Baggywrinkle Barleywine, Cisco Brewers, Nantucket Massachusetts

Baggywrinkle Barleywine...what more can you say? I check the Cisco Brewers website, which actually explains the name - Baggywrinkle being a nautical term, it's a good story - check it out on their site!

It pours a thick unfiltered molasses with a tight head.

The aroma is sweet malt with mild raisen and mild smokiness.

Big sweeet malt greets you right away. It is thick and velvety in the body. The sweetness lessens a bit at the finish, exposing more caramel molasses, raisen and heavy malt. It has a slightly bitter finish with Chinook and Northern Brewer Hops.

The aftertaste has caramel, biscuit, molasses and fig notes.

At 9.8% and in the 22oz, it's a great late evening sipper on the back porch....or front porch...or lawn...or somebody elses lawn if you don't have one...or the park....there are several flavors that develope as the beer warms.

Cheers!

Captain Swain's Extra Stout, Cisco Brewers, Nantucket Massachusetts

Our next beer comes from Nantucket, Massachusetts - from the Cisco Brewers to be exact. Their beers are available throughout the Northeast, but I haven't seen them elsewhere....yet. Let's give it a try....

It pours opaque with a big head.

The aroma is roasty with chocolate and espresso tones.

It is rich with a big malt/chocolate/espresso taste. Very roasty at the end. Fairly heavy and grows increasingly chewy as it warms.

The aftertaste is all roasty and a bit bitter. It leaves a lot of residue and lingers for a long time, dominating the palate with malt.

It's been awhile since I've last wrote, so I am a bit rusty. Brewing went successfully and we ended up making a Black Ale and a Wee Heavy. It is being bottled soon and I can't wait to give it a try!

Cheers!

The Grey Lady, Cisco Brewers, Nantucket MA

A trip to Trader Joe's led me to buy some naan, which then led me to make some Aloo Gobi (my first attempt) which finally led me to tonight's beer selection.

"The Grey Lady" from Cisco Brewers in Nantucket is a Belgian-style Wit beer. I looked for some details on their website, but the beer most be a seasonal, since I did not find any info about it.

It pours a golden hue, think very light honey and has a big foamy head.

The smell is distinctly wheat, with a slight white pepper aroma. It is a little sweet.

The taste is wheaty with a citrus or orange. There is a little white pepper to it. It is a light body and crisp (almost sparkly). It is refreshing and went well with the semi spicy and heavy food. It clears the palate, but doesn't linger too long.

There isn't much aftertaste, a very soft spiciness, perhaps. All in all it is fairly dry and mild.

I found Cisco beers at almost every beer store/liquor store when I lived in Boston. Oh, and if you are curious there is this from the bottle:

"The name 'Grey Lady' comes from the nickname for the often-foggy island on which it is brewed." There you go, beer and geography!

Cheers!