12 Beers of Christmas | Day 9- Mikkeller’s From To

8.0% ABV

Holy holiday cheer this beer is outstanding. Malty + sprucey + notes of a subtle mint chocolate. The balanced mouthfeel embodies a depth of both flavor and complexity, … Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Day 8- Shiner Cheer

When you’re from Texas, you’re not just from Texas. Being from Texas is more like a lifestyle than a classification. We almost all get the state outline tattooed somewhere on … Read More

12 Beers of Christmas: Day 5 | New Belgium’s Snow Day

Growing up in Wisconsin, I am familiar with snow days. The anticipation as I went to bed wondering if it would be my alarm to wake me up or my mom coming in to unplug my clock and tell me school was cancelled. Putting on layers of waterproof clothes that would be enough to keep me warm as I played in the yard with my siblings for as many hours as my body could handle. Snow days have a special place in my heart, and as I open this cold bottle, warm memories come back to me. Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Day 4- Southern Tier’s 2XMAS

“…with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads…” If by sugar, he means malt, and by plumbs, he meant prunes. If he means stomach instead of head and drunken stupor instead of visions, then he must have bellied up at The Beer Trappe on Saturday night as Southern Tier’s 2XMAS joined the tap rotation. By the way, what the crap is a sugarplum?

Read More

12 Beers of Christmas | Day 3-Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s Celebration Ale

Style: American Style IPA
ABV: 6.8%
IBU: 65

Celebrate good times, come on!
It’s a celebration
Celebrate good times, come on!
Let’s celebrate… Read More

#9 | Magic Hat Brewing Co.

OMGeeeeeee! After a long awaited arrival, Magic Hat #9 is finally here! The first time I saw it sitting quietly in a liquor store cooler, I shrieked like a 10-year old school girl. Those of you from the East Coast have been able to get your hands on it for a while, and have tortured us less fortunate Coloradans with your tales of taste and complexity. But no more!

Read More

Winter Warmer – Columbus Brewing Co.

Highland Brewing Co. | Black Mocha Stout

ABV: 5%

IBU: 25

I was lucky enough to come across Highland Brewing Company‘s Black Mocha Stout on a recent trip through Asheville. Sadly, I didn’t spend much time in the city, but I did manage to get through the giant Biltmore Estate, sample a few wines, and grab some dinner. Read More

Equinox Brewing – Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Stout

ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 28

I don’t know about you, but I like delicious things. I also like beer. So, when I heard that Equinox Brewing was taking their already tasty Mr. Delicious Oatmeal Stout and turning it into a limited edition 10 gallon batch to create a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Stout, I freaked, and for good reason. I made it down to the brewery just in time (by the time I finished my one and only pint, it was gone).

Read More

Mississippi Brewing Co. – Mississippi Mud

For this week’s beer showcase, I present a twofer. That’s right, two beers in one. A Black and Tan (porter and pilsner) from Mississippi Brewing Company in Utica, NY called Mississippi Mud. Read More

Grimm Brothers Brewhouse- Weihnachts Bier

ABV 8.5% IBU 23 SRM 30

Chances are unless you have been to Germany you might not have had a traditional Weihnachts Bier. Pronounce veye-nuchts-beer, the name comes from the German word for Christmas, Weihnachten. This beer is traditionally seen during the advent, or 4 weeks before Christmas in Germany and is gaining popularity in the US. The huge malt bill creates a high ABV, great for warming up on those cold winter nights. Read More

New Belgium Brewing- Imperial Coffee Chocolate Stout

Lost in the shuffle in the more recent trends of sours, black IPAs, saisons, and old world recipes has been the foregone marriage of chocolate and coffee. Sure a few classic coffee beers are still hanging around shelves, or pop up infrequently from start up microbreweries, such as Renegade’s Sunday Morning.  But it seems like those coffee flavored brews have lost some of the hype.  New Belgium’s Imperial Coffee Stout definitely restores that swag.

Read More

Jester King- Noble King Steals the Jam

Some buddies and I have started a weekly jam session dubbed “Jam and Bomb”. We get together, drink bombers, and noodle around on our instruments. Usually the beer takes a back seat to the rock but this week the beer offered some pleasant surprises.

Read More

Stone Brewing’s- Lukcy Basartd

Pump the breaks on that spell checker, Stone’s Lukcy Basartd needs no correction.  After initially noticing the devious yet iconic demonic image on the front, beer purveyors need flip the bomber over to notice a hefty description about Lukcy Basartd’s origins. Oh and it should be noted that the entire description is also written in that same disjointed misspelled jargon.

Read More

Bridal Veil Rye Pale Ale – Telluride Brewing Co.

Image provided by Lauren Hoff of Napa of Beer

ABV: 5.5% IBUs: 65

Telluride Brewing Company took me by surprise. While visiting that oh-so-gorgeous mountain town, my friend and I stopped for dinner at Brown Dog Pizza after a long day of driving and hiking. Naturally, we decided a few beers were in order. We dove into their draft selection from Telluride Brewing Co. and never looked back. The Bridal Veil Rye Pale Ale is your link to the mountains we all dream of living in. Read More

Arcadia Ales – Cocoa Loco

IBUs: 39

ABV: 7.0%

When I saw my next beer showcase was due the day after Thanksgiving, and I found out we were going to Battle Creek, Michigan for the holiday, I knew I had to do a review on a beverage from Arcadia Ales. I could’ve chosen Dark Horse or Bells, but I’ve been going to Arcadia since before I could legally drink because in addition to their great beers, they also have some awesome brick oven pizza. So, on our way out of town today, we stopped. I had the Loch Down Scotch Ale, and my brother had their IPA. We also ordered two pepperoni pies. But what I was looking most forward to was one of the beers I brought home, their Cocoa Loco. Read More

Thirsty Dog Brewing Company- 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale

Being a native of North-Eastern Ohio, the Christmas season is an exciting time for me. Possibly one of the only things Cleveland is recognized positively for nation-wide is our Great Lakes Christmas Ale. While this is one of my favorite beers, I would like to take some time to appreciate a delicious ale brought to us by our neighbors in Akron, Ohio.

Read More

New Belgium Brewing- Imperial Berliner Weiss

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: 7

Ultimate Frisbee and drinking goes hand in hand. Last month during a Halloween tournament, Tristan and I went to New Belgium Brewing and got some beers. The nice thing about dressing up (in tights!) and going to New Belgium is getting some free beer. The beer I got was Imperial Berliner Weiss.
Read More

Funkwerks Brewery- Deceit Belgian Golden Strong Ale

ABV:9.4%
Background: This year at GABF Funkwerks really hit it out of the park. Not only did they win small brewery of the year, they also won 2 gold medals for Sasion and Belgian-Style Strong Specialty Ale. The later was won by Deceit, a strong belgian golden ale. Deceit is a beer that does a very good job at hiding its 9.4%abv. This has been normally a taproom only release but a small amount of bottles have been released in the Colorado market.

Read More

Great Divide Brewing Company- Hibernation Ale

There isn’t much that I like about winter.  The days get dark earlier, the weather gets colder, up until this year, I wasn’t really into skiing or snowboarding, so my weekend social life was pretty dismal, and it was more often cloudy and dreary especially when I lived in the midwest.  The only real positives were college basketball, holidays that revolved around eating, and dark, winter warmer beers.

Read More