Long Trail - Quercus Vitus Humulus

Long Trail - Quercus Vitus Humulus - French Oak-aged Ale brewed with French Grape Juice, fermented with Champagne Yeast - Barley Wine - Strong Ale - Middlebury, VT 12% abv. Poured into a fluted Allagash Ale glass.
22 oz dark brown bottle. No freshness date.
It pours a ruby-hued copper color with a thin, fast-fading off-white head.
Smells are all over the place! Sparkling wine, toasted rye toast, aging, fermenting fruit bowl, spicy and floral hops and lemon zest. A hint of sherry lingers in the background.
The flavors are also varied and complex. Sangria comes immediately to mind. Dry malt, lemony, metallic and spicy hops add an edgy dimension. Orange liquor, doughy bread, lemon hard candies and honey temper the upfront, edgy flavors. A little natural woody flavor lasts throughout.
There's a bit of an unappealing astringent rasp in the mouthfeel, yet it abates a bit as it warms.
While it is certainly a beer with a big alcoholic bang, it's fairly gulpable, and that's a bit scary. This one could get the unsuspecting in a little trouble if he/she should drink two or more of these extreme beers.
Strong cheeses and hearty rye crackers or rich dark chocolate. You can pour a little over vanilla ice cream with shaved chocolate and crushed nuts.

Long Trail - Harvest

Long Trail - Harvest Brown Ale Bridgewater Corners, VT 4.6% abv
12oz brown bottle. Fresh date on label.
It pours a tan/cordovan with a smallish off-white head and some patchy and trailing lace.
The aroma is mostly of sweet malt and brown bread.
It's not as malty as one would expect after reading on the label about all the malts used in the brewing.
There's a light caramel sweetness and a taste of fresh marble rye, along with the essence of brown bread.
A sweet lime-like bitterness is matched by a taste of hard water and faint metallic tang.
This is a flavorful brew despite the fact that it is low in alcohol.
Nice stuff to quell spicy chili.

Weihenstephaner - Festbier

Weihenstephaner Oktoberfest - Freising,Germany - 5.8% abv
This is the World's Oldest Brewery (1040 AD)
The color is a cloudy golden amber with a medium-sized snow-white head and lots of sticky and trailing lace.
The smell is certainly German OFest-like. Grassy malt, citrus fruit, pears, minty herbs and a hint of vodka.
Sweet honey maltiness supports a nice blend of citric and spicy hops. A little fresh bread, mellon and hint of mint round things out.
The body is slick, almost buttery and so rounded and smooth.
You really should buy at least two of these beauties because it goes down so easy and delightful. Pair with brats boiled in fest beer with sauerkraut or weinerschnitzel and fried pototoes. Das is gud!!!

Post Road Pumpkin Ale

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewing. 5% abv
12 oz dark brown bottle. Freshness date stamped on bottle. Served in a pint tumbler.
A shiny copper ale-colored brew with a bubbly, fast-fading off-white head. Very little in the way of lacing.
The aroma is underwhelming. It could use a little more pumpkin punch, but overall it is a pleasing smell, with dry malt, floral hop and pumpkin and spice undertones.
As in the aroma, this brew could use a bit more pumpkin. A little more of an alcoholic kick would improve things too, I think.
A caramel maltiness and crisp hop bite compliment each other nicely. A faint taste of limes adds dimension, but again, more pumpkin would be just right.
It goes down quickly as it's a bit thin.
All in all, a nice pumpkin ale that could use a little more pumpkin.

Serving type: bottle

Pietra Bierre - Amber

Brasserie Pietra Furiani, France - Corsica
On tap from notes taken in 2009.
The color is a nice amber/gold color with a fast-fading white head. Some trailing and webby lacing clings the glass.
Smells of grain husk, nuts and hint of damp basement mix with a mild floral hop and caramel candy.
Sweet honey taste and nutty caramel malt are tempered a bit by the slightly citrus hop bite.
A little back-of-the-throat hop edginess gives a sprightly tingle going down. This is a refreshing brew, despite the well-hidden the 6% abv.

Dogfish Head - Punkin

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Delaware Punkin Ale 7.0% abv
Someone should send a bottle of this to Shipyard, so they understand what a "Punkin" Ale is supposed to taste like. It pours an orange tinted amber with a fading white head. Pumpkin, nutmeg, allspice, malt and alcohol fumes (in that order) make up the aroma. The malt body could use a bit more oomph, but it's far more substantial than that weak-ass Shipyard. Flavors of pumpkin pie come to mind - as it should. Pumpkin and cinnamon dominate, as allspice, sugar and nutmeg offer a nice supporting touch. A mild lime-like bitterness seems almost out of place, but after a few gulps, seems to fit in with the "Punkin" gang. Warming alcohol provides the expected punch when you smell and taste it.
Nice fall ale. It pairs nicely with a nice rich autumn lamb stew with thick root vegetables and pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream.

Troegs-Flying Mouflan - Barley wine-style Ale

Troegs - Flying Mouflan - Harrisburg, PA - 9.3% abv
22 oz brown bottle. No freshness date.
The color is deep, dark amber/mahogany. A very fast-fading caramel head becomes a thin ring.
A big whiff of rum-soaked plums hits with a bang. Caramel malt, citrusy and floral hop smells are present throughout. A light smell of milk chocolate is noticed.
Flavors of a mixed fruit bowl drenched in dark rum and port wine come to mind. Prunes, raisins, pears, tangerine and pineapple, with a hint of banana. Does this count for my daily fruit intake? The citrusy hops poke through, as does a nice rich malty taste. Sweet caramel candy adds the sweetness note.
As the label suggests, I will cellar one and see how things transform in a year. If I can wait that long.