Where were you in the year that brought us a lunar eclipse, the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty (oh you know, abortion and what not), and earthquakes in Kyrgyzstan. Nothing Irish, Lunar or Kyrgyz lingers inside the vintage encapsulation of this barleywine because those are all stupid things that no one should remember anyway.
One more serene than a Chinese violin and the other more excited than a hyper-active sports analyst…this beer and you sit lovingly across from each other—stealing glances across an flame-licked backdrop. Yer lopsided embrace surrounds the liquid companion and floods you with memories of steamy August nights—the bedsheets plastered, muscles throbbing, sauces dribbling. It’s nocturnal grilled cheese: human+beer, all buttery and crisp and shit. Mmmmmmm.
There’s something very real and demanding about this barleywine. It requires yer attention but manages to drain yer expectations completely with a mellow,
“Hello.”
Victory’s creation reduces yer tastesbuds to ragged, pulverized stubs in a willful, encouraging way, shepherding yer nostalgic ass back to the bar for another encounter.
- 2 years ago
Fremont Brewing’s Universale Pale Ale
This is a beer of subtleties, suited to be consumed on second dates with the girl you just fell in love with who lives 3,000 miles away on the opposite coast. The awkwardness of the first date is gone and the comfortable tones are readily apparent, signaling that this girl is here to stay for a long time… granted, the Atlantic seaboard is not exactly “here.” So when you walk into that biker bar - the leather kind, not one of those hot-shit hipster biker bars you expect in Seattle - where all the regulars turn to size you up only to see yer sporting a cardigan with a sea green collared shirt, take advantage of the fact that yer with one of the locals and befriend yer bartender. And when he asks if you’d like another pint, ask him what he recommends and he just might point you to the Universale Pale. Thanks, Seamus from Howth.
And - as with yer ventures with the new lady-friend - what a refreshing moment!
This beer has the perfect balance of flavor, body, and hoppiness, that simply makes you wish for six of them at once. Four stars out of Favre… er, excuse me… four, on every one of them. To the untrained mouth, one might think this beer just is what it is at face value. But there’s more that only comes out if yer the guy she wants to reveal herself to. Seriously. Subtleties. Like when yer walking under 520 by the Montlake Playfield and catch some movement out of the corner of yer eye in the marsh. And you realize that yer eyes are fixed on a Favre (4) foot tall great blue heron who’s also wondering if you are what he thinks you are.
“Is that mint at the end of it?”“What? No… pour a bit in there for me, will ya? Just a wee bit… Aye, good palette.”
Thanks again, Seamus.
-The Admiral
- 2 years ago
