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...
226. Flying Dog – Snake Dog IPA India Pale Ale Draft
I stopped at Medici in Normal to grab a beer and get my final punch on my Wednesday Warriors card. On Wednesday, they have $3 pints, and after 10 Wednesday visits you become a warrior. That means you get a t-shirt – although I didn’t get one because they had run out of XLs – your beer is served in a mug, and you get invited to their end of the year party. Besides getting the final punch on my ticket, it’s...
225. Mikkeller – Centennial Single Hop IPA Draft
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington for our ABNormal homebrew club steering meeting. It’s the first meeting of our new board, and I’m still VP. The nice thing about meeting at Fat Jack’s is the opportunity to try a few new beers. They usually have a decent selection, even if it is getting tougher to find beers I haven’t tried yet. The nice thing about the...
223. Sierra Nevada – Torpedo Extra IPA
Things have been tremendously crazy lately. As I mentioned in my review of Schlafly Winter ESB, my mom had emergency heart surgery and has been in the hospital. Due to some blood clots, she went back in. Upon being released, my grandmother stopped by to visit her and was killed in a car accident while leaving my parents house. It’s been a difficult time, so tonight, I wanted to just sit back, relax a bit in front of the...
222. Full Sail – IPA – India Pale Ale
It’s Thanksgiving evening and we’re about to start on our second helping of turkey and stuffing. We’ve already talked about the things we’re thankful for this year – family, kids, and more. Since we’ve moved onto the second helping, here’s my second helping of what I’m thankful for this year – my Travel Oregon Brewmaster Cuisinternship at Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, Oregon. ...
218. Two Brothers – Heavy Handed IPA Draft
As I mentioned in my previous post, we’re out with a coworker who is in town for the week. We went out to Medici in Normal to grab a couple of beers and catch up. I was looking for something to add to this list and my coworker said she was looking for something “hardy.” So, I recommended New Holland’s Charkoota Rye Smoked Dopplebock, which I had there just last week. All agreed that it was like a BBQ rack...
217. Flying Dog – Raging Bitch Belgian IPA Draft
A coworker who works remotely – Bettywriter – was in town for the week, so several of us decided to go out to happy hour and catch up. We stopped at Medici in Uptown Normal, a place I’ve mentioned before that has some pretty good beers on tap. I arrived before anyone else, I didn’t have to be shy when I announced proudly to the bartender that I’d like a Raging Bitch. It was a hazy orange-golden color...
199. Left Hand Brewing – 400 Pound Monkey English IPA
We’re on our way to the Oktoberfest celebration in Hermann, MO, and I’ve already had a Schlafly Oktoberfest to satisfy my daily requirement as part of my Oktoberfest Challenge. While my intention was to dig into my freshly home brewed pumpkin beer, my friend also had this Left Hand 400lb Monkey in his cooler and offered it to me. Since I haven’t had it before, and I do appreciate ESB’s and English IPA’s I...
176. Wynkoop Brewing – Mile HI.P.A. IPA Draft
I met up with my friend from the homebrew club at Great Divide, and we knew we needed to grab a bite to eat to get something in our stomachs before heading over to the Great American Beer Festival. Although I had already been to Wynkoop a couple of days ago, it seemed to be the best place to grab a bite between Great Divide and the convention center. It was also a chance to try another one of their beers, and since I was in the mile...
173. Great Divide Brewing – Rumble Oak-Aged IPA
We finished up with work, and I’ve extended my work trip in Denver for one extra day so that I can attend the Great American Beer Festival. As a beer lover, this is an event I’ve always wanted to attend, but never thought I would actually be able to. The timing of this trip worked out perfectly. However, since GABF didn’t start until the evening, I had to find something to do with myself for the afternoon. I saw...
172. Odell Brewing – IPA Draft
We had a very long day today in Colorado – going from Denver, up to Boulder and the 4 Mile Canyon wildfire, then up to Greely, over to Loveland, and then near the Denver airport for the evening. After a day like that, I was ready to have a big bison burger at Ted’s Montana Grill and put down some good beers. Since I had a chance to try Odell’s St. Lupulin Extra Pale Ale, which was very nice, I thought I’d...
169. Odell Brewing – St. Lupulin Extra Pale Ale
A friend from my homebrew club – the ABNormal Brewers – mentioned that he had met someone from Odell Brewing and was a big fan of their beers. And, since we don’t get them in central Illinois yet, I thought I’d give their seasonal – St. Lupulin Extra Pale Ale – a try. It helps that I suspect by the name that it’s going to have a nice hop flavor to it. The bottle says, “A mystical...
167. Wynkoop Brewing – Fresh Hopped Cask IPA
I enjoyed having the B3K Schwartzbier with my bison burger, but now it was time for dessert. While my co-worker decided to get a scoop of ice cream, I went for the cask – which just happened to have a fresh hopped IPA with just-picked hops. I was clear and had a yellowish/orange color with a very thick soapy, bright white head on it. There was a nice hop aroma which was mostly floral and a little bit piney. It had a...
163. Anderson Valley Brewing – Hop Ottin’ IPA Draft
Tonight I’m at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington for a steering meeting for our homebrew club, the ABNormal Brewers. They’ve got $2 half pints, so it’s a good chance to try some different and interesting beers and get some work done on behalf of the club. The Anderson Valley IPA was clear and yellow with a very thin head on it. There was an obvious earthy hop aroma to it with some hints of a bready smell...
151. Laughing Dog Brewing – Dogzilla Black IPA
One of the trends I’m noticing in the craft beer industry is an attempt to shift perceptions of black/dark beers. Beer geeks roll their eyes when they hear someone say, “Oh, I don’t like dark beers.” So, I’ve noticed several “black” versions of regular beer styles – in particular, black lagers and black IPAs – in an attempt (I believe) to give beer geeks something different to...
149. Three Skulls Ales – Hop the Plank IPA Draft
I continued my mission to hit as many of the Northwestern breweries as I could at the Oregon Brewers Festival. Just inside the tent was Three Skulls Ales from Seattle. This festival was also helping me to dial in my palate to the type of hop bitterness I prefer. After a few ridiculously hopped beers, I started to realize that I preferred my hoppiness around 70 IBU’s and this one fit the bill. It was an amber/reddish color and...
Full Sail Brewing – Spotless IPA Cask
After taking the Widmer tour in the morning and having lunch at their Gasthaus pub, it was time to head south to Full Sail Riverplace for their smoker. It was a nice event for brewers and a few others to get away from the craziness of the festival and enjoy some beers and cigars with the folks from Full Sail. It was also a good excuse to have a small party for brewmaster John Harris’s birthday. I wish I would have taken some...
133. Firestone Walker Brewing – Union Jack IPA
While I was committed to trying as many Oregon beers as I could today, I couldn’t pass up this one. I’ve read, and seen on video podcasts, much about Firestone Walker out of Paso Robles, CA. What I know is that they age their beers in oak barrels (although, as I found out, this one isn’t), and that they’ve won several awards for their beers. So, I really wanted to give this beer a try. It had a nice burnt...
129. Hop Valley Brewing – Alpha Centauri Binary IPA Draft
As you can tell by the big grin on my face on the right (which never went away the entire time I was in Oregon), I was having a great time making the rounds at the Oregon Brewers Festival. As you can tell by the other picture on the right, I still had to make it through a lot more beers at the festival. There were almost 80 different beers there under two enormous tents. I had never heard of Hop Valley Brewing, but simply by the...
127. Double Mountain Brewery – The Vaporizer Draft
I was considering getting this beer when I was in Hood River, but when I saw that it was on the list for beers at the Oregon Brewers Festival, I thought I’d wait until… well, today. Still on my quest to try as many Oregon beers as I could today, this one was right on the way down the line. And, after having dinner with Brewmaster Matt Swihart yesterday, how could I not try it! The color was a golden yellow, and it had a...
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