Apollo Wheat

Apollo Wheat, Sixpoint Brewery, Brooklyn, NY

I'm enjoying these great craft beers from cans. It's pretty sweet that they can pack so much flavor and alcoholic punch into cans. Sixpoint is fairly new to Wisconsin. I've sampled several of their beer. Apollo is the first wheat beer I've had from them. Aroma is full of bananas, oranges, and spices. Those same characteristics come out in the taste. Smooth and refreshing.

Summer Tide Wheat Ale

Summer Tide Wheat Ale, Big Bay Brewing Company, Shorewood, WI

This one is a little different than your normal wheat beer. It's lighter in body. Banana notes are apparent in the nose. Nice banana and lemon flavor with a little hop to it. Very refreshing summer beer.

Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH
(Porter, Rated 99)

Porters are fantastic beers when done right. Great Lakes did this one right. Chocolate, coffee, and roasted malt aroma. Nice smokey, dark roasted malt flavor that's a touch sweet with hints of chocolate. Smooth finish. I had this one for dinner with pork chops with pomegranate chipotle sauce and steamed veggies. Yum!

Burning River Pale Ale

Burning River Pale Ale, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH

(American Pale Ale, Rated 98)

This is one tasty, hopped up American Pale Ale. Malty aroma with a hint of citrus. The hops come through with the taste, where you would expect more of a malty flavor. 

The Very Many Varieties of Beer

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Under Dog Atlantic Lager

Under Dog Atlantic Lager, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD

Not much to say about this beer. Not saying that it's bad, but there is certainly nothing distinguishable about this lager.

Since I've got nothing to say about this beer, how about a little information...regardless of how many different beers you may see at the liquor store (I called them package stores back in CT), there really are only two type of beer - Ales and Lagers. In a way, similar to wine - red and white. What's the difference between ales and lagers? The difference is with how they are brewed and at what temperature. Ales are brewed with a top-fermenting yeast that do their work at a higher temperature, usually between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Lagers are brewed with a bottom-fermenting yeast at much cooler temperatures, around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and for a longer period of time. Now within these two types of beer are the many styles and subcategories that we have, or at least I have, grown to love. Many of which I have share with you here.

Weekend at Louie's Blueberry Flavored Amber Ale

Weekend at Louie's Blueberry Flavored Amber Ale, Milwaukee Brewing Company, 

Milwaukee, WI

You have to be a real fan of fruit-flavored beer to really get into this style. I am not...at least yet. Hats off to the breweries for attempting these beers. This beer is better than most fruit beers I have had. MKE definitely got the aroma right with strong, bold, blueberries through the nose. Taste falls just a little short, but the blueberries with the amber ale does work. Very smooth and not sweet at all. 

Chimay Rouge (Red)

Taken at Cafe Hollander, Wauwatosa, WI

Chimay Rouge (Red), Chimay, Baileux, Belgium

(Abbey Dubbel, Rated 99)

Excellent Belgian abbey dubbel! Abbey's are packed with body and flavor and this Chimay delivers. Sweet, fruity malt, apricot aroma. Tantalizing caramel with fruity notes invade the palate with a touch of bitterness but leaving a smooth, sweet, malty finish.

Threadless India Pale Ale

Threadless India Pale Ale, Finch's Beer Company, Chicago, IL


Of the three Finch beers I've tasted, this is my favorite. No surprise though as I am a fan of IPA. Nice fruity, citrus, floral aroma with a simple bitter hop flavor. A really good IPA.

Cut Throat Pale Ale

Cut Throat Pale Ale, Finch's Beer Company, Chicago, IL

Fresh and hoppy, but on the lighter side (5.5% abv) of most pale ales. Nice citrus aroma with hint of caramel.

Golden Wing Blonde Ale

Golden Wing Blonde Ale, Finch's Beer Company, Chicago, IL

Very light and an easy drinker (4.7% abv). Sweet maltiness with a hint of lemon, almost like a wheat beer. Got to love that cans are making a comeback!

Shift Pale Lager

Shift Pale Lager, New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO

A nice, golden colored, lightly hopped premium lager.Good taste and very drinkable.

Gubna Imperial IPA

Gubna Imperial IPA, Oskar Blues Brewery, Lyons, CO

(Imperial/Double IPA, Rated 98)

Pours a light golden amber. Strong hops in the aroma with citrus and almost a pine note. Flavor is sweet and malty with smooth hops. At 10% abv, a powerful alcohol presence...and from a can. Another fantastic beer from Oskar Blues.

Gonzo Imperial Porter

Gonzo Imperial Porter, Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD

(Imperial/Strong Porter, Rated 99)

Pours nearly pitch black with a nice thick, frothy head. Rich malts. Intense roasted flavors. Nice coffee aroma with a bit of grapefruit hint from the hops. Both sweet and bitter. Nice burnt finish. An excellent choice for a porter!

Blind Faith

Blind Faith, Magic Hat Brewing Company, South Burlington, VT

A darker, amber IPA with a malty aroma and a mild citrus hoppy taste that fades quickly. A very good drinker. Might be the best Magic Hat beer I've had yet.

ACME California IPA

ACME California IPA, North Coast Brewing Company, Fort Bragg, CA

Generous hops in this IPA. Nice citrus, grapefruit aroma. Very delicious and drinkable.

ACME California Pale Ale

ACME California Pale Ale, North Coast Brewing Company, Fort Bragg, CA

An American Pale Ale that is light and smooth. Faint citrus and honey flavors. A pretty average pale ale. Nothing special here.

Lake Erie Monster Imperial IPA

Lake Erie Monster Imperial IPA, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH

(Imperial/Double IPA, Rated 98)

Yet another fantastic Imperial IPA!  Very nice fruity, citrus aroma with grapefruits and orange. Bold hoppy flavor, but not overpowering. There's a sweetness to the bitter that makes this one smooth for a Imperial/Double IPA. Yet at 9.1% abv, it packs a punch.

Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale

Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale, Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX

Nothing special about this American Pale Ale. In fact, I haven't had anything special from the brewery. Decent beers, but nothing noteworthy. This one is copper in color. Light malt, cereal, and some citrus in the aroma. Very mild hops and a slight malty finish. In my opinion, just an average drinker.