It’s always a good start to the weekend getting a group text from your friend: “Hey, I brought back a different beer from each of the countries I’ve visited in Europe and I’d like to host a bottle share.” Granted, this friend would be flying back that morning! So, round up the troops, snag a couple of brews from our stash and head on down the way.

Evil Twin Brewing | Mission Gose 4.0%

The night started off a little rushed – arriving two beers deep. Lucky for us, we have cool friends who saved the tail end of both beers. Evil Twin’s Mission Gose poured into the glass like a murky, unfiltered grapefruit juice. In comparison to the glasses of our friends (they say), it was far more dense and full of the dregs at the bottom. This great Gose favors the fruity side as opposed to the sweaty-salt others seem to provide. ET was clearly the overall winner for the night – with two brews breaking into the top.

Surly Brewing | Pentagram 6.66%

In true PorchDrinking fashion, we worked our way through several unique brews. Discussing what each beer tastes like and the memories they uncover. It was interesting to hear the shear segregation put upon Sion Kölsch. We heard, ‘I just don’t like Kölsch’, while others defend the style based off the fact, ‘We don’t serve it right.’ Pentagram, an American Wild Ale, caused its own conversation, being not as much fuss over the taste, but we should have taken a picture with a burning Pentagram on the ground (an idea that had legs and if pushed probably could have happened). Pentagram pours a burnt cherry brown and smells tart fig with Brett. The taste was favorable amongst the group with tart fruit and a sweet sugar finish.

Cantillon Brewing | Cuvee Saint-Gilloise 5.0%

Then, the big Belgium guns comes out. Anticipation is always high when a Cantillon is being carefully, but not skillfully, uncapped and uncorked. We can all agree, there are times when it’s almost a disservice to overhype something. That being said, Cuvee Saint-Gilloise is a solid brew. It pours a murky orange peel color and smells of dusty, bitter citrus. The flavor is sour fruit with a cabernet-dry finish. Welcome to America delicious brew, we love your hype!

Evil Twin Brewing | James Beer 3.5%

Kudos to Evil Twin for having two brews shake their way into this Ultimate 6er! Now, we’ve talked about hype when discussing Cantillon, but if there were a blind taste test with James Beer vs. Cuvee Saint-Gilloise, people may have thought this was the Loon. James Beer is a Berliner Weisse brewed with olives and strawberries with the first pour giving the essence of olive. One of the most complex beers of the night, taking you on a scenic journey. A bright bitterness with strawberry to finish. We were lucky to get the tail end of this bottle too, where we were promptly told, “Give me a splash, I like my martini dirty.”

Dark Horse Brewing Co. | Double Crooked Tree 12.0%

Every good bottle share has the inevitable appearance of that unintended bottle – the beer someone didn’t plan on sharing, but once it appears, it was going to be consumed. Rifling through a collection of rare and desirable bottles from many coveted breweries from across the globe, an IPA seemed most appropriate given the overall theme of the night. Dark Horse’s Double Crooked Tree is a huge, hoppy drink coming in with a ‘knock you on the floor’ abv. Initial thoughts remind us of Odell’s Myrcenary with a malty backbone. This was a nice transition for the night, being both a palette wrecker and cleanser all-in-one.

Cigar City Brewing | Jose Martí 8.0%

It’s pleasing to end the night with an old favorite. Up until recently, Cigar City’s Jose Martí was our favorite Porter (taken over by Smog City‘s Coffee Stout), a hopped up version of the style that has many intricate parts. Drinking Jose Martí, which is a brew dedicated to Cuban independence from Spain, brings back the humid warmth of Florida. This porter has a ripe hop smell with a dark, robust malt . It pours black-coffee brown and tastes like well-cooked and sugar glazed hops. CC does a lot of things great and this staple is one of them.

Please forgive us as this post is full of misquotes and not nearly enough fuss or tasting notes. Nevertheless, we did have a good time trying a lot of interesting beers, many of which probably deserved to make the 6er. Thanks to everyone who contributed and we did try to blur the innocent photo bombers.

What would be the Ultimate 6er shakedown from your bottle share?

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