BQE 2017

The details: Finback Brewery BQE Barrel Aged (2017) Imperial Stout, 10%ABV, 63 IBU, served in a 32oz crowler

Back when I was a less savvy drinker, quantity was everything. I was the guy that fit three cases of Icehouse in his suitcase when he moved into his freshman dorm. I thought that the half gallon bottle of Jack Daniels was a brilliant idea the first time I laid eyes on it. What really took the cake, though, was cans of Fosters.

Nothing else that I can remember back in the Ninties came in a quart can. I've since had other beers served in such sizes, but the 'oil can' of Fosters was kind of a midway point between regular sized beers and 40oz beers/malt liquors. Not to mentio that Fosters was 'imported' and that made drinking the oversized aluminum can of swill that much more fun.

But I'm not here to discuss Australian beer. I don't really want to even think about how exceptionally average at best Fosters is. Instead, I want to sing the praises not necessarily for the size of the can I have in front of me, but instead for how I ended up with it.

If you watched some of last night's run/throw ball game, you may have seen an advertisement from Budweiser that shows their canning line with empty cans (the ad was their way of bragging about helping hurricane vicitms while shelling out millions to do the bragging). For years when I was really little I wondered how in the hell the people who filled up my cans of Pepsi got the top shut and sealed; did they have some sort of suction cup to pull the opening closed or did they figure out some other magical way? It didn't occur to me until probably at least the ages of 10-12 that maybe the top was a separate part that they put on the can! That's exactly what a crowler is - it's a growler of fresh draught beer that just happens to be a can, and it's brilliant. I like them better because I feel like I get a few more days to enjoy their contents, as the perceived seal on a can is better than on a hand turned bottle top. Cans are also a better protector of beer, both from errant sunlight and from accidental droppage while intoxicated (...not that I did that this time, but in the past...). Aluminum is cheaper and easier to recycle as well, and those people here in NYC that will pick through your garbage for deposit bottles/cans can't do a thing with growlers, so the city actually gets to make a few cents and might one day keep our taxes down (hey, I can dream, right?).

So I got this crowler filled with Finback Brewery's BQE Imperial Stout. It's a yearly winter seasonal thing, and since I'm on a stout kick and happened to stop by my local wonderland Gold Star Beer Counter, I decided that a crowler of something fresh would be the way to go. 

This is a big stout - it's got a lot of malt sweetness. It almost tastes like a dessert wine, but instead of being sickeningly sweet its bourbon sweet. It's that hint of bourbon that makes all the difference, and it's no wonder that aging in bourbon barrels is such a big trend these days. As is typical with malty beers this one has improved as it's warmed up, and it's only gotten smoother. At 10% I don't really want to keep drinking it all night because it'll ruin tomorrow, but it's so good I really want to ruin tomorrow.

ED NOTE: I want to give huge thanks to the folks at Finback - I wrote them an email out of the blue asking for a copy of the label I could use here since I'd bought as a crowler and the totally came through! 

The verdict: 4.5 out of 5 (on Untapp'd - follow me @slownumbers to see what I'm drinking)