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94. Stella Artois – Stella Artois Draft
Jul12

94. Stella Artois – Stella Artois Draft

I’m still stuck in the Memphis Airport, with not a whole lot of beer selection.  However, since I’m here, and there’s beer, I thought I’d just knock another macrobrew off the list.  After having ABInBev’s Shock Top Belgian White, I went for another “Belgian” beer – Stella Artois.  As a side note, if you find yourself in Memphis, I highly recommend finding a place to eat/drink before you...

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93. ABInBev – Shock Top Belgian White Draft
Jul12

93. ABInBev – Shock Top Belgian White Draft

I’m traveling for work, and am finishing up my 17 hour long trip to the Collierville, TN/Memphis area.  While my friends suggested a few good beers available in the area, I was unfortunately, stuck with whatever they had available at the airport restaurant.  The usual suspects were on tap, but I knew I had not yet had Shock Top. It arrived garnished with a dirty orange, and was a hazy orange-yellow color.  The head was very...

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92. Tommyknocker Brewery – Ornery Amber Lager
Jul10

92. Tommyknocker Brewery – Ornery Amber Lager

I had a great day today at the ABNormal Brewers homebrew club picnic.  My son and I had a great time fishing, swimming, and having fun with the other members of the club.  I’ve also got the kids to myself tonight, as my wife is away on a girls weekend.  So, I thinking the title of this beer was appropriate while watching my ornery kids, I opened up this beer to top off the evening. A few years ago, my friends and I went through...

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91. Founders Brewing – Centennial IPA
Jul10

91. Founders Brewing – Centennial IPA

We had our homebrew club picnic today at the hideout of one of our club members. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but it is a great place with a small pond, a big grill, and a little cabin. The pond is stocked with big fish, which my son and I enjoyed catching most of the afternoon (at least when we weren’t swimming or paddling around in the canoe).  You can see the photos below. When we stopped for lunch, it was the perfect...

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90. Bell’s Brewery – Oberon Ale Draft
Jul09

90. Bell’s Brewery – Oberon Ale Draft

Friday nights are always great, especially when we decide to load the little ones up and go out to dinner. After one nice trip to Joe’s Stationhouse Pizza Pub, where I crossed New Belgium Fat Tire off the list, we decided to try it out again. They didn’t have too many good beers on tap, but it gave me the chance to add Bell’s Oberon to the list. It had a thin creamy head when it arrived at the table, and it was very...

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89. Avery – Avery Anniversary Lager, Seventeen Dry-Hopped Black Lager
Jul08

89. Avery – Avery Anniversary Lager, Seventeen Dry-Hopped Black Lager

As I mentioned in my last post, things are pretty crazy around here lately. That has had me going to the beer fridge quite a bit, and tonight, I really wanted another really good beer So, I grabbed the Avery Anniversary Black Lager, Seventeen Dry Hopped Black Lager. The bottle says that it is “a dark study in German hops” and that it was bottled in May 2010, had an original gravity of 1.078 and alcohol by volume of 8.69%....

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88. Captain Lawrence Brewing – Captain’s Reserve Imperial India Pale Ale
Jul07

88. Captain Lawrence Brewing – Captain’s Reserve Imperial India Pale Ale

It’s been absolutely crazy around here and I haven’t even had time to prepare for my brewing internship coming up at Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, Oregon in a couple weeks. However, today, I got my new iPhone, and to celebrate I decided to break open one of the good beers sent to me by my friend up in New York.  The Captain’s Reserve Imperial India Pale Ale doesn’t say what the ABV is, howeve,r the bottle...

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87. Cathedral Square – Iglesia Agave Ale
Jul04

87. Cathedral Square – Iglesia Agave Ale

After a little rain, the sun came back out and it’s again a nice Fourth of July day. A friend from St. Louis told me about another new brewery there called Cathedral Square Brewery. He also told me about this interesting beer they had. The label on the Iglesia Agave Ale says, “This Ale is brewed with three malts, two hop varieties and authentic imported Agave Nectar. Iglesia is Spanish for church and this Ale is blessed...

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86. New Glarus Brewing – Unplugged Berliner Weiss
Jul04

86. New Glarus Brewing – Unplugged Berliner Weiss

It’s a nice, hot, Fourth of July, so I wanted something light and refreshing. The New Glarus Berliner Weiss I got when I stopped by the brewery up in Wisconsin sounded like it would fit the bill. The bottle said, “a few times a year we will cut Dan loose to brew whatever he chooses, un-censored, un-cut, unplugged. Always hand crafted, the bottle you hold is brewed for the adventurous soul. This is a very limited edition...

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85. Bell’s Brewery – Two Hearted Ale Draft
Jul03

85. Bell’s Brewery – Two Hearted Ale Draft

With my parents in town for the long holiday weekend, we decided to go out to eat tonight.  My mom is a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, so we had to find a place that had the game on.  I had only been to Wings Etc. here in town once before and was not very impressed.  Well, tonight was no exception… There were no beer list at our table, and when I asked the waitress what was on draft she said, “Coors, Miller Light, Bud...

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84. Avery Brewing – Karma Ale
Jul03

84. Avery Brewing – Karma Ale

It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon on a holiday weekend.  My parents came to town and were keeping an eye on the kids, so I relaxed and had a nice brew with lunch.  I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of beer the Avery Brewing Karma Ale was, so I looked it up on Beer Advocate – which said that it is a Belgian Pale Ale.  I hadn’t heard of the style, but was guessing that it would be a nice light beer for this night...

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83. St. Louis Brewery Schlafly – AIPA American India Pale Ale
Jul02

83. St. Louis Brewery Schlafly – AIPA American India Pale Ale

It’s the holiday weekend and my parents stopped by on their way through to a wedding. Almost every time my parents come to town, they bring us a couple of Imo’s pizzas. The pizza is a local favorite in St. Louis, and was one of mine when I lived there. So, along with my favorite St. Louis pizza, I thought I’d enjoy a beer from there as well. Fortunately, when I went back for a golf tournament a few weeks ago, my...

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82.  Rogue Brewing – Mocha Porter
Jul01

82. Rogue Brewing – Mocha Porter

It’s July 1, and that means it is the beginning of Oregon Craft Beer Month. I know I live over 2,000 miles from Oregon, but I’m joining in on the fun for 9 days later this month when I have my Brewmaster Cuisinternship at Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, Oregon, and attend the Oregon Brewers Festival in Portland. So, in honor of Oregon Craft Beer month, I broke open the only Oregon brew I had in my beer fridge, a Rogue...

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81. Sierra Nevada – Harvest Wet Hop Ale Draft
Jun30

81. Sierra Nevada – Harvest Wet Hop Ale Draft

The nice thing about the beer special where we were having our homebrew club steering meeting is that they were 10oz specials, so I didn’t feel too bad about ordering a third beer.  After the lager and cream ale, I wanted something hoppy, so I went for the Sierra Nevada Harvest West Hop Ale. It had a very nice, thick, creamy, tan head on it.  It was an almost brick-red color, but very clear.  The aroma was surprisingly subtle...

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80. Anderson Valley Brewing – Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema Draft
Jun30

80. Anderson Valley Brewing – Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema Draft

As I mentioned in my last post, the place where we were having our homebrew club steering meeting has some decent beers.  From where I was sitting, I couldn’t really see what they had on draft, but one of the other guys at the table ordered a Summer Solstice.  I really enjoyed Anderson Valley’s Boont Amber Ale when I had it at one of our meetings (but not as much when I reviewed it), so I thought I’d give the Summer...

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79. Two Brothers Brewing – Dog Days Dortmunder Lager Draft
Jun30

79. Two Brothers Brewing – Dog Days Dortmunder Lager Draft

We had our homebrew club steering meeting at Fat Jacks, here in Bloomington.  They usually have some decent beers on tap, and tonight they had a decent special on little 10oz beers.  It was a hot day out, so I thought I’d go for a lager.  I hadn’t had the Two Brothers Dog Days before, so I thought I’d try it. It was a cloudy, straw-yellow color, and there was absolutely no head on it.  In fact, it didn’t seem...

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78. Founders Brewing – Cerise Cherry Fermented Ale
Jun29

78. Founders Brewing – Cerise Cherry Fermented Ale

I’m upgrading my 10 year old computer, and while loading on programs, I’ve finally caught up on my reviews, so tonight I thought I’d treat myself with this Founders Brewing seasonal, Cerise. One of my friends said he and his wife really love this, so I was looking forward to trying it. The bottle says that it has 15 IBU’s and is 6.5% ABV. It also indicates that it is a “Malt beverage brewed with cherry...

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77. Stone Brewing – Arrogant Bastard Ale
Jun25

77. Stone Brewing – Arrogant Bastard Ale

It’s been an incredibly crazy couple of weeks and there’s not much sign of things letting up. I’ve been trying to catch up on my reviews, but I figure there’s no better time to break into the Stone brewing beers my friend from San Diego sent me than a nice Friday evening. The kids are having a slumber party with their cousins and I’m ready to finally try the Arrogant Bastard I’ve heard so much...

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76. Dark Horse Brewing – Raspberry Ale
Jun20

76. Dark Horse Brewing – Raspberry Ale

At our homebrew club meeting this week, I was in charge of giving the presentation. This month’s topic was fruit beers. So I was responsible for giving a presentation and buying some commercial examples for members to sample. I tried to get a variety that included beers with different types of fruits. The beer I chose with raspberry in it was this one from Dark Horse Brewing in Michigan. I decided to crack it open on this hot...

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75. Sierra Nevada – 2009 Summerfest Lager
Jun18

75. Sierra Nevada – 2009 Summerfest Lager

I found this Sierra Nevada 2009 Summerfest Lager when I picked up a few different beers (as I mentioned in my Boont Amber Ale review) in a “mix a 6” 6-pack at a local liquor store.  I was a little hesitant, since it would probably be about a year old and likely sat in the store at about 73 degrees that whole time, but I went for it anyway.  The bottle says that it is 5% ABV. When I poured it in the glass, it had a dark...

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