Founders Nemesis Release: it’s like Christmas Day for beer geeks

Take a deep breath. Today is the official release of Michigan’s Founders Brewing Company’s 2010 edition of their Nemesis barleywine. The 2010 version is a true American barleywine, different from last year’s Nemesis, which was a maple bourbon-aged wheatwine. Either way, it’s a big beer (in the alcohol department) that’s well-crafted with lots of flavor. The brewery accidentally leaked some of the beer earlier this summer, much to the chagrin of beer geeks in the Midwest. Is it worth the hype? That’s up to you, but so far, the leaked bottles of Nemesis 2010 have netted a respectable A- on Beer Advocate.

The tasting notes on the Nemesis 2010 from the brewery:

A dark barley wine that pours black with a subtle mahogany hue. Brewed with 5 malts and no shortage of hops for a pleasantly bitter booming flavor. Roasty and toasty with a multitude of tastes that melts on your tongue.

Sounds enjoyable. And at 12.0% ABV, it’s best enjoyed in small quantities.

Quite a few beer bars in New York will be celebrating the Nemesis release today. Here’s a roundup of those releases:

In Manhattan, Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) and Hop Devil Grill (129 St. Marks Pl., at Ave. A, East Village) will tap their kegs at 4pm and Puck Fair (298 Lafayette St., at Houston St., Soho) will open the floodgates on their one little barrel at 6pm. George Keeley (485 Amsterdam Ave., at 83rd St., Upper West Side) will tap theirs at 6pm, but also offer up Founders’ impeccable Kentucky Breakfast Stout - a bourbon-barrel aged stout with coffee and chocolate undertones.

In Brooklyn, 4th Avenue Pub (76 4th Ave., at Bergen St., Boerum Hill) will tap their keg at 3pm, along with Founders’ Black Biscuit - a biscuity and molassesy (I know, not a word) old ale that clocks in at 10.5% ABV. The Double Windsor (215 Prospect Park West, at 16th St., Windsor Terrace) will pour it beginning at 7pm, as will The Gate (321 5th Ave., at 3rd St., Park Slope), which will also pour Cerise, Founders’ delicious summer seasonal, fermented with Michigan cherries. You can also take it home from Bierkraft (191 5th Ave., at Berkeley Pl., Park Slope) starting this afternoon.

Don’t forget Queens! Sunswick 35/35 (35-02 35th St., at 35th Ave., Astoria) will pour Nemesis 2010 beginning at 7pm. And up in Westchester, you get a chance to take your Nemesis home: DeCicco’s Marketplace (21 Center St., at Village Green, Ardsley) is offering growler fills and bottles starting at noon today.