676. Green Man Brewing – IPA
Well, we agreed on an offer on a new house today! It’s exciting and nerve racking all at the same time. So, to take the edge off, I thought I’d grab a beer. This is another one of the group of beers my sister brought back for me from her trip to Asheville, NC this past fall. The bottle says, “Green man India pale ale is delectably hoppy with a properly balanced body. Generous hop additions give it a wonderful...
675. Bell’s Brewing – Porter
It’s Valentines Day and with everything we have going on, we’re having dinner at home. I went into the fridge to find something to enjoy and found this one hiding in back. I’m not quite sure when I got it, but it is a bottle with batch number 10212 on it. Location: Poured into a curved pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 5.6% ABV, 1.055 OG, ~140 Calories Appearance & Aroma: It’s dark brown,...
674. Avery Brewing – 2009 Mephistopheles’ Stout
It’s Wednesday night, and my wife and kids are out at a class, so I sat down to really take time and enjoy this one. I was working on the review earlier for number 666 Lucifer, and remembered I had this one stashed away in the beer fridge. I picked it up at the local liquor store, because I couldn’t believe that it was actually 16.83% ABV. I had to give it a try, but I knew I should probably give it some time to mellow....
673. Lost Abbey – Double Red Poppy
My dad is in town for the weekend, and we decided to go out to dinner with him tonight. We’d been to Firehouse Pizza Pub in Normal, IL once and I thought the pizza sauce was way too sweet. However, since they had some pretty good beers on tap, I thought I’d give it another chance. We had their New York style pizza and it was actually pretty good (less sauce). After hearing the beer selection, I decided to go for this one,...
672. Kona Brewing – Big Wave Golden Ale
We picked up Buffalo Wild Wings dinner and I sat down with this beer to watch the Olympics opening ceremonies. This beer was given to me by my wife as part of a mixed 6-pack she bought me for my birthday. Since my birthday was back in September, I figured I’d better have this lighter beer soon. Location: Poured into a chalice glass at my home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 4.4% ABV, 21 IBUs, 10.3° Plato OG, ~110 Calories...
671. Asheville Brewer’s Alliance / Green Man – 2013 Hoppy Saison
We just got back from looking at a house we might buy and now we’re making pizza and settling in to watch the first night of the Olympics. Home buying is stressful and so I needed a beer when I got home. My sister brought this beer back for me from her vacation in Asheville, NC. It’s a collaboration beer from all the breweries in Asheville. It’s a limited release of only 999 bottles, so my sister felt this would be a...
670. Penn Brewery – Märzen
I’m home from work a bit early and the snow is just starting to fall. Everyone’s in a bit of a panic, since we’re supposed to get between 8-10 inches of snow tonight. After throwing some salt on the driveway, I reached in the beer fridge and grabbed this beer. My dad and sister gave me this beer, along with many others, when they stopped at the brewery for lunch when they were in Pittsburgh. The bottle says,...
669. French Broad Brewing – Rye Hopper Ale
This is another one of the many beers my sister brought back for me from her trip to Asheville, NC in the fall. I had a craving for a rye IPA, so I was happy to find this rye pale ale in the beer fridge. Location: Poured into a slightly curved pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 5.9% ABV, 59 IBUs, 10.5 SRM, 15° Plato OG, ~180 Calories Appearance & Aroma: It’s reddish-brown in color and slightly hazy. The head...
668. Sierra Nevada – 2012 Bigfoot Barleywine Ale
I found this beer this afternoon, when I was cleaning out the basement. I like to hide beers in the basement, where it’s cool, and find them later. I figured I’d kick off the big game with a big beer, and the Super Bowl just kicked off. I bought this beer a year or two ago at the liquor store, with the intention of sticking them away and having one every year or so. Location: Poured into a small goblet glass at my home in...
667. Samuel Adams – Norse Legend Sahti
It’s Super Bowl Sunday and we’re staying in from the cold and cleaning house. I figured it was time to take a break and have a beer. I’m trying to clean out the beer fridge, since we might be moving soon, and this is one of the bigger bottles in it. I bought this in a mixed 3 pack of these Sam Adams specialty beers last Christmas. My friend Travis bought the same pack and said the barleywine could use some age, so...
666. Brewery Het Anker – Lucifer Belgian Ale
Well, here it is… The beer of the beast – number 666. So to mark this number, I went out and specifically bought this beer. I figured it was appropriate for the occasion, and safe – as it is, ironically, a Trappist monk brewed ale. I just had Russian River’s Damnation in preparation for this landmark, and it’s a good day to enjoy a few beers, since it’s a cold rainy/snowy day stuck indoors. The...
665. Russian River Brewing – Damnation Golden Ale
It’s a snowy and rainy Saturday afternoon, good for staying home and enjoying a few beers. As I approached the beer of the beast, #666, I was considering what I should have for that dark brew. This is definitely one I considered, but I thought it might be more appropriate to have it right now, signaling my impending damnation before I have #666. I picked up this beer during my trip to Seattle last year, and fortunately it...
664. Brauerei Beck & Co. – Beck’s Sapphire
It’s bitterly cold here tonight with -20 windchill, so we just settled down to watch some TV in the warmth of the house. It was kind of a rough end of the day at work, so I almost went for the bourbon rather than the beer. However, I snatched this at random from the beer fridge as I came in from work. I think I picked this up this past fall as part of a mixed 6 pack I got on vacation in Florida. Location: Poured into a slightly...
663. Ale Asylum – Hopalicious American Pale Ale
I’m sitting here working on work stuff with the GRAMMY awards on TV. A “polar vortex” is blowing in outside and the wind sounds incredibly intense outside. I just had Revolution’s Double Fist, which seemed to have a good amount of Cascade hops (I’m guessing), so I thought I’d have this one next, since the label says, “Eleven separate editions of Cascade hops give this American pale ale...
662. Revolution Brewing – Double Fist Double Pale Ale
It’s been a fairly relaxing weekend, cleaning up around the house and catching up on reviews from last weekend when we did a small tavern tour of Chicago. After working on some of those reviews, I had a craving for a beer. I picked up this one on a work trip to Chicago this past fall, when I was looking for local brews. I’ve heard good things about Revolution, so I was looking forward to trying their double IPA. I also put...
661. Pennsylvania Brewing Co. – Nut Roll Ale Winter Ale
I just finished dinner, along with a great dessert my wife made with crescent rolls and marshmellows. I’ve got several beer reviews to catch up on from our Tales, Taverns & Towns tour of Chicago last weekend, but I didn’t want that to stop me from enjoying one tonight. This beer was given to me by my sister and dad, from their trip to Pittsburgh a while ago. I’ve been waiting to enjoy this until the holidays, and...
660. Goose Island – Bourbon County Brand Barleywine
I’ve had multiple beers tonight during our Tales, Taverns & Towns tour of Chicago. Our last stop of the night was Sheffield’s, and I discovered the “Beer School” room, which had some awesome beers. Since I figured this was my last beer of the evening, I went big with this one. I love their Bourbon County Brand Stout, so I was looking forward to trying this one. Location: On tap and served in a small snifter glass...
659. Off Color Brewing – Apex Predator
Our last stop of the evening on the Tales, Taverns & Towns tour of Chicago was Sheffield’s. They had a lot of great beers on tap, and this one was recommended by our guide Liz. Off Color is one of the newer breweries in Chicago, and I’d also heard many great things about John Laffler and the barrel program he ran at Goose Island. So, I was looking forward to trying one of his beers. Location: On tap and served in a...
658. Spiteful Brewing – Spiteful IPA
We’re on our way to the final stop on the Tales, Taverns & Towns tour of Chicago. We ran out of beer on the trolley bus after our second stop, and Liz, our guide, picked up some more craft beers. I’ll admit, I hadn’t heard of Spiteful Brewing before, and saw they were another Chicago brewery, so I thought I’d give this one a try. I thought the can art was pretty cool, but as I’ve learned, that...
657. Three Floyds Brewing – Gumballhead
Our third stop on the Tales, Taverns & Towns tour of Chicago was Mrs. Murphy & Sons Irish Bistro. Our guide Liz told us a great story about this bar, a former funeral home, and what used to happen here in the days of gangsters and prohibition. This was probably the nicest place we stopped at, as it was decorated nicely and had a lot of local craft beers on tap. Since we aren’t able to get Three Floyds beers downstate,...
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