     Nemesis 2009 (Founders Brewing Company)
The Founders site describes their first "Nemesis" release thusly, "What you have here is a rarity. A special, one-of-a-kind ale that is only made once a year. Sometimes that’s all. Forever. No more. Nada. Limited-time only. You never know what you’re gonna get. But you can be sure that it’ll be damn tasty." The 2009 Nemesis release is certainly special and one-of-a-kind, in fact I don't think I've had anything that comes close to what I am about to drink.
The best description I could find of this beer was from Founders VP and Marketing Director. He was quoted in the Kalamazoo Gazette saying:
"The 2009 release of Nemesis is best described as a Maple Bourbon barrel aged wheat wine holding 12% abv and 70 ibu’s. The barrels have been resting deep in the mines of Grand Rapids for nearly 9 months and have been most effective in developing a great product. The Bourbon barrels we used in this creation were once used to age Maple syrup from northern Michigan, then emptied, and procured for our use in aging this beer. The combination of American oak, Kentucky Bourbon, Michigan Maple syrup and our golden/tan wheat ale has provided a delicious malty sweet ale distinctive of strong vanilla and bourbon notes.” Here we go...
Pour - beautiful, clean, clear, dark amber in color with some reddish-orange highlights. This pours viscous into the glass, it reminds of the density of wine as it floods the glass and forms a thin white head. The bubbles are a treat to watch as they cascade upwards. Great looking beer.
Aroma - this is a complex beer to describe. I smell bourbon for sure but also some sweet caramel, oranges, alcohol, burnt sugar, rum, lemon and some subtle hints of candied apples.
Taste - Nemesis packs a punch right off the bat. My tongue recoils from the bitter alcohol kick this brings but this is quickly smoothed over by some sweet fruity notes, some caramel or burnt sugar flavors, candied citrus and definitely the bourbon and vanilla you'd expect. Do I taste some hoppy bitterness? Could be. The flavors from the actual wheatwine seem a bit subdued and thus the barrel-aging and the alcohol really take the center stage. There is a ton of complexity to this beer and I definitely recommend drinking this at a warmer temperature. Let those flavors come out. Very unique and very impressive. This is a sipper for sure.
Overall - I don't really know what I was expecting but I certainly got strong and flavorful with plenty of bourbon flavors and alcohol warmth. There is a good amount of depth to 2009's Nemesis but it still has some serious heat. I am going to keep my other bottle in the cellar until next winter and crack it on a very cold night.
Would I buy more of it? - yes, I am really looking forward to what Founders comes up with for their Nemesis 2010 release!
Note - Click on the Nemesis bottle below and you'll be taken to site where you can watch a video tour of the mine in which Founders ages some of their beers!
Posted by Russ Labels: Wheatwines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
