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. ☆☆☆☆

46/100) Zipline 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.

Coppper ALT, Kolsch, Black IPA, Chocolate Double Stout

I noticed that Lincoln's Zipline has been popping out a line of "Limited Series" beers, and from what I hear they even did an expansion recently. They're growing, and I think that's awesome.


Copper ALT) What makes an Alt a copper Alt is not the addition of cuprum, element Cu. Instead, the merging of lager and ale aspects gives it an amber hue and a taste profile outside the norm. The start was like an Ale and then headed off into a different set of flavors that confused me. The middle and finish were flavorful, with a bit brown-ale esque maltiness, and yet overall it was just enough light enough to be pleasant. ☆☆☆

Kölsch) Perhaps the closest thing you can get to a real Kölsch outside of Germany. I know, I know, that's a dangerous thing to say, but now you'll have to try it to prove me wrong. The light initial lead into a peppery middle with just enough of a floral, sweet touch. It was very easy to drink. I can't wait to enjoy this on a hot summer day. ☆☆☆☆

Black IPA) As my friend said, "They nailed this one." This dark semi-rich beer leads into a piney finish. The subtle transition between the two halves occurs right near the middle. I've had other Black IPAs where the middle is muddled and you get odd chocolatey overtones mixed in with the hopped finish. That confused middle made them not pleasant, but this one was well done. ☆☆☆☆

Chocolate Double Stout) When I hear "double" or "imperial" stout, I get very excited because the beer that follows is usually very rich and heavy. This one sadly wasn't. The middle to finish had strong roasted flavors and the finish was a bit harsh. Despite being in the aroma slightly, the chocolate flavors hid in the backdrop and underwhelmed. Overall, I didn't dislike it, I just know that there are about a dozen other beers of the same class I'd rather have. ☆☆☆

45/100) Belgians Barrel Aged with Cherries

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.

Ave Maria, Tango, Bourbon Barrel Aged Quad 2014

These three beers this time have three things in common: Cherries, Barrels, and Belgium. All three are in a belgian style, and were barrel aged with some variety of cherries. As a result, they are deep, rich, and have a nice twang that can sometimes make your teeth sing with the tartness.

Ave Maria) Using Elijah Craig bourbon barrels and small, sour Morello cherries, this ale had a light cherry flavor with a subtle bit of sourness. The finish and background had that good blossoming sweet maltiness. The effervesce bubbled just enough lighter than a champagne to be pleasant.  I wasn't necessarily going wow because of this one, but it was pretty enjoyable. ☆☆☆☆

Tango) An interesting dance of subdued cherry flavors and dark Belgian-ale aspects. The flavors disappointed me because they didn't open up as I had more. The music, if you will, of the cherries drowned and the complexity of the dark ale aspects grew monotone. ☆☆☆

Bourbon Barrel Aged Quad 2014) Using the Sixth Glass as a basis for barrel aging, this BBQ caught me off guard because the aging process gave it qualities more typical of a barelywine than a quad. The aroma was fantastically cherry, but that red goodness crouched in the backdrop of its taste profile. Over time it became a bit more pronounced and this smokestack beer opened up nicely as it warmed up. Don't just drink this one cold. ☆☆☆☆

44/100) Smokestack Silver Anniversary

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.

Reboot White IPA, Silver Anniversary Ale, Imperial Stout 2014

Odell's and Boulevard both had their Silver (25th) anniversary this last year. In celebration they collaborated their first beers together into some amazing fare. If you had the chance to try it on tap sometime last fall (Nov 17th and on), perhaps you noticed a decent amount of grapefruity hopped bitterness to the finish almost reminiscent of Boulevard's Tank 7. Well, the draught and the bottle are actually different. Because hops lose their punch over time, the two companies placed more of an emphasis on hops in the draught version. I'll explain the bottle below.

Reboot White IPA) This Smokestack 2.0, since it is a re-release of a previous one shot, is filled with unusual spice flavors - clove even I think. Because I let the bottle sit for about six months, the IPA aspect was rather subdued, but that made it easier for me to handle. Even so, I suspect that I would have liked this one even fresh. The utilized hops were more focused on giving it a floral feel instead of a bitter punch. ☆☆☆☆

Silver Anniversary Ale) The strong grapefruit hop touch of the draught, as mentioned above, is subdued in the bottled variant. A stronger emphasis on the malts leads to a beer with a firmer mouthfeel and fruity floral flavors. What I find curious is that I can no longer find the page on O'dell Brewing Company's page that attested to this difference between the bottle and the draught... ☆☆☆☆

Imperial Stout 2014) Rich and thick. The booziness might hit you if your not used to beers that clock in at 11% ABV. It's dark, malty liquid goes down so smooth that you might not even notice. Boulevard didn't mess around on this one. I'll be looking forward to the 2015 version! ☆☆☆☆

43/100) Grimms Brothers Brewhouse 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.

Fearless Youth, Little Red Cap, Master Thief

Once again upon a time, simple tales were woven into strands of the little one's red night caps. After tucking them away, the fearless youth and friends called for another round to finish up their evening. While the kingdom enjoyed their dunkels, porters and alts, a master thief stole upon them making off with their hearts and taste buds. The youth through it all, shuddered not, and in the morning, sought the blessing of the Queen before setting out on the most epic of adventures.

Fearless Youth) Or the tale of the boy who set out to learn how to shudder. This boy didn't understand fear. A dark dank castle with haunted skeletons and possessed cats couldn't even get him to shiver. This dunkel (or dark) lager is nothing to fear either, even if you're used to the brighter beers. It is light bodied and easy to drink. ☆☆☆☆

Little Red Cap) "As long as I live, I will never leave the path and run off into the woods by myself if mother tells me not to." Yes, little red cap is the tale of little red riding hood. Perhaps instead of talking to strangers and getting yourself eaten by a wolf, you should make this exquisite alt (or old style ale) a simple night cap and get some rest. Why you ask? "All the better to sleep well with." as the wolf in grandma's clothing might have answered. ☆☆☆☆


Master Thief) unlike what you'd expect, he wasn't an expert with years of experience behind his craft. More of a Lupin or Robin Hood without lofty ideals, this youthful thief used trickery and misdirection to steal his way out of any bind. Speaking of which, this masterful porter will leave you tongue tied. I try and keep a bottle around at all times because it is one of my favorite beers. ☆☆☆☆☆