670. Penn Brewery – Märzen
I’m home from work a bit early and the snow is just starting to fall. Everyone’s in a bit of a panic, since we’re supposed to get between 8-10 inches of snow tonight. After throwing some salt on the driveway, I reached in the beer fridge and grabbed this beer. My dad and sister gave me this beer, along with many others, when they stopped at the brewery for lunch when they were in Pittsburgh. The bottle says,...
669. French Broad Brewing – Rye Hopper Ale
This is another one of the many beers my sister brought back for me from her trip to Asheville, NC in the fall. I had a craving for a rye IPA, so I was happy to find this rye pale ale in the beer fridge. Location: Poured into a slightly curved pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 5.9% ABV, 59 IBUs, 10.5 SRM, 15° Plato OG, ~180 Calories Appearance & Aroma: It’s reddish-brown in color and slightly hazy. The head...
668. Sierra Nevada – 2012 Bigfoot Barleywine Ale
I found this beer this afternoon, when I was cleaning out the basement. I like to hide beers in the basement, where it’s cool, and find them later. I figured I’d kick off the big game with a big beer, and the Super Bowl just kicked off. I bought this beer a year or two ago at the liquor store, with the intention of sticking them away and having one every year or so. Location: Poured into a small goblet glass at my home in...
667. Samuel Adams – Norse Legend Sahti
It’s Super Bowl Sunday and we’re staying in from the cold and cleaning house. I figured it was time to take a break and have a beer. I’m trying to clean out the beer fridge, since we might be moving soon, and this is one of the bigger bottles in it. I bought this in a mixed 3 pack of these Sam Adams specialty beers last Christmas. My friend Travis bought the same pack and said the barleywine could use some age, so...
666. Brewery Het Anker – Lucifer Belgian Ale
Well, here it is… The beer of the beast – number 666. So to mark this number, I went out and specifically bought this beer. I figured it was appropriate for the occasion, and safe – as it is, ironically, a Trappist monk brewed ale. I just had Russian River’s Damnation in preparation for this landmark, and it’s a good day to enjoy a few beers, since it’s a cold rainy/snowy day stuck indoors. The...
665. Russian River Brewing – Damnation Golden Ale
It’s a snowy and rainy Saturday afternoon, good for staying home and enjoying a few beers. As I approached the beer of the beast, #666, I was considering what I should have for that dark brew. This is definitely one I considered, but I thought it might be more appropriate to have it right now, signaling my impending damnation before I have #666. I picked up this beer during my trip to Seattle last year, and fortunately it...
664. Brauerei Beck & Co. – Beck’s Sapphire
It’s bitterly cold here tonight with -20 windchill, so we just settled down to watch some TV in the warmth of the house. It was kind of a rough end of the day at work, so I almost went for the bourbon rather than the beer. However, I snatched this at random from the beer fridge as I came in from work. I think I picked this up this past fall as part of a mixed 6 pack I got on vacation in Florida. Location: Poured into a slightly...
663. Ale Asylum – Hopalicious American Pale Ale
I’m sitting here working on work stuff with the GRAMMY awards on TV. A “polar vortex” is blowing in outside and the wind sounds incredibly intense outside. I just had Revolution’s Double Fist, which seemed to have a good amount of Cascade hops (I’m guessing), so I thought I’d have this one next, since the label says, “Eleven separate editions of Cascade hops give this American pale ale...
662. Revolution Brewing – Double Fist Double Pale Ale
It’s been a fairly relaxing weekend, cleaning up around the house and catching up on reviews from last weekend when we did a small tavern tour of Chicago. After working on some of those reviews, I had a craving for a beer. I picked up this one on a work trip to Chicago this past fall, when I was looking for local brews. I’ve heard good things about Revolution, so I was looking forward to trying their double IPA. I also put...
661. Pennsylvania Brewing Co. – Nut Roll Ale Winter Ale
I just finished dinner, along with a great dessert my wife made with crescent rolls and marshmellows. I’ve got several beer reviews to catch up on from our Tales, Taverns & Towns tour of Chicago last weekend, but I didn’t want that to stop me from enjoying one tonight. This beer was given to me by my sister and dad, from their trip to Pittsburgh a while ago. I’ve been waiting to enjoy this until the holidays, and...
660. Goose Island – Bourbon County Brand Barleywine
I’ve had multiple beers tonight during our Tales, Taverns & Towns tour of Chicago. Our last stop of the night was Sheffield’s, and I discovered the “Beer School” room, which had some awesome beers. Since I figured this was my last beer of the evening, I went big with this one. I love their Bourbon County Brand Stout, so I was looking forward to trying this one. Location: On tap and served in a small snifter glass...
659. Off Color Brewing – Apex Predator
Our last stop of the evening on the Tales, Taverns & Towns tour of Chicago was Sheffield’s. They had a lot of great beers on tap, and this one was recommended by our guide Liz. Off Color is one of the newer breweries in Chicago, and I’d also heard many great things about John Laffler and the barrel program he ran at Goose Island. So, I was looking forward to trying one of his beers. Location: On tap and served in a...
