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Long Dreamy Drinker

Timber Ales and Casa Agria collaboration
Lost Memories
Imperial Stout aged on coconut and almonds
12% ABV
North Haven, CT
Brewer: Jason Stein

Darkest black coffee with a small caramel head. Smells like several boxes of assorted Girl Scout cookies have been opened, and I want to go wild in them. There’s rich chocolate, toasted coconut, almonds, cinnamon, and shortbread (my fave cookie). Oh this baby is thick and dense. Tastes like all of the scents and tons more coconut. This is a long drinker, and is better than a slice of chocolate cake or shall I go so far as to say a 4 tiered flourless chocolate cake. Heavenly and devilish at the same time.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Ack! Blerg! NOPE!

Lost Memories is a perfect name for this beer, since it stirred all sorts of cookies from the deep depths of my brain. Cheers to Timber Ales and Casa Agria’s working together and blowing my mind on how good an Imperial Stout can be.

@timber_ales @BeerBoutiqueNYC @twelvepercentbeerproject @twelve.percent.nyc.metro @hkarlphoto @cheezits #beer #cheezit @worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #timberales #imperialstout #jasonstein #worldbyglass #craftbeer #beerstagram #beersofinstagram #northhaven #CT

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Brotherly Love

Nightmare Brewing Company
Sororicide
Imperial Stout with Honey Roasted Peanuts, Peanut Butter, Ecuadorian Cacao & Indian Vanilla
15.5 ABV
Brewed & Canned by Nightmare Brewing
North Haven, CT
Founder and Phantom Brewer: Billy Powell

Deep dark of night thick black coffee with a small brown head that runs away as fast as possible. Chocolate charges out of the can and up your nose during the pour along with coffee, creamy peanut butter, smoky burnt brownie edges, and a wiggle of vanilla. Oh man, first sip and second and then third and damn that’s good! Seriously! It’s like someone smashed chocolate peanut butter cups with brownies coated in espresso and then the vanilla hits you. Also a lick of the honey roasted peanuts. I’m in trouble now that this is 15.5%. Big trouble!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: NOOOOOOOOOO! I’d rather the Reaper come find me.

My last Nightmare was their “Colombian Necktie” back when they were still in search of new artists and Billy’s sketches were still being used. From this can alone, the open call really worked. Alexandros Pyromallis’s seriously intricate art rocks! Billy and his sister must have a very loving and mischievous camaraderie, for him to have her depicted doing what she loves (broadcasting on B95.5 FM  Albany from Poughkeepsie to Vermont.) and getting impaled by Death’s arm with a blood splattered garden gnome hanging out nearby. Just beautifully twisted. That being said, he did also create Matricide and Patricide brews for his parents. I guess you’ll know you’re truly and dearly loved by Billy if he dedicates beer and art to your potential demise.

@nightmarebrewingco @BeerBoutiqueNYC @inkrituals @twelve.percent.beer.project @twelve.percent.nyc.metro @hkarlphoto @cheezits #beer #imperialstout #stout  #wine #winestagram #instawine #cheezit @worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #craftbeer #beerstagram #beersofinstagram #beerlife #northhaven #ct

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Pass the Beignets, Please

18th Ward Brewing
Decatur Street
Imperial Pastry Stout (New Orleans Style)
Brewed with German, English, and American ingredients
As per label too with beignets, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla & chicory coffee
10% ABV
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Owner: Jordan Beldner
Head Brewer: Will Arnaiz

Dark coffee cola with a short caramel head. Smelling delicious coffee, chocolate, cola, powdered sugar, beignets, vanilla and the label pretty much hands you all this. Oh this tastes like a brownie covered in vanilla powdered sugar with bits of chocolate and that chicory coffee thrown in. Please save me the corner pieces…mmm. Feels like a love song to New Orleans and the French Quarter. Let’s go take a leisurely stroll down Rue Bourbon and then wander Decatur.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: oh man does this make it all about the sugar. Nope, not doing that again

Jordan Beldner opened 18th Ward in 2019, across from Brooklyn Steel, which at the time was a great idea. He could get spillover from their concerts, before and after. I am going to admit, I am ashamed, that I never got a chance to visit. Who thought we’d be in this situation. Would have loved to not only try the beer on tap but also their Pork Belly Po’ Boy. When Brooklyn Steel had to close, they lost a lot of their business. Thank goodness they have a 50 ft outside space and are open noon to 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays. You can pick up or stick around  and sip outside. Back to how they had to adapt. They had to sort out canning because which is the best way to reach the masses that aren’t venturing out. Jordan also brought on Head Brewer Will Arnaiz to help reorganize and sort all of this out. When you can, you also need to come up with some pretty cool and catchy labels, and they lucked out with Abbey Bull. Check out her work @foggyfeelin. Wishing them the best and when they do get to open back up inside, I am definitely walking over.

@18thwardbrewing @BeerBoutiqueInc @indiebeer_ @foggyfeelin @cheezits #beer #ImperialPastryStout #ImperialStout #stout #wine #winestagram #instawine #cheezit @worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #craftbeer #beerstagram #beersofinstagram  #williamsburg #brooklyn #NY #DecaturStreet

 

 

 

 

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A Swede and a Buckeye Walk into a Bar

Collaboration from Hoof Hearted Brewing & Dugges Bryggeri
Faster Than the Future
Imperial Stout with raspberry, vanilla and Marcona almonds added
13.5% ABV
Hoof Hearted Brew Master: Trevor Williams
Dugges Brew Master: Mikael Dugge Engström

Dense dark chocolate color with a small coffee head. Whoa this is total dark chocolate tickling my nose, along with espresso, vanilla, lots of raspberries and nutty. Drinking in tingly chocolate covered raspberries, brownies, sweet and mellow vanilla, espresso that snaps back, and that rich nuttiness of Marcona almonds. Lord, how I love Marconas. I had to cut back on them at one point. It was totally becoming an addiction.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: oddly it makes it super sweet. If you want, try them together, but I prefer the Imperial Stout on its own

So excited when I found this Hoof Hearted collaboration and giddily brought it home. They have so much fun with their irreverent ever changing label art. I think “Don’t Microwave It Don’t Boil It” is my favorite. Love their sense of humor! Heck, the brewery’s name came from a fart joke. They also have such a dedicated following (especially for their IPAs) and there’s good reason for that too…it’s damn good beer! As for how Hoof and Dugges decided to collaborate, I’m not sure of that tale, but would love to hear how this power team came about. Funny enough, the Dugges Bryggeri story page starts out with what sounds like the beginning of an old joke, “An Englishman walks into a bar.” So like Hoof, I’m seeing the humor and also that they also have quite a following in Sweden to the point of their having to expand in 2009, and from what it sounds like on their page they may need to do it again. And I’ll leave it with their own motto, “Brewing our beer. Preaching our brews. Living the dream. And, loving every minute of it!”

@hoofheartedbrewing @duggesbryggeri @BeerBoutiqueInc @twelvepercentbeerproject @hkarlphoto @cheezits #beer #wine #cheezit @worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits  #imperialstout #stout #craftbeer #Marengo #Ohio #Sweden #marconaalmonds

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Hopping Down that Trail

Stillwater Artisanal/AZ Wilderness
Stillwater Is Nothing Big Bunny Is Everything Stout*
*AZ Wilderness approves this message
Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout
8% ABV
Brewed & canned in Stratford, CT
Stillwater Brewer and Owner: Brian Strumke

Dark deep chocolate espresso with a half inch tan head. Wow the aroma of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! Both milk and dark. Also espresso and a toastiness. Drinking in more dark chocolate but there is milk too. It’s also kind of like a baker’s chocolate cookie which I love to eat. Deep coffee/espresso and I’m talking good espresso that you get in Italy or even at Cafe Zurich in Barcelona. They make a fabulous one. Back to the beer…I’m getting a bit of hazelnut too. Absolutely delicious, and I don’t want to put my glass down.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: surprisingly it only makes it a bit bitter, so if you like it bitter, then go for it.

This is my second Stillwater. First was their Extra Dry Sake Style Saison which is a complete polar opposite to the Bunny but they both are consistently fabulous. This chocolate bunny is not like the type you get in your Easter basket, but I wouldn’t mind it if it was. It’s a much greater quality. It’s like trying to compare one of those minis that you get around Halloween to a great Belgian dark chocolate truffle. Awesome collaboration with AZ Wilderness too. Now, I have to track down one of their non-collabs around here.

@stillwater.artisanal @azwilderness @BeerBoutiqueInc @twelvepercentbeerproject @cheezits #stillwater #brianstrumke #beer #stout #chocolatestout #chocolatemilkstout #cheezit @worldbyglass #nomad #pairswithcheezits #stillwaterartisanal #arizonawildernessbrewing #CT #AZ

 

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Thrill on Blueberry Hill

Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery (Farm Brewery)
Blueberry French Toast Imperial Brown Ale
8% ABV
Goochland, VA

Dark Coca-Cola pour. Once the can is popped, out comes caramel, blueberries, maple, and toasty. The label doesn’t lie, my tastebuds are all over the blueberries or from what I remember as a kid…blueberry syrup (was great on homemade biscuits), toast, maple, cola, and a touch of bitter but in a good way.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: At first sip it takes away the blueberries but even before the next sip they just come back and slap you in the face. So if you want to get slapped in the face by blueberries then go on ahead.

Checking out Lickinghole’s site, and what an idyllic place. It’s a brewery, it’s a farm, and they have their own sustainable water source. They grow most of what they use for their beers and if it’s something they don’t have, they work with other local farmers. They also have a show this Saturday, Oct. 10th (The Trongone Band) which is a start to a series of concerts. All ticket sales go to support the artists, who really need it right now. Prices vary depending on which package you want. Just remember mask up, social distance and wash your hands. Make this a safe event for all.

@lccb_farmbrews @BeerBoutiqueNYC @BeerBoutiqueInc @trongoneband @indiebeer_ @cheezits #beer #cheezit @worldbyglass  #pairswithcheezits #imperialbrownale #ale #lickingholecreek

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Satisfying My Sweet Tooth

Timber Ales
Lumberjack Style
Imperial Stout
Aged on Coffee and Maple Syrup
12% ABV
North Haven, CT
Brewer: Jason Stein

Deepest dark chocolate thick (think motor oil-esque) pour with medium milk chocolate looking tiny rim of bubbles. Breathing in dark chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! Also coffee, caramel, and maple. Pretty true to the label. Oooooh this tastes like delicious dark chocolate from Belgium, serious toasty coffee, maple, caramel, and something nutty like Nutella hazelnut. It’s sweet and bitter, and downright delicious. It’s like someone bought me the perfect box of chocolates (not what you pick up randomly at Duty Free), and sorry, I’m not sharing with anyone.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: coffee forward and bitter and still good, but I prefer before the Cheez-It. No one gets between me and my dark chocolate.

Bet you thought I was going to post a particular Monty Python video, but then I remembered this classic by the “Man in Black”.

@timber_ales @BeerBoutiqueInc @twelvepercentbeerproject @cheezits #beer #cheezit @worldbyglass  #pairswithcheezits #timberales #imperialstout #stout #jasonstein