719. Founders Brewing – Dissenter Imperial IPL 2014
I’m at Fat Jack’s in Bloomington, IL tonight for a meeting about our homebrew club’s For What it’s Wort competition. I was looking at the beer list, and hadn’t heard of this beer from Founders Brewing. They make some pretty good beers, so I didn’t think it was much of a risk to give this one a try. Some quick research on my phone told me it’s a hoppy, flavorful lager, so I was eager to give it...
693. Goose Island – Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout 2010
My wife and kids are at religious education tonight, so I’ve got the house to myself. I’ve been bringing beers in from the garage, since I had to empty the beer fridge, because we’re moving. I was able to snag this a few years ago at the local liquor store before they became so impossible to find. It’s been sitting at the bottom of the beer fridge for a few years now. The bottle says, Each year at the Festival...
667. Samuel Adams – Norse Legend Sahti
It’s Super Bowl Sunday and we’re staying in from the cold and cleaning house. I figured it was time to take a break and have a beer. I’m trying to clean out the beer fridge, since we might be moving soon, and this is one of the bigger bottles in it. I bought this in a mixed 3 pack of these Sam Adams specialty beers last Christmas. My friend Travis bought the same pack and said the barleywine could use some age, so...
651. New Glarus Brewing – Raspberry Tart
I was having dinner with my family last night and noticed that my daughter was saving her favorite food until last. My wife commented that she must take after me, because that’s what I tend to do. I’ll admit, there are several great beers in the fridge, but I keep saving them until later. Well, I’ve decided not to wait, and as long as I have time to sit down and enjoy a beer, I should start enjoying the special ones....
639. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Schlafly Christmas Ale
We are in St. Louis this weekend for the holidays, and today, we’re at a party at my aunt and uncle’s house to meet my cousin Steve’s baby daughter Harper. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know I visited Steve last fall and he took me to a number of breweries around Seattle. He and I share an appreciation for good beer, and so my aunt bought some local craft beers for us “beer snobs.”...
638. Pipeworks Brewing Co. – End of Days Batch 168
Its just a lazy Sunday and I’m trying to make some progress on clearing out the beer fridge. I picked up this brew (and a few others) when I was in Chicago for work a few months ago. I’ve been following this brewery’s progress since they started a Kickstarter campaign to start up a couple years ago. I’ve been waiting for their stuff to make it downstate, but it hasn’t yet. The bottle says,”End of...
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...
596. Rogue Ales – Voodoo Donut Bacon Maple Ale
When I went to Portland, I made sure I stopped at VooDoo Donut and had a bacon maple bar… twice. I’d seen a couple of shows on Food Network and Travel Channel highlighting the place, and I had to say I’d been there. It was a great experience and had some awesome donuts. I wasn’t so sure how this sweet treat would translate into a beer, and I’d considered buying a bottle of it when it came out. However,...
549. Perennial Artisan Ales – Peace Offering
As I mentioned with the Perennial Hommel Bier I had, my dad lives in St. Louis and I visit there often. I stopped by Perennial once and picked up a couple of beers, but I can’t remember when it was, and there’s no date on the bottle. The bottle says, ” Peace offering is un-American brown ale, brewed with a few hundred pounds of maple roasted Missouri squash. We hope you enjoy our take on autumn in that the flavors...
441. Big Muddy Brewing – Vanilla Stout
After our homebrew club meeting this evening, I headed over to Flingers Pizza and Pub in downtown Bloomington, IL for one last drink. They have craft beers on tap there for half price on Mondays, and I was fortunate they had one I haven’t had yet. I’ve seen beers from Big Muddy on the shelf at the local liquor store, but haven’t tried any of their beers yet. Location: On tap and served in a regular pint glass at...
413. Urban Chestnut Brewing – Old Tjikko
We’ve decided to hang out at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company for a while on my mini-microbrewery tour of St. Louis. We’ve visited a couple places in the last couple days, and my friend Joe and I are making our way through the extensive beer menu here at UCBC. After getting a sample, I decided to go ahead and get this beer, which is bittered spruce tips. Accroding to the brewery, it “is an aggressively...
412. Urban Chestnut Brewing Company – Wolpertinger
After a few beers at 4 Hands Brewing, and a couple more at the International Tap House (ITAP) in Soulard, Joe and I continued our St. Louis microbrewery tour by heading to Urban Chestnut Brewing Company. I finally got a chance to try this new brewery last summer and really enjoyed it. One of their signature beers I tried last time is their Winged Nut, which is made with milled chestnuts. This beer is what they refer to as their...
404. Perennial Artisan Ales – Abraxas
After having the Vermilion, my friend Joe demanded we get a bottle of the Abraxas. He’s had it before and raved about it. It’s an “Imperial Stout aged on Mexican cocoa nibs, ancho chiles, vanilla beans, and cinnamon,” so as you can tell, it’s supposed to have a rich, complex flavor. Location: Poured from a 750ml bottle into a goblet glass, at Perennial Artisan Ales in St. Louis, MO. Numbers: 10% ABV, ~...
375. Flat Branch Pub & Brewing – Green Chili Beer
We’re in Columbia, Missouri today for homecoming at my alma mater, the University of Missouri. You might remember we were here a year ago for Homecoming as well, when I reviewed their Cherry Brown Ale and Hudson’s E.S.B. This beer has been a long-time favorite of my friend @jkaiseresq, so I thought I’d give it a try. Location: Enjoyed an imperial pint at Flat Branch Pub & Brewing in Columbia, MO. Ingredients: A...
329. Urban Chestnut – Winged Nut
After having an awesome lunch at The Shaved Duck, my friend Joe took me to the first stop of our “mini-micro” tour of St. Louis – Urban Chestnut. It’s a microbrewery that opened in January near the St. Louis University campus. Founders Florian Kuplent and David Wolfe started it after leaving Anheuser-Busch when it was bought out by InBev. I’ve heard good things about them and was really looking forward...
250. Anchor Brewing – 1999 Our Special Christmas Ale
We’re having our ABNormal Brewers steering meeting tonight at Fat Jack’s, and Fred, our former president, brought this bottle to share. He said he found it at a liquor store up near Chicago, and they had several 6 packs of every year of Anchor’s Christmas Ale since 1999. I’ve already rated Anchor’s 2010 Christmas Ale. It was a deep, dark brown color, and had very little head on it. In fact, it...
246. Sierra Nevada – 2010 Celebration Fresh Hop Ale
I spent most of the day cleaning up and setting up my kids new Christmas presents, so I was ready for a good beer. This one came highly recommended, so I picked up one in a mix-a-six. The bottle says, “Celebration ale is a special ale for the holidays. Featuring the first hops of the growing season, this pioneering IPA is full of complex flavors and aromas from the generous use of whole cone American hops. 6.8% ABV” It...
245. Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg – 2009 Samichlaus Classic Bier
I mentioned a few weeks back that the presentation at our local homebrew club meeting was holiday beers. This beer was one of the samples, and I knew I had to pic up a bottle. As I learned that the Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson, had written about this beer – the strongest lager in the world, at 14% ABV, it is aged for a year from St. Nicholas day. The bottle reaffirms hist story, saying, “Bottled only once a year on...
243. Breckenridge Brewery – Christmas Ale
We at my parents tonight to celebrate the holidays, and unfortunately, we’ve got two sick kids. We have a family tradition of getting together with my mom’s side of the family tonight, but had to miss it. So we’re sitting here snuggling with them on the couch watching Christmas movies/cartoons. So, I thought I’d bring one of the couple Christmas brews I brought along to make the holidays a little more...
241. Anchor Brewing – 2010 Our Special Ale
I had to stop by Friar Tuck, my local liquor store, for a gift card, and as you might expect, I couldn’t walk out without some beer. I kept it somewhat reasonable, sticking with some holiday beers and a bottle of Infinium. This was one of the seasonal holiday beers I picked up, although I had to buy a whole 6 pack. I’m hoping to trade a few bottles for a few different beers. This bottle says, “This is the...
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