Hello there, outwars here. I'm a fairly new appreciator of beer. I was recently enlightened to the different flavors beer has to offer and I try to document my journey through it. For my #BeerSaturday post I have 3 wonderful beers that I tasted with my family. The first one is the Brew 5000, the second is Beer:Barrel:Time [2021], and the third is Marie.

This was the final day of our visit to my sister, and they decided to bring out 2 good beers. The Brew 5000 and the Beer:Barrel:Time. They were very excited for me to try both. I was curious about the Brew 5000, but I asked them if it was a good idea to have a stout after we had Coconut Vibes last time. The excellence of that beer is still fresh in my mind. They just smiled and said to trust them.

Brew 5000 is an English Barleywine from the Fremont Brewing Company located in Washington, USA. It has 12.2% ABV. The bottle looked like a wine bottle. I am seeing a pattern that really good beer comes in big bottles. The ones I posted last week were really good, and were in similar bottle sizes.

Pouring it revealed a dark brown liquid, having a bit of head. The smell is a lot of sweetness. Sugar, vanilla, and some fruit. The hint of bourbon is also evident. For the taste, it was sweet, and you can taste the fruit flavors. There is also some bitterness in there from the bourbon. I think the slight bitterness keeps the beer interesting, and makes you want to drink more. The texture is a bit creamy, almost syrupy. Gulping it down, it is smooth and doesn't show its 12.2 ABV at all.

Beer:Barrel:Time 2021 is an American Imperial Stout from the Side Project Brewing located in Missouri, USA. It has 15% ABV. This too came in a large glass bottle, in a very simple design. [I only took 1 photo and I didn't know it didn't focus. I don't have the bottle anymore so I can't retake it.]

Pouring it showed a dark beer, typical of a stout, and leaving a bit of head. The aroma was a rich chocolate, mixed with vanilla, fruits, and a lot of coconut. I told them this smelled very close to Coconut Vibes, and they just smiled and said taste it. The flavor definitely reminded me of Coconut Vibes. It is not as sweet as that, but it was still very sweet. I can taste the chocolate and fruit, plenty of barrel character, and coconut. If Coconut Vibes was like Dessert, this was a very drinkable sweet beer. The texture was thick and creamy, and was very smooth when swallowed.

That's when they told me that even though Shared was the one written on Coconut Vibes, Side Project also worked on that. That explains the similar style and flavor that I noticed. There are clear differences between the two, but both are exceptional. If Side Project is this consistent and awesome with their beers, they are now my favorite brewery. They both laughed out loud since Side Project is also their favorite.

Since the night was still young, and we are having such a good time, they were thinking of what to drink next after. We all agreed that stouts are not out of the question since it will be hard to follow up Beer:Barrel:Time. They said something completely different is best, and that's how we ended up with Marie.

Marie is a Helles Lager from Hill Farmstead Brewery located in Vermont, USA. It has 5% ABV. This one came in a regular beer can. The design was a very simple blue, with the logo and the beer name. I have always loved Lagers and Wheat beers so this is definitely right up my alley.

Pouring it revealed a clear golden liquid, with a good amount of head. I can smell the malt, bread, and grass. The taste was slightly sweet, with bread and malt. There was a very small hint of bitterness, that adds just the right amount of contrast to the taste. The texture is very light, and it was very drinkable. If I have to describe it, it was like a textbook Straight A student. There were no hints of complex styles or powerful flavors. It provides the perfect amount of sweetness, the perfect amount of bitterness, and the perfect amount of accompanying flavor. While some might say that is boring, I will fully disagree. The way this beer tastes makes it so that I can drink it everyday and won't get tired of it. I can't say that about a lot of beers.

Marie was a very good finisher to our evening of drinking. It did not leave us with a feeling of wanting more, but rather full of satisfaction. It helped catch us from the high of Beer:Barrel:Time, and slowly brought us back to earth in a soft embrace.

My Grade

Brew 5000

88/100. The taste had a very good mix of flavors.

Beer:Barrel:Time 2021

95/100. Very similar to Coconut Vibes, but I still prefer the pure sweetness over the contrast of sweet and bitterness.

Marie

98/100. I wanted to give it a 100, but I wanted to give myself a bit of room in case I find something better. It wasn't mind blowing in taste, but it was insane how perfectly balanced everything was. Maybe achieving that feat in itself was mindblowing.