Sump (Perennial Artisan Ales)

So the day to day all the time beers that most breweries make money to pay the bills with occasionally need a little brand reminder. They produce a beer that is curl your toes, knock your socks off, call out of work, and spend your rent money on good? Depending on when you ask me, I may agree. The thing about the business that makes me giggle occasionally is the beers that go "behind the counter" due to limited availability. Sometimes a smaller distributor will get a beer that they are convinced is the tits that no one knows about. I have been guilty about having plead the 5th put behind the counter at a total wine and it takes 3 weeks for it to sell out, or even ends up on the shelf. Market hype is just not there for some of these beers, although in this case I feel hype is deserved.

Sump however is not a common, put it in the seasonal section beer. What the hell are you thinking? You have to leverage this shit however you can! I had been so good at not being an impulse buyer and only buying things I cannot live with out. I had even more recently passed on a chance to buy an abyss. I didn't pass on it a second time when my eyes caught that sump on a shelf. Total wine, what are you doing? I had to tease the local snobs on social media that didn't even know this beer was going to be so widely released in the market. I gotta admit I expected to have to fight for it.

So a moment of weakness I splurged on both of the dark dank beers that perked my interest last week. As I ticker I had to secure these for my OCD desire to drink all the beers, or at least all of the dark beers.

So like a real ambassador, self proclaimed, I broke this huge coffee stout out this past Sunday with my wife and family. The .45 caliber bottle opener was a gift from the family from young veterans brewing company in Virginia beach. This beer has the perfect coffee flavor. There was good bitterness, balanced with sweetness that wasn't overwhelming. I probably can not pull it off but I bet this barrel aged would give coffee bourbon county a run for it's money. This is a real beer nerds beer, well worth the hunt and price tag. The label is awesome and this brewery is top notch based on my experience with this beer, 17 mint stout, and the abraxas. They also do sours which is bold. 

The Mayan (The Ilkley Brewery)

I find myself tired of looking at the same beer from store to store when I am out shopping. I go to Food Lion locally and often breeze down the beer aisle hoping that something new has invaded the shelves. I am frequently disappointed. Even when I go to total wine or other chain stores it is normally a bunch of the same large craft beer names. Bells, Founders, Sierra Nevada, and the list goes on and on. When working I often talk to bottles shop folks and occasionally a silent sleeper is revealed to me. This beer was pointed out to me and was even reviewed as being better than prairie bomb, which I was doubtful of. I was interested in giving this a try though. I know nothing about it other than the style, chocolate chipotle stout (Mexican stout), which I am a huge fan of. Rate beer gives this beer high marks, and beer advocate, average. The odd 600ml size was a bit odd, and the near seven dollar price tag is not too taxing on the wallet. I was excited to try this recommendation and was hopeful it could stand up to the high praise it was given.

The store I was told about this beer carried this and one other beer from Ilkley brewing. The labels both looked very similar and I have been looking at this beer for quite some time before I purchased it. I had convinced myself this was a Mexican or south American offering but when I was met with the union jack on the bottle cap I was surprised. A English brewed Mexican inspired beer? This will be interesting. I split the bottle with my wife who doesn't like spicy, and she really enjoyed this beer. It is no prairie bomb but it is good, and available without postage year round. The spice note was not a lot of heat. It was more earthy pepper flavors. The body of the beer I wish was a bit thicker, and the syrupish chocolate was a let down. When I went to the Ilkley website it appears that they make a fair bit of cask ales, which makes sense after having this. It had a very similar mouth feel to a beer from cask. So yes it was fun, I would get this beer again.