Beer Me! Party at Nebraska Brewing Company

The good folks at Nebraska Brewing Company were all set to dump a barrel of beer that had turned undrinkable. They even asked me to do the honors at the dumping party, scheduled for this Thursday, December 16.

But miracles do happen:

2 months ago, this beer totally sucked ass. It was the 3rd time we'd tasted this beer over its time in the barrel and we'd resigned ourselves to dumping this poor little experiment.

Fast forward to Friday... As we're emptying barrels for the Melange & Saison bottling, it came time to get the experiment from the oak barrel and into a keg for our little dumping party.

Moments prior to emptying, Tyson decided to taste it one last time - and get our final, personal laughs prior to execution.

As he raised an eyebrow and handed me the glass - it actually smelled pretty freakin' cool.
He had a smile on his face as I tasted it and remarked that this was a damn good beer...

So we kinda learned a few lessons here. First, don't rush things (it's now 8 months I think). Second, the maturation curve for barrel aged beer differs greatly from new oak through other variants. And maybe lastly, Vinnie said listen to your beer - it will tell you when it's ready.

This one was pretty tight lipped.

So they're still going to have a party on Thursday — tapping their new Chilli Vanilli Cask Smoked Porter with Ancho Chili and Mexican Vanilla Beans — and I'll still be there, but the only beer I'll be dumping will be going from my glass down my esophagus. Come down to Papillion and have a beer with me; I'll be at the bar around 6pm.