19/100) Weyerbacher

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.

Heresy. Blithering Idiot, Quad

I meant to make a joke about a heretical blithering idiot enjoying a quad over his meal of hearty bread and cheese, but I couldn't come up with anything that didn't feel forced. Instead, I will enlighten you, or endarken you, as to why I chose Weyerbacher for these weeks in October. Their dark imagery complete with a terrifying clown and rich medieval themes simple scream for a connection to the Halloween season.

Heresy) This imperial stout barely let me know that it was aged in whiskey barrels as it didn't hit me with as strong alcohol punch I had expected. The middle and finish were flooded with a strong flavor profile full of coffee, malt, molasses and even a bit of a caramel. The mouth feel was thick so I suggest being prepared to practically have to chew if you try it.  ☆☆☆☆

Blithering Idiot) Had that lovely complexity of a barley wine The initial was characterized by a clear semisweet taste. Then when the finish hit a wave of flavor spread through my mouth mounting a crescendo of almond accented by vanilla and molasses. Yum!☆☆☆☆

Quad) Very smooth. This Quad had that blossoming alcohol flavor that made me recall the vague aftertaste you can get from a decent whiskey. From the initial to finish, the flavors were really kept clean and comprehensible. Admittedly that was a bit unusual for a quad because I like to think of them as complex. That didn't stop me from enjoying this one though. ☆☆☆☆

18/100) Brew Dog

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.

Punk IPA, 5 AM Saint, Libertine Black Ale

Brew Dogs is a Scotland based brewery with some amazing beer names. Each comes with a lengthy description too. Though they don't describe the beer type or flavor, they do give you an interesting framework to understand the beer. Hop over to their website and take a look.

Punk IPA) is a very drinkable IPA for me. Can you believe that? They're not usually my thing. Smelled of bitter hops, but the taste really didn't have anywhere near my predicted bitterness level. The finish was smooth and subtle. There isn't even a sharp bomb of bitterness at the end. This punk's for me. ☆☆☆☆

5 AM Saint) Smell had a nice pine hop touch to it. The color was a lovely burnished amber. The middle held a bit of a mild sweetness as the smell followed through with a nice pine flavor. The finish was clean and refreshing. The drink is slightly cloudy, and the more of that cloudiness that got into my glass the better it tasted. ☆☆☆☆

Libertine Black Ale) A watery initial and mouth feel announced this Ale's presence. The deep dark pour pooled in my glass like an abyss. Light could not pass through it was so pitch. The middle was pretty malty and passed into a finicky bitter finish. Unfortunately for me, the bitter at the end built and lingered too much, but it was still interesting. ☆☆☆

17/100) Boulevard Smokestack 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.

Long Strange, Double-Wide, Sixth Glass, Dark Truth Stout

Boulevard's approach to bottling doesn't disappoint where smoothness is concerned. Because they bottle condition their beers, each continues to ferment until you pop the cap and consume it. The smokestack series is no exception, and all four of these beers are characterized by that smooth finish that I've come to expect from Boulevard.

Long Strange Tripel) There was a strange nutty, fruit-like sweet/sour to this beer. It finished with a light touch of bitterness. All I can tell you is that it was okay. I've learned that I need to find a prototypical Tripel so that I know what I should be looking for in them. Tripels, like IPAs, may be a type of beer that's just not for me. ☆☆

Double-Wide) Despite IPAs not being my strong point, I rather enjoyed this one. The pour brought out a nice thick foam. The aroma was primarily a hop borne pine, but I could smell something else that changed from citrus to peach as I grew accustomed to the taste of the beer. Bitterness was present on the finish, as ought to be expected from an IPA, but it was accented by a touch of malt. A very unusual IPA, and one I rather enjoyed. ☆☆☆

Sixth Glass) This beer danced like a little devil on my tongue, even though I didn't make it my sixth glass for the evening. The strength of the alcohol in this Quadrupel comes through in the background, but the initial was nice and light. No bitterness in this beer, but nor was there a lot of complexity to the flavor. Instead it was simple and straightforward. Not my favorite Quad, but a very easy to drink Quad. ☆☆☆☆

Dark Truth Stout) The smooth light initial of this stout lead into a rich finish that moved from a deep malt to a wave of roasted caramel. The hidden dark truth of this beer was that your linger built up some bitterness. Not enough bitterness to paralyze, but instead, just enough to make you want to drink more. ☆☆☆☆


Bonus!
Ole the Tower Keeper is the Hans Christian Anderson Tale where the name Sixth Glass originated.
You can read the story here: http://hca.gilead.org.il/towerkee.html, but here's the portion directly related to the drink.

"The sixth glass! Yes, in that glass sits a demon, in the form of a little, well dressed, attractive and very fascinating man, who thoroughly understands you, agrees with you in everything, and becomes quite a second self to you. He has a lantern with him, to give you light as he accompanies you home. There is an old legend about a saint who was allowed to choose one of the seven deadly sins, and who accordingly chose drunkenness, which appeared to him the least, but which led him to commit all the other six. The man’s blood is mingled with that of the demon. It is the sixth glass, and with that the germ of all evil shoots up within us; and each one grows up with a strength like that of the grains of mustard-seed, and shoots up into a tree, and spreads over the whole world: and most people have no choice but to go into the oven, to be re-cast in a new form."

16/100) New Holland

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.

The Poet, Full Circle, Monkey King

New Holland is a company that just made its way into the Midwest. I'm really enjoying their creative titles, and I keep expecting to find a story behind them. Sadly, I'm just not finding them. True to their company's spirit though, everything from the logos the bottle covers screams "artistic."

The Poet) My first reaction to this oatmeal stout was that it tasted like Dragon's Milk without the creamy touch. I suspect they use a beer similar to this one as their base. On its own, this beers stands alone quite well. It had a smooth light mouth feel and a mocha like background without overemphasizing the coffee. ☆☆☆☆

Full Circle) This kölsch is a good light drinking beer with a smidgen of the unusual. Instead of a slight bitterness or a touch of hoppiness, the middle and finish tantalize you with a nice peppery punch. I liked how that livened up this beer. The name comes from New Holland's "belief in balance." ☆☆☆

Monkey King) The flavor profile for this drink was "mysterious" to me. This farmhouse has an almost nutty finish, but there was a fruit like flavor in the backdrop that I couldn't identify. The beer  had a good body and finished smooth. ☆☆☆

And, just because this is my favorite New Holland thus far:

Dragon's Milk

Dragon's Milk) This is a bourbon barrel aged stout. As you can imagine, the milk in the name implies that it has a bit of sweetness to it. It does. There's a lovely arc of cream that undulates through the middle into the finish and then remains faintly yet fondly in the linger. Delightfully smooth, the bourbon barrels did nothing but good to this beer. ☆☆☆☆☆

15/100) Angry Orchard: Cider House Collection

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.

Strawman, The Muse, Iceman

These are three ciders from Angry Orchard's Farmhouse collection. Their bottles are large, and very ornate. What you see on the outside is not a sticker, but a lovely piece of etching. I'm holding on to my bottles until I can find a consistent way of turning an empty beer bottle into a glass.

Strawman) This farmhouse cider is a strong, robust dry cider. I have little to contribute to the description already on the side of the bottle, but also I have to say that description is a bit overdone. It's a good, possibly even great cider, but it's not in the realm of excellent or phenomenal. Despite an ABV of 10%, you can barely tell there is alcohol in it, and that's impressive. ☆☆☆☆

The Muse) The Muse is much sweeter than the last, but mellow in flavor. Just by its strong micro bubble effervescence, I'm pretty sure you could convince people that this was a champagne. However, it also tastes similar to one. It was made with champagne yeast though, so perhaps that was the intended effect. Maybe it's just me, but I don't want a cider that's trying to be a champagne nor a champagne that is trying to be a cider. ☆☆

Iceman) Of the three, this is the sweet yet, tart one. The finish is not as smooth as Strawman's either, but the flavor comes across as full. There's even a hint of vanilla in the backdrop. ☆☆☆

Bonus! I've been told that the best way to drink Strawman and Iceman is to mix them. The robust dryness of Strawman makes up for Iceman's sweetness. I have not tried doing so yet, but I might have to give it a go in the near future.

14/100) Macadoodles and a Leinenkeugel

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.

Banshee Lager, Irish Red Ale, Big Eddy

While I was in Branson, I ran across a store named Macadoodles. Upon entering, I realized that despite an Irish name they clearly specialized in wine even though they had a decent selection of other alcohols. Imagine my surprise to discover that they also had their own Macadoodles's themed beers. I only found two though. Since I needed one more beer to go with them for this post, I chose Big Eddy, an unusual Leinenkugel's. As an added bonus, I have only recently connected that the names rhyme.

Banshee Lager) Not bad. A decent lager, but isn't as smooth as others that I've had. Also, I suspect that this is how it got the Banshee part of the name as there is a background of bitterness to it. ☆☆☆

Red Irish) Harsh and vinegary. In short, my bottle might have been past the expiration date. Did not enjoy. ☆

Big Eddy) Sweet and complex. This beer lacks that touch of harshness that I've encountered in most other barley wines. The finish blossoms with an array of melted flavors leaving you only with a pleasant rye lingering. As previously mentioned, despite the strong flavors, this beer finishes smooth. ☆☆☆☆

13/100) Boulevard Tasting Room Set

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.

Wheat, IPA, Ginger Lemon-Radler, ESB

In short, I like Boulevard. Their beers have a consistently high level of smoothness to them which makes them very drinkable. Therefore, I thought it only fitting to review all four different beers that came in my tasting room set instead of whittling the selection down to three.

Wheat Beer) Smooth. You don't get a strong yeasty flavor, but instead get a light citrus and healthy wheat taste. Just be sure to swirl the bottle when you pour it, because the cloudier the pour the better it seems to taste. ☆☆☆☆

Single Wide IPA) Smells sweet, and the finish is bitter. In other words, much to my chagrin it lives up to being an IPA. It is easier to drink that other IPAs I've tried, but the type of beer is just not me. So the two stars aren't a reflection of lack of quality, they just account for my lack of taste for bitterness. If IPAs are your thing, you'll love this one. ☆☆

Tasting Room Ginger Lemon-Radler) My initial reaction was "is this pop?" The lemon is very pronounced yet the ginger makes its presence known as a growing warmth. If the label didn't say otherwise, I would have assumed this was a mixture of lemon juice and ginger beer. The result, though far from the norm, is smooth and drinkable. ☆☆☆

Tasting Room ESB) I was pleasantly surprised that this beer didn't overwhelm with bitterness. Since IPAs, pale ales, and the like are not usually my style, I had foolishly lumped ESBs in with them. However, ESB's tend to not finish as bitter and therefore are much more drinkable to me. This one in particular has Boulevard's characteristic smoothness to it as well as a good light bitter hoppiness in the finish that neither shocks or builds as you drink more. ☆☆☆☆