21 December 2015

743. Two Brothers Atom Smasher Octoberfest Lager

It's a little late for an Oktoberfest Lager, but it was on draft and I've never had - so, let's do this. 

And we're doing it. 
It's an Oktoberfest lager. 
There is nothing special about it - but it does have some good flavor to it. I could drink a bunch of them, but I also wouldn't go out of my way to drink this one. The recipe is solid, the flavor is tasty, but I have had better.




742. Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout

It's a little more dry than sweet - for my tastes. I've opened up to stouts and enjoyed quite a few - but I tend to prefer the sweeter ones than the dry. This has some good flavors, but I'm not a fan of how it leaves my mouth so dry. It does go down very smooth, though. 


741. Celis White

Pretty simple and refreshing standard witbier. I could drink a ton of them, but nothing stands out about this one. 


14 December 2015

740. Sam Adams Chocolate Bock

In 2013, Sam Adams did a Cherry Chocolate Bock. It was beer #423:


I feel like this beer is the same recipe minus the cherry. This is a fine beer, very smooth and no bitters. Lots of chocolate flavor, just a little dry in the end. 




13 December 2015

739. Sam Adams Holiday Porter

It's an okay Porter. 
Some nice chocolaty notes in the drink. It goes down pretty smooth, but it is severely dry on the back end. Not one of my favorite things I've drank. 




11 December 2015

738. Sam Adams Sparkling Ale

If Sam Adams made Miller Lite - this is what it would taste like. Same light beer, similar flavor with maybe a little extra to it. Definitely something on the back end. So, it's blah. Nothing special at all. 




08 December 2015

737. Three Floyd's Cherron Gose

Stayed with the sours for now - this one has a far superior flavor to it. Much more sour and lingers in the back corners of your mouth. It's not the best flavor - it calls itself cherry, but I don't really get much cherry flavor. It's just more of a generic sour flavor. It's good, it's enjoyable. I could drink a couple.


736. Sam Adams Kosmic Mother Funk Grand Cru

Very subtle sour flavors that hit the back of tongue when you drink, and then sits on your tongue once the drink is gone. It's interesting, sadly not that great. Had hopes for something a little better. 


04 December 2015

735. Sun King Rathskeller Amber

I really wanted to save this beer to try AT the Rathskeller - but it didn't happen. I ended up Sun King and needed something new to drink. 

It's good - but a pretty standard Amber. Nothing new or exciting. Great flavors, but nothing that stands out. 


734. Indiana City Peppermint Candy Cane Shadow Boxer

So, there is no name for this Firkin Beer. 
Shadow Boxer in a firkin with a bunch of Candy Canes.

The smell: AMAZING!!!
The drink: tastes like Shadow Boxer. 
Aftertaste: Lots of peppermint in the aftertaste. 

It's ok. Nothing special - but interesting. Happy to try it during this holiday season. 



Rachel, pouring the beer from the Firkin...



733. Indiana City Double Uddercut

I'm late to the game on this one. 
Really wanted a bottle of it, but they sold out fast two weeks ago. Finally got to drink one at the brewery. It's a nice and sweet beer. Good flavors, smoother stout than normal with that milky sweet flavor. Not something I normally would drink a lot of, but enjoyable. Glad I tried it. 



You KNOW you LOVE that SEXY artwork...  Don't you?  Yeah, I knew you did. And you should - if you have any common sense. Because...

29 November 2015

732. Stone Mutt Brown Imperial Ale

Very full and quality beer here. 
Tastes much more like a stout than a brown ale. The high gravity is noticeable and make some of the flavors stand out. Heavy chocolate and toffee flavors (which lead to the Stout flavor...).  Some fruit aromas, but none in the actual flavor. Goes down smooth, basically no bitterness at all. The standard quality I expect from Stone - finally with a low bitterness I can enjoy! 


731. New Belgium Eric's Ale Wild Ale

Nice and fruity mild sour ale. Not too sour on the front or back - with lots of fruity flavors. Smooth and no bitters. Enjoyable. 


25 November 2015

730. Black Acre Saucy Intruder

Pretty standard and decent beer - nothing too special. I like the rye flavors, but it still is pretty heavy on the bitter hops. It's not bad, and the rye upfront makes it a little smoother and easier to handle. Nothing special, and nothing I would go out of my way to drink, but it's ok. Just ok.


24 November 2015

729. New Belgium Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale

This is a beer that I have been excited about for a long time. It's taken a while for me to track down both the beer and the ice cream - I refused to do one without the other. Tonight, it finally happened. 

Brown Ales are my favorite, so tend to be the most picky about them. This one is really good, but not one of my favorites. It is the high quality that I expect from New Belgium, it has an amazing aroma that gets me ready to drink it - then things get confusing (but not in a bad way).  The full body starts really dry with some bitterness - I'm assuming this is to represent the salted flavor, it's quickly replaced with a nice and flavorful brown ale that I really enjoy, and then I get a nice long and lingering caramel flavor in my mouth. It's a nice and sweet finish to the dry start - until that bitterness bookends itself and shows up again to crush the caramel and leave me craving another drink to get that dry feeling out of my mouth. Overall, it's really enjoyable and I won't have a problem knocking out this six pack with the ice cream to go with it. 

Speaking of the ice cream - it is exactly what you would expect from Ben and Jerry's.  A nice and delicious base with some large chunks of brownie and lots of swirls of caramel. I think they did something to the brownie pieces to give it a salty flavor. My only question now: do I put some scoops of ice cream into a pint glass and make a Beer Float???


22 November 2015

728. Magic Hat Wilhelm "Scream"

Very full bodied and flavorful - but light on the pumpkin. I get some sweetness and some spice but not the bitterness. Goes down smooth and is pretty enjoyable for someone who doesn't like pumpkin.

Drank at my buddy Samir's house, so this was provided by him.  


16 November 2015

727. Against the Grain The Brown Note

Really good and enjoyable brown ale. Nice flavors, very full body with no dry bitterness at all. I could drink a lot of these and enjoy them. 

Miller showed me this beer online a long time ago, and it turns out he made it his mission to get them at Joe's. 




08 November 2015

726. Sun King Tip Off

It's a good beer, but I wish it was better. It's smooth with some really malty flavors, but it's not great by any means. I could drink a lot of them, but there are many other beers that I would rather be drinking. 


02 November 2015

725. Stone Stochasticity Project: Your Father Smelt Of Elderberries

Very different beer, not my typical thing. It's dry and bitter up front but then mellows itself out into some fairly tasty - but somewhat muted - flavors. 


30 October 2015

724. Redemption Boom Baby! Brown

Very standard brown ale. Good flavors, maybe a tiny bit watered down, but not bad. The flavors are still there and enjoyable. I could drink a good number of these in a night. Very enjoyable.


26 October 2015

723. Lagunitas New Dog Town Pale

I really want to like Lagunitas. I really do. I want to support their brewery and their vision. But I just can't find many of their beers I like. Obviously they are very into the West Coast Hoppy formula - and they do it well. I can tell the quality. This is supposed to a fruit forward beer, but I don't taste it long enough to mellow out the super dry and bitter backend. Very standard Pale Ale.


25 October 2015

722. Taxman Qualified

Very similar to the previous Taxman I drank tonight. Many similar flavors, although I suppose this one was a bit smoother. Also good quality, a little bit drier than their Dubbel, but still really enjoyable. Not something I will seek out, but something I could enjoy drinking.


721. Taxman Deduction

Pretty good Dubbel, but not something I would drink a lot.  Still decent enough.  Dry with some rye-like flavors. Almost no bitters.


24 October 2015

720. Brouwerij Rodenbach Grand Cru

A gift and high recommendation from my buddy Steve. He has just gotten into sours, so he's trying a lot of them and the we compare how many I have tried. This one came highly recommended from him, so much so that he bought me a bottle to make sure I tried it. 

It is really, really good. Amazing sour flavors up front, goes down super smooth and then leaves a nice sour puckering flavor in the back of your mouth. In Steve's own words: "Like I just ate a handful of Sour Patch Kids".


18 October 2015

719. Big Woods Brewing Martin's Pumpkin

Quaff On!
Big Woods. 
Whatever. Same company - legal garbage. Whatever. 

Standard Pumpkin Ale. Pretty light and easy to drink, with solid pumpkin flavors. Luckily it's not heavy like most of its competition. One of the better pumpkins I've had. But still nothing out of the ordinary. 


718. Chilly Water Peter Paul Porter

It's a really good beer, that I just wish was better. It's good. I like it and I enjoy it. Not too bitter, very chocolate flavors. I just can't taste any coconut. I like it, and I'm going to enjoy a few of them...  Maybe I built up too much hope in my mind???


17 October 2015

717. BIER Belgian Blonde

I live one mile away from BIER Brewery, and this is only the second beer I have ever tried from them. It's good, but much like the previous Belgian I tried - it's much drier than I expect it to be. This one is enjoyable. Drinkable. Goes down smooth and easy and has good flavors. Still dry and bitter on the backend, which is my only complaint. 


16 October 2015

716. Blind Owl Milk Stout

Pretty standard milk stout - but the chocolate notes really stand out in the back half. Sadly, it's got a pretty bitter aftertaste. The lactose doesn't seem to smooth it out as much as some other milk stouts I've had. Still very drinkable. 


10 October 2015

715. Evil Twin Ryan and the Beaster Bunny

I love to see a beer with live and active yeast floating in it!!!  Lovely citrusy aromas come off and his beer goes down so quick and smooth. It has a sleightly heavier body than I would expect, but nothing that hurts the flavors. Very delicious and enjoyable.

Yet another gift from my buddy Jae - who deserves special recognition for the beers he has donated to me for this website!  Cheers, Jae-Lao!


714. Goose Island Oktoberfest

This was a gift from my buddy Jae, and sadly didn't get drank during the official Oktoberfest 2015.  Sadly, life was pretty busy and hectic for those two weeks and not much new beer was drank - but I did still enjoy some quality Oktoberfest beers, just none of them were anything new.

So, finally cleaning out my refrigerator and got to this one. It's decent. Nothing spectacular. A good offering from Goose that has some really nice notes to it, but they aren't enough to make it stand out. Also a little drier than I tend to enjoy. I'd still drink it, especially if I was celebrating the season in Chicago. 


713. Ommegang Iron Throne Blonde Ale

This was the first and original "Game of Thrones" beer that Ommegang did - the one that sold out everywhere super fast. I was very happy when I heard they were re-releasing all of their "GoT" beers this year.

Delicious Blonde, wonderfully amazing aromas and flavors. So happy I got to drink this - as Ommegang never fails to produce quality beers. 


712. Books & Brews Dubbledore's Magic Ale

I'm really glad I was convinced to give Books & Brews another chance. Last year when I tried them I was not impressed with their watery offerings.

I actually really enjoyed this beer and look forward to buying it in the future to drink more. Really good and flavorful offering, a very quality Dubbel. 


711. Indiana City Murder by Pumpkin

Very standard pumpkin ale.
Taste good, but nothing fantastic. 
Smooth, light, refreshing. 
Perfect for this time of the year, if you enjoy pumpkin - and I've gone on record saying I don't. Except at this time of the year. 


26 September 2015

710. Blind Owl Phantom Forest Oktoberfest

Really tastes like a Light-Oktoberfest.
It goes down really quick and smooth, but still has a lot of the flavor without the bite. I like it, despite the fact that it doesn't really feel like I'm drinking a true Oktoberfest beer. I will be excited to try this next fall, and see if they improve the recipe a bit. 


709. Brugge Pooka

Really good sour, not the best I've ever had, but I am enjoying it a lot. Good flavors, wasn't sure about Boysenberry, but it's nice. Really good sour flavor that I enjoy. 


708. Redemption Alewerks RecMyPumpkin

This tastes exactly how it sounds, and it awkwardly works. Very smooth potter flavors with some pumpkin flavors that creep in while you drink. The vanilla kicks in late and stays a while, making it refreshing in the end. I wouldn't want to drink a lot of these - but at this time of the year, one a night is almost perfect. 


707. Redemption Alewerks Deliverance IPA

Solid IPA. 
And that's coming from a guy who doesn't really like IPAs. The flavors are there, the bitterness is there, and it's pretty smooth with no bad aftertaste. Probably their best beer I've had - which is weird. But, I can taste the quality of this. 


706. Redemption Alewerks Atonement

A pale ale brewed with Citra Hops makes for an interesting flavor. While it retains very dry and bitter hop flavors, you can really tell that they have been tamed down with a bit of sweetness. My only dislike is the aftertaste. It's pretty good going down, but the lingering flavors just aren't enjoyable. 


705. Redemption Alewerks Nitro FourFathers

Typical Cream Ale. It's fine, nothing special, but not bad. Exactly what I was expecting. Not much to say about it. 




704. Redemption Alewerks Pineapple Pitstop

Yet another American Wheat. Luckily, this one isn't terrible at all. It's nice and smooth and whatever pineapple flavors it carries really helps with the taste of the beer. It's not super-pineapple-smash-in-your-face, but nice and subtle. Very enjoyable, and one of the few American Wheats that I can enjoy. 


703. Redemption Alewerks Salvation

There is a lot going on in this beer. Again, it's an American Wheat, very light and not what I want or expect from a Wheat Beer. The orange flavor comes with the drink and its followed up with the honey and a peppery taste on the back end. I think it accomplishes what they wanted, but I'm not really a fan. 


05 September 2015

702. Tow Yard Hula Hoop Girl Belgian Witbier

I tried Tow Yard last year, and was not impressed at all. A year and a half later, and their core line up hasn't changed or gotten more appealing to me. I tried one that I knew I hadn't had before, and it was beyond disappointing. It's not a terrible beer, but there is nothing appealing about the dry flavor of this beer.