249. Rogue Ales – Yellow Snow IPA Draft
I’m at our ABNormal Brewers steering meeting again tonight, and that’s another chance to try a new brew here at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington. There are a few beers on tap that I haven’t had yet, so I thought I’d go for this one first… mainly because I kind of liked the name of it. As you would expect, it was golden yellow in color and was clear. There was a soapy-looking foam head, and there...
248. Stone – Ruination IPA India Pale Ale
As I mentioned a few months back, a friend of mine sent me several Stone beers from San Diego. I’ve really been looking forward to these, but unfortunately, they got caught in the back of the beer fridge, so I thought it was time to break them out. I won’t list what the entire back of the bottle says (I posted it in the photo below), but here’s a little piece, “Stone Ruination IPA. So called because of the...
247. MacTarnahan’s – Winter Hum Bug’r Porter
I bet my friend Betty from Portland on a basketball game – my Mizzou Tigers vs her Oregon Ducks – and won a bottle of local beer. She graciously mailed me this one (and a bag of Tim’s Jalapeno chips) right before the holidays. The bottle says, “The limited edition Porter with deep, dark character and rich malt flavor that will unravel your ribbons. 5.3% ABV” I figured what better time to have a beer...
246. Sierra Nevada – 2010 Celebration Fresh Hop Ale
I spent most of the day cleaning up and setting up my kids new Christmas presents, so I was ready for a good beer. This one came highly recommended, so I picked up one in a mix-a-six. The bottle says, “Celebration ale is a special ale for the holidays. Featuring the first hops of the growing season, this pioneering IPA is full of complex flavors and aromas from the generous use of whole cone American hops. 6.8% ABV” It...
245. Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg – 2009 Samichlaus Classic Bier
I mentioned a few weeks back that the presentation at our local homebrew club meeting was holiday beers. This beer was one of the samples, and I knew I had to pic up a bottle. As I learned that the Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson, had written about this beer – the strongest lager in the world, at 14% ABV, it is aged for a year from St. Nicholas day. The bottle reaffirms hist story, saying, “Bottled only once a year on...
244. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Holiday Ale
As I mentioned, we’re in St. Louis, visiting my parents for the holidays, and I brought a few beers with me. I bought this one a couple weeks back on another visit here, but after reading the last line on the label, I just knew I had to bring it back for this visit. The bottle says, “Holiday ale is a bottle-conditioned, English-style “Old Ale” brewed at the Schlafly Tap Room on 21st Street for Culinaria, a...
243. Breckenridge Brewery – Christmas Ale
We at my parents tonight to celebrate the holidays, and unfortunately, we’ve got two sick kids. We have a family tradition of getting together with my mom’s side of the family tonight, but had to miss it. So we’re sitting here snuggling with them on the couch watching Christmas movies/cartoons. So, I thought I’d bring one of the couple Christmas brews I brought along to make the holidays a little more...
242. Blackstone Brewing – Dry Hopped Red Draft
My family and I have made our annual trek to St. Louis to visit my parents for the holidays. I brought along a few Christmas beers to enjoy, but was nicely surprised that my sister had brought a growler back for me from Blackstone Brewery in Nashville. She was there a couple weeks ago, and called to see what kind I wanted, this one sounded good. I was only nervous that it was in the growler for a couple of weeks before I got it. ...
Holiday Food & Beer Pairings
Condensed from an article in the Huffington Post – Holiday Food & Beer Pairings by Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Cheeses This is the de facto way into many a holiday meal and, while wines may go pretty well with some cheeses, the carbonation and diversity in beer make it a better partner. The bubbles in beer exfoliate the tongue of the fatty weight of the cheese to prepare you for the next bite. Some great combinations:...
241. Anchor Brewing – 2010 Our Special Ale
I had to stop by Friar Tuck, my local liquor store, for a gift card, and as you might expect, I couldn’t walk out without some beer. I kept it somewhat reasonable, sticking with some holiday beers and a bottle of Infinium. This was one of the seasonal holiday beers I picked up, although I had to buy a whole 6 pack. I’m hoping to trade a few bottles for a few different beers. This bottle says, “This is the...
240. Bass Brewers Ltd – Bass Ale
I’m on my way back home already from my trip for work to Dallas, TX. Yes, I’ve only been in Dallas for about 18 hours, but it’s a quick one. Last night I documented my trip to Uncle Buck’s Brewery & Steakhouse – along with their IPA, Brown Ale, and English Pale Ale – and while their English Pale Ale was the best thing I had there, that’s not saying much. So what better beer to have the...
239. Uncle Buck’s Brewery & Steakhouse – English Pale Ale Draft
After experiencing their Captain’s Choice IPA and their Brown Ale, I’m not sure why we decided to have another beer here. I guess it was just a long day of work and travel. My coworker wisely decided to go for the Stone Ruination IPA they had on tap, rather than try another one of their beers. However, I decided I could get that elsewhere, and while here, I might as well try another of their beers. So, I decided to try...
238. Uncle Buck’s Brewery & Steakhouse – Brown Ale Draft
As I mentioned in my last post (Uncle Buck’s Brewery & Steakhouse – Captain’s Choice IPA Draft), I’m in the Dallas, Texas area for work and just flew in. My coworker and I stopped here on the way to our hotel to grab a bite to eat and a beer. Uncle Buck’s Brewery & Steakhouse is attached to the Bass Pro Outdoor World in Grapevine, TX. As you can see by the photo, the dinning room is very impressive, and the...
237. Uncle Buck’s Brewery & Steakhouse – Captain’s Choice IPA Draft
I’m traveling for work today, and will be right around the Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW) the entire 21 hours we’ll be in Texas. We arrived around 5:30 pm, and as Steve, my co-worker, and I have traveled together quite a bit, the first thing he did was search for the nearest brewpub to our location. He found Uncle Buck’s Brewery & Steakhouse just north of the airport in Grapevine, TX. It’s in a huge...
236. Two Brothers – North Wind Imperial Stout
We tried several beers at our ABNormal Brewers club meeting tonight, but I decided to review this one, since somehow, I ended up with a nearly full bottle of it. I wasn’t so lucky with the Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus, but I’m definitely going to head over to Friar Tuck to get a couple bottles of it (Thanks to Edwin, a member of the club and employee of Friar Tuck for the presentation tonight). As you can see, it was dark...
235. Moylan’s – White Christmas Spiced Winter Lager Draft
After a great Christmas party with the ABNormal brewers on Saturday night, we’re back at it again tonight at our monthly meeting at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington. They usually have some decent beers on tap, so it’s a chance to add another one to the list. In the spirit of the season, and our meeting (seasonal beers), I decided to try the Moylan’s White Christmas lager. It was light orange in the color...
234. Rex Beverage Holdings – Horney Goat Hopped Up ‘N Horney
I had a great time at the ABNormal brewers holiday party last night, and got to try a few new beers. Unfortunately, it’s tough to do a review the beers in a situation like that. Today the snow is coming down and the wind is blowing super hard. We’re literally under a “Blizzard Warning.” So, at lunch I tried this beer, another one my friend Jim got me while he was on his trip to Wisconsin. The color was...
233. Potosi Brewing – Pure Malt Cave Ale
A friend of mine from work, Jim, took a trip up to Wisconsin with his family and shared with me a few microbrews he brought back from his trip. When I looked in the beer fridge today, one of the beers he brought me back was right inside the door. I’ve had a Potosi beer once before, when my in-laws made it up to Wisconsin, they brought one back and gave it to me. It must be easy to find up there. This particular bottle had 6.5%...
232. Cathedral Square – Belgian-Style Abbey Ale
Since my Oktoberfest Challenge, the other beers in my beer fridge have felt a bit neglected, so I thought I’d grab a random one for a review. I was told by a friend about this somewhat new brewery in St. Louis and have had their Iglesia Agave Ale which was pretty good, so I thought I’d give their Belgian-style Abby a try. The bottle says, “this traditional Belgian-style Abbey Ale is brewed using five malts, two hop...
231. Boulevard Brewing – Single-Wide IPA India Pale Ale
When I got back to the hotel, I thought I’d hop on the computer and get some work done, and what’s better than a good beer while working. Right across the street from the hotel was a gas station, and found at least this one beer that I could add to my list. The bottle says, “Bottle conditioned: In time honored brewing tradition we’ve added a small amount of yeast to this bottle just before packaging to...
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