#636

FIRESTONE WALKER BREWING COMPANY - D.B.A. Double Barrel Ale

#635

FIRESTONE WALKER BREWING COMPANY - Pale 31

#634

FIRESTONE WALKER BREWING COMPANY - Oaktoberfest Paso Marzen Bier

#633

FIRESTONE WALKER BREWING COMPANY - Easy Jack Summer Session IPA

#632

CORONADO BREWING COMPANY - Mermaid's Red Amber Ale

#631

SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO. - Summerfest 2014

#630

SEA DOG BREWING CO. - Raspberry

#629

ODELL BREWING COMPANY - Amuste 2013      This is a porter brewed with grape juice and aged in oak wine barrels. It has a 9.3% ABV.  Aroma is really nice. A combination of dark malts, wine and a little chocolate. Flavor is the same and is a little sweet. Mostly your standard porter flavors with grape hints.  Doesnt seem like quite the best combination, but they pulled it off. I think I would like it a little more if the grapes were toned down just a little bit. Interesting beer. Overall, I liked it. I like that that Odell tried something different and wouldn't mind having it again. Hopefully they fine tune it a little bit and have a 2014 version.

#628

INDEED BREWING COMPANY - Day Tripper      I really enjoyed this one from Indeed. It is an American Pale Ale, but definitely a different their own take on the style. Has a lot more hops than most pales ales. Aroma is fruity citrus with a little hint of malt. Taste is not quite as citrusy as the smell, nlhas notes of pine and grapefruit. Very nice. Easy drinking.

#627

FOUNDERS BREWING COMPANY - Imperial Stout 2013      Wonderful imperial stout from Founders with a 10.5% ABV. Great aroma, chocolate and coffee. Taste is the same with just a hint of alcohol heat coming in. Creamy, smooth and down right vicious. Definitely one of the best I have tried. Dont pass this one up, highly recommended.

#626

AUGUST SCHELL BREWING C - 89.3 The Current Zommerfest Kolsch Style Ale    A decent Kolsch style beer from Schells in collaboration with the radio station 89.3 The Current. Aroma and flavor are pretty plain, not much going on. Tastes just fine though, would be a great beer on a hot summer day. A little citrus and malty with a slightly bitter finish. A nice representation of the style, not going to wow you, but I would drink it again anytime.

#625

GREAT LAKES BREWING CO. - Spacewalker American Belgo     This is a limited edition Belgian style IPA with a 8.2% ABV named after the "surprising number of astronauts who have called Ohio home."  The Belgian yeast is really up front, as the spices are really noticeable.  Pepper, spice, apple, pears, bananas; there's a lot going on. A touch of floral hops, but very bitter. Creamy and easy to drink for its ABV. Its an acquired taste, but this is really good. Wish I would have grabbed a sixer instead of just a single bottle, but sometimes you just never know what your going to get.

#624

MAGIC HAT BREWING COMPANY - Dream Machine IPL   Not sure I have ever had a beer in this style: India Pale Lager, a blending of an IPA and a Lager.  Just he malts seem to dominate the hops. Starts with some citrus hops, then the malts kick in. Interesting beer, not sure what to think about it overall. Is it trying to be a lager with hops or what. Unique, and it was very refreshing. I really enjoyed it.

#623

STONE BREWING COMPANY - Saison    Weird aroma for me. Almost smells like a perfume. I get lavender and lemon. Taste is fairly refreshing, maybe a little heavily spiced though.  I get a lot of lavender, coriander, pepper, and some lemon. Has a little bit of a sour finish, that becomes more noticeable as it warms. Its a nice summer beer and a good solid Saison but not one of Stones best efforts. Worth trying,  but there are just too many better representations of the style out there to give this one a try again.

#622

NEW HOLLAND BREWING COMPANY - Black Tulip Tripel Ale.   I have not sampled too many Tripels, but I have really liked everyone I have tried. This has a ABV of 10.5%!  Aroma has some spices, bananas, citrus and that funky yeast smell. Taste is fruity (bananas, apple, and pineaplle stand out the most) with hints of spices (pepper and cloves); very complex flavor. A little on the sweet side. Very good, crisp and fairly easy to drink considering the high ABV.

#621

SIERRA NEVADA BREWING CO. - Hoptimum Impetial IPA 2014   Huge double IPA from Sierra Nevada with a 10.4% ABV.  Huge hop and citrus flavors. Just enough malts for balance. A little sweet up front but that gives way to a fruity bitter finish. Nice. This is a hop heads delight. For such a high ABV, it goes down pretty smooth; could be dangerous!

#620

WIDMER BROTHERS BREWWING COMPANY - Chocolate Russian Imperial Stout '13 (Brothers Reserve Series)       A pretty solid imperial stout with a 9.3% ABV.  Aroma consists of chocolate, roasted malts and a hint of coffee. Taste is mostly chocolate with a little alcohol heat and some bitter malts. Nice, creamy and decadent, itss really nice example of the style. Great dessert beer.

#619

NEW GLARUS BREWING COMPANY - Yokel    The label says this is a "wisconsin lager with yeast." Online it is described as a Kellerbier/Zwickekbier style and I am not familiar with this at all, but I really enjoyed it. Pleasant, but faint aroma; yeast with some subtle sweet malts. Smooth and well balanced with just a touch of sweetness. Perfect, I wish I had a few more waiting for me. As with a few others I had today, a perfect beer for a warm summer afternoon.

Love this on the label: "Savor this creamy headed pint at your favorite escape. Here's to cards on the table, a jukebox chewing coins, chalk on your cue and your favorite beer washing down the perfect burger."

#618

MAGIC HAT BREWING COMPANY - Elder Betty Elderberry Weiss.    I noticed this one has not got many good reviews, but I was interested to give it a try and glad I did. Great aroma; bready malts with some citrus hops. Reminds me mostly of blueberries. Nice berry flavor with some tartness and wasn't too sweet. Nice and crisp, definitely a refreshing summer beer that is easy for o drink. Nothing real great, but I enjoyed it for sure. Perfect warm day beer, although not one I would drink more than one or two of at a time.

#617

GOOSE ISLAND BEER CO.  - Honker's Ale                This is an English bitter style beer.  Aroma was malty with light bitter hops.  Taste has a little bitterness, but it was not as bitter as I was expecting. Fairly muted overall, has a nice little spiciness though.  Not my favorite style, different, but interesting to try.

#616

NEW BELGIUM BREWING - Snapshot Wheat      This is a American wheat pale ale. Kind of reminds me of a Blue Moon. Aroma of wheat and a little lemon. Tastes the same, and has a hint of sourness. Nothing out of the ordinary for the style. Its an easy drinker and a great warm summer day beer.

#615

BALLAST POINT BREWING COMPANY - Big Eye IPA       Really nice American IPA from Ballast Point. Great aroma.  Full of floral and citrus/tropical fruit. Flavor matches the smell but is even more pronounced if thats possible. Very solid, might have to grab a six pack next time I see it.

#614

BELLS BREWERY INC. - Cherry Stout     I was pretty excited to give this one a try. Interesting aroma, mostly roasted malts and chocolate. Surprisingly the cherries are barely noticeable in the smell, but they do come through in the taste. Upon first sip, mostly chocolate malt notes but finishes with some strong tart cherries syrup. Seems a little thin to me for a stout. Very good, but not great. Very interesting and fun to drink. I understand they make a barrel aged version, which I would love to find and give a try.

#613

BOULEVARD BREWING COMPANY- Pop-Up Session IPA    Nice little session beer. The 4.3% ABV makes it a perfect IPA for someone just getting into craft beer, or anyone really. Lots of citrus hops and the caramel malts balances the bitterness out nicely. Very easy to drink and very enjoyable. It would be very easy to pound a few of these in a single session.

#612

SOUTHERN TIER BREWING COMPANY - Pumking 2014    First off, it just seems too early for the pumpkin beers to be hitting the shelves, but they are usually big sellers for the breweries, so I suppose they need to take advantage of that.

Second, I was debating on counting this as a new beer or not, I am not sure if anything changed in the recipe or not from last year. Most "seasonal" beers tend to experiment a little bit from year to year though and even though I could not find anything official on their website, I am going to count it.

In 2013 this was one of my favorite pumpkin beers and even though this is the first one I have tried in 2014, I think it will still be one of the best. One of the pumpkin beers that isnt dominated by spices, just a great pumpkin pie aroma and flavor. Just a great representation of the style, you cant go wrong giving this one a try.

#611

SMUTTYNOSE BREWING COMPANY - Robust Porter   First beer I have tried from them as they dont distribute in Minnesota. Really nice. Great balance of hops and malt with subtle hints of chocolate and coffee. Very solid, glad I found it and bought it, just what a porter should be.

#610

LEFT HAND BREWING COMPANY - Stranger American Pale Ale     Decent take on a American pale ale, but nothing out of the ordinary. Easy drinker, but it would need something to make it stand out from the others in thsi style for me to buy it again.

#609

FULTON BREWING COMPANY - Worthy Adversary 2013      This is a 9.5% ABV Russian Imperial Stout from Fulton out of Minnesota.  Love me a good stout amd this one doesnt dissapoint. Aroma is fairly mild though.  Pretty basic, roasted malts with a little chocolate and coffee. Flavor is the same, but a little more intense, you could definitely pick up a little alcohol heat. Maybe a little on the thin side, but thats a minor complaint. Solid effort, well worth buying a bottle if you see it around.

#608

ODELL BREWING COMPANY - Shenanigans     This is a beer that is no longer brewed. This bottlw is dated from 2011, but you can still find it around if y loo u are lucky. A crimson ale aged in oak. Caramel malts wuth some light fruity notes with a little funkiness  Tastes a little sweet and tart. Very complex; apples, oak, citrus, caramel and vanilla, there's a lot going on. Very nice, it aged well. I would be very interested to see what some more aging would do to it, but I have not seen another bottle since I bought this one. Another solid offering from Odell.

#607

OMMEGANG BREWERY - Chocolate Indulgence Stout     With a name like Chocolate Indulgence, I was expecting big things. Popped the cork and the aroma is fairly weak, some light bitter chocolate, but not much else. Taste is mostly dark coffee, with just a little hint of chocolate. Not what I was expecting.  The name just isn't accurate for this beer. Overall, not bad, but I was expecting more from Ommegang.  If you want a good chocolate beer, there are a lot I would have before purchasing this one again.

#606

NEBRASKA BREWING COMPANY - Cardinal Pale Ale    First beer I have tried from Nebraska Brewing,  I believe they just started to distribute in MN in the last few months. Standard pale ale aroma; floral and citrus hops. Tastes the same, with a nice caramel malt back and citrus and floral notes. Textbook pale ale, nothing out of the ordinary,  just a nice solid beer.

#605

NEW GLARUS BREWING COMPANY - Spiced Ale      This is a limited brewed one time only release.  Huge spicy aroma; nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice. Smells great. Spices also dominate the flavor; almost too much so, its hard to notice anything else. Not bad, you dont notice the 8.8% ABV, its very well hidden. Interesting, but not sure I could drink more than one.

#604

FOUNDERS BREWING COMPANY - Centennial IPA       This is the base IPA from Founders, and its as good as any IPA you will find. Especially for the price. Perfect balance of bitter hops and citrus, classic IPA taste. You cant go wrong with this one.

#603

GREAT LAKES BREWING CO. - Company's Irish Ale       Red Ale. Lots of caramel malts. Bit of creaminess. Smooth and easy to drink. Overall, a pretty decent beer, but not one I would go to often.

#602

BELLS BREWERY INC - Kalamazoo Stout    Nice stout; decent, but nothing special. Seemed a little on the thin side. Has some light coffee and light chocolate in the nose and flavor.  A little on the bitter side.

#601

GOOSE ISLAND BEER CO. - Ten Hills Pale Ale     Brewed one time only American pale ale form Goose Island. Decent for the style, I notice the malts more than the hops.

#600

DOGFISH HEAD BREWERY - 90 Minute IPA       Its National IPA day, and this is beer #600, so this seems like the perfect beer for today. It consistently rates as one of the best IPAs of the year, and Esquire magazine once called it "the best IPA in America", and I have to agree. Excellent beer, one of my favorites I have ever tried. As close to perfect as you can get. Dogfish doesnt distribute in MN and MN has some antiquated laws as far as shipping beers into our state, but with a little work,  you can find it. (basically, a trip to Wisconsin will do it). If you see it, buy it, you won't be dissapointed.

When I was doing the beer a day challenge for a year, I was donating $50 each month I reached my goal. (scroll back for details).  If you have been following, that ended at the end of February 2014, and I said I was done, but since it is beer #600,  why not donate some more? So,  $50 to the Lakes Area Humane Society and another $50 to Wounded Warriors. Google them and donate if you can, I am sure they will appreciate it.

#599

INDEED BREWING COMPANY - Let It Ride IPA      This is a really nice American IPA from a Minnesota brewery. Great tropical fruit hoppy aroma. Piney taste with oranges and even a hit of blueberry. Top notch IPA, great job from Indeed. I could drink this anytime.

#598

DESCHUTES BREWERY - Hop In The Dark Cascadian Dark Ale     Really nice dark ale. Nice amounts of hops, malts, and coffee. Hints of fruit and a little chocolate even. Smooth and crisp, very enjoyable.

#597

ODELL BREWING COMPANY - Loose Leaf    This is a really nice American blonde ale.  Well balanced, light and smooth. You can drink a bunch of these easily (and I did).