By now you already know that our third Brooklyn Quarterly Experiment, the notable barleywine-style ale Hand & Seal, has been released into the wild. A good many of you are likely out right now, scouring the shelves and calling bottle shops to hunt down this limited release. Unfortunately, the deck is stacked against some of you: the proud – but beleaguered – beer faithful in the great state of Ohio.
Despite the ongoing efforts of brewers and enlightened politicians in the state legislature, beer cannot be sold in Ohio if the alcohol content is above 12%. As Hand & Seal bubbled away in the tanks we did our best to explain this to the yeast, but they proved to be poor listeners. When the beer finally came out of the barrels at 13.3%, we realized we had blown past that limit and wouldn’t be able to share this creation with our friends in Ohio. It upset us so deeply that we were forced to have a few bottles of Hand & Seal to ease our pain. (Hey, we said it was a limited release. We never said why.)
Ohio, you’ll have to travel a bit, but we hope you can track down a bottle. When you find it, try to remember that good things come to those who cellar, but we’ll understand if you drink it right away. We don’t hesitate to say that it’s worth it.