Avery Brewing Company | Ale to the Chief

ABV: 8.1%

If there is one issue our nation can come together on, it might just be the right to drink great beer. Avery Brewing Company has resurrected their Presidential Pale Ale from 2008 to commemorate this year’s heated race. This drink pours a regal golden color and tasters are hit with that initial hop bite. But that bitterness quickly mellows to a sweeter malty light finish.
Read More

New Belgium Brewery- Cocoa Mole Ale

ABV: 9%

Mexican food is by far my favorite of the cuisine nationalities. You’ve got corn, beans, cheese, spices, chili peppers… oh god, the chili peppers. No meal is complete without some heat. Personally, I like my mouth to be in so much pain that I have to order more salsa just to try to cool it down. So to say that I’m a fan of chili beers is a bit of an understatement.

Read More

Stone Brewing Collaboration- Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout

ABV:9.6%

IBU: 69

Distribution: Ariz., Calif., Colo., Fla., Ill., Mass., N.C., N.M., N. J., N.Y., Ohio, Ore., Pa., S.C., Texas, Va., Vt., and Wash.

I love girl scout cookie season more than a fat kid loves… well girl scout cookies.  Hmm I think I just had a harsh reality check right there.  Anyway what could possibly be better than my favorite GSC Thin Mints?  Yes thats right, liquified, beerified, Thin Mints.  Enter Stone Brewing’s Collaboration with home brewer, Ken Schmidt, and Iron Fist Brewing, Mint Chocolate Imperial Stout.

Read More

Dogfish Head Brewing | Sah’tea

ABV: 9%

Black chai tea and beer: two of my favorite things. But beer flavored with black chai tea? I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. I should have had more faith in Dogfish Head, one of my favorite breweries. I should have known if anyone could pull this off it would be them. I should have known that these two ingredients would never let me down, but I didn’t. And to my pleasant surprise, the mix of black chai tea and Dogfish Head ale blended together is like a match made in heaven. And again, I should have known that all dogs go to heaven, even dogfish. The subtle flavors of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and black pepper work together to turn beer into black chai tea… only better.

Read More

Tristan and Stu Brewing- Rapture IPA

Remember back when people were all up in arms about the Rapture?  That was about the time Stu Thomas and I decided to try brewing our own beer.  That is all fine and well except that our first brew attempt was for a double IPA.  Appropriately so, we decided to name our soon-to-be inaugural beer Rapture IPA.  Our reasoning was that if it rocked, the results would be heavenly.  And more likely if it flopped, we’d just say it all went to hell.  The finished product sadly sided with the later of the two.  While the pour looked decent, the taste could at most euphemistically be described as factory sewage.  The brew was under carbonated, too sweet initially and was followed quickly thereafter with a sharp metallic finish.

Read More

Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. – Barbarossa

IBU: 25

ABV: 5.0%

With the blustery winds of Hurricane Sandy blowing outside, I wanted a beer that would warm my innards. As I searched the Kroger beer aisle, it was as if Barbarossa and his bright red beard were calling my name. It was the last six-pack of the Moerlein beer on the shelf, so I grabbed it with gusto and headed home. Read More

Rolling Rock Extra Pale- Latrobe Brewing Co.

ABV: 4.6%

Rolling Rock holds a special place in my heart. I recently rediscovered the joy in a bottle of Rolling Rock that I felt when I first had it a long time ago. It feels slightly carbonated and lacks taste until you swallow and then you get a slightly wheaty, citrus after taste. No, it’s not remarkable or even that good– it’s the sentiment that makes this beer special.

Read More

Mt. Hood Brewing Company: Ice Axe IPA

ABV: 5.9%

Mt. Hood Brewing Company brings beautifully crafted beer from the Ice Axe Grill in the shadows of Mt. Hood. Their website states that Ice Axe IPA is their flagship beer. Why would you have anything else be your flagship beer when your home and neighboring states produces the largest quantity and best quality of hops in the US? Read More

Cigar City Brewing Company- Marshal Zhukov

ABV: 9%

Cigar City Brewing serves up several brews that have garnered a cult follow, partially because they’re only available in Florida, partially because they are one of the only solid breweries at the moment to come out of Florida and mostly because they make fantastic, cult following worthy beers. One of those pedestal level rarities is Marshal Zhukov.

Read More

Cigar City Brewing Company- Jai Alai

One of the coolest thing about visiting breweries when you kinda have an inside connection (and I use that term very loosely, as starting a beer blog hardly qualifies as having any clout in the beer industry), one of the coolest perks is snagging a beer fresh off the line.  Trust me, it makes a huge difference.

Read More

D.G. Yuengling and Son- Yuengling American Lager

Yuengling isn’t particularly amazing, but it is.  It’s not particularly flavorful, but it is.  It’s not particularly easy to drink, but really it is.  You see, Yuengling is the beer of the midwest.  Anytime anyone from the region spies a can they’re sent to a place of nostalgia and awe.  It’s kinda like seeing your childhood stuffed animal or blankey for the first time in many years, but in alcoholic liquid form.

Read More

Black Mountain Brewing Co. – Cave Creek Chili Beer

ABV:  4.2%

My fascination with chili beer started this summer, and as you may recall from an earlier post, I’ve been searching for that spicy, smoky flavor ever since.

Read More

Odell Brewing Company – The Meddler

ABV – 8.9%

When it comes corked in a Belgian bottle, I’m that much more excited about trying new beers. The Meddler from Odell Brewing Company is a rendition of a traditional style Flemish ale, Oud Bruin, in which traditional yeast is mixed with bacteria to produce an honestly sour concoction. Uncorking this hibernating beast scared my roommate away from his fixation on a two-star Netflix movie, not because of fear, but because he is well in tuned with the sound of beer corks popping. Read More

Black Hemp- O’Fallon Brewery

ABV: 5.8%

I tend to have the same routine for choosing a new beer that I do for choosing a new book. I usually judge books by their cover and I usually take the title into consideration before I care to read the synopsis. I once plucked a book off the library shelf just because it was called This Book Will Save Your Life. Catchy title, not so life-saving book. So when I stumbled upon this beer called Black Hemp, I was a little intrigued. Beer and books come with expectations, too. I always come up with an idea of what I think a beer is going to taste like and how the book is going to read. Unlike the aforementioned library choice, O’Fallon Brewery did not disappoint me. Read More

Peach Porch Lounger – New Belgium Brewery

ABV: 9.4%
IBU: 0

It’s that time of year again, when Colorado (especially Palisade) peaches are ripe and ready to be turned into everything phenomenally peachy. And that’s exactly what New Belgium Brewery has done with its masterpiece of a beer Peach Porch Lounger.
Read More

Tripel Horse Belgian-Style Tripel Ale

ABV – 10%
A Confession: As your faithful Northeast correspondent, my beer selection has been decidedly New York-centric.
Read More

Schlafly Brand – Oatmeal Stout

ABV: 5.7%

Is it nerdy to love oatmeal? It’s kind of a weird food. If so, I’m a nerd—and that’s why Schlafly’s Oatmeal Stout hopped right off the shelf and into my hands. I think it goes along with the season, too.
Read More

Founders Brewing Co. – Double Trouble

ABV: 9.4%

IBU: 86

When choosing which beer to review this time around, I had one of two choices sitting in my fridge. Based on how the Bengals were playing in the first quarter against the Ravens, I opted to go with Founders Double Trouble IPA.
Read More

Tommyknocker Brewery- Small Batch Harvest Pumpkin Ale

ABV: 5.0%

September weather calls for Pumpkin Ale

Fall is the time to be outdoors. Everyone, including myself, loves the summer weather, but there’s something very charming and complimentary about sipping on a nice brown pumpkin ale and not wasting headspace on whether I need sunscreen.
Read More

Punkin Brown Ale – Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

ABV: 7%

IBU: 28

Let it be on the record. As many of my friends know, I usually have nothing to do with brown ales. I have had a few of them here and there, and not one of them has really stood out for me as a solid beer worth buying again. That being said, autumn is coming and I’m starting to see all the fall beers hitting the shelves so I decided to try this out. Read More