The Boy Reviews a Barrel-Aged Home Brew!! Say What!?

So from time to time The Girl and I do beer trades.   Today’s beer is actually a home brew that Joe threw in with some Duclaw dandies Duclaw.com and a couple other home brew beers of his.  Joe has named his home brewing venture Imzalbeh Brewing  Imzalbehbrewing.blogspot.com .  For a recap on how we met Joe see here The Devil’s Milk!!

The home brew(Imzalbeh brewing) we chose first to drink is named Thor’s Hammer, thoughtfully named after Joe’s awesome headache the beer created the first time he tried it.  Thor’s Hammer is a Barrel-Aged Scottish Wee Heavy Ale.  8.5%abv.  You look at the bottle and can’t tell at all that it is a home brew.  Very professionally done label, right down to the government warning (AKA Joe’s made up warning to drinkers of his beer*).  Joe barrel aged this stuff which is amazing.  I had a question about the barrel and this was his response

“To the boy’s question about oak barrels – There is a company in Manassas Virginia called the 1000 Oaks Barrel Company (www.1000oaksbarrel.com) that makes a five gallon beer barrel specifically for homebrewer’s that includes a mini fermentation lock that fits in the bung (http://1000oaksbarrel.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=190&category_id=14&keyword=beer&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=27). ; The barrel is made from American white oak, and was the third batch of beer aged in this barrel (after a Scottish Wee-Heavy ale (batch #2), and an Imperial IPA).”

I can’t emphasize enough how much I liked this beer.  No joke, best beer of that style I’ve had.  The Barrel aging does it.  My opinion of a great beer is one where you have several different tastes which flawlessly transition from one to the next, rather than a beer with a lot going on, but all at once which I think mucks things up.  My initial taste of Thor’s Hammer was an unexpected and beautiful tartness which slowly faded into the maltier flavors.  I loved the tart paired with the malts.  I was so sad to only have one bottle of this epic beer.  It was just so good.

I begged The Girl to allow me to do this review because I loved this beer so much, so hopefully I make Joe proud and represent well.

Now usually we review beers you can actually go out and find.  We have provided you with Joe’s website where I order you to go to, message him and beg and plead with him to send you some of his home brews.  He seems to respond to beer trade requests. Below are Joe’s suggestions on how to best enjoy Thor’s Hammer.  We are also checking in with Joe to see the best way to contact him and if there is a better way we will let you know.

“Thor’s Hammer Scottish Ale: Temp: 42 – 48 degrees F; Glass: Snifter, Tulip or “Sam Adams” glass”

I can’t wait to try his other 2 home brews he sent us.  Which next, the Jalapeno Beerito or the Ichabod’s Fate.  Hmmm…

*The Girl here, the warning was so funny I wanted to include it:

“GOVERNMENT WARING:  Since this product is not commercially available for sale (yet, we hope…) we can pretty much write what we want here.  That being said, consumption of alcohol is a “privilege“, not a “right“, and that privilege is grounded in maturity, responsibility–And most importantly– common sense.  If you are already halfway through this bottle, and are looking here for guidance on the right thing to do, you should probably put yourself in a “time out” until an adult arrives.”