186. O’Fallon Brewery – Pumpkin Beer
Another St. Louis brewery with a pumpkin beer is O’Fallon Brewery. Theirs has been around a few years longer than Schlafly’s Pumpkin Ale. I’ve found O’Fallon’s beers to be a little hit or miss, as I wasn’t a huge fan of their Hemp Hop Rye Amber Ale or their Chocolate Cherry beer, but am a fan of their 5 Day IPA and Wheach. It had a reddish copper color, and was fairly clear. it had a creamy, foamy...
185. New Holland Brewing – Ichabod
I was at the liquor store looking for different pumpkin beers and came across this one. I’ve had a few of New Holland brews, including their Mad Hatter IPA and their Pilgrim’s Dole Wheat Wine, and after those, I was willing to give Ichabod – their pumpkin beer – a chance. Besides, I liked the creativity of associating their pumpkin beer with something surrounding a Halloween story, and not just calling it...
184. St. Louis Brewery / Schlafly – Pumpkin Ale Special Release
I heard about Schlafly’s pumpkin beer about 4 years ago, and while in St. Louis for a friend’s wedding, we stopped by the Schlafly Tap Room specifically to try this beer. Due to the high alcohol (my memory tells me it was around 9% ABV back then), it was served in an 8oz snifter. I think they started bottling this last year, and I’m sure they lowered the ABV when the started bottling it. This beer will always...
183. Dogfish Head – Punkin Ale
I’m kicking off my Oktoberfest challenge with a pumpkin beer from Dogfish Head. Their site says it’s a “full-bodied brown ale with smooth hints of pumpkin and brown sugar. We brew our Punkin Ale with pumpkin meat, organic brown sugar and spices.” The bottle says it’s “brewed with real pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice, cinnamon & nutmeg.” It also says it’s 7% ABV. It was clear and...
Oktoberfest Challenge – Seasonal Beers
One of the inspirations for this blog was the 999 beers blog by Dave Selden. His quest is to drink 999 beers in 999 days, and he provides excellent tasting notes on each beer. I’m not trying to “one-up” Dave, as I often don’t have a beer every single day. HOWEVER, for the month of October, I’ve challenged myself to try to have a beer every day AND ensure that it is a seasonal beer that relates to every beer lovers...
182. Bell’s Brewery – Bourbon Barrel Aged Hell Hath No Fury Draft
At our homebrew club steering meeting, one of the guys mentioned that they had Bell’s Hell Hath No Fury on draft at Medici. So, I decided to quickly stop by and try it. I had read about it on Bell’s website and which says, “Originally conceived along the lines of a Belgian Dubbel, Hell Hath No Fury… Ale morphed during development into something entirely different. Blending a pair of Belgian abbey-style yeasts...
181. Spaten Franziskaner Bräu – Oktoberfestbier Ur-Märzen Draft
We were having our ABNormal Brewers meeting at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington, and I was trying to take a look at the board to see what my next beer would be. I had tried many of the options, so I thought I’d go for the Spaten Octoberfest, since I hadn’t written that one up yet – despite the fact that it was not yet October. However, it did give me an idea for the month of October, which I’ll...
180. Founders Brewing – 2010 Nemesis Draft
I was at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington tonight for an ABNormal homebrewers club steering meeting. I was surprised and happy to see that they had Founders’ Nemesis on draft. I had read about it, but hadn’t had it, so this was a good opportunity to try it. Despite it being $4.50 for a half pint, I’m glad I got to try it. It was extremely black in color and had a creamy tan head on it. The head fell...
179. RAM Restaurant & Brewery Indianapolis – Indy Blonde Draft
I was looking for another beer to try, and, since we were in Indianapolis, I thought I’d give the Indy Blonde a try. I suspect that it is the same as the Big Horn Blonde at other RAM locations, just with a local name. That didn’t matter too much, as long as I got a chance to try a new beer. I was really surprised at how clear the beer was, and it was a golden yellow color. There was a very thin white head on it, and I...
178. RAM Restaurant & Brewery Indianapolis – ’71 Pale Ale Draft
We were on our way back from Louisville, Kentucky and decided to stop in Indianapolis for dinner. I was pushing to stop at a brewpub, and my coworker chose RAM Restaurant & Brewery. I was somewhat familiar with the brewpub chain since we stopped there a few months ago and I had their Buttface Amber Ale and their Big Red IPA at their Chicago location. The ’71 Pale Ale was cloudy and was deep amber in color, the head was...
177. Bluegrass Brewing Company – BBC APA Draft
This was my second last minute trip for work in the last two weeks, however, the one last week gave me a chance to go to the Great American Beer Festival. This week we found ourselves in Louisville, Kentucky for work, and just down the street from Bluegrass Brewing Company. So, we just had to stop in for a bite to eat and a beer. I felt like something a little hoppy, so I went with the APA, which I thought stood for American Pale...
176. Wynkoop Brewing – Mile HI.P.A. IPA Draft
I met up with my friend from the homebrew club at Great Divide, and we knew we needed to grab a bite to eat to get something in our stomachs before heading over to the Great American Beer Festival. Although I had already been to Wynkoop a couple of days ago, it seemed to be the best place to grab a bite between Great Divide and the convention center. It was also a chance to try another one of their beers, and since I was in the mile...
