A long time ago, a good friend of mine and I listened to a great deal of music together.  We discovered countless bands, and went to several concerts.  We were devourers of music, with insatiable appetites.  Yet with all of the new bands we found, and the sonic discoveries that we unearthed, we would regularly return to certainly groups.  One of these was the band Lemon Jelly.  We listened to their amazing albums ’64-’95, and Lost Horizons, uncountable times.  I certainly encourage you to check out this band on your own, and maybe, you will find yourself as enamored as we once were.

One of the most memorable songs from Lemon Jelly was,

Time passed, as it does, and my music enthusiast friend and I grew disaquainted.

Then I made some new friends, those with less musically inclined tastes, but with voracious palates, nonetheless.  Palates, with a great penchant, for craft beer. These two gentleman and I shared many a beer, often seeking out rare and delicious stouts, juicy, piney, fresh, ipas, and many a mouth-puckering, berry-laden, vinegary, sour.

The real pleasure in meeting these gentleman, was that they were slowly honing their home-brewing skills, and developing some delicious recipes.

In time, these gentlemen moved away, not only from their garage brewing process, but quite a distance from living close by as well.

In time, we lost some connection, but not all.

Because one day, on my Facebook feed, I encountered this….

It was a posting highlighting four beers from the company that my two friends had grown from their humble, home-brewing roots, into their full-fledged commercial brewery dream, Ingenious Brewing Company.

The post highlighted four, Infinity-themed beers.

Soul – An imperial orange, chocolate milk stout.

Mind –  A New England style pale double IPA hopped excessively with Citra, and Mosaic hops.

Infinity Hopped – A Triple IPA dry hopped with six different hops,  and

Time – A bourbon barrel aged imperial stout, with vanilla beans, and cereal marshmallows.

Though all sounded quite delicious, I found myself saying,

“If I only had Time!”

A a long distance, digital, hand wave, a few warm, friendly, messages, an exchange of information, and a short time later, and I had Time in hand.

As a show of appreciation, and in recognition of the accomplishments of the Ingenious Brewing team, I thought it a good idea to bring a friend along, to do a little taste testing, of Time.

Judge #1 – This looks like darkness folded over ink, and is accented with a creamy, mocha, head, the body of which dissipates quickly, leaving a persistent coffee tinged ring pushing against the glass.  The pervasive element in the nose is that of fudge, followed by the scent of Lucky Charms, assumedly from the cereal marshmallow.  Slight notes of dark, chocolate malts, come through as well.  The body is rich, chewy, and heavy.  Intense chocolate notes dominate the taste, with hints of sweet vanilla, notes of caramel, and slight sugary elements rounding out the taste.  My only major critique of this beer is that it claims to be a bourbon barrel aged stout, and I taste zero influence from the barrel.  If it were stated to be an imperial stout, maybe of the “pastry’ or “dessert” variety,  something similar to a J. Wakefield stout, I might rate it a little higher.  But I prefer to taste bourbon, in my bourbon barrel aged stouts.  Maybe it just needed a little more time, in the barrel.  8/10

Judge #2 – This is a rich, opaque, dark, beautiful beer, with caramel highlights.  The initial impression from the nose is, “This is why I love stouts.”  It is sweet, and rich, but not in a bready way.  There are notes of chocolate as well.  The mouthfeel is smooth, not syrupy, but hits different areas of the palate, simultaneously.    A malty sweetness comes through first, caramel hits next, with a hint of chocolate, and vanilla comes through at the end.  “I really like it!” 8.5/10

I find myself saying, of this delicious beer, of my friends, and of life in general,

“If I only had MORE Time!”

Humbly yours,

J