951. Perennial Artisan Ales – Suburban Beverage
Jul09

951. Perennial Artisan Ales – Suburban Beverage

It’s been more than a month since my last beer review, and we’re still in quarantine. We’ve been working from home for almost the last four months. Since we haven’t been able to go anywhere, I’ve been able to get a lot of work done around the house. I’ve renovated the kids’ bathroom, and nearly replaced my entire deck due to rot/age. Although you’d think working from home, there would be...

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940. Urban South/Illuminated Brew Works – Two Levees Raspberry Tart
Oct06

940. Urban South/Illuminated Brew Works – Two Levees Raspberry Tart

It’s Sunday evening and we had a great afternoon bicycling with friends to Keg Grove Brewery here in town. I realized I haven’t reviewed many beers lately, although if you follow me on Untappd (1KBeers), you’d see I’ve had a chance to visit several breweries and have many new beers the last few months. One of the breweries we visited a couple weeks ago was Urban South Brewery in New Orleans. As it turns out, a...

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886. Jolly Pumpkin – La Parcela No. 1 Pumpkin Ale
Dec28

886. Jolly Pumpkin – La Parcela No. 1 Pumpkin Ale

It’s been a fairly slow week at work this week with no one in the office really. So tonight, we’re relaxing a bit and preparing for a murder mystery party we’re hosting tomorrow night. I’ve been trying to finish off the IPAs and seasonal beers I have in the beer fridge. I bought this one five years ago for October, and never got around to having it. The bottle is marked as “Blend 16” and says it was...

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853. Jolly Pumpkin – Noel de Calabaza (2011)
Mar10

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...

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828. Triton Brewing – Shot to the Tart
Nov23

828. Triton Brewing – Shot to the Tart

We’ve got two days until Thanksgiving and my wife is having the carpets cleaned tomorrow. So, what does she decide to do? Start putting up Christmas decorations!?! So I’m going to chill with a beer. I’ve got several New Glarus beers handy from my trip to the brewery with my friend Steve, but it feels like I just had their Bubbler. So I decided to finally crack this one open, which was given to me by my friend Kevin...

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778.  Goose Island – Lolita (2013)
Aug22

778.  Goose Island – Lolita (2013)

This past Monday, I had to go back up to Mayo Clinic to see my cardiologist. the good news is that my heart is back to a normal size and I can start to ween off the medications (over the next couple years). The bad news is that he’s concerned about my weight gain and cholesterol. Admittedly, I’ve not been good about eating well this past year. He recommended I start dieting immediately, so I did. I’ve been very good...

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715. Right Brain Brewery – Looping Owl
Aug07

715. Right Brain Brewery – Looping Owl

We’re up in St. Joseph, MI for an extended weekend and a friend who lives nearby recommended The Buck for dinner. She told me they had good food and an incredible beer list. It was a good chance for me to try a few local beers I wouldn’t be able to get back at home. My friend Joe went to Traverse City and stopped at this brewery and had good things to say, so I thought I’d give one of their beers a try. Location: On...

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673. Lost Abbey – Double Red Poppy
Feb08

673. Lost Abbey – Double Red Poppy

My dad is in town for the weekend, and we decided to go out to dinner with him tonight. We’d been to Firehouse Pizza Pub in Normal, IL once and I thought the pizza sauce was way too sweet. However, since they had some pretty good beers on tap, I thought I’d give it another chance. We had their New York style pizza and it was actually pretty good (less sauce). After hearing the beer selection, I decided to go for this one,...

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635. New Belgium – Lips of Faith Heavenly Feijoa Tripel
Dec11

635. New Belgium – Lips of Faith Heavenly Feijoa Tripel

As I mentioned in my last couple of posts, I’m out to dinner with my friend Joe, who is in town for work this week. We’re at Medici in Normal for dinner and a few craft beers. After dinner, I was looking for something flavorful and interesting to try as an almost dessert beer. I’ve had a few beers in New Belgium’s Lips of Faith series and felt like a sour beer might fit the bill. Location: On tap and served in...

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564. Russian River Brewing – Supplication Ale
Mar25

564. Russian River Brewing – Supplication Ale

  I found out I’m going to need mitral valve repair heart surgery this coming Friday, so I’m digging in the beer fridge for a few good ones before I have to head to Mayo Clinic for the surgery. I picked this one up in Seattle when I was there a few months ago, and brought it back on the plane with me. The bottle indicates it’s aged in Pinot Noir barrels with cherries added. It says its aged in the barrel 12-15 months...

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425. Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works – St. Dekkera Reserve Bela Imperial Pilsner Sour Ale
May14

425. Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works – St. Dekkera Reserve Bela Imperial Pilsner Sour Ale

My friend Joe had been in Chicago all weekend and was passing through central Illinois on his way home to St. Louis. He wanted to meet at Destihl for a couple of beers on his way through town, as he’s heard me talk a lot about their beers, as well as the opportunity to brew here when I won their homebrew contest a few years ago. They’ve become very well known for their St. Dekkera Reserve series of barrel aged beers, due...

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391. Bell’s Brewery – Oarsman Ale
Jan22

391. Bell’s Brewery – Oarsman Ale

It’s a pretty relaxing evening at home, and I’m caught up on this blog.  I already reviewed Highland Brewing’s St. Terese’s Pale Ale, but had a few minutes before I had to put the kids to bed.  I reached into the beer fridge and blindly pulled this one out.  I picked this one up several months ago during a trip to Bell’s Brewery in Michigan in May (when I reviewed their Wild One Sour Brown Ale), so...

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360. Two Brothers Brewing – Askew Sour Ale
Aug26

360. Two Brothers Brewing – Askew Sour Ale

During the Bruegala beer festival, they had a few special release beers, which were a few somewhat hard to get a hold of bottles.  This one was one of those beers.  My experiences with sour beers has been mixed, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but figured that since it was one of the featured beers, I’d give it a try. Location: Enjoyed a 3oz sample, in a sampling glass, at Bruegala in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 6.5% ABV, ~...

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320. Bell’s Brewing – Wild One Sour Brown Ale Draft
May07

320. Bell’s Brewing – Wild One Sour Brown Ale Draft

This weekend, I’m in Kalamazoo, Michigan, traveling with my dad to see my sister’s football game. She plays professional women’s tackle football for the St. Louis Slam, and is here playing the Western Michigan Mayhem. We got into town early and I was really looking forward to stopping at Bell’s Eccentric Café for lunch and visiting their store to pick up some Bell’s beer and gear. The Eccentric Café had a...

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182. Bell’s Brewery – Bourbon Barrel Aged Hell Hath No Fury Draft
Sep29

182. Bell’s Brewery – Bourbon Barrel Aged Hell Hath No Fury Draft

At our homebrew club steering meeting, one of the guys mentioned that they had Bell’s Hell Hath No Fury on draft at Medici.  So, I decided to quickly stop by and try it.  I had read about it on Bell’s website and which says, “Originally conceived along the lines of a Belgian Dubbel, Hell Hath No Fury… Ale morphed during development into something entirely different. Blending a pair of Belgian abbey-style yeasts...

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100. Double Mountain Brewery – Devils Kriek Draft
Jul20

100. Double Mountain Brewery – Devils Kriek Draft

After spending the afternoon enjoying all of the great beers that Full Sail had, I was almost ready to call it a night.  However, I wanted to try as many different beers as I could on this trip.  So, I stopped at Double Mountain brewery, which was literally right around the corner, and was actually started by a former brewer from Full Sail.  The brewmaster and one of the owners, Matt Swihart, also owns a cherry orchard, and uses some...

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24. Brouwerij Bavik – Petrus Oud Bruin
May04

24. Brouwerij Bavik – Petrus Oud Bruin

This is one that I had never heard of before, and I also don’t think I’ve ever seen an Oud Bruin style beer in a bottle, so I had to try it.  The label says that it is an Oud Bruin Ale aged in Oak Casks.  It says, “Petrus Old Brown is a top-fermented dark ale brewed with the finest hops and malt varieties.  Matured in oak barrels during 20 months.”  It says it is a product of Belgium and is 5.5% ABV. When I...

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