794. Three Floyds – Alpha Klaus
We had a great Christmas eve, Christmas, and weekend following the holiday. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much chance to enjoy some good beer. The good news was that my sister went to Cincinnati and brought back several beers for me, including this one. I don’t know how they can get this in Cincinnati, and we’re located 2.5 hours from Chicago and can’t get it here in central Illinois. I’ve heard a lot...
793. Founders Brewing – 2015 Blushing Monk
We’ve had a really great day, relaxing, watching football, and introducing the kids to a few new Christmas movies, like Home Alone and National Lampoon’s Christmas vacation. While watching movies, I thought I’d crack open this beer, which I’ve been looking forward to trying. There’s something about raspberries and beer I enjoy, so I was glad when I was able to find this at our local Hy Vee grocery store...
792. Evil Twin Brewing – Molotov Cocktail Imperial IPA
It’s been a pretty relaxing Friday night. We couldn’t really go out and do anything, since my son has been sick the last four days, and we needed to stay home tonight. I finished up my review of Dogfish Head Sixty-one, and I’m settling into watch a movie and do another review. I’d heard of Evil Twin Brewing, and was looking forward to trying it, but couldn’t find it anywhere near me. However, when I was...
791. Dogfish Head – Sixty-One IPA
My son has been sick all week, so my wife and I have had to juggle staying home this week to be here with him. Today, I went into work in the morning, and then spend the afternoon working from home. Now that work is done for the day, it’s time for a beer. I bought a six pack of this beer a few months ago on our vacation to Washington DC. I hadn’t seen it before, and the label says it is a continually hopped India Pale Ale,...
790. O’Fallon Brewery – Vanilla Pumpkin Beer
It’s Thanksgiving day, and we’ve spent the morning preparing the meal for our families. Now that family is arriving, it’s time to relax a little bit and grab a beer. My wife bought this one for me right before Halloween, since she knows I’m a pumpkin beer fan. I like O’Fallon’s pumpkin beer and named it one of my top pumpkin beers. Therefore, I’m looking forward to trying this one. Location:...
789. Flat 12 Bierwerks – Half Cycle IPA
It’s been a busy weekend with my son’s birthday. On Friday, my son and five friends stayed up until about 2 a.m., and then Satuday night we had a family party. Now that everything has calmed down, I decided to break into some of the craft beers my friend Kevin brought me from Indianapolis. I already reviewed the growlers of Triton O’Rye-n Galaxy and Nutty Professor Peanut Butter Brown Ale he brought, so I thought...
788. SanTan Brewing – Moon Juice Galactic IPA
We had almost nothing going on this weekend, so we started putting out some of our Christmas decorations. I’ve spent most of the last couple of days putting lights on our massive 12 foot Christmas tree. This beer arrived a couple of weeks ago, in another delivery from SanTan Brewing. I love getting a notification every few months that beers are on their way to my house from them. Location: Poured into a TEKU glass from the can at my...
787. Bridgeport Brewing – Tilikum Crossing Orange Line IPA
It’s been a super busy day with a lot of meetings at work. Tonight, my wife is out at a girls’ night wine party. My friend Betty sent this beer a few weeks ago (along with a note encouraging me to come back out to Portland for a visit). The beer commemorates the opening of the Orange line for Portland’s Tri Met train and so Betty included a brochure explaining it. The bottle says, “What happens when...
786. Triton Brewing – Nutty Professor Peanut Butter Brown Ale
It’s been pretty busy at work, and I’ve been looking forward to breaking this one open. So, when I got home and had dinner, I was ready for it. This is another beer from my friend Kevin from Indianapolis. Before his visit last week, he called and gave me a choice of several beers that were on tap. He suggested their French toast saison (which sounds awesome), but ever since I brewed a peanut butter cup stout a few years...
785. Sierra Nevada – Blindfold Black IPA
We are having a Halloween party tomorrow night, and so I was in our basement getting my homebrew ready. You can see the taps in the background of this picture. While I was working on it, I decided to grab a beer out of the beer fridge in the basement. I still have a few of these left over from the 4-way IPA case I picked up a little while ago. The bottle says, “Blindfold Black IPA features a blend of hop varieties whose bright,...
784. Triton Brewing – O’Rye-n Galaxy
It’s been a pretty good Saturday so far, watching my son’s last fall soccer game and working on the yard for a bit. Yesterday, my buddy Kevin from Indianapolis dropped off one of the greatest donations ever, which included many, many beers from Indianapolis and a Westy 12 he picked up on his recent trip to Belgium. I can’t thank him enough. Since he brought a couple growlers, I figured I’d better break into...
783. DC Brau Brewing – The Corruption IPA
It’s Thursday night and the weekend is almost here. I caught up a lot at work today and I have a fraternity brother, Kevin, stopping through tomorrow with a shipment of great beers. When I looked in the beer fridge tonight, I realized I had better make some room for the stuff that he’s bringing. Therefore, I decided to grab this IPA I picked up on our summer vacation to Washington DC. The can says, “In 1824, speaker...
782. Buckledown Brewing – Belts & Suspenders IPA
I had work meetings up in Chicago again today, and on my way home, I decided to stop in Lexington, IL again for a beer at the new Kemps Upper Tap. Somehow, this little bar (although it’s probably four times bigger than the old place), manages to get the best craft beers in central Illinois. It’s about 10 miles north of my house, so it’s a nice stop on the way home. I haven’t really heard of this brewery...
781. Sierra Nevada- Ruthless Rye IPA
It was a long day at work today, and when I got home, I did some work out in the yard. So, after having a tiny bite to eat, I thought I’d relax for a bit and enjoy one of the Sierra Nevada IPAs I had in the fridge from the 4-Way IPA case I picked up a few weeks ago. The bottle says: Ruthless Rye IPA is brewed with rustic grains for refined flavors, combining the peppery spice of the rye and the bright citrus flavors of the...
780. Notch Brewing – Left of the Dial IPA
I’m in Boston on my wife’s work trip, and we took a beer tour of the city with Boston Brew Tours. After stopping at Sam Adams Brewery Tour and Down East Cider House, we went to Meadhall for lunch. We had a great lunch, which was paired with SoMe Brewing’s Whoopie Pie Stout. After lunch, our new guide said he liked this beer. Therefore, I had to give it a try, especially since I hadn’t heard of this brewery...
779. SoMe Brewing – Whoopie Pie Stout
My wife got a work trip to Boston, and we decided to take a beer tour of the city with Boston Brew Tours. After stopping at Sam Adams Brewery Tour and Down East Cider House, we went to Meadhall for lunch. Since I mentioned to our guide that I like barrel aged imperials, he suggested this beer as one of the six they were offering with the lunch that was paid for with the tour. The lunch consisted of meatloaf, chicken wings, fries, a...
778. Goose Island – Lolita (2013)
This past Monday, I had to go back up to Mayo Clinic to see my cardiologist. the good news is that my heart is back to a normal size and I can start to ween off the medications (over the next couple years). The bad news is that he’s concerned about my weight gain and cholesterol. Admittedly, I’ve not been good about eating well this past year. He recommended I start dieting immediately, so I did. I’ve been very good...
777. Against the Grain – Kentucky Ryed Chiquen
As I mentioned in my last post, I was up in Chicago for work today, and on my way home, I decided to stop in Lexington, IL at Kemp’s Upper Tap. This small bar in a small town always seems to have the best beers around. It must help that one of the big local craft beer distributors is located just up the street from them. When I saw this beer on the list, I knew I had to get it. I’d heard about how good it was, and then...
776. Ballast Point – Grapefruit Sculpin
I was up in Chicago today for work, and on my way home, I decided to stop in Lexington, IL to see the new Kemp’s Upper Tap bar. Although it’s about 15 minutes north of Bloomington-Normal and is a super small town, this bar seems to get more good beers on tap than any other place nearby. It seems like the different flavored Ballast Point Sculpin beers have been pretty popular lately, so I thought I’d give this one a...
775. Sierra Nevada – Golden IPA
We returned from vacation on Friday and we’ve been recovering the last couple days. It’s given me a few hours to catch up on reviews, which inspired me to do one. Right before we left, I bought a “4-way IPA” case of Sierra Nevada beers. I thought I’d give one of them a try. On the bottle it says: Hoppy, light-boddied IPAs have become a hallmark of the West Coast style of brewing, and our Golden IPA is as...
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