Ymm, Beer!

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Oktoberfest (draft)-The Great Dane Brew Pub

A tip of the imperial pint glass to tbyers11 who suggested this in a PM last week to be included on our "to do" list for Madison, WI. This 20 ounce pour was $4 because I got it before 6 PM tonight to accompany our dinner . Pretty typical "fest" bier/lager with a small head, a light amber hue, herbal and sweet bready scents and nutty, caramel-y flavors. I'll guess 20 IBUs (pretty smooth) and the ABV was on the chalkboard at 6%. Very nice pairing with my Wisconsin Mac and Cheese entree that I shared with my wife so I could have some of her BBQ meatloaf, onion rings, mashed potatoes and steamed cauliflower that tasted even better (I don't like it much anyway so anything is an improvement .) rolled around in my extra Wisconsin cheddar sauce

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Grateful Grain (draft)-New Holland Brewing

Drink local!

Labeled as a Michigan sticke alt, it's an old German style that resembles a cross between and amber and a brown ale. Color was dark amber/light brown and scents of toasted bread, light brown sugar and herbal hops greeted me for the imperial pint. Tastes were the expected ones of nuttiness, caramel sweetness and mild, earthy bitterness. IBUs have been tough to find this week so I'll estimate 20-30 and the ABV was a very sippable 5.7%. I paired this with a Michigan pork sammich with slaw on a brioche bun and a couple handfuls of kettle chips for my side.

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Breakfast Stout (draft)-Founders Brewing

Drink regional!

Brothers Bar and Grill in South Bend, about a mile south of the ND stadium, didn't have any beers on tap from any South Bend breweries so this was the closest brewery I recognized from their menu. I actually asked for a pint of Pale Joe, which I think is their coffee-infused pale ale, but got an imperial pint of this almost black elixir. Loaded with coffee and dark chocolate on the olfactory sensors, it was followed by strong tastes of the same and charred grains. Mouthfeel was smooth from the flaked oats and bitterness was moderate, clocking in at 60 IBUs with an ABV of 8.3%. Technically, I consumed this about 1 PM but it'd make a great morning beverage (for a tailgate only, of course ) and pair well with French toast and cinnamon/pecan rolls.

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Papa Bois-Mystery Brewing

Drink indigenous!

I feel kind of silly having carted this 16 ounce can that Tripping William bequeathed to me when we met in Winston-Salem for his BBA Tripel Overhead drop off at a bowling alley parking lot at the beginning of our 10 day vacation on Friday over a week ago. Very intriguing brew. Pour was a slightly thin, dark brown with a quickly disappearing head. Somewhat surprising for a Foreign Export Stout were its lemon-y and hay-like aromas, followed by lemon candy, milk chocolate and coffee-ish tastes, an odd-sounding description but very interesting on the palate. I think this would be a fine beverage to serve with grilled burgers, ribs or stews with the above characteristics and the IBUs of 40 and ABV of 7.3%, kind of stout for a stout but not quite imperial material.

Malts: Maris Otter, Riverbend Heritage, Golden Naked Oats, Cara, Victory, Chocolate Malt, Black Malt

Adjuncts: Lemons, Lemongrass

Hops: Lemondrop

Thanks!

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Jade-Foothills Brewing

Apologies to dpslaw for my delay in sipping and reviewing this as he was kind enough to trade this 12 ounce bottle at the NCCU tailgate to open the season.

Drink local!

This is one of those brews I've seen on the shelves quite a number of times but never bought a single or 6er as I always had too large a supply of IPAs/wasn't in the mood/not the right season/wanted something more exciting/etc. My loss until last PM. Pour was almost a sunshine yellow with a creamy, foamy head. Plenty of tropical fruits to start and finish with notes of pineapple, mango and orange, both juicy and pithy, throughout the tasting with a bit of resin to the ending. With IBUs of 84 and the ABV at 7.4%, this is pushing the IIPA envelope but falls a bit shy. Nonetheless, this is an excellent IPA and would pair well with hot/spicy entrees.

Thanks!

[devildeac]

Ok, I finally decided to make my attempt to post a review of this legendary beer:

Dark Lord 2016 (draft)-3 Floyds Brewing Company

It was on the chalkboard but I still didn't believe it until I asked the beertender and he explained their brewer can/will create a batch of this whenever he damn well pleases and not just for Dark Lord Day in April every year. This occasion was a mini-festival at their brewery on September 17 when folks from the Denmark brewery, Warpigs, came over for a collabeeration and they (amazingly) had several partial kegs left over we visited one week ago. I think it was $7 for my half pint pour. The appearance was black ink. There was no head and the nose was dark chocolate, espresso (included) and dark caramel. Tastes were even more complex with the scents being replicated on the palate along with dark brown sugar (included), black strap molasses, a bit of licorice, dark/dried fruits, vanilla (included) and dark rum. This version was not barrel-aged but their website indicates some are. Mouthfeel was thick, viscous, oily and syrup-y, almost chewy or fudgy. IBUs of 50 and the ABV is a stunning 15% (no typo), causing me to take almost 30 minutes to finish my pour. Pairing? Forget it. This is liquid decadence/dessert/night cap all in one. Well, one of our tailgate chefs makes dark chocolate-espresso fudge cups topped with a coffee bean a couple times a year so I guess I'd consider nibbling on one of those while sipping several ounces of this incredible, world class Russian imperial stout.

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Peach Wheat Wine (draft)-New Belgium Brewing

Think Fuzzy/Hairy Navel cocktails. I'd have just used the Fuzzy Navel comparison but this is high gravity so add a shot of vodka to your Fuzzy Navel, turn it into a Hairy Navel and that pretty much summarizes this half pint I had at Bottle Revolution tonight. Pour was a golden-yellow with peach juice up front, followed by more sweet, ripe peaches, some orange juice and booze. New Belgium has no info about this on their website but, with its label as a wheat wine, I'm ASSuming it's in the barleywine style but with a large component of wheat malt (50% maybe?) that imparts the slight cloudiness and citrusy aspects to this brew. I'll guess 40 IBUs (middling between a wheat ale and a regular barleywine) and the ABV is a huge 9%. Interesting ale to try (someone else bought it for me ) but not one I'd search out/purchase a litter of or visit again but pleasant on a warm, fall evening with a former partner.

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Imperial Stout 2014 (draft)-Olde Hickory Brewing

Oh, my! Bottle Revolution tapped a keg of this in the last day or two and I was fortunate enough tonight to "stumble" upon it for my second half pint of the evening, courtesy of one of my former partners. Black as night and almost as thick, this viscous, oily elixir was probably 10W30 consistency with loads of dark chocolate and espresso from start to finish with dark caramel and dried fruits in-between. From an older version (thinking about 2013), Columbus, Cluster, Centennial and Cascade hops are listed along with honey as an adjunct. Didn't drink at all like its IBU of 84 but sure felt like its ABV of 10.6% for an hour or so after sipping. Their November 12 release date for Event Horizon and its 3 Buffalo Trace barrel-aged brethren with coffee and cinnamon, orange and cocoa and vanilla and coconut sounds intriguing...

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Mango Wheat-Anchor Brewing

A 12 ounce can trader earlier this month from dpslaw. Thanks!

Poured a cloudy sunshine yellow with a fizzy and foamy head. Smelled like Dole Orange-Pineapple-Mango juice. Tasted like it, too. I think I perceived more mango than dpslaw did in his personal description, but not overly mango-y. There's a bit of skin/rind on the palate, but fortunately nothing that gets stuck in you teeth . Refreshing variant of your traditional wheat ale, guessing 20 IBUs and the ABV is listed at 4.5%. Pair this with a light seafood entree or fruit.

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Uncle Bert's (draft/crowler)-New Holland Brewing

Buy/drink local!

Draft only specimen available only from their brewpub on 8th Street in Holland, MI and transported back to NC last week after our football, botanical garden beercation. This was my 32 ounce contribution to Brunchgate yesterday. Poured from a can and divided 4 ways in our respective pint glasses/plastic cups. It's an amber/red lager so the appearance was a light, ruby-brown hue with a moderate, foamy head. Toasted bread and herbal scents with earthy, piney and multigrain bready tastes. More bitterness than I expected, guessing 40 IBUs with a sessionable ABV of 5.3%. Made a nice pairing with a couple slightly hot suasage/cheese balls, apple strudel and a small slice of breakfast pizza. There's one of these in the beverage assortment for fuse later today.

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Single Origin Coffee Stout-Terrapin Beer Company

Interesting concept with 4 different locations providing the beans for each member of the mixed 4 packs they're marketing. Yesterday, August West was kind enough to provide the Kona Hawaii version and then trade me one of the others that I'll sip later this week. Or next. Or next month. Pour was a somewhat thin, dark brown elixir with a modest tan head and moderate coffee aromas, followed with coffee all the way through the sampling. Maybe some mild earthy, resinous hop bitterness and a hint of chocolate. IBUs of 30 and ABV of 5.7% from their website, cuz it for sure ain't on the bottle . Good pairing with our egg strata and French toast casserole. Pass the cream and sugar! Thanks!

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From 12/3/15:

WnB (2015)-Terrapin Beer Company

More commonly known as Wake-n-Bake (or Why Not Breakfast as queried on their web site), this coffee oatmeal imperial stout is part of their Monster Beer Tour series. Poured an almost black hue and brewed with a variety of international coffee beans from Jittery Joe's Coffee in Athens, GA. My first thought is pass the cream and sugar but it really needs neither. Heavy aromas upfront of dark roasted coffee and some semi-sweet chocolate. Moderate, tan, foamy head with tastes pretty much the same as the scents with some slightly burned notes and booze. Moderate bitterness at 50 IBUs and potent at 9.4% ABV. Nugget hops are the only variety listed and there are a lot of grains as expected, including 2-Row Pale, Crystal 85, flaked barley, flaked oats, Chocolate, Black, roasted barley. The oats lend a smooth, almost silky mouthfeel. Outstanding liquid dessert or as a beverage to be sipped slightly chilled with a decadent double or triple chocolate dessert. August West gets a multi-snifter salute for this contribution as it made another nice pairing with multiple breakfast items yesterday, despite my claims from last year stating it's a dessert beverage or that you should pair with chocolate desserts .

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James Bean-Allagash Brewing

Think BBA Triple Overhead run through a Randall full of your favorite coffee beans. Take the Allagash Tripel, incubate it in some old Jim Bean barrels and then add cold press local coffee. Pour from a corked and caged 750 ml bottler was a cloudy, straw color with a generous, lacy, fizzy head that lingered throughout most of my 1st (and 2nd ) 5 ounce pourings. Nose of banana, orange, whiskey and a light roast java. Taste was a cornucopia of flavors, included the expected bananas, light/medium brown sugar, a little black pepper, orange, booze, toasted coconut, vanilla with a very subtle, but noticeable coffee finish. August West graciously contributed this delightful concoction and he and I consumed most of his offering. I'll guess IBUs of 20 and the ABV was 10.8%. Definitely a nightcap (even though we sipped this at noon ) or dessert beverage. Ingredients below:

Grains: Allagash 2-Row Malted Barley Blend
Hops: Tettnang and Hallertau
Spices/Other: White Cane Sugar, Cold-Brewed Coffee
Yeast: House

So happy to have sampled this after our younger son-in-law raved about it a couple weeks ago on draft at Tyler's in Carrboro and had a very small sip myself at Bottle Revolution shortly thereafter.

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Worth a re-post from 5/9/15:

Pinner Throwback IPA-Oskar Blues (Brevard, NC)

Drink local!

Well, almost local. Heck, it'll be local Tuesday through Saturday next week as we (try to) visit all 20-25 breweries (not in one night) in the greater Asheville area with the bonus of dining and supping with ricks68 and his lovely bride, mattman and Amused Cupcake with a rumored appearance of Mountain Devil and whoever else would like to join us.

Oh, wait, beer to review. This was a 12 ounce can shared with our son with a dinner of crabcakes (99% lump crabmeat), lime teriyaki shrimp, roasted garlic asparagus, fresh corn and a Caesar salad. Poured a light straw with a a small head. Some citrus and tropical fruits to tickle the nares then some pine and resin to accompany the mango and papaya flavors with a light, honey-like finish. IBUs of 35 and ABV of 4.9% so another entry in the "throwback" or session IPAs described as "crushable" on their web site. And I thought they were referring to the environmentally friendly aluminum can. My only quibble is that with those stats, why is this labeled an IPA when it really looks, tastes and measures like a pale ale?

Tonight:

Not any really different thoughts except for a shout out to August West who included this in a trading session last month.

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Vienna-Sierra Nevada Brewing

Drink sorta local!

Thanks to August West for this trader from his mixed SN 12 pack Saturday after the UVa stinker.

Delicate beers can be enjoyable and tasty, too. This is a Vienna-style lager. WTH?!?! Sierra Nevada with a lager!?!?

Pour was a very light amber with a smallish head. Pleasant floral aromas followed by light caramel, lightly toasted bready and only slightly bitter floral tastes. I'll guess IBUs of 20 and the ABV is listed at 5.3% on the bottle. If you scoff at lagers/pilsners, you should steal, err trade for one of these from a friend's 12 pack and pair it with some grilled/herbed chicken or shrimp Lo mein.

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Pale Ale-Sierra Nevada Brewing

Another trader from August West. Thanks!

I'm thinking I haven't had one of these in a decade or so because there are soooo many good ales brewed to try but the return visit of a good friend is always welcome. I've always thought of this as a PA than drinks like an IPA but no more because this is just a very good pale ale with IBUs of 38 (from memory) and ABV at 5.6% (from the label). Pour was a light copper with a modest head and piney scents and tastes accompanied by a bit of citrus from whole cone Cascade hops and bottle-conditioning (which I had forgotten). Burgers, ribs or brisket would make nice pairings with this.

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I can't believe it's been 6 years since I had a Tumbler. Guess I don't drink many brown ales .

From 8/19/10:

Tumbler-Sierra Nevada Brewing

I'd add that the "earthiness" that you (referring to CameronBornAndBred's review) taste is the freshly roasted malts and the "nuttiness" many brown ales have. This one tastes a bit like roasted almonds to me. Others taste like hazel nuts. (OK, you southerners, no "nuts, hot nuts" references here ) I think there's a bit of herbal flowers here, too, but not much. I'd guess the IBU about 30 and the ABV is 5.5%. I am finishing my 2nd from my 6er tonight and have traded 2 and will bring the others to Brunchgate or donate them to my son's or future SIL's collection.

I wouldn't but another 6er of this but would instead opt for the Brooklyn Brown Ale or the Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale or the Downtown Brown Ale from one of the California breweries if I see it again. I like to rotate my tastings/traders.

From tonight:

Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale-Sierra Nevada Brewing

Ok, so tastes/opinions change . This is a really good, albeit somewhat different brown ale. By that, I mean the perception of more herbal/earthy and smokey notes from tonight's 12 ounce trader from August West last Saturday. It's a bit more hoppy than I remember, but not unpleasantly so. A bit darker brown than I recall but every bit as nutty and toasted wheat breadinesss. It made a nice pairing with my wife's homemade shrimp and pork fried rice.

Thanks, AW!

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Wheat American IPA-Sierra Nevada Brewing

Whoa! A wheat IPA?!?!

This was my 4th and final trader from August West last Saturday, part of his SN 12 pack sampler. Thanks!

Pour was a light straw with a small head. Nose was pine/resin and orange zest. Taste was less pine/resin and more orange juice and a bright, strong lemon drop, tart finish. Fascinating combination. Made a nice combination with some original recipe Triscuits topped with some Wisconsin Mango Salsa Cheddar Spread with a bit of jalapeno zip. I'll guess about 50-60 IBUs with the ABV on the label at 6.2%. Might be right up Mtn Devil Buncha Championships alley with these flavors

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Something Borrowed, Something Brewed (crowler)-New Holland Brewing/Pub on 8th Street

It's unanimous-August West, fuse and I have independently agreed that this was a brown ale. The brief story I recall from the beertender that day about 3 weeks ago was that one of the brewers liked hoppy beers and his fiancee preferred malty beverages so they compromised on this concoction, available only on draft at this pub's location. I must have given fuse the "flat" crowler () as our pour yesterday was generously foamy with a dark brown hue. Nose of almonds, other assorted nuts and a bit of candy coating, going along with the brown sugar/cinnamon thoughts above. Herbal, earthy bitterness but lots of toasted grains present, too. It was a bit hoppy for a brown ale, guessing IBUs of 40, but not unpleasant for the style. ABV was 5.9% and we shared this 4 ways, IIRC.

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Schrocktoberfest (crowler)-New Holland Brewing/Pub on 8th Street

Simply labeled Shrock on the hand-written label on this 32 ounce can that we shared about 4 ways yesterday. I don't drink many Octoberfest and haven't for a decade so I really don't have any comparisons. My loss. Pour was a medium amber with a foamy head and upfront light brown sugar and caramel scents with little hop presence in the aromas or tastes. Toasted wheat bread and butterscotch-y flavors with little bitterness. I'll guess IBUs in the 20s and ABV on the other label was 6%. Made a nice prelude to our pulled pig, ribs and slaw under the tent in the waves of Matthew-generated squalls.