So, the snow was coming down, and I had the fireplace going, good movie on the VCR (yes, it was a moldy oldie - TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN),nd some pistaschios, and I thought, I need to try something really good.
So I dug around and found a Long Trail Imperial Stout 2011. A vintage beer....couldn't wait.
According to Wikipedia:
Long Trail Brewery is a microbrewery located in Bridgewater,
Vermont, USA. It was opened in May 1989 by Andy Pherson, who now serves both as
the company's president and brewmaster. The company's first brewery was located
in the basement of the Bridgewater Woolen Mill in Vermont's Green Mountains,
but by 1995 the company had become popular enough that it was able to relocate
to a state-of-the-art brewery and visitor center (featuring an open-air deck
overlooking the Ottaquechee River) in Bridgewater Corners, VT.
Long Trail makes a number of different styles of beer,
mostly English-style top-fermented ales, but its flagship beer is Long Trail
Ale, a Düsseldorf-style altbier. It also participates in the tradition of
brewing a "Sticke" Alt (from a dialect German word for secret) known
as Long Trail Double Bag, though unlike the German originators of the style,
Long Trail makes Double Bag available year-round. During the 1990s it also
brewed a Kölsch-style ale as a spring seasonal. In the summer of 2006 Long Trail
added a hefeweizen to its list of brews. In the Fall of 2007, they changed the
Blackbeary Wheat offering to full-year availability. It was previously Long
Trail's summer seasonal brew. In 2010, Long Trail Brewing Company acquired
Otter Creek Brewing and with it Wolaver's Organic Brewery.
This Imperial Stout is part of Long Trail's Brewmaster Series: This series of limited release styles is specially chosen by Long Trail’s Brewmaster to be brewed in small batches reflecting a variety of styles including Long Trail brewer favorites and experimental brews. The Brewmaster Series, available on tap and in 22 oz bottles at select locations, is easily identified by the special, In short, this is their big bottle series.
According to Long Trail, "Porter originated in the 16th century and was common term used to describe a dark beer, specifically a dark beer that was popular with the river porters of London. Porter shares a similar history with stout; both were used interchangeably until the term stout began to reference a porter of higher alcohol content."
So the Long Trail Imperial Porter is a very dark, rich,
strong (8.3% alcohol) stout, not for the feint of heart. It has a bitterness units
of 56 so it’s got some balance. They used
such malts as: 2-Row, Cara Munich, Caramel 80L, Wheat, Roasted Barley, and
Chocolate. And such hops as: Nugget, Centennial, Simcoe, and Amarillo. This being a vintage beer and an Imperial Stout, I gave it
its due, and poured it into a large brandy snifter. It was the right move. The
aromas came wafting out of the bowl. This is a big, complex beer. The head was
mocha late in color, and didn’t pour too big, which was nice. Dark, bitter
chocolate came out first, followed by a big roasty coffee, and a slight hint of
anise. It had tremendous mouthfeel and really nice finish. This was a rich,
well deserved treat!