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. ☆☆☆☆

62/100) Roosters, Long of Tooth

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.

Velvet Rooster, Wooden Rooster, Long of Tooth

If you toss a velvet rooster in a barrel for a while out comes a wooden rooster. I'm sure that's one of those higher math functions that I just don't quite get. I propose that Tallgrass formulate a Metal Rooster. Perhaps if you subject the barrel to heavy metal while it's aging?

As for the Long of Tooth, I'm just baffled by where to place it. Sure, it's a Surly Brewing Co beer, but it's also a collaboration with De Proefbrouwerij (which I still can't pronounce). The beer might be classifiable as a English Old Ale, but with the Belgian style touches added, it pretty much falls into a category of its own.

Tallgrass Brewing Co - Velvet Rooster) had those lovely bubblegum-esque white wine-like properties typical to a Tripel. The mouthfeel wanes toward the end. The finish ends up light as a result.The linger remains close to a semi-dry wine. This rooster was velvety smooth and easy drinking for all that ABV. Perhaps you can use it as a gateway beer for your white wine connoisseur friend. ☆☆☆

Tallgrass Brewing Co - Wooden Rooster) The bourbon touch in the aroma thankfully doesn't come through as booziness on the finish. Instead this rooster had had a surprisingly dry finish. I understand the hype on this one. The previous one is good, but this is great. Smoother. More flavor. Higher ABV. What's there to complain about? There's even a new touch of a vanilla to the backdrop. ☆☆☆☆

Long of Tooth) I really liked this beer as I was drinking it. Afterwards, as the finish and linger hit, not so much. The aroma was lovely. The initial and middle were very smooth and full of old ale, alt-like, properties. Then the finish hit, and a weird flavor wave spread through my mouth. That flavor was similar to a pumpkin beer finish, but not exactly the same. As it warmed up that odd flavor started to die away just a bit, so the beer became more drinkable. My guess is that the cacao is the cause of that odd flavor, and that Long of Tooth is much better fresh and suffers from aging. My bottle was near a year-old, after all. ☆☆☆

61/100) Anchor 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.

Old Foghorn, Flying Cloud, Steam Beer, Porter

Anchors away! The sky is clear and blue during the day, but during the twilight, in the Californian fog the making of steamy suds adds a mystique and a heady aroma to the night air.
You don't have to be a sailor to enjoy these beers.
 
Old Foghorn) did not benefit from warming up. Honestly, I am taking that as a bad sign, because barleywines usually open up well with warmth. Let this one settle into your gut like a cold mist after getting the bottle good and frosty. Otherwise, you'll probably dislike it. ☆☆☆

Flying Cloud) is a true "stout" porter. The terms stout and porter are largely interchangeable because the porter came first and a stout porter came later as a way to identify a stronger porter. This flying cloud though, is a true "stout" porter to me because it is so similar in taste profile to the following Anchor Porter. However, the Flying Cloud does it better with a more hearty mouth feel and more creaminess. ☆☆☆☆

Steam Beer) Read up sometime on the unusual method of fermentation used with this beer. It's unusual. The short-attention span version, is that a lager yeast is fermented in open air vats in the night air at a higher temperature than a lager usually is. The result is a spicier beer that is quite like a richer lager that has not been pushed so far as to be a pale ale. ☆☆☆☆

Porter) The initial and mid had an unusual creamy touch to them. The finish wasn't really harsh, but the linger had a very strong presence. Some might say smokey, but I think of it as a roasted chestnut flavor or like the aroma that comes off roasted hazelnut shells. Good, but I prefer the stout. ☆☆☆