81/100) 2015 Sours

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Barrel & Bog, La Folie, Love Child No 5

First off, Merry Christmas! I know this is a bit non-traditional, but this was my way of indulging as Christmas approached.

The thing with sours is that you can never guess whether they are perfect now or ought to have been aged longer. It's like the conundrum: "Is poison past its expiration date, more or less poisonous?" The same can be said of sours, but without the terminal implications. Although, for the uninitiated, a sour beer can certainly be the death of their taste buds. As for me, I really like sours.

Barrel & Bog) The zing of a sour beer, from what I hear, only gets better with time, while all the other flavors will be subdued. This "funky sour" was either opened far too soon or far too late. It was one of the worst beers I've ever had. It finished bitter, but not in a hop bitter more like a medicine, spoiled food, or stale herbs way. I don't want to give you my friend's descriptions of it, because I fear that your appetite will be spoiled. Suffice to say, it was bad. The only positive I can come up with is that the mouth feel was light, and I'm trying to maintain an hopeful optimism that my other bottle will improve the longer I forget it in my cellar. ☆

La Folie 2015) First of all, if you haven't had one of these sours, you can find them just about anywhere now that New Belgium has begun releasing it twice a year. La Folie, or 'the folly,' is a blended sour so from one bottle to the next the flavors are pretty consistent too. This 2015 was a great mix of barrel and cherry like flavors with a lot of layers of complexity that all lead up to a burst of sour. I'm not even going to be nice and say tart with this one. It was straight up sour and though I loved it, it was a palate wrecker making it hard to sample anything after it. ☆☆☆☆

Love Child #5) This barrel-aged sour, as you can tell by the name, is the fifth in the series. The sixth just came out recently, so I've been holding onto mine for a bit I guess. They're a bit expensive and hard to find so people tend to grab them as soon as they're available. This one was eerily similar to the La Folie, but mostly because of the lemony tartness. It was a bit milder though and the barrel aged aspects were just a bit more muted. ☆☆☆☆

80/100) Cold Stouts

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Baltika Brew Collection, Ga-Run, 2 Tun

This week's tasting feels a bit like a cop-out because I couldn't track down a set of three beers from any of these three breweries. However, I suppose that is a testament to how scarce or unusual they are. What they do have in common is that they are darker, stronger, maltier beers, and appropriately, these cold stouts pair best with winter as their high ABV and rich flavors are sure to warm your soul.

Baltika Brew Collection) This Russian imperial stout is straight out of St. Petersburg. Although it had a bit more of the smokiness I'd associate with a imperial or double porter, that was not a disappointment. Lots of depth to this one. Rich and chocolate malts with just a touch of acridness towards the finish. ☆☆☆☆

Ga Run) This Icelandic Stout appeared a little lackluster at first with a distinct lack of amber swirls usually brought on by the effervescence. However, despite fearing it to be flat, the stout came forth with a very pleasant thick mouth feel. The middle characterized itself with a lot of anise and chocolate while the linger remained softly on my palate. I plan on grabbing another of this and hoping that it has more bubbly. I enjoyable it. ☆☆☆☆

Hermitage Ale of the 2 Tun) Do you know what a tun is? No, it's not a misspelling of "ton." Instead, a tun is a large cask or container for beer or wine. It can also be used as a verb to express "putting wine or beer into a tun." In other words, you can "tun beer into a tun."  And while I mulled that over in my mind, I tried this beer. The robust nature of the smoked espresso aroma caused me to over anticipate and expect an equally robust taste and mouth feel.  It didn't deliver. My overall impression instead was of its thin mouth feel even despite the flavors being a nice chocolate ☆☆☆

79/100) Scotland Ales

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Jacobite Ale, House Ale, McEwan's Scotch Ale

Scotch ales. I can only presume they are so named for some connection they have to Scotland. Regardless, the malt isn't necessarily smoked, but the wort is boiled in such a way as to impart caramel notes and a bit of a roasted backdrop.

The two beers on the left come from Traquair which claims to be the oldest continually inhabited house in Scotland. Considering it was a hunting lodge back in the 1100s that is pretty impressive.

McEwan's is also a Scottish brewery that has been around for a long time. They will celebrate their 160th anniversary next year.

Jacobite Ale) Both this one and the following Traquair ale are quality scotch ales. I usually get a lot of banana on this style but not the case on these two. Brewed with coriander, the Jaocobite had just enough for it to be subtly present, but what I had not anticipated came in the form of soft caramels and a subtle sweetness on the finish. Not too complex. Not in your face about anything, but not a pushover. This one is just plain good drinking. ☆☆☆☆

Traquair House Ale) There's a sweetness to this scotch ale that was smooth and unassuming. Place a burger alongside it though and you have reached perfection. It isn't overly fizzy, and the flavors are mellow enough to entice. Not to mention that the finish has just enough biscuit to give it some density. ☆☆☆☆

McEwan's Scotch Ale) As previously mentioned, my problem with Scotch Ale's has been that they often end up giving me a finish that feels a lot like bananas. I've been taught this is coming from "esters." I'm still not up and up on what that means, but I don't like what makes the banana-y flavors. Since I did not get banana on this one or the previous two, I have this theory that maybe scotch ales made in America are different in process from their UK counterparts. Kind of like how there are American IPAs and Belgian IPAs. What set this one off from the other two was a light marzen-like musty touch that changed to a finish that felt peated even though this ale wasn't. ☆☆☆☆

78/100) Canada's Big Rock Brewing

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Warthog, Scottish Heave Ale, Abandoned Abbey

I made a trip up to Canada a while back with a friend. We didn't make it to this brewery, but I picked up some of their beers. They seemed to have decent reviews and the bottle/can art looked nice. Yes, I judged a beer by its cover. The whole world of Canadian beers is just too new to me, so I had to come up with some way of not spending three hours just deciding what to bring back. I know. Excuses.. Excuses..

Warthog) An English mild is mild, as one might say. For me, I imagine this beer to be something an old British colonial might reminisce over. Ah, I dare say, this reminds me of the Savannah and warthog sweat. Nasty buggers, you could smell them before you saw them. And they always had the indecency to show right during a meal. Ugh. Or something like that. Really, the taste has nothing to do with warthog stink, but I also don't have enough experience with the style to evaluate whether it is representative or not. There was one background flavor in the finish that I didn't like. It reminded me of the way mildew smells. Otherwise good. ☆☆☆

Scottish Heavy Ale) For me, this is one of Big Rock's winners. The smoothness of this wee heavy remained light without being watery. I got lots of sorghum/molasses in the middle and later on in the linger as well. A bit of fruits, apricot and golden raisin, filled out the finish. I'm sure it baffles you as much as me, but I still don't know exactly why this kind of beer is called a Scottish Heavy Ale. It's not heavy. It's light in color and impact. And I'm not sure what makes it Scottish. Regardless, I love it. ☆☆☆☆☆

Abandoned Abbey) Found deep in a hidden valley shrouded by mist at the Abandoned Abbey, this dark strong ale was enjoyable. Firstly, I'm big on having a good thick mouth feel for Belgian styles, and this one's mouth feel was moderate at best. Also, Belgian style beers tend to have lots of layers of complexity. This one though came across a bit monotone. Negatives aside, the dark fruit flavors smacked of plum and though it was straightforward to me, it might make for a good gateway Belgian for others. ☆☆☆

77/100) More Ciderboys

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Magic Apple, Cranberry Road, Pineapple Hula

Ciderboys. After how excellent their Peach County was, I had to come back for more of their combination ciders. This time we take a walk down Cranberry Road as we brandish our Magic Apple. The army of Pinapple Hula dancers will never see us coming.

Magic Apple) was just what it said it would be. As an apple cider with strawberry, initially, I thought the balance was good, but the strawberry grows in intensity until you can only taste it. At least it was a very fresh strawberry flavor. If you don't love strawberries though, you probably won't find it as overpowering as I did. ☆☆☆

Cranberry Road) was a perfect marrying of flavors. Perhaps, I am biased towards tart/sour beers/ciders, but I really enjoyed this one. Try it on a hot summer day and see if you disagree. I can't help but wonder if the cranberry road is much like the yellow brick road, and if there is a Dorothy or perhaps an Edith, who needs to travel that road for her homesickness to be cured. Either that or I need less cider in my life because my judgment is becoming obscured. I'll just have to watch out for flying monkeys, I suppose. Knowing my dreams though, they'd be flying tapirs. ☆☆☆☆

Pineapple Hula) unlike the magic apple, the pineapple did not come across as overdone. However, pineapple just might not be my favorite flavor as I found it hard to want to come back for more. You get a bit of the apple towards the beginning, middle, and finish, while the linger leaves you with that fresh pineapple sweetness. So, they succeeded at making what they set out to make. ☆☆☆

Bonus: Why Tapirs? In Japanese mythology, the Baku (Tapir) eats people's dreams.

76/100) More Woodchucks 2

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Pear, Lemon Shandy, Smoked Cider

The woodchuck, how much could he chuck? Well, if he'd get out of the apples already, we'd have a clearer idea. The closest we got to solving this age-old conundrum is the Cellar Series Smoked Cider. It took a bit to get the woodchuck out of that woody smokehouse. Instead of chucking more wood on the fire though, he ran off with some delightful smoked apples.

Pear) I don't really need to say more about this one than that it tasted like a ripe brown pear. If that's what you want in a drink, this is it. If not, run screaming. Or just don't drink it. Me, I enjoyed it. ☆☆☆

Lazy Hazy Lemon Crazy) and just like it's name this one is indeed crazy. I'm not sure what Woodchuck was going for on this one. Perhaps a cider shandy? The result was very sweet, tart, and lemony. I couldn't finish it because the flavor reminded me too much of either green apple jolly ranchers or lemon heads that got dissolved into a normal cider. I usually try to come up with something positive about a drink, but I am having trouble on this one. I'm too lazy and this lemon crazy drink made my thoughts hazy. ☆

Smoked Cider) As much as I love this one I know it is not for everyone. The apple mash was smoked before being processed into cider, and the end result was a very smoke-heavy cider. No surprise there. The apple flavors are a bit on the stronger side of a deep amber cider, but they are subdued. Drink this while having a pork chop, bacon, or something else equally greasy. It goes amazingly well with them, and also works well as a a glaze. It's bottled instant smoked sweetness. Try it sometime! ☆☆☆☆

75/100) Founder's Backstage Series

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Dissenter, Blushing Monk, reDANKulous

Founder's normal fare is already something I can consider a safe bet on any occasion. This time I amassed a couple of their rarer fare, bottles that were part of their backstage series. They were all seasonal and harder to find that I expected. I also have to apologize for the wonky photo. Something Redankulous has crept into it. Just when I was going to give up and post only about two beers, I found myself a third.

Dissenter) Nay? Nay! Nay I say. Lagers are not for me. And, then for such dissenters like myself, Founder's came along and made an Imperial Pale Lager which is a hopped up stronger lager. This one had light citrus hops, a touch of bitterness on the finish, and smooth malty characteristics that gave it body. It's probably one of first lagers that I've rather liked, albeit it is an imperial one, and a rather robust one at that. I am not a dissenter over this beer. Excellent. ☆☆☆☆

Blushing Monk) The Blushing Monk is essentially an imperial Rübæus. If you haven't had a Rübæus before, you are missing out. If you haven't had a Blushing Monk though, you're really missing out. I suppose that is unless you dislike raspberries, because both are the epitome of what a raspberry beer can be. You get fresh berries on the nose and through to the finish. It was lovely, and I want another. ☆☆☆☆☆

reDANKulous) First of all, the name is awesome. I just wish the font reflected the emphasis that Founder's official spelling does. DANK is the only part of it that should be capitalized. The bottle confuses this by having all the letters uppercase, but I suppose at least "dank" is a font size or two larger. Regardless, this was a crazy IPA. The pine resin hop punch lingers and lingers, but before you reach that you have to wade through a misted jungle of tropical hop flavors and earthy malts. If only the 60s weren't so lacking in beer this unusual, I might describe this beer as a bottle-shaped time capsule back to beaded curtains and shaggy carpets. ☆☆☆☆

74/100) Samuel Smiths (Dark Beers)

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Taddy Porter, Imperial Stout, Yorkshire Stingo

Samuel Smith's is most well-known for its organic and fruit-based beers, but did you know they made stouts, porters, and barrel-aged ales? Not only are the bottles classy, but the beers are quite good and affordable. Quite affordable. 

Taddy Porter) An unusual porter that at first spiked on my tongue with an astringency in the finish that I wasn't sure I liked. It was light and somewhat uninspiring at first. Because of that, Taddy wasn't the kind of porter that I expected to like, but I did. The flavors grew and though it was not creamy, thick, or sweet, the smoothness to that ale and the dry finish won me over.  ☆☆☆☆

Imperial Stout) Engine oil dark at only a 7% ABV, this beer surprised me before I even opened it. A little sweeter than I expected with a backdrop that touched off reminders of soft candies and powdered sugar. The finish was not harsh, like a Russian Imperial, but not really smooth either. The middle and linger boasted lots of spices and dark fruits, and while clearly a malt-heavy stout the usual malt flavors were rather muted. Instead if I could I'd classify this as an herbal stout. ☆☆☆

Yorkshire Stingo) Molasses and sorghum syrupy touches rested in the backdrop on this one. It finished very dry and perhaps because of that, the nose was subtle to nonexistent. The middle had a bit of raisin or dates. Honestly, one of the more unassuming aged ales I've had. Despite it's strong ABV, the flavors were light and slow. A nice change of pace from my heavy usual fare. ☆☆☆☆

73/100) Mexican Inspirations

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Oculto, Cocoa Mole, El Mole Ocho

I'm not sure when the craze started, but a growing abundance of tequila-touched or Mexican-flavor oriented beers have started appearing. While most of us know or have experienced tequila, Moles (pronounced Mow-laze) can be a bit of an unknown. They manifest as dark sauces that vary in flavor from spicy and smokey to bitter and sweet, but all go very well with Mexican food or even Tex-Mex. I rather like moles so I am stoked to see that flavor profile is being set into beers.  

Also who could forget? Tomorrow's Halloween! What better way to celebrate than with a Dia de Los Muertos themed beer? Check out these one's from last year: Dia de Los Muertos Beers 

Oculto) First of all, this beer is not "craft." At best it is pseudo-craft, because its being produced by an offshoot of Anheuser-Busch. Doesn't mean it's not potentially worth a shot, but I just had to find out why practically overnight this beer spread all across the nation. When you're an InBev beer, you get all the perks of distribution that their massive company has to offer.

Oculto means "Hidden" in English. This drink is.. odd. I get the agave qualities, but there is too much tequila flavor. Truthfully, I'm still debating whether or not "tequila flavor" is an appropriate description. However, I can't say "the tequila" since there was no tequila in this beer. I had a lot of trouble drinking this one enough so that I can say I did not like it. I even added a splash of lime juice to fix that. It changed to tasting a bit like a Corona. I can't say that was an improvement. Funny thing is that I really wanted to like this one too. The bottle has some wicked ribbing and a cool day-of-the-dead skull. I didn't though. ☆  

Cocoa Mole) had lovely chocolate touches and a subtle burn on the finish. Even a bit of smokiness from the chipotle came through. The bottle's art though confused me. It's Day of the Dead-ish, yes, but that's not what baffled me. Why the odd color scheme? If anybody knows why, let me know. I couldn't figure it out. Regardless of the external oddness, the internal contents were excellent. I bet this one would go great with chips and salsa while I've got my legs kicked back watching a movie or a game. ☆☆☆☆

El Mole Ocho) First off, there is no El Mole Siete, Seis or any other permutation in Spanish. There is only this one, err eight?
As to the actual beer, it was very similar to the Cocoa Mole with a solid balance of heat, spices, and smoke. Something was different though that made me like this one better. I think it was the more robust chocolate, or some spice that might have been clove. However, this one looked amazing when poured into a glass. The golden amber's waters swirled below a wispy smoke of trailing foam. I'm adding this beer to my "must have on hand" list. ☆☆☆☆☆

72/100) Stone W00T

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Chai-Spiced, HiFi+LoFi Mixtape, W00tstout

My Birthday was this week and these seemed like the most appropriate beers to celebrate my further aging into wackiness. How often do you find a chai-spiced stout after all? That one's odd enough, but the Hifi+LoFi Mixtape is a combination of barrel aged and a young un-aged ale. And finally, you have the crazy collaboration with Wil Wheaton, the Stone's Farking Wheaton W00tstout! W00t!

Chai-Spiced Imperial Russian Stout) The chai spices were in the aroma, the finish, and hover in the linger. They succeeded in making exactly what they set out to make, but I am not sure if I really want it. I'd like to mix it with a dairy liquor to see if it can become a chai milk tea. Soy milk didn't work all that well. I am unfortunately allergic to dairy so I couldn't actually try anything beyond the soy milk I had on hand. I hope someone will experiment further! ☆☆☆☆

HiFi+LoFi Mixtape) had an aroma of mahogany. To combine my friend's thoughts on this beer: It's like "licking furniture, but I like it." This beer seemed confused like a barrel got varnished and then grew a crazy hair. The bitterness was low, but the finish remained moderately boozy. This "MidFi" if you will, was an interesting experience, but probably not again for me. ☆☆☆

W00tstout) was extremely easy drinking for all that ABV. The booziness only crept into the backdrop as it warmed up. The finish has just enough harshness that I think it would be a lot better with a little age on it. The chocolate and wheat combination came through as it warmed, but remained muddled against a faint unremarkable aroma when it was cold. Somehow the combination of it all reminded me of liquefied chocolate wafer sticks. Yum! I'll be socking a bottle away for a while (6-12 months) and looking forward to how it smooths out. W00t! ☆☆☆☆

71/100) Smokestack Chocolates

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Chocolate Ale, Imperial Stout Coffee, Imperial Stout Aztec Chocolate

October is pretty much the opposite time of year for Valentine's day so this line-up of Chocolate beers didn't work as any sort of romantic gift or wooing attempt. However, I suggest you keep them in mind for next year. If you have someone awesome who like beer, perhaps a chocolate beer or two is in order.

Chocolate Ale) First of all, throw out all your ideas as to what happens when chocolate and beer collide. This ale was a whopping 9% ABV but as clear and as light in color as an amber. The initial even tasted like an ale, but the finish had bittersweet chocolate overtones. They vanished as soon as they arrived, and the linger was short. I could see myself having this on a consistent basis. ☆☆☆☆

Imperial Stout Coffee Ale) As expected, the taste was somewhat similar to the normal Imperial Stout X. I presume that would be obvious, but if you could remove the coffee flavors, the two would be identical. Boulevard didn't skimp on their coffee, so instead of adding an astringency and harshness, the coffee brought touches of mellow smoothness. Rich and pleasant, I liked this one more than the Aztec one that follows, but just less than the normal version. However, as might be my one complaint about Boulevard, they make a decent imperial coffee stout. I just want something more crazy is all especially when splurging on a larger bottle. Regardless, I just need to remember that coffee in beer still imparts caffeine. I couldn't sleep until about two in the morning after this. Oops. ☆☆☆

Imperial Stout Aztec Chocolate Ale) Again, the taste was similar to the normal Imperial Stout X. I can only guess that the addition of the Aztec chocolate made this one a bit sweeter, but in exchange it softened the richness of the normal version. I wasn't enamored with this one. It's still a decent representation of the style, it just played safe when that wasn't necessary. I am making it sound bad, but I really enjoyed it. It just wasn't bowling me over with over-the-top impact. ☆☆☆

70/100) Ovila

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Abbey Saison, Abbey Quad, Barrel Aged Dubbel

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co, better known for their IPAs, pale ales, and other american-style craft beers, is behind the Ovila line of Abbey style ales. All are made through collaboration with the the Abbey of New Clairvoux in California. They are better known for their wines so they tend to supply the occasional ingredients, barrels, and space from what I understand.

Abbey Saison) had a brown sugar syrupy like background. The first time I had this the finish was a bit a more peppery, but my guess is that age subdues that over time. I really liked the funk that came out. The saison aspects, probably because of the added mandarin, smacked more of light citrus and orange. ☆☆☆☆

Abbey Quad) First of all, this belgian style had the appropriate thick mouth feel. I got the dark fruits more in the middle as it warmed up, and the subtle plum remained in the finish's backdrop even before that. It wasn't all harsh, but it wasn't polished smooth. The booziness peeked out of the backdrop, but didn't stick around as my taste buds adjusted. This Ovila quad was a rather enjoyable US made Quad. ☆☆☆☆

Barrel Aged Dubbel) This beer had a pretty hefty price tag on it. However, it was worth it. The malts balanced out nicely with the two barrel types used. The bourbon barrels gave this dubbel's finish just a tinge of vanilla, but the red wine barrels effects were more strongly felt. The molasses of the dubbel converged with the after effects of wine resulting in an unusual sweetened dark fruits combination. Usually these barrel-aged types come across as hot which means the alcohol dominates the linger, but this one avoided that. I consider it a winner. ☆☆☆☆☆

69/100) Zipline Barrel Aged Rum

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Farmhouse Pale, Barrel Aged Black IPA, IRA

Zipline Brewing Co is really growing on me. Their barrel-aged beers and Limited Series are quite fun. And while I don't review it here, I recommend their Limited Series Double IPA for anyone who wants a solid hopped beer. Drink Local!

Farmhouse Pale) It's light but has a lot of funky belgian yeast attributues going on in the middle and finish. The linger even changes over time. The only thing that sets it off negatively from other Belgian pale ales was that it lacks the rich mouth feel. I can't confirm right now, but I also suspect that it is filtered because I've never seen such a clear Belgian style, which may account for the clean mouth feel. And despite that disparity with my ideal Belgian fare, this is possibly my favorite Zipline beer or at least a near pair for their Kölsch. ☆☆☆☆

Barrel Aged Black IPA) It's had a good half a year on it now. And while I've had it a couple times at events or on tap, this was my first time having it fresh from a bottle. My first reaction was that it is amazing with yummy burnt sugar characteristics and a rich backdrop, but then I was slightly bummed. The booziness didn't dissipate like I had hoped. On the finish, it just built becoming more and more strongly pronounced as I consumed more. There was, of course, little hop presence as one would expect from a barrel-aged black IPA. What the aging left was a fairly barrel heavy, boozied backdrop, smoothed out beer. I rather approve of it. ☆☆☆☆

IRA) What is it that makes an India Red Ale, an India Red Ale? Simply, you take the amped up hoppiness levels of an IPA and you combine that with the colors and background flavor touches that an amber would have. And voila! You have an IRA. Zipline's IRA does nothing wrong, but it came across as a bit monotone to me. Although, as I have said before, bitter-focuse beers are not exactly my thing. This one poured a nice rusty amber and left my taste buds a bit hop-singed. If that's your thing, check it out! ☆☆☆

68/100) Petrus Pack 2

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Dubbel Bruin, Oud Bruin, Aged Red

Here's the latter half of the beer and key-toting St. Peter, Petrus beer six-pack. These are the darker and even barrel-aged bottles. I really like the Aged Red's bottle art. The barrel and flowers look lovely against that deep red backdrop.

Dubbel Bruin) had the aroma of brown sugar candy. The amount of bubbles was just right, not enough to create a massive head, but the kind that can form a nice foam head when you swirl it. The flavors were rather direct, but they resulted in a subdued yet inviting dark ale's flavor profile complete with light caramels and dark fruits. ☆☆☆☆

Oud Bruin) was lightly tart and moderately enjoyable. Since it was not the most robust Oud Bruin I've had, the flavors came across as weak to me. Still, I suppose it could serve as a sour gateway for my uninitiated friends. ☆☆☆

Aged Red) smelled of bing cherries, and the flavors profile flaunted an elixir of cherries and tartness. The sour on the finish compounded as I had more. Initially, I really liked it, but towards the end, I grew weary of that bite. The aroma was just lovely though. I could have sniffed at it all night, and had been content just sipping it slowly.  ☆☆☆☆

Special) Concoctions Round 2 Checkpoint

We're only about two months into my concoctions resting process. After doing some research, I learned that I should probably be opening the softer fruit-based concoctions within three months instead of waiting my usual six-months. So, I went ahead and opened these two:

10) Cactus paddles and Suzume Shochu

As you can tell, the cactus paddle pieces changed in color. What was once green is now a very non-life-like beige. Upon opening the jar, the aroma assaulted me. My immediate reaction was that I either waited too long or this one was just not meant to be. Have you ever been in a forest in summer right after it rained for days? This smelled just like what I imagine that much decaying green matter would.

Faced with a liqueur that breathes out a plant graveyard, I'm the guy who will try it. That first sip was really hard to take. It continued to smell atrocious, and as I had predicted, the viscosity of the drink had been enhanced by the cactus ooze. I say "enhanced" to euphemize the reality. It had the consistency of spit. Flavor-wise the initial and middle carried touches of the fresh cactus paddles, but the linger tasted somewhat like the aroma.

After convincing a friend to try it, he proceeded to reach into his cabinet. After my not so rave-review, I will not tell you which liquor it is, but there is a liquor out there with the exact aroma as my cactus paddle concoction. The liquor tastes a lot better than it smells though. ☆☆

 

5) Longan berries and Cut Spike Vodka

After that terrible experience, I had to open one more. So, I chose the half batch of longan berries and Cut Spike Vodka. The longan fruits are pretty soft so age might not have treated them well either. That and I just needed to get the other taste out of my mouth.

The aroma was a bit like musty butterscotch. I know that is hard to imagine, but think of an evening on a humid summer day. The muggy heat off the asphalt oppresses you and you seek alleviation by sucking on a caramel candy. The smell was pretty close to that. Not exactly the most inviting aroma, but I kinda liked it.

The taste was unusual. A little of the mustiness remained on the finish, but the middle had a pleasant almost hazelnut nuttiness. I shouldn't have added sugar though, because the sweetness from the liqueur pretty much dominated the initial rendering it little more than sugary. ☆☆☆

In summary:
I am keeping around the cactus paddle one for pranks. I'm not sure how exactly I am going to be using it, but I will not be drinking it. Beware. The other I will experiment a little more with, but mostly it will be shelved for a long time as well. I would not consider these two a success but learning experiences.

67/100) Petrus Pack 1

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Blond, Gouden Tripel, Speciale

These beers came in a six pack. I will review three this week, and three next week. This grouping was the lighter side of the set, but I haven't tried too many Petrus yet, so I though it'd be a good way for me to break into the brand. Judging by the picture, the name (Petrus) and the slogan (The Key to Heaven), this company's beers make reference to St. Peter and the keys to the kingdom.

Blond) Blondes have more fun. I'm not so sure about blond beers yet though. The mouth feel was great, but the flavors are basically a Grain Belt with a bit more oomph. Yes, oomph is a technical term meaning "more robust." Please don't overthink it, like this beer. ☆☆☆

Gouden Tripel) A tripel is usually significantly stronger than a blond. However, this one was a 7.5% and the blond was a 6.6%. That's not a huge difference. That established, I could barely get at the flavors because of how strong the effervescence was. I let it warm up though, and it redeemed itself. Fitting, since the bottle says "serve between 8 to 12 degrees C," or in other words, serve at about room temperature. The more wine-like qualities came through as it warmed up. ☆☆☆

Speciale) also claimed it needed to be served warmer. Still, even with the right temperature, I found this one fairly bland. I think the Blond actually had more flavor than this one, even with the difference in flavor profiles. At most, this one had more of that hollow old-style ale touch in the background. ☆☆☆

My solution to these okay beers? Mix them all together! I expected the result to be terrible, but it was actually good. The result was smooth, and somehow contained the best attributes of all three. The Blond's grainy middle, the Tripel's winy finish, and the Speciale's background hollowness. I am not sure if I recommend the construction of intentional beer suicides though...

Special) Concoctions Round 2 Start

Here we go again. After my last fairly successful attempt at making liqueurs, I've made some more umeshu-inspired concoctions, and I'll admit I got a little crazy with it this time.

I amassed these ingredients and a list of the planned concoctions. As you can tell by the two lines that are struck out, I abandoned two of them. I will get to the reasons shortly.

1) Coconut (light) and Cut Spike Rum

2) Coconut (heavy) and Cut Spike Rum

3) Coconut and Blackheart Rum

4) Bing cherries and Christian Brother's Brandy

5) Longan berries and Cut Spike Vodka

6) Dragonfruit and Cut Spike Vodka

7) Dragonfruit and Suzume Shochu

8) Soursop and Cut Spike Vodka

9) Soursop and Suzume Shochu

10) Cactus paddles and Suzume Shochu

After my last experience, I learned a couple things. The first is that I don't really want to use sugar cubes again. I didn't want to use them in the first place, but I couldn't find any Rock Sugar (or 氷砂糖). I've had six months to look and found some.

Why exactly the sugar has a yellow-brown color to it, is something I don't understand. Also, there's a bit of a sharp smell coming from them. It reminds me of ginseng. I can't taste it in the sugar so I don't think it will affect the concoctions. And not that it matters that much, I could only find rock sugar that was made in China.

1) Coconut (light) and Cut Spike Rum
2) Coconut (heavy) and Cut Spike Rum
3) Coconut and Blackheart Rum

The first three are just upgraded versions of the coconut and Cut Spike Rum concoction I made last time. This time though, I am adding an excessive amount of coconut to one and adding a light amount to another. Thirdly, I wanted to see what would happen to already spiced rum if coconut were added, so I pulled out my bottle of Blackheart Rum.

The process began with the usual coconut prep. I drained the coconut and cracked it open using my bag and smash technique. And just like last time, I found out that the first coconut I opened had already gone bad. I've decided to leave the pictures out because not only was the coconut water yellowish, the inside was full of a greenish mold. Ick.

After that, I went out and got two more coconuts because I didn't want to keep making trips to the grocery store. I was immediately glad for that foresight because the first one I opened had something wrong with it. The coconut meat had a weird fermented smell was soft and squishy instead of fresh and firm. I have spared you the pictures on this one mostly because visually nothing looks amiss.

The third coconut which is the one you see in the pictures, however did something I had never seen before. It popped out just as you see in the above shot. The coconut meat was firm and came out as one beautiful egg-shaped piece. This made my life a whole lot easier.

I cut it into slices and added varying amounts to each jar. For the light one, I only added four pieces. For the heavy one, I lost count at ten pieces, but I think they're might be twelve pieces in it. Going moderate, the Blackheart Rum got only seven pieces.

Then I added a chunk of rock sugar, poured in the alcohol, and sealed them up. The first two, as aforementioned, had Cut Spike Rum added to them. I rather like the mouth feel and the whiskey-like touches that their rum has so this should make for a robust coconut rum just like last time. Blackheart Rum, on the other hand, is a spiced rum that somehow ends up tasting like cherries which may or may not be a good fit for the coconut. We'll see.

4) Bing cherries and Christian Brother's Brandy

Revisiting berries and brandy, I chose bing cherries for the mixture this time around.

Cherries thankfully, aren't complicated. Using a knife, I sliced around them and popped out their seeds. I thought of throwing the whole fruit into the brandy, but I decided there was always the possibility that the cherry pit could contribute some bad flavors. The cutting process amused me because the cherries gave the paper towel the appearance of scattered lipstick kisses. I'll have to remember that for some sort of future prank.

I tossed in about half as much cherries as brandy and added only a small piece of sugar. Brandy's pretty sweet already, so I think it won't need the help. I sealed it up, and Voila! #4 was complete.

5) Longan berries and Cut Spike Vodka

Longan berries. Do you even know what Longan berries are? I really didn't until this project. I was trying to get lychee, a red on the outside but white on the inside fruit, but I couldn't find any. I did find these though, and since they are a relative of the lychees I thought it would work.

First of all, they do not taste the same, but they are just as hard to peel. The outer shell is just that, a shell. It cracks and sheds only with a pretty hefty amount of effort. I'd place the opening difficulty of a longan berry right in between a walnut and a kiwi. One requires a special tool, the other doesn't, but this one sorta just takes elbow grease.

The most important thing to remember though with this family of fruits (Lychee, Longan berry, etc) is that the seed pits taste horrible. In fact, it's one of those things people like me just have to actually try. Bad idea. If you're like me, you'll stick one in your mouth and bite it anyway. You'll regret it. The black pit casts an entrapment spell of bitterness on your tongue and just won't go away. Water doesn't save you. Sweet fruits don't chase it away - they just taste nasty because of the effect. I resorted to beer and that sort of worked, but the effect of the bitter ick made the beer nearly un-enjoyable until the end of the bottle.

That said, it is too bad the seeds aren't palatable because they are a pain to extract. Initially, I used the knife to try and get the squishy fruit off the seed. Then I got frustrated with that and feared that I would slice myself if I slipped. Surprisingly, the seeds come out easier if you don't use a knife. You ended up losing a bit of the fruit on each one, but the pit peels out nicely with just your fingers.

In a twist of fate, I didn't actually like the taste of Longan berries, so instead of making a whole batch, I only made a half batch. They just don't have the same sweetness of a lychee. I'm hoping that the Cut Spike Vodka has the sense to only extract flavors that I like.

6) Dragonfruit and Cut Spike Vodka
7) Dragonfruit and Suzume Shochu

Dragonfruit is a fruit that is more impressive in name and externally than in taste or internally. The outside is bright and vivid, but the inside is gray scale. The fruit itself has a texture not unlike kiwi, but the taste is much milder and even leaves you questioning whether it is a tropical fruit at all. However, I rather like it precisely because of its mild sweetness.

Getting into one is easy. If it is ripe, the skin peels off a bit like a banana peel. I like to start it by cutting off the end and then pulling on the edges. You end up with a nice large fruit with barely a mess at all. Now if mangoes could take a lesson from this fruit, I'd probably eat more of them.

I cubed the fruit, added a couple chunks of sugar and added the alcohols. I decided to go with both Cut Spike Vodka and Suzume Shochu so that I could compare later.

8) Soursop and Cut Spike Vodka
9) Soursop and Suzume Shochu

In short, after cutting the soursop open, I hesitated. Then I tried it. It was really fleshy and sour with a distinct taste that reminded me of a lemon left on the sidewalk too long. Somehow, even though I was still a touch curious what kind of liqueur it would make, I couldn't convince myself to waste the alcohol. Too bad too. Soursops are expensive at about eight dollars a pound.

10) Cactus paddles and Suzume Shochu

This one just seemed like a bad idea, but then again, nothing ventured nothing gained. After removing about a half a dozen little cactus spikes from my hands, I kinda wished I hadn't ventured. The process for cleaning a cactus paddle is something I haven't perfected yet. Using a long knife and a glove, I somehow got ones tines all removed.

This is when something hit me or rather stuck to my hand. The paddles had a clear ooze coming from the points where I'd cut it. I suspect that will increase the viscosity of the mixture, but that didn't concern me near as much as the taste and smell. All I can describe it as is "green plant matter." Whatever the result is, my guess is that it is going to be like drinking a fresh mowed yard.

Again, because I'm leery of the end results, I only made a half batch of this one. I thought of going with Vodka on this one, but I then I decided the lightness of the Suzume shochu would make for a more interesting combination. Its breathy grain-born smoothness should offset the strange viscous goo from the paddles.

Here are some pictures of the end results.

Left to right, top to bottom, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,and 10

1) Coconut (light) and Cut Spike Rum

2) Coconut (heavy) and Cut Spike Rum

3) Coconut and Blackheart Rum

4) Bing cherries and Christian Brother's Brandy

5) Longan berries and Cut Spike Vodka

6) Dragonfruit and Cut Spike Vodka

7) Dragonfruit and Suzume Shochu

10) Cactus paddles and Suzume Shochu

See you in 2-3 months for some of these, and not until December for the others!

66/100) More Woodchucks

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Summer Time, Cheeky Cherry, Gumption

I've noticed recently that I've tried a lot of Woodchucks. I haven't settled on an exact reason for this, but the most eccentric reason comes from my love of furry critters. Woodchuck's fall into that category of small, furry mammals. However, I'm not sure how that logically translates into me trying so many ciders. Should I blame Johnny Appleseed?

Summer) so light, the cider was nearly clear. The flavors were a touch of sweetness, and a soft linger with a breath of blueberry. I found this one to be pleasant even though I wasn't sold on it's near lack of flavor. Perhaps it'd be a nice substitute for a lemonade on a hot summer day? It's not nearly tart enough to be a perfect replacement, but it may suffice. ☆☆☆

Cheeky Cherry) It delivers exactly what it says: Sour + Cherry. Or as my sister put it, cherry cough syrup met up with sour patch kids and got thrown into a cider. Someone must like this kind of tartness. I do sometimes, but not with that much cherry flavor. It all just grew and grew into a crescendo that left my taste buds embalmed in cherry. ☆☆☆☆

Gumption) It's rather light for a woodchuck, and tartness replaced the usual sweetness. I'd swear it has cinnamon in it, but I can't tell if I am just imagining things. It reminds of what I imagine would happen if you made an apple pie with granny smith apples. A mixture that I would enjoy probably as much as this cider. Yum! ☆☆☆☆

Special) Umeshu Inspired Concoctions (Part 2)

I really had looked forward to getting this post up earlier, but life happened and other projects took the forefront. Also, in the mean time, I learned that, technically, because I had added sugar to all of these, the most accurate term is liqueurs. I may still call them concoctions for now because a liqueur is a type of concoction.

Back on June 21st, Father's day, I reopened my concoctions that I had made and closed in December last year. Of course, with proper regard to the holiday, I shared samples of them with my dad. 

1-5 in order left to right

1) Coconut and Cut Spike Rum

2) Lemon, Ginger and Cut Spike Vodka

3) Cranberries and Cut Spike Vodka

4) ) Kiwis and Cut Spike Vodka

5) Cranberries and Christian Brother's Brandy

Coconut and Cut Spike Rum

1) Cut Spike Rum and Coconut pieces went into this mix. The level to which the coconut became part of the rum caught me off guard. I could smell it before I'd even gotten it into my shot glass. The flavors of the rum are mostly coconut, but the finish has become a bit harsh. Also, the sweetness of the rum and the added sugar cubes merged rather well. 

I am rather satisfied with this one. It really tastes like fresh coconut meat. 

Fresh lemon, ginger, and Cut Spike Vodka

2) Cut Spike Vodka, fresh lemon slices, and fresh ground ginger made up this concoction. This one did not turn out as I had expected. The initial was not the fresh lemonade like lemon I had intended. The initial became mildly reminiscent of the artificial acridness of lemon scented dusting spray. The mid picked up with something really close to tasting like lemon but was a bit on the zesty side of the lemon peel. I couldn't detect the ginger in the flavors at all, but the finish and linger clearly had a burn caused by something other than the alcohol.

I'm not entirely happy with this one. I had wanted a mixture that I could substitute for lemon juice and ginger in the way of a traditional Japanese cold remedy. Who doesn't love a spiked cold remedy after all? In order to achieve that goal, I'm going to have to tweak the lemon to ginger ratio. Perhaps even, I should try and use only the lemon fruit or lemon peel. It just had too much lemon and not enough ginger for what I wanted. Alternatively though, I could add far more lemon and shoot for something limonchello-esque because I already nearly ended up with something pretty close. I really can't complain about mild limonchello as a result though.

Cranberries and Cut Spike Vodka

3) Cut Spike Vodka and hard cranberries mixed into this one. The cranberries hide in this one. I couldn't smell them at all. The initial weaved the sugar and the vodka together nicely. Then the taste of cranberries sneaked up on me. The cranberry flavors floated as smoke over sugary fire water, and it was delightful. Instead of bringing forward memories of fresh bog-picked cranberries, the flavors are more like the aftertaste you get from cranberry sauce. 

The result was unexpected on this one. I'm not sure how to use it, whether I want to drink it, or if I'm satisfied with it as a sipping drink. I essentially have "cranberry sauce vodka" now. Win? Maybe.

Kiwis and Cut Spike Vodka

4) Cut Spike Vodka and under-ripe kiwis were put into this one. I debated and debated opening this one after three months because of the use of soft fruits, but I held off and maintained my six-month plan. I'm rather regret not checking on it. This one did not turn out well. I can't smell kiwi or taste it. Instead there's an odd flavor on the finish that I've never encountered before. It's not unpleasant, sour, or funky, but it is not friendly.  

Next time, I will open up a kiwi-based mix earlier. I need to know if it would have benefited from less time. However, I do think it just plain needed more kiwi. The impact was too subtle.

Cranberries and Christian Brother's Brandy

5) Christian Brother's Brandy and cranberries were put in this one. Time smoothed out the brandy's already subdued bite. The sweetness masked the cranberries, but they added a nice touch of flair into the backdrop leaving you with just their memory on the linger. 

I'm rather satisfied with this one. Like some of the others, I'm not sure of its exact application, but the results are good. 

In conclusion, I think that the order I would place them is this:

☆☆☆☆☆) Rum and coconut - Way better than expected. 

☆☆☆☆) Brandy and cranberries - Smoothed out the brandy and added cranberry touches.

☆☆☆☆) Vodka, lemon, and ginger - Near limonchello with an extra burn.

☆☆☆) Vodka and cranberries - The cranberries are a bit too light.

☆☆) Vodka and kiwi - Just so odd, perhaps even rancid.

In another observation, I have found a place here that sells 氷砂糖 or literally "ice" sugar. Imagine something like large chunks of rock candy. I have this hunch that using sugar cubes is not as good for the mouth feel so I want to return to what is used in Umeshu, and ice sugar is just that. Although, I did have a discussion with an old lady in Japan that said you could add the sugar whenever, even post-infusion. I'm still not so sure about that. Our discussions focused on sugar as a sweetener and not necessarily as a way to alter the mouth feel, which I think it does.

A few weeks after cracking open this batch, I whipped up some more concoctions. I grabbed some really bizarre fruits this time, and I mixed a couple batches with varying degrees of coconut so I can find the right balance. Look forward to that post soon!

65/100) Crabbies

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Ginger Beer, Spiced Orange, Fruits

Crabbies. I don't know much about it other than that it originates in the UK. Yet, while it is from the UK, unless it actually says "imported" on the label, it was likely made using a slightly different recipe somewhere in the country you found it in. The UK versions lack grains, and therefore, they are safe for your gluten-avoiding friends, the USA version? Not so much so, apparently.

Note: All three of mine claim to be imports.

Ginger Beer) The smell is pretty similar to fresh ginger root. Tastes sweet on the initial and middle. The finish is where the burn settles but lightly. If was worried that the ginger bite wasn't strong enough, but it built with each sip. The linger matches the aroma with that earthy, root-like flavor sticking out until the burn gets the chance to overwhelm it. Crabbies is probably not my favorite ginger beer, but it definitely ranks pretty high on the list. ☆☆☆☆

Spiced Orange) Oh. My. This one was lovely. The orange takes the place of the burn in the ginger beer above. The orange brings about a subdued burst of orange with the finish and then vaporizes on the linger. Only until you have had most of the bottle does the orange start to linger. I prefer this to the ginger beer. ☆☆☆☆☆

Fruits) Cloudy alcoholic lemonade is the perfect description for it. The lemon was light but fresh. The finish dominated with a sugar-born sweetness that turned into a light zest on the linger. On a hot day, this would be really refreshing for some. For me, I like a bit more of a lemony punch. ☆☆☆

Halfway through the Fruits, I added a dash of Old Weller Antique (Original 107 Brand). It made for an interesting caramelly tartness combination. I feel as though I may have committed a sacrilege to the whiskey though somehow, but I found that the drink improved significantly with the whiskey's sacrifice.

64/100) Local Porters

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Black Eye, 1842 Brew Lab's Number 5, Crooked Rook

These are three porter's from three different states. Scratchtown is in the small town of Ord, Nebraska, 1842 Porter Brew Lab's Number 5 is from Weston, Missouri. The Crooked Rook is from Mankato Brewery in Wisconsin. Together these made for a fun tri-state mix.

Black Eye) First of all, the name is apt. This porter being an imperial or double porter has a strong flavor profile, not unlike a punch to the mouth. If you're not careful, you could also later find yourself reeling from an alcohol punch to the gut on this. The drink was not nearly as harsh as the repercussions of an amateur boxing match. However, the smoothness was overlaid by a vigorous rush of malts that strung together their punches and left my taste buds in need of some down time. This one's a sipper. ☆☆☆☆

1842 Brew Lab's Number 5) The aroma was sweetly roasted. The initial sweeter. The middle toasted. The finish subtle chocolate. The linger light. Don't expect an overwhelming porter like Black Eye as the general taste from this one was light. Initially too, there was an unwanted flavor in the backdrop that might have been from the chocolate, but it disappeared it warmed up. ☆☆☆☆

Crooked Rook) The effervescence is lovely and the roasted touch is a lot more pronounced than I've encountered before. Anything but creamy smooth, this beer is still very clean and lacking in harshness. I speculate that the crooked name points to a more abstract concept than the beer itself. A "Sleek" rook was more what I experienced. ☆☆☆☆

63/100) 3rd Street and Dam

I have set myself the goal to review three beers or ciders every week for 100 weeks. I will be learning about beer and ciders more as I do this, and if I am successful in this venture, I will have tried about 300 unique drinks. If you're curious how I'm doing, the number in the post's title tells you which week I am in now.

Lost Trout, King George's Imperial Brown, Sugar Shack

Unusual brown bottle surprise! My sister brought me back an unusual bottle from Dillon Dam Brewery in Colorado, and the others I picked up on a trip to grandma's. I know little about either of these breweries, except that I can't find them in my own state.

Lost Trout) Don't you just love the bottle art on this one? The liddle twout on the milk carton looks so adorable. The description on the back is just great as well. Check it out sometime. It's on Third Street Brewhouse's website. The beer itself is a simple, light pleasant brown. Nothing muddies up its waters all that much, and the little trout just remains hidden. No surprises here. ☆☆☆

King George's Imperial Brown)  Firstly, some things stood out to me about the bottle. The ABV had been written on it in black marker, and the picture of King George was just enough pixelated that I suspect a photo too small for this purpose was used. Not the best imperial brown I've ever had eitehr. The booziness overwhelmed most of the flavors leaving me searching for drowned flavors that never surfaced. ☆☆

Sugar Shack) is a maple stout. Need I say more? Apparently, Third Street has exclusive rights to a local Abbey's syrup storehouses. The maple hid a little, but this stout filled out with solid richness. The coffee notes were subdued, thankfully. I really liked this one. ☆☆☆☆