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985. O’so Brewing Co. – King Louis XIII Imperial Barrel Aged Lager
Jul27

985. O’so Brewing Co. – King Louis XIII Imperial Barrel Aged Lager

In an attempt to try to make a little extra from this beer blog I’ve been writing for the last 15 years, I decided to sign up for some affiliate programs. One of the programs I tried was The Rare Beer Club. When I joined, I got a very nice note from them along with a couple of rare beers, including this one. This one looked very unique, being a barrel aged imperial lager, so I was eager to try it. I’m looking forward to...

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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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829. New Glarus Brewing – Back 40 Bock
Nov23

829. New Glarus Brewing – Back 40 Bock

My boss let me out of work early, so I came home to help get ready for Thanksgiving. My dad is here and my sister is on her way… Time for a beer to kick off the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. I picked up this beer during a trip up to New Glarus with my friend Steve a couple months ago. Location: Poured into a New Glarus tall pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL Numbers: 5.5% ABV, ~130 Calories Appearance &...

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825.  New Glarus Brewing – Bubbler
Nov14

825.  New Glarus Brewing – Bubbler

We’ve been cleaning up the house most of the day today, preparing for family to visit the next three weekends in a row. I’m settling in this evening watching President-elect Trump on 60 minutes and felt it was time for a beer. I picked this one up during my trip up to New Glarus Brewery a couple of months ago with my friend Steve. Location: Poured into a hefeweizen glass at my home in Bloomington, IL Numbers: 4% ABV, ~110...

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729. Green Bay Brewing – Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout
Sep14

729. Green Bay Brewing – Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout

My birthday was yesterday and we went out for some Mexican food for dinner. I didn’t really get a chance to try a good beer, so tonight I thought I’d pull one out of the beer fridge. I don’t remember exactly where I got this beer. I thought maybe it was one of the beers my sister brought me back from her trip to Asheville, North Carolina last year but since it’s from Wisconsin I think I may have gotten it...

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697. Tyranena Brewing – Rocky’s Revenge Bourbon Brown
May15

697. Tyranena Brewing – Rocky’s Revenge Bourbon Brown

My wife and I are up in Rochester, MN this evening because I have a checkup at Mayo Clinic. It’s been a little over a year since my heart surgery, and we’re here to see if my heart is shrinking back to normal size. Tonight, we went back to The Loop, a restaurant we hit the night before my surgery last year, because I remembered they had good food and a pretty good local tap list. I’d never heard of Tyranena Brewing...

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680. New  Glarus – Unplugged Cherry Stout
Mar08

680. New Glarus – Unplugged Cherry Stout

We’ve got our home on the market, and we had an open house this morning. This afternoon has been pretty relaxing, catching up on several beer reviews. After editing a few, I had a craving for one. So as I sit here during halftime of the Mizzou basketball game, I went out to the garage to grab a beer. I forgot to mention that the beer fridge is now gone, in storage while we move. So, all the beer is boxed up in the cold garage...

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663.  Ale Asylum – Hopalicious American Pale Ale
Jan26

663. Ale Asylum – Hopalicious American Pale Ale

I’m sitting here working on work stuff with the GRAMMY awards on TV. A “polar vortex” is blowing in outside and the wind sounds incredibly intense outside. I just had Revolution’s Double Fist, which seemed to have a good amount of Cascade hops (I’m guessing), so I thought I’d have this one next, since the label says, “Eleven separate editions of Cascade hops give this American pale ale...

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634. Steven’s Point Brewing Co. – Beyond The Pale IPA
Dec11

634. Steven’s Point Brewing Co. – Beyond The Pale IPA

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. I was having the fish tacos, and wanted to go with something I thought might complement them a bit better than the Central Waters Scottish ale I started out with. After being pretty impressed with the Whole Hog Pumpkin Ale from Steven’s Point a couple weeks ago, I thought I’d...

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629. New Glarus Brewing – Two Women Lager
Nov30

629. New Glarus Brewing – Two Women Lager

It’s Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, and I’m sitting at home watching college watching football. In particular, I’m watching my Mizzou Tigers take on Texas A&M and “Johnny Football.” It’s a been a tight game, and I decided to crack this one open a couple of these during the game. This beer was in a New Glarus variety 12 pack I picked up a few months ago when we were passing through Wisconsin...

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595. Shipwrecked – Door County Cherry Wheat Ale
Aug27

595. Shipwrecked – Door County Cherry Wheat Ale

We went out to dinner out tonight, and when we came home, I went out and picked some of my homegrown hops. After spending time picking hops, I like to grab a beer to remind myself of why I spend the time picking them. However, it was pretty hot outside, so I decided to grab something a little lighter and not-so-hoppy. This beer was given to me several months ago by my friend Jim after his trip to Wisconsin last year. Location: Poured...

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593. New Glarus Brewing – Strawberry Rhubarb
Aug25

593. New Glarus Brewing – Strawberry Rhubarb

I was back up at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota a couple weeks ago for an appointment, and stopped in both Minnesota and in Wisconsin to pick up beers I can’t get here at home in Illinois. I’ve had a few beers from New Glarus, and have enjoyed them – particularly their raspberry tart (which I haven’t reviewed yet, but picked up a bottle to review later). So, I was expecting this one would be pretty good.  It’s...

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566. Great Dane Pub & Brewing – Crop Circle Wheat
Mar27

566. Great Dane Pub & Brewing – Crop Circle Wheat

My family and I are headed from Central Illinois to Rochester, MN and Mayo Clinic for my mitral valve repair heart surgery. Around lunchtime we hit Madison, Wisconsin and decided to stop for lunch. Thanks to a recommendation from my friend Fred, we decided to stop at Great Dane Pub & Brewing and enjoy a sampler. With all sorts of tests tomorrow, I have to limit my beer/alcohol intake, so my wife and I split this. I started to do a...

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461. Central Waters Brewing – Satin Solstice Imperial Stout
Sep12

461. Central Waters Brewing – Satin Solstice Imperial Stout

Tonight I’m at Medici in Normal, IL.  A few members of our homebrew club are working on a beer for the Chicago Beer Hoptacular club competition.  Before the meeting I thought I’d grab a beer.  I didn’t recognize this beer or brewery, so I looked it up on my phone.  The brewery is located in Amherst, WI, and the beer had some pretty good reviews, so I thought I’d give it a shot and add it to my list....

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254. Potosi Brewing – Potosi Snake Hollow India Pale Ale IPA
Jan04

254. Potosi Brewing – Potosi Snake Hollow India Pale Ale IPA

I’ve mentioned in a couple previous reviews that my friend Jim took a trip to Wisconsin and brought several beers back for me to try.  This was one of a few he brought me from Potosi brewing, in Potosi, WI. Numbers: 7% ABV, 70 IBUs Appearance & Aroma: This was golden yellow and extremely clear with a decent sized, bright white, foamy head, which left some nice lacing on the glass.  There appeared to be plenty of carbonation...

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233. Potosi Brewing – Pure Malt Cave Ale
Dec10

233. Potosi Brewing – Pure Malt Cave Ale

A friend of mine from work, Jim, took a trip up to Wisconsin with his family and shared with me a few microbrews he brought back from his trip. When I looked in the beer fridge today, one of the beers he brought me back was right inside the door. I’ve had a Potosi beer once before, when my in-laws made it up to Wisconsin, they brought one back and gave it to me. It must be easy to find up there. This particular bottle had 6.5%...

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211. Capital Brewery – Fest Seasonal Beer
Oct26

211. Capital Brewery – Fest Seasonal Beer

When I went to Friar Tuck to find more pumpkin beers and Oktoberfests, I managed to find this one.  I assume that since it was out this time of year, and is simply called “Fest Seasonal Beer,” that it is an Oktoberfest beer.  As you can tell, I’m starting to struggle to find beers that qualify for my Oktoberfest Challenge, so if anyone here in town sees anything that would qualify, please let me know.  The bottle...

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41. New Glarus – Snowshoe Ale
May16

41. New Glarus – Snowshoe Ale

I’ve been working around the house a lot today, and I even was able to mow part of the lawn before the rain moved in. And since I felt like the morning was pretty productive I thought I’d enjoy a nice beer this afternoon. I went into the beer fridge and found a New Glarus Snowshoe Ale from this past winter’s trip up to Wisconsin Dells.  We got a chance to stop by the brewery on our way home and I bought a mixed case...

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