This was our tasting from Friday in Galveston.
Jvrdz24 rented an awesome beach house for it, it was a pretty fantastic night. All the bottles followed by my top 3, and then some notes.
Alright so, top 3 in no order:
VSB: Absolutely insane. Huge jammy blackberries on the nose, I couldn't believe how complex it was with how fruit forward it was. Blackberry pie with tobacco, wood, funk. One of the best beers I've ever had.
Black Agnes: Again, insane. Intense blackcurrant, blackberry, honey aroma. The flavor and mouthfeel are just perfect. So incredibly jammy and smooth. One of the best beverages and the best mead I've had.
Nectarine Premiere: More insanity! I wanted to smell this beer forever. The Nectarine presence is mindblowing. So incredibly juicy, very sour with medium carb. My favorite beer of the night and my favorite De Garde.
Honorable mentions:
Rare: Favorite BA stout of the night and still my favorite non adjunct BA stout. First time I had it was back in December, so I can't really comment on if it's fallen off, but I think it's pretty perfect.
Imperial Stone Bu: Incredible and my favorite Bu so far, just ahead of Imperial Apricot. I couldn't stop smelling the bottle later on as it had warmed up, just so enticing.
2013 Prop: More coconut in this bottle than the one I had in December, but it's definitely very balanced with the base beer. Absolutely delicious.
Cellarman: Perfect American saison. Saison Bernice was previously my favorite saison, and this is just as good, if not better. So juicy and complex, perfect amount of tartness.
Oak Theory: Right up there with the previous two, but I enjoy SARA just slightly more, I think Cellarman had just a bit more brightness to it, and that SARA yeast is perfect. Had Cellarman not been at this share, it would have been my favorite non fruited sour beer that night.
Chocolate Raspberry Port Pyment: Tasted straight up like a raspberry tootsie roll. Maple syrup as it warmed. I loved it.
Oude RRuin: Cinnamon brown sugar cherries. Best sour brown ale I've had.
2014 Fou: So god damn clean. Drinking this on the beach at night was one of the best moments of this share.
El Gordo: 2012 batch, 2013 bottling. Non barrel aged RIS that tasted like it could have already been barrel aged. Easily the best non BA stout I've had.
Plenty of other delicious beers, but those were just my favorites.
Cheers!