upwards of three bottles of it. If you can find it, it’s worth the try.

And while your looking for things, head over to beerfmpodcast.com and look at our links on the right hand side. You can find sweem and myself on beeradvocate.com and our sponsors, stolensunmedia.com there as well. Also, rate us on iTunes if you haven’t already!

Thanks for listening and I’ll talk to you soon!

Cheers!

-Andy

This podcast has been a long time comin’ since the beer came out last year and I’ve been otherwise occupied (and it doesn’t help I wrote the podcast but forgot about it). But at last! Life and Limb, Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head’s collaboration brew is reviewed on BeerFM. If you’re lucky enough to be able to find a bottle pick it up. Take a listen to what I think of it!

Sierra Nevada/ Dogfish Head Life and Limb Review

Music: Tonic – Future Says Run

Last week, with my girlfriend’s help, I reviewed The Lucky Monk restaurant. This week I’ll be focusing on their beers, the Cardinal Sin, Tritica Wheat, Gr’Ale, Irish Red, Irish Stout, Belgian Dubbel, and IPA.  Take a listen to this podcast to see how they are and which one is the best! Cheers!

-Andy

The Lucky Monk Review Part 2: The Beer

Music: Sevendust – Splinter (released on Cold Day Memory in stores today!)

Founders Brewing Company releases their famous Kentucky Breakfast Stout once a year in March. It is an American Double/ Imperial stout that is brewed with a hint of coffee and vanilla then aged in oak bourbon barrels for over a year. For those familiar with their Breakfast Stout, this is an entirely different and stronger beast. This past March 13th I anxiously waited in line for my chance to acquire my share of Beer Advocate’s 7^th highest rated beer in the world. Founder’s doors would not open until 11am, yet I arrived bright and early around 8:00. To my surprise, there were already ten people standing in line! They greeted me as I got out of my car and asked where I was from. (At that time, I only lived ten minutes away). As I found out, the other ten were from all over the Midwest; Ohio, Illinois, and even a guy from Ontario Canada! To put it lightly, I was very impressed and surprised that despite the distance they traveled, they had arrived earlier than I who was only ten minutes away. As we stood to wait, the line began to progressively lengthen. By 9:30, the line wound around the corner of the brewery, I had no idea how long it got after that. It is safe to say that several hundred showed up ahead of time.

After much waiting, shivering, talking, laughing, and drinking we were finally let in and purchase our beer. I immediately went and threw my brand new KBS into my car and went back in for a beer or three. Let me tell you something, I consider myself lucky to have lived near Founders for almost a year, but I had never seen such an epic tap list as they had on that day. From memory, this was what they had:

Canadian Breakfast Stout
Kentucky Breakfast Stout ’08,’09,’10 vintages on regular tap as well as nitro-tap
Hand of Doom (Barrel Aged Double Trouble)
Double Trouble
Imperial Stout
Breakfast Stout
Porter
Black Biscuit
Backwoods Bastard
Oatmeal Stout
Nemesis

I sat inside from the cold and had a couple to enjoy and celebrate my first KBS purchase. The purchase line never died down for the length of time I was there, in fact, as I left the brewery well over an hour after my purchase, the line still wrapped around the building! It’s amazing what people are willing to do for great beer. I for one will be there year after year, patiently waiting in line for my yearly Kentucky Breakfast Stout.

Here is what I thought of this year’s release:

A+ / 4.95
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | drink: 4.5

12oz. bottle poured into a snifter. Bottled on 02/15/10.

(A)- Pours thick & as dark as the blackest night. Produced a frothy & large 3+ finger almost dark brown head with some good retention behind it. The head actually became a tan color as it finally settled to a light layer of froth on the surface. Left some legs of foam on the sides of the glass.

(S)- Dense aromas of coffee grounds, brown sugar, vanilla, molasses, dark chocolate, and light bits of wood. Rich & decadent. I could really smell this all day; a combination of all my most favorite smells rolled into one.

(T)- Exactly like the smell. Wonderful combo of coffee & chocolate with vanilla & brown sugar. Sweet, but not overly so. Finishes up dry & slightly bitter. Let this warm up to cellar temp.

(M)- Great carbonation level & balance. Sweet, yet dry & bitter to smooth it all out. Very impressed with how smooth this years is; great alcohol integration. There is a warmth to it going down, but in no way harsh or overpowering whatsoever. I am really surprised how smooth it is this fresh already!

(D)- Every time I have had this beer, it continually surprises me and amazes me at the same time. An amazing example of the style that never disappoints. Founders just knows how to do their stouts; KBS/CBS/BS are overall just fantastic & perhaps my most favorite lineup of beers.
This years release will not disappoint if you haven’t had it yet & are wondering the quality of the batch. In fact, it may just be better than last years. Simply a delight to drink & enjoy, I didn’t want it to end.

-Sweem

I’m excited to share with you that part of the change I mentioned about BeerFM is upon us.

I’d love for you to join me in welcoming two new writers to BeerFM; Beerwolf and Sweem.
My two friends Todd (Beerwolf) and Dan (Sweem) are just as, if not more ecstatic about beer as I am and will be joining the BeerFM team in updating news, writing tips and reviews, and helping me in expanding BeerFM.

We’ll be providing more content than ever before including:

-Writer bios,
-Full length articles,
-More tips,
-Frequent, up-to-date beer news,
-Beerfly reviews (locations such as breweries, beer bars, and beer stores)
-A (forthcoming) Homebrewing section with another author joining in!
-BeerFM sponsored beer events!
-Beer event calendar and reviews covering events,
-annnnd, a fresh, new website to showcase it all!

The podcasts will still be released and available for free on iTunes and BeerFM will still be on facebook and twitter!

And most importantly, all of this is coming to you absolutely FREE of charge and FREE of ads so keep your ears and eyes peeled for BeerFM, your source for beer news, tips, and reviews (and now much more)!

Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has just released a new beer called Fixed Gear and BeerFM is proud to be one of the first to review it! If you want to know what it’s about, take a listen to Andy’s review.

Also, BeerFM is proud to be co-hosting an event with Beer Buffalo Lodge (www.bblodge.info) at Sugar Maple in Milwaukee this Friday. There will be plenty of awesome beer complimented by even better brotherhood. For more info take a listen to the podcast!

Music: Tonic – Roses

Fixed Gear Review and Event News

A wonderful three-some of well-crafted beers from Stone awaits…Arrogant Bastard, 13th Anniversary, Imperial Russian Stout.

One of these beers is Andy’s first perfect scoring beer of all-time. Which one is it?

Take a listen to find out!

Music: Stone Temple Pilots – Dead And Bloated

Stone Ménage à Trois Review

Merry Christmas to all and happy holidays from BeerFM! In the spirit of the holidays I review one of my favorite winter seasonals; Lakefront’s Holiday Spice lager as well as a grading a few others. Take a listen to see what you should keep an eye out for this winter and expect more holiday episodes on the way! Merry Christmas!

Music: Kenny G – Winter Wonderland

Lakefront Holiday Spice Lager Review