939. Maui Brewing – Coconut Hiwa Porter
Oct05

939. Maui Brewing – Coconut Hiwa Porter

It’s another fall Saturday, and I spent the morning cleaning up the house and prepping for our upcoming Halloween party. Now I’m watching Mizzou football while it’s raining outside, and thought I’d crack open this beer. I picked it up for a Hawaiian party we had (along with the coconut pictured). Location: Poured into a snifter style pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 6% ABV, 30 IBUs, 183...

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866. Sierra Nevada/Garage Project – Beer Camp Campout Porter
Jun23

866. Sierra Nevada/Garage Project – Beer Camp Campout Porter

It’s been a busy week, and I was thinking we might do a firepit night tonight (although we didn’t end up doing it). Therefore, I thought I’d try this beer, which the label says, “In honor of Beer Camp, our friends at New Zealand’s Garage Project brewery wanted to carry the camping theme straight through to the flavor of our beer. Featuring a unique malt smoked over manuka wood, rare manuka honey and...

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836. New Glarus Brewing – Smoke on the Porter
Jan02

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...

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835. Four Peaks Brewing – Pumpkin Porter
Dec29

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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802. West Sixth Brewing – Pay it Foward Cocoa Porter
Jan18

802. West Sixth Brewing – Pay it Foward Cocoa Porter

I was awoken this morning by my wife cleaning our bedroom, announcing she had a list of things for me to do today. I knocked out most of the stuff on the list, and even went to the gym today. So, I decided to reward myself with a beer tonight. This was part of a bunch of beers my sister brought back from her trip to Cincinnati and gave me for Christmas. Location: Poured into a snifter glass at my home in Bloomington, IL Numbers: 7%...

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794. Three Floyds – Alpha Klaus
Dec28

794. Three Floyds – Alpha Klaus

We had a great Christmas eve, Christmas, and weekend following the holiday. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much chance to enjoy some good beer. The good news was that my sister went to Cincinnati and brought back several beers for me, including this one. I don’t know how they can get this in Cincinnati, and we’re located 2.5 hours from Chicago and can’t get it here in central Illinois.  I’ve heard a lot...

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744. Redhook Ale Brewery – Out Of Your Gourd Pumpkin Porter
Nov08

744. Redhook Ale Brewery – Out Of Your Gourd Pumpkin Porter

It’s been a fairly relaxing Saturday watching college football and basketball and being mildly productive. Now that dinner is finished and the kids have taken over the main TV, I decided to sit down in the kitchen and enjoy a beer. I picked up this one in Chicago a few weeks ago, along with the other pumpkin beers I’ve been trying lately. I haven’t been too successful at finding new pumpkin beers to add to my top 10...

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730. Harmon Brewing – Puget Sound Porter
Sep18

730. Harmon Brewing – Puget Sound Porter

It’s nearing the end of the second week of my new job. It’s still a bit overwhelming… Sort of like being thrown in to a foreign country – learning a new language, culture, and geography. After getting home and putting together some new furniture my wife bought, I decided to crack open this craftbeer that was sent to me by my friend Betty, who moved to Tacoma, WA last year. The bottle says it’s...

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258. Founders Brewing – Backwoods Bastard Rereviewed
May02

258. Founders Brewing – Backwoods Bastard Rereviewed

Thank God it’s Friday. It’s been a full day at work, and then my son’s baseball team had practice tonight. I’m an assistant coach, so I had to help. When I got home, I had to dig up a huge crown of Cascade hops. Since we’re moving soon, I wanted to bring them over to the new house and plant them. After all that work, I decided it was time for a very good beer – especially since I haven’t had many...

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692. Summit Brewing – Great Northern Porter
Mar31

692. Summit Brewing – Great Northern Porter

The weather is finally getting nice around here, and I was outside for a while after work playing soccer with my son. After we were finished, it was nice to come inside and sit down with a beer while my wife made dinner. This beer was part of a mixed 6 pack my wife got me for my birthday in the fall. I figured since it was getting warmer, I’d better enjoy this porter before it got too warm. Location: Poured into a slightly...

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686. Green Man Brewing – Porter
Mar15

686. Green Man Brewing – Porter

As I mentioned in my last couple posts, it’s my daughter’s birthday this weekend. We already had a party for her friends at Chuck E Cheese, followed by a Threadless IPA from Finch’s. Now, we’re having our family party. My sister is in town, and if you follow the blog, you know she and her friends give me a lot of content (i.e. beer) for this blog. So, while she was there (pictured behind the beer), I cracked...

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683. Founders Brewing – Porter
Mar12

683. Founders Brewing – Porter

I’ve been out running errands this evening and now have a chance to chill out. I can’t remember where I got this beer. As I mentioned, we’re getting ready to move, so all the beer from the beer fridge is in boxes out in the garage. I found two bottles of this beer, so I thought I’d continue to lighten the load for moving and have both. Location: Poured into a curved pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL....

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675. Bell’s Brewing – Porter
Feb14

675. Bell’s Brewing – Porter

It’s Valentines Day and with everything we have going on, we’re having dinner at home. I went into the fridge to find something to enjoy and found this one hiding in back. I’m not quite sure when I got it, but it is a bottle with batch number 10212 on it. Location: Poured into a curved pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 5.6% ABV, 1.055 OG, ~140 Calories Appearance & Aroma: It’s dark brown,...

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655. Kona Brewing – Pipeline Porter
Jan18

655. Kona Brewing – Pipeline Porter

As I mentioned, my wife and I are on a Tales, Taverns & Towns tour in Chicago, and our first stop was the Green Door Tavern, where I had Morning Wood from Local Option. On the bus, our guide, Liz, had some beers available for us to drink on our way to the next stop. I saw this was a porter from Kona that was brewed with 100% Kona coffee, and since I knew we were in for a long evening, I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea to...

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637. Greenbush Brewing – Distorter Porter
Dec12

637. Greenbush Brewing – Distorter Porter

After a nice dinner at Reality Bites with my friend Joe, and a great Wookey Jack on draft, we headed down the street to Fat Jacks. One nice thing about living close to Chicago is that we tend to get a good supply of Goose Island’s barrel aged stuff, and Fat Jacks had their Bourbon County Brand Stout on tap. So, after have a snifter of that fine beer, I decided to finish off the evening with this one. Location: On tap and served...

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621. Grand Canyon Brewing – Pumpkin Springs Porter
Nov02

621. Grand Canyon Brewing – Pumpkin Springs Porter

It’s a Saturday afternoon, and per my usual routine this time of year, I’m watching college football and sitting down to enjoy a beer. It’s that time of year for pumpkin beers, and I got this one in the mail a few weeks ago. If your regular reader, you know that this is one of my favorite beer styles, and I’m always looking for new pumpkin beers to try. I like that this one had the wax over the cap and...

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612. Red Brick Brewing – Brick Mason Smoked Vanilla Gorilla Porter
Oct10

612. Red Brick Brewing – Brick Mason Smoked Vanilla Gorilla Porter

After having some wings and a couple beers at Taco Mac in Atlanta, GA, my friend Joe said it was time to check out “The Fred.” It’s the name of a private bar below Taco Mac that you get access to if you’ve enjoyed enough different beers at Taco Mac. We walked downstairs and up to an inconspicuous door with a doorbell. When we walked it, it seemed to have a great speakeasy vibe – dimly lit with dark...

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598. Snoqualmie Falls Brewing – Steam Train Porter
Aug31

598. Snoqualmie Falls Brewing – Steam Train Porter

My cousin Stephen lives in Seattle, and after I sent him a package of my homebrew, he sent me back a package of beers from the Pac Northwest. I’ve had a few of them, but hadn’t felt like having the porter he sent. However, it’s a college football Saturday, and I’m watching my Mizzou Tigers’ game. On the bottle it says, “Steam Train Porter is named for the historic trains that line Snoqualmie’s...

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585. Bad Weather Brewing – Ominous
Jul29

585. Bad Weather Brewing – Ominous

I’m up at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for a checkup on my heart, and we took a break for lunch. We found a place down the street called McGoon’s Taxi Co. Restaurant and Pub and had some lunch. I was happy to see they had a local craft beer on tap, so I had to give it a try. Location: On tap and served in a regular pint glass with a Minnesota Twins logo at McGoons Taxi Co. Restaurant and Pub. Numbers: 7.5% ABV, 40 IBUs,...

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534. SanTan Brewing – Sex Panther Double Chocolate Porter
Feb07

534. SanTan Brewing – Sex Panther Double Chocolate Porter

A month or so ago I got a Rail Slide Imperial Spiced Ale from SanTan Brewing in the mail. So couple of weeks ago, I got this beer in the mail from them. I love the name and graphic on the can, on which it says, “Sex Panther is a silky smooth Double Chocolate Porter brewed with Colonial Rosewood Cocoa and large amounts of Chocolate malt for a huge chocolatey flavor with hints of truffle and molasses. White wheat is added to give...

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