854. Triton Brewing – Fieldhouse Wheat
It’s been a beautiful Saturday outside, and my wife and I took the opportunity to go out and do a bit of shopping. After dinner and a beer at the new BraiZe restaurant here in town, we went home to watch the Final Four. Basketball and beer go great together, so I cracked open this one, given to me by my friend Kevin. He’s a huge fan of Triton and brought me several beers from them. Location: Poured into a tall glass at my...
853. Jolly Pumpkin – Noel de Calabaza (2011)
I’ve given up candy and sweets for Lent this year, so I’m enjoying this as a dessert. I decided to start digging into some of the older beers in the beer cellar. I’d heard at the time that Jolly Pumpkin uses some funky bugs in their beer which would make it pretty unique after a few years. I finally decided to crack it open after about 5 and a half years. Location: Poured into a goblet style glass at my home in...
852. Revolution Brewing – Fist City Chicago Pale Ale
It’s been a draining day at work, so I decided to crack open a beer after dinner tonight. I got this beer a couple of weeks ago when we attended “Experience the Hops” again this year at the Allerton Retreat Center nearby. Revolution was one of the breweries that participated, and I grabbed this can during the “boots and brews” hike. I know I’ve had this beer at their taproom when I was there last...
851. Firestone Walker – Double Barrel Ale
It’s been a bit of a lazy Saturday, which I’m enjoying before my son starts soccer and baseball within the next few weeks. I decided it had been a week, so I’d do another review. I dug into the beer fridge and found this one. I’m not sure where I got it, or how long I’ve had it, but the bottle says 2/26/14, which make it almost exactly two years old. Location: Poured into a goblet style pint glass at my...
850. Dubina Brewing – Bell Road IPA
It’s my wife’s birthday today and we went over to my in-laws house for lunch and some cake. l brought this beer with me to enjoy with my lunch. My sister gave me this beer for Christmas, with a bunch of beers she picked up while she was traveling. She got this one while she was in Phoenix. Location: Poured into a Stella chalice glass at my in-laws home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 6.7% ABV, 67 IBUs, ~200 Calories...
849. Widmer Brothers – Upheaval IPA
I’m watching the GRAMMY awards, getting ready to turn on the Walking Dead mid-season premier. I’m continuing to clean the fridge out of IPAs, although I know this one is fairly fresh. It was sent to me a couple weeks ago by my friend @bettywriter. It also says it was bottled Nov. 12, 2016. Location: Poured into a tall pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL Numbers: 7% ABV, 85 IBUs, 16 degrees Plato OG, 206 Calories, 14G...
848. Rogue Ales – PDX Carpet IPA
It’s been a day of getting caught up on email and blog posts here. After having the old Full Sail Slipknot IPA the other night, I figured I had better see what other IPAs I might have getting old. This is one I found that my friend @bettywriter sent me last year. She’s from Portland, and thought this beer had a great name, since she’s familiar with the odd carpet at PDX. Location: Poured into a perfect pint glass at...
847. Sunup Brewing – White Russian Imperial Coffee Stout
Today is the first real snow we’ve gotten this year, with about 3-4 inches. So, when I got home, I had to snowblow the driveway. I rewarded myself with a Founders Breakfast Stout when I came inside. After that, I opened this beer. When my sister went to Phoenix a few weeks ago, she asked what beers I might want from there. I looked up good beers in Arizona and this one popped up on the list, and I was really glad she brought a...
846. Brooklyn Brewery – Black Chocolate Stout (Winter 09-10)
Since I made a breakfast pizza today, and have been way off the diet, I decided to go ahead and enjoy a big beer tonight. This one was sent to me by my friend @jonathanmoxey when he lived in New York City, and it’s been hiding in the back of the beer fridge for 7 years or so. Location: Poured into a TEKU pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL Numbers: 10% ABV, 24.5° Plato OG, 360 Calories Ingredients: Malts: 2-row, caramel...
845. Mother Bunch Brewing – Imperial Hoppymoto IPA
TGIF! It’s been a pretty busy week this week. We got a dog on Wednesday, so a lot of our time in the evening has been occupied with him. With everything going on, my diet has not gone very good. So, since it’s Friday, I thought I just go ahead and have this big beer. After having the aged Full Sail Slipknot Imperial IPA yesterday, I figured I better finish as many of the IPAs I have in the fridge as I can. My sister gave...
844. Full Sail Brewing – Slipknot Imperial IPA (2010)
I just got back from a work happy hour and had a couple of IPAs. When I got home, I had a craving for another IPA. I found this tucked away in a cabinet the other day. It was given to me by John Harris (now of Ecliptic Brewing) when I brewed with him in Portland, during my Cuisinternship. I visited the real Brewmaster’s reserve beer cooler and he sent me home with several beers, including this beer. Location: Poured into a...
843. Widmer Brothers Brewing – Brrr Hoppy Red
We’ve been cleaning the house all day, preparing for family to come over tonight after my in-laws 50th anniversary dinner. I was ready for a beer about two hours ago, but I’m finally grabbing one now that we’re mostly finished up. This one was the first one out of the beer fridge, because I received it last week, in a shipment from my friend @Bettywriter. She sent me three Widmer beers she had left over from the...
842. The Alchemist – Heady Topper
It’s a fairly lazy Sunday afternoon. I’m sitting here editing family vacation videos, and the program I’m using decided to crash. So, especially since the new diet starts tomorrow, I thought I’d grab a very good beer out of the fridge. When my dad and sister asked me for a wish list of beers for Christmas, this beer was one of them at the top. I’ve heard quite a bit about this beer, and wanted to try it...
841. Sixpoint Brewery – Sweet Action
I went to the doctor this past week, and my cholesterol is a bit out of control. Therefore, I’m trying to slow down a little bit on the beers I’m drinking. I’ve been pretty good this week with my diet, so tonight, I rewarded myself with a trip to Flingers and a few craft beers. So, when I got home, I decided to crack open another one. I’ve had this one in the beer fridge a little bit, having picked it up on a...
840. Ninkasi Brewing – Sleigh’r Winter Ale
We’ve been in the midst of an ice storm this weekend, and now that it’s Monday it’s foggy and raining out. Either way, the winter weather has got us all in a funk. Therefore, I decided to open this beer, which my friend @Bettywriter sent to me as a Christmas gift a few weeks ago. I love it when she sends me stuff from the Pac-Northwest that I can’t get around here. Location: Poured into a large Perfect Pint...
839. Russian River – Pliney the Elder
An ice storm has hit the midwest, and so we stayed home today and cleaned around the house. I thought I’d reward myself by cracking open this beer. My sister was in San Francisco a few weeks ago attending both a 49ers and Raiders game in her quest to attend an NFL game in every NFL stadium. She asked if there were any beers in the area I’d like and this was it. She managed to get 2 bottles of it for me! Huge thanks to my...
838. Sleepy Dog Brewing – Peanut Butter Milk Stout
It’s been tough getting back into the swing of things today, Monday. There was a beer club meeting tonight, but had to miss it because I had work to catch up on. Now that I finished it up, I thought I’d crack open this beer and watch the national championship college football game on TV. My sister brought this beer back from her trip to Arizona a few weeks ago. It looked interesting, especially after I had the Peanut...
837. Pipeworks Brewing – Closer Encounter Hopped Up Imperial Stout
TGIF! It’s been tough getting back into the swing of things this week at work, and my wife decided that we’d host a murder mystery tomorrow. So after work, I stopped several places to pick up different elements for my costume. It’s a Titanic theme, and I’m the captain. As I sit here and work on my costume, I thought I’d have this beer. When I made my Russian Imperial Stout the other day, I pulled this...
836. New Glarus Brewing – Smoke on the Porter
It’s been a weird day with New Years Day being on a Sunday this year. I’m getting things together to brew a Russian Imperial stout tomorrow. I got a 15 gallon used bourbon barrel and thought I’d age my Russian Imperial Stout in it. I got this beer at the New Glarus Brewery when my friend Steve and I roadtripped up there a few months ago. Location: Poured into a goblet style pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL...
835. Four Peaks Brewing – Pumpkin Porter
I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things at work after a long Christmas weekend. Fortunately, I received a ton of awesome new beers as gifts from my dad and sister. My sister went to Phoenix a couple weeks ago on her goal of attending an NFL game at every stadium in the country. This was one of the beers she brought back for me. It says it was canned on 10/10/16. Location: Poured into a large goblet shaped glass at...
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