Thread O' Beer!

[Scar]

3. Sociable Cider Werks Fat Bike Mulled Apple



In keeping with bac0n's local theme, I busted out a Cider. I've tried several of CiderWerk's ciders, and am surprised that I haven't actually been there yet. I believe they have a Mead Fest too, which I really need to check out.

Anyways, this is a nice, crisp cider, with a good 'mulled' flavor. As Scarette says, 'It's Christmas in a glass!'. I'll consider that a ringing endorsement, considering its not nearly as sweet as the stuff she usually prefers.

[bac0n]

5. Blacklist Artisan Ales
Dark - Belgin-Style Imperial Stout


We're staying in Duluth for this one! The last time I had some Blacklist I was actually in the brewery, just a block and a half down from the hotel my wife and I were staying at for Scar's wedding last year. We had just gotten settled in, and we had an hour or so to kill before the groom's dinner, so the wife and I along with two of my fellow groomsmen decided to wet the ol' whistle at Blacklist before heading over to Superior Wisconsin (the most inaccurately named town in America) for the dinner. Sipping this beer right now is bringing back some pretty fond memories.

Anyway, the folks at Blacklist are obviously belgophiles, as pretty much every beer they make is a Belgian-style something, tho oddly enough I haven't seen any dubbels, trippels, or quads coming from them, the styles most people think of when they think Belgian Beer. In practice, it pretty much means they'll take a beer style, make it true to that style but for the Belgian yeast, which you typically need to ferment at around 65 degrees and ramp it up to 72 over the course of about 48 hours for it to attenuate properly. Kind of a pain in the ass, which is why Belgians are not as common as, say, IPAs or Pilsners, which tend to ferment at constant temps. The reward for the extra trouble is a beer with a very distinct character to it imparted from that yeast - you get some nice apple tartness, and a bit of pepper to it as well.

So, this beer. It's 8 percent and I've got the whole can to myself. I'm not gonna be feeling any pain by the time I am through with this, that's for damn sure. Yee-haw!

Now, stouts, especially imperial stouts you don't wanna have ice cold, as they open up considerably as they warm, so I let this one sit for 15 minutes while I futzed with that picture up above. Now that I've got it up a bit, the first thing I wanna do is stick my nose in the glass and get a good whiff. Plenty of dark chocolate and coffee and just a bit of apply sweetness, no booziness to be found. Who wouldn't want to drink that? Taking a sip, the first thing I notice is the body - it isn't as thick as a lot of Imperial stouts that I've had, probably owning to the lower than average ABV. I've had Imperial Stouts which I swear could double as motor oil, and for that reason, I tend to avoid them unless I have about 4 people to share it with, so this is a refreshing change of pace.

As for the taste. It starts a bit tangy ends sweet, and trailing about 100 yards behind the cabooze is a very coffee-y aftertaste that sticks around. The belgian yeast does a nice job of taking the edge off, mixing in a lighter apply taste in the middle - not tart, but mellow.

This is one of the more approachable and enjoyable imperial stouts I've had in a while, certainly a one I could stand more than 4 ounces of at a time. Another nice beer for when the temps dip below freezing. Nicely done, Blacklist. 4.25/5 - somewhere between great and awesome.

19 breweries left!

[bac0n]

Oooh, I gotta get me some of that shit.

Trivia - Sociable is about 2 blocks NE of Bauhaus if you ever wanna hit it up sometime.

[Stay Puft]

4. Bring Out The Imp!! (American Imperial Stout)
Alechemy Brewing (Scotland, UK)



After an unusually warm start to the month, it's finally getting cold tonight, so I busted out a stout. Bring Out The Imp!! is an imperial stout (10.5% ABV) from Scotland, and is brewed with "molasses, liquorish and oatmeal, fermented with a Belgian yeast and aged in Côtes Du Rhône casks" (according to the bottle). Sounds like a great way to kick off some cold weather, so let's dig in.

This pours jet black (I can almost see my reflection in the damn thing, haha) with a thin beige ring for a head. Minimal lacing, but the ring persists for a long time. On the nose, I'm hit with everything the bottle claims. Lots of molasses and liquorice, and below that, some chocolate. Lots of smoke and wood notes, too, from the casks. There's just a hint of the red wine in there, too. Quite complex, and fascinating. On the palate, there's a slick sensation from the oats, getting a little more chewy on the finish. Medium body, and absolutely no hint of the alcohol. The cask finish shines here, with a lot of burnt wood, tobacco and leather. And once again, a dash of red fruit. Somebody got their wine in my beer, and it's actually pretty good! The deeper I get into the bottle, the more oily my mouth feels. The finish is long, a bit sticky, and has just a dash of heat (I knew that alcohol was in there somewhere). There's a nice licorice note on the end as well.

I will say the flavors do pull in different directions at time. It doesn't change a lot as it warms, outside of getting a bit hotter. But the slightly sweet, delicate warming sensation it leaves in my soul is hitting all the right notes for me, so at the risk of perhaps overrating it just a bit...

4/5

[Gizmo]

5. Nordik Porter(Stortebeker)


I'm a day late because I got home pretty late last night, and wasn't about to take on a 9%-er before an early rise this morning. Probably will make up the day tomorrow, or Saturday. Anyway, this thing is right up my alley, roasty, figgy-sweet, chocolate, full bodied with a lot going on behind the heavy punch. I could see myself knocking these back pretty easily, and paying for it mightily. Best of the short journey this year, and I'd put it up with my favorite porters overall, quite enjoyable.

19 beers left

[Stay Puft]

5. Blueberry Pancake Milkshake Stout (English Sweet / Milk Stout)
Rochester Mills Beer Co. (Michigan, USA)



And now for something a little different. I picked up a pack of "milkshake stouts" recently with a variety of odd flavors, including a Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake Stout (sorta bland for a milk stout, can hardly taste any marshmallow) and a Crème de Menthe Milkshake Stout (surprisingly good, basically a chocolate mint stout and it totally works). Blueberry Pancake Milkshake Stout is the one that made me really blink a few times, so I decided to save it for the list this year.

Like yesterday's, it pours a reflective, inky black, but this one boasts a bigger, foamier beige head. It dissipates quickly, however, and leaves almost no lacing. I'm rather surprised by how much this actually smells like blueberry pancakes. It's a bit like pancake batter, with cream, sugar and blueberries. It's pretty sweet, needless to say. On the palate, you can really get the lactose. This is unmistakably a milk stout. It's a bit thin, but soft and smooth. Otherwise, yeah, it tastes like blueberry pancakes. It's a gimmick. It's not bad, but it's one-dimensional. And the finish is short, never a good thing. There's a mild, brief lingering sweetness and then nothing. Set the glass down for a minute and you might forget you were drinking anything. Overall, an amusing gimmick, but an average beer at best.

2.5/5

[Dukefrukem]

5. Blueberry Pancake Milkshake Stout (English Sweet / Milk Stout)
Rochester Mills Beer Co. (Michigan, USA)



And now for something a little different. I picked up a pack of "milkshake stouts" recently with a variety of odd flavors, including a Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake Stout (sorta bland for a milk stout, can hardly taste any marshmallow) and a Crème de Menthe Milkshake Stout (surprisingly good, basically a chocolate mint stout and it totally works). Blueberry Pancake Milkshake Stout is the one that made me really blink a few times, so I decided to save it for the list this year.

Like yesterday's, it pours a reflective, inky black, but this one boasts a bigger, foamier beige head. It dissipates quickly, however, and leaves almost no lacing. I'm rather surprised by how much this actually smells like blueberry pancakes. It's a bit like pancake batter, with cream, sugar and blueberries. It's pretty sweet, needless to say. On the palate, you can really get the lactose. This is unmistakably a milk stout. It's a bit thin, but soft and smooth. Otherwise, yeah, it tastes like blueberry pancakes. It's a gimmick. It's not bad, but it's one-dimensional. And the finish is short, never a good thing. There's a mild, brief lingering sweetness and then nothing. Set the glass down for a minute and you might forget you were drinking anything. Overall, an amusing gimmick, but an average beer at best.

2.5/5

Do you typically enjoy Milk Stouts? I'm a huge Double Chocolate fan so I'm inclined to try this, but your 2.5/5 rating worries me.

[Scar]

5. Insight's Hailing a Phantom Taxi Double Dry Hopped IPA



Insight is a brewery where I've had a lot of there beers, but have not stepped foot in their brewery yet. For shame, shame, shame. This one weighs in at a beefy 9.0 ABV and strong 84 IBU's. Even though its IBU is high, its not a punch in the face of bitters. Plenty of tropical flavors, well balanced, and it will definitely kick your ass if you let it. This isn't Miller Lite folks, a couple of these and you'll be up singing karaoke, and God help you if there's a stripper pole near by.

[Stay Puft]

Do you typically enjoy Milk Stouts? I'm a huge Double Chocolate fan so I'm inclined to try this, but your 2.5/5 rating worries me.

I do! There's a great one with Tom Green's face on it up here. (I don't know if anyone remembers Tom Green, haha.)

With the Rochester Mills stuff, I'd say some of these flavors are just gimmicks. Worth trying once, if you're curious. Their basic Milkshake Stout seems pretty good, though. I had the Imperial version of it (alcohol fortified to 8.5% ABV) and it's everything you'd expect from a milk stout, perfectly enjoyable. And like I said in my post, even though I didn't review it, the Crème de Menthe version is actually really good. I'd drink it again.

[Scar]

So, Larry ‘The Axe Henning’, local wrestling Legend, passed away yesterday. Recently, Wicked Wort rereleased their Imperial Pecan Brown named in his honor.


I think I know what I need to do after work today. Bac0n, what time does your give a shit meter expire?

[bac0n]

It expired the minute I heard that news. Man I'd love to go, but I have the wife's holiday party tonight. Are they open for lunch? Perhaps I could swing up there then.

[Scar]

It expired the minute I heard that news. Man I'd love to go, but I have the wife's holiday party tonight. Are they open for lunch? Perhaps I could swing up there then.

They open at noon on Friday, but I’ll be putting in OT until about two or so, last stop is in New Hope.

[Scar]

4. Axe is Back! Imperial Pecan Brown



This place is about as close to a watering hole as I have these days. Wicked Wort in Robbinsdale, MN is a wonderful, non-kid friendly establishment. 21 and up period, unless you're a well behaved dog.

Anyways, this beer weighs in at 8.5% ABV and only 26 IBU's. It is smoooooth, with a nice pecan taste on the back end. I'm sure bac0n will have a much more eloquent post about Wicked Wort, but I'm just here to drink. Two Crowlers of this is now sitting in my fridge, and we'll bust one open on Saturday.

[bac0n]

6. Boom Island Brewing Company
Biere de Garde


For the 6th brewery this month we venture back south from Duluth and into Minneapolis proper, and unfortunately a pretty sketchy part of Minneapolis at that. Breweries tend to require lots of square feet and tend to open in places where that is more economical, which is why you see them moving into industrial spaces. Well, the industrial space Boom Island is in is right on edge of the most high crime part of Minneapolis, and the shit has spread to their side of the highway in recent years, to the point that they need to close their taproom at sundown after too many of their patrons have gotten mugged in their parking lot. And worse, on more than one occasion staff working late have had to spend the night because some bikers had set up shop at the end of their parking lot and were selling drugs. That was the straw that broke the camel's back, and right now Boom Island is trying to raise money to move to a new location, and who can blame them.

So, they're in a pickle, which is definitely a shame, because they put out pretty good beer, and stand out as really the only local outfit that focuses on Belgians. They also have a good story, in that the husband and wife team who run the place in a previous life played the french horn for the Minnesota Orchestra. They come from all walks, I guess.

So, this beer. Now, I said before that Boom Island is about the Belgians, and their big seller is a Belgian Pale called Thoprock, which is tasty, but when I saw this can of biere de garde, I had to give it a go. Bieres de garde, in my humble opinion, are a grossly underrepresented style, probably due to the fact that they typically have to sit for a while on the shelf after brewing, at least 6 months and ideally a year. Hell, the name biere de garde literally means "beer for storage", and most local brewers don't have the capacity to keep kegs and kegs of beer sitting around for that long. Ya gotta move that inventory fast, people, if ya wanna pay the rent, even if it's in as shitty of a neighborhood as is Boom Island.

According to the style guidelines, bieres de garde are supposed to be mellow and sweet, with their defining characteristic being a dry finish. I haven't had enough of them to build a pallet for them, nor do I know of the benchmark of the style, or even if one exists, so I'm just gonna wing it here and say that, yes, this one definitely finishes dry compared to its belgian brethren. On the nose I am picking up notes of red delicious apple, white grape, and I am also going to say stone fruit so that I can put on airs, because nothing convinces people you are not a complete nincompoop like throwing out the word stone fruit.

As for the taste, it's a touch cidery, with also molasses/brown sugar, ever so slightly tart. Moderately sweet, extremely low on the bitterness. All in all a decent beer. I wouldn't call it special, nor would I snatch it up again if I saw it in the store, but I certainly wouldn't turn one away if offered, and they seem to hit the deliverables on the style. 3/5 - OK.

18 Breweries till the Baby Jeezniz!

[Gizmo]

6. London Black Cab Stout(Fullers)


The head in that picture.... I got like no head in my pour. I also don't remember grabbing so many stouts/porters. I mean, I know I grab a lot, but I thought I mixed in a good variety of things. Randomization may be top heavy (heavies?) this year. Anywho, I'm sitting here sipping a low (4.5) ABV beer that his high on bitter. Roast bitter, not hop bitter. It's almost like eating (drinking?) baker's chocolate. It's also pretty thin for how dark the pour is. Thin and bitter and low ABV, not a winning combination for an enjoyable stout, in my eyes. It's not bad, it's not good, it just is.

18 more beers to go.

[Scar]

Now, for a slight detour to Chicago.....








6. Pipeworks Brewing Ninja vs Unicorn Double IPA (Come on, you know you would've bought it too).

8.0% ABV, 150 IBU(!)

A slight touch of tropical flavor, with hops throughout. Definitely not a New England Style IPA, but a very decent good 'ol fashioned Double IPA. I'm shocked that the IBU is a staggering 150. I guess my pallet has evolved over the past decade. Then again, I've still got a good hoppy taste on my tongue 45 seconds after taking a drink. Definitely highly recommended for IPA fans.

[Stay Puft]

Yeah, I'd buy that can without even looking at what kind of beer it is haha.

6. 49° 54° (Leipzig Gose)
Beau's All Natural Brewing Company (Ontario, Canada)



I guess it's a tradition at this point that I always feature Beau's on my lists, so here's the token bottle for this year. 49° 54° is the second Leipzig Gose on my list, but I had no idea this thing was a gose when I poured it. I didn't even look at the ingredients, as I wanted to see if I could figure them out on my own. The only thing I knew beforehand was that it was a beer brewed with local ingredients foraged from Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador. Fogo Island is one of Canada's oldest settlements, and this beer was made in collaboration with Fogo Island Inn. This beer is also part of Beau's Wild Oat Series, an ongoing series of limited, specialty beers exploring the limitless possibilities of aromas and flavours. And, as always, Beau's beers are always organic.

49° 54° pours a deep, hazy yellow/orange. It boasts a small foam head, with good retention, and some small, spotty lacing. The most unique feature is the bubbles, which sporadically slide up the glass, very slowly. And I do mean slowly. It's almost hypnotizing. Looking at this beer is like experiencing time in slow-motion. For the aromas, I wrote down a list of things as follows: orange, lemon, sweet malt, sourdough bread, rye, heather. For the flavors, I did the same: heather, orange rind, resin, charred wood, sap, bark, wheat, rye bread. Then I looked at the ingredients, at which point I noticed this thing was supposed to be a gose, which blew my mind. Nope, not what I would have guessed. I didn't find this remotely tart or salty or anything. So, yeah, this beer is a myrrh-smoked gose brewed with "organic barley and wheat malts, Newfoundland partridgeberries, organic hops, birch bark, sea salt, brewer's yeast" (as per the bottle and Beau's website). Looking back at my notes, I'm a little surprised, both in how I seemingly went off in a different direction (orange? lemon? partridgeberries are a cousin of cranberries so uh) but also in how I absolutely nailed some aspects (bark, literally, LOL; also the charred bitterness which is the myrrh-smoked wheat). Seriously, though, where's the sea salt?

The mouthfeel is a bit creamy, becoming more slick and oily as time goes on. Medium body. The finish has a good length, a bit bitter and a bit charred. As the beer warms, the smoked wheat becomes more obvious, and I can get big hints of it in the aroma, too. That's the only big change, though. And at no point do I think gose. It's good, it has some interesting flavors, and I'm not sure how I should factor it being completely off-brand into my rating, but overall I'll say it's an enjoyable experiment in... doing something. Another interesting addition to the Wild Oat Series. Solid, but not exceptional.

3.5/5

[MadMan]

I am not a fan of stouts. I prefer IPA's and a good amber ale.

[Gizmo]

7. Winter Bie(Brouwerij de Bie)


I talk a lot about the feel of a winter bier/seasonal, and the disappointment in those expectations. Well, if you asked me to define that style, I may just tell you to seek this out and have a drink. It's strong fruity base with some spice and roast hiding underneath. It's the warming feeling despite the fact that it's a cold beer. It's the 8% ABV giving that warmth, and yet drinkably and deceptively smooth. This really hits the spot as a beer, and especially as a seasonal. Wish I had more than 1, but I'd regret that in the morning.

17 beers to go

[Gizmo]

8. Kapittel Winter(Leroy Breweries)


Caught back up. We have another winter show up, and this one is a stark difference to the one I had earlier. This one came across very sour right from the start. I'm not a fan of sours, and didn't expect one in my winter take. It's not overly sour, so I figure a blind with a gueuze or something, since it's a Belgian. Research shows me that it's not a specific sour, but rather brewed with sour cherries from the summer. After letting it warm a bit, the tart has faded some, and it's sippable, but that's about it.

16 beers to go

[Stay Puft]

7. Ebb & Flow (Session Sour)
Muskoka Brewery (Ontario, Canada)



In 2015 and 2016, I tried two winter seasonal brews from Muskoka. I did not rate them very highly. Just the other day, Muskoka's newest beer arrived at my store, so I decided to grab it and throw it on the list. Let's give them another chance! Now, as I've said in the past, Muskoka does make some good beer. Like Beau's, they've expanded their game lately, and are trying out all sorts of new things. For example, they have a Moonlight Kettle series that features 12 new beers a year, one per month, in all sorts of wild styles. (This month is Gingerbrewed Man, a gingerbread brown ale.) With that experimentation comes a lot of hit or miss beers. As luck would have it, Ebb & Flow, a sessionable sour ale clocking in at 2.4% ABV, is... not all that impressive, once again. Oops! Call it the Muskoka curse. (They make some good beer! I just never like the ones I pick for this occasion, haha.)

Ebb & Flow pours a light, clear, straw yellow, with a lot of fine bubbles and a massive, foamy white head. It recedes at a decent clip, and leaves thick rings of lacing. On the nose, I can tell it's tart right away, and there's a lot of citrus in there, too. It's not terribly distinct, however. I can definitely pick out lime, though. (It was brewed with Mosaic and Citra hops.) On the palate, not much is different. Everything is mild and muddled. It's light in body, no surprise, but has just a bit of creaminess. It's barely tart, has a bit of citrus, and again, obviously Citra hops. The flavor is fine, but it's just that. Just fine. I suppose it hits the sessionable market perfectly, but as much as I love sours, and Citra hops, I don't think I'm the target demographic for this. It's just not that interesting to drink. And as the beer warms, which it really probably shouldn't, but it did because I was sipping it a bit slow and taking notes and doing something else at the same time, it gets even more muddled, even less tart, and starts to resemble water. The finish is extremely short. For a sour, that's disappointing.

This isn't really bad. It's fine. It tastes okay and it's a bit sour and you can crush it. Sure. That's fine. For somebody.

2/5

[Gizmo]

9. Wolf 8(Wolf)


I'm always happy to drink a good brown, and disappointed when it's too bitter, or not enough nut or caramel flavor, which really make them stand out. I've had a Wolf earlier this year (Spring Break in Salzburg), but it wasn't this one. This one really hits the right notes of a brown, touch of nutty, roasted caramel sweetness, and a good light bitter from the hops. Another beer I could easily knock a few back, and then be surprised by the high ABV after.

15 more beers until the fat man comes.

[Stay Puft]

8. Jacobite Ale (Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy)
Traquair House Brewery (Scotland, UK)



The second Scottish beer on my list and another new brewery for me. This one has a neat bit of history. Traquair House is the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland. It's a fortified mansion featuring fifty rooms, at one point used by kings who hunted on the grounds, and parts of the house date back to the 15th century. Mary, Queen of Scots was a guest at the house in 1566, which also seems to be time that the house also started operating a brewery (though not continuously). The modern brewery occupying the house was started in 1965, using 18th century equipment that was still kicking around. The house produces two core products: House Ale, and Jacobite Ale, which was originally brewed in 1995 to commemorate the 1745 Jacobite rebellion.

When I first picked up the bottle, it had a little story on the back about the Bear Gates, which have apparently remained closed since 1745 (they were added to the main entrance in 1938 but promptly closed following the rebellion, when Bonnie Prince Charlie passed through and declared they would never open again until a Stuart king returned). It also claimed to contain a flavored strong beer, brewed using coriander. Beyond that, nothing. And for some reason, "flavored" and "coriander" did not conjure the image of a wee heavy, so I was surprised when the beer poured so dark, and doubly surprised when the aroma hit me and was quite apparently sweet. Yup, I was about to drink a wee heavy.

It almost looked like Coca-Cola when I poured it, and the head was a thin layer of beige foam, quickly receding, and leaving almost no lacing, but a permanent ring of foam around the top of the beer. The first aromas that hit me were bread, molasses, caramel, figs and plum. The coriander is there, but it takes a minute. Similarly on the palate, I get sweet malt, molasses, grape, plum, and licorice. There is definitely coriander in this beer, but it's super subtle, never once threatening to overwhelm the beer or call attention to itself. This is a delicious and decidedly complex drink, the coriander simply adding another interesting note to a gentle, warming, well brewed scotch ale. The body is somewhere between medium and full, and best of all, is actually rather smooth, not at all the "sticky" sweet I often find a little off-putting with this style. The finish is also medium length, I would say, and my one knock against it is that I wish the finish was longer. The coriander actually takes on more of a role in the finish, and the lingering warmth and sweetness is smooth and pleasurable. I really liked this! So far this year, the Scots have been delivering my favorite beers.

4/5

[bac0n]

Wow, got me some catchin' up to do.

7. Broken Clock Brewing Cooperative
Pocket Watch Pecan - English Brown Ale w/ Pecans


For our next stop, we had back over the Mississippi, past Betty Dangers (which if you visit Minneapolis in the summer and you don't go eat there, you're an asshole) and then all the way up to the very tip top of Minneapolis to Broken Clock Coop, which is just behind 56 Brewing. I bet you can hear the corgis barking from there.

Now, Broken Clock I am less familiar with, as they are a newer brewery, and TBH, the breweries are springing up here faster than I can keep track. Hell, I went to a beer fest last summer featuring almost exclusively Minnesota breweries, and I gotta tell ya - about 2/3 of them were new to me. And Broken Clock was one of those new breweries.

Matter of fact, I think the last time I had their beer, I was not even in Minnesota, but at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver last year. Somehow, despite the overwhelming size of the event, I kept finding myself back in front of their booth, and by the third or so time, me and the pierced tatted and bearded gentleman who was pouring were totally best friends forever of all time, at least for that evening.

Anyway, this beer of theirs: they had several crowlers in the cooler so I forgo'd the IPA in favor of their brown ale, and I'm rather glad I did. The nose is sweet and inviting, and the caramel of the malts plays very nicely with the smoothness of the mouthfeel. Just enough hops to let you know it's a beer, added for bittering and not for aroma, so that the pecans can be at the forefront, and they work quite well - just enough to let you know they're there. Imagine you're drinking a nice pecan pie, except not cloyingly sweet - everything is juuuuust right. 4 out of 5 - great. Consider these guys officially on my radar.

17 Breweries Left!

[Gizmo]

10. Rotblond Original(Duckstein)


Literally a "red blond", I'm not sure what to make of that. I'm not a big fan of reds, but this doesn't taste like a red. It doesn't really taste of a blonde, either. It feels more like an English mild. It's very malty, and not much else. I enjoy malty beer, so I have no problem with this. It's smooth and enjoyable, just don't expect much out of it, if you venture into it.

14 beers remain!