Crosby's Kitchen & CocktailBeer

On this 10-year mark, Midnight Sun Brewing Company proudly releases its 1000th batch of beer - a larger-than-life Belgian-style Barley Wine (if such a style exists) simply called M - in commemoration of the enduring spirit that founded and sustains this little brewery in the extreme Northwest. Making M required a massive grain bill - seven seductive malts - boosted by strength-inducing Belgian candi sugar. Once original gravity hit 37 Plato, a frenzied fermentation ensued: four completely fabulous yeast strains, two of Belgian origin, transformed this sweet concoction into all that is beer. But not just any beer. A beer of madcap magnitude - 11.6% ABV. Character and complexity increased exponentialy while M meddled and mellowed for several months in all-American bourbon oak barrels. Blending the aged beer before bottling ascertained smoothness. M is mesmerizing, pouring dark and silky. Caramel and spice waft up from the glass; bourbon, molasses, leather and vanilla follow. The first taste proffers tobacco, burnt sugar and raisin with a sublime port-like finish, but bourbon - smooth, sensuous, brooding bourdon - is ever-present. The finish, a bit edgy like an American take on barley wine, provides the necessary leap toward overall balance. M is a precious gift to ourselves as well as you, seekers of beer-that-is-beyond-beer adventures... We are but mere mortals in the presence of M.

"Reimagined" for 2015. ABV increased to 7.0%. IBU's at 55. Also a slightly different hop profile, Citra, Michigan grown Cascade, and Centennial hops.

Brown Ale aged in French oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with the addition of Michigan cherries and heavily inoculated with Brettanomyces.

Madness & Civilization is a panorama of our barrel aging program—oak-aged beers that emerge from their individual silences to find structure and voice as a unified composition. This is the result of an unpredictable state of permanent happenstance—a dialogue with our evolving approach to blending that challenges convention and circumstance. Each release will include multiple threads and is likely to approximate the style of an imperial stout. Release #4: Tragedy (et al) aged in Bourbon barrels for 24 months—with Cacao, Ancho and Chipotle.

Progressively hopped with the all-mighty Simcoe. Conditioned on heaps of fresh mango.

The fifth beer made with our brew buddies, Three Floyds. A big and ballsy, tasty Barley wine following the same path as the previous “Goops” made available. This time with corn taking over the throne.