The event takes place on Sept. 30 at the Wynkoop Brewery while the Great American Beer Festival is being held in Denver. Presented by All About Beer Magazine, the event benefits the Pints for Prostates campaign.
The Denver Rare Beer Tasting III is sold out. It is one of the more talked about events that places during GABF weekend.
Alaskan 2009 Cherry Vanilla Baltic Porter is brewed from glacier-fed water and a generous blend of the finest quality European and Pacific Northwest hop varieties, plus premium two-row pale and specialty malts. Alaskan Brewery’s water originates in the 1,500-square mile Juneau Ice Field and from the more than 90 inches of annual rainfall. Cherries and vanilla beans were added to this limited edition brew. This beer has not been commercially available for two years.
Avery Dihos Dactylion features a primary fermentation using a proprietary blend of saison yeasts and a secondary fermentation of house brettanomyces wild yeast strain, lactobacillus and pediococcus. Aged in fresh Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, Dihos Dactylion bursts with aggressive aromas of red wine and a touch of Brett. Delightfully sour to the taste, initial lactic acid flavors hit high in the cheekbones before transitioning to complex layers of soft fruit, oaky-tannins and red wine. Dihos Dactylion is No. 7 in Avery’s Barrel-Aged Series of beers, made on a "one-and-done" basis in small batches. Only 248 cases were produced and bottled on January 28th, 2011.
Big Sky 2006 Buckin’ Monk is a Belgian-style tripel brewed with pale malt, wheat, oats and honey, hopped with Hallertau Tradition, then aged in an American Oak barrel that previously contained a California Chardonnay. Classic Belgian Tripel flavors and aromas are present followed by a very pleasant sourness reminiscent of green Sweet Tarts. Fifty cases resulted and members of the Big Sky Brewing team have been slowly depleting (drinking) the stock over the years. This beer has never officially been offered to the public. Only a very few cases remain.
Boulevard Lovechild #1 is an experimental beer, part of the Lovechild Sour Ales series. These beers are unreleased and still in testing stages, so this is a special rare beer treat from Boulevard. Lovechild #1 is a dark ale with Brettanomyces, aged for one year in second-use whiskey barrel. Rich warming caramel, tart dark fruit and funky wild yeast notes.
The Bruery The Wanderer is a dark sour ale, custom-blended to celebrate the 5th anniversary of City Beer Store in San Francisco. This beer combines both sour ales aged in red wine barrels and strong ales aged in Bourbon barrels, then aged with cherries and blackberries for an added layer of complexity. Only 15 barrels of this beer were blended and it will not be made again.
Brooklyn Cuvee de la Crochet Rouge is a mutation of Brooklyn Local 1, barrel-aged for six months on wine lees (sediment) from the Red Hook Winery in Brooklyn. The natural wild yeasts from the Long Island vineyard completely transformed the beer, which was then re-fermented in the bottle. This special cuvee was blended from two barrels on chardonnay lees and one barrel on pinot noir lees. Only 50 cases were produced and none of it will be sold to the public.
Cascade Borbonic Plague is a Northwest Sour Ale based on strong imperial porters fermented on an Abbey yeast. The beer is spiced in the kettle and hits the fermenter at 22 to 25 Plato. Borbonic Plague spends up to 30 months in Bourbon and Pinot Noir barrels. These barrels are fed a rich diet of dates, cinnamon and vanilla beans. This beer was blended just one time and was the 2009 Great American Beer Festival Wood and Barrel Aged Sour Beer category Gold Medal winner.
Cigar City Neilsbohrium Rum Barrel-Aged Imperial Raisin Sweet Stout is a collaboration with Denmark’s Mikkeller. Hopped exclusively with Mt. Rainier hops and aged in Flor de Cana Rum barrels, the beer is black and full bodied with rum and chocolate notes in the nose. Big chocolate and complex roasted flavor notes with layers of toffee, black licorice and rum, with hints of raisins. Cigar City and Mikkeller each brewed an imperial sweet stout and blended them to make Neilsbohrium, which has been sold only at the two brewery tasting rooms.
Dogfish Head 2004 Olde School is one of the oldest vintages remaining in the Dogfish Head cellar. Brewed in the Fall, this barleywine is made with dates and figs using a technique brewery owner Sam Calagione discovered in an old notebook used by an English cellarman.
The Duck-Rabbit The End of Reason is made using 2009 Duck-Rabbit Baltic Porter that was allowed to sour in 23 year-old Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon barrels. Michigan Montmorency cherries were added to the barrels. The beer is beautifully sour, woody and complex, with the rich support of a full-bodied Baltic Porter. This is a true one-off for Duck-Rabbit. Only a couple of kegs have been previously served at select festivals in North Carolina. Very few people have had the chance to try this beer, and very few ever will.
Firestone Walker Agrestic Ale is one of the very first adventures Firestone Walker has taken into the world of sour beers. The brewery’s flagship Double Barrel Ale was inoculated with Brettanomyces in Union Barrels that also served as the vessel for the primary fermentation of the beer. This tart beer is a must try for all sour beer lovers. Never bottled -- and not likely to be bottled anytime soon -- this ale has only been poured at only one other event.
Foothills Brewing 2009 Sexual Chocolate is an imperial stout aged on organic cocoa nibs. Dark and rich, with hints of bittersweet chocolate, tart fruits and slightly smoky, Sexual Chocolate is produced annually in limited quantities. The release date is a major event in Winston-Salem. This beer was brewed in 2008, then aged on cocoa for about a month and has been sitting in a keg since them. This is one of only two kegs still in existence in the world.
Full Sail 1998 Old Boardhead Barleywine was made with four specialty malts and hundreds of pounds of the finest Northwest hops. Full Sail always puts some aside on the “Brewer’s Top Shelf” in the back of the cooler to sample how the malt flavors mature with the effects of time. Thirteen years have been kind to this barleywine, the very first bottling of Old Boardhead. The hops have moved aside and the beer has developed multiple layers of complexity: dried fruits, caramel, and a warming alcohol finish. This is the last of the 1998 vintage known to exist in the world.
Great Divide 2008 Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout is Yeti Imperial Stout’s sophisticated sibling. They may be from the same clan, but they have entirely different personalities. Oak aging gives a subtle vanilla character, rounding out Yeti’s intense roastiness and huge hoppy nature. Who says you can’t tame a Yeti? As part of Great Divide’s cellar program, this beer has been aged for three years at the brewery. This beer has not been released anywhere else.
Highland PSA Pilsner is a small batch beer brewed to raise awareness for the Pints for Prostates campaign. Brewed using Best Maltz (Best Pilsen Malt) from Heidelberg, Germany, Carapils and Vienna from Briess Malt in Wisconsin and the yeast strain that created the Czech Republic’s reputation for producing the world’s greatest Pilsners. Saaz hops provide a modest 20 IBU and delicate effusive aromatics. This small batch Pilsner is a refreshing session beer that finishes clean and crisp. It has previously only been served in the brewery tasting room.
Jolly Pumpkin Lúpulo de Hielo – “Ice Hop” -- is a hoppy sour beer that was aged for about a year in oak and blended with Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca, a sour white ale. The beer is a limited edition offering created by Jolly Pumpkin to support the Pints for Prostates campaign. There are just three ways to get a taste of this unique beer: 1. Today at the Denver Rare Beer Tasting III; 2. By joining the Rare Beer of the Month Club; or 3. Visiting a Jolly Pumpkin location in Michigan on October 1.
Laughing Dog St. Benny’s Labby Bourbon Barrel-Aged Ale was brewed in 2009 to celebrate the brewery’s fourth anniversary beer. A strong Belgian ale, the last 150 gallons was aged for one year in Heaven Hills Bourbon barrels, resulting in a wonderful mix of Belgian ale, oak, vanilla and Bourbon flavors.
Left Hand Brewery 2009 Fade to Black Vol. 1 was the 2010 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal winner in the Foreign Style Stout category. This one time, limited release beer pours black with licorice, espresso bean, molasses and black cardamom notes that give way to a feeling of self-loathing, burnt opportunities and smoked relationships.
Lost Abbey/Port Brewery Deliverance is a blended of Brandy barrel-aged Angel’s Share and Bourbon barrel-aged Serpent’s Stout. This is the first batch of Deliverance ever blended. Less than 700 cases were produced and it sold out in 2010. Only one batch of Deliverance will be packaged each year by the brewery.
Nebraska Inception Series #1 Toasted Barn is smoked porter aged in Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey barrels for six months. The beer is made with 35 percent smoked Briess malt. The barrel aging offers a mellowed smokiness, vanilla aromatics and oak tannins. This beer is an extremely limited one-off batch that will only be sold at the brewpub in Papillion, Nebraska.
New Belgium Eric’s Ale is an Ameri-Belgo Peche, made with 50 percent strong golden lager blended with peach sour ale acidified for 3 years in French oak. This keg, one of only four left in the world, was cellared one year.
New Holland Rum Barrel-Aged Pilgrim’s Dole Wheatwine is a barleywine-style ale made with 50 percent wheat malt and aged in New Holland Rum barrels. Pilgrim’s Dole blends warming and slightly sweet flavors with a unique caramelized character. It has a rich, malty body with a unique caramelized character and hints of raisins, nuts and figs. The rum is fermented from molasses and cane sugar before being twice distilled and aged in new American Oak for more than 1 year. Less than 100 gallons of this particular treatment exist in the world.
Odell Rare Blend is a special brew created exclusively for the Denver Rare Beer Tasting III by Doug Odell from casks he hand selected. This one of a kind beer has never been served anywhere before today. Doug, Wynne and Corkie Odell started their brewing odyssey in 1989 in a converted 1915 grain elevator located on the outskirts of downtown Fort Collins. Odell's was just the second microbrewery to open in Colorado.
Rogue Charlie 1981 is back after an absence of two years. Charlie is brewed with hops and barley from Rogue’s own farms. A strong American-style stout aged for 14 months in American rum barrels. Charlie is a powerful brew, orange-amber in color, with huge Daretm Malt profile, and big bittering and finishing hops. Charlie 1981 is brewed in honor of Charlie Papazian. It was Charlie's book, The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, that sparked Rogue Brewmaster John Maier’s interest in the craft in 1981. This anniversary beer is brewed in limited quantities.
Samuel Adams 2011 Utopias is made from a precise aging process and the finest all-natural ingredients from around the world. Samuel Adams Utopias is an uncarbonated beer of distinction. Brewed in small batches, blended and aged in the Barrel Room at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery, Samuel Adams Utopias is hand-bottled. The 2011 batch of Samuel Adams Utopias weighs in at 27 percent alcohol by volume. Only 12,000 bottles were produced.
Sierra Nevada Brewing 30th Anniversary Rum Barrel-Aged Fritz and Ken’s Stout is a strong American-style stout aged for 14 months in American rum barrels. Only one rum barrel was used to age a small amount of this already limited-release beer. This beer in its non-rum barrel aged form was originally released in 2010 as part of a series of four beers made in collaboration with craft brewing pioneers to mark the 30th anniversary of Sierra Nevada Brewing.
Stone 2010 Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey Barrel-Aged Imperial Russian Stout is brewed in the authentic style of a Russian Imperial Stout. Intensely aromatic, with notes of anise, black currants, coffee, roastiness and alcohol, it is heavy on the palate. This is from the only batch ever made by Stone using Stranahan’s barrels for aging. It has been aging for a year and no one has ever tasted the beer.
Thirsty Dog Bourbon Barrel-Aged 12 Dogs of Christmas is a winter warmer that is spiced for the holidays with honey, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Established in 1997 in Akron, Ohio, Thirsty Dog makes a range of year round and seasonal beers.
Weyerbacher Idiot’s Drool is an old ale that has spent four and a half years in oak barrels. A full-bodied, deep burgundy ale with an incredibly rich and complex character. Extended aging has imbued this beer with notes, vanilla, oak, leather and sweet sherry. A mild acidity rounds out the pallet. Only 100 cases have and will ever be produced of this beautiful beer. Due to the small size of the batch, Idiot’s Drool is not for sale outside the brewery.
Wynkoop Metacool Maltuwanna Imperial Amber Ale is a brand new creation. Tea-colored, this malty imperial amber ale is enhanced with hemp seeds and kilos of U.S. hops. The result is a heady wonder with rich malt and hop charms topped with a dank, aromatic nose. One of the last two kegs of a beer released on April 20, 2011.
