Beer of the Week: Disk Crash

My writing career has been a steady one, particularly since I started my own business. (My boss is an overbearing taskmaster who never gives me a break, but it’s unlikely I’ll get fired.) But the series of positions that made up the “day-job” career that overlapped my (full-time) journalism side-hustle for 12 years was pretty lengthy. I’ve always been a hard worker who pours as much effort as I have to give into pursuits for my employers, but in the industries I worked in, the best way to climb the vocational ladder was to move from one company to another. Transitions are always hard, but especially when one has put forth so much effort into projects that they then must let go of in order to take on a new challenge. I have to figure that’s how former Modern Times Beer employee Kyle Fjalstad felt when he was forced to move on (along with many of his coworkers) when the business downsized, eliminating essentially all of its non-hospitality positions. Fjalstad had headed the company’s award-winning barrel-aged beer program, and had no choice but to leave countless ale-filled oak receptacles behind. Thankfully, Modern Times put those barrels up for sale, allowing Fjalstad to transfer some to his current place of employment, North Park brewpub The Original 40 Brewing. This has allowed him to continue nurturing their contents and releasing a stellar barrel-aged offerings, including this week’s featured beer, Disk Crash. Another in a growing line of monstrously alcoholic pastry stouts Fjalstad has released under the OG40 flag, this one is different in that it is not blended nor infused with any confectionary adjuncts such as vanilla, cacao, nuts or baking spices. Disk Crash gets all of its added flavor and complexity (and a significant percentage of its booziness) from the specialty malts in the base beer and the residual whiskey soaked into the Rittenhouse Rye barrel it slumbered in for the past half-decade. Rich, viscous and powerful, yet smooth and drinkable, Disk Crash features layer upon layer of flavor, changing as it warms to room temperature, making for a beer that can be enjoyed over the course of an hour without getting the least bit dull or repetitive. It’s a sipper that would be ideal to pick up now, then save to enjoy during the cooler holiday season. Cheers to that (and a break in this flingin’-flangin’ heatwave) and a master being reunited with brilliant assets born of his expert handiwork!

This is the first single-barrel release I’ve had at The Original 40. It is a 16.2% ABV (alcohol-by-volume) pastry stout aged in Rittenhouse Rye barrels for five years. This is the last remaining barrel of a certain tenth anniversary beer from my former place of employment, and that’s the primary reason I didn’t want to blend it with any other barrel. The aroma is a bit deceiving, with mostly sweet, chocolatey, brown-sugar notes, plus subtle alcohol and spice. But this is where the subtlety stops. The beer’s flavor hits hard with molasses, oak and booze leading to a finish of baking spice and some clove imparted by the rye barrels. As the beer warms, the real complexity shines through with notes of leather and dried dark-fruit notes. This one is designed for spirit-focused patrons. It has no adjuncts to hide behind…and why would it want to? This beer is an extrovert that demands attention on its own terms. Cheers!”

Kyle Fjalstad, Head Brewer, The Original 40 Brewing

The Original 40 Brewing is located at 3117 University Avenue in North Park