Four years of big beers

Pints Alehouse again is digging deep into its cellar to celebrate its fourth anniversary this weekend.

The North Side pub will tap five different specialties from its stockpile both Friday and Saturday starting at 3 p.m., along with a world-class IPA.

“It’s just a celebration of cellaring beer – or a cellar-bration, as we call it,” says Derek Quist, who owns Pints along with his wife, Patricia.

He has 50 to 60 kegs aging in the basement at any given time, dating back to 2013.

“When anniversary time approaches, I start identifying those beers I think are the best of the best in the cellar,” Quist says. “We want the best beers to represent us for our anniversary.”

This year’s lineup includes:

FRIDAY

– 2015 Lost Abbey Track 10 (Serpent’s Stout aged in bourbon barrels with coffee and cacao nibs, 13.5 percent alcohol by volume)

– Gulden Draak Brewmaster’s Reserve (Belgian strong dark ale aged in whiskey barrels, 10.5 ABV)

– 2014 Port Older Viscosity (Old Viscosity imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, 12)

– 2013 Midnight Sun Arctic Devil (English-style barleywine aged in port, wine and whiskey barrels, 13.2)

– 2013 Dogfish Head World Wide Stout (massively malted Russian imperial stout, 18)

– Alpine Duet IPA (highly touted West Coast IPA hopped with Simcoe and Amarillo, 7)

SATURDAY

– 2015 Firestone Walker Parabola (Russian imperial oatmeal stout aged in bourbon barrels, 13.1)

– 2015 The Bruery Cuivre (blend of six vintages of English old ales aged in bourbon barrels, 16.2)

– 2013 Midnight Sun Berserker (Russian imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, 12.7)

– 2016 Avery Tweak (coffee-infused imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, 17.5)

– 2015 Stillwater Artisanal Ales Cellar Door (Belgian-style farmhouse ale brewed with sage, 6.6)

– Plus the Alpine Duet, assuming it’s still around.

Asked about his personal favorites, Quist singles out the Arctic Devil – “probably one of my favorite barleywines of all time” – and the Parabola. “I consider that a top five beer,” he says.

Quist also is excited to try the Gulden Draak, a rarity that he picked up in Seattle from an importer who only received two kegs.

And he’s looking forward to talking about the beers as well. “I always have people asking, aren’t you supposed to drink beer fresh?” Quist says. “It’s kind of fun to educate people about how the right beers will evolve.”

All the offerings will be available in 5.5-ounce tasters – so you can safely sample several – as well as full pours, which will range from 10 to 12 ounces instead of full pints (except for the IPA).

“They’re pretty high-octane, so we want to control the amount of intake,” Quist says.