507. The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery – Milk Stout
Dec29

507. The Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery – Milk Stout

We’ve been enjoying the holidays by working around the house, doing a little bit of cleaning, but mostly enjoying some of our new toys and tech.  After having the Highland Kashmir IPA, and noticing the date on it was from 2/22/11, I figured I’d better check some of the other beers given to me by my sister’s friend.  I grabbed this one and noticed the bottle was marked with a 7/11 date, and figured I’d better...

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504. Urban Chestnut Brewing Co – Thrale’s
Dec22

504. Urban Chestnut Brewing Co – Thrale’s

We’re in St. Louis for the holidays and went out with my friend Joe and his wife to watch the Mizzou-Illinois basketball game (I went to Mizzou and my wife went to Illinois). After meeting at Perennial Artisan Ales (hoping they’d have some TVs to watch the game, or some Abraxas I could buy – they had neither), we went to the International Tap House (iTap) in Soulard to watch the game. My friend Joe had this one...

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467. Elysian Fields – Dark O’ the Moon
Oct02

467. Elysian Fields – Dark O’ the Moon

As I mentioned in my last post, when I reviewed Elysian’s Blight Pumpkin Ale, I’m in Seattle this week for work.  My first stop after landing was Elysian, because it was between the airport and my hotel downtown.  As a fan of great pumpkin beers, I tried to order their Great Pumpkin Ale, but they were out.  So I went with their Blight Pumpkin Ale first.  When it came time to order another beer with my meal, I went with...

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441. Big Muddy Brewing – Vanilla Stout
Jun11

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...

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415. Ska Brewing – Steel Toe Stout
Mar03

415. Ska Brewing – Steel Toe Stout

My friend Joe and I have been on our somewhat annual tour of St. Louis microbreweries. So far this weekend, we hit Perennial Artisan Ales, 4 Hands, and Urban Chestnut, along with a stop at the International Tap House in Soulard. We’re now at Dressel’s Public House in the Central West End having dinner and a couple more beers. I already had Urban Chestnut Brewing Co’s Zwickel with dinner, and now I’m finishing...

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397. Sierra Nevada – Stout
Feb19

397. Sierra Nevada – Stout

Maybe it’s the cool weather, but I’ve been enjoying stouts lately and just had Founders Imperial Stout. I was feeling like doing another beer review on this lazy Sunday night, so I looked into the beer fridge and this beer was sitting right up front. The bottle says, “Sierra Nevada original stout is brewed with generous amounts of deep roasted malts, providing a bold, roasted coffee and dark chocolate flavor with a...

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378. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Oatmeal Stout
Nov25

378. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Oatmeal Stout

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and we headed to St. Louis to spend some time with my dad and sister.  We decided to head over to my cousin’s new house to see it along with their adorable daughter.  They offered me a beer while we were hanging out, and took this beer.  I checked my list and saw I hadn’t had it yet, so I thought I’d write a quick review. Location: Enjoyed a bottle, at my cousin’s house in...

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344. Charleville Vineyard & Microbrewery – German Chocolate Cake
Jul02

344. Charleville Vineyard & Microbrewery – German Chocolate Cake

As I mentioned in my last post on Charleville’s Box of Chocolate, my wife and I are out in St. Louis with my friend Joe and his wife. After dinner, we went to Bailey’s Chocolate Bar in Lafayette Square for desserts and drinks.  After having the Box of Chocolate, and ordering a chocolate dessert, I thought I’d go ahead and give this unique beer, also from Charleville, a shot. Location: On tap at Bailey’s Chocolate Bar in...

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336. Dugges Ale & Porterbryggeri AB – Kals Stout Oatmeal Stout
Jun05

336. Dugges Ale & Porterbryggeri AB – Kals Stout Oatmeal Stout

As I’ve mentioned in my last several posts, I’ve been in St. Louis and Columbia, MO this weekend, hitting microbreweries and playing golf. I’m staying at my friend Joe’s house today trying to recover before playing in another golf tournament tomorrow. As part of the recovery process, Joe cracked open this bottle of beer from Dugges, a microbrewery in Mölndal, outside Gothenburg, Sweden. He had a friend from...

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268. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Raspberry Coffee Stout
Jan30

268. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Raspberry Coffee Stout

I found out about this beer a few months back from STLHops, and I knew I had to try it. St. Louis Brewery/Schlafly, makes a very good coffee stout (review coming soon), and I think it has a lot to do with the Kaldi’s coffee they use (and the cold steeping process for extracting the coffee flavors).  I had never thought of a coffee-raspberry combination before, but once I had heard of it, I knew that it sounded pretty good. Also,...

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253. Atwater Block – Cherry Stout
Jan03

253. Atwater Block – Cherry Stout

It’s the first day back at work and it wasn’t too bad, but that doesn’t mean I won’t come home and have a good beer.  Besides, I’ve been pretty proud of myself for catching up on my posts (several have been written while I sit at the computer, as I am now).   Additionally, I’ve been thinking about making these review a little easier to read, so let me know what you think about this format. This...

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229. Springfield Brewing – Blacksmith Stout
Dec06

229. Springfield Brewing – Blacksmith Stout

I’m in Springfield, Missouri for work today (actually we spent the day working in Branson, but we’re staying in Springfield), and as always, I was easily able to convince my travel buddy Steve to stop at the local brew pub for dinner and a couple beers after a long day.  I always try to sample something unique and different, and was told by the server about their Blacksmith Stout – a dry-hopped stout with a roasty...

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227. Murphy Brewery Ireland Ltd – Murphy’s Irish Stout Draft
Dec03

227. Murphy Brewery Ireland Ltd – Murphy’s Irish Stout Draft

We had promised the kids earlier in the week that we would go out for pizza on Friday night and then drive around looking at Christmas lights.  We were not anticipating 4+ inches of snow to be on the ground by dinnertime.  We were able to talk them out of the usual Godfather’s pizza (they lover the ball pit), and went to Lucca Grill.  They have thin crust pizza and a decent beer selection.  However, the Murphy’s Irish...

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152. Oakshire Brewing – Overcast Espresso Stout
Jul25

152. Oakshire Brewing – Overcast Espresso Stout

I was thoroughly enjoying my last day at the Oregon Brewers Festival, but I noticed I was down to my last few tokens.  So, I decided to head toward another Oregon brewery, especially one that had a short line – not because it wasn’t a good beer, but because a thick coffee stout wasn’t appealing to many on a hot Sunday afternoon.  However, my appreciation for Russian Imperial Stouts drew me to this one. It was very...

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145. Mt. Hood Brewing – Hogs Back Stout Cask
Jul25

145. Mt. Hood Brewing – Hogs Back Stout Cask

I had a free morning to explore Oregon and had a choice – do I head west and see the coast, or east and see Mt. Hood. Being from the flatlands of the midwest, I went to Ridgeline Lodge on Mt. Hood. It had some incredible views and it nice and relaxing. I was a bit surprised the ski lift was open and people were able to ski there during the end of July. I’ve attached a picture on the right so you can see how cool it was....

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139. Rogue Ales – Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout
Jul23

139. Rogue Ales – Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout

After the Oregon Brewers Festival drew to a close, I decided to stop back by the Rogue hospitality suite one more time to see what was going on.  It was my hope to see if any other brewers might be stopping by.  It was mostly the guys from Rogue, but it gave me an opportunity to try another Rogue beer I hadn’t had before.  There was plenty of the Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout, and I’m a fan of stouts, so I thought I’d...

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52. New Glarus Brewing – Road Slush Stout
May27

52. New Glarus Brewing – Road Slush Stout

I got an email today that I was being followed on Twitter by New Glarus Brewery, so I thought I’d grab another one of their beers out of the beer fridge. I’ve only got a few left to choose from, so I grabbed the Road Slush Stout, even though it’s almost Memorial Day. It says it’s brewed with fresh oatmeal and includes chocolate and victory malts. When I poured it, it was black with some ruby colors coming...

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47. Founders Brewing – Breakfast Stout
May21

47. Founders Brewing – Breakfast Stout

When I got home from work today, I discovered that the radiator on my car was leaking very severely gushing fluid onto the garage floor.  So tonight I went to the beer fridge in need of something big and strong.  Fortunately, I had a Founders Breakfast Stout in there.  It’s a label says that it is 8.3% alcohol by volume and that it is a double chocolate coffee oatmeal stout, thus, the name, Breakfast Stout. When I poured it, it...

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40. The Lion Brewery Ceylon – Lion Stout
May14

40. The Lion Brewery Ceylon – Lion Stout

I’m finally back from my travels, and we took the kids to the zoo in Peoria today.  We stopped at Old Chicago on the Peoria riverfront for lunch before heading home.  Unfortunately, their draft beers were in transition, so I took the opportunity to try the most unique beer I could find on the menu.  It said Lion Stout was brewed in Sri Lanka, so I thought I’d give that one a try. The bottle said that it was 8% ABV, and...

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28. Mendocino Brewing – Black Hawk Stout
May07

28. Mendocino Brewing – Black Hawk Stout

Back at home for the weekend, I finally tried the last style in the Mendocino brewing Company variety pack. This one was the Black Hawk Stout.  It says, ” a dry, crisp, classic Irish stout character, replete with the heady bouquet of richly roasted malt, makes this staff, an ever so creamy and delectably smooth experience.” It says that its 5% alcohol by volume. It poured a dark black color with a nice head.  However, the...

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