636. Firestone Walker – Wookey Jack Black Rye IPA
My friend Joe is in town this week for work, and this is his last night in town. We were looking for a good place to eat that also has some decent craft beers on tap. I got a reservation at Reality Bites, a nice restaurant in town that usually has 6 or so pretty good beers on tap. I was excited when I saw this beer on tap, because my friend Tom from our local homebrew club raved about it when he had it. Both Joe and I went for this...
555. Green Flash Brewing – West Coast IPA
Tonight is my monthly homebrewers club meeting, and I had a half hour or so to grab some dinner beforehand. Regular readers will see that I love Flinger’s Pizza Pub for their pizza and craft beers on tap, and conveniently, it’s right down the street from Fat Jack’s, our meeting place. Since I was on my own, I had their tomato basil rolls – which were excellent – and this beer. Location: On tap and served...
529. Lagunitas Brewing – Lagunitas Sucks! Brown Shugga’ Substitute Ale
I’m at Medici in Normal, IL tonight for the Wednesday Warrior yearly celebration. For the uninitiated this bar has Wednesday night craft beer specials, and if you come 10 times throughout the year, you get a t-shirt and an invite to the yearly celebration, which has free food and a free (guess what it is) beer on tap. After trying the beer on tap (I thought it may have been Schlafly’s Scottish Ale), I decided to get a...
418. The Lost Abbey – Devotion Ale
We had a homebrew club meeting tonight just up the street at Fat Jack’s. A few of us headed down to Flingers because they have half price craft beers on Monday nights. They have several craft brews on tap, but this was one of the only ones that wasn’t on my list yet. Location: Enjoyed in a pint glass at Flinger’s Pizza Pub in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. Numbers: 6.25% ABV, 1.050 OG, 1.005 TG, ~ 188 Calories...
280. Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works – Bamberg Rauchbier Draft
I wasn’t really planning on having a fourth beer this evening, but it’s my wife’s birthday, and she wanted to have another. So, how could I say no. After the Torrent Black IPA, I thought I’d try another beer from the Brewmaster’s Selections. I really, really enjoyed the Brauerei Heller Bamberg – Hecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen I had during my Oktoberfest Challenge, so I thought I’d give...
276. Ballast Point – Sculpin IPA India Pale Ale Draft
Tonight I’m at Fat Jack’s for our monthly steering meeting for the ABNormal Brewers. I like that they usually have some different beers on tap, and tonight was no exception. I felt like something hoppy, so I decided to go for one of the only IPAs on the list. Numbers: 7% ABV, 70 IBUs Appearance & Aroma: It was slightly hazy and golden-straw colored. It had a very thick, creamy, bright-white head on it, which left...
273. Goose Island – Aviator Doppelbock Draft
After going to uptown and Maggie Miley’s for a happy hour for a co-worker, I headed downtown to Fat Jack’s for a Goose Island “mini invasion.” They had taken over 12 of the taps there with different Goose Island beers. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, they were out of their imperial IPA. There didn’t seem to be much for my hop craving, so I decided to try this one. Numbers: 7.6% ABV Appearance...
272. Warsteiner Brauerei – Warsteiner Premium Dunkel Draft
Tonight I’m at Maggie Miley’s in Normal, IL for a happy hour for a coworker (@ChristyBerka) who is moving on to bigger and better things. So, as you can see by my photo, we went out to raise a glass to her. This bar always seems to have Warsteiner on tap, and they always serve it in a huge glass, so I went for the Dunkel. Numbers: 4.9% ABV Appearance & Aroma: As you can see, it had a nice sized, creamy, lightly...
271. Arcadia Brewing – Cereal Killer Barley Wine Draft
As I mentioned in my last post, I was out at Medici in Uptown Normal for a couple of beers. We were catching up on things and making plans for our trip to SXSW next month. After starting with a very good Smuttynose Big A IPA, I decided to go with something a bit maltier. They had this beer on tap, so I thought I’d give it a try. Numbers: 10% ABV Appearance & Aroma: It was deep black, and there was almost no head to it. ...
230. Springfield Brewing – Mueller Pale Ale Draft
As I mentioned in my last post, we’re in Springfield, Missouri for work, and stopped at Springfield Brewing Company for dinner. I first had the Blacksmith Stout, and a dinner salad. I found out that the brewery was built to show off the stainless steel tanks made by the local Mueller steel factory. It looked gorgeous when we walked in, but being with a couple co-workers, I couldn’t explore the brewery too much. I was...
226. Flying Dog – Snake Dog IPA India Pale Ale Draft
I stopped at Medici in Normal to grab a beer and get my final punch on my Wednesday Warriors card. On Wednesday, they have $3 pints, and after 10 Wednesday visits you become a warrior. That means you get a t-shirt – although I didn’t get one because they had run out of XLs – your beer is served in a mug, and you get invited to their end of the year party. Besides getting the final punch on my ticket, it’s...
225. Mikkeller – Centennial Single Hop IPA Draft
As I mentioned in my last post, I’m at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington for our ABNormal homebrew club steering meeting. It’s the first meeting of our new board, and I’m still VP. The nice thing about meeting at Fat Jack’s is the opportunity to try a few new beers. They usually have a decent selection, even if it is getting tougher to find beers I haven’t tried yet. The nice thing about the...
