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Halfway There Party!
Dec08

Halfway There Party!

I’m only one beer away from the halfway mark to 1000 beers!  It’s taken me a little over 2.5 years to get this far, but I’m hoping it won’t take me as long to finish.  I’ve found the reviews take quite a bit of time, and when I go on a trip – like I did to Seattle last month – I tend to rack up a lot of new beers, with not much time to do the reviews.  I’m hoping to get a little better...

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499. Anheuser Busch InBev – Bud Light Platinum
Nov15

499. Anheuser Busch InBev – Bud Light Platinum

I’m in St. Louis for work, and went out to dinner with my dad, who lives there. We went out to Texas Roadhouse for some steak, and I thought I’d have a beer with dinner. The selection was mostly macrobrews… well, I remember when this one came out, there was quite the buzz about it, so I thought I’d give this beer a try and see if it lives up to the marketing hype. Location: Enjoyed in the bottle at Texas...

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498. Great Lakes Brewing Co. – Edmund Fitzgerald
Nov10

498. Great Lakes Brewing Co. – Edmund Fitzgerald

Last night I noticed I duplicated one beer in my journey toward 1000 beers, and therefore, in order to correct the mistake this beer is also #498. Tonight, my family and I are at Flingers Pizza & Pub having dinner. They always have a good selection of craft beers on tap, and I noticed this one on the menu. I wasn’t familiar with the Edmund Fitzgerald, so I looked it up on my phone. According to the Wikipedia entry,...

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A Recount Confirms a Mistake!!!
Nov09

A Recount Confirms a Mistake!!!

As I approach the halfway mark on my journey to 1000 beers, I started to reflect upon all the beers I’ve had.  I went back through and read many of my reviews, proud of the fact that I think I’ve gotten better over the last couple years.  Early on, I marked whether a particular beer I had was a draft beer, feeling that perhaps it was important to note this, as it seemed to have a good amount of impact on things like head...

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498. Black Sheep Brewery – Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale
Nov09

498. Black Sheep Brewery – Monty Python’s Holy Grail Ale

This beer was given to me by my friend Joe when he was moving.  It’s been sitting in my beer fridge, and finally, tonight, it peaked my curiosity enough to give it a try.  I love the Monty Python design and the related copywriting on it, but is it just a gimmick, or actually a good beer worthy of the title? Location: Poured into a slightly curved pint glass from the bottle at my home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 4.7% ABV, 150...

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497. Dixie Brewing – Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager
Nov08

497. Dixie Brewing – Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager

I looked into the beer fridge and thought I’d dig around a little bit. I found a mixed six pack of beers I picked up on a work trip to New Orleans several months ago. This one looked most interesting, so I thought I’d give it a try. The bottle says, “Inspired by old world brewing methods, this bewitching all malt brew is a darkly rich, exotic lager, crafted with a touch of magical New Orleans spirit.”...

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496. Pennsylvania Brewing Co. – Penn Dark Lager Beer
Nov06

496. Pennsylvania Brewing Co. – Penn Dark Lager Beer

I mentioned it when I had earlier beers from Penn Brewery – Penn Weizen, Penn Oktoberfest Lager, and Penn Overlook IPA – but my dad and sister were in Pittsburgh several weeks ago and brought back several beers for me. As I sit here and watch the presidential election coverage this evening, I felt like it was time for a beer. If you watched the presidential hype on election night, you probably agree with me. I went to the...

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495. Brooklyn Brewery – Brooklyn Summer Ale
Nov03

495. Brooklyn Brewery – Brooklyn Summer Ale

Tonight was a pretty good evening, I went to the local homebrew store, Twin City Homebrewing, where we had a small pumpkin beer homebrew festival.  On my way home, I picked up dinner and decided to have a lighter beer with it. I can’t remember where I got this beer, but I thought I’d drink it before the summer was completely over (as if it weren’t already). The bottle says, “Brooklyn Summer ale is a summer...

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494. Firestone Walker/Nectar Ales – Humboldt Brown Ale
Oct29

494. Firestone Walker/Nectar Ales – Humboldt Brown Ale

It’s been a heckuva day, and I’ve already had one of my own homebrewed Bourbon barrel aged Russian Imperial Stout. So, I reached into the beer fridge and decided to drink the first thing I grabbed. I believe I pick this one up a few months ago at the liquor store in a mix a 6-pack.  The bottle says, “Ale Brewed with Hemp” Location: Poured into a tulip shaped pint glass from the bottle at my home in Bloomington,...

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493. Flat Branch Pub & Brewing – Galaxy Wheat IPA
Oct26

493. Flat Branch Pub & Brewing – Galaxy Wheat IPA

We’re in Columbia, Missouri this weekend for the homecoming football game at my alma mater, Mizzou.  I get to make it back here a couple times a year, and when I do, I like to stop here and try some of the beers on tap.  If you’re a regular reader, you’ve already seen that I’ve had their Ed’s IPA, English Pale Ale, Irish Red, Hudson’s ESB, Cherry Brown, Green Chili, Belgian Golden, and Kristal...

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492. Maritime Pacific Brewing Co. – Imperial Pale Ale
Oct24

492. Maritime Pacific Brewing Co. – Imperial Pale Ale

It’s just a relaxing evening at home, and I thought I’d take the opportunity to dig into the beer fridge and sample another beer.  I’m still getting caught up on my reviews from my trip to Seattle, but I don’t want that to keep me from trying another beer. Location: Poured into a large tulip shaped pint glass from the bottle at my home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 7.5% ABV, 235 Calories Appearance &...

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491. Pennsylvania Brewing Co – Oktoberfest Lager
Oct22

491. Pennsylvania Brewing Co – Oktoberfest Lager

As I’ve mentioned in my last few reviews of Penn beers (Penn Weizen and Penn Overlook IPA), my dad and sister brought several beers back for me from a recent trip to Pittsburgh. Since there’s only a few days left in the month of October, I thought I’d better have the Oktoberfest beer they brought me. Location: Poured into a large tulip shaped pint glass from the bottle at my home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 5.5%...

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490. Pennsylvania Brewing Co – Penn Weizen
Oct20

490. Pennsylvania Brewing Co – Penn Weizen

As I mentioned in my last review of a Pennsylvania brewing Company beer, my dad and sister brought a bunch of beers from this brewery back for me from their trip to Pittsburgh. It’s a lazy Saturday afternoon, and I’ve been spending my time cutting down my hop vines and harvesting hops for my homebrew. I came in the house for lunch, and decided to grab this beer.  The bottle says, “This is an authentic Bavarian style...

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489. Red Brick Brewing – Brown Ale
Oct18

489. Red Brick Brewing – Brown Ale

I’m still catching up on all my reviews from my trip to Seattle a couple weeks ago, but wanted to keep things moving with my reviews.  I believe this beer was given to me by my sister whose friend gave it to her for me. I’m not sure of the age of the beer or storage conditions, but it’s been in my beer fridge the last several months. Location: Poured from the bottle into a tulip shaped glass at my home in...

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488. Laughing Dog Brewing – Rocket Dog Rye IPA
Oct14

488. Laughing Dog Brewing – Rocket Dog Rye IPA

For my last post, I was at my homebrew club meeting, having a Bell’s This One Goes to 11 Ale.  Today, I’m meeting with a small group from my homebrew club to discuss a “barrel project” where we can all brew a beer and age it in an old Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrel for a year or so.  During out meeting, I decided to have this beer since I’d only had Laughing Dog’s Dogzilla Black IPA, and was sure I...

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487. Bells Brewery – This One Goes to 11 Ale
Oct08

487. Bells Brewery – This One Goes to 11 Ale

I spend last week in Seattle, Washington – mostly for a work conference – but I didn’t let that stop me from seeing the city’s craft beer scene.  I was able to hit 12 microbreweries and try over 20 local craft beers during my trip.  Today, I’m back home at Fat Jack’s in Bloomington, IL for our monthly homebrew club meeting.  Before the meeting I grabbed this beer… mostly because I liked the...

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486. Naked City Brewery – Hoptari Fresh Hop IPA
Oct05

486. Naked City Brewery – Hoptari Fresh Hop IPA

It’s been a really, really long day, but it’s been a great one.  I was in Redmond, Washington for work this morning, and stopped at The Cork and Vine, checking out Black Raven Brewing.  Afterward, I headed back to downtown Seattle, visiting Pike market and the Pike Brewery.  I then met up with my cousin, hitting Fremont Brewing, Reuben’s Brews, NW Peaks Brewery, Hilliard’s Beer, and Old Town Alehouse.  Our last...

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485. Schooner Exact Brewing Co. – Hopvine India Pale Ale IPA
Oct05

485. Schooner Exact Brewing Co. – Hopvine India Pale Ale IPA

I’ve had a great day and evening so far, stopping at several breweries throughout Redmond and Seattle, Washington.  This evening, my cousin and I have been walking around his neighborhood of Ballard, going from brewery to brewery.  So far this evening, he and I have stopped at Fremont Brewing, Reuben’s Brews, NW Peaks Brewery, and Hilliard’s Beers (and that’s after stopping at Black Raven and Pike Brewing Co....

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484. Hilliard’s Beer – Nautical Reference Pale Ale
Oct05

484. Hilliard’s Beer – Nautical Reference Pale Ale

It’s been a long day already in Seattle, Washington, where I’ve been the last few days for a conference for work.  It’s my last day here, and I’ve already stopped at several places, and had several beers, including the Totem Pale Northwest Ale and Trickster IPA at Black Raven Brewing, the Harlot’s Harvest Pumpkin Ale and Space Needle Golden Anniversary IPA from Pike Brewing Co, the Robust Porter at...

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483. Northwest Peaks Brewery – Redoubt Red
Oct05

483. Northwest Peaks Brewery – Redoubt Red

After visiting Reuben’s Brews, my cousin and I walked down the street to this brewery. It was closing up for the evening, but my cousin and I were able to talk the guy working into letting us have one beer (and one growler and bottle to go) before they closed up.  Thank you to the brewing intern working there for letting us stay slightly past closing time for me to enjoy this beer and buy some beers to go.  I loved the feel of...

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