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Monday, April 30, 2012

Resin

Resin, Sixpoint Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
(Imperial/Double IPA, Rated 97)

For this beer, the brewery zeroed in on the the hop cone structure and identified a sticky, golden resin when the hop is at peak maturity. A very citrus hopped beer with a smooth, yet powerful kick at 9.1% abv.

The picture is in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum, an architectural landmark on the shores of Lake Michigan. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, this amazing building is highlighted by a moveable sunshade with a 217-foot wingspan that opens twice a day. Here the wingspan provides wings for this Sixpoint beer.

Wisconsin Belgian Red

Wisconsin Belgian Red, New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI
(Fruit Beer, Rated 100)

This is just one amazing fruit beer brewed with Wisconsin cherries, Wisconsin farmed wheat, and hops fermented for one full year. There is over a pound of Door County cherries in every bottle. Ruby red in color, it has almost a wine color. Highly carbonated and loaded with cherry flavor. An absolute must drink for anyone living in or visiting Wisconsin...and even better straight from the taps at New Glarus Brewing Company!

Sapient Trip Ale

Sapient Trip Ale, Dark Horse Brewing Company, Marshall, MI
(Abbey Tripel, Rated 87)

A very nice Belgian Style Tripel with mild fruit aromas. Even though the high alcohol content of 9.5% abv, it is very smooth with a dry finish. Makes you want another.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Dale's Pale Ale

Dale's Pale Ale, Oskar Blues Grill & Brew, Lyons, CO
(American Pale Ale, Rated 98)

Only fitting that, after Deviant Dale's, I drink his normal brother, Dale's Pale Ale. Brewed with four kinds of hops, this one delivers citrusy-hop aromas, excellent malt and hop flavors, and 6.5% abv. A fun beer to drink. Cheers!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Deviant Dale's India Pale Ale

Deviant Dale's India Pale Ale, Oskar Blues Grill & Brew, Lyons, CO
(IPA, Rated 98)

Sensory overload for hop lovers. Nice fruity, citrus aromas and flavors. Lots of hops, but very smooth. An ideal IPA.  At 8.0% abv this one is a warmer.

Noir Black Belgian Barleywine

Noir Black Belgian Barleywine, Sand Creek Brewing Company, Black River Falls, WI

Saturday, April 21, 2012

8-Bit Pale Ale

8-Bit Pale Ale, Tallgrass Brewing Company, Manhattan, KS

A beer fit for nerds! Love it!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Inaugural Beer Snob Tour

This past weekend, a few friends and I went on the Inaugural Beer Snob Tour, an event I created that took us to visit three of Wisconsin's fine craft breweries - New Glarus Brewing Company (New Glarus, WI), Minhas Craft Brewery (Monroe, WI), and Great Dane Pub & Brewery (Madison, WI).
The Beer Snobs

There are over 1900 craft breweries operating in the U.S. and that number fluctuates all the time. My now home state of Wisconsin has quite a few of them as well. Wisconsin is home to 7 macrobreweries (those producing 15000+ barrels annually), the largest being MillerCoors, and 30+ microbreweries (those producing less than 15000 barrels annually). Wisconsin is a pretty big state, but many of these fine craft breweries are well within driving distance, so I set up a trip to tour/visit three of them in one day.

First stop was New Glarus Brewing Company, New Glarus, WI. About an hour and forty-five minute drive from Milwaukee, New Glarus has a strong Swiss heritage that is apparent as soon as you drive into town. The New Glarus Brewing Company situated on top of a hill in the middle of a farming community. The views of the countryside were spectacular. New Glarus is one of Wisconsin's more popular craft breweries and have many outstanding beers to choose from. Spotted Cow seems to be the favorite. The tour was essentially free with a couple of guides on hand to answer questions. Since we were the first group to arrive, we had the privilege of one of the guides taking us around the facility. Now the facility was pristine. It was as clean as a hospital. Very impressive. For just $3.50, we were able to sample five of the beers available in the tasting room. I've tasted most of the beer that New Glarus offers and many of their seasonals, so nothing new here for me. I sampled Fat Squirrel (Brown Ale), Moon Man (American Pale Ale), Cabin Fever Honey Bock (Heller Bock), and Wisconsin Belgian Red (Fruit Beer). The Belgian Red is fantastic. Moon Man and Cabin Fever are favorites as well.


From New Glarus, we drove about twenty minutes to Monroe, WI, home of Minhas Craft Brewery. The tour guide said this was the second oldest brewery in the U.S. Here are some of the facts I 'borrowed' from the Minhas Craft Brewery website - "The Brewery in Monroe was started 10 years before the Miller Brewery got its start in Milwaukee Wisconsin, 28 years before the Coors Brewery started in Golden, Colorado and 31 years before the Anheuser-Busch Brewery started in St. Louis, Missouri." It's been around a long time.



 The tour cost $10, though we had a Groupon so it only cost us $5 each, and included a tour of the facility; a sample pack consisting of four beers, one root beer, and a sampling glass; and unlimited samples. Certainly worth $5, don't you think? They also have a brewery museum showcasing lots of brewery artifacts and memorabilia. The tour was a lot of fun and very informative. I can't remember the number, but they brew more than a dozen different beers and do it all from one kettle. I thought that was pretty amazing. They do quite a bit of contract brewing in addition to their own stuff. I was able to sample quite a few beers - 1845 Pils (Pilsener), Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale (Golden Ale/Blonde Ale), Fighting Billy Bock (American Dark Lager), Chocolate Bunny Stout (Stout), Thumper American IPA (IPA), Imperial Jack Double IPA (Imperial/Double IPA) - and even got behind the taps to pour one of my own.



My favorite was when they added cream soda to the Chocolate Bunny Stout...AMAZING!!

After Minhas, we set course to Madison, WI where we were going to visit the Great Dane Pub & Brewery. It had been a long day so far, so we were winding down and ready to relax a little. We sat down at this bar/table and ordered some appetizers and some tasty beer. I shared an 8-beer sampler that included Crop Circle Wheat (German Hefeweizen), Devils Lake Red Lager (Premium Lager), Emerald Isle Stout (Dry Stout), Old Glory American Pale Ale (American Pale Ale), Stone of Scone Scott Ale (Scotch Ale), India Pale Ale (IPA), Landmark Lite Lager (Pale Lager), and a special beer called Black Watch Scotch (Scotch Ale).


Here are the rest of the pictures

This was a fun event to plan and even more fun to do. We all had a great time. There is already talk of doing one locally here in Milwaukee (certainly enough breweries to choose from) and even one outside of Wisconsin...Goose Island (Chicago, IL) and Three Floyds (Munster, IN) would be epic!  Cheers!

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Fighting Billy Bock

Fighting Billy Bock, Minhas Craft Brewery, Monroe, WI

Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale

Lazy Mutt Farmhouse Ale, Minhas Craft Brewery, Monroe, WI

Swiss Amber

Swiss Amber, Minhas Brewing Company, Monroe, WI

1845 Pils


1845 Pils, Minhas Craft Brewery, Monroe, WI

Friday, April 13, 2012

Bigfoot

Bigfoot, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, CA
(Barley Wine, Rated 99)

I started to really get into and appreciate barley wine style beers in 2011. This one from Sierra Nevada is one of the best one's I've had so far. Fruity, rich, and bittersweet. The malts are strong and the hops lend to the bittersweet taste. Fantastic example of a barley wine!  Cheers!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Illumination Double IPA

Illumination Double IPA, Central Waters Brewing Co., Amherst, WI
(Imperial/Double IPA, Rated 98)

I'm fortunate to live in state with so many great craft breweries. Wisconsin may be the Dairy State, but it's known for it great craft beer as well. This double IPA is as hoppy as they come. Grapefruit aroma and a mouthful of citrus hops. Definitely a beer for hopheads.

Dry Hopped Pale Ale

Dry Hopped Pale Ale, Founders Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, MI

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Rabbid Rabbit Saison Ale


Rabbid Rabbit Saison Ale, Three Floyds Brewing Company, Muenster, IN

Mean Manalishi

Mean Manalishi Double IPA, Hoppin Frog Brewery, Akron, OH
(Imperial/Double IPA, Rated 99)

This frog has mad hops! And I'm not talking about the jumping kind either. Nice tangy, grapefruit hop flavor with an extremely satisfying hop character. A slight malty presence and a bitter finish. Delicious!

Saturday, April 7, 2012

B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher

B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout, Hoppin Frog Brewery, Akron, OH
(Imperial Stout, Rated 100)

B.O.R.I.S. stands for Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout. This is an amazingly smooth imperial stout...and yes, at 9.4% abv, it will crush you! I went to a Hoppin Frog beer tasting a few weeks ago at one of my favorite bars, Burnhearts, and all of their beer is excellent. This stout pours very black with a sweet malty aroma and a smooth stout taste. It has lots of chocolate and oatmeal, and has a sweetness that makes you want more.  Would you believe there is a D.O.R.I.S. (D = Double)?

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Brian Boru

Brian Boru, Three Floyds Brewing Company, Munster, IN
(Irish Ale, Rated 98)

Another excellent brew from one of my favorite breweries! This red Irish ale has a nice citrus aroma and smooth caramel and citrus hop flavors. Three Floyds does hops right!  "A mighty fine Irish ale" (said in my best Irish accent) Slainte!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Black IPA

Black IPA, Sprecher Brewing Co., Glendale, WI