637. Greenbush Brewing – Distorter Porter
After a nice dinner at Reality Bites with my friend Joe, and a great Wookey Jack on draft, we headed down the street to Fat Jacks. One nice thing about living close to Chicago is that we tend to get a good supply of Goose Island’s barrel aged stuff, and Fat Jacks had their Bourbon County Brand Stout on tap. So, after have a snifter of that fine beer, I decided to finish off the evening with this one. Location: On tap and served...
556. North Coast Brewing – Pranqster Belgian Style Golden Ale
After stopping at Flinger’s Pizza Pub for a Green Flash West Coast IPA and a couple of pizza rolls, I headed to our homebrew club meeting at Fat Jack’s. I looked to see what was on the menu I hadn’t had yet, and this one caught my eye. I’d seen it at the liquor store, and heard good things about it, so I thought I’d give it a try since it was on draft. Location: On tap and served in a curved glass at Fat Jack’s in...
440. Green Flash Brewing – Imperial India Pale Ale
I’m at our monthly homebrew club meeting at Fat Jack’s in Bloomington, IL, and I was looking for something I haven’t had yet. I’ve had a few Green Flash beers, and they’ve generally been pretty good. So, I didn’t feel like I was going out on a limb to try this big hoppy beer from this brewery. According to the brewery, “San Diego IPA, as it has come to be known by many, is pale in color,...
377. Flossmoor Station – Pullman Brown Ale
I’m back at Fat Jack’s in Bloomington, IL for our monthly ABNormal Brewers club meeting. As usual, I went looking for something I haven’t had yet, and decided to go ahead and try this one. From the brewery, “This robust, dark brown ale gets its rich flavor from seven different malts and three types of hops. The addition of hand-toasted oats and a generous portion of molasses give the Pullman Brown Ale an...
345. Unibroue – La Fin du Monde
I’m at our homebrew club meeting this evening, and we just finished up discussing hops and sampling several of the single hopped versions of Sam Adams Latitude 48. Someone mentioned they had imports at the bar cheap tonight, and it turned out that this Unibroue was on the list. Location: Enjoyed the bottled beer, served in a tulip glass, at Fat Jack’s in Bloomington, IL. Numbers: 9% ABV, 19 IBUs, 5.5 SRM, 225 Calories...
295. Stone Brewing – Smoked Porter Aged in Bourbon Barrels Draft
I’m still at the Stone Brewing event, as we finally get this beer here in Central Illinois. I’ve already had (this evening) their Double Bastard and the Sublimely Self Righteous Ale, and wanted to get something that might be a little more rare than these. When I sampled this, it had some really interesting flavors, so I capped off the evening with this one. Numbers: 6% ABV Appearance & Aroma: It was deep brown/black...
294. Stone Brewing – Sublimely Self Righteous Ale Draft
As I mentioned in my last post, Stone Brewing found a distributor here in Central Illinois, and they were partnering with a local bar for the launch. I was looking through the list of 12 different Stone beers on tap, and there were certainly some great sounding beers to try. I had a few samples of beers that weren’t too great (I guess I built up Stone’s reputation a bit too much in my mind). However, when I sampled this...
293. Stone Brewing – Double Bastard Ale Draft
After everything that has been going on, I really needed a night out. Fortunately, I found out that a local distributor had picked up Stone Brewing and we would now be able to get it in our area. A local bar, Fat Jack’s, was having a “tap takeover” (like they did with Goose Island a couple months ago) with several Stone beers. I had several of their beers when a friend from San Diego shipped me a few last year,...
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...
274. Goose Island – Pepe Nero Draft
As I mentioned in my last post, I was at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington, IL for a Goose Island “mini invasion” where they had taken over 12 taps there. I met up with my friend Fred, who had just finished teaching a homebrewing class at the community college. He was in a good mood, so he bought me this round. Since he was buying I told him to pick what I should have (and I knew I could count on him to pick...
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...
235. Moylan’s – White Christmas Spiced Winter Lager Draft
After a great Christmas party with the ABNormal brewers on Saturday night, we’re back at it again tonight at our monthly meeting at Fat Jack’s in downtown Bloomington. They usually have some decent beers on tap, so it’s a chance to add another one to the list. In the spirit of the season, and our meeting (seasonal beers), I decided to try the Moylan’s White Christmas lager. It was light orange in the color...
