51/100) ACE Joker

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.

Joker, Berry, Apple Honey

I should have made this a four beer set, because then I would held a nice four-of-a-kind, aces high. Three of a kind, isn't half-bad though. How's your hand?

Joker) Raising this one up to an almost 7% ABV, Ace didn't joke around with this one. The finish is dry and the flavors light. I'm not quite sure of the merits of something tasting this light and yet hitting so hard, but the bottle's text claims that was the intent. ☆☆☆☆

Berry) What happens if you leave a ACE berry cider in your cellar for over a year? Apparently a lot of good things. This berry cider has strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry juices in it, but mine had become mostly tart. The strawberry remained just enough to touch on the initial, but the finish was a mix of delightful sourness with subtle blackberries. I might try and intentionally age some ciders this time around. ☆☆☆☆

Apple Honey) This one was exactly what it says. The flavors were dominated by a fair amount of honey sweetness and the apple was light. The only unexpected part was the fairly dry finish. ☆☆☆

50/100) Funkwerks

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.

Saison, Quad, Tropic King

Funkwerks. You have to just love the name. It tells you all you need to know. They get it. Funk in beer is good, and they spell "works" in a non-standard way to convey they are unique just like their beers. These guys like fruit esters, outside elements, and crazy strains of yeast that make their beers dance to a good 60's groove.

Saison)'s like this one have so many different aspects to them, I begin to feel my vocabulary insufficient. Going out on a limb here, I will say that this saison had nice lemon and almost ginger-like touches. I very much liked it and am game to try making a shandy with it. I suspect its citrus touch would make one quite good. ☆☆☆☆

Quad) As with all good quads, this one opened up as it warmed up. There's a lot of sweetness to this one, and even though it blossoms a little the flavors are a touch straightforward. I noticed mostly the cloves, a bit of anise, and a light touch of dark fruits. Good, but not outstanding for a quad. ☆☆☆

Tropic King) Stop and reread that beer name. T-r-o-p-i-c K-i-n-g. Did you know that a beer could taste like papayas and passion fruit? This imperial saison does, and it does so with a touch of peach. The reason stated is the use of New Zealand Rakau hops. I don't know what they are, but they made this beer unexpected. ☆☆☆☆

Also, for their Saison, they have a beer bread recipe. I might try making this soon!
http://funkwerks.blogspot.com/2014/03/funkwerks-saison-beer-bread.html

49/100) Crown Valley Ciders and a Saison

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.

Saloon Door, Strawberry Cider, Blackberry Cider

Crown Valley is located in Missouri and produces a rather large gamut of drinks. I picked up a couple that seemed a bit out of the ordinary.

Saloon Door) The entrance to my dad's childhood room had a saloon door entrance. As a child I loved it, so it's awesome that I can enjoy a beer with that name, now as an adult. The pour on this beer was dark for a saison, and the glass appeared filled with mostly foam. After it settled, it still had a good head on it. The taste hearkened to the maltier end of the saison-style, and the finish had a solid spiced linger induced by the effects of the yeast. I could have this again. ☆☆☆☆

Strawberry Cider) Usually, strawberry ciders are overbearingly sweet, but this one wasn't. Instead, my only complaint is that the strawberry flavor could feel a little fresher. The linger reminded me of that fruit snack strawberry aftertaste. It's still enjoyable. ☆☆☆

Blackberry Cider) was produced using local Midwest blackberries, and if you particularly like that variety of berry, you will love this cider. I can't call it perfect because this one errs on the side of fruit juice flavors over cider fermentation aspects. The initial smacked of the sweetness of a blackberry jam, and the finish left a lingering syrupy effervescence. ☆☆☆☆

48/100) Oud Beersel or the lesson of the Green Glass

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.

Oude Gueze, Oude Kriek, Framboise

I have been getting into a Belgian beer kick of late. Krieks, gueze, and lambics in general have caught my interest. These three however, disappointed me, and I should have seen it coming.

I forgot the rule of green glass.

Beer has multiple enemies in this world. The most annoying one is sunlight. Brown glass protects beer from its effects, but green and clear glass do next to nothing. Only a few minutes of UV exposure can skunk a beer, or just a couple of days if you're talking the lighter UV of fluorescent lights. These three beers must have had their fair share of exposure because they were all pretty skunked, and that despite two of them having a Best By 2034 date.

Oude Gueze) tasted liked popcorn kernals that had been sitting too long in the bottom of a microwavable bag. Hidden behind that wall of ugh flavor, a touch of tartness and a dry finish was all that remained. ☆

Oude Kriek) This one came the closest to surviving of the three. The skunking, which again manifested as the aforementioned popcorn kernal taste, intruded only lightly. The color of the pour was a deep magenta, and the late mid had decent tartness to it. Enjoyable, but my guess is that it wasn't supposed to taste like it did. ☆☆☆

Framboise) Raspberry and popcorn kernals. I can't say much more about this one. It's just sad. I suspect if I had it in Europe, where it probably didn't have as far to travel, it would be quite good. ☆☆

47/100) Chicago Found Rarities

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.

Mean Gene, Shipwreck Porter, Quadrupel

When I visited Chicago, I picked up some unusual/rare beers. Since I was overwhelmed by the selection of unknown beers, I came up with an interesting method for choosing. I looked up beers I had never seen before that were expensive and high gravity (that is to say, had a high ABV). Then after whittling the list down a bit, I chose a few. 

Mean Gene) Revolution Brewing company, a Chicago based brewery, took their Eugene porter and barrel aged it. Having not had Eugene before, it is hard to comment on how it was changed or improved by the barrel aging process. The finish was smooth and had strong bourbon overtones. The strong roasted flavors though gave me a hint why the name "Mean" was selected. ☆☆☆☆

Shipwreck Porter) While not technically a Chicago or even Illinois beer, the name of this Arcadia beer caught my attention. However, I'm still not sure what makes a beer a "shipwreck" as there is no mention of it having been at sea. This porter spent 12 months in bourbon barrels. The wood imparted a lovely oak and vanilla backdrop to it. However, instead of a rich mouth feel, this potent 12% ABV beer is a bit thin. Despite that, I enjoyed it. ☆☆☆☆

Quadrupel) Probably, the best American-made quad I've had thus far. The richness and depth cave a bit in the finish, but the alcohol is well masked making it easy to enjoy. The initial and mid are fairly straightforward, but the lack of harshness on the finish and the pleasant mix of caramel and dark fruits made this one a winner in my book. ☆☆☆☆