Digging in the Cellar: Curmudgeon's Better Half

As with last month's blog, I'm attempting to branch out from my typical posts of beer, buzz, and hangover. Being that beer has taken over my life in a way I never expected, I no longer feel that I'm drinking just to accurately pinpoint what elements in beer cause me to feel closer to death than others. Instead, I'm going to try a series of posts of the next few weeks and months that look at other aspects of distinct beers. This month, I dig into my beer cellar (aka, a converted wine fridge) and pull out a gem from way back in 2012 --- Founders Brewing Backstage Series #3: Curmudgeon's Better Half.

The Past:
Curmudgeon's Better Half was released as a part of Founders Brewing specialty "Backstage" series. This is their creme of the crop, the top of the heap, the...uhh...light of my life? Its some truly special shit, alright! Released sporadically over the past 2 1/2 years, Founders creates unique one-off beers that are meant to be shared and celebrated. Of course, with a collection culture such as craft brewing, they're more often hoarded and stashed away. After the 2nd such release from Founders (the insanely desired CBS, or Canadian Breakfast Stout), the bar was set high for their 3rd release. What was delivered was a re-branding of a beer known as Kaiser's Curmudgeon, which had only ever been released in their taproom. Upon aging it in re-purposed bourbon barrels that more recently held maple syrup, the "Better Half" of the beer was formed.

The Present:
I opted to open this bottle recently as I had heard through some online chatter that the beer may be at or slightly past its peak. How, exactly, this is determined is really beyond me. I'm sure there are some people out there who have multiple bottles of this and are drinking it semi-regularly while taking detailed notes and pictures to document its development. Why am I sure of this? Because there are nerds everywhere! And they know all! As for my thoughts on Curmudgeon's Better Half, I found it to be rather remarkable. Even being somewhat hyped up, I felt it lived up to it's billing. Pouring the first glass into my snifter, it appeared to be one of the more beautiful looking beers I've come across. And the initial aroma was strong with bourbon and vanilla even despite its age. My first sip immediately hit me with heat. The booze in this 11.9% abv beer was present and up front and clearly didn't fade into the background of flavors. But once my palate got accustomed to the heat, tastes of maple and wood came through. While vanilla was in the smell, it wasn't really in the taste. Rather, brown sugar and syrup dominated. This was basically breakfast in a bottle. If I only had a side of bacon to eat with it, my evening would have been complete.

The Future:
The future sadly doesn't look bright for Curmudgeon's Better Half. Not because it wasn't great, nor because I wouldn't drink it again. But rather, the chances of me coming across another bottle are pretty slim. The Backstage series is hard to come by today, let alone ones that were released over a year ago. I was fortunate enough to score this bottle from a guy in the Midwest who sent me a ton of great barrel-aged beers, including another in Founders' Backstage series: Bolt Cutter. As for how much longer Curmudgeon will retain its flavors and aromas...well, I'll leave that answer up to the uber-beer nerds who bought a case of it and continue to scientifically test it every 3-6 months. Me? I'll just jump at the chance to taste and/or share it immediately should I come across it again.

5 Seasons Brewing

In an unprecedented move, Beer Hates Me took a month off from reviewing a beer. Factors such as work, family, and the dreaded flu all contributed to this monumental breakdown of the real importance here --- drinking beer. To make up for it, I plan on two posts this month. This first one is something a little bit different. Instead of reviewing a single beer, I'm reviewing a single brewery. And my choice for said brewery, 5 Seasons Brewing out of Alpharetta, GA.

The Beers:
I started off my evening at 5 Seasons by arriving with my family and grabbing some food. As with all places I eat, I study the menu beforehand like I plan on being quizzed on it. This goes double for the beer menu. Being the insane beer nerd that I am, I take things a step further and actually reach out to the brewmaster to inquire about his portfolio of beers. At 5 Seasons, their brewmaster, Crawford Moran, actually got back to me quickly and enthusiatically. He told me what would be new, what would be different, and asked what I liked. After a little back & forth, I had my drinking game plan for the night all set.

First up was an IPA. I always lead with an IPA when sampling a variety of beers. I think getting the hops on the palate before other flavors come into play is important. In the case of Hop Project 342X I could not have been more right. This was an odd IPA. Crawford described it as an experimental one. Apparently one of his hop providers gave him some new varieties of hops to experiment with. He couldn't tell me their names, but just that only a handful of brewers have had the chance to work with them. To me, the project didn't necessarily work. I felt that the taste was too funky and not crisp enough. The hops didn't seem to provide the citrus-pine combo that makes a great IPA. It was drinkable, and fun to taste a new IPA for once. And I'm sure with future experimentation, this beer could become great.

Next up was a traditional London Porter served on cask. Here's where I started to understand 5 Seasons approach to brewing. This is about as classic a style as one can get. Serving via cask doubles the classical factor and provides a truer representation of the beer in my opinion. 5 Seasons' London Porter was exactly what I'd expect it to be. Creamy, smooth, hints of chocolate and coffee, and even a little bit of smoke on the nose as well. Where I was able to tie it into the 5 Seasons Brewing repertoire was that there was again a faint note of funk to it. It wasn't bad or oft-putting in the least, and actually provided a nice kick to an otherwise standard beer. But this is where I recognized that the house yeast (the basis for fermenting all their beers) likely has some Belgian lineage to it. While not all out European, there is certainly a taste that is uniform in all of these beers and unlike typical American representations of the styles.

The third and final beer from the menu that I had was the Dark Star Stout. Immediately, I knew that this beer was a winner. Much like the porter, it stuck to a simple base. Irish stout, smooth and slightly toasted with a little bit of hops added for a very subtle bitter bite. This beer has won awards for 5 Seasons and understandably so. The roasty aroma permeated from the glass as soon as it was poured and I easily could have seen myself having a 2nd and 3rd serving of this.

The last beer of the night was the off-menu specialty that Crawford had set aside at the bar for me. Called Square Peg, its a Belgian Dubbel aged in whiskey barrels. This thing was intense. The bartenders had never tried it themselves and also didn't know what the specifics of it were. Where most of the beers at 5 Seasons seemed to have a hint of Belgian lineage yeast to them, this one was full on funk! It was a caramel syrup taste and texture balanced with a tangy yeast kick. The whiskey notes were in full affect and from a single sniff alone, you could sense the alcohol within. I tried to pass this one around a bit to some nearby guests as my sister couldn't handle something of this nature.

The Buzz:
Naturally, when choosing a brewpub to establish yourself in for the night, a certain level of intoxication is expected. From the 4 beers I drank (plus a fifth that I finished for my sister), I was certainly happily inebriated by the time we left. While there, there was no indication on the menu or otherwise of the alcoholic content of the beers offered. Asking servers and bartenders sometimes got an answer but upon double-checking the beers online the next day, those servers only seemed to get it right half the time. Aside from Square Peg, nothing else was high gravity. But the combination of all together made for a potent cocktail of booziness that lulled me to sleep very quickly once we got home.

The Hangover:
Again, here is where sampling a plethora of beers doesn't always bode well with analyzing the post-drinking aspect for this blog. Such a diverse range of beers and styles often means a rough morning. The different grains, hops, and yeasts used only cause the body further confusion in the processing and cleansing department. That said, my hangover was rough. It was ugly. And it was long. Although I've experienced worse, this was definitely one that made an impact since my entire body felt it. Muscles, joints, shit...even my hair I think.

The Verdict:
5 Seasons Brewing is certainly a unique brewpub. I think that when most people picture brewpubs, they picture IPAs, lagers, a stout and a porter. The basics. Some may venture deeper into those classic styles by amping up the hops, doubling the alcohol, or experimenting with variations on the classic styles. Its not often that a brewpub has a largely European influence in their beer profile. Its even less common that said brewpub has (what I believe to be) a Belgian hybrid house yeast that they use as the base of all their beers. I'd certainly be interested in revisiting 5 Seasons. I'd be even more interested in procuring some of their beer in bottles to go and aging them. While overall, the style and execution of their beers isn't to my preferred tastes, I was very impressed and inspired by the beer they make and their approach to the craft beer service.

Founders Breakfast Stout

It's a new year, and to commemorate a record year in all things beer, I am doing the same thing I do every night --- TRY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD! Wait...wrong blog. Actually, this month my choice of beer was very simple. It was one that I won in a simple online trivia game over at Beer Advocate (thanks Monica!). Through good fortune and great kindness, someone sent me a fresh 4-pack of one of the most sought after seasonal releases - Founders Brewing Breakfast Stout.

The Beer:
Well, I certainly picked an amazing beer to celebrate the holidays with. I had no idea that something so heavily hyped in beer-nerd circles would live up to the hype and possibly surpass it. Everything this beer claimed to be it was - chocolate, coffee, oats, and a little cinnamon. Quite literally, it is breakfast in a glass. But it wasn't just the layers of savory and sweet flavors that made this beer impressive, its also the drink-ability of it that amazed me. With many stouts, there is often a level of thickness that is great for a pint but not much more than that. And these days, many stouts come barrel-aged and heap on the alcohol making even a full pint sometimes too much. Breakfast Stout however had a wonderful balance of a light finish on each sip that never made me feel as though I was drinking a loaf of bread. One other interesting thing to note with Breakfast Stout was that it got considerably better as it warmed. I had put the beers into the refrigerator before starting my session of consumption. Once I started drinking however, I decided to just take the entire 4-pack out and let them sit as I got to each one. It was one of those rare chilly night here in Los Angeles and I figured even if they reached room temperature, they'd still be perfect for drinking throughout the end of year UFC show. Little did I know that each subsequent beer would only improve. The coffee stood out a little more, the chocolate hung around a little longer, and hints of smoke came through. Its unfortunate that I only had these 4 beers to savor, as Breakfast Stout isn't sold on the West Coast, and I'll likely have to wait until next years release and more generosity from other like-minded alcoholics to get some more.

The Buzz:
Founders Breakfast Stout isn't just an impressive tasting beer. It also packs an alcoholic punch with a decent 8.2% abv. Being such a tasty beer, and being so easy to drink, it's a perfect recipe for getting fairly drunk fairly quickly. In this particular session, I found myself succeeding in a slow pace throughout the night. The fact that it was the holidays, that I was off from work, and that I had an epic night of fights to watch on pay-per-view, certainly helped me control the flow of brew. After beers #1 & 2, the level of buzz that set in would have been enough for me to pleasantly call it a night for drinking on any other weekend. But being that I still needed another 12oz to reach my minimum limit and the fact that this was vacation after all, I pressed forward just as the fight of the night was starting. A better decision could not have been made. Not only was the 3rd beer the best of the bunch in taste, but it also sent me into that perfect place where the buzz makes everything warm and fuzzy. The irony that it occurred at the same time a guy was having his face punched open and spilling pints upon pints of blood on a mat for thousands of cheering fans in Las Vegas is not lost on me, but it is appreciated!

The Hangover:
When I passed out after an epic heavyweight main event, I wasn't sure what the next day would hold for me. On the one hand, I had a tall glass of water and only drank the minimum allotment of beer for my blog in this session. But on the other hand, this wasn't a weak pale ale or pilsner. This beer had depth to it...both in flavor and alcohol. So when I finally awoke after a cozy night's sleep, I shouldn't have been surprised that the  symptoms of a rough day ahead were all present. Pounding headache, check. Woozy stomach, check. Cloudy daze, check. While the standard hangover cocktail of an antacid and Advil helped somewhat, that lingering discomfort chose to stick around for the entire Sunday before New Years. While on any regular Sunday this wouldn't have been to much of a big deal (and doubly so on a vacation-Sunday), I found myself tasked with a list of house repairs, maintenance  and upkeep that my wife requested. But, being the super-husband that I am, I pushed through the pain and soldiered on. While this distracted from the obvious hangover Breakfast Stout caused, it didn't make me forget about it when I went to open that final 4th bottle later that night. Thankfully hair of the dog and all that still applies 12+ hours later.

The Verdict:
It's easy to see why people in the beer community go nuts for Breakfast Stout. Its not only a good beer, but its pretty cool to consider the idea of actually having a beer for breakfast. While my testing of this particular brew didn't bring me to that length, I could imagine a scenario in the Midwest where you wake up one Sunday morning with 2 feet of snow on the ground, the Packers playing the Vikings, eggs, bacon, and toast ready and waiting for you to dive into. All accompanied by a pint of Founders Breakfast Stout to wash it down. While I'm sure this exact situation actually occurs several times a year somewhere in Michigan, out here in LA, I could only get so close to living that particular American Dream. But I'll absolutely try to achieve that year after year should someone find it in their hearts to continue to send me this great beer each winter.

Knee Deep Citra Extra Pale Ale

Forget your winter warmers. Forget your cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Forget anything dark, I'm going fresh, bright, sharp citrus this month and kickin' it IPA. While most people look forward to drinking and  enjoying all the specialty holiday beers that are put out, I was craving something simple and awesome. And I found perhaps the most simple and most awesome IPA I've had to date. Which can only mean that I'm even more awesome than I thought.

The Beer:
For the first time in quite a while, I was surprised by a beer. I had tried several Knee Deep beers in the past but was never overly impressed with them. While they all got high ratings and rave reviews on beer websites, I always found them to be good but not great. Well made but nothing all that special. Enjoyable but ultimately forgettable. So when I was perusing my local beer store, I only knew two things: 1) I was looking for 2 bombers to drink for this month's blog as opposed to a 4 or 6 pack; and 2) I wanted an IPA. When taking into account all the seasonal offerings combined with beers I've already tried, my selection became much more limited than I would have expected. Yet, there was Knee Deep Citra, a beer I'd heard good things about but never tried. While I wasn't about to buy two 22oz beers based on reviews for a brewery I was never previously wowed with, the price point and lack of selection helped push me towards going with this single hop brew. Fate must have been looking down on me this post-Thanksgiving day, as I ended up buying what may be the greatest IPA I've ever had. The aroma, taste, palate, and appearance were all out of this world. It was as if someone created an ultra-fruit made up of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon and orange. Perhaps some melon and papaya in there too. All with a sharp piney bite at the end of each sip. It really was remarkable that these flavors permeated from first pour all the way through last sip. I was giddy with joy over this beer. I wanted to tell all my friends and wish I had bought more than just 2 at the time. I'm unsure if it was a new recipe, extra fresh bottles, or just that this beer was made for my taste buds, but whatever the circumstances surrounding my experience with Citra, I am now a fan for life of this beer and will certainly give the brewery a second look when shopping.

The Buzz:
The thing with great beers is that they go down much faster than bad ones. Simple math really. Or logic? Or...physiology? Whatever it is, I pounded through the first of the two bottles in record time. While the 7% abv that Citra was packing is right in the middle of my sweet spot, it practically drank like a session beer. The carbonation left a mild tingling on my tongue that reminded me very much of days past when a great blunt would make my whole head buzz with pleasure. While those days are long gone (now weed does nothing but create hunger and paranoia...fuck aging...fuck it in the ass!), this replacement was perfectly suitable and enjoyable. And where the first bottle went down fast, furious, and fantastically,  the second bottle took a little longer and created a different sensation --- it made me tired. Perhaps my body was still reeling from a long day over the smoker preparing for Thanksgiving. Perhaps I was still digesting the pounds of brisket and potatoes. Whatever the reason, a sudden sense of fatigue crept in and became quite difficult to fight off. If not for the intense flavors and aromas of Citra, I likely wouldn't have finished bottle #2 and instead just passed out for the night. Thankfully, I pushed through, started a new episode of It's Always Sunny and happily finished my allotted amount before happily entering the world of sleepy-fun-happy-times.

The Hangover:
Being that nearly everything about this drinking experience was near perfect, I was sure that ol' man fate would take his trust karma-rod and rape my soul with it. There was no way a beer this good, this drinkable could possibly allow me to come out unscathed. I was certain when I fell asleep that I was in for a day of hurt ahead of me. Unlike all of my other drinking escapades (as well as every other morning), the dogs managed to sleep in until my wife woke up. They must have been equally tired from the holiday events, as the entire family slept well through the night and into the morning. After finally waking, my body was painfully quenched of thirst. Before any coffee was brewed, a large jar of water was finished as I watched cartoons with the dogs on the couch. Soon after, coffee, breakfast, and a shower followed. By noon, all systems were go and I was ready to tackle another day of this mini-vacation.

The Verdict:
If it wasn't made clear in my opening paragraph, I really dig Knee Deep Citra. What made it an even better experience than just being a great beer was that it fulfilled exactly what I was seeking out this month. And it surpassed my expectations of what a good IPA is like. Whereas, I had previously held Ballast Point Sculpin as the high-water mark of a great readily available IPA, Knee Deep Citra now clearly takes that title.
Now, if only I could find it again...as every attempt to locate a bottle since that day has come up short. So perhaps its not that readily available, and perhaps that's what will make it all the more special when it is.

Surly Wet

It's that time of year when everything really starts changing. The weather outside, the clocks themselves, and of course the flavor of beers. But whereas common logic might be to pick up your favorite pumpkin beer, mine is to take advantage of the very small window for breweries fresh hop offerings. The only question is: are they all hype and marketing? Or is it truly something special?

The Beer:
My decision on which fresh hop beer to choose wasn't all that difficult. While nearly every brewery offers up their own take on the style, I could find only one that offered it in the most fresh packaging available --- the aluminum can. Cans provide better and longer lasting freshness. And there are probably no canned beers more sought after than Surly Brewing. With their distribution limited only to the state of Minnesota, I had to search long and hard to get my hands on some Surly Wet (well, not too long or too hard. All I really had to do was ask around to some of my trading partners). When it finally arrived, I promptly checked the canning date (Oct. 5th, 2012) and got to drinking. This years batch was brewed with 100% Simcoe hops and tasted incredible. The flavors of grassy pine, fruity citrus, and sweet malts blended together amazingly. Sure, the weather may be getting cooler and the impulse for a darker, heavier beer looms large. But in this transition period here in Los Angeles where it can be 85 degrees one day and 65 the very next, Surly Wet hit the spot in every possible way. Oh, the bitter irony that the closest distribution for it is thousands of miles away.

The Buzz:
With so much hops added to the brew, it's no surprise that the level of alcohol had to creep up to help balance the aroma and taste. Surly lists the abv on Wet at a perfect 7.5%. For myself, that is the magic number in creating a drinkable yet decently potent beer. Being packaged in proper-pint sized cans, I also managed to drink my upper limit of beer for this blog by slowly but surely polishing off 3 whole cans. With each pint, the buzz slowly and steadily crept in but never took total control of my senses. Being that it tasted, looked, and smelled great, and it was easy as hell to drink, I certainly looked forward to pint after pint. However, I also got to thinking somewhere during the 2nd or 3rd drink that while this beer was certainly remarkable, was it really all that much better (or different) than any other top-notch IPA? Was this notion of fresh hop beers more marketing than artistry? Certainly there are subtle differences...stronger aromas, sharper tastes, and brighter colors. But, do those slight adjustments make it an overall better version? Without doing a blind side-by-side test of Surly's Wet, Furious (IPA), and even Abrasive (DIPA) it's probably impossible to tell. But being that the entire notion of fresh hop IPAs is the freshness and importance of drinking as soon as possible, such a test may never even be feasable. So, for now, I'll have to rely on sensory memory. Which, after drinking about 48oz. of respectably alcoholic beer, may or may not be all that accurate.

The Hangover:
After a night of drinking Surly Wet, I passed out happily feeling somewhat confident that the hangover the next morning wouldn't be too severe. I didn't feel excessively drunk before sleeping, and I made sure to drink a large glass of water just to be safe. Yet, while I slept soundly, when I awoke to Murdoch my boxer nudging me to feed him, my body felt like it had just been revived from a months-long coma. Although I could not sense any excessive headache or stomach pain that typically accompanies my hangovers, my entire body seemed to be weighed down. My eyes could barely open upon filling the dogs' water dish. I wavered and wobbled throughout the kitchen as if I was drugged. And while the thought of my wife secretly slipping me a roofie did cross my mind, I'm fairly certain that she would not do such a thing (nor know where to procure such a drug). Once I made my way back to the bed after the dogs were done with their business, I passed out once again. When I was awoken next, it was to my wife gently nudging me to inform me of the late hour. Despite my monthly embellishments I'm never one to sleep the following day away. Yet, on this occurrence I remained comatose until almost noon. Once finally getting up and around however, whatever hangover may have been there quickly faded and by the time I finished a cup of coffee, I was completely fine. So for all the freshness that Surly Wet promoted, one possible (and welcome) side affect may also be that of a sleep aid.

The Verdict:
I'm quite thankful for the chance to have had this remarkable beer. Surly Wet definitely lived up to the expectations. And while I'm not quite totally sold on the notion of fresh hop beers being any better or worse than the average IPA, I do appreciate the effort that brewers go through to bring the people a unique spin on a typical beer. All the ingredients, work, packaging, and yes...even marketing can't just be for show. There is simply too much labor and resources involved to be anything less than an effort to brew a better beer.

Fullers Vintage Ale 2009-2011

As this month's deadline fast approached for me to decide on what to drink, I found myself in a bit of a pickle. With a full fridge of beer, yet none in enough quantity to suffice for the purposes my experimentation, my only option was to go out and buy something at the store. However, I was determined not to purchase even more beer when I still needed to drink down what I had. Thankfully, the genius-lights popped on in the ol' thinktank and reminded me that in the back of my fridge I had 3 bottles of the same beer. Perfect for my needs. The only catch was that these 3 bottles would be my first foray into drinking a multi-year vertical flight.

The Beer:
For anyone not familiar with vertical tastings, it's essentially just a term for drinking different years productions of the same beer in succession to gauge the differences in each vintage. Certain vertical flights have recipe deviations from the brewers but the same base, while others are meant to examine the effects aging a beer has on its taste. Regardless of why or how the session is being conducted, then end result is almost always the same --- pleasantly drunk.

The oldest of my collection, the 2009 version of Fullers Vintage Ale was by far the most unique. Whether it was the variances or the age, this year had the most punch to it. Overall it tasted a little oakey and very malty. It poured heavily carbonated but faded quick. Slight alcoholic finish with a leathery palate. I also wrote down "dried figs, plums" (yes, I did take actual, physical notes. Why? Because I wanted to make it seem like I'm sophisticated and intelligent. I took these notes on a Crutchfield catalog I had in front of me as I watched a UFC fight between a 7 foot tall Dutch fighter and a Croatian firefighter. I am pure class!)

Next up was the 2010 vintage (see what I mean about intelligent...I know how to count!). This one poured out into my glass with a much larger head of fluffy white foam. The aroma was also a bit more fruity than the 2009. It had a more subdued taste profile yet also more hops on palate. And those random notes I jotted down? "Lemon, citrus tones. Slight alcoholic heat in finish." Huh...those actually seem like legitimate tasting notes. I should have had my monocle out when writing them.

Last was the 2011 naturally. And again, the amount and density of head increased from the previous beer. My only thought was that the bottle conditioning of these ales allowed for the carbonation levels to drop off significantly after 2 years or so. Aside from that difference, this year's version was the most IPA-like. It had distinct grapefruit, lemon, and citrus aromas as well as a more bitter, hop aftertaste. The malty base still retained the same qualities as the previous years, however this one seemed a bit thinner than the others. Also, I did not write down any notes as I was probably becoming too inebriated to care or remember to do so.

The Buzz:
Oh, what can be said about the wonderful side-effects to tasting 3 successive years of a finely crafted brew that boasts a pleasant 8.5% abv? Well, for one thing, in ensuring that I not over-drink my allotted amount, I chose to pour out 3 oz of every bottle into a taster glass leaving me with 14oz per beer for consumption  I figured a beer such as this, that lent it self to the medium - medium-high range of alcoholic content shouldn't be pushed to it's max. Nor should it be minimized however, especially considering these beers are one of a kind and would be very difficult to locate again. That all said, I have to say that the buzz I got from these 3 beers was near perfect. It came on slowly at first, creeping its way into my body with ease, and by the end I found myself to be in that perfect space of light-headed, relaxed enjoyment along with a sense of total clarity and recollection. I was happily full and satisfied with the 3 beers I had enjoyed that night. They lasted me a solid 2 1/2 hours and kept me company throughout a night of enjoying Ultimate Fighting.

The Hangover:
With such a great experience both in taste and imbibement, I was a bit concerned that the trifecta of awesomeness simply wouldn't occur. After all, 3 aged Vintage Ales with a blend of different ingredients and an impressive alcoholic content seemed like a likely candidate for a rough morning after. After passing out promptly, I slept through the night well only to be awoken to Murdoch asking for his breakfast. Although I was quite groggy, I managed to feed him and his brother with our normal morning routine before I could pass back out. Before doing so, I managed to drink a glass of water and pop a few Advil as my skull felt slightly fractured internally. Alas, that Advil couldn't put Humpty back together again. When I woke a couple hours later, the headache remained. Neither coffee nor shower alleviated it, nor did more pills that afternoon. Only time would heal this wound. 

The Verdict:
Ultimately, this first foray into vertical tasting flights was a success. All 3 Vintage Ales had their clear distinctions while remaining fairly universal in how they looked, smelled, and tasted. There was clear care taken in brewing these once-a-year specialties. And I felt that the happy & pleasant buzz they created trumped the moderately painful & annoying hangover. I certainly recommend Fullers Vintage Ales to anyone looking for a good brew or starting point in collecting beers. I only regret that it'll be at least another three years until I drink these again!