21ST AMENDMENT BREWERY - Monks Blood Label states it is a Belgian style dark ale brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, oak chips, and dried figs. Not bad, a little in the sweet side. I dont get much from the cinnamon or vanilla, but xan really notice the figs and oak. Interesting at the least.
NEW HOLLAND BREWING COMPANY - The Poet This is an oatmeal stout. It has a creaminess feel to it. Aroma is a little on the weak side, but the flavor makes up for it. Nice dark malts, oats, and some dark chocolates. Not as sweet as I was expecting, a really nice surprise. I would think of it more as a winter seasonal, but it is brewed year round and actually was really good on this warm day.
INDEED BREWING COMPANY - Shenanigans Summer Ale Nice light summer wheat beer. Decent flavor, citrus and a hint of honey and has a some hop kick. Interesting take on the style.
NEW BELGIUM BREWING - Summer Helles Lager New Belgium's new summer beer. Seems like rhey change this one every year. Not bad, decent summer beer, could drink a lot of these on a hot day pretty easily. Great representation of the style.
BOULEVARD BREWING CO. - The Sixth Glass Quadrupel Ale Whoa. Starts with a sweet wine like aroma. Lots of character and deep complex flavors. There is a lot going on; spices, cloves, cherry, banana, malts, hops. Definitely a little warmth from the 10.5% ABV. Mouthfeel and body are identical to most Quads, but this one is smoother than the others I have tried. A big boy beer.
BOSTON BEER COMPANY - Samuel Adams Escape Route Nice easy drinking beer, great for warmer weather. Light fruits and light hops. Smooth and crisp. Nothing extraordinary, just another solid offering from Sam Adams.
ANCHOR BREWING COMPANY - California Lager Nice and light easy drinking lager. Perfect for a summer day. Nothing extraordinary, but not much not to like about this one. Went down fast.
TWO BROTHERS BREWING COMPANY - Cane And Ebel Label states this is a hopped up red rye ale with a 7% ABV and is brewed with rye and palm sugar. Very interesting. A little spicy from the rye some citrus and brown sugar. Very complex and bold flavor. I have not had many beers from Two Brothers, but this one will be hard to top.
SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO. - Blindfold Black IPA I really enjoy these black IPAs. Seemed to get a little better as it warmed too. Great blend of hops and flavor. Above average, especially for the price. One of the more affordable black IPAs you will find.
MAGIC HAT BREWING COMPANY - G-Thing This is limited offering spiced ale. Has a little ginger and cinnamon and some caramelized malts, but pretty tame overall. Interesting beer and worth trying, but the spices need to be more pronounced.
WIDMER BROTHERS BREWING COMPANY - Brothers Reserve Vanilla Barrel Aged Ale Brrrbon '13 Another nice beer from their Brothers Reserve series. The effects from the bourbon barrel seem to dominate the nose and taste. I get some citrus, but very little from the vanilla beans unfortunately. Really good beer other than the fact it is supposedly the vanilla version and that seems to be missing. Maybe I just got a bad bottle.
I finally was able to get a list together of all 586 (585) beers I have sampled so far. Hard to believe, but I was buying new stuff and updating mostly from memory. It was getting harder and harder to remebern so I decided I finally needed to get something togethor.
In the year I did the beer a day challenge, there were no repeats, all 506 beers were different. Since I started updating again in May, I found one repeat (Summit - Great Northern Porter, they completely redid their bottle graphics is probably why I missed it), so there will be two listings at #586 to correct this error.
Lots of good stuff in the beer fridge yet and looking forward to the pumpkin beer releases and Oktoberfest releases that will be coming out soon.
AVERY BREWING CO. - The Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest Lager 2009 I found this one a few months ago in a Minnesota liquor store and I wasn't even aware Avery distributed in Minnesota. This liquor store usually pulls out some interesting stuff from their cellar every now and then and maybe back in 2009 Avery was distributed here and they had this sitting around. Anyways, bonus for me. This is a great Marzen style Oktoberfest beer. It aged just fine, and is one of the best in this style I have tried.
NEW GLARUS BREWING COMPANY - Thumbprint Scream IIPA Wow, this is a special imperial IPA brewed one time only. This is as close to what a perfect imperial IPA should be. Just amazing, New Glarus sure knows what they are doing. At this stage, I pretty much buy every new beer of theirs I come across. Now they just need distribution in Minnesota to make acquiring them much easier. Try this one if you find it, and if you dint want to, buy some for me.
DOGFISH HEAD CRAFT BREWERY - Burton Baton Imperial India Pale Ale This IPA had a 10% ABV and is aged in oak barrels. Smooth, and very drinkable despite the high ABV. I think the oak aging mellows it out somewhat, great mix of flavors overall. A little on the spendy side, but would definitely buy some more if I see it again.
SOUTHERN TIER BREWING COMPANY - Mokah Wow. Great aroma and flavor; chocolate, caramel and coffee are the most noticeable. The chocolate stands out the most for me. This is sweet and decadent. Has a slight alcohol burn in the finish, but for a ABV of 11.2% its not as bad as I expected, overall, nicely balanced. Great after dinner beer.
MAGIC HAT BREWING COMPANY - Encore Nice introductory IPA. Nothing special, but just a good solid IPA, very crisp and fresh on this hot day.
OSKAR BLUES BREWERY - Mama's Little Yella Pils Average pilsner, but sure went went down good after a nice bike ride.
NEW BELGIUM BREWING - Hop Kitchen RyePA Another fresh hop rye IPA. Nice solid beer, i enjoy the spiceness from the rye, but not New Belgium's best. But for the price, well worth trying, glad I bought a few extra bottles.
ROGUE ALES - Rogue Farms 7 Hop IPA The Rogue Farms series are a line of beers where they grow every ingredient themselves. Nice concept, but there are so many fresh IPAs out there that are better. This is nice and easy to drink and is better than average, but nothing really makes it stand out other than rhe fact that they grow everything.
GREAT LAKES BREWING CO. - Rye Of The Tiger IPA Nice IPA using Rye malts giving it a little spiciness. Very enjoyable.
LEFT HAND BREWING CO. - Sawtooth Ale ESB style ale. Spot on example. Good stuff if you like the style.
LAGUNITAS BREWING COMPANY - Cappuccino Stout Nice stout, great mix of coffee and chocolate flavors. The coffee doesnt overwhelm like many in this style. Another great effort from Lagunitas.
NEW HOLLAND BREWING COMPANY - Dragon's Milk Reserve With Toasted Chilies Damn. The 11% ABV is hidden well, but the chilies just dominate the taste for me. It is definitely on the hot side. First beer i've tried that has been this hot, almost need a cold chaser to cool the mouth down aftet each sip. Interesting, but would have liked this much better if it was better balanced. The rest of the flavor is nice and very complex, but just way too hot for this guy.
BOSTON BEER COMPANY - Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red This is from their Barrel Room Collection. Label states "a unique Belgian style red with a hint of tart fruit and toasted oak character." I dont get much for the sourness or fruits, the oak really dominates for me. Not bad, well worth the try, but I expect a little better from Sam Adams. Hides the 9% ABV well but just seems to be missing a little something.
PAULANER BRAUEREI - Limited Edition Hacker Pschorr Sternweisse Nice dark hefeweizen style beer. Nicely balanced, great example of a Hefeweizen. I need to get back to Germany asap.
WIDMER BROTHERS BREWING COMPANY - Brothers Reserve Kill Devil '13 Brown Ale First beer from this series I have tried, but I have a few more in the fridge. Label says 90% ale brewed with palm sugar and molasses and aged in rum barrels. Damn, very good brown ale, thr 9.5% ABV is well hidden. Tasty.
SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO. - Snow Wit White IPA Belgian style IPA. Interesting, a little different take, but worth the try.
NEW GLARUS BREWING CO - Back 40 Bock Nice example of a bock, no surprise, New Glarus seems to have everything down.
LUCID BREWING - Halucidation This is a Belgian style ale brewed with white grapes in a collaboration with Parley Lake Winery. Very interesting, easy drinking and almost drinks like a wine. Be careful though, at 12.5% ABV, it will sneak up on you.
DOGFISH HEAD BREWERY - Piercing Pils A nice light easy drinking Czech style Pils. The addition of pears made it interesting.
TWO BROTHERS BREWING CO. - Polar Vortex Dunkel Lager Nice easy drinking beer. Hints of chocolate and caramel. More of a winter beer though.
DOGFISH HEAD BREWERY - Palo Santo Marron. Wow, didnt realize until I finished this one that it was 12% ABV. Nice brown ale aged in Palo Santo wood "brewing vessels." Complex taste; coffee, caramel, vanilla, and even a little cherry. Nice, definitely warms you up. Love the label description, last line says: "We have wood. Now you do too."
FLYING DOG BREWERY - Kujo Imperial Coffee Stout Nice take on a coffee stout, nothing out of the ordinary, hides the 8.9% ABV well.
SURLY BREWING COMPANY (WITH THREE FLOYD'S BREWING CO. AND REAL ALE BREWING CO.) - Blakkr Imperial Black Ale. Damn. This might be my favorite Surly so far. 9.9% ABV of IPA goodness.
SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO. - 2013 Ruthless Rye Dont know where this one was hiding. Tasty still.
