Town Hall 7th Anniversary

[davesarman]

This is from an email I got from Town Hall. Looks like some tasty beers there this weekend, especially the wood aged beers! Hopefully my number gets drawn to win a couple of the limited growlers. I've had good luck with that in the past. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

This week marks seven years for the Town Hall Brewery, come celebrate with us.

This Thursday (10/28) we will release "Seven". Last year we had Six Pale Ale. This year the seven ingredients used to make this beer created a strong ESB, that nearly weighs in at 7%abv. Pints are just $1 from 5-6pm.

Thursday is also the first day we will accept your pumpkins for the carving contest(cash prizes for the best three).

Saturday marks the anniversary party. At 4 p.m. we will release Anniversary Ale. This celebration style ale will be $1per pint from 4-5pm. Sorry no pint club reception (free hour) this Saturday.

5 p.m. marks the release of two special casks, 1800 & Thunderstorm.

5 p.m. also marks the release of two wood aged beers:
*Czar Jack Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
(2001 GABF Gold Medal Winner)
*French Oak Cabernet Barrel Aged Olde Ale

We will have just 10 growlers of each of the wood aged beers. There will be a drawing for these 20 growlers, sorry each lucky winner is limited to 1 growler of each kind.

4pm- Special food menu is served (dress up for Halloween and recieve 10%off your food purchase.

9pm- Band Plays
(correction from prior email)
"From King Friday to Winnie Cooper" will play until the wee hours

[danno]

Dave, did you make it up to try out the beers?

[davesarman]

Yep, made it there. Had all the beers too, except the 1800, which I purchased a growler of. All were fantastic, as I would expect from Town Hall. I left my notes at home, but I'll try and post them here in the next couple of days. Bummer, I didn't win the chance to purchase the bourbon barrell stout or the old ale, but I tasted both and they were out of this world!

[davesarman]

OK, here's my reviews from last weekend:

7th ESB: Nice copper color. Ever so slight haze. Strong, but not overpowering hoppy aroma. Mild carbonation, thin head. Nice, balanced profile. At first it seems quite hoppy, but a nice, balanced beer emerges after a few sips. Some bitterness on the front of the tongue, sweetness on the back. Balanced finish. Alcohol is hidden well. This would be a good session beer, if not quite as strong. (7% abv)

Anniversary Ale: Deep ruby color with brown highlights. Very light carbonation and thin, wispy head. Fresh malt aroma. Vinous and woody notes too. Little hops, surprisingly. Big full body and taste. Loaded with flavor. Lots of dark malt. Lots of hops. Vinous tasting, as if this was aged in wood. Hops and alcohol play in the finish. The alcohol is not as well hidden as it is in the finish, but for this style, a little warmth is welcome. (Also around 7% abv, I think?)

Thunderstorm: Served on cask. Milky, yellow gold color. Creamy carbonation, definitely from the cask! Large, tight, yellow-tan head. Creamy, malty aroma. Some honey. It’s a very subtle aroma. (Peanut butter?) Very smooth, sweet taste and body. This is like a mead, beer, and white wine mix. Citrusy, white grape taste. Light malt. Clean, light finish. This is a highly drinkable (almost poundable) beer. I imagine this would be excellent on a hot summer night. The brewer just told me the ABV is 7%. Wow. It’s hidden amazingly well. This could be a dangerous beer. Here's the brewer's description:
This summer honey beer was made using special American yeast new to our brewery, German Bohemian Pilsner malt, and one very small hop addition. It is a clear yellow/orange beer that is very smooth and full of flavor from the addition of many interesting ingredients. Orange Blossom honey, bitter and sweet orange peel, lemongrass, and Belgian Candy Sugar make up the list of crazy things that make this beer unique to the Town Hall. This beer taste most like orange blossom honey,with hints of lemongrass. It is very easy to drink...remember it is very strong.

Oatmeal Stout: I didn’t really order this, but it was busy and when I said “Old Ale” the barkeep thought I said “Oatmeal”. Oh well, never one to waste good beer….A very slow pour. Nitro tap is set to pour at a trickle. Black as night. Tight, mocha head. Roasty malt aroma. Roasty malt taste. Slight hops in the finish. Not as “velvety smooth” as some oatmeal stouts I’ve had. But still, this is a meal in a glass. Notes of vanilla, white chocolate as well. Very satisfying.

Czar Jack Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout: Served in a brandy glass. Black as night. Tight tan head. Aroma of chocolate, wood. A bit more subtle aroma than I expected, but my senses are undoubtedly getting tired, they’ve been working hard! This beer has a huge, bourbon body, almost too much. More so than my homebrewed version of this beer. Slight hops in the finish to balance. Definite wood notes in the taste and finish, but I would prefer to see that profile brought up a bit and the bourbon dialed down a bit. But, all in all, a stellar beer that can’t be had anywhere else that I know of. (11% abv, I think.)

I also had the Cabernet Barrel Aged Old Ale, but by this time, my taste buds and note taking ability were seriously impared. I do remember the beer being hugely tastefull and complex. All in all it was quite a night of stellar beer