RedHook Treblehook Barley Wine Ale

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The sun is shining, the breeze is warm, and like Julie Andrews on crystal meth, I feel like running all around the city and singing that these are a few of my favorite things! (Warning, the tune is off. wayyyyy off.)

1) Seeing places I know and love in television commercials and movies, especially places in San Francisco or Seattle,

2) A great song on the jukebox when work is really taking off on a Friday night,

3) Finding surprise money in my pocket, or on the sidewalk, a la last weekend! And of course,

4) Any store with an amazing, blow-my-mind beer selection. And I'm rarely disappointed with the beer options when visiting my local Whole Foods. They have all the good stuff, and lately I've noticed that they are slowly bringing in new Italian brews, too. Side note:  Anyone who has been paying attention may has likely heard a lot of buzz about the renaissance of Italian brewing - and if you haven't been paying attention (Beuller?) here is an interesting and informative link from my Brewmaster crush and all-around genius, Mr. Garrett Oliver:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFXgigwAM5g



Lately, on visits to Whole Paycheck Foods, I've had my eye on a certain barley wine, which admittedly helps keep me distracted from my shrinking wallet upon my departure from the store. In this case, the brew of note is the RedHook Treblehook Barley Wine Ale. That's a lot of words in one delicious title. WOW. Poured from a beautiful frosted bottle, this 650 mL ale checks in at a delightful 10.1% ABV -- not too low, not too high. This must be the Goldilocks of barley wines, and it is jusssssst riiiiiight. Doug McNair must have known that he was creating something amazing with this limited release. It comes as no surprise that this ale has taken home both gold and silver medals from the GABF in the past two years.

In a glass, it's the color of old, worn pennies. In your mouth, it is smooth and sumptuous caramel, toffee, hops, and chocolate. Maybe not in that order. The hops are definitely there, but they seem to be waving at you from afar, making sure that the finish is perfect like an Almond Roca, but just a tad less sweet. Sip after sip felt like a great date that should never end. When it came time for the last drop, it kissed me goodnight, and I'm pretty sure I swooned.